spices then do smell more fragrantly when they are either moued broken or powned so vertues fame is then largely dispersed when it is exercised in serious imployments and weightie affaires As Phisitians forbid to wash the teeth with the iuyce of the hearbe Alcakengy although it bee good to fasten them because the danger is greater then the commoditie for at length it will bring madnesse so those things are not to bee dealt in that hurt the name and encrease the wealth nor that learning to bee medled with which polisheth the tongue and infecteth the maners As fire in a darke night is a farre off discerned but in the Sun-shine is scarcelie seene so many a paultry rymer and bawdie ballad-maker seemes among base conceits of great esteeme but in the view of more glorious and splendent spirits they appeare none other then dunghill birdes and alefied Groutnowls Tyrius Platonicus sermone 24. An ill Name AS some by the deformities of their bodie haue got vnto them a surname as of crooked legges to bee called Vari of flabberkin lippes Chilones of great noses Nasones of redde noses Salamanders so manic by their mischieuous misdeedes doe purchase infamous and ill names as Nero for his beastlinesse to bee tearmed the Beast of Rome Tamberlane for his tyrannie The wrath of God and Attila for his crueltie The scourge of God c. As it grieueth a father to see his sonne deadly sicke or irrecuperably ouermatched in fight with his enemie so it grieueth any good nature to heare himselfe ill spoken of or to heare his wife daughters tearmed dishonest Iouianus Pontanus de fortitudine lib. 2. cap. 5. As manie Christians abstaine from much mischiefe least after this life hell shoulde bee their inheritance so Tiberius Caesar kept himselfe from many outrages and misdemeanors least after death an ill name should followe him Erasmus in Epistolà ante Suetonium Tranquillum Albeit thou powrest water vppon the hearbe Adyanton or drownest it in the water yet it continues drie so infamy slander or an ill name will not cleaue to a good man albeit one endeuour to defame him A Courtly life AS the Moone the neerer the Sunne it is the lesse light it hath so more fruit and dignitie is in them that are farre off from great Princes There is a certaine hearbe in India of an especiall sauour full of little serpents whose stinges are present death so the courts of certaine Princes hath that which delighteth but vnlesse thou be warie they harbour deadly poyson Antes doe gnaw that end of the corne which beginneth to sprout least it become vnprofitable vnto them so great men that they may alwayes keepe their seruants in seruice and slauerie do hold them vnder least looking vp after liberty they should forsake the Court through the tediousnes of seruitude As it is a very rare thing to see the birds called Halciones but when they appeare they either bring or portend faire weather so Bishops and Cleargie-men should seldome come to the Courts of Princes but either to preach maners or appease tumults There is a kinde of pulse called Cracca which Culuers take such delight in that hauing once tasted of it they cannot afterwards bee driuen from that place so they that haue once tasted of the hony and honour of the Court can neuer bee driuen from the Court Plin. lib. 16. cap. 16. A Mule ingendered of an Horse and an Asse is neither Horse nor Asse so some whilest they would be both Courtiers and Prelats are neither Strange it is that the sound eye viewing the sore should not be dimmed that hee that handleth pitch should not be defiled so is it strange that they that continue in the Court should not be infected Nylus breedeth the precious stone and the poysoned serpent and as in all ryuers there is some fish and some frogs and as in all gardens there bee some flowers some weedes and as in all trees there bee some blossoms some blasts so the Court may as well nourish vertuous Matrones as the lewd Minion Courtiers AS the starre Artophylax is brightest yet setteth soonest so Courtiers glories being most gorgeous are dasht with sudden ouerthrowes As the Camelion turneth himselfe into the likenesse of euerie obiect so Courtiers as Aristippus that fawnde vpon Dionysius ayme their conceits at their Kings humor if hee smile they are in their iolitie if frowne their plumes fall like Peacockes feathers The Indian Torteises in a calme do delight to floote aloft in the noone-Sun with all their back bare aboue water vntill their shelles hauing forgot themselues bee so parched with the heate of the Sunne that they cannot get vnder water and so they swimming aboue water become a prey vnto fishers so some allured with hope of great matters do thrust themselnes into the Courts of Princes and are so lulled a sleepe with the pleasures of the Court that they cannot forsake it when they woulde and betake themselues to their woonted rest Plin. lib. 9. cap. 10. As the hearbe Heliotropium is carried about with the Sunne and whither soeuer it moueth thither the hearbe turneth his head so Courtiers which way soeuer their king doth becke thither they bend Plin. 18. cap. 24. 27. eodem lib. The Crocodile sometimes liueth vpon the land and sometimes in the water shee layeth her egges vpon the land seeketh her prey in the water so some are both Courtiers and ecclesiasticall persons but in both places very pestilent fellowes Conradus Lycosthenes Rubeaquensis As the Adamant cannot draw iron if the Diamond lie by it so vice cannot allure the Courtier if vertue be retained Kings AS the Leopard by reason of his sweete sauour dooth allure wilde beasts vnto him and so doth destroy thē so the courts of princes I knowe not what inticing allurements they haue that drawe men into destruction Plinius libro 8. cap. 27. As the hearbe Heliotropium doth alwaies looke towards the sunne and when it is hid doth gather in the flower so many to the Kings becke bend their endeuors and to what thing soeuer they see him inclined to that they addresse themselues Plin. lib. 18. cap. 27. As the crocking of frogs beyonde their wont doeth prognosticate an imminent tempest so when the speech of euill men is of most force with Princes and good men are silenced then the confusion of their estate is at hand As the dogges of Malta are especially delighted in among the rich and delicate women of that I le so effeminate princes doe greatly sette by flatterers who both speak and do all things according to their humours Plin. lib. 3. cap. vltim◠That which oyle is vnto flies emmots and to other insect and entailed creatures that is flattery vnto foolish princes Those being annointed with oyle doe die these by flattery and assentation of clawbackes are drawne to destruction and they draw their common wealth into the same praedicament Plin. lib. 11. cap. 19. As a vine except thou prune it doeth largely extend it selfe
As the Cedar tree is vnfruitful stiffe so a proude man is vnfruitfull and obstinate Basilius in psal 28. As a blind man may be easily discerned of all so may a proude man that knowes not the Lorde for the beginning of pride is the ignorance of God be easily known as beeing depriued of his greatest lighte Chrysostomus hom de Ozia As the shippe that hath passed many waues and escaped many tempests at the length shipwracking in the very hauen doth loose all the treasure it contained so the proude Pharisie after that he had vndergone the labours of fasting and had performed the exercise of many notable vertues through his pride and arrogancie made shipwracke of them all in the very hauen Idem hom de profectu Euangelij That body which hath lost a good temperature is subiect to diseases so that soule that hath lost humilitie is endāgered with pride rashnes weaknes and foolishnesse Idem ser contra desperationem et superbiam As he that is frantik knowes neither himselfe nor those thinges that are before his feete so a proud man neither knowes him selfe nor any man about him ibidem As couetous men the more they receiue the more they stande in neede of so a proude man the more he is honoured the more honour he desireth Idem hom 1. in secundam ad Thessalonicenses As they that are swelled are not in good health so they that are proude are not in their right wits idem hom 17. in 1. Timoth. As in an heap of wheat the chaffe lies higher then the wheate not that it is worthier but bicause it is lighter being lighter it getteth the higher place so in this life a proude man is lifted aboue an humble man not for his merite and vertue but for his vanitie and false opinion of himselfe and being vaine of himselfe he preferreth himselfe before those of whō hee is excelled in vertue Hector Pint. in c. 15. Ezech. As pride is the beginning of all vices so it is the ruine of all vertues Isidorus They that are sicke of the dropsie by reason of the grossenesse of their bodies seeme to bee in good estate notwithstanding they be full of nothing but water and such euill humours which in the ende are the cause of their death so they that are proud by reason of their ouerweening cōceits seeme to be in greate reputation and credit when before God they are most abominable and detestable Couetousnesse AS fire when there is more wood cast on burneth more fiercely so couetousnesse the more wealth it hath the more it desireth Lod. Granat lib. 2. ducis peccatorum As drink in a dropsie is the cause of greater thirst so riches in couetous men are the causes of greater auarice Ibidem As the hollow spoute receiueth much water yet retaineth nothing but aire so the couetous man gathereth much wealth and yet possesseth nothing but cares As the fish Polypus vseth great skill in taking of other fishes being otherwise a stupide and foolish creature so many men are very wise for their owne lucre and gaine but in other thinges very blockish and brute beasts As vultures doe smell three daies before hande where any deade carkasses will fall and doe flie thither so greedy gapers after liuings doe many yeares before hand long for the death of the possessors Plin. lib. 10. cap. 6. Couetousnesse is like the serpent Hidaspis the more it sucks the more it is a thirst eating men aliue as the Crocodile and it is a vice of as dangerous allurement as the place where the Syrens sitte and chaunt their preiudiciall melody There is a certaine thorne among the Indians the iuice of which being sprinkled into the eies doeth bring blindnesse to all liuing creatures so the dust of golde beeing cast into the eies of men doeth make them starke blind As phisitians say that colde doeth hurte the bones the sinewes and the teeth so Paul doeth say more breefly because he is the master of breuity that couetousnesse is the roote of all euill Chrysost hom 75 in Matth. As bees flock vnto a hony deaw so couetous men hunte after the smell of gaine Plutarchus in Moralibus Meminit eius etiam Maximus sermone 12. As great fishes deuoure the small so couetous cormorants eate vp the poore Basilius hom 7 exameron As gluttons cannot spare any thing from their owne bellies so couetous men cannot spare any thing from their owne purses Idem hom in ditescentes As the sea is neuer seen without waues so the mindes of couetous men are neuer without perturbations cares daungers trembling and feare Chrysostom Hom. 36. in Matth. As a moath doth corrupt a garment so doth couetousnes eat and rust a wretched soule Idem hom 48. As the man of Chios solde his best wine to others and drunke the deade wine him selfe so doe couetous men they enioy the worst of their wealth and keep the best for wormes moathes and rust Plut. As an itchy scabby place standeth need alwaies of friction and rubbing so the thirst of a couetous minde is neuer quenched idem As they that fall a sleepe through heauinesse dreame of sorrowfull things so they that hunt after wealth and are couetous doe dreame of vsury extortion enhaunsing of rentes and such like dishonest gripings Idem As adulterers loue other mens wiues and contemne their owne so some men are more delighted with searching after other mens goodes then with enioying their owne idem As the roote of a reede beeing beaten small and laid vpon the root of ferne doth bring forth a stem and also as the roote of ferne beeing beaten small and laide vpon the root of a reed doeth extract a stalke so in like manner the desire of money doeth driue out of the soule the loue of wisdome and wisdome doeth driue out of the soule the loue of money As among the Myconians baldnes is no vnseemly thing because all are borne bald there so amongst Londoners pride and vsury and among lawyers couetousnes and bribery are counted small faults or rather none because these vices are as a generall murraine among them As an Adamant doth draw iron from a lodestone so the loue of mony doth draw men from christian piety doth call them away from all goodnes neither doth suffer them to sticke vnto Christ In the I le of Chios the face of Diana is placed aloft whose countenance seemeth heauy to those that enter in but chearefull to them that goe out so certaine sordide illiberall pesauntes doe with heauie countenaunces entertaine their friendes fearing least they should put them to cost and shoulde aske any thing of them but they are chearfull at their departure Plin. lib. 35. cap. 5. As the Emmots of India do onely keep the gold digged out of the cauerns of the earth but doe not enioy it so a couetous rich man neither himselfe enioyeth his riches neither vouchsafeth the vse of them to any other Plin. lib. 11. cap. 31. et Herodot lib. 3. Horseleaches and
and Scaliger haue highly prized them so haue the eloquent Orators Pontanus and Muretus very gloriously estimated them As Georgius Buckananus Iephthe amōgst all moderne Tragedies is able to abide the touch of Aristotles precepts and Euripedes examples so is Bishop Watsons Absalon As Terence for his translations out of Apollodorus Menander and Aquilius for his translation out of Menander and C. Germanicus Augustus for his out of Aratus and Ausonius for his translated Epigrams out of Greeke and Doctor Iohnson for his Frogge-fight out of Homer and Watson for his Antigone out of Sophocles haue got good commendations so these versifiers for their learned translations are of good note among vs Phaer for Virgils Aencads Golding for Ouids Metamorphosis Harington for his Orlādo Furioso the translators of Senecaes Tragedies Barnabe Googe for Palingenius Turberuile for Ouids Epistles and Mantuan and Chapman for his inchoate Homer As the Latines haue these Emblematists Andreas Alciatus Reusnerus and Sambucus so we haue these Geffrey Whitney Andrew Willet and Thomas Combe As Nonnus Panapolyta writ the Gospell of saint Iohn in Greeke Hexameters so Ieruis Markham hath written Salomons Can ticles in English verse As C. Plinius writ the life of Pomponius Secūdus so yong Charles Fitz-Ieffrey that high touring Falcon hath most gloriously penned the honourable life and death of worthy sir Francis Drake As Hesiod writ learnedly of husbandry in Greeke so hath Tusser very wittily and experimentally written of it in English As Antipater Sidonius was famous for extemporall verse in Greeke and Ouid for his Quicquid conabar dicere versus erat so was our Tarleton of whome Doctour Case that learned physitian thus speaketh in the seuenth Booke seuenteenth chapter of his Politikes Aristoteles suum Theodoretum laudauit quendam peritum Tragoediarum actorem Cicero suum Roscium nos Angli Tarletonum in cuius voce vultu omnes iocosi affectus in cuius cerebroso capite lepidae facetiae habitant And so is now our wittie Wilson who for learning and extemporall witte in this facultie is without compare or compeere as to his great and eternall commendations he manifested in his chalenge at the Swanne on the Banke side As Achilles tortured the deade bodie of Hector and as Antonius and his wife fuluia tormented the liueleffe corps of Cicero so Gabriell Haruey hath shewed the same inhumanitie to Greene that lies full low in his graue As Eupolis of Athens vsed great libertie in taxing the vices of men so dooth Thomas Nash witnesse the broode of the Harueys As Actaeon was wooried of his owne hounds so is Tom Nash of his Ile of Dogs Dogges were the death of Euripedes but bee not disconsolate gallant young Iuuenall Linus the sonne of Apollo died the same death Yet God forbid that so braue a witte should so basely perish thine are but paper dogges neither is thy banishment like Ouids eternally to conuerse with the barbarous Getes Therefore comfort thy selfe sweete Tom. with Ciceros glorious return to Rome with the counsel Aeneas giues to his seabeaten soldiors lib. 1. Aeneid Pluck vp thine heart driue from thence both feare and care away To thinke on this may pleasure be perhaps another day Durato temet rebus seruato secundis As Anacreon died by the pot so George Peele by the pox As Archesilaus Prytanaeus perished by wine at a drunken feast as Hermippus testifieth in Diogenes so Robert Greene died of a surfet taken at Pickeld Herrings Rhenish wine as witnesseth Thomas Nash who was at the fatall banquet As Iodelle a French tragical poet beeing an Epicure and an Atheist made a pitifull end so our tragicall poet Marlow for his Epicurisme and Atheisme had a tragicall death you may read of this Marlow more at large in the Theatre of Gods iudgments in the 25. chapter entreating of Epicures and Atheists As the poet Lycophron was shot to death by a certain riual of his so Christopher Mar low was stabd to death by a bawdy Seruingman a riuall of his in his lewde loue Painters APelles painted a Mare and a Dogge so liuelie that Horses and Dogges passing by woulde neigh and barke at them hee grewe so famous for his excellent Art that great Alexander came often to his shoppe to visite him and commaunded that none other should paint him at his death hee left Venus vnfinished neither was anie euer founde that durst perfect what hee had begunne Zeuxis was so excellent in painting that it was easier for anie man to view his pictures then to imitate them who to make an excellent Table had fiue Agrigentine Virgins naked by him hee painted Grapes so liuelie that Birdes did flie to eate them Parrhasius painted a Sheete so artificiallie that Zeuxis tooke it for a Sheete in deede and commaunded it to bee taken away to see the picture that hee thought it had vayled as learned and skilfull Greece had these excellently renowned for their limning so Englande hath these Hiliard Isaac Oliuer and Iohn de Creetes very famous for their painting As Greece moreouer had these Painters Timantes Phidias Polignotus Paneus Bularchus Eumarus Cimon Cleonaeus Pythis Apollodorus Atheniensis Aristides The banus Nicophanes Perseus Antiphilus and Nicearchus so in Englande wee haue also these William and Francis Segar brethren Thomas and Iohn Bettes Lockey Lyne Peake Peter Cole Arnolde Marcus Iaques de Bray Cornelius Peter Golchis Hieronimo and Peter Vande Velde As Lysippus Praxiteles and Pyrgoteles were excellent engrauers so wee haue these engrauers Rogers Christoper Switser and Cure Musicke THe Loadstone draweth iron vnto it but the stone of Aethiopia called Theamedes driueth it away so there is a kinde of Musicke that dooth asswage and appease the effections and a kinde that doth kindle and prouoke the passions As there is no law that hath soueraintie ouer loue so there is no heart that hath rule ouer Musicke but Musicke subdues it As one day takes from vs the credite of another so one straine of Musicke extincts the pleasure of another As the heart ruleth ouer all the members so Musicke ouer commeth the heart As beautie is no beautie without vertue so Musicke is no Musicke without Art As all thinges loue their likes so the moste curious eare the delicatest Musicke As too much speaking hurts too much galling smarts so too much Musick gluts and distempereth As Plato and Aristotle are counted princes in philosophie and Logicke Hippocrates and Galen in phisick Ptolomie in Astrologie Euclide in Geometrie and Cicero in eloquence so Boëtius is esteemed a Prince and captaine in Musicke As Priests were famous among the Egyptians Magi among the Caldeans and Gymnosophistes among the Indians so Musitians flourished among the Grecians and therefore Epaminondas was accounted more vnlearned then Themistocles because he had no skill in Musicke As Mercurie by his eloquence reclaymed men from their barbarousnesse and crueltie so Orpheus by his Musick subdued fierce beasts and wild birds As Demosthenes Isocrates and Cicero excelled
and clasping him fast about the middle asked one Capistranus standing beneath whether it would bee any daunger of damnation to his soule if he should cast himselfe downe headlong with the Dog so hee tearmed the Turke to bee slaine with him Capistranus aunswering that it was no daunger at all to his soule the Bohemian forthwith tumbled himselfe downe with the Turke in his armes and so by his owne death onelie saued the life of al the Citie so the deuil like the great Turke besieging not onely one Citie but euen all mankinde Christ alone like this noble Bohemian encountred with him And seeing the case was so that this Dog the Diuell coulde not bee killed starke dead except Christ dyed also therefore he made no reckoning nor account of his life but gaue himselfe to death for vs that he only dying for all the people by his death our deadly enemie might for euer be destroyed As it was bootlesse for Golias to brandish his speare against Dauid so it little auailed the Diuel to shake his speare likewise in the hand of the soldior against the heart of Christ As Dauid hauing heard Golias prate talke his pleasure when they came to the point at the first stroke ouerthrewe him so Christ with that very selfe same speare which gaue him a little venny in comparison or if it be lawful for me so to speake but a phillip on the side which was soone after recured gaue the Diuell a deadlie wound in the forehead which with al his pawes he shal neuer be able to claw off As Dauid only with his sling slew Golias so Christ only by his death and by the power of his crosse which is the sling of Dauid did conquer and subdue the diuel The Palme tree though it haue manie waights at the top and many snakes at the roote yet still it sayes I am neither oppressed with the waights nor distressed with the snakes Penny royall being hung vp in the larder house yet buds his yellow flowers and Noahs Oliue tree being drowned vnder the water yet keepes hir greene branch and Aarons rod being clung and drie yet brings forth ripe Almonds and Moses bramble bush being set on fire yet shines and is not consumed so Christ the true Palme tree though all the iudgments of God and all the sinnes of the world like vnsupportable waights were laide vppon him yea though the cursed Iewes stoode beneath like venemous snakes hissing and biting at him yet hee was neither so oppressed with them nor so distressed with these but that euen vpon his crosse he did most flourish when he was most afflicted The Phenix though sitting in his neaste among the hote spices of Arabia hee bee burnt to ashes yet still hee saies I die not but olde age dyeth in mee so Christ the true Phenix though lying in his graue among the hot spices wherewith Nichodemus embalmed him hee was neuer like to rise from death to life againe yet hee dyed not but mortalitie died in him and immortality so liued in him that euen in his sepulchre hee did most liue when he seemed most to be dead Epaminondas beeing sore wounded in fight demaunded of his souldiours standing by whether his enemies were ouerthrowne or no. They aunswered yea Then whether his buckler were hole or no. They aunswerered also I. Nay then sayes hee all is well This is not the ende of my life but the beginning of my glorie For nowe your deere Epaminondas dying thus gloriouslie shall rather bee borne againe then buried so Christ was sore wounded but his enemyes death and the Diuell were ouerthrowne and spoyled His Buckler which was his Godheade was whole and vntouched Therefore there was no harme doone His death was no death but an exaltation vnto greater glory As snowe couereth the grounde when it is ragged and deformed so Christ with his coat without seame couereth our sins and though they were as crimson yet hee maketh them white as snow As Gedeons fleece when it was moist the earth was drie but when it was drie the earth was moist so when Christes fleece was moist as a greene Tree then were all we drie like rotten stickes but when his fleece was drie all the bloud and water being wrounge out of his precious side then were wee moistned with his grace As Iacob trauailing towardes Haram when hee had laide an heape of stones vnder his heade and taken a nap by the way was much reuiued with it after his tedious iourney so Christ trauailing towardes heauen when hee had slept a little in that stony sepulchre which was hewen out of a Rocke liued then most Princelie after his paynefull passion As Ionas was in the Whales belly three dayes and three nights so and so long was the Sonne of man in the bowels of the earth yet he had no more hurt then Ionas had As Daniell was not hurt of the hungrie Lions so Christ was not hurt either of the terrours of death or of the horrours of Hell As Adam and Eue both in one daie were expelled out of Paradice about noon when the winde blewe so Christ and the theefe both in one day were receiued into Paradice yea both in one houre of the day about the sixt houre that is about twelue a clocke in the day time As Peters shadow gaue health to the sicke so Christs shadow giueth life to the dead As Elizeus being dead raised vp one frō the dead so Christ being dead was a Phisition to the dead Pliny reporteth that there was a dyall set in Campus Martius to note the shadowes of the sunne which agreeing verie wel at the first afterwards for thirty yeares together did not agree with the sun so all the time of those thirty yea three and thirtie yeares that Christ liued in his hmiliation heere vpon earth you might haue seen such a dyall in which time the shadow of the diall did not agree with the shining of the sunne but thankes bee to God all the better for vs. As the sunne went backward tenne degrees in the dyall when Ezechias went forward fifteene degrees in his life hee liued fifteene yeares longer so the going of this sunne Iesus Christ tenne degrees backewarde hath healed all our sicknesse and set vs a thousand degrees forward and infinitly aduanced vs by his death to euersting life As Rachel died her selfe in childbirth to bring forth her sonne Beniamin aliue so Christ dyed to bring vs vnto euerlasting life As when many byrdes are caught in a net if a Pellican or any other great bird that is among them gette out all therest that are little ones follow after so Christ as a great byrde hauing broken through the net of death all we escape with him As far as the Tree of life excelleth the tree of knowledge of good and euill so far the crosse of Christ excelleth the tree of life As hony being found in a dead Lion the death of the Lion was the sustenance of Samson so Christes gall
Dauid and Saule and others also and yet there is but one true Christ so an Angell is called a spirit and our soule is called a spirit and the winde is called a spirit and there is an vncleane spirit and yet there is peculiarly but one holy Spirit Cyrillus Ierosolymit catechesi 16. The holy Ghost is compared to fire to a Doue to a cloude and to a winde To fire because he doth enlighten our vnderstanding and exalteth it from the earth to heauen To a Doue because hee maketh vs simple gentle peaceable and friendes to all To a Cloud because he doth refresh and coole vs and defend vs from the heat of the flesh and doth asswage and moderate the madnes and fury of our passions And to a vehement and strong winde because he moueth and inclineth our will to all good Lodouicus Granatensis lib. 1 ducis peccatorum Heauen EVen as King Assuerus in his imperiall city of Susan shewed to his Princes all his maiesty cost royal magnificence so the great King of Kinges in his imperiall and roiall city of heauen doth shew to his elect the vnmesurablenesse of his riches wisdome liberality and goodnes and the glory and excellency of his maiesty Lodouicus Granatensis lib. 1. Ducis peccatorum As no man entred into the pallace of king Assuerus cloathed in sackecloth so it is lawfull for no man to enter into the pallace of God with a seruile garment but he must be cloathed with a wedding garment that is adorned and beautified with true loue and charity idem in eod lib. As a captaine when he goeth forth to fight or when he begirdeth any defenced castle deuiseth many kinde of stratagems for the obtaining of it rayseth fortresses maketh bulwarks and vseth many inuentions to assault and batter it that at the length he may conquer it so by all means wee must labour and endeuour that wee may get vnto our selues that most excellent place and cheefest good for it is written The kingdom of heauen suffereth violence and the violent take it by force Lodouicus Granatensis in lib. de deuotione As the Patriarch Iacob thought his 7. yeares seruice short in respect of the great loue hee bare to Rachell so wee should thinke all the tribulations of this world short in respect of the great loue we shuld beare to Heauen which is more beautifull then any Rachell Idem in suis Meditationibus As a traueller goes farre from his country and family yet is desirous to returne thither againe euen so wee as banished from this world should long for our returne to heauen our true borne countrey Stella de contemptu mundi As the pretious pearles called Vnions albeit they bee bred in the sea yet haue more affinitie with heauen the semblance of which they do represent so a godly a generous mind doth more depend of heauen whence he fetcheth his original then of the earth in which he liueth As a house excelleth a fewe ashes as a cittie excelleth a house a prouince a cittie the Romane empire a prouince and all the earth the Romane Empire and the whole circumference the point of a circle so farre incomparably Heauen extendeth and excelleth the comparison and proportion of al other things Cyrillus Ierosolymitanus catechesi 6. As there is extreame darkenesse in hell so there is glorious light in heauē Basilius lib. hexa As a spherical figure is most capable to contayne thinges so heauen being of the same figure is most capable of all ioies and blessednes As there are tenne commaundements in Moses Tables so according to moderne Astrologers there are tenne spheres in heauen Luna Mercurius Venus Sol Mars Iupiter Saturnus Caelum stellatum Caelum cristallinū siue aqueum and Primum mobile Angels EVen as the elder brethren do carry their younger brethren when they bee but little ones in their armes and doe keepe them with great care and prouidence after the same maner the Angels which are as our elder brethren do tende and keepe vs who are as their younger brethren little ones and do beare vs in their hands Lodo. Granatens lib. de deuotione As Angels are pure spirits so also pure worship and spiritual seruice is required of them ibidem As caelum crystallinū siue aqueum is not seene of vs so Angels in their owne nature are not visible vnto vs. F. Ioannes a S. Geminiano libro 1. de caelo Elementis Cap. 5. As the fire is of a more subtile substance then any other element so Angels are of a more immateriall substance then any other creature ibidem As the fire is moued of Sol and Mars as sayth Rabbi Moyses so Angels are moued of God who alwayes attende his will ibidem As the fire cannot be touched by reason of the heate so Angels cannot be touched by reason of their immaterialitie◠ibidem As the fire is a powreful element for deuastation so are angels in executing the wrath of God As a Phisitian leaueth his patient when he is past cure so the angels leaue vs when we fall into desperation Origenes hom 2 in Hieremiam As there are powers vnder earthly kings for ordering of state matters so there are principalities vnder the heauenly king for executing of his will and setting forth his praise Epiphanius haeresi 4. As our frendes lament for vs when as by reason of sicknesse and weakenes wee can receaue no meate so the holy Angels doe mourne for their soules that are not fedde with celestiall and spirituall foode Macarius hom prima As smoke banisheth Bees and filthy sauours driue awaie doues so the corrupted stinch of sinne driueth awaie the Angell that is the keeper of our life Basilius in Psalm 33. As in martiall affayres some soldiers are appointed to administer and bestow honours and some to execute vengeance punishment so holy Angelles are sent to the good and preseruation of man but diuels are sent to punish the wicked and rebellious Chrisostom hom 3 de patientia Iob. As after death there is no repentance auaylable vnto man so after the fall of Angells there was no place of repentance left vnto them Damascenus lib. 2 de fide cap. 4. The worde of God AS the same Manna was wholesome foode vnto some and corruption and wormes vnto others so the same worde of God is saluation vnto some and destruction vnto others Orig. hom 3 in numeros Wine much comforteth those that bee sound and as the scripture saith it maketh merry the hart of man but if he drinke it that hath a feuer it bringeth daunger and destruction vnto him so the word of God bringeth life vnto some and death vnto others Idem homil 5. in Iudic. As a lanterne doth lighten our steps so the word of God doth illuminate our vnderstandinges Hilarius in Psal 118. A Tree by continuall moysture doth grow to a great height so a soule that is cōtinually watered with the diuine word commeth to the perfection of Vertue Chrisostomus hom de Anna et
flourisheth with greater beauty so if the roote of vertue remaine sounde although riches bee taken away and the bodie putrifie yet all thinges returne with greater plenty as wee may see in Iob. Idem hom 4. ad popul Antioch If you tread a precious stone in the durt it sheweth the beauty more perspicuously so the vertue of the Saintes whethersoeuer it bee throwne it still appeareth more beautifull whether it be in seruitude in prison or in prosperitie Idem hom 63. in Genesin As an odoriferous oyntment doth not keepe his fragrancie shutte vp within it selfe but doth sende it forth and sweeten those places neare vnto it so generous and excellent men doe not hide their vertues within themselues but do both helpe others and make them better Idem hom 2. in 1. ad Thessalonicenses The barke of a tree is sowre bitter but the fruit is sweet and pleasant so vertue is bitter but it bringeth forth most sweet and delicate fruit Idem hom 30. in 1. Timoth. As in a Lute melody is not made by the touch of one string but all are to be fingered so all vertues are to bee obserued and practised Idem sermone de vitijs virtutibus As there is no victorie without concertation so there is no vertue without an enemy Lactantius de opificio dei cap. 20. As in vntilled fields before we sow wee first clense them of thornes brambles and briers so vices are first to be purged out of our soules before we sow vertues in them whence the fruites of immortality may spring idem lib. acephalo As chaines bee linked one within another so be vertues prayer depends of loue loue of ioy ioy of gentlenes gentlenes of humility humility of obedience obediēce of hope hope of faith faith of hearing and hearing of simplicitie And as vertues be chained togither so also bee vices hatred dependes of anger anger of pride pride of vaine glory vaine glory of infidelity infidelity of hardnes of heart hardnes of heart of negligence negligence of slothfulnes slothfulnesse of idlenesse idlenesse of impatiency and impatiency of pleasure Macarius hom 40. As it is in wealth hee that hath much woulde haue more so in vertue hee that hath gained one vertue will labour to get moe and hee that hath done one vertuous deede wil go forward to do moe Chrysost orat quarta aduersus Iudaeos As a Pilot guides his ship by the sterne so a wise man gouernes his actions by vertue Idem hom 26. in Genesin As he that sits vpon an high rock cares not for the waues of the sea which he seeth tossed aloft and conuerted into froath so he that hath seated his securitie and rest vpon vertue is of a quiet and peaceable minde and laugheth at the worldes turbulent estate ibidem As the billowes of the sea sometimes seeme to be caried aloft and sometimes to be deepely depressed downwards so they that contemne vertue and worke wickednesse sometimes through pride doe floate aloft and sometimes are throwne downe to hell gates ibidem As fire dooth burne the matter put into it making light the ayre adiacent so vertue doth burne and consume vices filling the soule full of light Philo lib. quis rerum diuinarum haeres As after the death of a Musitian or a Grammarian their Musick and Grammar doth perish with thē but the Idaea of these artes doe endure with the worlde for euer according to which the present age and that to come are to bee made Musitians and Grammarians so if the wisdom temperance iustice and fortitude of euery one particularly should be taken away yet in the immortall nature of this Vniuerse immortall wisedome and incorruptible vertue is engrauen according to which both the vertuous men of this age and of the future time shall bee censured and approoued Idem in lib. quod Deus sit immutabilis As a seale Ring remayneth vnhurt although that which it sealed be spoiled and marred so although alvertuous impressiōs and Characters bee abolished out of the minde through a wicked life yet vertue preserueth her estate incorruptible beeing not subiect to any fate Idem in lib. quod deterius potiori insidietur As we must not handle Musick rudelie nor Grammer vnlearnedlie nor anie other Arte peruerslie so wee must not vse wisedome craftilye nor temperaunce beastly nor fortitude rashly nor pietie superstitiouslie nor any other vertue illiberallie ibidem As the rysing Sunne dooth gilde the whole heauens with his lustre so Vertue with her beames dooth illustrate the whole soule of man Idem in lib. de plantatione Noe. They that go on false grounde do often fall but they that trauell on sound ground doe make sure footing so they that suffer themselues to bee ledde by the externall goodes of their bodies doe often fall but they that go vnto God by vertue their voiage is firme and certaine idem lib. de Abrahamo As the first and chiefest part of a liuing creature is his head the second his breast the third his bellie and as in the soule the first and chiefest part is the part rationall the second irascible and the third concupiscible so the first and chiefest of all vertues is wisdom which is conuersant about the head the rationall part of the soule the second is fortitude which is conuersant about the breast and about wrath the seconde part of the soule and the third is temperance which is occupied about the bellye and the part concupiscible which hath the third place in the soule idem lib. 1. allegoriarum legis As the enioying of health doth shew vs the inconueniences of sicknes so vices do declare vnto vs what goodnesse vertue hath in it and darknesse doth tell vs what an incomparable good light is Hieronymus epist. ad Rusticum As the missing of one member doth deforme the body of man so the neglecting of one vertue doth shew the imperfectiō of the soule Diadochus de perfect spirit ca. 24. As a cloud doth not make the Sun to lose his light so neither doth disaster fortune dimme the beautie of Vertue Tyrius Platonicus sermone 26. As a Lute doth profite others by the sounde but neyther heareth nor vnderstandeth any thing it selfe so they that speake of vertue do profit others but not liuing thereafter do no good vnto themselues Diogenes apud Laert. lib. 6. As spices do make clouts ragged apparel smell sweet but silke doth stinke being greased infected with sweat so any kind of life is pleasant if vertue be ioyned vnto it but wickednesse doth make the glorious and splendent life irkesome and intollerable Plut. in Moralibus As a swift horse dooth runne of his owne accorde so he that is inflamed with the loue of vertue needeth not a monitour ibidem As all things are pleasing to a Louer is his loue so in whom we loue vertue wee delight to imitate his gesture his gate and looke ibidem As they that loue trulie doe loue in their beloueds their stuttering and palenesse or whatsoeuer defect so
matter whereof thou wast made As the first Adam lost honor by pursuing and following it so the second Adam got honor by auoiding and eschewing it As the Iron must first be well heated in the fire ere it can be wrought by the hammer and driuen out on the anuile so cannot thy fame and name be honorably enlarged til they haue first suffred the strokes of many temptations and past through the fire of piercing trials The purest wine gets soonest into the heade which makes a wise Lorde or ruler of seruantes when hee sees any of his followers seeke to disorder themselues with drinking of the best wine that they shall abate the strength therof with water euen so is the will of God when fauour of men and worldly regarde doe trouble the sences and ouermaister our wittes that they shoulde be qualified with the water of more prouident respect namely those blames defects which depend vpon them When Antiochus entred the Temple he tooke away the lights the candlestickes euen so worldly fauor no sooner enter into our thoughts but it extinguisheth al light of knowledge of our selues As things caried aloft by the winde the wind no sooner ceaseth but they fall to the ground so it fares with them who without desert and by the fauor of men are highlie promoted when fauor slacketh down fals their dignity in a miserable case is he that hath no better assurance As the snowe in summer and as raine in haruest are not meet so is honor vnseemly for a foole As euery crown doth not become euery conqueror so euery honour doth not become euery man Plut. As a great Colossus and a huge statue ill poised are easily subuerted so too much honor through enuy doth ouerthrow many Plut. They that heape honours and glory vpon an euill man do giue wine to one sicke of a feuer hony to one oppressed with choler and meat to one troubled with morbus coeliacus which encrease the disease of his mind that is his foolishnes Plut. Nobilitie AS faith is very rich but without works quite deade so nobility is good but if not accompanied with vertue most base and infamous Stella de contemptu mundi As of one roote springeth both the Rose and the brier so of one mother may descend both a bad sonne and a good for a man may bee borne of a noble byrth and yet himselfe become vile and dishonorable ibidem As in fertill earth growes the Hemlock which is a venemous and deadly hearbe and in the barren growes the pure gold so oftentimes out of honorable houses issues degenerate minds out of base Stockes proceeds valorous thoughts ibidem As hee is a foole who hauing at all no beauty in him will neuerthelesse extoll his own beauty and perfection euen so as foolish is hee that beleeues himselfe to bee noble not hauing any part of nobility in him As of a bitter roote many times comes sweete and pleasant fruite so from a poore race may issue some to bee famous and noble by the vertuous behauiour which afterward shall renowme them ibidem As grosse clowdes couer the sun Moon and Starres and robs men of their celestiall splendour so the vices of them that are vertuously descended obscure the worthie actions of their famous forgoers Ibidem As brickes take their beginning from clay so nobility tooke her beginning from obscure parentage Gregorius Nyssenus apud Antonium monachum in Melissa As it nothing profiteth a muddy riuer to haue sprung from a pure fountaine so it nothing helpeth vicious children to haue descended from noble houses Hector Pinâ— tus in cap. 16. Ezechiel As he that is born a foole is born a slaue so hee that is borne a wise man is noblie borne And therefore Antisthenes saide very well that nobilitye did foly and onelie consist in vertue and wisdome whereupon the Stoikes concluded that only wise men were noble men As estimation many times springs from the foolish opinion of the people and not from desert so doth nobility Lodo. Viues in introductione ad Sapientiam cap. 3. As little Crab fishes do hide themselues in great empty shels that they may bee the more safe so some distrusting their own strength and vertue do protect themselues vnder the noble titles of their auncestors Erasmus As no bird can looke against the sunne but those that be bred of the Eagle neither any Hawke soare so high as the broode of the Hobby so for the most part none haue true sparks of heroicke maiestie but those that are descended from noble races As the wine that runneth on the lees is not therefore to be accompted neate because it was drawne of the same peece or as the water that springeth from the fountaynes heade and floweth into the filthie channell is not to bee called cleare because it came of the same streame so neyther is hee that descendeth of noble parentage if he desist from noble deedes to be esteemed a Gentleman in that he issued from the loynes of a noble Syre for that he obscureth the parents hee came of and discrediteth his owne estate The pure Corall is chosen as well by his vertue as his colour a king is knowne better by his courage then his crowne so a right Gentleman is sooner seene by the tryall of his vertue then blasing of his armes The Rose that is eaten with the Canker is not gathered because it groweth on that stalke that the sweet doth neither was Helen made a starre because shee came of that Egge with Castor so neither is he a true Gentleman that hath nothing to commend him but the nobilitie of his ancestours As it is a signe of true honour and nobilitie to reproue sinne so to renounce it is the part of honestie As no Thersites could bee transformed into Vlysses so no Alexander coulde bee couched in Damocles A good name FIre once kindled is easily kept but being extinct it is hardlie rekindled so it is an easie thing to maintaine a good name but being once lost it is not so easilie recouered Plutarchus in Moralibus Shippes well repayed doe endure manie yeares so wee must continuallye adde something to the propagation of our good names least time and age eate them out ibidem As a shadow sometimes goeth before and sometimes commeth after so some forthwith doe get good report and some haue it not till after death but he later that it commeth it is wont to be the greater Seneca As the famous monuments called Obelisci were long time in making and reared with much adoe by reason of their hugenesse c exceeding weight but being once finished they continued manie ages so it is a hard thing to get a name of vertue and wisedome but being once gotten it is neuer extinguished As in verie great Obeliskes almost as much is builded vnder the earth as is aboue that they may stand vnmoueable so a firme and sound foundation is to bee laid for the continuance of a perpetuall name As
in Oratorie so Orpheus Amphion and Linus surpassed in Musicke As Greece had these excellent Musitians Arion Dorceus Timotheus Milesius Chrysogonus Terpander Lesbius Simon Magnesius Philamon Linus Stratonicus Aristonus Chiron Achilles Clinias Eumonius Demodochus and Ruffinus so Englande hath these Maister Cooper Maister Fairfax Maister Tallis Master Tauerner Maister Blithman Maister Bird Doctor Tie Doctor Dallis Doctor Bull M. Thomas Mud sometimes fellow of Pembrook hal in Cambridge M. Edward Iohnson Maister Blankes Maister Randall Maister Philips Maister Dowland and M. Morley Sinne. AS he runneth far that neuer returneth so he sinneth deadly that neuer repenteth Porters and cariers when they are called to carry a burdē on their shoulders first they looke diligently vpon it then they peise and lift it vp trie whether they are able to vndergo it whether they cā cary it so before we sin we should cōsider whether we be able to cary the burthen of it that is the punishment which is hel fire Lodouic Granat lib. 1. Ducis peccat As the palate that is corrupted and distempered by ill humours cannot taste the sweetnesse of meate for that which is sweete seemeth bitter and that which is bitter sweete so a soule corrupted with the humours of vices and inordinate affections and accustomed to the flesh pots of Aegypt cannot tast Manna nor the bread of Angels Ibidem Euen as in a countrey where all are borne Aethiopians it is not an vgly thing to be blacke and as where all are drunke it is no ignominy nor slander to be drunke so the monstrous seruitude and slauerie of sinne because it is so familiar and common to the worlde scarsly is knowen or noted in any man Ibidem As swine are a certaine heard of beasts that delighte in myre and durte and are nourished with the basest and most vncleane meates so the filthy soules of sinners are delighted with no other thing except with the most filthy durte of carnall pleasures Ibidem As wine is marred by vineger and fruites are spoiled of wormes and euery contrary is corrupted of his contrarie so also all the powers of our soule are disturbed and infected through sinne which is an especiall enimie and most contrarie to our soules Ibidem Euen as adultery is the most contrary thing to mariage so that which is most contrary to a godly and vertuous life is sin ibidem Euen as the rootes of trees beeing cut vp the boughes and braunches which receiue life from the rootes doe forthwith wither and perish so those seauen capitall sinnes which are wonte to be termed the seauen deadly sinnes which are the generall and vniuersall rootes of all other vices being hewen in sunder and vtterly eradicated out of our soules sodainly al the vices will die which are deriued from them Idem lib. 2. ducis peccat As the comedies of Plautus and Terence are at this day the very same Comedies which they were a thousand yeares agoe albeit the persons that then acted them be chaunged so the same vices which in times past were in the men of this and that condition are now also although perhaps the names be somewhat changed Ibidem As deadly poyson speedily pearceth the hearte killeth the spirites and bringeth death so sinne killeth the soule and speedily bringeth it to destruction Ibidem It is saide that thunder bruseth the tree but breaketh not the barke and pearceth the blade and neuer hurteth the scabberd euen so doth sin wound the heart but neuer hurte the eies and infect the soule though outwardlie it nothing afflict the body As the deuill is the father of sinne so sin is the mother of death As a man comes into a house by the gate so death came into the world by sinne As a fire goeth out when all the fewell is spente but burneth as long as that lasteth so death dieth when sin ceaseth but where sin aboundeth there death rageth As cursed Cham laughed to see Noahs nakednesse so the deuil loues it alife to see vs sinne As pride is far off from him that repenteth so humility is farre off from him that sinneth Marcus Heremita de his qui putant ex operibus iustificari A young man in a tauerne seeing Diogenes fled through shame further into it nay sayes Diogenes the further thou flyest into it the more thou art in the tauerne so sinfull men the more they hide themselues within themselues the more they are that they are but they must come out of themselues if they desire to auoid them selues Plutarchus in Moralibus The fish Ephimera is bred without engendering of the putrifaction of the earth and within three houres after it is bredde it dieth so sinne is bred beyond the course and order of nature of the corruption of the appetite and is extinguished by the three parts of repentance contrition confession and satisfaction F. Ioannes a S. Geminiano lib. 4. de natalibus et volatil c. 62. Drinke doeth kill a mouse as Aristotle saith so doth sinne kill the soule Idem lib. 5. de animalibus terrestribus cap. 35. As a mule is engendered against the course of nature so is sin engendered not of nature but it is a vice and an enormitie of nature desiring that which is not of the same order Ibidem cap. 93. Olde age is full of misery which bringeth a corporall death so sinne is full of misery which bringeth eternall death Idem lib. 6. de homine et membris eius c. 52. As there bee seuen kindes of leprosie so there are 7. capitall sinnes Ibidem 53. The best way to kill a meteriall serpent is to kil him in the head so the best way to kill the spirituall serpente is to kill him in the head that is to kill sinne in the beginning Venerabilis Beda Kill a cockatrice when he is an egge and he will not bite thee so kill sinne in the beginning and it will not hurt thee As foxes are to be killed when they are cubs so sin is to be beaten downe when it is growing As the Babylonians children were to be dashed against the stones so sinne is to be nipped in the bud Psal 137. Pride AS violent waters are prone to often eruptions becomming shalowest within their ordinary channels so proude persons are euermore capable of higher dignities though not well able to exercise their present meane offices As windes blow most fiercely when they are about to cease so men when they are most proude as Pope Iulius and Cardinall Woolsey then they are nearest to destruction As God is angry at them that imitate the thunder and lightening and doeth cast them into hell as hee cast Salmoneus so hee doeth disdaine the proude and loftie minded who emulate his greatnesse but doe not expresse his goodnesse Plutarchus in Moralibus If thou wilt put any good thing into bladders thou must first remoue the winde and aire out of them so thou must take all pride and swelling out of his minde whome thou meanest to teach Ibidem
this worlde ibidem As Ismael the sonne of Nathaniah did weepe with the friends of Godoliah whom hee had slaine so heretikes so do hypocrites weepe for that which they wish most harme vnto F. Ioannes a S. Geminiano libro 5. de animalibus terrestribus capite 72. A panther by the beauty of his skinne and sweete smell of his breath doth allure other beastes vnto him but by the fearefulnesse of his head he feareth them away whereupon he hideth his head till he hath laide hold on them that come to see him so heretikes and hypocrites outwardly pretending great sanctity and by the fame of their doctrine which they colour with deuotion and simplicity hiding the malicious heade of their corrupte intent they draw many simple and ignorant auditours vnto them and do destroy them with their poysonous doctrine ibidem As young Lyons doe teare and rent the wombe of their dammes in bringing them foorth so heretikes doe rende and teare in peeces the vnity of the church their mother who spiritually doeth bring them forth Idem libro 5. de animal terrest capite 108. When the time approacheth of the Vipers bringing foorth her young ones doe not stay the operation of nature but gnaw her sides in sunder and so come foorth with the destruction of their damme so heretikes being bredde in the wombe of the Church their mother not staying for nor sustaining her correction by rebellion doe depart from her and whilst they gnawe in sunder her vnity as much as lies in them they labour to bring her vnto destruction Ibidem Yong Panthers hating their dās do beat in peeces with their hooues the wombs of their dams because they resist their egresse and deliuerance wherupon a panther bringeth not forth but once so heretikes with their nailes that is with their malignāt doctrine do teare in peeces the vnitie of the church their mother because shee doeth resist their perfidy ibidem A Wolfe infecteth the wooll of that sheep he woorieth so that a garment made of it prooueth lousie as saith Isidore so an hereticke by his biting doth corrupt the simplicity of mans conuersation and maketh it to abounde with lice that is with corrupt workes ibidem Death AS he is to bee called a skilfull Phisitian that can so temper his medicine that it bringeth health which is the ende of his phisicke so is he to be termed truly wise who hath so learned to lead his life that a good death may follow As the hearbe colloquintida is most bitter so is the memory of death to a rich couetous man F. Ioannes a S. Geminiano lib. 3. de vegetabilib plant cap. 40. As Colloquintida doth stretch out her braches a far off so death doth stretch out himselfe so far that none can escape him ibid. As that Colloquintida is most poisonous and deadly which growes alone so is that death most feareful vpō which a pure consciēce true repētāce doth not attēd ibid. As that Colloquintida is good according to Macrus which is white so is that death which is religious ibidem As by a serpent the death of man came so by the death of man a serpent is ingendered that is of the marrowe of his backe bone as saith Hippocrates The beast Hyena hath the necke of a Viper the backe of an Elephant the greedines of a Wolfe the mane of a horse the voice of a man and is sometimes male and sometimes female so death is likened to a Viper for his swiftnesse to an Elephant for his force and violence to a Wolfe for his voracity to a horse for his vnbridlednesse to a man for his deceiptfulnesse and to male and female because it takes awaie both kindes As the ashes of a Scorpion drunk in wine is a remedy against the stinging of a Scorpion so the meditation of death is a remedy against sinne which is the cause of death Gemin lib. 5. de animal Terrest c. 80. As in sleepe there is no remembraunce of labours so the saintes by the sleepe of death do rest from their labors idem lib. 6. de homine Memb. eius cap. 45. As a man whilst he sleepeth feareth the power of no aduersary so the saints by the sleeep of death are taken out of the hands of al aduersaries and do enioy the security of eternal safety ibidem As a Waspe stinging a stone doth not hurt the stone but her selfe by loosing her sting so death lost his sting by running vpon life which is Iesus Christ Athanasius de passione domini As water falling vpon the earth is swallowed vp of it so that it is no more seen so a man by death falling into the earth is so consumed and destroyed that he is neuer founde againe in the condition of his mortall state Idiota de contemplatione mortis cap. 10. As all riuers runne into the sea so all they that come into this fluctuous life must enter into the sea of death For death is the punishmente of all the tribute of all the prison of all the conquerour of all and the receptacle of all Ibidem cap. 13. As he that woulde conquer a castle at the first doth make way to the ruine with his greater shot after hee doeth assault inuade and possesse it so dealeth death who first sendeth his battering shotte of greate sicknesse and infirmity which doth so vanquish and breake the naturall strength of the body that the soule can no longer defend her castle and then death seiseth vpon it Ludo. Granat l. 1. ducis peccat As for the biting of an aspe there is no remedy vnlesse the parts infected be cut away so certaine vices are healed onely by death Aristot. As pilgrims are cheerfully welcommed into Innes or lodginges yet ere their departing some account of expenses is made vnto them so though we haue a litle shew of pleasāt entertainment in this world yet at our deaths we must render a seuere and strict account for the same Stella de contemptu mundi As no man doth maruel that that is molten which might be melted or burnt which is combustile so to be dead is not to be maruelled at because we are mortall Plut. As borrowed money is willingly to be paide againe so our life which God hath lent vs is without repining to be rendered to him againe when he cals for it idem No man taketh it in ill part to haue a candle lighted but euery one misliketh to haue it put out so we reioice at a birth but sorrow at death Idem He that beyond measure is giuen to wine doeth also sucke vp the dregs so there are many that loue their liues so wel that they would not die no not in old age Sen. As he is more prosperous whom a speedy wind bringeth into the hauen then hee that in a calm is wearied vpon the sea so hee is more fortunate whom speedy death taketh out of the miseries of his life Seneca As fire burneth fiercely when it hath store of fewel but
dieth of his own accord when it lacketh matter so great is the difference betweene the death of young men and old men Seneca A sword-player fearfull in all the fight smiteth home growes valiant or rather desperate whē he seeth no way but death so death is feareful beeing far off but lesse dreaded being at hand Seneca As Swans seeing what good is in death do end their liues with singing so ought all good and honest men to do Cicero lib. 1. Tusc quaest Vnripe apples are hardly pulled from the Tree but being ripe they fall of their owne accord so force doth take life from young men but maturity ripenes from old men Idem de senectute They that speake euill of the deade are like vnto dogges that bite at stones cast at them but doe not touch them that hurte them Aristoteles in Rhetoricis ait Platonem huius similitudinis authorem esse As Croesus with al his wealth so Aristotle with all his wit and al men with al their wisedome haue and shall perish and turne to dust As Aristippus searched how to prolong his life so Socrates sought howe hee might yeeld to death As life is the gift of God so death is the due of nature and as we receiue the one as a benefite so must we abide the other of necssity As the bud is blasted as soone as the blowen rose and as the wind shaketh off the blossome as well as the fruite so death neither spareth the golden lockes nor the hoarie heade As a Bee stinging a dead body takes no hurt but stinging a liue body oft times looseth both sting and life together so death so long as it stung mortal men only which were deade in sinne was neuer a whit the worse but when it stung Christ once who is life it selfe by and by it lost both sting and strength As the brasen serpent was so farre from hurting the Israelites that contrariwise it healed them so death is now so farre from hurting any true Israelite that on the other side if affliction as a fierce serpent sting vs or if any thing else hurte vs presently it is helped and redressed by death Those which will needes play the hobgoblins or the night walking spirits as we call them all the while they speake vnder a hollow vault or leape forth with an vgly vizard vpō their faces they are so terrible that he which thinkes himselfe no small man may perhaps be afrighted with thē But if some lustie fellow chance to step into one of these and cudgel him well fauouredly and pull the vizard from his face then euery boy laughes him to scorne so death was a terrible bulbegger and made euery man afraid of him a great while but Christ dying buckled with this bulbegger and coniured him as I may say out of his hollow vault when as the dead comming out of the graues were seene in Ierusalem and puld the vizard from his face when as he himselfe rising left the linnen cloathes which were the vizard of death behinde him Doctor Playfer As that asse called Cumanus Asinus ietting vp and downe in a Lions skin did for a time terrifie his maister but afterwardes being descried did benefit him very much so death stands now like a silly asse hauing his Lions skin pulde ouer his eares and is so far from terrifying any that it benefites all true Christians because by it they rest from their labours and if they be oppressed with troubles or cares whē they come to death they are discharged All the while Adam did eat any other fruite which God gaue him leaue to eate he was nourished by it but when hee had tasted of the forbidden tree he perished so death had free leaue to deuoure any other man Christ onely excepted but when it wente about to destroy Christ then it was destroyed it selfe Those barbarous people called Canibals which feed onely vpon raw flesh especially of men if they happen to eate a peece of rosted meate commonly they surfeit of it and die so the right Caniball the onely deuourer of all mankind death I meane tasting of Christes flesh and finding it not to be rawe such as it was vsed to eat but holsome and heauenly meat indeed presently tooke a surfet of it and within 3. daies died As when Iudas had receiued a soppe at Christs hand anon after his bowels gushed out so death being so sawcie as to snatch a sop as it were of Christs flesh and a litle bit of his bodie was by and by like Iudas choaked and strangled with it and faine to yeeld it vp again when Christ on Easter day reuiued Sharpe frosts bite forward springs Easterly winds blasteth towardly blossomes so cruel death spareth not those whom we our selues liuing cannot spare as it spared not king Edward the sixt nor sir Philip Sidney who could neuer haue liued too long As madnes and anger differ nothing but in continuance and length of time so neither doe death and sleepe The Deuill AS the Lion that killed the disobedient Prophet returning from Bethel did neither teare his deade body nor hurt his Asse after the same maner is the power of the Diuel being a roaring Lion restrained and kept within limits so that he can extend his furie no further then God giueth him leaue As they that would haue dogs come vnto thē allure thē with bread or flesh so the diuel allureth soules vnto him with pleasures and riches Clemens Alexand. lib. 2. strom As a fish snatching at the bait not seeing the hooke is taken so the Diuell hauing the power of death greedily carrying Iesus vnto death and not seeing the hooke of his diuinitie included in him was caught and ouerthrowne himselfe Idem in Symb. Apost As one night is sufficient to bring darknesse ouer the whole world so the Prince of darkenes is sufficient to disturbe al mortall creatures Macarius hom 5. As Endiue is like vnto Lettice yet the one is sweete the other bitter so the diuel somtimes sheweth himselfe like an Angell of light yet the one is glorious the other vgly and deformed Idem hom 7 As a man and a woman commits corporall fornication so the diuell and the soule commits spirituall fornication Idem hom 15. As Sericants wait for the arest of men indebted so diuels waite to arest sinfull soules Idem hom 43. As a strong stone wall resisteth a dart so faith resisteth the diuel Greg. Nazian oratione in sanctum Cyprianum As a dog stayeth still vnder the Table if hee finde any fallings but departeth if hee find none so the diuell doth continually gape vpon vs if hee get any blasphemous worde he stayeth still but if thou lettest no sins passe from thee hee will leaue thee Chrysost concione 3. de Lazaro As Pirats set vpon rich loaden ships but passe by them that be emptie so the diuell assaileth them that be stuffed with vertues but he lets wicked worldlings and mammonists liue in quiet Idem hom 4. de