the third shall be in eternall torments within their bodies at the Resurrection which Resurrection shall be of men both iust and vniust but not of beasts Eightly Whether may death be said to be euill Thales said that death was no more euill then a mans natiuitie wherefore being asked by one that heard him say so Cur igitur tu non moreris Why doe not you die then Thales Hee made him this wittie answere Ob hoc ipsum quia nihil refert Potius enim habetur quod accersitur which is as if he should haue said The reason why I die not and forsake my life is because there is no difference betwixt life and death one is not better then another for that is counted the better which is desired If therfore I should hasten mine owne death it might be well supposed that I doe account death better then life whereas I make no difference betweene them But to passe by this conceit of Thales that we may answere rightly to the question we must distinguish Death considered simply by it selfe and as it is an effect of sinne is euill for if life bee good then death must needes be euill and if it bee an euill to bee in Hell tormented then to an euill man death must needes bee euill because by death his soule is brought into affliction in hell and hee altogether depriued of those benefits of life which hee did before enioy But death beeing considered as bereaued of her sting which is sinne and as it is sanctified by the death of Christ to be the dore of life vnto his members it is not in this respect euill but rather good Chrysostome saith well Mors nonest malum sed post mortem poenas dare malum est Death is not euill but to suffer punishmēt after death is euill Death is an euil not in regard of gods iustice for so it is good but it is euill to him that suffers it for it is a punishment and a very curse to the wicked But vnto the godly it is become a benefit the graue is as a bed Death is as a sleepe and the soule is at peace vvith Christ 9. Whether is the day of a mans birth or death the better I answere if a mans birth and death bee simplie considered surely it is better to be borne then to dye Melius est nasci quà m denasci But if wee remember how we are borne in sinne how we sinne as long as we liue and that our life is full of crosses and if withall we doe remember that death if wee die Gods Seruants doth deliuer vs from all worldly euilles both of sinne and sorrow and is the meane whereby our soules are brought vnto the Cape of Hope and Hauen of pleasing rest then surely wee may say with Salomon the day of death is better then the day that one is borne in melius esse denasci quam nasci 10. Whether is better to dye quickely or to liue long I answere it is better for a Reprobate to dye betimes euen in the cradle then to liue till olde age because his sinne increaseth with his yeeres and his punishment shall bee answerable to his sinne But for an Elect and godly man to dye quickly is better then to liue long and not better It is the better in this sense because he is the sooner deliuered from sin and sorrow it is not so good in another regard namely because by his long life hee may doe much good vnto others and hee may come to such grouth of grace to shew forth such abundance of good workes as that his glory in the life to come may be much augmented for as we doe excell in grace in this world so we shall exceede in glorie in the world to come 11. Whether is it lawfull for a man to hasten his death that he might bee the sooner vvith Christ I answere wee may not do euill that good may come of it The end makes not an act good but the good ground of it the good forme and the good end together Thou shalt not kill saith God as not another so not thy selfe Non est nostrum mortem arripere It is not for vs saith Saint Hierome to catch at death but to accept it willingly if others inflict it Vnde in persecutionibus non licet propriâ manu perire Wherefore also when wee are persecuted it is vnlawfull to kill our selues 12. Whether is it lawfull to desire death or no I answer thus To desire death merely for deaths sake and onely or principally to be rid of grieuances is a certaine weakenesse and vnlawfull But to desire death to be deliuered from all sinne and to be with Christ and in the last place to bee rid of crosses and annoyances so long as we referre all to the good pleasure of our God it is vndoubtedly lawfull and according to Paules ensample It was well said by Saint Austen Potest iustus iustè optare mortem in vitâ amarissimâ si non concedat iustum pativitam amarissimam a iust man may iustly wish for death when his life is full of Wormewood but if God grant not this iust it is to suffer this most bitter life 13. Whether may a man pray against death I answere to pray against death as it is the stipend of sin it is allowable againe to pray against death till a man haue learned how to dye is lawfull prouided that he studie and desire to be prepared and instructed to pray against death till a man haue effected some good worke which hee desired to see done before his death generally if a mans endes of his deprecation of death be good it is lawfull for him to pray against it Prouided that hee commit all to the will of God resting himselfe therwith content resoluing with Iob that though the Lord doe kill him yet to put his confidence in him and so long as his breath is in him to speake no wickednesse nor to forsake his righteousnesse 14. Whether is death to be feared When thou hast walked much and long saith Seneca thou must returne home It is folly to feare that which thou canst not auoide hee hath not escaped death who hath deferred it Hac conditione intraui vt exirem I came into the world vvith this condition to goe forth againe Therefore for a man to torture himselfe with the feare of Death and as it were to dye for feare least hee should dye is basenesse of Spirit and vnchristian But yet altogether to be without feare of death is not good for death beeing against Nature doubtlesse Nature cannot but something feare it and for a man nothing to feare it is a certaine oppression of Nature Besides the feare of death if moderate and mixed with Faith in the Death of Christ doth further to repentance and
erit He which by repentance purgeth away his sinne shall be partaker and saith Saint Austen of Angelicall happinesse for euer Now a true penitent person must bee thus disposed First hee must plainely and from his heart confesse his sinnes to God Secondly he must earnestly beg pardon of his sinne desiring God for Christ to bee reconciled to him Thirdly hee must resolue fully to leaue his sinues and to practise all holy and honest duties If the wicked will returne from all his sinnes and doe that which is lawfull and right he shall surely liue and shall not dye It is not inough to set himselfe against one fault but against all all all without exception of any For one wing belimed may cause the whole bird to be taken and one discase may bee the death of all the bodie so one vnrepentant of knowne enormitie euen one though there were no more may yea and will bee the ruine of the soule the destruction of the sinner Fourthly where an iniury is done vnto our neighbours there ought wee to seek reconcilement and to giue them satisfaction For hee that hauing offended man seekes not to be reconciled to him doubtles shall neuer truely be at peace with God Briefely hee that would shew himselfe a true penitent must be truly grieued because his repentance is so poore his deuotion so cold and his life so bad Thirdly hee that would dye comfortably in Christ should liue obediently to Christ For hee that obeyeth not the sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Now he that will proue his obedience vnto Christ the Lord must shew it vnto the Bishops and Ministers of the Church his Seruants speaking vnto them in his Name according to his Lawe Obey them saith the Holy Ghost which haue the ouersight of you and submit your selues Certainely they that dishonour disobey and disdaine them dishonour disobey and disdaine Christ their Maister Fourthly it behooues vs to weine our affections from the world for the pleasures and vanities of the world are very bandes and boltes vnto our soules if wee wed our selues vnto them and they vvill make vs altogether vnwilling to depart Fiftly doe good vnto the poore and afflicted members of Christ Iesus pray for them visite them and aduise them help them feede them cloth them harbour them By mercy and trueth iniquitie shall be forgiuen saith Salomon Charge them that are rich saith Paul that they bee rich in good workes and be ready to distribute and communicate laying vp in store for them a good foundation against the time to come that they may obtaine eternall life That which is giuen to pore christians because they be christians is giuen vnto Christ himselfe who will recompence our temporall gifts with eternal glory Pore christians are as a rich fieldif the rich will sow the seede of their charitable almesdeedes on them they shal by the heauens blessing receiue a plentiful crop of eternall happines On the contrarie he shuts against himselfe the doores of Gods mercy who will shew no mercy to his afflicted brother Sixtly he that would haue comfort in his death ought to liue or at least to die in the loue and reuerent affection to the Church of Christ neither meane I onely the Catholique Church part whereof is triumphing in heauen and a part warring on earth but that true visible Church in which hee is borne and baptised and to the obedience whereof he is most properly called For I doe very much doubt of the saluation of all such as dye vnreconciled to the church out of loue with that church vnto the loue and obedience wherof God doth call them Let our Papists therefore Brownists aud such like spirits take heede vnto themselues how they liue and dye out of loue and loyalty to this church of England whereof they should be louing and obedient members but vnto which indeede they stand ill-affected disobedient and vndutifull They malice her they write and speake against her they speake euill of her and of her chiefest members I meane not to dispute of her lawfulnes and trueth this is all I say if shee be found to be a true Church of Christ as it will appeare one day I doe much feare that these her enemies her slanderers her disobedient and vnruly children will not bee able to stand vnconfounded before her Head Husband Christ Iesus who then will recompence to euery one according to his workes euen euerlasting life to them which through patience in well-doing seeke glorie and honour and immort alitie but vnto them that are Contentious and disobey the trueth indignation and wrath It behooues vs therefore for our better assurance of comfort and saluation to know the true Church and to cleaue vnto it beeing knowne Seuenthly let a man set his house in order and dispose of his estate It was the last wise work which Achitophel performed And finally when death seemeth to approch if it giue him any warning as vsually it doth let him commend his soule with Steuen into the hands of Christ Lord Iesus receiue my Spirit crauing for mercie and not forgetting that the ioyes of Heauen after which he gaspeth are farre more compleat and are able to giue a thousand times more true contentment to the soule of man then all the transitorie pleasures profits and preferments of this world can doe He that is thus composed for death shall not dye but liue for euer his death shall bee as a pleasant sleepe his graue as a bed and his soule shall rest in peace with Christ till the time appointed for the Resurrection of our bodies bee fulfilled Oh that men would thinke of these things practise these things Wouldst thou haue comfort in thy death then seeke and sue for comfort in thy life Wouldst thou bee armed against the feare of death then dye betimes to sinne Death is a Serpent her sting is Sinne pull out the sting by true repentance and thou needst not feare the Serpent Death can not hurt thee if thou hurt not thy selfe by Sinne. Death is not Interitus Death to the penitent Introitus but an entrance into heauen and the way is made and the doore is opened by true repentance and by Faith in Christ who is the Sunne of our glorie and the Saluation of our soule by whose death letum delethum mortua mors est death is defaced and dead it selfe But wouldst thou giue hope of the truth of thy turning then turne whilest thou maist runne on repent when thou mightest yet sinne deferre not thy turning till thy death least it be thought that the world doth forsake thee and not thou the world and that sinne rather leaues thee then thou dost leaue sinne and that the cause of this turning is not the loue of GOD and godlinesse but the feare of death and the apprehension of
A DISCOVRSE OF DEATH BODILY GHOSTLY AND ETERNALL NOR VNFIT FOR SOVLDIERS Warring Seamen sayling Strangers trauelling Women bearing nor any other liuing that thinkes of DYING BY THOMAS TVKE PSAL. 89. 48. What man liueth and shall not see death shall he deliuer his soule from the hand of the Graue ECCL 14. 17. All flesh waxeth old as a garment and this is the condition of all times Thou shale die the death IOB 17. 13. The graue shall be my house and I shall make my bed in the darke LONDON Printed by William Stansbie for George Norton 1613. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL SIR IOHN LEVENTHORPE Knight and to the right-vertuous Ladie the Ladie IOANE LEVENTHORPE his louing Wife ⸪ RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL many write and many more doe speake of Death and it were not much if as many wrote thereof as could write at all For it is the Way that all must walke in and although to all it be either very fortunate or very fatall yet of the most it is forgotten till it seeme to seize vpon them yea euen we that speake and write about it are sometimes too vnmindful of it perhaps then also when we speake and write vpon it But howsoeuer wee doe forget it it will bee sure to remember vs. It hath been wisely said that to speake and thinke often and seriously of hell is a good meane to saue the soule from hell so I suppose that a sad and sober thinking and remembring of bodily death will bee a blessed helpe to keepe the soule and bodie from eternall death It is strange to see the feares of many yet euen the fearefull sometimes shew small feare of death except then when it is to bee embraced Others well neare with the feare of death are brought to death Some will not beginne to liue till they feele themselues beginne to die And how many are there that are a-fraid of death and yet dare play with the sting of death It were no great matter to handle a Snake when her poysoning tooth is pulled out but to flie a Snake and in the meane time not to feare that which makes her venome were I wot not well whether more base or foolish I know not why death should not be counted terrible whiles her venomous and killing tooth is in her head but that being once pulled out why shee should affright a man I see no reason For why should he feare death whom death doth helpe not hurt and ease rather then end Hee that dies whiles he liues liues whiles he is dead yea and that death at last shall meet with death it selfe Certainly death cannot be ill to him that liues well neither is that worthie the name of death which is made the doore of life Yet I finde the vertuous sometimes appalled with her grisly lookes They are loth to part that haue liued long together and a man can scarce without some reluctation forsake the house wherein he was bred and hath euer liued since he liued to dwell in another though a better Countrie But me thinks the delicacie of the place the affluence of all good things there amongst these the fellowship of the Saints the presence of that louing and beloued Sauiour the fruition of the All-sufficient God together with a certaine expectation of a ioyfull returne at last should satisfie the departing Soule and settle her vnruly passions As for you Right Worshipfull I doubt not but that God to whom you striue to liue hath taught you both ere now to die I write not these things therefore as intending to instruct you but rather to shew that the memorie of your loue doth liue within me and as one desirous by putting you in minde of those things which ye know alreadie that whiles you liue the remembrance of them might not die Read them at your leysure and enioy them And that God vnder whom they were begunne and ended giue a blessing to them vnto whose sauing grace I do commend you both beseeching him in Christ Iesus to vouchsafe you his loue while ye liue on earth and to crowne you after death with eternall life in heauen London St. Clem. Ann. 1612. Nouember 5. A day neuer to bee forgotten of true English hearts Your Worships to be commanded in the Lord Thomas Tuke To the Reader I Suppose there is not one thing more common and lesse thought of then death All men must die yet most men liue as if they thought they should neuer die Wherein men are very iniurious to them selues the sad and setled remembrance of death being a notable furtherance of Repentance and a profitable meane to keepe vs from eternall death For I pray you why should man lift vp himselfe against his Maker who ere long must fall into the earth Why should we be proud and insolent who are but dust Why should we insult ouer any man because wee surpasse him in wit wealth strength honor beautie Are we not all food for the Wormes Will not death knocke all our bones together Is not our life a breath a bubble Why should a man pinne his heart to the earth and set his loue on the World Shall not the earth deuoure him Will not the world forsake him Shee is certaine in nothing but in vncertainetie vncertaine in nothing but in her certainetie If she doe not him yet of necessitie Hee must forsake her We are here but Pilgrims and Forrainers Mors manet omnes and we know not how soone our Pilgrimage will end neither can we carrie the world away with vs. We come naked and we go naked Why then should we wed our soules to the World Riches pleasures wife children friends honors and all the things that the world can afford are all mutable momentanie mortall but mans soule is immortall wherefore then should it be set vpon these things Why not vpon God who is an immortall and immutable Good only indeede able to giue true and full contentment to the soule And finally why should men wallow in their sinnes and deuote themselues vnto their lusts Shall we not all die And as the tree falleth so shall it lie In what estate we die in that we shall be iudged Oh that we would therefore remember our latter end Oh that wee would number our dayes and thinke of our death that we might apply our hearts vnto wisdome Lie is vncertaine Death is most certaine if men could duly meditate of this that is most certaine they could not abuse and mispend that so much which is precious but most vncertaine But besides that all men must once die euen by the course of nature death being by sinne bred in the bone and will neuer out of the flesh God who hath the keyes of life and death in his hand doth by many meanes bring men vnto their ends and sometimes he doth punish vngodly wretches by vntimely and vnexpected death shewing his anger by the manner and occasion of his punishing Famous were the Iudgements of
prey vnto her All is fish that comes vnto her net The Lambes skinne is common in the market as well as the old sheepes Mors fagacem persequitur virum nec paroit imbellis iuuentae poplit ibus timidoque tergo Death followes him that flies him and spateth not young folkes though fearefull of him Serius aut citius sedem properamus ad vnam First or last we must all die Yea but the beautifull peraduenture may finde better fauour No doubtlesse Rebecca Bathsheba Ester Helena Irene were goodly creatures Absalon and Achilles were gallants yet all these with many moe are dead and gone Asahel was as swift as a Roe yet death out-went him won him Goliah was a great fellow but death was the greater Achitophel was verie politicke and subtile Aristotle learned Aesop wittie Mithridates a good linguist but they bee dead all Rich and poore Craessus as well as Codrus wise and foolish high and low young and old bond and free all men must die Omnia peribunt sie ibimus ibitis ibunt All must away I thou and euerie man besides Intrasti vt exires we came all into the world to go out againe Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis No phisicke can preuent death no charme can let it no wile can catch it no bribe can blinde it no griefe can moue it no least can abash it no place no pleasure no man no meanes can stay it All goe to one place and all was of the dust and all shall returne to the dust Shall all men then die haue all men then in former ages died Surely Saint Paul directed by God doth tell the Corinthes that All meaning them that liue at the verie laste gaspe of the world shall not die but all must be changed by which sodaine change they shall be stript of all corruption and mortalitie And againe if euer any man in former daies haue not died or if any man shall be translated without death into heauen as Enok and Elias who are now in their glorified bodies with Christ in heauen it must be confessed that such a translation and assumption is of meere fauour by a singular priuiledge and not common for commonly all men do die and come not into heauen till they haue beene dead In like manner if any man haue beene or shall be smitten into hell aliue in bodie as Romulus who by a diuell was carried away in a mighty tempest of thunder lightning or peraduenture Abiram and Dathan this is to be counted to be by a singular and extraordinarie iudgement for ordinarily all wicked men doe die before they goe into hell Hauing spoken of the Subiects of death we come now to speake of the time and number thereof where we are to note these things First that God in his counsell hath determined the yeare the moneth the weeke the day yea the verie houre minute and moment of euery mans death that dieth He that denies this denies the prouidence of God Secondly this time prefined by God for death cannot be auoided by man or prorogued For the counsell of God shall stand saith Esay and his purpose shall be performed Euen Homer brings in his Iupiter affirming 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that whatsoeuer he doth will shall irreuocably and vndoubtedly be fulfilled Seeing therefore the day of death is defined in the decree of God it is not to be imagined that any man can euer die sooner or tarrie longer then the time by God appointed Certa quidem finis vitae mortalibus adstat Nec deuitari lethum pete quin obeamus A certain terme of life to each there is appointed And die we must death cannot be avoided Lanificas nulli tres exorare puellas Contigit obseruant quem statuere diem The purpose of God doth stand vnalterable His day for our death he keepes vnchangeable For though it be true that the Scripture saith of Hezekiah that God added fifteene yeares vnto his daies yet it is not meant as if God did alter his eternal purpose cōcerning Hezekias his death but gaue strength vnto nature now decayed in him by reason of his grieuous disease so as he should be able by his grace to hold out fifteene yeares longer not longer then God had from eternitie determined but longer then he now had reason to looke for being wasted and worne with sicknesse and sorrow Thirdly the time of deathes comming is not to all alike or the same for one dieth old another in his full strength and from some Prima quae vitam dedit hora carpsit the houre that first gaue them life did also take away their life Fourthly no man can tell certainly how long he shall liue nor certainly foretell the verie time of his death vnlesse God doe teach him or vnlesse death be present and visible in his causes Quis est quamuis sit adolescens cui sit exploratum se ad vesperum esse victurum Who is there saith Tullie though he a youth who is certaine of his life till euening Fiftly death is a dayly attendant Mors quasi saxum Tantalo semper impendet It hangs and houers ouer vs alwaies There is not one moment of life without some motion vnto death We die daily saith Seneca for euerie day we loose some part of our life Et tunc quoque cum crescimus vita decrescit and euen then when we do increase our life doth decrease Hunc ipsum quem agimus diem cum morte diuidimus this verie day which now we liue in we diuide with death And as euerie man doth carrie death about him in his forerunnrs euen so also euery man the longer he carries it the nearer he is to it as a glasse the longer it runnes the sooner its runne out lesse sand remaining in it Sixtly death befalles one man ordinarily but once It is appointed to men that they shall once die saith the Apostle Et calcanda semel via lethi the way of death must once be trodden saith Horace Yet some we doubt not but that they haue died twise as Lazarus and the man that rose from death when the Prophets dead bodie toucht him as hee lay in his graue and some others also but this was extraordinarie Thus much for the time and number of death I will adde heere moreouer two things first that it is an easie thing for a man to be depriued of his life secondly that as death doth leaue vs so the iudgement of God in the latter day shal find vs. Of the easinesse of deaths comming we neede no long discourse experience shewes that men are many waies easily brought to death Our nature is verie fraile of it selfe and besides subiect to many exterior anuoyances Nonne fragiliores sumus quà m si vitrei essemus Are wee not more brittle saith Saint Austen then if we were of glasse Vitrum enim
sanctimonie of life and quasi clauis carnis omnes motus superbiae ligno crucis affigit doth fasten all proud and carnall motions as it were with nayles vnto the Crosse Againe the moderate feare of Death makes vs meditate the deeper of it nihil sic reuocat a peccato quà m frequens mortis meditatio and nothing saith Saint Austen doth so much recall a man from sin as doth the often meditation of his death And finally there is no better way to vanquish the terrible aspect of death approching then a well tempered feare of Death before it doe come Sic mors ipsa cum venerit vincitur si prius quam veniat semper timeatur Death when it comes is ouercome if before it doe come it be alwaies feared 15 Whether is the suddennesse of death in it selfe an euill I answer if the death be not euil the suddē cōming of it is not euil Anselm saith wel Nō nocet bonis c. It is not hurtful to good men though they be slain or die suddenly non enim subito moriuntur qui semper se cogitauerunt morituros for they die not suddenly which haue alwayes thought they should die Precious in the sight of the Lord alwayes is the death of his Saints as it is said Quacunque hora iustus moriatur iustitia eius non auferetur ab eo Whensoeuer a righteous man dieth his righteousnesse shall not bee taken from him And as the Common saying is Qualis vita finis ita a good life hath a good end how sudden soeuer it falleth out 16 Whether is it vnlawfull to lament the death of Parents Children Friends Kinsfolkes and honest Christians Not to bee grieued at all for their death is a sinne to be lamented with griefe of heart For they are our flesh wee haue inioyed comfort by them and are now depriued of it and their life sometimes is very profitable to the Church and Kingdome To grieue then is a thing both naturall and honest Contristamur sayth Austen set non sicut caeteri Wee sorrow but not as others that are hopelesse Non culpamus affectum sayth Bernard but excessum wee accuse not the affection but the excesse Saint Paul forbidding the Thessalonians to sorrow for the dead doth not simply forbid all sorrow but Sorrow not sayth he as other that haue no hope For if we beleeue that Iesus is dead and is risen euen so them which sleepe in Iesus will God bring with him And hee himselfe professeth that God had mercie on him in sparing Epaphroditus Least quoth hee I should haue sorrow vpon sorrow What should I heape vp the examples of Abraham mourning for his wife Sarah of the Israelites for Samuel of the Machabees for Iudas their noble Captaine of Dauid for Ionathan of the Widowes for Dorcas of Martha for Lazarus Infinite are examples hereof But this our mourning must bee moderate and mixed with hope For they are not amissi but praemissi lost but sent before vs. And Sapiens eodem animo fert illorum mortem quo suam expectat a wiseman will take their death as hee doth expect his owne Filium meum memini me genuisse mortalem moriturum Thy child that 's borne to day and dies to morrow Looseth some daies of rest but yeares of sorrow Thou loosest wife and friends and parents deare The Heauens find them though thou loose them here 17 But of all the meanes of death which are very many which doth death most certainely follow and attend Seneca shall giue the answere Other kindes of death sayth he are mingled with hope A disease endeth a fire is extinguished a man escapes a ruine which was likely to haue opprest him the Souldier being readie to cut the necke asunder held his hand back nil autem habet quod speret quem senectus ducit ad mortem but there is no hope of escaping lest for him whom Old-age leadeth vnto death 18 Of all that die who commonly forget themselues and die without sound repentance The sinner sayth Caesarius is smitten with this punishment Vt moriendo obliuiscatur sui qui viuens oblitus est Dei that hee should forget himselfe at his death who forgot God in his life Et vix benè moritur quimalé vixit and he that liued ill sayth Saint Austen doth scarcely die well 19 Whom to is death most terrible and vnwelcome Surely to those whose GOD is their Belly whose portion is the world whose end is damnation and whose conscience affrights them Death sayth Tully is terrible to those who loose all thinges with their life not vnto them whose praise is immortall 20 Who die most cheerefully and with least discomfort They questionlesse whose conscience witnesseth with them Venientem nemo hilaris mortem recipit nisi qui se ad illam rectè composuerit No man giues death a cheerefull welcome when it comes but hee that hath rightly prepaired himself for her Hee dies most readily that liued most religiously 21 Is there any thing in the world more certaine and withall more vncertaine then death No verily What sayth Saint Bernard in humane things is there more certaine then death and what is found more vncertaine then the houre of death Shee pitties not pouertie shee reuerenceth not riches she spareth not wisdome manners age nisi quod senibus mors est in ianuis iuvenibus vero in insidijs sauing that death lookes olde men full in the face but lies skulking to take yongmen napping at vnawares 22 Doth death make no difference betweene the bodies of the rich and the poore the noble and the simple And are all these worldly differences among men become dead by death We are all borne naked saith Saint Ambrose and wee die naked there is no difference among the carkasses of the dead vnlesse perhaps the bodies of rich men doe sauour more strongly by reason of their riot And as a Marchants Counters vpon his counting table may stand for a greater or lesser number as he pleaseth but are all alike when they are shuffled together and put in the bagge euen so these earthly differences which were amongst men whiles they liued vpon earth doe all take their end and die when death hath once shuffled them together on heapes in the graue Alphonsus asked what made all men equall answered Ashes 23. But of all kindes of death which is the best and worst Doubtlesse of the best the death is the best and of the worst the death is the worst Of the death of good men I suppose the death of Martyrs to bee the best because it is indured with shew of the greatest vertues and as I thinke is best rewarded and they lose that for God which is most deare to nature namely life And of Malefactors their death is the worst simply who haue liued
and vexations according to that of the Scripture The righteous are taken away from the euill They rest from their labours and their workes follow them But yet here is some dissimilitude in two other respects For first the hauen entertaines and comforts all whether good or bad but death affords no true rest no true comfort but to the godly onely For much more miserable are the wicked after death as may appeare by the parable of the rich Epicure in the Gospel Secondly saylers tarry not long in the hauen but put forth again when they see conuenient into the Seas a fresh but men when they once come into Deathes Hauen there they continue till God will there they tarry and neuer returne more into this mortall life they neuer come more vpon this glassie Sea vnlesse it bee by an extraordinarie worke of God He shall returne no more to his house saith Iob neither shall his place know him againe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diseases come and goe and returne againe but death comes but once neither did any man euer see saith Agathias a dead man to come againe Let the holy Land bee excepted and it will not bee denyed I thinke except perhaps in Troas once a dead man was by Paul reuiued Thirdly Death is compared to the Night For as the night is the priuation of the light so death is the priuation of life as the night followes vpon the going downe of the Sunne which is the fountaine of light so death ensueth the departure of the soule which is the Author of life But yet here also is some oddes for the night comes and goes and comes againe the Sunne doth set and rise againe but when our life is gone when our death is come wee returne no more to a life with men on earth our night endes not our Sunne riseth not vntil that determined time of the Resurrection be fulfilled which how long or how soone it will be before it bee expired God that hath appointed all times and seasons can onely tell Furthermore Death is compared to a Medicine or Remedie for it cures all crosses it is a salue for all sores a medicine for all maladies and the remedie of all calamities Quae morbos placat pauperiemque leuat But heere is the difference a man may chuse whether he will vse a medicine or no but death will not be denyed cannot be eschewed Dat cunctis legem recipit cum paupere regem And where as medicines are applyed during the residence of the Soule in the bodie this medicine is the reliction of the bodie the discession of the Soule out of the bodie Againe Death is like Fire that saith not It is inough so is Death vnsaturable it is not contented with those infinite millions which it hath alreadie deuoured but still waiteth to swallow vp more Indeede here is great diuersitie in another respect For there is no fire made by man but it will either bee put out or goe out but death is a fire that man by sinne hath kindled which hee is not able to extinguish neither will it dye of it selfe Christ alone is able to slake it with his bloud he will be the death of death Moreouer death is likened to an Haruester vvith his Sickle cutting downe the corne without partialitie or respect so death moweth down all and spareth none Mors resecat mors omne necat nullumque veretur it cuts vp all killes all feares none And as the Haruester cuts downe the corne but is not cut vp himselfe of the corne neither can bee so death takes away all but it selfe is kild of none Mors mordet omnes mordetur a nullo it bites all it deuoures all it is bitten it is deuoured of none Yet here also is something vnlike For Haruesters tarry till the corne bee ripe but death stayes not alwaies till men come to ripenesse of age but like a woman that longs puls the greene Apple off before it bee halfe ripe or like hungry Cattell which croppe vp corne as soone as it sproutes vp Pelles quot pecorum tot venduntur vitulorum Infants dye as well as old men the Calues skinne is as vsually sold in the market as the old Cowes and the Lambe goes to the shambles as well as the Ewe Seuenthly death is compared to a cruell Tyrannesse that pities neither age nor sexe and so death altogither pitilesse spareth neither man nor vvoman neither yong nor old Esops wit Irenes beautie Tullies tongue the Infancie of Dauids first child by Bathsheba no respect whatsoeuer can withstand death obtaine her fauour Indeede here is a difference for as Iuuenall saith Ad generum Cereris sine caede vulnere pauci Descendent reges sicca morte tyranni few tyrants scape vnmurdered but no man can tyrannize ouer death no man can kill her Hee that could kill a thousand with an Assesiaw could not kill death with all his weapons Euulsisque truncis Enceladus iaculator audax Hee if any such that could pull vp trees by the rootes and cast them like dartes could not strike a dart through death And they that haue beene most skilfull in poysons could not saue themselues from the poison of death and poison her no sinner can subdue her Moreouer death is compared to a woman winged For death is fruitfull and very swift it often takes men ere they bee aware and like a Serieant is at their backes before they looke for her Againe death is like the Sea which is terrible not to bee drained not to bee turned out of his channell and which breaking bankes and preuailing without mercy carries all away with it which it meetes with And as into the Sea so vnto death there are many vvayes and meanes to bring men Besides it is compared to the Lyon in the fable to whose denne many beasts went but none returned so many die but from death to life again we see no man to returne It accepts as many as comes but like a couetous niggard it keepes all and parts with none Finally death is compared to Sleepe Homer calles Sleep the Brother of death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And Diogenes being wakened out of a dead Sleepe and asked of his Physitian how he did answered I am well Nam frater fratrem amplectitur for one brother embraceth another And Gorgias beeing neere vnto death and sleepic if any man askt him how hee did returned this answere I am somnus incipit me fratri suo tradere Sleepe begins now to deliuer me to his brother meaning death Which two are something alike For death is common as sleepe and a dead man is depriued of worldly cares and is at rest in his soule if godly and his bodie lyeth in the graue as in a bed but yet a man sleeping is not wholly depriued of the vse of his bodie for the pulses beate
the stomacke digesteth and the breath comes goes but death depriues a man wholly for a time of all vse of his body Againe a man wakes out of his sleepe and returnes vnto the workes of his calling a fresh but a dead man wakes not to the workes of his former life neither can hee bee awakened out of the sleepe of death but by the power of God of whom alone the day of our resurrection is seene and knowne Thus much for the things where vnto death may be compared There remaine certaine Questions concerning death worthy to bee soiled which I remembred not in time to set in their more proper places neither are they here so methodically digested as plainely resolued First it may bee demanded whether any death may be said to be naturall seeing it destroyes life which is according to nature Quae cupit suum esse which delights still to be I answere a thing is said to be naturall more waies then one Death being simply in it selfe considered is not naturall but forasmuch as that which doth necessarily follow the nature of a thing and hath the beginning or ground of his existence therein to which that which is violent is opposed is called naturall That death therefore which followes the consumption and dissipation of the naturall moysture by the naturall heat seeing it comes of causes which are within the bodie in that respect is called naturall Secondly it may againe be asked what naturall death is properly I answere that properly is called naturall death when naturall heat faileth by reason that the moysture is dried vp by it as a lamp goeth out when the oyle is spent And this death is with much ease and with little or no paine as Aristotle writeth Thirdly it may be asked what violent death is properly I answere that is called violent death when by accident eyther the moysture is drawne out of the bodie or the heat extinguished by some inward or outward violence and oppression Inward violence is by poyson gluttonie drunkennesse or such excesse as when a lampe is drowned in the oyle Outward violence is when a man is strangled with an halter as a fire sodainely choaked with some huge heape of earth or ashes throwne vpon it and many moe oppressions of life there are of this kinde So that taking violent death in this largenesse of sense it will appeare that fewe die a naturall death Fourthly it may be demanded when a man doth die or when the soule doth leaue the bodie I answere then when there is a defect of those instruments of the soule whereby life is prolonged When the bodie is become vnfit for the soule to worke with then doth the soule forsake the bodie which it loues most dearely and not before Death comes not by the impatience fickle-mindednesse of the soule but by reason of the impotencie and vnaptnesse of the bodie as a workeman leaues his toole when it is become altogether vnfit for his vse Fiftly but whence is it that one man dieth sooner then another that nature failes in one sooner then in another I answere the highest reason hereof is Gods decree but the Principall naturall cause of the length of life is first a fit composition of heat and moysture in the sinewes marrow spirits c. And secondly the long and fortunate continuance of this good temper which being interrupted by diseases and other oppressiōs death necessarily follows a mans life is ended as an artificers occupation then endes of necessitie when his tooles are worne and past working with Sixtly whether natural death be by no meanes to be auoided if a man escape violence seeing that the radicall humour as it wasteth may be repaired by nurriture and therewith maintained I answer that the radicall humour may indeed by nourishment be daily renewed yet that restored moysture is not so good as that which was wasted of the beate it is not so pure as that which was of the seed it is not so wel wrought and excocted as the seed neither so exactly mingled and attenuated Seeing therefore that which is restored is not so pure as that that was wasted the heat for want of conuenient matter to feed vpon at length is dissipated and put out Neyther is the quantitie of the humour restored so much to be respected as the qualitie whereupon Auicennus saith that Though there were as much restored as is daily wasted yet must we of necessitie die And besides all this we are all Sinners vnable to keep such a precise and regular diet but that we shall offend herein and old age will steale vpon vs doe what wee can Festinat enins decurrere velox Flosculus augustae miseraeque breuissima vitae Portio dum bibimus dum serta vnguenta puellas Poscimus obrepit non intellecta senectus Sensim sine sensu senescimus Seuenthly what difference is there betwixt the death of a man and of a beast I answere when a beast dies his soule doth vanish and is dissolued but when a man dies his soule still continues For the soule of a beast is mortall but the soule of man is immortall as hath beene shewed God saith Gregory created three liuing spirits one which is not couered with flesh another which is couered with flesh but dies not with the flesh a third which is couered with flesh dies with the flesh Primus Angelorum secundus hominum tertius brutorū animaelū the first is of Angels the second of men the third of brute beasts And albeit the Scriptures sometimes speak of the death of the soules yet eyther the person or the life is to be vnderstood or such a death as is not the extinction and deletion of the soule but her separation from God who is her comfort and contentment Secondly the death of a man is wont to be with much comfort or else horror of hell it selfe our conscience telling vs of another state after death but beasts because they haue no conscience no hope of heauen nor feare of hell are not therefore subiect to such passions eyther of ioy or sorrow Thirdly when beasts die they die for euer but though death deuoure vs as the Whale did Ionas and binde vs as the Philistins did Sampson yet we shall come forth againe the bands and snares of death shall be broken and we shall be deliuered For it is most true which Saint Bernard saith There is a threefold state of holy soules the first in the corruptible bodie and that is in this life the second out of the bodie and this is after death the third in the bodie glorifyed and that shal be at the Resurrection And so there is a threefold condition of wicked soules the first is in their bodies of sinne the second is in misery out of their bodies by death dissolued