times in going or labouring oftentimes is of greater dignity and efficacy then other prolixe exercises or copious prayers This exercise is more profitably done by desires and inward sighings and mournings then by words albeit wordes helpe at al times which a man may now and then vtter after this or such like manner O blessed Iesu ô the sweetnes and delight of my hart ô the life of my soule when shall I please thee in all things and at all times When shall I perfectly dye vnto my selfe Whē shall I preferre thee before all creatures When shall there not liue any other thing in mee besides thy selfe ô Lord Haue mercy vpon me ô Lord and helpe me I salute thy wounds ô Lord as it were fresh flourishing roses hide me ô lord in them and wash mee in them that I may be throghly cleane and inflamed with thy loue O Lord God ô admirable beginning ô the piety of amiable charity ô the dearest light of my vnderstanding ô the rest of my vvill vvhen shall I feruently and ardently loue thee Vouchsafe ô lord to shoote through my soule vvith the dart of thy loue vouchsafe to associate and vnite mee vnto thee that I may bee one vvith thee O my desire ô my hope ô my refreshing and comfort O that my soule were worthy thyne embraces that all the drowsines and luke-warmnes of my soule might be consumed with the fire of thy loue O the soule of my soule ô the life of my life I wholy desire thee and offer my selfe wholy vnto thee wholy to thee that art all in all one to one and only to thee alone O that it had place in me that thou spakest to thy Father O holy Father let them be one as wee are one I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one I neyther will nor wish any other thing I desire none other thing I entreate none other thing of thee for thou alone art sufficient for me Thou art my father thou art my mother thou art my defender my leader and all my good Thou art wholy louely vvholy delightfull wholy faithfull Who was euer so liberall that would giue him selfe vvho euer loued so tenderly that would deliuer himselfe vnto death for a vile creature Who vvas euer so humble that hath so debased and ecclipsed his Maiesty O Lorde thou despisest no man disdaynest no man reiectest no man that sueth vnto thee yea thou callest and prouokest them to come meete thee for it is thy delight to conuerse with the children of men O Lorde the Angells doe blesse and prayse thee what other thing hast thou found in vs but pollutions and blemishes of sin Wherefore wouldest thou be with vs to the end of the vvorld Was it not enough for thee that thou sufferedst for vs but that thou must leaue thy Sacraments for a medicine vnto vs and thy Angells for our companions and protectours And albeit we be vnthankfull for so great benefites yet thou wouldest dwell among vs for thou art so good and gracious that thou canst not deny thy selfe Therfore ô Lord let vs make if so it please thee a league couenant take thou charge of me and I will take charge of thee Doe with me ô Lord as it pleaseth thee for thou knowest what I want and what is meete for mee I will be thine and no others Giue me grace ô Lord that I may not seeke nor desire any thing but thee and that I may wholy offer yeeld vp my selfe vnto thee O sire that enlightenest me ô charity that inflamest me ô light illuminating me ô my rest ô my life ô my loue who alwayes burnest and neuer art extinguished vvhen shall I perfectly loue thee When shall I embrace thee with the naked arms of my soule Whē shall I despise my selfe and the whole vvorld for the loue of thee When shall my soule with al her powers strength bee vnited vnto thee When shall I be swallowed vp in the bottomles depth of thy loue O thou most sweete most louing most beautifull most wise most rich most noble most precious and most worthy to be loued and worshipped when shall I so loue thee that I may lie drowned wholy in thy loue O the life of my soule who didst vndergoe the burthen of death that thou mightest reuiue me and dying didst kill death kill ô Lord me also that is slay all my peruerse inclinations to euill my will also and whatsoeuer hindereth whereby thou mayst not liue with mee But after that thou hast thus killed me make me to liue with thee by loue and a true faith that I may faithfully obserue all thy commaundements and the precepts of my superiours and that I may only prosecute follow those things that are of the spirit O most bountifull and gracious Iesu giue me a perfect hatred and loathing of sinne and a perfect cōuersion of hart vnto thee that all my thoughts and all my desires may be busied and conuersant in thee alone and about thee alone O life vvithout which I dye ô truth without which I am deceaued ô way without which I goe astray ô saluation without which I perrish ô light without which I walk in darknes Doe not ô Lord doe not suffer that at any time I should be plucked away from thee for in thee alone I liue without thee I dye in thee I am safe and without thee I perish in thee I am some body but without thee I am no body As I shall more manifestly declare in the sequent considerations which shall be vnto mee as a most cleare glasse which I looking into with open stedfast and constant eies shall see both the magnitude and multitude of my miseries A SPIRITVA'L and heauenly Exercise deuided into seauen pithy and briefe Meditations for euery day in the weeke one The first Meditation for Monday of the miserie in which man is created THE Prophet Ieremy deploring the misery of his own condition saith How is it that I cam forth of the wombe to see labour and sorrow that my dayes should be consumed with shame If the Prophet sanctified in his mothers vvombe so lamentablie spake of himselfe what shall I miserable and vvretched man say conceaued and borne of my Mother in sinne Hugo de S. Victore doth very well counsaile vs ô man sayth he learne to know thy selfe Thou art better if thou knowest thy self then if neglecting thy self thou knevvest the motions of the starres the vertue of hearbs the complexions of men and the natures of al heauenly earthly creatures For many men know many things and know not themselues vvhen as the knowledge of our selues is the chiefest Philosophy Consider therefore ô man vvhat thou wast before thou wert born what thou art now thou art borne vntill thou returne to dust and what thou shalt be after death Before thou wast borne wast thou any other thing but an impure and vncleane matter conceaued
If it please thee viewe the bodies of them who are departed out of this life and thou shalt finde nothing in them besides ashes wormes stinke lothsomnes What thou art novve they sometimes were what they are nowe thou shortly must be they were mē as thou art now they did eate drink as thou doost They spent theyr dayes in wealth suddainly went down to the graue See how the fleshe nourished in delights now beeing meate for wormes lyeth in the graue how the vnhappy soule descendeth that it may be fuell for the infernall fire without any hope that euer the torments and punishments shall haue end VVhat shall thē theyr vaine glory profit them in what steede shall then the power of thys vvorlde stand thē what shal then their carnall delights couetousnes of riches help them where are then their merry disports where is then their boasting presumptiō of false ioy O into hovve grieuous miseries are they fallē after a short pleasure frō a counterfet mirth they are fallen into assured misery eternall torment What hapned vnto thē may also happen vnto thee for thou art both a man compounded of the same dust ashes that they were framed of man of earth slime of slime and after death thou shalt bee turned into dust ashes neyther knowest thou where whē or how Wherfore seeing that death waiteth for thee in euery place if thou beest wise expect him in like manner at all times and in euery place Let the louers of this worlde remember sayth Isidore how short the felicitie of this world is how barren slender the glory of it is and howe weake and fraile the power is Tell me if thou canst where are the Kinges Princes Emperors of ancient times vvhere are the rich and mighty men of this vvorld They are all passed away as a shadow vanished as smoake and if a man seeke for them hee shall not finde them VVhat if wee say that manie of those Kings Princes Emperours thought that they shoulde alwayes conquer and neuer die O blinde and ignorant beholde it is not so beholde the matter is fallen out quite otherwise they are dead as other men are theyr lyfes haue fayled them as the lyfes of other Princes that liued and ruled before them What the estate of man is after death Saint Bernard dooth very well teach VVhat saith hee is more stinking then a carkasse what is more horrible then a dead man He that was of a beautifull coūtenance and comely stature whilst hee liued after death lyeth with a gastly and fearefull face for vvormes putrefaction horror follow a dead man Which thing seeing it is so vvhat doe riches delicacies and honours profit Riches doe not deliuer from death nor delicacies frō wormes nor honours from corruption And Saint Chrysostome sayth Hast thou not seene manie that haue dyed amidst theyr delights euen in their drunkennesse in other fonde pleasures of thys lyfe Where are they now that not long since ridd through the streets brauely mounted swelled with pride richly attired in silkes garded with attendants and seruitours smelling of perfumes oyntments and spices fawned vppon with flatterers and parasites where is now all their pompe and vaine toyes gone Where are nowe theyr large costly banquets theyr immoderate laughters theyr ease and idlenes theyr effeminate luxurious and riotous lifes All is gone What is become of their bodies that ere vvhile vvere vvayted vppon vvith so great troupes and were kept so neate and finicall Behold they are gone downe into the graue Contemplat the dust ashes worms the beauty of that pulchritude aud thou wilt sigh bitterly Behold with diligence and pry narrowly into each of their monuments serch their graues and Sepulchers tosse turne ouer theyr bones and ashes thou shalt finde nothing heere but ashes nothing besides the reliques of worms which haue eaten their bodies and see what is the end of them albeit they liued in this world in delights and glory I pray God that thou mayst diligently consider of these things and that they may neuer slip out of thy memory But ô greefe the vnhappy sonnes of Adam neglecting true and wholsom studies and endeuours doe seeke for and hunt after vaine and transitory pleasures If therefore ô my brother thou wilt alwayes in thine hart meditate of these things and consider the misery and vildnes of this life thou wilt be humbled and wilt detest pride seeing that thou art not ignorant that pride is the badge and cognisance by which the children of the deuill are knowne For he is as holy Iob saith the King ouer all the children of pride Gregory confirmeth this Pride saith he is a most euident token of reprobates but contrarily humility is a badge of the elect Seeing therfore that euery one is knowne by that he hath hee is easily found vnder vvhat King he warreth For euerie one carrieth as it were a certain title of his labour whereby hee euidently sheweth vnder whō he serueth that is whether vnder Christ or the deuill O cursed pride hated of GOD and men This tumbled Lucifer headlong out of heauen banished Adam out of Paradice drowned Pharaoh with his Army in the red Sea depriued Saul of his kingdome transformed Nabuchodonozer into a beast and destroyed Antiochus with a most horrible and hideous death The second Meditation for Tuesday of sin and what discommodities come by it HE that committeth sinne saith the beloued Disciple of Christ is of the deuill for the deuill sinneth from the beginning for this purpose appeared the Sonne of God that hee might loose the works of the deuill Sinne is so heauy a burthen that neyther heauen nor earth can beare it but with the Author and worker of it it descendeth into hell Euery word deed and thought contrary to the lawe of God according to Saint Augustine is sinne which ought none otherwise thē hell to be eschewed of all them who aspire to the heauenly kingdome and that for three causes the first of which is because it displeaseth God the second because it pleaseth the deuill the third because it is hurtfull and bringeth many discommodities to man First I say thou oughtest to eschew sinne because it exceedingly displeaseth thy Creatour in which place we are to consider what God hath done by reason of sinne No man is ignorant that for sinne God hath destroyed the workes of his owne hands that for sinne he hath cast Angels out of heauen disparadiz'd men and drowned with flood of waters all mankinde as the booke of Genesis vvitnesseth Other Kings and Emperours that they may reuenge the iniury done vnto them of theyr enemies doe spoyle and wast their Countries Dominions but God subuerted and destroyed his owne kingdome because sinne had entred into it Neyther doth God only hate sinne but all that which by any manner of way pertaineth vnto sin Men although the vvine hath lost his vertue
maketh a man the child seruant of the deuil hence is that of Iohn He that committeth sin is of the deuill And our Lord saith in the Gospell Yee are of your father the deuill Therfore ô thou sinner howe vnhappy art thou that feelest so great losses and dammages take pitty therefore on thine owne soule and doe not burden and loade it with sinnes These things being thus remember ô man and acknovvledge these three mayne and huge mischiefes which sinne bringeth vnto thee that is the offending of God the reioycing of the deuill and infernall torments Consider furthermore the noblenes of thy soul and hovve daungerous thy wounds be which could not be healed but onely by the blood and woundes of the Sonne of God Vnlesse the wounds of thy soule had been euerlastingly mortall and deadly the Son of God had not died for them Therefore doe not sleightly prize or lightly weigh the concupiscences of thy soule which that same supreame Maiesty of God did so greatly and highly account of Hee aboundantly poured out teares for thee euery night wash thou thy bed with teares water thy couch with continuall contrition He shed his blood for thee shed also thine by the daily affliction of thine hart and continuall tribulation of thy spirit Doe not regard what thy body desireth but respect vvhat thy soule willeth for Saint Gregory sayth where the body liueth a while in delights there the soule is tortured with perpetuall torments And by how much the body is afflicted in this life by so much the spirit reioyceth in the other Therefore Saint Augustine admonisheth vs very well Let vs denie our owne vvills for Iesus Christ for they must once be forsaken neither doth it please God that for temporall things we should loose eternall blessings If thou wast permitted certayne yeares to liue in the delights of this flesh with this cōdition that afterwards thine eyes should be plucked out or that thou being depriued of all delicates shouldest most miserably perrish through hunger and thirst and wretchedly contend with famine affliction misery I perswade my self that thou wouldest neuer wish for such manner of delicats What I pray thee is this life In truth it is not the space of one moneth vvhat doe I say of a moneth Nay it is not the space of one houre not of a minute no not of a moment if it bee compared to that eternall beatitude or to those torments of hell vvhich haue none ende and lyke which none can bee thought of The third Meditation for Wednesday howe dangerous it is to deferre repentance OVR Redeemer inuiting vs all vnto repentance sayth If any man will follow mee let him forsake himselfe and take vp his Crosse and follow mee for whosoeuer vvill saue his lyfe shall loose it It is necessary that all sinners doe take vp thys Crosse and carry it with perseuerance if they desire to raigne with Christ Iesus Wherefore Saint Hierome writing to Susanna saith that repentance ought to be equall or greater then the sinnes That repentance is necessary sayth hee which may either equalize the faults or exceede them And Saint Augustine saith Whosoeuer will be saued it is necesary that hee be washed at the least with the teares of the contrition of his hart being cleansed before by baptisme from all those blemishes and pollutions which sinne had spotted and soyled him withall But if thou shalt say that this is a hard saying and that thou canst not forsake the world nor hate thy flesh nor chastice thy body heare what is sayd not of mee but of Saint Hierome It is a difficult thing nay it is impossible that any one should enioy both present and future blessings that hee should fill his belly heere and his soule there that from delicacies he should passe vnto delightes that in both worlds he should be graced carry his head aloft and that hee should appeare glorious both in heauen in earth Which sentence Saint Gregory confirmeth Many saith he doe desire to flye out of the exile of this present life vnto celestiall ioy who in the meane time will not forsake the pleasures of this world The grace of Christ Iesus doth call them but the concupiscence of the world doth detaine thē They desire to dye the death of the righteous but they wil not liue as they doe such shall euerlastingly perrish because theyr works shal follow them The austerity of holy Iohn Baptists life sayth Saint Bernard is a hard sentence of death vnto sinners who when there arose not a greater then hee among those that are born of women did so chastice correct and afflict his most innocent body and yee hast to be clothed with silke fine linnen and purple and to fare deliciously O wicked man this is not the Kings high vvay vnto heauen Remember the rich glutton who vvas the Lorde of such great wealth who was cloathed in purple and fine linnen fared wel delicatly euery day who afterwards could not haue one smal drop of water to coole his tong beeing tormented in the midst of the flames of hel Cōsider this ô my frend repent whilst thou hast time Heare what Saint Gregory saith Although God promiseth pardō vnto the penitent yet he hath not promised to morrow vnto a sinner It is repentance to deplore sins past not to cōmit any hereafter Therfore it is very well sayde of S. Augustine Vaine is that repētance which the future fault doth pollute lamentations do nothing profit if sins be multiplied it nothing auaileth to craue pardon for euils if eftsoons thou renuest reiteratest thy follies We must note for the further manifestation of this matter that true repentance doth cōsist of three parts which are contrition of hart cōfession of mouth satisfaction of deed For we haue offended God three maner of vvayes by delight of thought by lapse of tong and by pride of works and these three are to be cured by three contrarie remedies delight of thought by the sorrow and contrition of hart the lapse of the tongue by the confession of the mouth and the pride of workes by vpright and vncorupted satisfaction Of these three parts therefore wee will speake and first of contrition which is a voluntary greefe taken for sinne committed with a purpose of confession satisfaction and heereafter not to sinne any more Contrition must haue foure degrees according to Bernard Furthermore know saith he that thou hast wholy recouered thy wits and sences if thou feelest thy conscience to be bitten with a fourefold compunction with a double shamfastnes and with a double feare Therfore in thy plangors and lamentations for thy selfe think of God thy maker think of thy father think of him who is bountiful gracious think of thy Lord and knowe that thou art guilty in each respect deplore and lament each offence thy feare doth make aunswer to the first and last thy
company and euil society For a man becomes such a one as the company he keepeth The Wolfe dooth neuer dwel with the lamb a chast man doth flie the company of the luxurious I think it impossible that a man shoulde long cōtinue honest who daily vseth the societie of wicked mē With the holy thou shalt be holy sayth the Psalmist with the innocent thou shalt be innocent and with the frowarde thou shalt learne frowardnes For as euill companie hurteth so good company profiteth Nothing can bee compared to thys treasure He that findeth good society findeth life and aboundeth with wealth I speake truly and confidently a man is made verie sildome eyther good or euill but through company society The hart of a chyld is said to bee as a Table in which nothing is paynted Therefore that he receiueth from company hee keepeth till his old age whether it bee good or euill These things spake S. Ierome beeing ready to yeelde vp the ghost Therfore seeing that the worlde is so euill wee ought to eschewe and auoyde it as an ill neighbour who can worke vs great mischiefe by hys neighbourhoode and vicinitie and hurte vs very much by sinnes and sinners of vvhich it is full The second cause vvhy the worlde is to be eschewed is because vvise and considerate men doe auoyde those places in which they feare the intrappings and snares of theyr enemies least they fall into theyr hands and thys is the revvard that the world rendereth vnto her louers that shee at the length deliuereth thē into the hands of the deuils theyr deadly enemies The wordes of the the traytour Iudas are to be referred hether saying to them to whom hee sold and betrayed the Sonne of God Whomsoeuer I shall kisse and say peace be vnto thee that is he lay hold on him VVhich vvordes the world saith also to the deuils to vvhomsoeuer I shall gyue the kisse of peace of riches of pleasures and honors lay holde on him binde him hand foote and cast him into hell Wherfore S. Gregory saith not without good cause It is a manifest signe of perdition whē the effect and euent dooth fauour affected iniquitie and no contrarietie dooth hinder what the peruerse minde hath cōceiued And Saint Ierome sayth It is a manifest token of damnation to bee loued of the vvorld to enioy prosperity to haue all things what the vvill desireth Certaine therefore it is that they are exceedingly deceiued in finding out the way to felicitie who thinke that they may enter into glory and into the kingdome of heauen by riches and pleasures The third cause why vvee ought to eschew the worlde is this because wise wary men doe flie auoyde dangerous places such as the sea is wherin we saile with feare Whervpon the Wise-man saith They that saile ouer the sea doe tell of the dangers of it Dauid certifieth vs that thys world is a great spacious sea in which the greater parte of the marriners perrish Thys is manifest because as Bernard saith many do miscarry in it and fewe are saued The worlde is as an Ocean in which of foure shyps scarcelie one is saued as the Deluge in vvhich so many thousand men were drowned and so fewe escaped and as the Fornace of Babylon kindled with hell fire in which a man is sette on a light flame with one word of the fire of vvrath in vvhich luxury dooth burne and couetousnes is inflamed by the onely looke and aspect The fourth cause vvhy we ought to forsake the world is because euery man that is wise beeing admonished ought to eschew that place in which his mortal deadly enemy dwelleth Thys place is the vvorld which the deuill our capitall enemie inhabiteth hee hath his signory and dominion in thys world who alwayes threatneth destruction vnto vs and thyrsteth for our deathes Therfore let vs flye from the worlde as from the deuill according to the counsell of the VViseman Keep thee far from the man that hath power to slay These reasons thus beeing sette before our eyes let vs bee wise for we see manifestly by these things which haue beene spoken that the world cannot be better ouercome by any other way then by flying from it VVee haue an example of thys in the life 's of the Fathers of Achrimus who being Emperour standing in his pallace prayed thus vnto GOD. Lord I desire thee shewe vnto me the way of saluation And behold hee heard a voyce saying vnto him Achrimus auoyde the concourse and solemnities of the worlde entangle not thy selfe in the snares of humaine vanities thou shalt be safe At the hearing of which voyce hee betooke himselfe foorth-with to a strict solitarie course of lyfe And saying an other time the same prayer he hearde a voyce saying Fly ouercome bee silent at rest And surely these be the rootes and the grounds not to sinne For by flying the cōcupiscence of the flesh is ouercome by being silent the pride of lyfe and by beeing of a peaceable and quiet mind couetousnesse greedines of gaine are subdued and ouerthrowne Saint Isidore admonishing vs that wee shoulde contemne the world sayth If thou desirest to lyue quietly couet nothing that is in this world cast frō thee what-soeuer may hinder thy holy purpose Be dead to the world and therefore being deade doe not thyrst after glory and thou shalt lyue in tranquilitie and rest being cōtent with thine owne Despise that in thy life which thou canst not keepe in thy death S. Augustine speaketh thus of this deceitfull world This life is a miserable life a fraile life an vncertaine life a painefull life an impure lyfe a lyfe Lady of enormities Queen of pride ful of miseries errors which is not to be called a life but a death in which wee die dailie through sundry defections of mutability and by manifolde kinds of death A brickle lyfe an incōstant life which the faster it goeth on the nerer it approcheth to death a deceitfull and vnsteady life full of the snares of death Although it be replenished with these and other greeuances sorrowes and inconueniences yet ô greefe howe many dooth it ensnare with vanities and howe many are deceiued with false and deceitfull promises And albeit of it selfe it is so false and bitter that it cannot cōceale these incōueniences from her blinde louers yet it maketh drunk an infinite multitude of fooles with the golden cup which she beareth in her hand As they are happy so are they rare that refuse her familiarity that despise her perfunctory ioyes that contemne her society least with this perishing deceiuer they bee also forced to perrish This sayth he Beholde sayth Bernard the worlde cryeth I shall fayle thee and the flesh crieth I shal infect thee which then ô miserable sinner vvilt thou follow the failing world or the infecting flesh Both of them are euill therefore followe Christ who
will refresh thee But if all these thinges my Brother which thou hast hetherto read of do not moue thee heare what the same famous Doctor of the Church Bernard sayth of the louers of the world Woe be vnto those vnhappy and wretched ones saith he for whom is prepared intollerable sorrow incomparable stinch and horrible feare Woe bee to them for whom is prepared that place where nothing shall be heard but vveeping and wayling lamentation and howling mourning gnashing of teeth where nothing shall bee seene but the worme vgly deformed and horrible tortures and terrible fearefull deuils where they shal cal seeke for death but shal not find it where there is no order but where perpetual horror euerlastingly abideth How great feare how great sorow how great mourning will there be whē sinners are seperated frō the righteous deliuered to the power of deuills with whom they shall be cast headlong into the eternall tormēts of hel without hope euer to see the face of the Lorde or heauenly glory without any hope to bee euer freed from those torments where neyther the torturers shal be wearied nor the tortures haue any ende where death shall neuer die nor lyfe bring any ioy Tell mee ô sinner sayth S. Ierome if we had the wisedom of Salomon the beauty of Absolon the strength of Sampson the long life of Enoch the riches of Craesus and the felicitie of Octauian what would these things profit vs when as our fleshe at the length is to be giuen to the wormes of the earth and our soules to the deuils to bee euerlastingly tormented with the rich Glutton in hell The shortnesse of time the breuity of life and the vncertainty of death ought to moue thee to contemne the worlde those vaine delights that be in the world Wherefore Saint Gregory sayth Reprobates doe many things wickedly because they hope to liue long heere Contrariwise the righteous whilst they consider the shortnes of theyr lyfe they auoyde the sinnes of pride and vncleannesse Of the breuity of this life S. Iames saith What is your life it is euen as a vapour that appeareth for a little tyme. And Saint Augustine sayth If thou haddest lyued all that time since Adam was expelled out of the garden of Paradice euen to this day certainly thou shouldest well perceiue that thy life was not perpetuall vvhich hath so passed avvay but the lyfe of one man what is it adde as many yeeres as it pleaseth thee adde a very long and lasting old age what then Is it not yet morning Bee it that the day of Iudgement is farre of assuredly thy last day cannot bee farre of therefore nowe prepare thy selfe for as thou departest out of thys life so shalt thou bee presented to the other lyfe Thys sayth hee And in another place All the time that wee liue heere is taken from life so that the lyfe present is none other thing but a short way by which wee passe vnto death in which no man can long stay nor linger or walke softly and at leysure but euery day thou must finish by little and little some part of thy iourney All things passe away sayth Soneca and are in continuall diminution augmentation None of vs is the same in olde age that wee vvere in youth Not any one of vs is the same in the morning that wee were the day before Our bodyes passe away after the manner of running riuers vvhatsoeuer thou seest runneth away with the time Nothing remayneth steadie of all those thinges vve see behold they are changed whilst I speake and I also am changed And in another place The Fates doe ply their worke and doe take away frō vs the sence and feeling of our death and that death may creepe vpon vs more easily it lurketh vnder the very name of life Childhood cōuerts infancie into it youth childhood manly age youth and olde age takes away manly age The very increases if thou doost well account thinke of them will be founde to be losses If my deere Brother thou lettest these thinges into thine eares and meditatest on thē in thine hart well considerest them thou wilt say that thou rather runnest vnto death then that thou canst hope for long lyfe The fift Meditation for Friday of the vanitie of the glory and magnificence of this world THE Prophet Baruch detecting and laying open the great and intollerable mockerie of vaine glory and riches and the subtile deceits of this vvorlde in the third chapter of his prophecie sayth Where are the Princes of the Heathen and such as ruled the beastes vppon the Earth They that had their pastime with the foules of heauen and hoarded vp siluer and golde wherein men trust and made none end of their gathering For they that coyned siluer and were so carefull of their worke and whose inuention had none end are come to naught and gone downe to hell and other men are come vp in their steades Where are the inuincible victors and heroicke conquerours of Coutries who by theyr conquests purchased such tryumphs and by their riches prepared such magnificent feastes and banquettes Where are the Emperours and Captaynes of huge Armies Where are the managers tamers of horses and other creatures vvhere are the Iudges tyrants great theeues of the world they are novv nothing but dust and ashes Looke and looke againe looke I say into theyr Sepulchers whether this is a rich man or that a poore man Whether this man is valiant or that man faint-harted tosse turn ouer their bones distinguish if thou canst a rich man from a poore man a valiant man frō a coward a beautifull man from him that is deformed Wherfore my brother let vs be wise at the last being admonished by this Scripture and let vs assuredly persvvade our selues that all mans glory whence soeuer it commeth is to be auoided of vs. First because of his owne nature it is vile secondly because it is deceitfull in his promises thirdly because it is vaine brickle frayle fleeting and momentany fourthly because it is euill and malicious in rendering a reward First I say that mans glory is to be eschewed because of his owne nature and condition is vile and base as it is manifest in the first booke of the Macchabees where Mattathias dying sayth to his Sonnes Feare not yee the wordes of a sinfull man for his glory is but dong and vvormes VVhat in this world is more filthy thē dong What more vile then wormes Therefore if all mans glorie consisteth in dong it is not to be desired but auoyded Mans glorie as the Phylosopher sayth is as corruption and the rottennesse of vvood Which thing also experience teacheth vs for as the little vvorme Teredo that eateth vvood in the night shyneth and maketh a crackling but in the day time is knovvne to bee a worme putrefaction so also vayne glory shineth and glittereth vvith great
of the corruption of the flesh in the pollution of pleasure in the heat of lust and that vvhich is vvorst of all in the corruption of sinne Ponder also with thy selfe with what meat thou wast nourished being conceaued in thy mothers wombe surely with none other then with impure menstruous and hurtfull blood which stayeth in women from the time of theyr conceauing that by it theyr yong ones may be nourished in their wombes Remember that GOD hath created thee of the slime of the earth which is the basest element Hee created the starres and planets of fire birds of the ayre and fishes of water but men and other creatures of the slime of the earth Therfore compare thy selfe with the fishes and beasts bred of the water and thou shalt find thy self of a more abiect nature vilder condition then they are If thou beholdest the fowles and creatures that liue in the ayre neyther art thou to be compared vnto them if thou considerest the nature of the Planets starres and other things made of fire thou art much more ignoble Thou canst neyther be compared to celestiall things nor be preferred before terrestriall but if thou comparest thy selfe to brute creatures in these alone thou shalt find some semblance and likelihood with thy selfe as the Wiseman testifieth who sayth That the condition of the children of men and the condition of beasts are euen as one condition vnto them As the one dyeth so dyeth the other for they haue all one breath and there is no excellency of man aboue the beast For man hath not as touching his body any more then a beast hath seeing both of them are framed and created of earth and both of them in like maner are resolued into earth Remember that whē thou wast borne thou wast brought foorth into thys miserable world howling and weeping as it were foreseeing and therfore bewayling the labours dangers dolors which in this worlde are to be sustained and that which is vvorst of all deploring death it selfe Wherefore if perhaps thou beest borne in a noble and honorable place neither remembrest how vile a beginning and howe abiect an originall thou haddest if the beautie of thy countenaunce and comlinesse of thy proportion if the lineaments of thy body if the fauor of the people if the heate of youth aboundance of riches take away the knowledge of thy selfe frō thee yet neuerthelesse if thou desirest to knovve what man is heare vvhat that most glorious Father S. Augustine sayth the star and light of the doctors of the church hear I say what he saith Wretched man saith he what am I but a vessell ful of dung and corruption a stinking and detestable worm poore naked subiect to many necessities who knowes not whence I came nor whether I shall goe Miserable and mortall am I whose dayes vanish fade as a shadow whose life increaseth and decreaseth as the Moone and as a leafe vpon a tree nowe florishing and to morrow withering I am earth misery the child of wrath and a vessell of indignation reprobation I was borne in the corruption of sinne I lyue in miserie and labour and shall ende my dayes in griefe and anguish And Saint Bernard sayth Flesh wyth which thou hast so great societie is none other thing but froth fome made fleshe inuested in a fraile ornament but the time shall come vvhen it shall bee a miserable and putrified carkasse and the foode of vvormes For bee it neuer so gaily garnished and tricked vp it is alwayes flesh If thou diligently considerest vvhat goeth foorth by thy mouth and nostrils and the other passages of thy bodie thou neuer beheldest so vile a dunghill Consider ô man sayth hee vvhat thou wert before thy byrth vvhat thou art from thy byrth till thy death and what thou shalt be after this lyfe of thine is ended Certainelie thou vvast that thou vvert not after that thou haddst thy beeing of vile matter thou wast inwrapped in a most vile filme and nourished in thy mothers vvombe with menstrous blood Thy coate was a skin so attired and adorned camst thou vnto vs. And hath beauty fauour riches and youth So sotted thy sences deuoyd of truth That mindlesse thou art how base was thy birth And that all men are dust ashes and earth Man is none other thing but an vncleane sperme a sacke of dunge and foode for wormes After a man a worme after a worme stinch faetour So from a man to no man is turned this creature Hetherto S. Bernard with whom agreeth Innocentius O indignity saith he vildnes of mans condition Consider the plants trees they bring forth leaues flowers fruites pleasant to the tast delightful for smel but wretched man bringeth forth pestilent noysom sauours as the tree is such also is the fruite for an euill tree cannot bring foorth good fruit But wilt thou more manifestly know what man is after hee is borne heare most patient Iob Man saith he that is borne of a woman is of short continuance and full of trouble Hee shooteth foorth as a flower and is cut downe hee vanisheth also as a shadow continueth not Why do we seek for the testimonies of men let vs aske God himselfe he wil tel vs Remēber man that thou art dust to dust shalt thou returne This knowledge had holy Iob whē he said vnto God Remember I pray thee ô that thou hast made me as the clay and wilt bring me into dust againe O man of clay why art thou proude ô dust why growest thou insolent ô ashes for what woldest thou be commended vvhose conception is sinfull vvhose natiuitie is painefull whose life is labour and death necessitie Why dooest thou nourish thy body so delicately Why dooest thou adorne that vvith so precious garments which after a while shall in the sepulchre be eaten of vvormes VVhy dooest thou not rather beautifie thy soule vvith good workes which shal be carryed into heauen by the handes of good Angels VVhy dooest thou neglect thy soule and so extraordinarilye cocker thy flesh Behold confusion and prepostrous order the soule which ought to rule serueth the flesh and the fleshe ruleth which should obey Why sufferest thou the Ladie to bee the handmaid the hādmaid to vsurpe authoritie ouer the Lady Doost thou not know that thy flesh is a domestical homebred enemie vnto thy soule which vnder colour of friendship is more cruell then the most tirannous enemie When thou cherishest delicately nourishest it thou breedest and bringest vp thine own enemie when thou deckest beautifiest it thou armest thine enemy against thee whē thou arraiest it in precious garments and outlandish skins of wilde beastes thou robbest thy soule of all beautifull and heauenly ornaments Thirdly ô sinner cōsider what thou shalt be whē thou ceasest to liue Certainely thou shalt be none other but a miserable and corrupted carkasse an habitation foode for wormes
as a most precious treasure Wherfore S. Gregorie sayd Woe be vnto mee if I shall negligently keepe the talent committed to me of the Lorde that is my soule redeemed with the precious bloode of that immaculate lambe seeing also that there is not any moment of time which I am not to giue an account of The thyrd example If any one be a Steward whose dutie is to dispose the goods of hys Lord if hee shoulde giue the best bread the best vvine and the best meates to strangers to the enemies of his Lord should sette before his Lorde mustie bread vnsauory meats putrified flesh corrupted fishes and dead vvine doe you not thinke that this seruaunt should badly fitte the humour of his Lord A wretched sinner is like to such an one vvho offereth to the worlde and to the deuill who are the enemies of Christ Iesus his lord the best and fairest flower of his youth and strength and to his God and lord the worst part of his lyfe barren and vnprofitable old age Dauid did not so who saith of himselfe I will keep my strength for thee ô Lorde And the Wise man sayth that from his youth hee sought for wisedome vvhich is true vertue But of all them that deferre repentance Saint Gregory saith Hee is farre enough of from fayth vvho expecteth old age to repent in For it is to be feared least while hee hopeth for mercy he fall into iudgement For not any day is within hys power therefore euery one ought to follow the counsel of Isidore and conuert hymselfe with all the diligence and hast hee can vnto the Lord for if hee lynger and loyter he shall at the length bee willing but not able to turne himselfe Which things beeing so repent my deere brother with all speede and celeritie and make no longer tarrying least thou be reprobated and shutte out with the foolish virgins The fourth Meditation for Thursday of the contempt of the world and with what hatred and diligence it is to be eschewed THE glorious Apostle S. Iohn saith Brethren loue not the world neither the things that are in the worlde For if any man loue the world the loue of the Father is not in him and the world passeth away and the lust thereof Saint Augustine expounding thys place sayth What wilt thou doe whether hadst thou rather loue temporall things and so passe away with the tyme or Christ our Sauiour and liue for euer If thou shalt loue thys world it will consume and destroy thee for it cannot defend them that loue it Thys VVorlde is as an excommunicated man for as the Church doth not pray for him that is excōmunicated so Iesus Christ dooth not pray for the world although he prayed for them that crucified him O how great madnes is it to serue such a lord who at the end of thy seruice is wont to giue no other wages but nakednes and desolation So Saladine that great Soldane of Babilon the conquerer of Asia being at the point of death and seeing no hope of life to remaine cōmanded his standard-bearer to bee called vnto him to whom hee thus spake saying Thou hadst wont to carry myne imperiall ensigne before me whē I went to warre nowe also carry the ensigne of my death which is thys poore vvinding-sheete carry it thorow all the streetes of Damascus and cry Behold the king of all the East dieth of all his spoyles trophyes carryes none other with him but thys worne thredbare winding-sheete The lyke is read of a certaine young king of Lothoringia vvho beeing readie to giue vp the ghost lying in a most magnificent pallace and in a rich sumptuous bedde cryed out with a loude voyce that he might be heard of all O lorde Iesus Christ how woorthily is this world to be condemned See in vvhat stately and royall buildings I haue lyued now vvretched creature that I am knowe not whither thys night following I shall goe what Inne I shall haue or what manner of entertainement I shall find Therefore ô sinner flie from the world flye I say from the worlde first because it leaueth thee in so great neede and misery For as the Apostle Saint Iames saith The amity of this world is the enmity of God Whosoeuer therefore will be a friende of the world maketh himselfe the enemy of God And Saint Gregory sayth A man is so much the neerer vnto God by howe much he is further of from the loue of the worlde For thys cause the Lord would bee carryed without the Citty to signifie that hee had no parte in the VVorlde and whosoeuer will bee pertaker of the fruites of hys passion hee must renounce the vvorlde and seperate himselfe from all worldlie conuersation if not in act yet in desire thys is that which almighty GOD commaundeth by his Prophet saying Get ye out of Babylon that euerie one may saue his owne soule Babylon according to the exposition of Saint Hierome is the house of confusion vvhich is this world in which confusion raigneth euery where as well in the Clergy as in the Layitie as well in olde as young as well in men as women Therefore it is very well sayd of Saint Iohn in his generall Epistle The whole worlde lyeth in wickednesse Saint Bernard also counselleth vs very well saying Flye out of Babylon flye and saue your soules Fly to the Citties of refuge where ye may both repent for sins past and for the present finde grace and safely looke for future glorie Let not the anguish and remorse of your sins hinder you nor the austeritie of repentance deter and afright you For neither the passions of this time nor the trybulation of thys world are woorthy for the fault past which is remitted for the present grace of cōsolation which is bestowed nor for the future glory which is promised To be briefe there is no bitternesse so great vvhich the Prophets meale will not sweeten which the wisedom of the tree of lyfe will not make sauory Wee are to knowe that the worlde is to be eschewed for foure causes the first of which is because wise and circumspect men are wont to flie and auoyd infectious and contagious places especially if they be weake and sickly or feare any infirmitie Such a place is the VVorlde which hath in it many euills many diseases of sin we see also much filthines many blemishes in it which cōtaminate pollute our soules for sinne it selfe is a contagious disease therefore not without cause we ought to eschew auoyd the societie and company of wicked and vngodlie men for it is not meet that the whole and sounde should dwell with the leaprous and diseased for the Wise man saith Hee that toucheth pitch shall be defiled with it and he that companieth with a proude man shal put on pride Certainly saith S. Ierom nothing dooth so hurte a man as naughty
the poore and religiously rule ouer them who being drowned in riches and delicats and swollen with costly meates seeing the poore before their Pallace gates naked and perrishing through hunger and cold doe not stretch out their hands vnto them neyther are mooued vvith any pittie but gyuing themselues vvholie to playes sportings gaming 's feastings and banquets vtterly forget the poore the charge of whom is so often committed and commended vnto thē in the Scriptures neither doe they remember God at any time except perhaps lightly and by the way cursorily perfunctorily Let them certainly perswade themselues and remember these things when they shall feele try them that a most strict and exact aceount shal be required of them vvhy they haue not destributed to the poore those things which were superfluous vnto them and if they cannot giue an account nor purge themselues their soules shall suffer intollerable torments in the deepest pit of hel O how easily doe they offend and howe suddainly are they envvrapped in punishment vvho doe not consider hovve they must dye or howe God shall iudge them O how vncircumspect and vnhappy are they that do not remēber these thinges and doe not resist the temptations of the deuil I dare boldly affirme that if they did acknowledge God to be their Iudge think that they shold die that they wold not sinne at the least with so great security all feare set apart But now they come to Church not to heare the diuine word to pray but to see vanity beuty the pride of womē This is their thought this their intent this their sermon There they talk confer how they may heape riches together there they dispute of the sundry fashions of apparel there they inuite one another to feasts banquets to the dishonest delights of gluttony of whom S Bernard sayth O wretches what do yee who before the time do slay your own soules corrupt and putrifie your bodies Tell me whence comes infirmity whence groweth the sodaine death of yong men but of great aboundance of meats immoderate venery Wretched are ye because ye think that ye can delude God but in truth yee deceaue your selues because yee neglect your soules that yee may pamper your bodies so yee destroy them both before the time appoynted Your pleasure and reioycing shall continue but that short time yee liue but after death your bewaylings and torments shall endure with deuils in hell for euer and euer there shal be euerlasting shame and confusion there shal neither be sumptuous banquets nor delicate wines there with the rich Glutton who in thys world fared delicatly yee shall craue a drop of cold water and it shall not be giuen vnto you for there no man gathereth or reapeth any thing but that hee hath sown in this world What then ô miserable man doest thou Why doest thou not repent Why doest thou not amend thy life O hart harder then a rocke why doest thou linger Why doest thou deferre repentance for thy sinns Why doest thou prorogue thy cōuersion Behold how death commeth running swiftly to carrie thee avvay the deuill standeth ready to catch thy soule and the wormes greedily expect thy flesh which thou hast fatted vvith so fine cates that they may haue more aboundant and more toothsom foode Doth not that horrible and fearefull day of iudgment come into thy mind in vvhich thou shalt not onely render a most stricte account of thy pride gluttony luxury vayne glory vanity and of thy time vnprofitably spent but also of euery idle word Beware that thou fall not into that dreadful condemnation which the Son of God not now a Lambe but a Lyon shal pronounce against the cursed saying Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the deuill and his angels Beholde sayth Bernard ô thou worldly sinner how farre thou wanderest out of the way if in this world thou seekest for honours pleasures and glory for thou shalt neuer finde that heere which may satisfie thee If thou desirest true ioy and true glory endeuour and labour to goe to heauen by the right way wher the ioyes are truer and better then euer eye hath seene or eare hath heard or hath at any time entred into the heart of man I pray thee for those eternall and euerlasting ioyes neglect and basely account of these transitory and momentary pleasures But what shall wee say of them who can neyther be induced by the feare or loue of GOD nor by the terrour of death nor by the horrour of hellish tormentes to forsake theyr sinnes yea vvhom it repenteth that that they haue not power and abilitie to liue as wickedly as they would that they might satisfie theyr lustes in all thinges O miserable wretches yee laugh in this vvorld but yee shall weepe in the other VVoe bee vnto you who desire momentanie and fading pleasures because yee shall suffer greate and euerlasting torments A lyttle tyme yet remayneth fill vppe the measure of your iniquityes and miseries that the indignation of GOD may bee more plentifullie powred dovvne vppon you Reioyce a lyttle giue ouer your selues to tryflings to toies fables sportings lyes contentions and enmities and let no time passe you in vaine What doe yee Scrape together for your children riches honours and dominions purchase nobility renowne for them that they may doe that which yee left to doe and finish what yee began that yee together vvith them may be tortured vvith greater torments But some man may say God is bountifull gracious mercifull hee receaueth euery sinner that turnes to him with all his hart and he pardoneth all their faults True it is my brother he is more mercifull then thou supposest when he so patiently suffereth sinners and so mercifully granteth thē space to repent in that they may amend themselues and if they returne vnto him he graciously receaueth them But I would haue thee to know that as he is mercifull in suffering expecting and pardoning so he is iust in correcting and punishing If thou shalt say Albeit a man sinne all his life time neither doe any good at all if hee repent at the very point instance of death God will forgiue him all hys sinnes O my brother hovve vaine is this comfort Howe false deceitfull is this cogitation for of an hundred thousand sinners that defer their repētance to the houre of death scarsely one is saued and obtaineth remission of his sinnes A man borne in sinne neuer lyuing according to the lavve of the Lord without the knowledge of him neuer willing to heare the worde of God not knowing what sinne is or what repentance is drowned in the businesses and cares of thys world afflicted with the loue of his children whom hee leaueth with the griefe of his riches which he forsaketh tormented without hope euer to enioy them again what repentance can he make who if any hope of longer life or recouery
seeing them in ioy may not onely bee tormented with theyr owne pument but with their blessednes But the iust shal alwayes behold in torments the vniust that hereby their ioyes may alwayes increase because they see the euill from which by mercie they are deliuered and by so much they shall render greater thanks vnto theyr Redeemer by howe much they see themselues deliuered from greater torments Neyther shall thys sight of the reprobates miserable and intollerable punishment anie whit dimme the clearenesse of the blessednes of the righteous because where there shal bee no compassion of misery there without doubt shal be no diminution of the blesseds beatitude What if it be no meruaile if the sight of the damneds torments bee vnto the righteous a cause of greater ioy seeing that in a picture a blacke coloure is layde vnderneath that a white or a redde colour may be seene more manifestly and beare the greater beautie For as I sayde before the ioyes of the righteous shal so much the more increase as they see the paynes of the damned increased from which they haue escaped A saued Father shall not pitty his damned Sonne neyther shal the wife be sorrie for her reprobate husbande The damned shall see till the last iudgement the glory of the righteous not that they shal knowe what it is but onely that they shall vnderstand that it is an inestimable ioy such an vnderstanding shal be vnto them both griefe punishment and enuie but after iudgement for euer they shall bee depriued of this sight which shall bee an exceeding greeuous torment vnto them for they shall alwayes remember that glorie which they before saw and shall think themselues vnworthy to behold so great happinesse Heere also an other question ariseth whether the damned doe see what is doone in thys world To which S. Gregorie aunswereth in his Morrals saying They know not whether theyr children be noble or ignoble As neyther the liuing doe knowe what torments the damned haue They knowe not what they are whō they haue left in this world for the life of their soule is seperated from their body Thirdly it is doubted whether the damned doe wish that all may come into hel to them to which doubt it is answered As the Saints haue perfect loue and charity so the damned doe burne agaynst all with spight and hatred Wherefore as the Saints doe reioyce at anothers good so the damned doe repine at it neyther is there anie thing foūd at which they more greeue then at the glory of the Saints and therfore they wish that all might be damned and they boile with so great enuie that also they enuy the glory of their own parents although lesse then they enuie other mens glory for they knowe that the nearer they are vnto them who are damned that theyr ovvne punishment is so much the more encreased Which albeit they know yet so great is their hatred malice that they had rather suffer great torments with many then smal discruciatements with a few Fourthly it is wont to be demanded whether the damned shal be mindful of those things which they haue done in this life to which S. Bernard answereth affirmatiuely saith that this remēbrance shal more torment thē whilst they remember the euils which they haue committed for which they are nowe afflicted and the good things which they haue omitted by which they might haue purchased the kingdom of heuen Hence it is apparent that there are two kinds of punishment in hel one of losse the other of sence as the Diuines speake Christ remembreth the first when he saith Euery tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewen downe And the latter whē he addeth And shall be cast into the fire Of the punishmēt of sence Gregory speketh saying In hell there shal be intollerable cold vnquenchable fire an immortal worm insufferable stink palpable darknes tormēters with scourges an horible sight of deuils cōfusion of sinners endles desperatiō of any good Therfore the dāned shal be full of all misery affliction griefe for they shal haue tears in their eyes gnashing in their teeth stink in their nosthrils houling in their mouthes mourning in their throats terrors in their ears bonds and manacles vpon their hands feet eternall fire burning all their parts members Wherfore not without cause S. Augustine calleth hel a denne full of all kinde of punishments and miseries For this cause the Prophet sayth Euery one shall bee astonished at his neighbour their countenances shall be blacke with burning And Baruch sayth That theyr faces shall bee pitchy and blacke through the smoake that is in the house The greatnes of the punishments in hel may bee also gathered by the continuall mourning and lamentation vvhich groweth throgh a desire of death which shal not come at them nor nere them wherefore they shal bite their tongues and blaspheme theyr Creatour as Saint Iohn testifieth saying They gnewe their tongues for sorrow blasphemed the God of heauen for their paines and for theyr sores The rigour of theyr torments shal be so great that despising lyfe which all so greatly loue they shal desire death which all men hate and that very earnestly as the same Iohn witnesseth when he sayth In those dayes shall men seeke death and shall not finde it and shall desire to die death shall slee from them What then shal wee doe sayth Chrysostome For there shall be none other thing but mourning trembling and lamentation there all repentance shal be too late helpe shal be wanting punishmēts shal encrease neyther is any comfort or consolation euer to be looked for O what terrors what gripings what wearines and what torments shal afflict them that are boyled in this purgatory No tongue can expresse what punishment it is sayth Chrysostome to bee depriued of the Diuine sight There be some of an absurde iudgement who onelie are glad to thinke that they shall escape hell But I think it a greater torment then hell not to haue attayned so great glorie I doe not thinke that vvee are so much to sorrowe for the paynes of hell as wee are to lament our losse in that wee are fallen from heauen which is a torment in my iudgement aboue all torments Hell and the plagues of hell are intollerable yet if one should say that innumerable hells were to bee suffered hee should say nothing in respect of the losse of that heauenlie glory to be hated of Christ to heare I know you not For it is better to bee pierced thorough vvith infinite thunderbolts then to haue that milde face turned agaynst vs and that peaceable eye disdayning to beholde vs. O let vs neuer suffer this ô thou onely begotten sonne of God and of the blessed Virgine ô let vs neuer haue experience of this irrecuperable losse and intollerable punishment But woe is vnto vs in that wee doe not foresee this imminent
did appeare vnto him would not be any whit carefull for repentance Of which I inferre that hee that in his youth and whilst hee is whole and sound neither feareth nor blusheth to offend God is vnwoorthy to haue his sinns forgiuen him in the agony of death For tell me what repentance is that which a man maketh when he plainly seeth that he can liue no longer yea who would liue more dissolutly then he did before if hee should recouer his former health Truly I my selfe haue seene very few rich men who haue repented at the houre of death and recouering agayne bodilie health haue not afterwardes beene woorse in theyr soules then they were before This I am assured and altogether perswaded of and I haue learned it by long experience and obseruation that they that alvvayes sinne vvithout anie feare and neuer in health will sette sinne at defiance nor renounce theyr pleasures that they sildome and very hardlie haue an happy ende as sayth Saint Hierome VVherefore my Brother if thou hast any discretion or if there bee anie light of reason within thee despise and forsake the riches honours and glorie of this world for his sake who created thee and who is ascended aboue all things VVhat shall it profit thee if thou gainest the whole world and loosest thy soule I knowe assuredly that the honours and glory of this world are impediments of grace and that which is worse hinderers of eternall saluation For it is no where reade that euer any man passed vnto eternall glory by the pleasures and delights of this world O howe vaine and false is the glory vvhich men hunt after and desire one of another and not of God He that desireth to be preferred before all men it is to bee feared least the higher hee ascends the greater will bee his fall That Angell was a Cittizen and an inhabitant of heauen who said I will ascend into heauen exalt my throne aboue beside the starres of God I will sitte also vppon the mount of the Congregation in the sides of the North. I will ascend aboue the height of the cloudes and I will bee like the most high But hee vvas made a deuill and fell into the deepest pitte of hell Therefore it is very well sayde of Saint Augustine O howe happie is hee vvhose heart onelie burneth vvith a desire of heauenlie glorie Who is not puffed vp in prosperitie nor cast downe in aduersitie Who as hee hath nothing in the vvorlde that hee loueth so hee hath nothing that hee feareth VVhat other thing is the glory of this worlde but a tickling of the eares O how cursed is he sayth Anselmus and ingratefull that seeketh for the glorie of thys vvorlde No honour is gotte vvithout trouble no dignitie vvithout disturbance no highnes without vanity Wherfore my brother if thou wouldest weightily consider of the great danger that follovveth vvorldly glorie vvithout doubt thou wouldest shunne and flie from all the vanity of this vvorlde and thou vvouldest onely desire to enioy that celestiall beatitude vvhich all the Saintes haue obtayned by so great labours and afflictions and now doe enioy with greater reioycing The sixt Meditation for Saterday howe death is to be feared and that a Christian ought so to liue that death may neuer finde him vnprepared BE mindfull saith the wiseman for death dooth not tarry the remembrance of it is the mother of many good things for the same Wiseman saith Remember the end and thou shalt neuer doe amisse And Saint Bernard saith Continuall remembrance of death is a great blessing Let a man alwayes carry this about with him and hee shall neuer offend And Saint Augustine sayth There is not any thing that more forciblie holdeth a man from sinne then the continuall remembrance of death This maketh a man humble lowly this bringeth a cōtempt of earthly things induceth a man to take vpon him the burden of repentance S. Hierome also doth subscribe vnto these saying Hee that perswadeth himselfe that he shall dye easily contemneth all things he despiseth the pride of lyfe who remembreth that ere long hee shall be cast into the earth for hee that knoweth that shortly he must be put vnder all mens feet be troden vpon by euerie one he will not desire to be extolled or to be lifted aboue others he that remēbreth that he must leaue all things by and by contemneth the lust of his eies but especially he despiseth the concupiscence of the flesh vvho considereth that after a short time his body shal be deuoured of the vvormes of the earth I wold to God saith S. Ierome that the kings Princes of the earth and the possessors of the riches of this worlde wold cōsider how after a short space of time they shall be carried out of theyr magnificent Pallaces and be enclosed included in a very narrow corner of a roome how they shall be caried out of their glistering famous buildings into a darke obscure Sepulcher out of their golden gilded houses painted with most beautiful most plesant flowers picturs into a Sepulcher replenished with crawling worms intollerable stink out of their Pallaces full of all the fine furniture riches of this world into an empty and hollow Sepulcher out of Pallaces in which a company of children and a troup of seruants daily attēded into a solitary desert forsaken Sepulcher seperated from all society and resort of men Tell mee where remayneth all that forepassed glory and pompe Where is the multitude of seruants and attendants that were wont to follow them Where are their costly delicate banquets They ioyed heere a little time and liued in their Pallaces in the midst of the delights of this world and nowe worms in a Sepulcher do frollick and feede on them Of this remembrance of death Petrus Damianus vvryteth vnto a certaine Countesse saying O that wee would remember deare Lady how the miserable soule is excruciated at the point of death with horrible feare cruell remorse and sharpe piercings it being now to depart out of the prison of the flesh It shall remember vices and sins committed which are so strictly forbidden It shall beholde the precepts of God which it hath not obserued partly throgh negligence and partly through contempt it shall lament the time spent without fruit which was granted it to repent in it shall mourne and bewaile because it hath so lately vnderstood the ineuitable and immutable vengeance of condemnation It shall bee compelled to forsake and leaue the flesh it shall desire to reuoke and recall the time past but it cannot neither shall it bee heard Looking backwardes it shall see all her life time as the tract and step of one pace And looking forwards seeing so euerlasting an age of eternity it shall howle and cry out that in so short a time it did not purchase that great glory which the Saintes shall enioy for euer and euer