and millions of other Sins besides but Death will stay no longer for Blessed Angels bear away my Soul Farewell A Fathers Speech to his Son on his Death-Bed Son I Have Lived a Long time so Long that were not you a Good Son you would have Wished my Death before Nature had Ordained me to Die but as Heaven hath blest me with Long Life so with a Good Loving and Dutifull Son which hath been a Help and Comfort to my Old Age and as Heaven hath given you Grace and Nature a Good Disposition to Love and Obey your Father so Heaven and Nature hath given you Health and Ability to beget Posterity in which I shall Live in Name and Fame though I Die in Body But Son as you have been a Helpfull and Dutifull Son so I have been a Loving and Carefull Father for I have been more Prudent for my Sons Good than Vain for my Own Pleasure I have been more Industrions to Advance and Inrich my Son than to Please or Delight my Self and I have thought my Self Happier in my Sons Life than I have done in my Own Thus Son I have and do Love You better than my Self and all the Desire and Request I have to you is that as I have been a Father to You so you to be a Father to Yours and so I Pray the Gods to Bless you Fortune to Favour you Wisdome to Help you Nature to Strengthen you Time to Prolong you and when your Time comes to Die that we may meet in the other World with Joy and Happiness The Gods have Mercy of Me and Bless You. Farewell FUNERAL ORATIONS PART VIII An Oration to the People concerning the Death of their Soveraign Dear Country-men and Loyal Mourners WE may see our Loss by our Love and our Love by our Grief and our Grief by our Tears but we have reason for our General Mourning and Sorrow in every Heart that our Dread Soveraign is Taken from us He was our Earthly God as our Protector Defender Assister Subsister Ruler and Governour he Protected us with his Justice Defended us with his Arms Assisted us with his Prudence Subsisted us with his Love Ruled us with his Power and Govern'd us by his Laws and such a Prince he was as he was Dreadfull to his Enemies Helpfull to his Friends and Carefull of his Subjects he hath Inlarged his Dominions with the Sword and Inriched his People with the Spoils and hath Increas'd his Power both by Sea and Land and so Strengthned and Fortified his Kingdomes as his Subjects have no cause to Fear any Forein Invasion but may safely sit with Pleasure under their own Vines And so Wise and Good a Prince he was that though he be Gone yet he hath left Peace and Plenty amongst his People and Power Dominion and Strength to his Successors with which Heaven grant they may Inherit his Wisdome Moral Vertues Divine Graces Heroick Spirit Good Fortunes and Great Fame that though our Old Soveraign is gone to the Gods above yet our New Soveraign may be as a God to us here for which let us pray to our Soveraign Saint to intercede for us to the Gods on High to indue their Deputy on Earth with Divine Influences and Humane Wisdome to Govern and Rule us as he did A young Noble man's Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren VVE are met together as Funeral Guests to a Dead man who died in the Flower of his Age and whilst he Lived was Favoured of Nature Birth Breeding and Fortune for he was Handsome of Body Understanding in Mind Noble of Birth Knowing in Learning and Rich in Wealth He was Generous Valiant and Courtly he had a Pleasant Speech and a Gracefull Behaviour He was Beloved of the Muses Admired by the Sciences and Attended by the Arts he was Entertained with the Pleasures of the World and Feasted with the Varieties of Pleasures yet all could not Save him from Death Indeed Death appears more Cruel to Youth than to Age because it takes Youth from the most Flourishing time of their Life although Youth Fears Death less than Age not that Youth hath more Courage but Youth doth not Think of Death so often as Age doth for if Youth had Death in their Mind they would Fear Death more than Age doth by so much more as they are Younger and know the World less but Youth thinks Death a Long time off from them although to many he is so Near as ready to Seize on them Wherefore if those that are Young did think they should Die Soon they would not be so Eager and Fond of the World as they are nor be so Vain and Intemperate as many Young Persons be the brave Gallants would take little Pleasure in New Modes Gay Cloaths and Fair Mistresses a Young Gallant would be but a Dull Courtier a Melancholy Lover not Melancholy for his Mistress disfavour but at Death's approach not for Love but for Life neither would he take Pleasure in Musick or Dancing for the thoughts of Death would make him Dance false and put his Hearing out of Tune and the Musick would Sound to his Ears as his Passing Bell neither would he Eye Beauty but if he did the Freshest Beauty would appear Faded In truth all his Senses would be as Rough and troubled VVaters disturbed by the Storms of Fear raised in his Mind for the most Valiant minds are somewhat Disturbed with the thoughts of Death by reason the Terrors of Death are Natural to all mankind not so much to Feel as to Think of not only for the Parting of Soul and Body and the dark Oblivion in Death but for the Uncertain condition after Death for though Death is not Sensible of Life yet Life is Sensible of Death so that it is the Thoughts of Death that are Fearfull and not Death it self that is so Terrible as being neither Painfull to Feel nor Dreadfull to Behold because Invisible and Insensible having neither Shape Sound Sent Tast nor Touch But this Noble Person is past Thinking and therefore past Fearing also past Wishing for he doth not Desire to live in this VVorld again he Thinks not of the World or of any thing in the World he is free from all Trouble of Mind or Body in which Happiness let us lay him in the Tomb with his Forefathers there to rest in Peace and Ease A Generals Funeral Oration Beloved Friends THis Noble Person that lies here Dead was once our General a Valiant man he was a Skilfull Souldier a Wise Commander and a Generous Giver he Loved his Souldiers more than Spoil and Fame more than Life he was full of Clemency and Mercy he would give his Enemies their Lives Freely when he had Overcome them Valiantly and he was so Carefull of his Own Souldiers Lives as he would never Adventure or put them to the Hazard but when he saw great Probability of Victory Yet this Gallant man this Excellent Souldier whom his Enemies could never Overcome Death hath Taken Prisoner with whom
Terrible and Dreadfull Pit wherein is no Hope of Getting out The truth is Death carries many Evil Souls down into Hell but Good Souls he leaves at the Bottom of the Hill that leads up to Heaven from which those Souls Climb and Clamber up with great Difficulty for whatsoever is Excellent is Hard to Get or Come to whereas that which is Bad is Easie to be Had. But howsoever this Poor man is Dead and we shall see him Buried leaving his Soul in its Journey and his Body in the Grave A young Virgins Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren and Sisters in God VVE here meet not only as Funeral Mourners but as Marriage Guests to Attend and Wait upon a Young Virgin to see her Laid into her Nuptial-bed which is the Grave 'T is true her Husband Death is a Cold Bed-fellow but yet he makes a Good Husband for he will never Cross Oppose nor Anger her nor give her Cause of Grief or Sorrow neither in his Rude Behaviour Inconstant Appetite nor Lewd Life which had she Married any other Husband might have made very Unhappy whereas now she will know no Sorrow for there is no Whoring Gaming Drinking Quarrelling nor Prodigal Spending in the Grave for Death Banishes all Riot and Disorder out of his Habitations there is no Noise nor Disturbance in his Palace Indeed Death's Palace is a place of Peace Rest Quiet and Silence and therefore all are Happy that Dwell there for there is no Envy Malice Slander nor Treachery there Men are not Tempted with Beauty nor Women Flattered into Wantonness they are Free from all Tentation or Defamation neither are they Troubled or Tormented with Pain or Sickness for Death hath a Remedy for all Diseases which is Insensibility the truth is Death is not only Charitable to Help all Creatures out of Misery but Generous as to be so Hopitable that he sets Open his Gates for all Comers insomuch as the Meanest Creatures that are have a Free Entrance and the Same Entertainment with the Noblest for there are no Ceremonies of State All is in Common there is no Pride nor Ambition no Scorn nor Disgrace and Death's Palace is so Spacious as it is beyond all Measure or Circumference being sufficient to Receive all the Creatures Nature makes and since there is such Store of Company in Death and Death so Generous and Hospitable why should we Fear or be Loath to Dye nay why should not we Desire to Dye and Rejoyce for those Friends that are Dead especially Considering the Unhappiness of Life wherein Man is most Miserable because he is most Sensible and Apprehensive of what he Suffers or what he may Suffer But this Young Virgin is Happier by Death than many Others are because she hath not Liv'd so Long to Suffer so Much as those that are Older Have done or as those that Live to be Old Will do Wherefore let us Rejoyce for her Happiness and put her into the Grave the Bed of Rest there to Sleep Quietly A Young New-Married Wif's Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren VVE are met together at this time to see a New-Married Wife which is here Dead to be Buried She hath made an unequal Change from a Lively Hot Husband to a Deadly Cold Lover yet will she be more Happy with her Dull Dumb Deaf Blind Numb Lover than with her Lively Talking Listning Eying Active Husband were he the Best Husband that could be for Death is far the Happier Condition than Marriage and although Marriage at first is Pleasing yet after a time it is Displeasing like Meat which is Sweet in the Mouth but proves Bitter in the Stomack Indeed the Stomack of Marriage is full of Evil Humours as Choler and Melancholy and of very Evil Disgestion for it cannot Disgest Neglects Disrespects Absence Dissembling Adultery Jealousie Vain Expences Waste Spoil Idle Time Laziness Examinations Cross Answers Peevishness Frowardness Frowns and many the like Meats that Marriage Feeds on As for Pains Sicknesses Cares Fears and other Troubles in Marriage they are Accounted as wholesome Physick which the Gods give them for the Gods are the Best Physicians and Death is a very Good Surgeon Curing his Patients without Pain for what Part soever he Touches is Insensible Death is only Cruel in Parting Friends from each other for though they are Happy whom he Takes away yet those that are Left behind are Unhappy Living in Sorrow for their Loss so that this Young New-Married Wife that is Dead is Happy but her Husband is a Sorrowfull Widdower But leaving Her to her Happiness and Him to be Comforted let us put her into the Grave there to Remain untill the day of Judgement which Day will Imbody her Soul with Everlasting Glory A Widdows Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren THis Widdow at whose Funeral we are met Lived a very Intemperate and Irregular Life all the time of her Widdow-hood for which not only Nature but the Gods might be Angry with her for though She did not Surfeit with Feasting yet She Starved her self with Fasting and though She did not Drink her self Drunken as many Women in this Age will do yet She did Weep her self Dry She grew not Fat and Lasie with overmuch Sleeping but became Lean and Sick with overmuch Watching She VVatch'd not to Dance and Play but to Mourn and Pray nor did She waste her Wealth in Vanities but She did waste her Life in Sorrow She Sate not on the Knees of Amorous Lovers but Kneeled on her Knees to God Her Cheeks were not Red with Paint but Pale with Grief She did not wear Black Patches on her Face but Black Mourning on her Body She was Adorned with no other Jewels than her Tears She had no Diamond Pendents in her Ears but Transparent Tears in her Eyes no Oriental Pearls about her Neck but Drops of Tears lay on her Breast Thus was She Drest in Tears She suffered not Painters to Draw the Picture of her Face but her Thoughts did Form her Husbands Figure in her Mind She hung not her Chamber with Black but her Mind with Melancholy She Banished all Stately Ceremonies and Ceremonies of State and set her self Humbly on the Ground She past not her time with Entertaining Visitors but Entertain'd her Self with the Remembrance of her Husband She did not Speak much but Think much In short She was so Intemperate in her Grief as her Grief Kill'd her it may be said she was Murdered with Grief and no kind or manner of Murder is Acceptable either to Nature or the Gods but some sorts of Murders are Hatefull to both Yet this Widdow howsoever she Offended in her Over-much Grieving She had Pardon for her Praying and to prove the Gods did Pardon her they Granted her Request which was to take her out of this World without Painfull Sickness and so they did for She was so free from Pains as She parted with Life with a Smiling Countenance and lay as Still as if She lay to Sleep She breathed out her last Breath
against you your Acquaintance to shun you your Friends to Grieve for you your Posterity to be Ashamed of you and Disgraced by you for when After-ages shall mention you your Posterity if they have any Worth or Merit will hang down their heads for shame to hear of your Evil Deeds all which will be if you be Mutinous Conspirers Traitors or Cowards but if neither Honour Honesty Fidelity nor Love can disswade you from your Base Treacherous and Wicked designs or that your Design is against Me here I offer my Self to you to dispose of my Person and Life as you please for I am neither asham'd to Suffer nor afraid to Dye knowing I have not done any thing that a man of Honour ought not to do and as Fear hath no power over my Mind so Force hath no power over my Will for I shall willingly Dye An Oration to Souldiers who have kill'd their General BArbarous Souldiers or rather Cruel Murderers you that have inhumanely Kill'd your General your Carefull Painfull Prudent Valiant Loving and Kind General ought to be generally Kill'd but Death would be too great a Mercy and Happiness for such Wretches as you are for you deserve such Torments and Afflictions as are above all expressions and your Bloody Action hath made you appear to me so Horrid that me thinks Life is Terrible because you Live and Death is Amable since our General is Dead and Honour lives in the Grave with him and Baseness lives in the World with you Devils possess your Souls in your living Bodies when as Angels have born away his Soul from his liveless Corps to be Crown'd with Everlasting Glory You shall not need to Fear your Enemies now for surely they will Flye you not for fear you should Kill them but for fear you should Infect them they fear not your Courage but your Wickedness neither shall you fear Oblivion for you will be Infamous and the very report of your Murdering act will cause a trembling of Limbs and chilness of Spirit to all the hearers and you will not only be Scorn'd Hated and Curs'd but Prayers will be offer'd against you and Men will Bless themselves from you as from a Plague or Evil Spirit Thus your Enemies will despise you your Friends renounce you Honest men exclame against you men of Honour shun you good Fortune forsake you Heaven shut all mercy from you your Conscience torment you insomuch that you will be asham'd to Live and afraid to Dye An Oration to Souldiers which repent the Death of their General PEnitent Souldiers for so you seem by your Tears Sighs Groans and sorrowfull Complaints I cannot forbid you to Weep for your Fault requires great and many showers of Tears to wash away your Crime indeed there is no other way to purge your Souls and to cleanse your Consciences from the stains of your Generals Blood but by Penitent Tears Wherefore let me advise you to go to his Urn and there humbly on your Knees lamenting your Sorrow pray to Heaven for Pardon then make him a Statue and carry his Image in your Ensigns and set his Statue under your Banner Thus make him that was your General your Saint and let his Memory be famous by your Valour that his Enemies may know the power of his Name is able to Destroy them so will you make him Victorious in his Grave and appease his Angry Ghost An Oration to Distressed Souldiers Dear Country-men YOu know we are a people that have been Conquered and made Slaves to our Enemies which Slavery we did Patiently indure a long time but at last we had an Impatient desire of Liberty and had our Prudence been according to our Desires no doubt but we should have Gain'd it but our Over-hasty Desires have put us into a greater Misery for now we are not only like to Lose our Liberties again but our Lives or to Live in worse Bondage than we did before which we had better Dye than Indure but since we were not so Wise for our selves to Prevent our Danger as we were Just to our selves to Indeavour our Liberty yet we must not leave Indeavouring our own Good so long as Life lasts Wherefore we must consider what is best to be done in this Extremity First we have of our selves a Great Body though not so well Armed as I wish we were yet so as we are not left Naked to our Enemies but though we have a great Number yet our Enemies have a greater Number and though we be Arm'd yet our Enemies are Better Armed the worst of all is that we are in a place of such Disadvantage as either we must Starve or Yield our selves or Fight it out at all Hazards As for Starving it is a lingring and painfull Death and to Yield will be a miserable and painfull Life wherefore to Fight it out at all Hazards will be best for us to choose for Death is the End of Misery and Pain is not felt in a Raging or Acting Fury and if we Resolve let the worst come to the worst we can but Dye and that we must do in time had we no other Enemies than what are Natural as Sickness and Age and these Hopes we have that Desperate Men in Desperate Adventures have many times Good Fortune and those that are Desperate want no Courage but they are apt to be Careless of Conduct Wherefore let me advise you to Listen to Direction and be carefull to Obey your Instructions for if we should Overcome our Enemies we should not only save our Lives which we give for lost but we should have our Liberties and also Honour Power and Wealth too whereas our Enemies only venture their Lives to keep us in Subjection which will cause them to Fight but Faintly for where there is neither Profit nor Honour to be gain'd they will sooner Run away than Venture their Lives in the Battel so that our Poverty will Defend us and our Necessity help to Fight for us Prudence shall Guide us and then perchance Fortune may Favour us Wherefore let us Assault our Enemies before they Expect us and indeavour to Overcome them before they are ready to Fight with us for if we take them Unprepar'd we shall find them without Defence and in such Disorder as we shall Destroy them without Hazard ORATIONS TO CITIZENS IN THE MARKET PLACE PART III. An Oration to a dejected People ruined by Warr. Unfortunate Citizens and Country-men YOu now seem to be as much cast down and dejected in your Misery as you were puft up with Pride in your Prosperity in which Prosperity you were so Confident and so Careless of your Security as you would neither believe your Danger nor provide for your Safety insomuch that you Murmured and Mutined against all Assessments and Payments although it were to keep the Kingdome in Peace and to strengthen it against Forein force but now you do not Murmur at small Taxes but Mourn for your great Losses not for your Security but
therein As for Moral Philosophy he knew well how to Compose Common-wealths and to Settle and Govern them also he knew well the Natures Humours Passions and Appetites amongst Mankind as also to Divide and Distinguish them and to Order Form and Reform them As for Natural Philosophy he did not only Study the Outward Forms of several Creatures but their Inward Natures In truth his Conception was so Subtil and Peircing his Observation so Dilative his Reason so Strong his Wit so Agil his Judgement so Solid his Understanding so Clear and his Thoughts so Industrious as they went to the First Cause of several Effects and he did not only Converse with the Body but the Soul of Nature indeed he was Nature's Platonick Lover and She rewarded him in Discovering to him her most Hidden and Obscure Secrets by which he begot Great Wisdome and Everlasting Fame for though his Body be Dead yet his Good Laws VVise Sciences Profitable Arts VVitty Experiences Graces Vertues and Eloquence will Live for the Benefit and Delight of Living men in all Nations and Ages and though we have great reason to Mourn for his Bodily Death yet we have more reason to Rejoyce for his Glorious Fame but leaving his Merits to Life and his Body to Death let us lay him into the Grave to Transmigrate as Nature pleases A Funeral Oration of a Dead Lady Spoken by a Living Lady Dearly Beloved Sisters in God VVE are met as Sorrowfull Mourners to attend this Dead Ladies Corps to the Grave She was in her Life the Rule of our Actions and will be in her Fame the Honour of our Sex She was Favoured of Nature the Gods and Fortune Nature gave her Wit and Beauty the Gods gave her Piety and Charity and Fortune gave her Wealth and Education She was Adorned by the Graces Beloved by the Muses and Attended by the Arts She was Sociable in her Conversation Just in her Promises and Generous in her Gifts She was Industrious in all Good Actions Helpfull to all Distress'd Persons and Gratefull for all sorts of Courtisies She was Humble in her Own Prosperities and full of Magnanimity in her Own Adversities her Mind had no Passage for any Evil nor no Obstruction against any Good But to repeat or summ up the Number of this Ladies Merits is beyond my Rhetorick or Arithmetick for certainly she was Composed of the Purest Effence of Nature and the Divinest Spirits of Heaven She had the Piety of Saints the Chastity of Angels and the Love of the Gods in which Love let us leave her Soul and lay her Body in the Grave till the time of Glorification A Foreiners or Strangers Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren YOu shew your Charity and Humanity and that they are not Bound up to Particulars or to your Friends and Country-men but that they Extend to Strangers in coming to see this Stranger who Died out of his Native Country Decently to be Buried in a Forein Land I mean Forein as from his Native Country although the truth is that all the World is Common to Mankind for Nature hath not assigned Men to any Particular place or Part of the World but hath given All the World freely to them as if she made the World and all other Creatures only for Man's sake for all other Creatures are not so generally Disperst or rather so Spreading and Branching throughout the World as Mankind is by reason they Belong Breed Prosper or Increase in Particular Climates as some in Cold and others in Hot and some in one Part of the World and some in Another for some Creatures will be so farr from Increasing in some Particular Climates as they cannot Live in them but in all Parts of the World that are Habitable there be Men. 'T is true Different Climates may cause men to be of Different Complexions but what Complexions soever they have they are all of the same kind as Mankind and of the same sort of Animals for though all Beasts are of Beast-kind yet a Fox and an Ass is not one and the same sort or kind of Beast but there is no such different sort amongst Mankind for there is no difference of men in their Natural Shapes Proprieties Qualities Abilities Capacities Entities or the like unless some Defects to some Particulars which is nothing to the Generality for all the kind of Mandkind is all alike both in Body and Mind as in their Shapes Senses Appetites Speech Frowning Laughing Weeping and the like as also alike in their Rational Parts as Judging Understanding Conceiving Remembring Apprehending Considering Imagining Desiring Joying Grieving Loving Hating Fearing Doubting Hoping Believing and the like And therefore since not any man can be accounted as a Stranger in any Part of the World because he hath by Nature a Right as a Natural Inheritance to Inhabit what part or place of the World he will But all Mankind are as Brethren not only by Kind but by Inheritance as being General Sharers and Possessors of the World so this Dead man ought not to be accounted as a Stranger but a Brother VVherefore let us Mourn as we ought to do for a Dead Brother and Accompany his Hearse to the Grave with Religious Ceremony there leaving it in Rest and Peace A Post-Riders Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren YOu have Exprest your Humanity and Charity in coming to this Poor Unfortunate man's Burial which though he was a Poor man yet he was an Honest man and therefore is much the more Worthy to be Praised for Poverty and Necessity is a great Temptation to Knavery as much as Riches is a Temptation to Foolery which is Vanity nay Riches is not only Guilty of Vanity but Vice as Luxnry Pride and Wantonness whereas Knavery is Cheating Coosening Stealing and the like of all which this Poor man was Free And as he was an Honest man so he was a Laborious man for his Profession of Life was a Post-Rider an Unfortunate Profession for him for he Riding fast upon a Stumbling Jade fell down and Broke his Neck Thus we see that Misfortunes as well as Sicknesses bring many to their Lives ends and many times to a Miserable end for Misfortunes take Life away Unawares and sometimes Unprepar'd to Dye so this man did not Think when he got on the Horses back he should Ride Post to Death for had he thought so he would have Chosen to Run a-Foot a Safer though a Slower pace But could his Soul Ride Post on Death to Heaven as his Body Rid Post on a Horse to Death he might Out-strip many a Soul that is gone before him for though his Soul as all Souls are Light and of no Weight yet Death is no nimble Runner being Cold and Numb and nothing but Bare Bones a Hard Seat for a Tender Soul Besides the way to Heaven is so Narrow and Steep as Death cannot Get up for should he Venture his Soul would be in Danger to be Overthrown and cast into Hell which is a Deep Dark
so softly as those that stood Close by her Bed could not hear her Sigh and when She was Dead her Beauty that all the time of her Mourning was Obscured in her Sorrows Appear'd in her Death only the Gloss of her Eyes were Covered with their Lids for Death had Shut her Eye-lids down and Seald up her Lips which Lips seem'd as if they had been Seal'd with Red Coloured Wax although Death had Kist them Cold for now Death is her Lover not an Amorous but a Deadly Lover to whose Imbraces we must leave her Body after we have laid it in the Bed of Earth An other Widdow's Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren VVE are met as Funeral or rather Marriage Guests of a Dead Widdow who is now Re-married to her Husband in Death and no question but their Souls will Joy in the Knowledge of each other for though Bodies Dye yet Souls do not but Live for ever Death having Power only over the Sensitive not over the Rational Life for Knowledge Lives though Senses Dye and if the Soul Lives no question but all that is Inherent in the Soul Lives as all the Passions Affections Thoughts Memory Understanding Judgement Conceptions Speculations Fancy Knowledge and the like which are the Parts and Ingrediences with which the Soul is Composed Form'd and Made Thus the Soul being made of such Thin Fine Pure and Rare Matter Death can take no hold of it for Death's Power is only on Gross Corporeal Substances or Matter not on Celestial Bodies but Terrestrial but this Widdows Soul was Purer than other Souls usually are for there are Degrees of Purity in Souls as well as Degrees of Grossness in Bodies The truth might easily be Perceived in her Life for there was as much Difference between her Soul and Other Souls as between Souls and Bodies at least as much Difference as between a Glorified Soul and a Soul Imbodied Nay her Soul was so Pure as it did Purifie her Body for it did Resine the Appetites which Cleared the Senses besides her Soul did Instruct the Senses which made them More Sensible so that they were kept Clean Clear and Healthfull by Temperance and made Apt Quick and Ready by Reason insomuch as Time had but a Little Power to Hurt them and was not Able to Destroy them without the Help of Death had she Lived Long but Death to shew his Power destroyed her Body without the Help of Time for she Lived not to be so Old as for Time to make a Trial yet her Body Lived Longer than she was willing it should have done desiring it might have Died when her Husband Died but the Gods Forbad it for though any Creature especially Man may Call Death when he Will and Force him to take his Bodily Life away yet the Gods are Angry if any man will not stay whilst Death comes of Himself without Inforcement Nevertheless Death did Favour this Widdow for though he did not take her so Soon as she would have Died yet he suffered her not Long to Live a weary Life for which Favour she received Death with Joy and a Smiling Countenance whereas Death for the most part is received with Fear and Sadness and since she Rejoyced at her Death we have no Reason to Mourn now she is Dead especially in that she Lived and Died Vertuously and Piously for which the Gods will Advance her to Everlasting Glory For this Glory let us Praise the Gods and Bury her Body in her Husbands Tomb or Grave that their Dust or Ashes may lye together A Young Child's Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren VVE are the Funeral Guests to a Young Male Child an Infant who Died soon after it was Born and though all Men are Born to Live and Live to Dye yet this Child was Born to Dye Before it had Lived I mean in Comparison of the Age of men Thus this Child was Born Cried and Died a happy Conclusion for the Child that he had Finished what he was made for in so Short a time for he could not have had less Pain less Trouble nor less Desires to have left the World had he Liv'd longer for Life is Restless with Desires Sickly and Painfull with Diseases Troublesome with Cares Laborious with Labour Grievous with Losses Fearfull with Dangers and Miserable in all which Misery this Child hath Escap'd but had he Lived he could not have Avoided it besides he is not Guilty of Self-acting Sins and so Deserves no Punishment for neither Commission nor Omission can be laid to his Charge having no time for Either so that he is Free from Both as also from Suffering either in this World or the Next unless there be such a severe Decree as the Child shall Suffer for his Parents faults which Faults he could neither Hinder nor Annul neither did he Approve nor Allow them nor Assist them in Evil But it is not probable he shall Suffer being Innocent and Death that is Accounted the Wages of Sin may rather be taken as a Gift of Mercy also Death might be said to be a Purifier from Sin as well as a Punisher of Sin Wherefore this Child is past the Purgatory of Death and is in the Heaven of Peace Rest Ease and Happiness in which let us leave him after we have Covered his Corps with Earth An Old Ladies Funeral Oration THis Old Lady was Favour'd by Nature Fortune and Time Nature in her Youth gave her Beauty Fortune gave her Wealth and Time and Nature gave her long Life She was Courted in her Youth for the Pleasures of her Beauty and Flattered in her Age for the Profit of her Wealth but being Chast and Wise She was neither Corrupted with the One nor Deluded with the Other not Tempted with Courtship nor Coosen'd with Flattery and as She was Chast and Wise so She was Pious for the Gods gave her Grace to bestow her Wealth to Charitable uses Thus what she Got by Fortune she Gave to Heaven indeed she Bought Heaven with Fortune's Gifts for none can get into Heaven but by Faith and Good Deeds and her Faith did Believe that her Good VVorks would be as an Advocate to Plead for her and no question but they have gotten her Sute and her Charity will Live here on Earth though she be Dead and those she Relieved will make her their Saint Thus she will be Sainted both on Earth and in Heaven which is as Great an Honour and a more Blessed Condition than the Emperours had with all their Conquefts Power Pride and Vanity for the height of their Ambition was to be Deified on Earth and to be Sainted in as much They were Worshipp'd for Fear She Pray'd to for Love They had Idolatrous Worshippers She Sanctified Petitioners Their Idols lasted but a time She shall be Blest for Evermore An Ancient Man's Funeral Oration Beloved Brethren AGe hath Ushered our Friend to Death and we are here met to attend him to the Grave it is an Human Charitable and Pious Service to see the
Eat and Eat more than you have Appetite you are like Misers in your Feeding stuffing your Stomacks with Meat as they do their Trunks and Baggs with Money and the Superfluity of meat Destroyes the Gluttonous Eater with Surfeits Thirdly your Adorning or rather Deforming your selves in Antick Fashions and Toyish Vanities which sheweth your Heads to be Brainless and sometimes your Purses to be Moneyless for Spending so much on your Backs you cannot Keep any thing in your Coffers nor for your Necessary use Fourthly your Idle Visits and Unprofitable Discourses wherein is more Words than Wit and more Time lost than Knowledge gain'd for you become more Ignorant with Talking than Learned with Contemplating for Brains are not Manured with Foolish Discourses but Wise Considerations Lastly your Numerous Trains which are Unprofitable Servants being maintain'd for Shew and not for Use they Spending much and doing little Service is the Cause not only of great Disorders but the Ruine of many Noble Families The Short is you Drink to be Drunk Eat to be Sick Live to be Idle Spend to be Poor and Talk to be Fools Thus you Lose Time Waste your Estate Trouble your Minds and Shorten your Lives Living with more Cost than Worship and more Worship than Pleasure for you are Stewards for your Servants Hosts for your Guests and Slaves to your Vain Humours An Oration Contradicting the Former Noble Citizens THe Former Oration was against the Lawfull Delights and Pleasures of our Citizens nay of all Mankind which Expresses the Orator either to be so Poor of Means as he Cannot Attain to such Delights and Pleasures or that his Senses are Imperfect as not Capable to Receive them or that he is of so Evil a Disposition as to Desire all men to be Miserable or that he is a Fool as not Knowing how to Speak or Live wisely whereas had he Spoken against Hurtfull and Destroying Vices he had Spoken as a Good man ought to do for Vices are Vices no otherwise but that they are Hurtfull or Destructive to Mankind which makes them Vices for the Gods Forbid them because of the Evil Effects as Drunkenness which Disorders the Reason Distempers the Brain and Obstructs the Senses making men Senseless or to be as Mad and causes oftentimes Quarrels Wounds and Death at least Breaks Peace and makes Enemies of Friends besides Drunkenness makes men Sick and is apt to Shorten their Lives all which makes it a Vice and so a Sin But did Drunkenness cause no Evil Effect it ought not to be Forbidden nor could it be accounted a Crime The like I may say for Gluttony for would men Eat only to Please them and not so much as to Disease them it would be no Fault to Eat well or to Please their Palate but it is the Surfeits Sickness and oftentimes Untimely Death that makes Gluttony a Vice and for Adultery it would be so far from a Crime as it would be a Virtue in the Increase of Mankind were it not for the Loss of Propriety in that no man would Know his Own Child nor be sure to Injoy his Own Wife or that Woman he makes Choice of As for Theft and Murder they are not of that Sort to be named Vices only but Damnable Sins wherein can neither be Society Safety nor Security of Life for Thieves and Murderers indeavour an Utter Destruction without Mercy or Remorse Wherefore since Vices and Sins are Vices and Sins for their Hurt and Evil Effects those things that are call'd Vanities which produce Pleasure and Delight without Death and Destruction ought not to be Spoken against for Vanities are Profitable to the Poor and not Hurtfull to the Rich But yet Moralists and Divines Plead Preach and Write Rail and Exclame against all Honest Harmless Delights and Pleasures as if they were Sins to God and Nature as if Nature and the God of Nature should make Senses and Appetites in Vain or only to the Hurt and Dislike of the Creature and not for their Good and Pleasure as to make a Body for Pain and Sickness and not for Health and Ease and to make a Mind for Trouble and Discontent and not for Peace and Tranqullity to make Desires but not Fruitions Indeed Nature and the God of Nature is more Just to Mankind for as they have made Eyes and Seeing so they have made Light Splendour and Beauty to be Seen and as they have made Ears to Hear so they have made Harmony to be Heard and as they have made Nostrils to Smell so they have made Perfumes to be Smelt and as they have made Taste so they have made Relishes and as they have made Hunger so they have made Food and as they have made Appetites so they have given Satisfaction or Satiety Thus we may perceive that every Particular Sense is Fitted or Matched to Particular Pleasures but because Nature hath made some Aversion therefore Moralists and Divines would not have men Injoy the Pleasure in Nature whereas the most Rational men perceive that Aversions were only made to Highten and Re-double the Pleasures and Delights both of Body and Mind but these Men are so Rigid in their Doctrine I will not say in their own particular Practice as they would have men Choose the Worst part and Refuse the Better and would have all Mankind Struggle Strive and Oppose all Nature's Delights and Benefits the truth is they seem to Desire a Perpetual Warr between the Senses and the Objects as also between the Mind and the Body as between the Reason and Sense but in my opinion their Doctrine hath neither Sense nor Reason and their Authors would have as Little if they should Practise what they Preach Wherefore Noble Citizens my Advise is that you Take your Pleasures yet so as you may Injoy them Long as to Warm your Selves not to Burn your Selves to View the Light but not to Gaze out your Sight to Bathe your Selves but not to Drown your Selves to Please your Selves but not to Destroy your Selves with Excess An Oration against Usurers and Money-Horders Noble Citizens VVE have some Citizens amongst us that are Rich and yet Miserable they Covet Much yet Injoy but Little for they Hord up their Wealth and Starve Themselves and if they did Starve None but Themselves it were no great matter being fitter for Death than Life but their Hords impoverish the Common-wealth and so Starve the Poor for there cannot be a Greater Evil in a Common-wealth set a-side Warr than to have many Rich Usurers as Covetous Getters and Spare Spenders for their Great Wealth is like as a Great Dunghill which whilst it lies on a Heap together doth no Good but Hurt whereas if it were Dispersed and Spread upon the Barren Lands it would Inrich much Ground producing Increase and Plenty The like should Money or such sort of Riches be Spread equally to make a Common-wealth Live Happily Indeed a Prodigal is more Beneficial and Profitable to a Common-wealth than a Usurer for a