Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	sin_n	soul_n	spiritual_a	8,699	5	7.0020	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20983	Emblema animæ or Morrall discourses reflecting upon humanitie. Written by John du Plessis now Cardinall of Richleu. Translated by I.M. Also varietie of obseruations delightfull to the minde; Emblema animae. English	Richelieu, Armand Jean de Plessis, duc de, 1585-1642.; Maxwell, James, b. 1581.; Marshall, William, fl. 1617-1650, engraver.	1635 (1635)	STC 7359; ESTC S111092	68,276	289

our affections and dresse our selves in such sort that fortune may finde the lesse advantage to offend us for a smal body that can cover and gather it selfe together under a buckler marcheth on towards the enemy with more surely then a bigger body doth that lyeth at large open unto blowes If it were not mine intention to husband the time and to spare paper I could enlarge my discourse by reciting of almost ●nnumerable examples as well of Heathens as of Christians which have placed a great part of their perfection in poverty But ye ought to consider one thing for all that Iesus Christ was poore who was Lord of the whole world his Disciples were poore which did possesse all things and the Saints were poore which might have beene rich If yee should never dye I would advise you to set your affection upon riches but I see to that those to whom they most befall doe finde sooner the end of their living then of their longing Why then should a man torment himselfe for a thing that he must necessarily leave and why is he not rather content quietly with that which is needfull chiefly considering that the fairest kind of wealth is for a man to be neither too poore nor yet too far off from poverty DISC. 18. Of Death CAesar sayd well that the best death was that which was least premeditated and to say truth the preparatiō before death hath bin to many a greater torment then the execution it selfe The Mexicans salute their Infants comming forth of their Mothers wombe thus Infant thou art come into the world to suffer endure suffer and hold thy peace Why then should a man bee sorry to dye when nothing but life is miserable And it seemeth that all incommodities and misfortunes may bee borne with either by the meanes of a long custome or by the helpe of a strong discourse onely Death and the apprehension thereof is the thing that putteth us in greatest feare Now the onely remedy and true easing of this evill is that yee make this reckoning of the world and all that is therein that yee have nothing which is your owne neither life nor living no not so much as your owne selfe but that yee live alwayes borrowing and holding your very life not in property but on condition to restore it unto him againe who hath lent it you whensoever he shall require it at your hands yet for all this yee must not neglect it as a thing not yours but must keepe it faithfully and carefully in regard that God hath trusted you with the custody thereof and when it is time to render it to him that gave it not grudgingly but gladly and with a cheerefull countenance in the meane time thanking GOD the giver of all good things for the time yee have had the use and aide thereof and saying unto him in this or the like manner Lord I render unto thee againe this Soule and Life with as good an heart as it pleased thee to give mee the same yea even with a better and readier will then I did receive it for when thou gavest it me thou gavest it to a little weake Creature which knew not the good thou then didst bestow but now thou dost receive it againe at the hands of a Creature more accomplished who knoweth what it is he commendeth into thine hands and therfore rendereth it unto thee withall franknesse and readinesse of will and truely we may easily imagine that it is not a hard thing for a substance to returne to the place whence it first came the body returning to the earth and the soule if it goe the right way must goe to him that gave it To bee short that man doubtlesse never learned well to live who knoweth not how to die wee must therefore in this case bee so affected towards our selves as wee are wont to be in the behalfe of fencers which must fight in a barred field for wee commonly hate him that beareth himselfe faint-heartedly and favour the other who out of a brave courage had rather chose to dye then to bee overcome Besides the feare of death is sometimes the cause or occasion of it to him that flyeth fastest from it And seeing yee know well that life was given you upon condition to render it againe ●e ought not to be so unjust as ●o desire to enjoy that thing for ever which was given unto you for a day by making your selfe Lord and owner of the thing whereof yee are onely a depositary or keeper Moreover men wil say that it is a matter of great import to wit the feare and apprehension of death and that it is the extreame of all terrible things But ye ought to understand that Death is not to bee found fault with for this seeing that it proceedeth not from the nature of Death but from our owne imbecillity who are commonly overtaken and intangled with delights with a desire of this transitory life and with an immoderate love of this miserable flesh And if yee take good heed it is not so much Death i● selfe that is dreadfull as the opinion which wee hold concerning the same For every man feareth it according to his judgment apprehension and conscience And if it bee so that yee have no feare thereof but onely for this occasion then lay the blame upon your selfe and no● upon it For it fareth with men of an evill conscience when they must dye as it doth with riotous spend-thrifts when they must pay their debts They will not come to an account for the distrust which they have of their ability to satisfie for what they have done And to say that ye feare death ●y reason that it is the last point ●●d period of man hath but lit●●e reason in it For the Soule 〈◊〉 alwaies it liveth ever and ●●nnot dye The Greekes call mans decease ●●e end giving us thereby to ●nderstand that it is the period ●nd end of wearisome life O●●ers a death of which there ●re foure kinds the first is the ●aturall death or separation be●weene the Body and the Soule ●he second is a spirituall death ●r a separation betweene the grace of God and us the third ●s a ghostly death or a separation betweene our sinnes and us and the fourth is an everlasting death or a separation betweene Heaven and us for ever But the Holy Scripture calleth death a sleepe to assure us of an assured Resurrection and to the end wee weepe not as Infidels doe which are withou● hope Let us consider with ou● selves how many holy men and women have prized it and desired it as the onely easemen● of all their anguish The writings of Solomon Iob and the histories of Gods Saints are full of the praises of this Christian desire of death What a vanity is it to love so much this miserable life this Jaile this prison this vale of ●eares seeing that the longer we live the longer we live in sinne the more daies wee spend

the more wee erre and so goe on each houre purchasing unto our selves a new paine and punishment The day of Death is the Master-day and Judge of all other dayes the tryall and Touchstone of all the actions of our ●●fe Then do we make our grea●●st assay and gather the whole ●●uite of all our studies He that ●●dgeth of the Life of a man ●ust looke how hee carrieth ●imselfe at his Death for the ●nd Crowneth the Workes ●nd a good Death honoureth a ●ans whole life as an evill de●●meth it Therefore feare it ●ot On Christian for that day which thou fearest as thy last is ●●e Birth-day of Eternity Divers dayes have beene ●appy and unlucky to divers ●en as Friday to that great Captaine Gonsalvo in the Wars of Naples the twenty fourth day of February to Charles the fifth Wednesday to Pope Six●us the fifth Sunday to Henry the seventh of England And Saturday in the three times taking of Ierusalem by Pompey Herod and Titus But no day 〈◊〉 either happy or averse to a ch●●stian but his day of death Ho●● carefull ought ye then to bee 〈◊〉 prepare himselfe against th● day wherein he shall be rewa●ded according to his worke● which if good with a Crow● of blessednesse but if bad wi●● unquenchable fire It was a custome among th● Indians when any of the m●dyed his wives with their mo●● glorious Habits and greate● pompe as if it were on the●● nuptiall day threw themselv●● into the fire she accounting h●● selfe happiest that was the firs● and those that refused were fo● ever after rejected and mad● slaves Let not Heathens ou● strippe thee O Christian let th● death bee more honourable CHRIST is the Spouse of th● Church follow him therefore ●●t not thy life onely but thy ●eath be godly otherwise thou ●●t no better then a slave to sin ●nd Satan despised not of men ●nely but of the Divells them●elves This consideration of our death 〈◊〉 a great helpe not onely to ●rovoke us to live a good life ●ut besides that to dye well In ●hings that be hard and dificult foresight and preparation before ●and is a very great helpe to ●ring them well to passe Now so great a leape as is the leape of death which reacheth from this life to the everlasting life to come cannot well be leaped unlesse we make a great course and fetch a long race to runne the same No great thing can bee well and perfectly done at the first time seeing therefore it is so great a matter to dye and so necessary to dye well it shall be very expedient for us to dye oftentimes in our life that wee may dye well at the very time of our death Wee must not be unwilling to dye and to yeel● our bodies as a debt due to Nature no for the Body at the best is but the Coffin of the Soule as the Graue is the coffin of the Body The souliders that bee appointed to fight doe first practice themselves in such postures and exercises as whereby the may learne in time of peace what they must do in time of warre the Horse also that must runne at the Tilt traverseth all the ground before and tryeth all the steps thereof that at such times as hee commeth to make his course he bee not found new and strange in doing his feat Wherefore seeing wee all must runne this course insomuch as there is no man alive but must dye considering also that the way is so obscure stony as all men know and the danger so great that whosoever falleth shall be tumbled downe headlong into the bottomlesse pit of hell fire it is very requisite that we tread diligently before hand all this way and consider particularly all the steppes and places thereof one by one because that in every one of them there is much to bee considered and let us not thinke it enough to consider onely what passeth outwardly in our conversation but let us endeavour much more to understand what passeth inwardly within the heart so shall both our life and and death be acceptable And to shut the doore unto all fearefull apprehensions of death we must learne to do two things which the world can never teach us the one is to live well for a vertuous and Christian life maketh even agreeable the very memory of death the other is that wee beleeve that the thing which it hath pleased God to afford us for a remedy and easement of our manifold labours and toyles is not so harsh nor so horrible as we do imagine And for a finall conclusion let us remember how that the Saints have held life a paine and death an ease And that every part of Heaven shall together shine upon us who wholly shall behold all the glory therof in his due place which now through the streight and narrow passage of the sight wee doe but see and discerne a farre off And let us close all up with this that though our mortall bodies are dissolved heere on earth yet God will raise up both Soule and Body at the latter Day to Crowne them with Everlasting Happinesse The Authors Conclusion BEHOLD heere th● Flowers that I hav● gathered heere an● there out of the garde● of the flourishing Wits and Wri●tings of the Wise Them I lay open in common betweene you an● mee even as busie Bees doe their Honey which they have reaped i● faire and well furnished Gardens and flowery Fields to the end we● together may draw from thence the sugred sweetnesse of this pleasant Embleme or Happinesse of the Minde I am of opinion that of the ancient Poets had throughly knowne this they would not have composed any other Nectar or brewed any other Ambrosiacke for the dye● of their Gods but should have thought them well feasted in serving them with ●his dish alone for all messes and ●neales Seeing therefore wee have the opportunity offered us ●f finding out and using so di●ine a thing let us make use of ●t in the most thrifty manner we ●ossible may Acknowledging in ●he meane time that this Happi●esse we talke of is a Gift from Heaven which the bountifull influence of the Worlds maker must distill into our Mindes Hee being the true and living Well-spring whence floweth all our Felicity and Blisse Whose Name therefore according as wee are bound we blesse and magnifie for ever Amen FINIS THE MINDES DELIGHT OR VARIETY OF MEMORABLE MATTERS WORTHY of Observation Lege Collige Collected by J. M. LONDON Printed by Ni. and Io. Okes. 1635. THE MINDES DELIGHT OR Variety of Memorable Matters worthy of observation The foure parts of the World EVROPA so called from Europa Daughter of Agenor King of Libya and of the Phoenicians brought hither as Poets feigne by Iupiter in the shape of a Bull but as Historians write by a Cretan Captaine named Taurus is separated from Asia as is hereafter showne and from Africke by the Mediterranean sea It is in length 2800. and in bredth 1200.