Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	word_n	world_n	worthy_a	171	3	6.1523	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09668	The mirrour of religious perfection deuided into foure bookes. Written in Italian by the R. F. Lucas Pinelli, of the Society of Iesus. And translated into English by a Father of the same Society.	Pinelli, Luca, 1542-1607.; Everard, Thomas, 1560-1633.; Wilson, John, ca. 1575-ca. 1645?, attributed name.	1618 (1618)	STC 19938; ESTC S114703	239,460	604

it selfe and exerciseth their actions For when the Religious mā for obedience sake subiecteth himselfe to others his equalls or inferiours he exerciseth the vertue of Humility If the Superiours commaundement that he doth be hard he exerciseth the vertue of Fortitude because he ouercometh the difficulty If it be repugnant to the sense or to his owne nature he exerciseth Patience because be exerciseth what he is auerted from If he obey for loue of me he exerciseth Charity so Obedience maketh the Religious mā like vnto me because my obedience had the company of these vertues And seeing similitude is the cause of loue and beneuolence it manifestly followeth that all obedient persons be most inwardly conioyned with me and the more vertues go in company with odedience the more doth the obedient merit 6. Sonne the gift is the more accepted to him to whom it is giuen the more noble the thing is in like manner it is the more pleasing when excluding all the vtility of the giuer it is only an argument and testimony of the giuers inward beneuolence good will Wherefore seeing Obedience is the gift of a mans liberty then which a religious man hath nothing more noble or more excellent it cannot but be to me most deare and so much the more for that to the offering of this gift he was not moued vpō any human respect nor for the vanity of the world but for the only loue of me Though this also maketh the giuer acceptable to me that for such a gift bestowed vpon me he remayneth not poore or imperfect for that the more a man giueth to God the richer and the perfecter he becometh 7. Sonne Religion is a deare and beloued vineyard to me and the rules constitutions of it be the branches of the vine and as it were trees planted therein by me not without my paine The worke-men be ●hose whome I call out of the world do ●urnish with sundry tooles and talents for he good husbanding of my vineyard The ●eeper of it is Obediēce which apointeth ●nto euery worke-man what he is to do All do indeed enter into the vineyard but ●ll be not profitable vnto it The Religious who take paynes in husbanding the trees ●nd vines that is obey my lawes and ordinations be most pleasing vnto me and I haue appointed them a singular hire because they on their part do maintaine and defend Religion But the disobedient who spoyle my vineyard cannot haue a mery or pleasing looke from me For what is it els to forgoe and transgresse the rule but to cut off some vine or to transplant it to some other place And what is this but to dissolue and ouerthrow Religion Wherefore as much as disobedience displeaseth me which ouerthroweth Religion so much Obedience contenteth me which setteth it forth preserueth and increaseth it Of the Excellency and Dignity of Relgious Obedience CHAP. XXII SONNE hast thou at any time considered this saying of my scripture A man obedient speaketh of victories Know thou that there cannot either a greater or mo●● wonderfull victory be in this world obtayned then that of ones selfe Enemyes ma● be ouercome by stratagems and frauds an● though they be ouercome by might for● of armes yet they are ouercome who 〈◊〉 inferiors or be at least in fight become inferiors But in the victory of ones selfe th● victory is not obtayned by art or fraud b● by vertue and he is ouercome who is equa● and euer remayneth equall In other victoryes the higher the vanquisher is raised th● more is the vanquished and ouercome depressed and humbled but in the victory of ones self the vāquished hath as high a place as hath the ouercōmer In other encounters and fights enemyes are ouercome and therein passeth hatred ire and indignation but he that ouercometh himselfe ouercometh one to whome he is most conioyned in loue and freindship And this difficulty maketh the victory the more glorious Such is the victory of the obedient for that whil● he doth voluntarily subiect himselfe to anothers commaund he ouercometh himselfe And this victory is so much the more noble glorious with how much the more difficulty namely against nature it is obtayned And in this victory there are to be ●ene many other victoryes For an obedi●nt Religious man maketh the senses appe●tes add passions to be at reasons cōmaund ●nd reason it selfe againe togeather with her ●wne iudgment to be subiect to the will ●udgment of the Superiour And this also is ●ot the least victory to yield and deliuer vp ●he honour of the triumph to another He ●hat in battaile turneth his backe and run●eth away looseth the victory but in obe●ience he turneth his backe who refuseth to ●ubmit himselfe to another 3. Againe Obedience is so stout a war●iour as it also fighteth for other vertues against all those that oppose themselues against the Religious state and perfection ●f the concupiscence make warre against Chastity Obedience commeth forth and causeth the will to deny consent and to remember the Vow that was formerly made of leading a chast life If the desire of temporal things insult vpon Religious pouerty Obedience riseth vp against it and perswadeth pouerty to keep the promise of vsing no propriety in any thing When the Diuel inciteth any to transgression of the rules of Religion Obedience as a faithfull defender of Religion is in armes and stoutly standeth against him As often as the perturbation of mind impugne reason Obedience composeth them and causeth euery particula● faculty of the mind to shew obedience where it should By all these most nobl● victoryes a coniecture may be made ho● great an efficacy and glory is that of Obedience and that a Religious man as long a● he shall haue so noble a champion to defen● his quarrell must needs fight with goo● successe and go away with many victoryes The Generall of the warre if he desire to haue good souldiers and to ouercome hi● enemyes must haue a speciall consideration and regard of them who fight manfully with the enemy 4. After that the Diuell had by the sin of disobedience supplanted Adam he began to make great reckoning of disobedience vpon his flag which he did set vp and display in signe of victory framed this word o● poesy Inobedience the daughter of Pride the mother of death the worlds ruine and Religious bane and infection By these he triumphed long But I againe raysed vp and displayed the Crosses banner wheron ending my life by obedience I ouercame death and repayred the hurts by Adams disobedience done to mankind And therefore the ●otte or poesy of my banner is this Obe●ience Humilityes daughter Spiritual lifes ●nother the worlds Redresse and Reli●ious Gouernesse Of these commenda●ions which be most true thou mayst vn●erstand the excellency of Obedience For ●eeing it is humilityes daughter whose pro●er office is to exalt the humble it cannot ●ut haue a part in the same property as 〈◊〉 to be seene in me to

of glory in heauen and how glorious is he in heauen who hath deserued it The Religious who now triumph in heauen do make so great an esteeme euen of the least increase of glory which they had merited whiles they laboured to perfection heer on earth as they do not only yield their Creatour immortall thankes but had rather also if there were need spend their bloud a thousand times then not to haue obtained that glory Wil● thou therfore who mayst without spilling of thy blood or losse of life increase thy glory and crowne in heauen from day to day by profiting towards perfection stand still in the dore contented with a very small measure of perfection 6. Take heed my Sonne least that befall vnto thee which I told my disciple of That to him who hath shall be giuen and from him who hath not shall also be taken away that he hath Neither is that wont to be done only for a punishment of ingratitude but ordinarily also it hapneth to all things more or lesse affected with some quality For example Wood not much kindled easily forgoeth the little hear that it hath not so if it had been well kindled So a Religious man who hath gotten but little perfection doth very easily loose it but he who hath got many degrees of it doth not easily forsake it but is like a tree that hath taken deep roote and strongly resisteth both winds and tempests 7. There be also some who affected to a more free life do for purging of themselus say that the study of perfection is only proper to Nouices But they be miserably deceiued for as much as all religious persons be bound to labour to perfection and the more ancient a man is in religion the more diligent should he be in furnishing himselfe with vertues as he who ought to haue both a greater vnderstanding and knowledge of his owne obligation and hath a longer triall and experience of the sweetnes of perfection He that is not hungry is soone filled and it is an ill signe in a religious man if he receiue no pleasure in the study of vertues 8. Others contrariwise haue an ouer hasty desire to get vp to the highest degree of perfection and if they happen peraduenture to fall into some defect they be eftsoons discouraged and loose their courage But this is not my will neither is it the way of labouring to perfection For the greatest perfection is in the victory ouercoming of all vices and in the purchasing of all vertues for the effecting of this there must be some continuance of tyme. Wherfore to seeke eueryday more perfection then other which we speake of heere is nothing els but to ouercome the passions or to restraine the perturbations of the mind the inordinate desires therof And to be absolutly perfect is nothing els then after the victory ouer our selues to be dead to the world and to liue to god alone 9. He that hath enemies and aduersaries can neuer be secure vnles he cut them off cleane and destroy them but necessary it is not that he take them a way at one time all togeather So a Religious mans enemyes be the passions which dayly rebell against him and though he cannot ouercome thē all at once at one the same time yet let him labour to extirpate one after anther and so doing he shall hold on to greater perfection In like manner an whole Kingdome is not set vpon all at once but now one castle is taken from the enemy and then another or some Citty brought in subiection and so one after another vntill he be come possessed of the whole Kingdome Euen so doth a religious man who hath a desire to inuade set vpon the kingdome of perfection whiles he must now gaine one vertue and then another this is euery day to labour to greater perfection And therefore he must not in any sort be discouraged though he become not very perfect by one or two actions He goeth well onward in his iourney who stayeth no where vpon his way That a Religious man must conserue and keep the perfection he hath gotten and of the manner of keeping it CHAP. XVII SONNE little profiteth the good health of body to be recouered if it be after hurt againe by any intemperance of eating or other carelesnes since the relapse into sicknes is more dangerous then the sicknes it selfe The same is the consideration of spirituall Perfection which once being had profiteth little if we forgo it againe through default of our owne vigilancy and wary keeping of the same And if the relapse into corporall sicknes be a matter of so great consideration for the daunger towards the body much more is to be feared a relapse into the old imperfections that indanger the spirituall life 2. Sonne desirest thou to be freed from the daunger of dying spiritually Then shunne those things that be dispositions to that death For we learne by dayly experience that they who once languish in the study of perfection do fall into a thousand defects and into so great leuity and inconstancy of manners liberty of conuersation and imprudency of mind as not only all shame laid aside they do nothing worthy of prayse but do furthermore glory reioyce in their owne errours and defects And in this they be not vnlike to those Angells who fell from heauen and togeather with their most greiuous ruine lost also all their spirituall gifts and procured to themselues most extreme euills For looke how much more excellent they were in dignity then all creatures so much more by their fall from heauen they became worse and more contemptible then them all My Apostle also who betrayed me from his dignity of Apostleship fell into the downfall of desperation The same hapneth to the Religious men who from the higher degree of perfection they fal be the more sorely bruized and crushed by their fal and become worse And as he is called happy who declineth from euill and imbraceth good so contrariwise miserable and vnhappy is that man who forsaking the way of perfection traceth holdeth on the way of licenciousnes and liberty 3. But to conserue the degree of perfection thou hast gotten there be two vertues that may help thee and those be Loue and Humility Loue will make thee vigilant to auoid the daungers growing from theeues and robbers Humility will conceale and hide thee that thou come not within their view or sight And how profitable auailable Loue is for this purpose it is no hard matter to demonstrate A rich and wealthy man who is not in loue with his riches soone looseth them For he that loueth not any thing esteemeth it not and he that esteemeth it not hath no care of keeping it and euery one knoweth that a thing negligētly kept is easily lost Euen so as necessary it is for a Religious man to be greatly affected to the perfection he hath once got for of loue there