enter in with Iesus Christ and enioy all the blessings of his glory Chastice novve thy body vvith repentance that thou mayst then finde most firme assurance O howe happy prudent is that man who laboureth nowe to be such an one as hee will desire to be in that doubtfull and dreadful houre of death Therfore now contend with all thy might to bee such an one for thou knowest not when thou shalt die neither what wil happen vnto thee after death Doe not relie eyther vppon thy friendes or thy children for they will forgette thee sooner then thou thinkest and vnlesse now thou disposest of all thinges who can or will heereafter dispose of them for thee Be carefull and prouident for it is better to foresee and preuent that day with good preparation then to looke for helpe and ayde of another Therfore gather now immortall goods giue almes in thys life make those holy and blessed ones thy friends that when thou departest hence they may receaue thee into their euerlasting habitations For that glorious Doctour of the Church Saint Gregory saith that those things are with great diligence to be considered of and those works with many teares to bee meditated vppon which the Iudge of the world shall exact of vs when that houre of death shall come And Saint Bernard sayth O my soule what feare shal there be when all are sent away whose presence was pleasant vnto thee whose sight acceptable and whose neighbourhood so familiar and thou altogether alone enterest into that vnknowne region shalt see those vgly horible monsters flocking to meete thee Who wil succour thee in a day of so great necessitie Who shall defende thee from those roaring Lyons greedy of theyr pray who shal comfort thee who shal helpe thee who shal conduct thee But happie is that soule which confidentlie and boldly shall speake to her enemies in the gate vvhy standest thou heere thou cruel and bloody beast Thou shalt find nothing deadly in me which shal be entertayned of Angels defended from the rage violence of deuils and shal bee carried into the bosome of Abraham Of death and the way of sinners in an other place also thus speaketh S. Bernard The death of sinners is exceeding euil And heare why it is exceeding euil It is euil in the losse of the worlde vvorse in the seperation of the flesh but worst of al in the double torment of the vvorme and of fire But of al it is exceeding euil because the soule shal bee seperated from the Diuine aspect and with great confusion shal bee for euer depriued of the sight of God Consider my deare brother and marke that no man can eschew death neyther know the houre nor change the time appoynted of God But the death of the righteous is good for they rest from their labours better for the nouelty of the life but best of all for the assurance and security of eternity The seauenth Meditation for Sonday of the ioyes of the blessed in heauen and of the paynes of the damned in hell O Sinfull soule if these earthly thinges seeme vile vnto thee and of no price lift vp thine eyes and beholde heauenlie things consider with great diligence what thinges they be and how great which GOD hath prepared for the Elect. For they be such and so great that as Saint Paul sayth neither eye hath seene nor eare hath heard neyther hath entred into the hart of man Therefore wee must knowe that the delightes of a blessed lyfe are so many and so great that no Arithmetitian can number them no Geomater can measure thē neyther can any Grammarian Logitian or Rhetoritian expresse them eyther by wordes or reasons Seeing neither eye hath seene theyr greatnes nor eare hath heard of them neyther at any time haue they entered into mans heart There the Saints shall ioy beeing circled and compassed with glorie beholding the Diuine essence aboue them seeing the beauty of the heauens and of all creatures beneath them viewing in thēselues the dignity of their soules and glory of their bodies and to bee briefe hauing about them the societie and fellowshippe of all the Angells and blessed Spyrites Hence it is that Anselmus sayth that there are fourteene partes of that felicity vvhich all the Elect shall perfectlie haue vvhen that generall session is ended seauen of the body and as many of the soule the first of vvhich is beautie for in that lyfe the beautie of the righteous shall bee equall to the beautie of the Sunne vvhich shall bee seauen folde brighter then it novve is VVhere-vppon it is written That the iust shall shyne as the Sunne in the Kingdome of God The second shall bee theyr agilitie which shall bee like vnto that of Angells for they shall bee mooued from heauen to the earth and from the earth to heauen sooner then we can mooue one of our fingers vp and downe VVe may beholde an example of this velocitie in the beames of the Sunne vvhich at the Sunne rysing in the East are in a moment carryed to the VVest that thereby we may consider that it is not impossible which wee speake of this our future swiftnesse and celerity especially seeing that greater velocitie is wont to bee in all thinges liuing thē in those things that are liuelesse The third part of their beatitude is fortitude for whosoeuer shall be accounted woorthy to be numbred vvith the celestiall Cittizens shal excell in strength so that no man shal be able to resist them For theyr fortitude shall be as great as that of Angells with whom they liue in ioy for as theyr glory shall be a like so theyr other gyfts shall bee a like The fourth shall bee free and secure liberty for as nothing can hinder Angels so nothing shall hinder the Saints neyther shal any element whatsoeuer bee able to resist them The fift part of theyr beatitude is health which shall bee vvithout infirmitie Of thys health of the righteous vvhat can bee sayd better then that which the sweete Singer of Israel speaketh saying The health of the righteous is of the Lord. And to whom this sound and true health is giuen of the Lorde what infirmitie can any way touch them or come neere them The sixt gift of beatitude is an ineffable delight which shal make drunke the righteous shal fill them full and wholy replenish them with an vnspeakeable aboundance of inestimable ioy What said I shal fil them ful and wholy repleanish them yea theyr eyes nostrils ears mouth hands throat lunges marrow and theyr very entrailes and all and euey part and member of them shal be filled with such wonderfull sence and feeling of such exceeding incomparable pleasure delight that the whole man shal quaffe of the riuer of Gods pleasure and shall bee made drunke with the plentie of his house so that hee shall stande amazed and bee altogether astonished and those
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
GRANADOS Spirituall and heauenlie Exercises Deuided into seauen pithie and briefe Meditations for euery day in the vveeke one Written in Spanish by the learned and reuerend Diuine F. Lewes of Granado Since translated into the Latine Italian French and the Germaine tongue And now englished by Francis Meres Maister of Artes of both Vniuersities and student in Diuinitie AT LONDON Printed by Iames Robarts for I. B. Anno. Dom. 1598. To the valorous and noble minded Gentleman Captaine Iohn Sammes Esquire F. M. hartily wisheth in this life the health yeeres happines of Galen Nestor and Augustus and in the other the delight rest and ioy of Abraham Isaac and Iacob THere bee three thinges Right worshipful greatlie desired in this lyfe Health VVealth Fame it is a question which of these is cheefe the sicke sayth Health the couetous commendeth VVealth and both these place good name last of all But they be both partiall Iudges because Health VVealth though they be neuer so good and so great end with the body and are subiect to time But honour fame renowne and good report doe tryumph ouer death and make men liue for euer Nunquā stigias fertur ad vmbras Inclyta virtus Immensum calcar gloria habet there is not a greater inticement vnto vertue then Fame true glory Spes famae solet ad virtutem impellere multos This made Alexander in honor of armes to emulate Achilles Scipio Africanus to imitate Xenophons Cyrus Caesar to patterne himselfe by Alexander Selimus Prince of Turkes to trace the steps of Caesar and Carolus Quintus to fire his thoughts at Philip Cominaeus his Lodouicus xi King of Fraunce Proceede noble and heroyick Spirite with young Troylus to ayme at Hectors glory And as the pregnancie of your Hopes promiseth to be an Huniades to the Turkes a Talbot to the French and a Drake to the Spanyard so also bee an Artaxerxes to Hippocrates an Alexander to Pindarus and Aristotle a Scipio to Ennius an Augustus to Virgil a Traian to Plutarch and a Mecaenas to all Schollers And then as the sworde dooth defend the penne of the Scholler so the penne shal grace the sword of the Souldiour shall tunablie sonnet that paracleticall verse out of Horace Dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori Learning indeede vvould bee soone put to silence without the ayde support of noble bountifull and generous spirits In hope of which ayde and supportation I present these diuine and celestiall meditations vnto your VVorship which vnder the title of your protection may doe as much good in England as they haue done in Spayne Portugall Italy Fraunce and Germanie Lodouicus Granatensis the Authour of these heauenly and spyrituall Meditations hath so cunningly portrayed in this Treatise the myseries and calamities of this lyfe and with such diuine eloquence depainted the future blessednes of the other that for stile hee seemes to mee another Cicero and for sounde and emphaticall perswasion a second Paule VVhose diuine spirit heauenly writing as it hath moued the Italians Camillus Camilli Georgius Angelierus Timotheus Bagnus Iohannes Baptista Porcacchius to translate his works into theyr language and Michael of Isselt to conuert thē into Latine Philippus Doberniner into the Germaine tongue so also hath it mooued me to digest thē into English that nowe at the length our Country might enioy that rare Iewel vvhich those famous Countries doe so highly prize For further commendation of the Authour and thys Booke I referre your VVorship to the present discourse which I assure my selfe will worke those motions in you that it shal neyther yrke you of your paines nor mee of my labour Thus boldlie presuming on your curteous acceptation I commit you to hys sacred protection who graceth heere vpon the earth the memories of the valiant and vertuous by the pennes of Schollers and glorifieth them in heauen with his chosen men of vvarre who with Iosua haue fought his battailes and with Dauid haue vnsheathed their swords to auenge his quarrell London the 24. of Nouember 1598. At your Worships commaundement Francis Meres The Contents of the seuerall heads discoursed in this Booke THE Prologue a briefe manner of Meditation Page 1. The first Meditation for Monday Of the miserie in which man is created page 21. The second Meditation for Tuesday of sinne and what discommodities come by it page 39 The third Meditation for Wednesday how dangerous it is to deferre repentance page 63 The fourth meditatiō for Thursday of the contempt of the world and with what hatred and diligence it is to be eschewed page 99. The fift Meditation for Friday of the vanity of the glory and magnificence of this world 120 The sixt Meditation for Saterday how death is to be feared and that a Christian ought so to liue that death may neuer find him vnprepared 147. The seauenth Meditation for Sonday of the ioyes of the blessed in heauen and of the paynes of the damned in hell page 166 Lastly there is annexed to these seauen celestiall Meditations an excellent Exposition vpon the one and fifty Psalme 208. THE Prologue and a briefe manner of Meditation ALl thinges passe away except the loue of GOD. Whē as the wise man had contemplated and by long experience learned the mutabilitie of all things neither had found any constancie or certainelie very little in any thing created in this world but many desires an vnsatiable thirst of men which violently forced them to hunt after these transitorie things at length he cryeth out Vanity of vanities all is vanity affliction of spirit And when he had runne thorow and experimēted all things in the world with a most wholesome councell he concludeth his disputation saying Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth whiles the euill dayes come not nor the yeeres approch wherein thou shalt say I haue no pleasure in them whiles the Sun is not dark nor the light nor the Moone nor the starres nor the clowdes returne after the raine Feare God and keepe his commaundements for this is the whole dutie of man And because the whole safety of our soules and all our blessednes dependeth of this councell it is most aptly and fitlie spoken of S. Gregory That there is no such sacrifice offered to the Almightie as the zeale of the soule is vvhich sheweth by vvholesome doctrines the vvay vnto celestiall glory I beeing therefore moued by this zeale although vnworthy to teach haue gathered this short tractate out of diuers authorities of holy doctors that a soule drowned in the pollution of sinne beeing conuicted by these instructions authorities of holy men and enlightned of the holie Ghost might bee reduced to her Creator and Redeemer as a straying and lost sheepe or at the length might know her estate and the errors and daungers which she in this vvorld is in whilst shee continueth in sinne and being touched with the sorrow of contrition might returne vnto God and returning
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
pompe in the night of this world to weak dimme eyes vvhich cannot iudge but by outward appearances But when that cleare and bright day of iudgement shall come wherein God shall reueale the darkest and obscurest thinges of our soules and shall manifest the secret counsailes of our harts then those that seemed happy and glorious shall be knowne to be filthy vile and without any hope of saluation Wherefore these mighty mē are like vnto Owls which flying in the darke doe seeme to cast some light from them but when the day ariseth they show blacke as they are If these gloriosoes had eyes to looke into theyr most vile riches and to behold the stinch and corruption of their owne flesh which shall be turned into ashes they that are nowe swelled and puffed vp and doe despise others through the noblenes of their birth theyr power and dignity should well perceaue hovve abiect base blacke and corrupt they are Wherefore I cannot be induced to thinke otherwise but that if they would deeply consider and weigh these thinges they would presently cast out of their harts al the earthly glory of this world knowing as Hierome saith that it is impossible that any one should be happy in both worlds and appeare glorious both in heauen and in earth Secondly the glory of thys world as we sayde is to be eschewed because it is fraile and without any cōstancy or foundation therfore it is like vnto a smoke or a vapour which the higher that it is lifted the lesse it is seene and to a flower of a good sent and fairenes which a little Sun-shyne dooth dry vp in a short time is vvithered with a little blast of wind and dooth loose all the beauty and fragrancy Such is the glory of the vvorld of vvhich Esaias sayde All flesh is grasse and all the grace and glory thereof is as the flower of the field The grasse withereth the flower fadeth and the glorie thereof passeth away Such are the louers of thys temporall momentany glory vvorthily compared to grasse vvhich grovveth on the topps of houses to day greene and to morrow not seene VVherefore the Wiseman sayth All power is of short continuance and hee that is a King to day to morrow is dead Tell me where is the povver and glory of King Assuerus vvho gouerned an hundred and tvventy prouinces VVhere is the glorie of great Alexander at whose presence the vvhole earth vvas husht to vvhom all Kings and Tyrants payed tribute as it is in the first Booke of the Macchabees VVhere is the glorie of that great Empyre by vvhich he conquered and subdued vnder him almost all the Kingdomes of the vvorlde Where are all the Princes and Potentates of the vvorld vvho raigned ouer both man and beast They are passed and gone avvay as a straunger or a Soiournour that tarryeth but for one day Trulie not one of them remaineth all their dayes vvere spente in vanitie and theyr yeares svviftly posted avvay Death feareth no man it swepeth all avvay without any difference or partiality it is a fierce cruell beast that spareth not any body it taketh avvay both the king and the begger and maketh all equal alike Thirdly the glory of thys world is to be auoided because it is deceitfull and dooth performe none of those thinges it promiseth but deceaueth all men in this life Which of the Princes and Emperours hath it not deluded promising vnto them long life peaceable honours a quiet empire when as it cannot prolong mans lyfe one houre VVho in earthly glory was lyke vnto Alexander who was neuer subdued in any warre who alwayes triumphed ouer his enemies vvho ouerthrew huge hoasts with a litle army who neuer besieged Citty but he tooke it neyther was there any prouince which did not obey his Empire But now when he seemed an absolute conquerour and purposed to passe the rest of his time in peace and tranquillity hee vvas on a suddaine poysoned Tell mee why doest thou follow and hunt after the glory of the world which cannot succour thee in death Fourthly as I said humaine glory and applause is to be auoyded and eschewed because it is a very euill and naughty pay-mayster for it promiseth glory and payeth euerlasting perdition and eternall confusion Wherfore the Lord saith by the Prophet I will turne their glory into shame So theyr strength shall bee turned into weakenes their wisedome into foolishnes and their pleasures into punishments For according to the quantity of the falt shall be the quantity of the punishment vvhich they shall be tormented vvith Heereupon Saint Hierome speaketh thus to the louers of this fleeting and deceitfull vvorld Woe bee vnto you miserable vvretches vvho endeuour to goe to heauen by the vvay of riches and pleasures and vnderstand not vvhat our Sauiour sayth That it is easier for a cammell to goe through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter into the kingdome of heauen Remember that this is a Diuine sentence and the words of him who sayth Heauen and earth shall passe but my words shall not passe O miserable vvretches and more inconstant then any wind howle mourne who are onely great and noble by the benefit of fortune but in deed are base abiect and blind vvith the smoake of vanitie with deceaueable honours and false dignities of this vvorlde Doe yee not see the shortnes of time howe death perhaps this might shal cut off the thred of your liues and that yee shall be tormented for euer in hell vvhere yee shall alwayes liue dying without end yea more dying then all the men that die in the world vvhere no rest shall be giuen but torments shall alwayes liue to reuenge Where yee shall not onely be tortured with men but also with deuils For so much the greater shall thy punishment be there as thy glory was greater here as thou hast liued in greater delicacies and delights See how our Sauiour that vnchāgable truth al whose deeds words are one instruction amōg his twelue apostles whō he choose would haue but one Bartholomew a noble man one Matthew a rich man hee chose all the other poore men and fishers that he might signifie that the noble and rich men of this world can hardly be saued and be made worthy of heauen For if by one onely sinne man became guilty of hell fire how shall a rich man be saued desirous and greedy of populer applause hunting after the fraile and mortall glory of this life which is none other thing then a filthy impure vessell and receite for all sinne full of pride and luxury full of couetousnes in the rich mighty and noble men of this world These are theeues that robbe the poore of that they should liue by vvho eate vp their labours killing and treading them vnder theyr feete vvhen notvvithstanding God hath blessed them vvith great aboundance of vvealth that they therby might nourish
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
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
it shall lament that for so small and momentany a pleasure it hath lost the perpetuall felicity of euerlasting blessednes It shall blush be ashamed that for the flesh which shal be cast vnto wormes to eate it neglected and despised it selfe which should haue liued in the society and felowship of Angels And lifting vp the beams of her vnderstanding and considering of those immortall riches of heauen and seeing that shee hath changed them for the miseries of this life shee shall bee exceedingly afflicted and vtterlie confounded VVhen she shall turne her eyes to view the vanities of this world and the darknes of the earth shee shall admire and vvonder at the brightnes of the light glistering aboue her and shall manifestlie knovve that thys worlde is night and darknesse The breaste shall beginne to pant and beate the forehead shall waxe stiffe whence cold svveate shall issue the eyes shall growe dimme the eares deaffe the nose shall sinke downe the nosethrils shall bee filled vvith filth and corruption the countenance shal wax wanne and pale the mouth shall bee distorted and pursed the lippes shall grow blew the hands cold the pulse shall faint and languish novve beating neuer a whitte novve stryking softlie and sometymes creeping lyke a vvorme or a pysmier the feete shall vvax cold and the whole flesh shal turne to corruption Those antecedent tokens of death neerely approching and these neerer signes beeing at hand the euil works which she hath done the wordes which she hath spoken and the cogitations which she hath thoght vpon shall also approach and both the workes wordes and thoughts shall be witnesses against a miserable sinner they shall stand in his sight will he nill he he shall be constrayned to see them At the one side of him there shall bee deuils present and at the other Angells these shall comfort him dying the other shall accuse him and both of them shall earnestly expect which of them shall carry him away with them If there be in him signes of piety and contrition he shall be glad at the sight of the Angels and hee shall take courage to depart vvith thys sweete and happie companie But if on the left side there shal bee present so obscure and so hatefull a multitude of sinns so vncleane and stinking that the Iudge cannot abide the smell of them thē the miserable soule shall forth-with faint for feare it shall bee disturbed with violence of perturbations shall bee compelled to forsake the prison of the miserable flesh Then the soule shall runne to the mouth to the eyes to the eares to the nosethrils seeking which way it may get forth finding all thinges shut vp and closed it shall breake through which when it hath so done and shall looke round about casting her eyes on euery side and seeing her selfe condemned shee shall curse and banne her selfe exclaiming and crying out O the cursed soule of one excomunicate of a theefe of a Church robber of an adulterer of an vsurer And whē the wretched soule shal view the vvhite and vnspotted garment that was giuē her in baptisme to be nowe blacker then pitch she shal sigh and mourn vvith greate lamentation and howling saying Woe is mee woe is mee miserable wretch who hath changed my garmēt it was whiter then snow and nowe it is blacker then pitch Then the deuill will presentlie step forth who wil mock thee and say O my soule doe not meruaile beholde it is I that haue prepared for thee thys blacke garmeut with which vesture the greater part of the worlde is inuested to vvhich thou hast alwayes beene obsequious which thou hast credited which thou with me hast imployed thy selfe in alwayes follovving myne aduice and counsaile therefore with mee thou shalt for euer dvvell in mine infernal kingdom where there is sorrowe without ioy hunger without meate thyrst without drinke darknes without light stinke without sweetnesse greefe without comfort mourning vvithout consolation teares without ceasing hideous noyse vvithout silence howling without melody burning fire without refreshing a violent wind without calmnes heat without ende and all euill without any good Therefore arise my loue goe with me behold all the infernal spirites doe come to meet thee Then also shall bee present the Angel of GOD to vvhom the soule was committed saying Happie and blessed are they who in this worlde haue not spotted nor blemished theyr garments O vnhappy soule ô friend of deuils ô the cursed creature of the omnipotent God I alwayes stood by thee and thou sawest mee not I alwayes admonished thee and thou wouldest not heare me I alwayes suggested good counsailes vnto thee and thou wouldest not beleeue mee Therefore now get thee gone to hell into the handling of deuills that is to the place of torments vvhich are prepared for thee according to thy deserts Who can expresse the multitude of hellish fiends that with great fiercenes shal runne to catch the vnhappie soule and carrie it to euerlasting torments who despitely insulting ouer it and mocking it shall say O how proude hast thou beene heeretofore How delicately and sumptuously hast thou banquetted How finelie curiously hast thou been cloathed Howe valiant and prosperous hast thou alwayes been Tell vs why doest thou not now eate why doest thou not drinke vvhy art thou not gallantlie apparrelled Why doest thou not nowe play and reioyce with thy wife children and friends Then the miserable soule shall curse the bodie saying O temple of the deuill whose works haue polluted mee ô cursed earth ô habitation of sathan arise now and goe with mee and thou shalt see the place of torments prepared for thee in vvhich I shall dwell vvithout thee till the comming of the Iudge and then also shalt thou come hither and for euer shalt bee tormented with mee Cursed bee thine eyes vvhich would not see the light of truth and the vvay of righteousnesse cursed bee thine eares which refused to heare the wordes of eternall lyfe Cursed bee thy nosethrills vvhich disdayned to smell the most sweete sauour of vertue Cursed be thy lippes and tongue and cursed bee thy mouth that would neither taste the ioy of glory nor prayse theyr Creatour Cursed bee thy handes vvhich denyed almes to the poore Cursed be thine heart vvhich brought foorth so many and so vncleane cogitations and counsayles Cursed bee thy feete vvhich vvould not frequente the Church of Christ Iesus Cursed bee thy members vvhich neuer brought foorth the vvorkes of repentance And cursed bee all thy workes which haue deserued so cruell and so endlesse torments Consider therefore my brother from vvhat great daungers and feares thou mayst nowe delyuer thy selfe if so novve through the feare of death thou endeuourest so to lyue that when it commeth thou mayst say with Dauid Into thy handes ô Lorde I commende my spirite Learne novv to dye to the vvorlde that thou mayest lyue vvith Iesus Christ. Learne nowe to contemne all thinges that thou mayst freelie
the hearing of thy name not onely men but also the Sea and the elements trembled And so long as thy fury was not pacified by thy onelie begotten Sonne the gates of heauen were so shutte vp that the iustest man aliue might not passe thorough them Neyther durst sinners considering theyr vnwoorthynesse and theyr greeuous sinnes and seeing no other gates open in all thys vvorlde besides those of iustice and vengeance venter to come neere thee for by custome they had learned that comming vnto thee for remedy they found damnation approching for saluation they tasted death because thou wast called a consuming fire Many ô Lord beeing daunted with this feare did wander vp and downe sinking vnder the burthen of desperation hauing no hope to find any mercie Others beeing seperated from thee by ignorance did goe astray as sheepe without a sheepeheard bleating vp and downe in this world Therefore sayd Dauid Say vnto my soule I am thy saluation as if he should say My eares are ful of terrible names and feareful tytles let the time come in which by a new name thou thy selfe mayst promise saluation to my soule And this shal be when thou shalt be called Iesus that is a Sauior This in tymes past sayde Dauid in the person of all men But after that thou didst remember thy mercie and the promises made vnto the Fathers that is that the tyme should come that thou thy selfe wouldest put on our humanity and misery when I say thou wentest out of the hal of thy power and iustice comming vnto vs didst enter into the Pallace of thy mercy and benignity thou didst aboundantly fulfil to all whatsoeuer thou hadst promised to anie But that greate follovver and Apostle of thy Sonne Iesus Christ our Lorde first began to call thee the Father of mercy and the GOD of all consolation A Father that hee might signifie that lyke a Father thou wouldest helpe vs A God because thou canst help whom thou pleasest So that sinners seeing thee to haue gone out of the hall of thy seueritie and to haue come into the Pallace of thy mercies and consolations seeing thee cloathed on euery side with theyr vestiments made one of theyr housholde they vvould no more vvander and vage vp and downe but beeing vnited to thy most holie Church they come to thy throane with sincere faith and firme hope desiring remission of their sinnes Thou hast done ô Lorde as hunters vse to doe who that they may not feare the vvilde beast doe cloathe themselues after the colour of the mountayne so also thou tookest vppon thee an earthen vesture like vs that thou mightest take whom thou wouldest For as thou didst show thine omnipotencie in times past by power and reuengement so thou now wouldest shew thy mercy by pardoning and forgyuing For to remitte an offered iniurie is no lesser glory then to reuenge it yea it is greater glory to forgiue it Therefore there is not neyther can there bee a sinne so great which thou doest not forgiue to him that is penitent If a sinner had beene so vnhappy that considering the greatnes of his sins he had not seene thy power and goodnes he had dispaired of pardon had sayde that which in times past our first brother Cain said and after him Iudas that is My sin is greater then can be pardoned and had layd violent hands vpon himselfe Therefore let him nowe reioyce and lyft vp his eyes to heauen whence commeth ayd and helpe to all them that are found in the tribulations and miseries of this world Let him open the eyes of his soule by fayth let him behold round about him ensignes and banners displayed not banners of warre of vengeance or of iustice but of pitty of mercie of pardon of friendship and of reconciliation to all them that desire it in truth Let him behold those honoured and graced in this Pallace who were wont to be his aduersaries and enemies There he shall see that great and famous sinner Magdalen receaued into fauour There hee shall see those humbled and brought low who supposed themselues wise and holie men and them exalted who confessed themselues sinners and of no merrit There hee shall see that sinner S. Peter who was a periured denier of his Maister to bee made a piller of the Church There hee shall see Saint Paule that wolfe and persecuter of the flock to be made a vessell of election Therfore let all sinners com let thē come I say to thys pallace of mercie and let them constantly and assuredly beleeue that no man in the world dooth heereafter so sinne or can sinne that hee cannot or may not obtaine remission at Gods handes for all his misdeedes neyther that any enmities or quarrels can arise to that height and passe vvhich can vtterly shutte vp the gates of frindship and reconciliation Wherefore I feeling my selfe burdened with the weight of my sinnes swallowed vp in the gulfe of misery desiring especially the sight of the eyes of my soule which errors and foule enormous sinnes haue shut vp and blinded and with greater desire and thyrst desiring thirsting for thy grace and fauour then the Hart or the Hunter dooth the vvater brookes I come to the throne of thy grace entreating beseeching thee ô Lord with that humility vvhich the greatest sinner can come withal knowing his vnvvorthines and his enormities done and committed before his eyes vvho once gaue him both being and life and after hee had lost it by sin and returned againe by repentance eftsoones restored it before his Maiestie who with his onely VVorde that is with his VVisedome created made all thinges of nothing before him in whose power it is not only to create a thousand other vvorlds but also to doe those things which can neyther enter into the thought of Angel or any other creature Before him I say I come and say Haue mercy vpon me ô Lord. And because ô my Lorde I haue no merrits by vvhich I may boldly presume to come vnto thee for I am not onelie vnwoorthy of this thy great mercy but haue also iustly deserued damnation destruction in hell I desire this According to thy great goodnes According to which if we wel consider howe thou hast alwaies vsed it towards sinners I beleeue and am verily perswaded that thou art more easie to be intreated and readier to forgiue then I through my weakenesse and infirmitie am prone vnto sin And because my sinnes haue so increased risen to that height that they are come into the presence of thy diuine Maiestie behold it was in my power to fall and through mine owne fault haue I gone astray but to rise againe and come home is not in my power except thou succourest and releeuest mee with thy singuler especial grace therfore I humblie desire thee to haue mercie on me According to the multitude of thy mercies Thee I say I most humbly do beseeche vvho hast beene so pittifull
thou wouldest purge me with hysope I shal be clean that thou wouldest wash mee and I shall bee whither then snow VVash mee ô Lorde with the water of that fountaine which floweth to eternall life vvhich thou didst promise to the vvoman of Samaria and purge me with the hysope of thy grace and with the fire of thy loue charitie burne away all the errors of my frailetie and all my wickednesse and then I shall bee cleansed frō all my sinnes then I shall returne vnto the state of innocencie then I shall be more pure and whiter then the whitest snowe Then Thou shalt make mee heare of ioy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken may reioyce Then all my sences which hetherto serued the worlde the flesh and the deuill that lay drowned in pleasures world lie delights which are rather to be called sorrowes miseries afflictions and confusions shall receiue of thee ioy gladnesse and rest and they shall begin to heare and tast howe good and sweete ô lord thy Spirite is to them that serue thee with humilitie I hauing tasted of thy Spirit my flesh and bones which are nowe broken because they serued earthly and vile thinges shall returne with gladnesse to the obedience of thy Spirit They shall taste of the high misteries of thy workes shall know a great part of thy goodnesse graciousnesse which both heeretofore thou hast vsed and stil vsest daily to all the nations of the world wherefore they shall persecute those thinges vvith a deadly hate vvhich they haue passed thorow and that which heeretofore was sweet pleasant vnto them now they shall esteem it bitter that which they refused as bitter now they shall desire it as most sweet shall giue thee immortall thanks because thou hast deliuered them out of the depth of misery in which they wallowed beeing deciued with a false vizard of pleasure gladnes because now ô lord throgh thy gracious goodnesse I am come to the knowledge detestation of my sinnes beeing the ready way to saluation O Lord I pray thee Turne thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeedes Turne thy diuine face I say the beholding and contemplating of which is eternall lyfe deale not with me after my deserts but looke vpon mee with the eyes of thy mercy and take from mee all my wickednesse Purge me ô lord and cleanse me not only from sinnes past but from all those that may happen to mee heereafter Create in mee a cleane hart ô God and renue a right spirite within mee Take from me my stony hart which hetherto hath delighted it selfe with the loue and contemplation of abiect and vncleane things and therefore it is vncleane and polluted I pray thee ô lord take this from mee and vouchsafe to create another in me cleane pure and chast Take from me the spirit of pride of vaine-glory of couetousnes of luxury and of many other vices and slaueries which hath raigned in mee renew within me a right mild and humble spirit vvhich may thirst after all righteousnesse Thou knowest ô lorde that we are earth and a masse of iniquitie and that vnlesse thou doost support vs with thine hand we cannot do any thing but that which is earthly there-I pray thee Cast mee not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me But alwayes direct mee preserue mee with thy right hand that I may say as the Prophet sayd in times past The Lord is my Sheepheard I shall not want Take not from mee thy holie Spirit the true comforter of the afflicted who is the way of truth to all them that as wanderers lost and desolate doe enter into the blinde Laborinth of thys worlde yea rather Lord Restore to mee the ioy of thy saluation and stablish me with thy free spirit Giue mee grace that by meditating on those things vvhich thou hast wrought for our saluation and workest daily in beholding thy will who desirest not the death of a sinner but that hee may be conuerted and liue I may enioy that true ioy and rest which they enioy who beeing guiltie of eternall death doe heare that theyr sins are forgiuen them not of thē that haue no power to doe it but of him that is omnipotent who can neyther deceiue nor be deceiued who as hee cannot die so hee cannot fayle in his promise Take from me ô lorde the spirit of bondage which I haue hetherto obeyed and strengthen me in thy loue and grace with thy royall and free spirit not subiect to the worlde the flesh or the deuill that we may serue thee with ioy in the perfection of the works of righteousnes in the libertie of the Gospell to the which vvee are restored by thy Sonne Christ our lord and Sauiour And then ô lorde I beeing strengthened by thy mercie I shall not onely be free clean frō all sin but I shal march into the fielde as a couragious warriour valiant captaine I shall teach thy wayes vnto the wicked and sinners shal be conuerted vnto thee Who seeing me to be made of wicked iust of weake mighty of a seruaunt free of a subiect thine adopted sonne and considering thys to be doone not by mans strength but by diuine power they will bee conuerted vnto thee with all their hart and with all theyr soule But I pray thee ô my lord and the GOD of my saluation whilst I am conuersant vvith wicked peruerse and vngodly men doe not suffer me to sin with them or to pollute my selfe with theyr blemishes But Deliuer mee from blood-giltinesse O God thou that art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousnesse As the sunne vvith his beames dooth pierce and penetrate all thinges both pure impure and is not onely not polluted but also dooth purge those things that are infected corrupted so I beeing clothed with the beames and heate of thy charitie and loue may with out spotte and blemish be conuersant among the impure vncleane Thys if thou vvilt grant mee my tongue beeing directed and guided by thy grace and ayde shall plant thy righteousnes in their harts and they shall be deceiued when they shall thinke that it is my worke seeing that it is thine For of my selfe I am not sufficient to doe it nay I am not able to speake a worde without thy helpe grace That therfore they may acknowledge this and yeelde thee thy due prayse and not bestowe it on mee Open thou my lippes ô Lorde and my mouth shall shew forth thy prayse And now ô lorde I offer thee my spirit afflicted troubled because I haue offended thee to which I add a purpose of amendement Which sacrifice I know doth please thee to be that which thou requirest For thou desirest no sacrifice though I woulde giue it thou delightest not in burnt offerings For now is the time in which no burnt offerings
thinges to be considered in almes Math 25 Prouerb 21 Augustine in his Epistles Eccles. 11. Ambrose in his offices Hiero. to Nepotianus Leo of the apparition of our lord Eccles 12 Ecclus 20 It is wicked and naught to promise vnto thy selfe a longer life Malach. 1 Gregory Hope of a longer life is worse theÌ„ the former circuÌ„stances in respect of the sinner himself Iohn 8 August in his 4. booke of the cittie of God Apoc 18 The perswasion of a longer life is most vile and vngodly Psalm 38 Wised 8. Gregory in his morals 1 Iohn 2 In his seconde tractate vpon the Epistle of S. Iohn The worlde is as a man excommunicated A speech fact of Saladine Iames 4 Gregory Vpon the 7. chapter of Mich. 1 Iohn 5 Of conuersion vnto the Clergy chap 30 The world is to bee eschewed for 4 causes Tom. 9. Epi. Euseb. ad Damasum de morte Hieron The second cause why the world is to be eschewed Math 26 Gregory in his morrals The thyrd cause Ecclus 9 The worlde is a sea The fourth cause Ecclus 9 August in his medita Bernard In his meditations Ierom vpoÌ„ the 17 of Mathew Gregory Iames 4. August vpon the 56. psalme Seneca in his 59. epistle In his book of consolatioÌ„ to Mat. chap. 22. Baruch 3 Why worldly felicity is to be eschewed 1 Macca 2. A simily In an Epistle to Iulia. chap. 4. The glory of the world is vnconstant Esay 40. Ecclesiasticus 10. 1 Maccha 1 The glory of the world is deceitfull The glory of the world is euill and malicious in retribution Ose 4. Math. 19. Math. 25. An obiection The aunswer How dangerous it is to defer repentance to the houre of death Late repentance sildom true Esay 14. Ecclesi 14. Ecclesiast 7. Bernard Augustine Hierome Petrus Damianus to a Countesse The forerunners of death Who stand by him that is yeelding vp the ghost The soule shall curse the body Psal. 7. Gregor de diuersis cuius initiâ—m dignuÌ„ valde est Bernard in Epist 106. In his book of Similitudes from the 47 chapter to the 74. Seauen beatitudes appertaining to glorified bodies Beauty Math. 13. Agility A simily Fortitude Liberty Health Psalm 36 Delight Perpetuitie Wise 5 The seauen beatitudes which the soules of the righteous enioy in heauen Wisedom Friendship Concord A similie Honour Psalm 82 Power Securitie Perfect ioy Augustine August in his Manuel chap 15 Psalm 84 In the sixt chap. of his Manuell August in the 16. chap. of his Manuell The paines of hell shall be diuers In his 4. booke of dialog cap. 43 and in the 9 book of his morrals cha 27 A Simily chap 20 The fire of hell shall shine to the greater torment of the damned See Gregory in the 9 booke of his morals chap 49. Whether the damned doe see the Saints In his 40. hom vpon the Euang. Whether the damned do see what is doone in this world Whether the damned doe wish that all might bee damned with them For thys cause that rich glutton would not haue hys brethren damned Whether the damned shal remember what they haue done in this life Two punâ—shments in hell Apoc. 16. Apoc. 9. 〈◊〉 reparat lapsi ad Theod. Hom. 47. ad pop Antioch Whether it be iustice to punish a finite sinne with an infinite torment Lib. 4 Moral cap. 12. Arist. 7 Ethicorum Luke 10. Esay 64. 1 Cor. 2. Diuers names of God 2 Cor. 1. Wised 5 Esay 55 Gene 3 Psalm 23 A Simily Psal 69.
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