buildeth a Babylon Let every one enquire of himself what he lovâ—…th and he shall resolve himself of whence he is a Citizen S. AUGUST lib. 3. Confess All things are dâ—…iven by their own weight and tend to their own center My weight is my love by that I am driven whithersoever I am driven Ibidem Lord he loveth thee the lesse that loveth any thing with thee which he loveth not for thee EPIG. 13. Lord scourge my Asse if she should make no hast And curb my Stag if he should flie too fast If he be overswifâ—… or shâ—… prove idle Let Love lend him a spur Fear her a bridle XIV PSALM 13. 3. Lighten mine eyes O Lord lest I sleep the sleep of death WIll't ne'r be morning Will that promis'd light Ne'r break and clear these clouds of night Sweet Phospher bring the day Whose conqu'ring ray May chase these sogs Sweet 〈◊〉 â—…ing the day How long how long shall these benighted eyes Languish in shades like feâ—…ble fliâ—…s Expecting Spring How long shall darknesse soyl The face of earth and thus beguile Our souls of sprightfull action when will day Begin to dawn whose new-born ray May gild the wether-cocks of our devotion And give our unsoul'd souls new motion Sweet Phospher bring the day Thy light will fray These horrid mists Sweet Phospher bring the day Let those have night that slily love t' immure Their cloyster'd crimes and sinne secure Let those have night that blush to let men knoâ—… The basenesse they ne'r blush to do Let those have night that love to take a nap And loll in Ignorances lap Let those whose eyes like Ouls abhorre the light Let those have night that loâ—…e the night Sweet Phospher bring the day How sad delay Afflicts dull hopes Sweet Phospher bring the day Alas my light invain-expecting eyes Can find no Objects but what rise From this poore morall blaze a dying spark Of Vulcans forge whose flames are dark And dangerous a dull blew burning light As melancholly as the night Here 's all the Sunnes that glister in the Sphere Of earth Ah me what comfort 's here Sweet Phospher bring the day Haste haste away Heav'ns loytring lamp Sweet Phospher bring the day Blow Ignorance O thou whose idle knee Rocks earth into a Lethargie And with thy sootie fingers hast bedight The worlds fair cheeks blow blow thy spite Since thou hast pufft our greater Tapour do Pusse on and out the lesser too If ere that breath-exiled flame return Thou hast not blown as it will burn Sweet Phospher bring the day Light will repay The wrongs of night Sweet Phospher bring the day S. AUGUST in Joh. ser. 19. God is all to thee If thou be hungry he is bread If thirsty he is water If in darknesse he is light If naked he is a robe of immortalitie AIANUS de conq nat. God is a light that is never darkned An unwearied life that cannot dâ—…e a fountain alwayes flowing a garden of life a seminary of wisdome a radicall beginning of all goodnesse EPIG. 11. My soul if Ignorance puffe out this light Shee 'll do a favour that intends a spight 'T seems dark abroad but take this light away Thy windowes will discover break a day XV REVELATION 12. 12. The Devil is come unto you having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time 1 LOrd canst thou see and suffer is thy hand Still bound to th' peace Shall earths black Monarch take A full possession of thy wasted land O will thy slumb'ring vengeance never wake Till full-ag'd law-resisting Custome shake The pillours of thy right by false command Unlock thy clouds great Thund'rer and come down Behold whose Temples wear thy sacred Crown Redresse redresse our wrongs revenge revenge thy own 2 See how the bold Usurper mounts the seat Of royall Majesty How overstrawing Perils with pleasure pointing ev'ry threat With bugbear death by torments over-awing Thy frighted subjects or by favours drawing Their tempted hearts to his unjust retreat Lord canst thou be so mild and he so bold Or can thy flocks be thriving when the fold Is govern'd by a Fox Lord canst thou see and hold 3 That swist-wing'd Advocate that did commence Our welcome suits before the King of kings That sweet Embassadour that huâ—… ries hence What ayres th' harmonioâ—…s soul or sighs or sings See how she flutters with her idle wings Her wings are clipt and eyes put out by sense Sense conq'ring Faith is now grown blind and cold And basely cravâ—…nd that in times of old Did conquer Heav'n it self do what th' Almightie could 4 Behold how double Fraud does sâ—…ourge and tâ—…ar Astraeas wounded sides plough'd up and rent With knotted cords whose fury has no eare See how she stands a pris'ner to be sent A slave into eternall banishment I know not whither O I know not where Her Patent must be cancell'd in disgrace And swâ—…-lip Fraud with her divided face Must act Asâ—…s part must take Astraeas place 5 Faiths pineons clipt And fair Astraea gone Qâ—…ck-seeing Faith now blind And Justice see Has Justice now found wings and has Faith none What do we here who would not wish to be Dissolv'd from earth and with Astraea flee From this blind dungeon to that Sunne-bright Throâ—… Lord is thy Scepter lost or laid aside Is hell broke loose and all her Fiends untied Lord rise and rowze and rule and crush their furious pride PETR. RAV in Math. The Devil is the authour of evil the fountain of wickednesse the adversary of the truth the corrupter of the world mans perpetuall enemy he plâ—…teth snares diggeth ditches spurreth bodies he goadeth souls he suggesteth thoughts belcheth anger exposeth vertues to hatred maketh vices beloved soweth errours nourisheth 〈◊〉 disturbeth peace and scattereth asfections MACAR. Let us susser with those that susser and be crucified with those that are crucified that we may be glorisied with those that are glorisied SAVANAR If there be no enemy no sight is â—…o sight â—…o victorie is no victory no crown EPIG. 15. My soul sit thou a patient looker on Judge not the Play before the Play is done Her Plot has many changes Every day Speaks a new Scene the last act crowns the Play THE SECOND BOOK I. ISAIAH 50. 11. You that walk in the light of your own sire and in the sparks that ye have kindled ye shall lie down in sorrow 1 DO silly Cupid snuâ—…e and trimme Thy false thy feeble light And make her self-consuming flames more bright Me thinks she burns too dimme Is this that sprightly fire Whose more then sacred beams inspire The ravisht hearts of men and so inâ—…lame desire 2 See Boy how thy unthristie blaze Consumes how fast she wains She spends her self and her whose wealth maintains Her weak her idle rayes Cannot thy lustfull blast Which gave it luster make it last What heart can long be pleas'd where pleasure spends so fast 3 Go Wanton place thy pale-fac'd light Where never breaking day
Can ye quench his fire Did not the great Creatours voice proclaim What ere he made from the blue spangled frame To the poore leaf that trembles very Good Blest he not both the Feeder and the Food Tell tell me then what danger can accrue From such blest Food to such half-gods as you Curb needlesse fears and let no fond conceit Abuse your freedome woman Take and eat Eve 'T is true we are immortall death is yet Unborn and till rebellion make it debt Undue I know the Fruit is good untill Presumtuous disobedience make it ill The lips that open to this Fruit 's a portall To let in death and make immortall mortall Serp. You cannot die Come woman Tast and fear not Eve Shall Eve transgresse I dare not O I dare not Serp. Afraid why draw'st thou back thy tim'rous arm Harm onely fals on such as fear a harm Heav'n knowes and fears the virtue of this Tree 'T will make ye perfect Gods as well as He. Stretch forth thy hand and let thy fondnesse never Fear death Do pull and eat and live for ever Eve 'T is but an Apple and it is as good To do as to desire Fruit's made for food I le pull and tast and tempt my Adam too To know the secrets of this dainty Serp. Doe S. CHRYS. sup Matth. He forced him not He touched him not Onely said Cast thy self down that we may know whosoever obeyeth the Devil casteth himselfe down For the Devil may suggest compell he cannot S. BERN. in ser. It is the Devils part to suggest Ours not to consent As os◅ as we resist him so often we overcome him as often as we overcome him so often we bring joy to the Angels and glory to God Who proposeth us that we may contend and assisteth us that we may conquer EPIG. I. Unluckie Parliament wherein at last Both houses are agreed and firmly past An Act of death confirm'd by higher Powers O had it had but such successe as Ours II. JAMES 1. 15. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth forth death 1 LAment lament Look look what thou hast done Lament the worlds lament thy own estate Look look by doing how thou art undone Lament thy fall lament thy change of State Thy faith is broken and thy freedome gone See see too soon what thou lament'st too late O thou that wert so many men nay all Abbridg'd in one how has thy desp'rate fall Destroy'd thy unborn seed destroy'd thy self withall 2 Uxorious Adam whom thy maker made Equall to Angels that excell in pow'r What hast thou done O why hast thou obey'd Thy own destruction Like a new-cropt flowre How does the glory of thy beauty fade How are thy fortunes blasted in an houre How art thou cow'd that had'st the pow'r to quell The spite of new-fall'n Angels baffle Hell And vie with those that stood and vanquish those that fell 3 See how the world whose chast and pregnant womb Of late conceiv'd and brought forth noth◅ng ill Is now degenerated and become A base Adultresse whose false births do fill The earth with Monsters Monsters that do rome And rage about and make a trade to kill Now Glutt'ny paunches Lust begins to spawn Wrath takes revenge and Avarice a pawn Pale Envie pines Pride swells and Sloth begins to yawn 4 The Aire that whisper'd now begins to rore And blustring Boreas blowes the boyling Tide The whit-mouth'd Water now usurps the shore And scorns the pow'r of her tridentall guide The Fire now burns that did but warm before And rules her ruler with resistlesse pride Fire Water Earth and Ai◅e that first were made To be subdu'd see how they now invade They rule whom once they serv'd cōmand where once obey'd 5 Behold that nakednesse that late bewray'd Thy glory now 's become thy shame thy wonder ◅ehold those Trees whose various fruits were made For food now turn'd a shade to shrowd thee under Behold that voice which thou hast disobey'd That late was musick now aff◅ights like thunder Poor man Are not thy joynts grown sore with shaking To view th' effect of thy bold undertaking That in one houre didd'st marre what heav'n six dayes was making S. AUGUST lib. 1. de lib. arbit It is a most just punishment that man should lose that freedome which man could not use yet had power to keep if he would and that be who had knowledge to do what was right and did not should be deprived of the knowledge of what was right and that he who would not do righteously when he had the power should lose the power to doit when he ◅ad the will HUGO de anima They are justly punished that abuse lawfull things but they are most justly punished that use unlawfull things Thus Lucifer fell from Heaven thus Adam lost his Paradise EPIG. 2. See how these fruitfull kernels being cast Upon the earth how thick they spring how fast A full-ear'd crop and thriving rank and proud Prepost'rous man first sow'd and then he plough'd III. PROVERBS 14. 13. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowfull and the end of that mirth is heavinesse 1 ALas fond Child How are thy thoughts beguil'd To hope for hony from a nest of wasps Thou maist as well Go seek for ease in hell Or sprightly Nectar from the mouths of asps 2 The world 's a hive From whence thou canst derive No good but what thy souls vexation brings Put case thou meet Some peti-peti sweet Each drop is guarded with a thousand stings 3 Why dost thou make These murm'ring troups forsake The safe protection of their waxen homes This hive contains No sweet that 's worth thy pains There 's nothing here alas but empty combes 4 For trash and toyes And grief-ingend'ring joyes What to◅ment seems too sharp for ◅lesh and bloud What bitter pills Compos'd of reall ills Man swallows down to purchase one false good 5 The dainties here Are least what they appear Though sweet in hopes yet in fruition sowre The fruit that 's yellow Is found not alwayes mellow The fairest Tulip 's not the sweetest flowre 6 Fond youth give ore And vex thy soul no more In secking what were better farre unfound Alas thy gains Are onely present pains To gather Scorpions for a future wound 7 What 's earth or in it That longer then a minit Can lend a free delight that can endure O who would droyl Or delve in such a soyl Where gain 's uncertain and the pain is sure S AUGUST Sweetnesse in temporall matters is deceitfull Il is a labour and a perpetuall fear it is a dangerous pleasure whose beginning is without providence and whose end is not without repentance HUGO Luxury is an enticing pleasure a bastard mirth which hath honey in her mouth gall in her heart and a a◅ing in her tail EPIG. 3. What Cupid are thy shafes already made And seeking honey to set up thy trade True Embleme of thy sweers Thy
members warring against the Law of my mind and bringing me into captivitie to the Law of sinne 1 O How my will is hurried to and fro And how my unresolv'd resolves do vary I know not where to fix sometimes I go ' This way then that and then the quite contrary I like dislike lament for what I could not I do undo yet still do what I should not And at the self same instant will the thing I would not 2 Thus are my weather-beaten thoughts opprest With th' earth-bred winds of my prodigious will Thus am I hourely tost from East to West Upon the rowling streams of good and ill Thus am I driven upon these slipp'ry suds From reall ills to false apparent goods My life 's a troubled sea compos'd of Ebs and Flouds 3 The curious Penman having tâ—…imm'd his page With the dead language of his dabbled quill Le ts fall a heedlesse drop then in a rage Cashiers the fruits of his unlucky skill Ev'n so my pregnant soul in th' insant bud Of her best thoughts showâ—…s down a cole-black flood Of unadvised ills and cancels all her good 4 Sometimes a sudden flash of sacred heat Warms my chill soul and seâ—…s my thoughts in frame But soon â—…hat fire is shouldred from her seat By lustfull Cupids much inferiour flame I feel two flames and yet no flame entire Thus are the mungrill thoughts of mixt desire Consum'd between that heav'nly and this earthly fire 5 Sometimes my trash-disdaining thoughts out-passe The common period of terrene conceit O then me thinks I scorn the thing I was Whilst I stand ravisht at my new estate But when th' Icarian wings of my desire Feel but the warmth of their own native sire O then they melt and plunge within their wonted mire 6 I know the nature of my wav'ring mind I know the frailty of my fleshly will My Passion 's Eagle-ey'd my judgement blind I know what 's good but yet make choice of ill When th' Ostrich wings of my desires shall be So dull they cannot mount the least degree Yet grant my soul desire but of desiring thee S. BERN. Med. 9. My heart is a vain heart a vagabond and instable heart while it is led by its own judgement and wanting Divine counsel cannot subsist in it self and whilest it divers wayes seeketh rest findeth none but remaineth miserable through labour and void of peace It agreeth not with it self it dissenteth from it self it altereth resolutions changeth the judgement frameth new thoughts pulleth down the old and buildeth them up again It willeth and willeth not and never remaineth in the same state S. AUGUST de verb Apost. When it would it cannot because when it might it would not Therefore by an evil will man lost his good power EPIG. 1. My soul how are thy thoughts disturb'd confin'd Enlarg'd betwixt thy members and thy mind Fix here or there thy doubt-depending cause Can nev'r expect one verdict 'twixt two Laws II. PSALM 119. 5. O that my wayes were directed to keep thy Statutes 1 THus I the object of the worlds disdain With Pilgrime-pace surround the weary earth I onely relish what the world counts vain Her mirth 's my grief her sullen grief my mirth Her light my darknesse and her truth my errour Her freedom is my jail and her delight my terrour 2 Fond earth proportion not my seeming love To my long stay let not thy thoughts deceive thee Thou art my prison and my home 's above My life 's a preparation but to leave thee Like one that seeks a doore I walk about thee With thee I cannot live I cannot live without thee 3 The world 's a lab'rinth whose anfractuous wayes Are all compos'd of rubs and crook'd meanders No resting here He 's hurried back that stayes A thought and he that goes unguided wanders Her way is dark her path untrod unev'n So hard 's the way from earth so hard 's the way to Heav'n 4 This gvring lab'rinth is betrench'd about On either hand with streams of sulph'rous fire Streams closely sliding erring in and out But seeming pleasant to the fond descrier Where if his footsteps trust their own invention He falls without redresse and sinks beyond dimension 5 Where shall I seek a Guide where shall I meet Some lucky hand to lead my trembling paces What trusty Lantern will direct my feet To scape the danger of these dang'rous places What hopes have I to passe without a Guide Where one gets safely through a thousand fall beside 6 An unrequested Starre did gently slide Before the Wisemen to a greater Light Back-sliding Isr'el found a double Guide A Pillar and a Cloud by day by night Yet in my desp'rate dangers which be farre More great then theirs I have nor Pillar Cloud nor Starre 7 O that the pineons of a clipping Dove Would cut my passage through the empty Aire Mine eyes being seeld how would I mount above The reach of danger and forgotten care My backward eyes should nev'r commit that fault Whose lasting guilt should build a Monument of Salt 8 Great God that art the flowing Spring of Light Enrich mine eyes with thy refulgent Ray Thou art my Path direct my steps aright I have no other Light no other Way I 'll trust my God and him alone pursue His Law shall be my Path his Heav'nly Light my Clue S. AUGUST Soliloqu cap. 4. O Lord who art the Light the Way the Truth the Life in whom there is no darknesse errour vanitie nor death The Light without which there is darknesse The Way without which there is wandering The Truth without which there is errour The Life without which there is death Say Lord Let there be Light and I shall see Light and eschew darknesse I shall see the Way and avoid wandering I shall sâ—…e the Truth and shun errour I shall see Life and escape death Illuminate O illuminate my blind soul which â—…itteth in darknesse and the shâ—…dow of death and direct my feet in the way of peace EPIG. 2. Pilgrime trudge on What makes thy soul complain Crownes thy complaint The way to rest is pain The road to resolution lies by doubt The next way home 's the farthest way about III. PSALM 17. 5. Stay my steps in thy paths that my feet do not slide 1 WHen ere the old Exchange of profit rings Her silver Saints-bell of uncertain gains My merchant soul can stretch both legs and wings How I can run and take unwearied pains The charms of profit are so strong that I Who wanted legs to go find wings to fly 2 〈◊〉 time-beguiling Pleasure but advance Her lustfull trump and blow her bold alarms O how my sportfull â—…oul can frisk and dance And hug that Syren in her twined arms The sprightly voyce of sinew-strengthning pleasure Can lend my bedrid soul both legs and leasure 3 If blazing Honour chance to fill my veins With flatt'ring warmth and flash of Courtly fire My soul can take a pleasure in her pains My