overcame them more I' th' Court than ere we did i' th' Field before How fatal to the French is Monmouths name They shud be twice thus Conquer'd by the same By Valour first in War and now no less A second Time by Gallantry in Peace To the Dutchess of MONMOUTH Madam YOu being all Admirable as you are No wonder yet I never could declare But by an Aspiration or two The admiration which I had for you Nor is 't a thing I 've rane up of report But travelling your whole Sex over for 't I must conclude where ever I have been You are the worthiest yet I 've ever seen Else 't were my Ignorance not your praise had I Not first of all made full discovery For who know nothing admire all they view Who all things know nothing admire but you Nor can there any so injurious be Unto your worth to think this Flattery 'T is flattry to praise vice but when we praise Vertue 't is obligation each one has And they shud rather be thought envious who Don't praise you for 't then flatterers who do To a certain Great Lady Who commanded him to wait on her And when he came he was made to wait for her Madam YOu did command that I shud wait on you And that there 's none more willingly shud do But to wait for you in your outward Rooms Among your Tradesmen Servingmen Grooms That is a thing I never yet could do Nor ever was accustomed unto Bid me to go I 'll run to run I 'll flee But stand and wait's impossible for me All that is possible to be done I 'll do I can wait on you but can't wait for you On the death of the Duke of GLOCESTER HIgh born and Great as any Prince on earth With Minde more Great and High then was his Birth Wise 'bove his years Valiant above a man Whence you perceive how early he began Whose life was onely an Epitome Where you in brief all gallantry might see And active fire like lightning did appear That even is gone ere you can say 't is here One who had all those brave and noble parts Which most gain love most do conquer hearts Whence no Prince yet had ever more that griev'd When he was dead or lov'd him when he liv'd Who 's now so dull when this they hear but sed That does not know the Duke of Glocester's dead The gallantst person Nature ever made And hopefulst Prince as ever England had Let all admire this world now learn by this What all their worldly hopes and Greatness is On the death of the Lady Jean Cheynée THe softest Temper and the mildest Breast Most apt to pardon needing pardon least Whose blush was all her Reprehension Whilst none ere heard her chide nor saw her frown All sweetness gentleness and dovlike all Without least anger bitterness or gall Who scarce had any passion of her own But was for others all compassion A Saint she liv'd and like a Saint she dy'd And now is gone where onely Saints abide What will she be when she 's with Angels when She even was one whilst here she was with men What will she be in heaven when she comes there Whose life and manners were so heavenly here Make much of her you Saints for God knows when Your Quires will ever have her like agen The Pourtract SUch a Stature as they call Nor too Low nor yet too Tall With each part from head to foot Justly answerable to 't Such a Beauty such a Face Adds to all the rest a Grace In whose Circle does appear Thousand Cupids sporting there Hair so black and Skin so white Never was a fairer sight And her fairer yet to make Eyes and Eye-brows too as black Forehead smoother then the Glass In the which she sees her Face Cheeks where naturally grows The Lillies and the blushing Rose Nose 'bove all so gently rises Nothing more the sight surprizes Lipps all other Lipps excelling Th' ar so ruddy and so swelling Mouth and pretty dimpled Chin With such pearly Teeth within No Indian Shell did ere inclose More Oriental ones than those Voyce that charms you 't is so sweet Made more charming by her Wit And you 'd think in every smile All the Graces dwelt the while If any'd know who this may be Name but Bellasis it is she STANCES Envoyez par le Sieur de Scudery A l' Altezze de Madame la Duchess de Lorrein Avec son Grand Cyrus §. CYrus passa tous les vainqueurs Ilfut l' Example des Grands Princes Mais vous surmontez plus des Coeurs Qu'il ne surmonta des provinces §. O mervileuse nouveauté O rare pouvoir de vos Charmes De faire plus par la Beauté Qu'un Heros ne fit par ses Armes §. Vous voyant vaincre en un moment Le Brave qui vainquit l' Asie Chacun a de l' estonement Mandane a de la Ialousie §. En fin le plus grand des Guerriers Va mettre a vos pieds sa Couronne Heureux si parmy ses Lauriers Vous prennez son Coeur qu'il vous donne STANCES Sent to her Highness the Dutchess of Lorrein By the Sieur de Scudery Together with his Grand Cyrus §. CYrus a mighty Conqueror was To whom for valour none but yeilds But yours his Conquests far surpass Who win more hearts then he did fields §. O strange to admiration O wondrous power of your Charms Your Beauty shud do more alon Then coud a Heroe by his Arms. §. To see you overcome so soon Him who all Asia overcame Gives wonder unto every one And jelousie unto Mandane §. In fine the best of Warriers layes His Crown down at your feet and shall Count it his happiness if with 's bayes You but accept his heart and all On her Death WHen this fair soul in mortal flesh did live It had some Angel been you would believe Thorough her bright Exterior there did shine So much from her Interior of Divine And if her Vertuous Actions you had seen You would have thought she Vertu 's self had been Which could it but be seen by mortal Eyes All hearts with admiration would surprize And now all that could dye of her is dead And that that 's living unto Heaven is fled As when some Lamp untimely does expire The flame mounts up to th' Element of Fire This Epitaph in memory of her Let 's onely write upon her Sepulcher She who alive all Vertue and Beauty was T' on in her Breast and tother in her Face Now she is dead just Reason w 'ave to fear All Vertue and Beauty too ar dead with her Whilst all the joy we had or ere shall have Now she is dead lyes buried in her Grave To her Noble Sister Madamoiselle de BEAUVAIS Now Princess of Aremberg ALl the Lay thoughts Madam I ever had Of your fair Sex ar now Religious made Admiring you and I 'm become by it Your
carry it by being proud Or looking high and big and talking loud But mark him well you 'll hardly finde enough In the whole man to make a Laquey of And for his words you 'll scarcely pick from thence So much of man as comes to common sence Such things as he have nothing else of worth But place and title for to set them forth Just like a Dwarf drest up in Gyants cloaths Bigger he 'd seem the lesser still he shows Or like small Statuas on huge Basis set Their highth's but onely makes them less great Of a Worthy Noble man Or William Duke of Newcastle BUt now behold a Nobleman indeed Such as w'admire in story when we read Who does not proudly look that you shud doff Your hat and make a reverence twelvescore of Nor takes exceptions if at every word You call him not his Grace or else my Lord But does appear a hundred times more great By his neglect of 't than by keeping state He knows Civility and Curtesie Are chiefest signes of true Nobility And that which gains them truest honourers Is their own Vertues not their Ancesters By which through all degrees that he has past Of Vicount Earl Marquiss and Duke at last H 'as always gain'd the general esteem Of honouring those more than they honour'd him On the Lady Rockingham's Nursing her Children her self HOw like to Charity this Lady stands With one Child sucking t'other in her hands Whilst bounteous Nature Mother of us all Of her fair Breasts is not more Liberal Those Ladies but half-Mothers are at best Who give their Womb whilst they deny their Breast And none deserve that name but such as you Who bring their Children forth nurse them too Mirror of Mothers in whom all may see By what you are what others ought to be Ready like Pelicans for their young ones good To give their very lives and vital bloud For so if milk be bloud but cloath'd in white You shew your self great Straffords daughter right Equally ready both forth ' publick good You for to give your milk and he his bloud To her Noble Sister The Lady Arabella Wentworth TO your fair Sex y' are best Example still Of following good and of declining ill Who full as pure and as umblemish go In this foul Worlk as Ermins on the Snow By never stirring foot upon the way Without first asking what will people say Teaching th' unwary if they walk not clean The fault 's not in the World so much as them By which besides that rare receipt y 'ave got To silence Rumour and stop Slanders Throat Whence you and your Illustrious Sister are Each in their several kinds without compare You for a matchless Virgin she a Wife The great examples of a vertuous life In one who slandred a fair and vertuous Lady THou enemy of all that 's fair and bright As Fowls of darkness are unto the light Monster of Monsters Basilisk of spight That killst with Tongue as t'other does with sight Slanderer of Ladies and of them the best Th' ast done an act which all men must detest Beauty 's a thing Divine and he that woud Wrong that woud wrong Divinity if he coud Who takes my purse does but as Robbers do Who takes my Fame robs me and kills me too And with his venumous Tongue and poysonous breath Woud if he coud even kill us after death But I mistake it is no infamy To be calumniated by such as thee Thou rather praisest us against thy will Like him who cur'd by chance whom he woud kill For 't is the same thing rightly understood To be disprais'd by th' bad as prais'd by th' good To a Lady Too confident of her Innocence MAdam that you are Innocent I know But th' world wants innocence to think you so That 's all so vitious grown it won't allow That any can be fair and vertuous now In Saturns days perhaps it might fuffice When to be innocent was to be wise But now without the Serpents wisdom too The Innocence of the Dove will hardly do Go get you some more powerful defence For Vertue then besides your Innocence For Innocence but Vertue is unarm'd The more you trust unto 't the more y' ar harm'd The Ladies name in Enigma HEr first name somewhat of Elizium haâ— Her second is in a more mistick phrase That colour which shews venerable age And does i' th' morning a fair day presage Unriddle now and tell whose name this is Oâ— forfeit a discretion if you miss To Mr. Bernard Howard Brother to the Duke of Norfolk I Grant you Sir I have a minde unfit For my low fortune much too high for it But sure you 'll grant 't is better have it so Than for high fortune t' have a minde too low By that a man is elevated to An Angels height attain'd by onely few By this the Noble Soul is even deprest Unto the Vulgar almost to the Beast I 'm none of these same cringing things that stoops Just like a Tumbler when he vaults through hoops Or Daw or Magpy when at first it pecks Alternately their tails above their becks I care not for high place nor can I raise My self untoâ—t by base unworthy ways And if wealth in as base unworthy lye For me let low minds stoop for 't mine 's too high Nor care I what the ignorant vulgar say For being not of their number nor their way They do but talk and can't in judgement sit Nor lyes it in their verge to judge of it I put my self upon the onely few That is the best and worthiest such as you Of a happy life WHo e'er woud live a happy life indeed And wholly be from care trouble freed Must first stand well with God then with Man Must have as little buceness as he can Must care for nothing that he cannot have And nothing others can deprive him of And above all must fly ambition To be to great Men or to Princes known For who lives so no Princes smile nor frown Can either raise him up or cast him down And neither hopes to rise nor fears to fall Does live the best and happiest life of all Of Clorinda's Excellence AS when the Sun appears the Birds of night Make haste away and all are put to flight So when the bright Clorinda does appear All wanton Lovers fly the sight of her To whom to talk of Love were high offence Who 's so wrapt up in every Excellence As i' th' unfoulding of them one by one You never shud to onely Women come Love is for meaner Beauties such as theirs In whom there nothing else but Sex appears But as for her who ever dares aspire Farther then for to reverence and admire Ixions fate to such shud be allow'd Who steed of Iuno but imbrac'd a cloud And thy in Justice onely shud invent To punish them Ixions punishment On the equal mixture of blood and water After letting bloud of Madamoiselle de Beauvais Qust
forc'd to Act old Plays like those For want of new are forc'd to wear old Cloathes And come o' th' Stage all tattered and poor In old cast sutes which Field and Burbadge woar On our late Prologues and Epologues AS Horse-coursers their Horses set to sale With Ribonds on their Forheads and their Tail So all our Poets gallantry now-a-days Is in the Prologues and Epilogues of their Plays On the Play of the life of Pyrocles Prince of Tyre ARs longa vita brevis as they say But who inverts that saying made this Play PROLOGUE For the revival of his Damoiselles a la mode Acted by his Majesties Servants THis Play of ours just like some Vest or Iup Worn twice or thriee was carefully laid up And after for sometime it so had lain Is now brought forth as good as new again For having the honour of our Masters sight And happiness of giving him delight Our Author thought his business was done But great part of our business is to come He onely lookt after the pleasure of it But we must look as well into our profit He car'd but for an Audience or two But that on our account will hardly do And to conclude he had his end agen In pleasing those who onely saw it then But we must please you now or we 'd be sorry Since onely for that end w 'ave kept it for ye The Epologue ANd now what think ye o' th' Damoiselles a la mode We hope none grutches money th 'ave bestow'd In seeing them or if that any here Does think for seeing them they have paid too dear We wish that for the mode and Damoiselles too They ne'er may dearer pay than now they do PROLOGUE Intended for his Physician against his will In a Fools Coat I 'M sure to see me thus for Prologue stand You 'll think some fooling business is in hand A thing so common now as if you minde it In every Coat as well as mine you finde it And now since fooling is so much in fashion This we 'll say forth ' Stages commendation That of all sorts of Fooling now-a-days The best and innocentst is that of Plays For this our Play as in the Bill you 'll see 'T is call'd a Farce and not a Comedy 'Cause 't is an Antick Drolling-piece affords You mimick gesture to your comick words And just as Iigs to otheir Airs so this Is unto other Plays and Comedies 'T is merryer then a Comedy by halph And does not onely make you smile but laugh T'on stirs up mirth in you t'other comes after And spight o' your teeth makes you burst forth in laughter Those who love mirth and laughter then may stay And have their fills of 't ere they go away And those who woud have serious Plays in Rhyme May go their ways and come another time Songs in Playes Chorus In his Play of Loves Kingdom Incensing and Lustrating the place FAr hence be all profane whilst here With solemn Rites thus every year To render every Lover true We Element Loves Kingdom new That no breast too strongly beat We give his Fiers a temperate heat We give its Waters vertuous force To slack them taken in their source Fogg of perjur'd vows and oaths Which fair Truth and Candor loaths We purge the Air from and the Earth From every foul and monstrous birth For as some Lands their Monsters fear Unruly Lust's our Monster here As others poys'nous beasts molest So Avarice is our poys'nous beast From which when once a land is freed Then Loves Kingdom 't is indeed Invocation of silence in the same Play SAcred silence thou that art Floud-gate of the dieper heart Off spring of a heavenly kinde Frost o' th' mouth and thaw o' th' minde Admirations readyest Tongue Leave thy Desert shades among Reverend Hermits hallowed Cells Where retyr'd devotion dwells With thy Enthusiasmes come Ceaze this Nymph and strike her dumb Yhe Commutation Of Love and Death's Darts LOve and Death o' th' way once meeting Having past a friendly greeting Sleep their weary eye-lids closing Lay them down themselves reposing Love whom divers cares molested Coud not sleep but whilst death rested All in haste away he posts him But his haste too dearly costs him For it chanc'd that going to sleeping Both had given their Darts in keeping Unto night who Errors Mother Blindly knowing not t'on from t'other Gave Love Deaths and ne'er perceived it Whilst as blindly Love receiv'd it Since which time their Darts confounding Love now kills instead of wounding Death our hearts with sweetness filling Gently wounds instead of killing The description of noble Love NOw Lovers in a word to tell What Noble Love is mark me well It is the Counterpoise that mindes To fair and vertuous things inclines It is the gust we have and sence Of every noble excellence It is the pulse by which we know Whether our souls have life or no And such a soft and gentle fire As kindles and inflames desire Until it all like Incence burns And unto melting sweetness turns Song CElia weeps and those fair Eyes Which were diamonds before Whose precious value none coud surprize Desolves into a pearly shower Celia smiles and strait does reader Her Eyes diamonds again Which after shine with greater splendor As the Sun does after Rain And if the Reason now you 'd know VVhy Pearls and Diamonds fall and rise Their prices just goe high and low As they are worn in Celia's Eyes Song The mock Lover OF all your Fools the Lover Does greatest folly discover VVho 's always crying and weeping Like School-boyes after a whipping To see a great Lubber To whine and to blubber And hear them cry out upon Cupid With gesture so antick You 'd think he were frantick There 's nothing in Nature so stupid 2. Your natural Fools we pitty And delight in those that are witty But he who 's a Fool for love Nor delight nor pitty does move These onely are Toyes For Girles and for Boyes And never move to compassion When Cupid has Eyes And Lovers are wise They 'll love in another fashion The mock Marriage A drolling Song YOu 're to be mard or married as they say To day or to morrow to morrow or to day But be it as they say To morrow or to day For your comfort yet I pray Take this by the way Your marryed folk are fickle Your marirage ware is brittle And 'twixt Merryage And Marriage Is difference not a little A Rural Dialogue Cho. ONce a Nymph Sheepherd meeting Never past there such a greeting Nor was heard 'twixt such a pair Plainer dealing than was there He pay'd women and she men He slights her she him again Words with words were over thwarted Thus they meet and greet and parted Sh. He who never takes a wife Lives a most contented life Ni. She her whole contentment looses Who a Husband ever chooses Si. I of women know too much Ere to care for any such Ni. I of men too
much do know To care where ere you do no. Sh. Since y' are resolv'd farewell Look you lead not Apes in Hell Ni. Better lead Apes thither then Thither to be led by men Sh. They to Paradise would lead you Be but rul'd by what they bid ye Ni. To Fools Paradise 't is true Woud they but be rul'd by you Cho. Thus they parted as they met Hard to say who best did get Or of Love was least affraid When being parted either said Ambo Love what Fools thou makst of men When th' are in thy power but when From thy power they once are free Love what a Fool men make of thee Facetious and drolling EPIGRAMS The Exchange Maid MAid if Gallants you 'd invite By whole dossens to your sight Get you to th' Exchange and there Of all Trades tuâ—n Linniner For your Gallants most love Linnin Since 't is that they must do sin in And is ever next the skin Where does chiefly lye the sin Then still keep your Tongue a walking For they much delight in talking And with Reparties so quick Give them word for word so thick None that plays at Shuttlecock May sooner give them stroak for stroak Still provided that your main Designe be onely for your gain And 'twixt buying and bestowing Keep their purses still agoing But to their Chambers ne'er go home If to your Shop you 'd have them come Since if once they get you there Farewel to all your other ware Then put them off with pish and fie When they chance to come too nigh And tell them money buys 't is true Linnin but matrimony you And of these Rules you need take care But onely till you marryed are And then by priviledge of his Crest Your Husband cares for all the rest On the Fanaticks Or Cross-haters WHo will not be baptiz'd onely because In Baptism they make the sign o' th' Cross Shewing the whilst how well the Divel and he In loving of the signe o' th' Cross agree Seeing how every one in swiming does Streth forth their arms make the sign o' th' Cross Were he to swim rather then make I think The signe o' th' Cross he 'd sooner chuse to sink On an ill-favour'd malitious person In Burlesques Rhyme TO tell you what was For Beauty both of person and face Her face was good if with faces at least It goes as with Bucklers the broadest the best And person fair if for fairness it goes With women at least as * with Bullocks it does In plainer tearms without mincing the matter She had a face as broad as a platter And person such as to see her you 'd fancy 'T were some Dutch Iugg were come from beyond Sea As for the qualitys of her interior Which to her outside were nothing inferour She lov'd not the world and 't was less to be pittyed Since the world lov'd not her and so they were fitted And was so malicious in words and in action As she woud set at division and faction First day of their marâ—iage your husband wives And children and parents last day of their lives The biggest the fairest Wherefore I 'll end with this Littany on her Lord bless all those who love quietness from her To a Lady who reported he was in love with her Because he made Verses on her Made Anno 54. CLoris how you your ignorance discover Whilst you mistake a Poet for a Lover Who when he Verses writes makes love 't is true But 't is unto his Muse and not to you Know then there 's nothing can be more absur'd then for to take a Poet at his word Who when he praises with Hyperbolyes Nothing but Poetry can excuse from lyes 'T is the Idea of his Wit and Brain He praises and not you then bee'nt so vain To think that you the subject are of it When 't is th' Idea of his Brain and Wit To the same grown proud and disdainful for it CLoris ne'er think that I shud whine cry Since you 'll needs change for your inconstancy Or like the Amorous Knight in the Romance Sinks down for grief and fall into a Trance But if you needs will change I 'd have you know That I can change as easily as you When all the harm that 's like to come of it Is you leave me I you and so w' are quite I 'm like your Glass or Mirror that the same Face you shew it still shews to you again Smiles when you smile frowns when you frown and so Does every thing just as it sees you do Then be the same to me you were before Or I will be the same to you no more Who easily for't my pardon can obtain By finding my excuse in your disdain But how you 'll finde excuse and pardon now For your disdain the whilst I do not know On the Iustice of Peace's making of Marriages Anno 54. NOw just as 't was in Saturn's Raign The golden Age is returned again And again Astrea from heaven is come When every thing by Iustice is done Who now not onely in Temporal matters But also in Spiritual looks to our waters And Parson and Vicar have nothing to do When Iustice has making of Marriager too The name of Iustice was dreadful before But now 't will be a hundred times more When we must expect no manner of favour But all stand bound to our good behaviour Our Mittimus now by Iustice is made And we in sayl of Wedlock are laid When instead of bonds we are bound in a halter And sure to be hang'd if ever we falter So every thing does fall out right And that old proverb is verified by 't That Marriage and Hanging both go together When Iustice shall haue the ordering of either On the occasion Of his being left alone in the Mulbery-Garden To wait on all the Ladies of the times Anno 56. 1. NOw into what times Are we faln for our crimes Or whatever the matter of 't may be It does not afford So much as a Lord To wait upon a Lady But now all alone A walking they come With no man to wait upon them Your Gallants are grown Such Taryers at home A murren and shame light on them 2. Is' t boldness they lack They are grown so slack Or each turn'd Woman hater Or money they want That 's grown very scant Or what the Devil 's the matter But yet we behold Them daily more bold And their Lands to Coyn they distil ye And then with the money You see how they run ye To loose it at Piccardily 3. Your Country Squire I far more admire If 's want of breeding you 'll pardon He knows 't is the fashion To give them Collation Who go to the Park and the Garden Whilst he of the Town Is grown such a Clown To wait on them he 's unwilling But away he does run When the Ladies do come And all to save his ten shilling 4. But Ladies you 'll see Be ruled by me
This geer will soon be amended Upon them but frown VVhen you have them at home And all this quarrel is ended Sharp Hawks you are sure VVill come to the lure So for favours in private starve them And strait you 'll see In publick they 'll be More ready and glad to deserve them The Conclusion To his MAJESTY VOuchsafe great Sir on these to cast your sight Made chiefly for your Majesties delight By him has cast off all ambicion But onely the delighting you alone Counting it highest honour can befall To delight him who 's the delight of all EPIGRAMS DIVINE AND MORAL DEDICATED To Her Majesty Nunc cetera ludicra pono Hor. Printed in the Year 1670. TO Her MAJESTY CATHERINE of PORTVGAL Queen of Great Brittain c. MADAM AS never any Stranger was more oblig'd than I unto the King your Father of glorious Memory so never any had greater desire than I to make acknowledgement of it to your Majesty but living in obscurity retyr'd from the light of Court and making no Figure there I imagined it would have no Grace for such a shadow and Cypher as I to present my self unto your Majesty and other presents I had none but onely this which by its littleness shews the greatness of my desire to declare my self MADAM Your Majesties In all Humility and Devotion Richard Flecknoe Divine and Moral EPIGRAMS The Fourth BOOK To her MAJESTY Of the dignity and efficacy of prayer AS by the Sun we set our Dyals so Madam we set our Pietys by you Without whose light we shud in darkness be And nothing truely good nor vertuous see You in the Temple so assidual are Your whole Life seems but one continued Prayer And every place an Oratory you make When from the Temple y' are returned back Like vapours prayers ascend and heaven in rain Of blessings showers them down on us again And if Heaven suffers violence from whence But onely prayer proceeds this violence Fools were those Gyants then since if insteed Of heaping hills on hills as once they did They had but heapt up prayers on prayers as fast they might have easily conquer'd heaven at last O mighty prayer that canst such wonders do To force both Heaven and the Almighty too On these words of our B. S. O woman great is thy Faith O Lord when shall our Faith be praised thus And we deserve t' have thus much said of us Others count all things possible to thee We nothing possible but what we see They more to faith than sences credit give We more our sences than our faith believe They believe all we but believe by halfs Their Faiths are Gyants ours but onely dwarfs Why I write these pious Epigrams so short SInce long discources thou'lt not harken to I make these short to see what that will do On the Nativity of our B. S. AFter the Glory which to God on high Was given to day at his Nativity If piously curious you woud know What Peace it was was given to men below That peace of God infallibly it was All humane understanding does surpass Which whilst the high proud do seek in vainâ— The low and humble onely do obtain Seek then to know no farther but be wise This is the Mystery of Mysteries After which none that any Reason hath Can doubt of any mystery of Faith That God's a Man and 's Mother a Virgin is What can there be more wonderful than this Of the Circumcision of our B. S. HOw soon O Lord to day didst thou begin To shed thy blood for us when first was seen Spring forth the Fountain of thy pretious bloud Which at thy passion ended in a floud On the death and passion of our B. S. O Blessed God! and wouldst thou dye For such a wretched thing as I This of thy Love 's so great a proof Angels can ne'er admire enough And all the Love by far transcends Of Parents and of dearest friends T' have such a benefit bestow'd Woud undo any but a God And Love it self make Bankrout too By leaving't nothing more to do Had King or Prince done this for me What wondring at it woud there be And wondring at it now there 's none When by a God himself 't is done Strange blindness man shud more esteem Of any thing that 's given to him By earthly Kings than what is given Unto him by the King of heaven Of Iudgement DEath terriblest of terriblest they call But here behold the terriblest of all For none fear death but those who judgement fear For some offences th 'ave committed here Life 's but a prison we the prisoners are Death Iaylor or the Turnkey as it were Who but delivers us when Sessions come To the Tribunal to receive our doom When as we well or ill have lived here We shall be punisht or rewarded there And this now is the most that death can do The rest let each ones Conscience look unto Happy are those who in that dreadful day With good Hylarion confidently may say Go forth my soul this many and many a year Thou hast serv'd God now why shudst thou fear Leave that to those who whilst they made aboad In this world here did serve it more than God The good and vertuous wish for death the bad And vitious onely are of death affraid Death is the shadow of life and as in vain A beast shud look for th' shadow of a man So those who have not liv'd the life shud trust In vain at last to dye the death o'th'just Of Easter and Christmas OF Easter a great word was said This is the day the Lord hath made Of Christmas yet a greater word This is the day that made the Lord. On these words of our B. S. I am the Way the Truth and the Life Paraphrase THou art the Way the Truth and Life thou sayst As well thou mayst What Fool is he then woud forsake the way And go astray What Fool is he who woud the Truth refuse And falshood chuse But above all what fool and mad man's he Woud forsake thee Who art Eternal Life and chuse to dye Eternally On Gods beholding all we do THou fearst the sight of men when thou dost ill Why not the sight of God who sees thee still On our dependancy on the hands of Almighty God HAve you not markt how little puppets move By their dependanee from some hand above Just such is man i' th' hands of God if he But well consider'd his dependancy And who if this he well consider woud Shud ever dare to offend Almighty God Who gently leads those who his will obey And those who won't he hales and drags avvay Rebel and fool then struggle not in vain To flee the hand of God and break thy chain Which thou canst never do nor ever flee But from God pleas'd to God displeas'd with thee Struggle no longer with him then for woe Unto thee if he once but let thee go On these words of