Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	body_n	bone_n	flesh_n	7,585	5	7.4908	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09530	Phisicke against fortune, aswell prosperous, as aduerse conteyned in two bookes. Whereby men are instructed, with lyke indifferencie to remedie theyr affections, aswell in tyme of the bryght shynyng sunne of prosperitie, as also of the foule lowryng stormes of aduersitie. Expedient for all men, but most necessary for such as be subiect to any notable insult of eyther extremitie. Written in Latine by Frauncis Petrarch, a most famous poet, and oratour. And now first Englished by Thomas Twyne.; De remediis utriusque fortunae. English	Petrarca, Francesco, 1304-1374.; Twyne, Thomas, 1543-1613.	1579 (1579)	STC 19809; ESTC S114602	539,184	716

determined to doo violence vnto my selfe Reason At one tyme to feare a thyng and at another to wyshe for it this is al the constancie that you haue Erwhyle womanishly thou fearedst death and now vnmanly thou seekest the same tel me I pray thee what sudden chaunce hath chainged thy mind Feare I am enforced to do violence vnto my selfe Reason If thou be enforced then is it not voluntarie violence although it be sayd that a constrained wyll is a wyll yet truely it is no free wyl neither that wyl which properly taketh the name à volendo of willing But I would fayne know by whom thou art enforced Whoso is vnwilling may haue violent handes layde vpon hym but thou canst doo thy selfe no violence vnlesse thou were willing thereunto Feare There are great causes that enforce me to be willing to die Reason They be great in deede I coufesse yf they enforce thee but they coulde not enforce thee yf thou were a man But there is nothyng so weake that it can not ouerthrowe the delicacie of your mindes and hearken now whether I can not directly gheasse these causes anger disdaine impatiencie a certayne kynde of furie agaynst a mans owne selfe and the forgetfulnesse of his owne estate For yf thou dyddest remember that thou were a man thou wouldest also knowe that thou oughtest to take all worldly chaunces in good part and not for the hatred of one small euyll or rather no euyll at all to be willyng to fal into the greatest euyll of all Feare By reason of extreame miserie I am constrayned to lay violent handes vpon my selfe Reason It is not extreame miserie neither are they the greatest euylles that oppresse thee but this is the most extreame of al other which now enrageth thee to wit desperation agaynst which onely when as all other euylles haue their peculiar remedies there is no medicine that can preuayle And which be these that thou callest ex●reame euylles but onely labour perhaps and trouble and pouer●ie For these are they whereof the Poet Virgil intreateth saying These without cause procured their owne death and hating this lyght powred out their owne soules Of whose too late repentance he addeth immediatly Howe glad woulde they now be returnyng into this worlde agayne to abyde pouertie and suffer all troubles and aduersitie Are these so great euyls whereof the fyrst all good and vertuous men endured with a valiant and indifferent minde and some more ouer dyd wyllingly choose it and thereby became glorious and riche in the euerlastyng riches That the worlde is meete for men we reade in Salust and that man was made for that intent we finde it written in the holy and afflicted good old man But you beyng of al creatures the most vnquiet yf thinges fal not out according to your couetous desyre or letcherous lust ye thynke that ye haue iust cause to kyll your selues So delicate and hastie headlong is your lasciuiousnesse that vpon the least cause that may be ye are not onely angrie with Fortune but also with your selues farther ●icking against GOD hymselfe ye scoure your blasphemous●●●ithes agaynst him as though euery thing wherein your Lord and God fulfylleth not your minde were an haynous iniurie agaynst you Feare I am so oppressed with great euylles that to choose A woulde dye Reason For the loathsomnesse of thy lyfe perhaps which is a familiar fault among all fooles For vnto the wyse euery kynde of lyfe is pleasant the happie lyfe they accept willingly the miserable lyfe they indure patiently and although in the thinges themselues they take final comfor● yet are they delyghted in the exercise of patience for there is nothing more acceptable nor more s●●e●e then veritie The same is that which asswageth greefes amendeth what is anusse mo●●fieth that whiche is harde mit●igateth th●ir whiche is sharpe si●●otheth that whiche is rough and l●uellech that whiche is vne●●en In consyderation hereof complainte or 〈◊〉 and hastie headlongnesse hath an ende and to be breefe there is nothing more glorious nor quiet then a wyse mans lyfe As for these teares and greefes of the minde these cloudes and troublesome stormes whiche driue the barke of this lyfe vpon the rockes they spryng from follie onely Feare Impaciencie of sicknes maketh me desirous to dye Reason Thy desyre is fond and proude Let the Lorde alone to dispose of thy bodye accordyng to his owne determination and good pleasure Wylt thou looke to haue more aucthoritie ouer thine owne buyldyng whereof thou hast made neyther Timber nor Stone and wherein there is nothing thine but only the buylding and wylt thou not geue lykewyse sembleable libertie vnto the Lorde and maker of all the worlde who in the same hath not onely created the spirite the fleshe the blood and the bones but also heauen the earth the seas and all thynges that are therein of nothyng Say not within thy selfe My bodye is greeuously tormented with payne For thou hast receyued no dominion euer thy bodye but onely a vse thereof for a certayne short tyme Thynkest thou thy selfe to be Lorde and Maister ouer this thyne house of Clay Verily thou art but a stranger he that made all is Lorde of all Sorowe With exceeding payne I am constrayned to be desyrous to die Reason Perhaps this payne is layde vpon thee for thine experience whiche yf it be troublesome and greeuous vnto thee then may it be profitable but yf intollerable then can it not long continue Attende the commaimdement of the Lorde that detayneth thee and answeare when thou art called and not before Thy daye is appoynted whiche possibly thou canst not preuent nor yet prolong Howheit many haue preuented it in deede and goyng about to auoyde a smal short greefe haue cast them selues headlong intoirreuocable euerlasting tormentes This opinion hath had great defenders Fyrst Anneus Seneca who so constantly and often falleth into the mentionyng thereof insomuche that it seemeth vnto me that he feared least it shoulde not appeare to be his ●●b●e and maketh me sometyme to wonder bowe so cruell a● opinion coulde enter into the hart of so woorthie a man And to ●et that passe whiche it were too long to recite in a certayne Epistle vnto Lucilius If sayth he the bodye be vnfytte for the ordinarie and conuenient actions ▪ why shoulde not a man set the greened soule at libertie And immedialy after a fewe woordes betweene I wyl leape quoth he out of this rotten and ruinous buyldyng But O Seneca thou sayest not wel and with one euyl saying hast disgraced a great many good sayinges For thou oughtest to abyde and not to depart let thy buyldyng fal downe that thou be driuen out of doores before thou depart Sorowe I cannot suffer the thynges that are lyke to happen vnto me I had rather dye Reason Perhaps for some death whiche shal be inflicted vpon thee by an enimie whiche beyng valiantly vndertaken can not be shameful but voluntarily procured by thine owne hand cannot

which is better It is a foolishe part to loue a mans owne danger and a follie to desire that whiche by no meanes canne bee gotten For if thou endeuour to bee well fauoured contrarie to the course of Nature thou shalt profit no more than to appeare more deformed Sorowe I traueill in vaine to bee well fauoured Reason Endeuour to bee good and that shalt thou not doe in vaine This vertue hath a speciall gift aboue the residue that it may bee gotten and can not bee taken away And when other things stande at the curtesie of Fortune and without her cannot bee purchased nor preserued vertue onelie is free from her lawes and the more shee striueth the more brightlie shee shineth Of weakenesse The ii Dialogue Sorowe NAture hath made mee weake Reason Like as a sword of steele is couered in a rotten skaberd so many times lyeth there hidde a valiant minde in a crasie bodie Sorowe I am borne weake Reason Thou art not meete to beare burdens nor to digge and plowe lande but for honest studies and iust superiorities So in a shippe the stronger sort are set to handle the axes but the wiser to guide the helme The life of Man being like a shippe that ●●●ossed with the flooddes of affaires and the de●●● Sea of the worlde hath it peculiar oares and helme then seeing thou art repulsed from the viler functions conuert thy selfe to the more woorthie Sorowe Nature hath made me a weakeling R●●son What 〈…〉 ●●●ade thee passing strong Is strength a thing tha● 〈…〉 Cōmeth it not to passe that the stronger the olde age is 〈◊〉 stronger is the sicknesse And to let passe the innumerable chaun●●●h ●ich do sud●●●●ie enfeeble and weaken an whole man the strength of the ●●●nde is to be wished for which neither continuance nor fortune can empaire Sorowe My bodie is weake Reason Nourish and exercise thy minde in her artes which thou doubtest not to be best and of most continuance as for the labour of the bodie leaue it vnto husbandmen sailers and smithes Sorowe I had no strength from the beginning Reason But it is more tollerable neuer to haue had it than to lose it For if thou had haddest strength it would not haue continued insomuch as Miloes strength waxed old and so would Hercules haue done if he had liued But so did not the strength of Socrates nor of Solon nor of Nestor nor of Cato Exercise the better Nothing can delite a great minde that doeth not continue Sorow This poore carcase of mine is weake Reason If this instrument or vessell be sufficient for the soule or mind that dwelleth within then is there strength ynough For that the bodie was by Nature ordeined to serue the minde there is no man so much a seruant to the bodie that is ignorant if so be it doe it owne duetie what doest thou accuse or what doest thou desire more For they that are strong of bodie and weake of witte are most like vnto beastes and manie times which is a miserable case are seruantes vnto other and manie times also which is most miserable and the verie summe of humane miserie they enforce their minde to be slaue to their bodie and to serue it in most filthie seruitude Sorowe I haue a weake bodie Reason The true and notable strength of Man is in his minde As for the bodie it is as a man should say a certein house of the minde which howe strong or weake it is apperteineth not to the geastes especiallie like to soiourne there but a fewe dayes so that it fall not downe for then necessitie constreineth them to remoue into another which is an euerlasting house when they are driuen out of the first I would say more if thou couldest conceiue more and were not altogether become deafe by the common noyse to wit that the bodie is not the house but the prison of the minde not his friende but his domesticall foe for whose frailtie thou oughtest to pray whereby thou mightest the sooner be made free and a conquerour Sorrowe I haue no strength Reason While thou art in health thou wantest none but if thou be otherwise then hast thou other cause to complaine Thou meanest not then that thou hast no strength at al but thou wouldest say thou hast litle strength Thou art not as strong and sturdie as was thy coequal nor he as was another neither that other as strong as an exe or an Elephant there is a measure in euerie mans strength dame Nature hath most bountifullie distributed vnto euerie one that which is sufficient and is more louing towarde her children than anie man is toward his owne Ye cannot complaine of want but ye complaine of inequalitie You troublesome and complaining generatiō if this should be taken away the beautie of the world must needes perish Thus that which is best ye can least abide Of sicknesse The iii. Dialogue Sorowe BVt I am sicklie Reason I heare that which I looke for for these complaints go alwayes together But if the fleshe be enimie to the spirit one of them striue against another which thing the great friende of trueth hauing felt within him selfe hath pronounced it truelie in all men it followeth that that which hindreth one helpeth another But if the spirit be better and more noble than the fleshe which then we ought most speciallie to fauour thou seest and perhaps vnderstandest thy state of bodie which thou sayest to be feeble to be in deede most prosperous Sorowe I am sicklie Reason But sparingnes is an earnest exhorter and a dehorter from licentiousnesse and a mistresse of modestie Sorowe I am sicke Reason If thy bodily health be good lay away carefulnesse whatsoeuer happeneth to the bodie thou art in safetie Sorowe My bodie is sicke and weake Reason Sicknes of the bodie hath been auaileable vnto the welfare of the minde in manie That excellent man who from a lowe degree from the water and his fishing nettes was aduaunced to the skies and made key keeper of the gates of heauen whose onelie shadowe draue away the sicknesses and infirmities of the bodie being demaunded sometime why he suffred his owne daughter to be molested with a grieuous sicknesse answered It is profitable for her it be so Howe knowest thou then whether it be also profitable for thee or not Sorowe I haue bin long thus sick in bodie Reason The same man of whom I speake knewe that his daughter might soone safely be made whole and he made her whole and made her able also to heale others See thou likewise that thy health seeme certeine and vndoubted vnto thee and perhaps thou shalt be healed Finallie as much as in thee lyeth cure thou thine owne soule and committe the cure of him vnto the heauenlie Phisition In summe this one thing will I say boldlie If not for that which shall delite yet at leastwise hope for that whiche is expedient Sorowe My bodilie state is painful Reason Then hast thou that

It is a wonderful thyng to be spoken oft times it chaunceth that the lyghtest part of al the body bryngeth the whole soule into darkenesse Endeuour thy selfe to folowe the spirite that calleth thee vnto better thynges and harken vnto the trueth that cryeth in thine eare Seeke not for the thynges that are visible but for the inuisible for the visible thynges are temporal but the inuisible euerlastyng Sorowe I lacke myne eyes Reason Thou hast lacked many faultes if thou haddest lacked thyne eyes euer but nowe let vertue and blyndnesse stoppe many mischiefes to come and those that are past alredye let them be done away by sorowe and repentance and mourne not because thy blyndnesse shal open the eyes of thy minde but perhaps thou mayest racher mourne for that it is deferred Sorowe I haue lost the lyght of myne eyes Reason Retayne the true lyght of the soule They whiche haue lost one of their eyes as they say do see the better with the other Whiche if it be so what should I thynke but that yf thou hast lost both thou shalt see very cleare with thyne other two and then shalt make that saying of Tirecias the blynde Poet to be thyne owne God hath blynd folde the face and turned al the lyght into the hart Thou mayest accompt thy selfe vnhappie and blynde in deede yea quite without eyes yf thou hast lost this lyght also whiche that it is so in deede thy complayntes make me to suspect for it greeueth a man most to lose that where of he hath no moe Sorow I haue lost the eyes of my head Reason Purge then and make cleane those which thou canst not loose and seeing thou hast lost the outwarde eyes turne thee vnto the inwarde There beleeue me not in the outward eyes remayneth that filicitie whiche ye seeke for Sorowe I see no lyght with myne eyes Reason Learne to reioyce yea euen in darkenesse H●st thou quite forgotten the answeare of Antipater the philosopher some thyng wantonly yet properly spoken Whose blyndnesse when certayne freendly wenches dyd lament he answeared merily That sleepe whiche ye haue a nyghtes seemeth it no pleasure vnto you Truely this was pleasantly and breefely answeared For there are many ioyes and pleasures in the darke as wel as there are great paynes and greefes in the lyght But I am onely to exhort thee vnto honest matters Sorow I complayne for the losse of myne eyes Reason If thou were to put them to an euyl vse thou oughtest rather to reioyce that the instrumentes of mischeefe are taken from thee but if thou meanest to vse them wel there is no cause why thou shouldest so lament for a thing comely to sight only for thou hast lost that whiche was nothyng at al needeful eyther towardes godlynesse or any holy purpose God looketh not into the members but into the minde offer vnto hym thy soule pure and whole whom when he hath receyued whatsoeuer remayneth he wyl take in good part for he that gaue the soule hath kept backe nothyng vnto hym selfe Sorowe I haue lost my bodyly eyes Reason If thou endeuour to come to heauen be of good comfort with Didimus whom being blynd from his infancie and continuing in his blyndnesse euen vnto the ende the holy man Antonius comming to visite and perceiuing hym now being olde stil to exercise him selfe in vertue and godlynesse byd him be of good cōfort not to be moued any thing at al in that he had lost his eies which were cōmon to flies mice lizerdes as wel to hym but rather to reioyce for that those eyes which are common to him with the angels were safe sound A notable saying of Antonius worthy to come from the scholar of the heauenly schoolemaister But if thou aspire vnto the fame of liberal studies then behold Homer Democritus of whom the one as the report goeth of hym while that he spake those his wonderful diuine oracles saw nothing with his mortal eyes but in mind was as quicke of sight as Linceus The other because he would not see many thinges which is he thought did hinder his eyes from seeing the trueth plucked out his owne eyes whose fact whether it were prayse worthy or no I wil not dispute but surely he had folowers But if perhaps thou conceiuedst in thy mind to behold some picture or sculptare of Apelles or Phidias woorkemanship I can not then deny but that thou hast lost something vnlesse it be againe from a lowe beginning to be constrained to aduaunce thy mind aloft to higher matters Sorowe I am made poore vnprofitable through blyndnesse Reason Why doest thou blynd man forsake thy selfe For Tiresias of whom I spake before being blinde of sight was famous for prophesiing Did not Diodorus the stoike better knowen by meanes of his familiaritie with Cicero then for his owne sect aswage the greefe of his lost sight by the benefit of hearyng when as day and night as the same Cicero wryteth of hym there were bookes read vnto hym in whiche kinde of studie he had no neede of his eye sight He applied at one tyme both the studie of philosophie and musicke and that which a man woulde scarse thinke could be done without eyes he exercised the practise of geometrical descriptions and causing lines to be drawen by other mens handes he discoursed on them by his owne vnderstandyng Caius Drusus had no eies but he had such skil in the ciuile lawes that his house was euery day ful of troupes of ciuilians they could see better the way to the court then he could but he could see better the way how to carie away the cause therfore they sought the asistance of the blinde guide But the most famous of al that euer were renowmed for blindnesse was Appius Claudius blind in deede so called by name who being oppressed with blindnesse age was not only cōmonly knowen of the people by geuing of counsel when there happened any doubt in law but also by his aucthoritie wisedome ruled the senate and gouerned the whole common wealth Thou as soone as thou art depriued of one sense by by castest away al the residue yea which is more thy minde also none otherwyse then if one that is moued with impacience for a smal losse should cast away desperatly both his life the instrument belonging to the same Sorow I am blind I cannot tel where I goe Reason But thy guide doth see whether he be the mynde or some one that vseth to direct the steppes of the blynd by whose leadyng thou shalt not only find the ryght way but also attayne vnto the cheefe degree which concerneth the noble despising of lyfe and the most excellent actes of woorthy vertue and vnlesse the strength of the mynde do fayle the losse of sight cannot hynder any notable exployte Thou remembrest what Sampson in the scriptures and in the ciuile warres described by Lucan in Massilia what Tirrhenus doth vpon the sea