Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	find_v	young_a	youth_n	60	3	7.7527	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38567	Moriæ encomium, or, The praise of folly written originally in Latine by Des. Erasmus of Rotterdam ; and translated into English by John Wilson.; Moriae encomium. English	Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536.; Wilson, John, 1626-1696.	1668 (1668)	Wing E3208; ESTC R15059	80,052	172

of that burden of life which the more manly Age finds enough to do to stand upright under 't And sometimes too like Pla●tus's Old-man he returns to his three Letters A. M. O. the most unhappy of all things living if he rightly understood wha● he did in 't And yet so much do I befriend him that I make him well receiv'd of his friends and no unpleasant Companion for as much as according to Homer N●stor's discourse was pleasanter than H●ney Melle dulcior fluit Oratios whereas Achilles's was both bitter and malicious and that of Old-men as he has it in another place florid In which respect also they have this advantage of children in that they want the onely pleasure of t'others life we 'll suppose it pratling Adde to this that old men are more eagerly delighted with children and they again with Old-men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like to like quoth the Divel to the Collier For what difference between them but that the one has more wrinckles and years upon his head than the other Otherwise the brightness of their hair toothless mouth weakness of body love of Milk broken speech chatting toying forgetfulness inadvertency and briefly all other their actions agree in every thing and by how much the nearer they approach to this Old-age by so much they grow backward into the likeness of Children until like them they pass from life to death without any weariness of the one or sense of t'other And now let him that will compare the benefits they receive by me with the Metamorphoses of the Gods of whom I shall not mention what they have done in their pettish humours but where they have been most favourable turning one into a Tree another into a Bird a third into a Grashopper Serpent or the like as if there were any difference between perishing and being another thing But I restore the same man to the best and happiest part of his life And if Men would but refrain from all commerce with Wisdom and give up themselves to be govern'd by me they should never know what it were to be old but solace themselves with a perpetual youth Do ●ut observe our grim Philosophers that are perpetually beating their brains on knotty Subjects and for the most part you 'll find ●em grown old before they are scarce young and whence is it but that thier continual and restless thoughts insensibly prey upon their spirits and dry up their Radical Moisture Whereas on the contrary my fat fools are as plump and round as a Westphalian Hogg and never sensible of old age unless perhaps as sometimes it rarely happens they come to be infected with Wisdom So hard a thing it is for a man to be happy in a●● things and to this purpose is that no sma●● testimony of the Proverb that sayes Folly 〈◊〉 the onely thing that keeps Youth at a stay a● Old age afar off as it is verifi'd in the Braba●ders of whom there goes this common fa●ing That Age which is wont to render other M● wiser makes them the greater Fools and ye● there is scarce any Nation of a more jocun● converse or that is less sensible of the mise● ry of Old age than they are And to these as in scituation so for manner of living comnearest my friends the Hollanders and wh● should I not call them mine since they are 〈◊〉 diligent observers of me that they are com● monly call'd by my name of which they are 〈◊〉 far from being asham'd they rather pride them selves in 't Let the foolish world then b● packing and seek out Medeas Circes Ven●●ses Aurora's and I know not what other Fountains of restoring Youth I am sure I am th● onely person that both can and have mad● it good 'T is I alone that have that wonderful Juice with which Memnons daughter prolong'd the youth of her Grandfather Tithon I am that Venus by whose favour Phaon became so young again that Sappho fell in love with him Mine are those Herbs if yet there be any such mine those Charms and mine that Fountain that not onely restores departed Youth but which is more desirable pre●rves it perpetual And if ye all subscribe to ●is Opinion that nothing is better than south or more execrable than Age I con●eive you cannot but see how much ye are ●depted to me that have retain'd so great a ●od and shut out so great an evil But why 〈◊〉 I altogether spend my breath in speaking of ●ortals View Heaven round and let him at will reproach me with my name if he ●nd any one of the Gods that were not stink●g and contemptible were he not made ●ceptable by my Deity Whence is it that ●●cchus is always a Stripling and bushy-hair'd ●●t because he is mad and drunk and spends ●s life in Drinking Dancing Revels and ●ay-games not having so much as the least ●ciety with Pallas And lastly he is so far ●●om desiring to be accounted wise that he ●elights to be worshipp'd with Sports and ●ambals nor is he displeas'd with the Pro●erb that gave him the sirname of Fool Mo●cho stultior A greater Fool then Bacchus ●hich name of his was chang'd to Morychus or that sitting before the gates of his Temple ●e wanton Countrey people were wont to ●edaub him with new Wine and Figgs ●nd of scoffs what not hath not the antient ●omedies thrown on him O foolish God say they and worthy to be born as thou wert of th● Father's th gh And yet who had not rather b● thy Fool and Sot alwayes merry ever young and making sport for other people than either Homer's Jupiter with his crooked Counce● terrible to every one or old Pan with his Hubbubs or smutty Vulcan half cover'd with C●●ders or even Pallas her self so dreadful wither Gorgon's Head and Spear and a Counte●nance like Bul-beef Why is Cupid alway Pourtrai'd like a Boy but because he is a verWagg and can neither do nor so much a● think of any thing sober Why Venus ever i● her prime but because of her affinity wit● me Witness that colour of her Hair so resembling my Father from whence she is call'● Venus aurea the golden Venus And lastly ever laughing if ye give any credit to the Poets or their followers the Statuaries Wha● Deity did the Romans ever more religioush odore than that of Flora the foundress of all pleasure Nay if ye should but diligentl● search the lives of the most sowre and morose of the Gods out of Homer and the rest of the Poets you would find 'em all but so many pieces of Folly And to what purpose should I run over any of the other gods tricks when ye know enough of Jupiters loose Loves when that chast Diana shall so far forget her Sexe as to be ever hunting and ready to perish for Endymion But I had rather they should hear these things from Momus from whom heretofore they were wont to have their shares till in one of their angry humours they

difference think ye between those in Plato's imaginary Cave that and gaping at the Shadows and Figures of ●ings so they please themselves and have ●o need to wish and that Wise Man who be●●g got loose from 'em sees things truly as ●●ey are whereas that Cobler in Lucian if he ●ight always have continu'd his Golden ●reams he would never have desir'd any o●er happiness So then there is no difference ●r if there be the Fools ha' the ' vantage ●irst in that their happiness costs them least ●hat is to say onely some small perswasion ●ext that they enjoy it in common and the ●ossession of no good can be delightful with●ut a companion for who does not know what a dearth there is of Wise men if yet ●ny one be to be found and though the Greeks for these so many ages have ac●ounted upon seaven only yet so help me Hercules do but examine 'em narrowly and ●'ll be hang'd if ye find one half-witted fellow ●ay or so much as one quarter of a Wise man ●mongst 'em all for whereas among the ma●y praises of Bacchus they reckon this the chief That he washeth away cares and that ●oo in an instant do but sleep off his weak spirits and they come on agen albis ut ●niunt quadrigis as we say on horseback But how much larger and more present is the benene● ye receive byme since as it were with a perpetual drunkenness I fill your mind with Mirth Fancies and Jollities and that too without any trouble Nor is there any man living whom I let be without it whereas the gifts of the Gods are scambled some to one and some to another The sprightly delicious Wine that drives away cares and leave such a Flavour behind it grows not every where Beauty the gift of Venus happens to few And to fewer gives Mercury Eloquence Hercules makes not every one rich Homers Jupiter bestows not Empire on all men Ma●● oftentimes favours neither side Many return sad from Apollo's Oracle Phoebus sometimes shoots a Plague amongst us Neptune drown more than he saves To say nothing of those Vaejoves or mischievous Gods Plutoes Ates Punishments Feavours and the like not Gods but Executioners I am that only Folly that so readily and indifferently bestow my benefits on all Nor do I look to be entreated or am I subject to take pett and require an expiatory sacrifice if some Ceremony be omitted Nor do I caelum terris mare coelo beat heaven earth together if when the rest of the Gods are invited I am past by or not admitted to the steam of their Sacrifices For the rest of the Gods are so curious in this point that ●●ch an omission may chance to spoil a mans ●●siness and therefore one had as good ev'n ●●t 'em alone as worship 'em Just like some ●●en who are so hard to please and withall 〈◊〉 ready to do mischief that 't is better be a ●anger than have any familiarity with 'em ●●t no man you 'll say ever sacrific'd to Folly 〈◊〉 built me a Temple And troth as I said fore I cannot but wonder at the ingratitude ●t because I am easie to be entreated let ●e advise ye better though truelie I can ●●rce request it for why should I require ●cense Wafers a Goat or Sow when all ●●en pay me that worship every where which so much approv'd even by our very Di●es Unless perhaps I should envy Diana ●t her Sacrifices are mingled with Humane ●od Then do I conceive my self most re●iouslie worshipp'd when every where as 〈◊〉 generally done men embrace me in their ●nds express me in their Manners and re●esent me in their Lives which worship of 〈◊〉 Saints is not so ordinary among Christi●● How many are there that burn Candles 〈◊〉 the Virgin Mother and that too at noon ●y when there 's no need of ' em But how 〈◊〉 are there that studie to imitate her in ●reness of Life Humility and love of Hea●lie things which is the true worship and most acceptable to Heaven Besides why should I desire a Temple when the whole world is my Temple and I 'm deceiv'd or 't is a goodly one Nor can I want Priests but in a Land where there are no men Nor am I ye● so foolish as to require Statues or painted Images which do often obstruct my Worship since among the stupid and gross multitude those Figures are worshipt for the Sain● themselves And so it would fare with me a it doth with them that are turn'd out of doo● by their Substitutes No I have Statue● enough and as many as there are Men every one bearing my lively Resemblance in his Face how unwilling so ever he be to the contrary and therefore there is no reason why ● should envie the rest of the Gods if in particular places they have their particular worship and that too on set-days As Phaebus at Rhodes at Cyprus Venus at Argos Jum● at Athens Minerva in Olympus Jupiter at Tarentum Neptune and near the Hellespont Priapus as long as the World in general per● forms me every day much better Sacrifices Wherein notwithstanding if I shall seem to any one to have spoken more boldlie tha● trulie Let us if ye please look a little into the lives of men and it will easily appear not onely how much they owe to me but much they esteem me even from the highest to ●e lowest And yet we will not run over the ●ves of everie one for that would be too ●●ng but onelie some few of the great ones ●om whence we shall easilie conjecture the ●est For to what purpose is it to say any ●●ing of the common people who without ●ispute are whollie mine for they abound very where with so many several sorts of ●olly and are everie day so busie in invent●●g new that a thousand Democriti are too ●w for so general a laughter though there ●ere another Democritus to laugh at them too ●●is almost incredible what Sport and Pastime ●●ey dailie make the Gods for though they ●t aside their sober forenoon hours to dis●atch business and receive prayers yet ●hen they begin to be well whitled with Ne●ar and cannot think of any thing that 's se●ous they get 'em up into some part of Heaven that has better prospect than other ●nd thence look down upon the actions of ●●en Nor is there anie thing that pleases 'em ●etter Good good what an excellent sight ●is how many several Hurlie-burlies of ●ools for I my self sometimes sit among ●●ose Poetical Gods Here 's one desperate●e in love with a young Wench and the ●ore she sleights him the more outragiouslie he loves her Another marries ● womans money not her self Another prostitutes his wife Anothers jealousie keep more eyes on her than Argos Another become a Mourner and how foolishlie he carries it nay hires others to bear him companie ● make it more ridiculous Another weep over his Mother in Law 's Grave Another spends all he can rap