the Wise and their Works are in the hand of God and weighed in the Ballance of Equity No Man knoweth either Love or Hatred Joy or Sorrow and how it will be in the other World by all that is before him in this World All things come alike to all There is one Event to the Righteous and to the Wicked God maketh the Sun and Rain to come upon the Just and Unjust His Divine Sun enlightens every one that comes into this World both the Clean and the Vnclean Him that sacrificeth his Lusts and him that sacrificeth not Him that sweareth to Gods Covenant and him that fears the Oath of Divine Allegiance and him that forswearâ—s it This seems an evil among all things that are done under the Sun that there is one Event unto all Yea also the Heart of the Sons of Men is full of Evil and Madness is in their Heart while they live and after that they go to the Dead For to him that is joyned to all the Living in the holy World there is hope in this Life-time for a living Dog which may be cultivated by degrees is better than a dead Lion And the Living know that they shall dye the Eternal Death if they cut themselves off from the Root But the Dead who die the second death know not anything at all but only pain neither have they any more a reward from God for the memory of them when the Days of Mourning shall be past is for ever forgotten Also their Love and their Hatred and their Envy is so perished that it can never hurt any of the Celestial Incolists Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the Sun of their Eternity in the dark Center of their Abyss §. 10. All alike Relieved by a Poor Wise Man SO I returned and saw under the clear Sun of Divine Light that the Race is not always to the Swift nor the Battel to the Strong nor yet Bread to the Skilful Tiller of the harsh Earth nor yet Favour to Men of Skill But Time and Chance happeneth to them all and a wise Man discerneth both Time and Judgment But a wise Man also knows not his time As the Fishes that are taken in an evil Net and as the Birds that are caught in the Snare so are the Sons of Men snared in an evil time or Unlucky Hour of the Enemies temptation when it falleth suddenly upon them and that for want of Divine Skill and Wisdom with which whoever is endued he cannot be cheated This wisdom also have I seen under the Sun and it seemed great unto me There was a little Microcosmick City and few skilful Soldiers within it And there came a great King against it and by Authority from Luciscer besieged it and built great Bulwarks against it Now there was found in it a poor contemptible wise Man and he by his Wisdom delivered the City by giving his Life for the Inhabitants Yet no Man remembred that same poor servile Man Then said I Wisdom is better than strength nevertheless the poor Mans Wisdom is despised and his words are not heard The Words of the Wise are heard in quiet as a still pure Voice more than the cry of a King that ruleth among Fools and his losty loud words in the streets of Confusion Wisdom is better than Weapons of War But one sin ful Affection destroyeth much Good and by its jarring spoils the still Harmony in the Humane Harp even as one scabbed Sheep infects the whole Flock CHAP. II. The Souls Longing § 1. Crying Give Give VAnity of Vanities faith the Soul's Spirit All extern Objects are a vexation of my Spirit Now O Man saith the Eternal Preacher of the holy Gospel Knowest thou what thy Soul and what the Spirit of thy Soul is The Soul is a dry Hunger It is a longing Anguish It is a Fire without Fewel Lay thy hand upon thy Brest and feel thy own Root the Heart and then tell me dost thou feel no panting there No Breathing or Longing there No Hungring nor Thirsting there Art thou sensible of no Labour and Travail there No restless and incessant Crying there Crying Give give O give me that which I labour for O give me that which I seek after Even as every thing would fain live so would I Thou wilt say That 's the throboing and motion of the Heart and Pulses proceeding from the Vital Spirit Tho' that be true yet Life and Sense in Man are rooted in the Abyss of the Source of Eternal Joy and Delightful Affection of a thing Loved And that is the Soul who cries in the Gate of Mans Pallace Give me some Food true Food for me § 2. Seven-fold Craving O Saith the Spirit of the Soul Pity me my dear Soul O pity a poor Prisoner Bring me out of this Dungeon of Confinement enlarge my Habitation that I may find my late home again and solace my hankering eager Mind with my own dear Family and Relations Oh have pity upon a poor Beggar Give me a little Food to satisfie a hungry craving Soul O give me a little Water out of the Living Fountain to quench the great thirst and furious fire of my Passion O have compassion upon a poor Pilgrim shew me the way to a quiet lodge of Repose I want the shadow of a great Rock in this weary Land I cannot take a Nap of sweet sleep and refreshment in this parched Heath Here is no spreading Elm nor Beech nor Fountain of Chrystal Streams no warbling River beside which I may take my rest to recreate my languishing and tired Spirits O come dear Shepherd to seek thy roving Sheep Call me again with thy Melodious Shepherds Pipe I listen at times to hear it but cannot I dare not bleat my self lest the Wolves hear me O come blessed Shepherd and stand upon a high place where thy Voice may be audible Come skipping upon these Mountains and leaping upon the Hills of my wandring Mind For I am quite â—â—â—ed in this tedious Wilderness O give Rest to my travailing weary Spirit O this is not my Rest O somebody have mercy upon a distracted Innocent condemned by false Witnesses to be confined as in Bedlam I cannot set my heart at rest because of a pannick Fear that seizeth upon me Oppression makes a wise Man mad and besides himself O some Skilful Musician come and refresh my Senses and self-afflicting Conscience with the Har mony of the holy Gospel and the Melody of the blessed Tidings of Everlasting Serenity O who will pity a poor wounded and sick Person Give me some heavenly Balm or Cordial to heal my heavy heart and to slop the raging of my Sore and the swelling of my furious Agony Break the sence that separates me from my desired Object O shew mercy to a poor naked Person O I have been stripped naked in a Wilderness by Thieves and Murderers they have whipped me and smote me with sore Boils all over As
thou goest §. 9. Phantasie inverted WHY saith my Objector This is a wonderful thing If this be the only Law and Right of Eternity And if God never eâ—acted any Counter-Law but only as a Penalty upon the breaking of this Law which cannot be altered What would the Soul have Or what would Mortal Man have to give himself rest For the End of all Motion is Rest And the End of all Travail is Refreshment the End of Longing is the Enjoyment of a thing Loved Answer Phantafie sorceth the Soul out of its natural Posture to work against the Hair And as the Ancient Proverb saith Love is Blind and that which is deformed seems fair in the Souls Eye And because God hath forbidden the Tree of Contrariety to be touched therefore Man hath a strong Fancy that there is some great Mystery in it And so like a Fool he comes to be governed by Fancy not considering there is no Smoak without Fire which not prevented his House may be burned But to clear the Mystery of this Subject still plainer to the Understanding It is well known where Fancy is strong the Author chooseth a Laborious Life while he enjoyeth a thing loved or fancied and feels not the Pain And prefers it before a Life of Pleasure without the Society of the Object his Love For he cannot enjoy Pleasure in Pleasure while the one thing fancied is withheld and kept back from him And the best thing being out of sight is out of Mind Now saith my Objector â— apprehend the Matter God who is a true Rest to the Soul offers a bitter Cup to the Soul saying Drink this first and thou shalt enjoy Eternal Pleasure And Lucifer presents Dishes pleasant to the Palate though bitter to the Belly God saith Come to me O all ye that labour and are heavy laden with Vanity and I will give you rest for my Yoke is easie and my Burden is Light But here is a Yoak of Burden of Affliction mentioned §. 10. Soul and Body must Sympathize ANswer I deny the Objection God commands the Soul to enjoy the Pleasure of Temporal as well as Eternal Life For the temperate Man hath a thousand times more Pleasure in Eating and Drinking then the Spewing Sick intoxicated Drunkard And as for the Yoak and Burden mentioned before the upright Soul counteth it no yoak of uneasiness For indeed it is not uneafie to any part but only the corrupted Fancy and the crooked Nature which judgeth the delightful way of Vertue to be irksome because unaccustomed thereunto For the Spirit of the Soul desires only his Right Object which if he obtains he lâ—ts the Soul enjoy Temporal Pleasure as he will out of what hath been said it is clear that it is not God fault that Man attains not the Fruition of his longing Desire and the Rest of his labouring Mind For like a Leech he chooseth to glut himself with the Blood of false Pleasure and then to spue up all again rather than to enjoy the true rest of his Mind in Contentment So Mans Ruine is of himself And the Soul sacrificing the Spirit as being the true Child in the Regeneration there are Drums and loud Musicks sounding to stop his Cries that the Voice of this Divine Complainer cannot be audible As thou knomest not the way of the Spirit or how the Bones do grow in the Womb of the Holy Pregnatress So thou knowest not the Work of God that makes all except thou be born of this Holy Seed And here also ariseth another Question how shall the Soul attain to satisfie his Longing and vehement Desire This is the Lesson which the whole World of Mankind are yet seeking to learn and for the most part learned as well as unlearned are stupid and dull in the comprehending of it because they would learn it the wrong way And God hath set the World in Mans Heart so that Man cannot find out the Work that God maketh from the beginning to the end of his Life without the Assistance and Revelation of the Spirit of the same God For first Man must by the Assistance of this spiritual Physitian cure the Distemper of his Soul and then he will love the thing enjoyned For what is the most pleasant Dainties in the World to an ill-prepared Stomack And also here also ariseth another great Question Is it possible for every Man born of a Woman to reach and attain to this Food or Fewel which he earnestly longs after Answer Though it hath been concluded by some pretended famous Divines that it is not possible for some who have been excluded by Gods predestinate Purpose who according to the Poet Inscripsere Deos sceleri numenque supernum Coede laboriferi credunt gaudere juvenci And though this Doctrine be horrid Blasphemy or Reproaching of God Yet I must be forced now to remit the Answer to another place CHAP. V. The Virgins Suit §. 1. Mans meet Help I The Preacher was Prince over the three Worlds in Eden I Preached the ancient Law in the Throne of Paradice And I gave my 〈◊〉 to seek and to search out by Wisdom concerning all things that are done under the Holy Heaven This sore Travel hath God given to the Sons of Men to be exercised therewith This sealed Book hath he given to Mankind to unclasp and to Read I have seen all the Labour and Travel and Work that are done under the lower Firmament And behold all is Vanity and Vexation of the pure Spirit of the Soul I communed with my own Heart saying Lo I am come to great Estate and have gotten more Wisdom then all the ancient Revolted Princes and â—ord Lucifer whâ— hath been Prince in Eden before me Yea my Heart had great Experience of Wisdom and Knowledge and I gave my Heart to know Wisdom and to know Madness and Folly by Reason whereof Lucifer lost his Throne I perceived also that this is a Vexation of the Holy Spirit For in mach Serpentine Wisdom and Subtilty is much grief And he that increaseth the Knowledge of good and evil in Opposition increaseth Sorrow as not practising what he knows And so all is Vanity whatever is a Vexation to the fair Virgins Spirit And promoteth not the mutual Joy of the Spirit of the Soul and the Divine Virgin or Humane Goddess And here lieth the great mistake of Mankind Folly is the grand Cause or rather a foolish Fancy of setting the Affection upon an Object Loved which cannot easily be withdrawn How is that Man will not love the fair Virgin whom God hath appointed for his Eternal Solace and Pleasure in the pure Paradise of undesiled Love and immaculate Chastity the tâ—ue Cause of Eternal Joy Now what is Joy but the Enjoyment of a thing loved and longed for But here lieth the great Error and here is Mans Misery he chooseth to eat and wipe his Mouth in a corner and to sit sotting over a Cup of Hellish Liquor in Private like a Fool or Self-conceited
therefore the Time shall come that thou shalt call to me but I shall be married to another Who was thy Rival in the time when I would have consummated the Wedding with thee Be not entangled with one that will bring thy Soul to ruine and who is far inferiour to the Souls Nobility For there are an indefinite number of these gone out into the World to trapan Mankind Whereof there are variety of kinds but especially seven As sprung forth from the Mystical Mother of Harlots They Lust after the best richest greenest fairest strongest tallest wittiest soundest noblest and most durable Essences And they find too many humane Souls fit for their turn They perceive that the Souls of Men are Eternal and Excellent Fair Lovely and Lively Essences As being made after the Image and Similitude of the Divine Being Now every Created Being lusteth after something that is of a higher Nature than it self that in the Fruition thereof it self may be perfected §. 4. The Blind falling Headlong FOR every Creature groaneth and travelleth for its own Perfection But cannot attain it without the Assistance of some one above him Hence it is that this sevenfold Whorish Spirit is become an earnest Attractor and Enticer of the immortal Souls of Adam's off-spring And for to solemnize the Wedding-seast she furnishes her Table and presents Man with the delicate Dishes of Pleasure and false Joy viz. Counters for Gold But when she hath once got the Poor Soul within her Net and cropt off the Flower of the noble Affections of the Heart which the right Virgin should have had and so spoiled the Spirit of the Mind with a false Vizzard or Mark of Infection when Mans Body fall as a Leaf to the Grave and the Souls Wedding-day draws on and he is to be settled in one of the two Eternal States Then this false Whore crâ—eth Aha! Thou humane Soul thou art Eternal I am but Temporal and Mortal and thou dost partake of my Mortality Eternally to seek Death and yet never Die I had my Pleasure with thâ—e Go now into Eternity I indeed was only the cause of alluring of thee to Sin But how thou must answer for it thy self I am but for a time In the end I return to the Original Abyss of Nihility Now here ariseth a great Question seeing Mans fate is so dismâ—â— Whether hath his unlacky Soul sinned or his Parents that he is thus born Blind Answ No Soul is born stark Blind But if some one should be so born yet there is Veâ—tuâ— bestowed through the Merit of the perfect Sacrifice upon every Soul to open his blind Eyes if he do not wilfully neglect the means of washing them in the Pool to which he is sent But if he will not go where his Virgins great Champion and Physician doth seâ—d him then let him groap in his Blindness For there is no Man that hath Power over his Spirit and passionate Mind that loves a Harlot without the Assistance of the foresaid great Counsellour Prince of Peace in Mental Calmness Now these foresaid Whorish Jezebels have painted their Faces and adorned themselves with an Image of seeming Beauty like the Fruits of Sodom which when touched will fall into Ashes but no real Beauty They lay waâ— at the Head of every Humane Street Some are like Hartors that receive hire And some scorn hire like Marrons that commit Adultery and take Strangers to defile their Husbands Beds And are contrary to common Harlots in that they give Gifts to all Lovers that they may come to defile them §. 5. For Destruction of the Individuum FIrst the Thief or surveying Harlot that surveys the whole World comes and saith All this will I give thee if thou Marry me and be joyned to my Nature in the Bed of my Friendship under Ground There I will nourish thee and thou shalt have the Entrails of the Earth for thy Chest and Coffer But I do not promise thee to see Day-light for many a Year if ever But there like a Slave in the American Mines thou shalt see Gold and Silver enough and thou shalt sleep among the heaped Treasures But the Spirit of the Soul cryeth O this is not Happiness O who will release me out of this under-ground Prison If this were Felicity then my Purse would be better than my self A Horse is not esteemed by his Trappings nor a Man by his Rich Concubine The Womb of this Whore is a snare of Temptation Which catcheth in the Pit of Perdition She gapes like a Gulf for the Mind of Man And spreads like a Sea for his Soul She is beautified by the Hand of her Whorish Mother Who writes on her Face sweet Solace But O Son of Man Child of God legal Heir of the Kingdom of Heaven If thou hast Oxen do thou offer Oblations And if thou hast Sheep thou shalt Sacrifice to God And if thou hast Children thou shalt candidly Consecrate them With the Wife of thy Wedlock to the Lord That his Heavenly Blessings may be upon thee Which the World doth hold for a Curse And yet knows not the Curse on the earthly Blessings Nor how they are a Curse unto them Who strive for Content in much But when they have much are hungry Yea they thirst as the gaping Grave whose Womb consumes them that gape after her But if thou hast the Virgin be thou content For she will make thee to flourish as a fruitful Field Thy Gardens shall be garnished with Greens With the fashions and fragrancies of Flowers Having Hope thy Seed shall spring up And in Faith shalt thou fill thy Vessels If this Harlot cannot prevail then comes the Riotous Luxurious or Swinish Jezebel I see saith she thou art a quiet harmless Man Wilt thou therefore live in Joy Get thee Wine and strong Drink Drink until the Poyson thereof be enraged Quaff this noble Liquor in Bowls Strive to conquer thy Companions in the Valour of Bacchus's Souldiers Eat the Lambs out of the Flock and Calves out of the Stall And make thy Body as mine is a Sepulchre of Dead Carkasses Put far away the Evil Day Let not thy Conscience trouble thee nor Reproofs awaken thee So thou shalt be an easie-hearted Sot or Voluptuous Flog-like Epicure of whom much shall be made in the Swine-house until thou be fully fattened for the House of Slaughter Come therefore along with me to the Banquetting house And we will cast away Care and remove that Melancholick Fit with a cherupping Glass We will treat thee with variety of Dishes dressâ—d after a new Fashion with poinant Sawces We will rant it and make merry over the Witness of God in the Conscience For this Solace is better than Gold or Silver Spend it away prodigally upon thy Lusts and gratifie thy Luxurious Palate And we will anticipate Prayer in the Morning with the Incense of our burning Lusts as preferring Sacrifice before Devotion Oh but in the midst of my Mirth my Heart is sad saith the Souls
my Spice with my Myrrh I have prepared my Honey-comb with my Honey I have mingled my Wine with my Milk I nourish a Cow and two Sheep And for the abundance of pure Nectar that they supply me with I never want Soul-refreshment For Honey and Etherial Cream doth every one Eat that is left in this Land of Rest and such Food that is innocently prepared for the Everlasting health of the Soul I will treat thee with the Arabian Aroma's with the Oriental Gems the Palms of Asia the Wine of Pomegranates the American Pine-Apples the most delicious Cordials and the purest Elixir and Quintessential Vertues of Paradise How fair is thy Love my Sister my Spouse How much better is thy Love than Wine Honey and Milk are under thy Tongue and the smell of thy Garments like the odours of the Holy Groves §. 3. Full Assurance O Thou my Souls Joy my Virgin-Solace The smell of thy Vesture is like a fragrant flowering Meadow which the Lord hath Blessed Thy Lips O my Espoused Lady drop as the Honey-comb and the smell of thy Heavenly Ointment is more fragrant than all Spices Therefore come thou fair Object of my Love we will ascend to the Top of the Holy Mount where we shall have a prospect of the Holy Land There the floriferous Hills look big with innocent Flocks and the Fruit-bearing Vallies with lowing Herds supplying the Babes of the new Birth with sincere Milk The winged Aerials in the Vocal Forrests now turn Serenades And every flower and flourishing blossom in the florid Plains perfume the chast Air with most delicious Odorates The pretty Lambs true Pictures of innocent Recreation poor Animals skip upon the Mountains of Pleasure bleating in the Pastures of Purity But the boggy swamps and marishes are crowded with Amphibious Creatures with whom I care not to converse The Hares fly not here for fear For the ravenous Hound in this Countrey finds other Food suitable to his Palate Thy Plants O Divine Vertue are an Orchard of Pomegranates with pleasant Fruits of the Tree of Everlasting Life Saffron and Cinnamon with Frankincense This Fountain that watereth the knots of Paradise this Well-Spring of living Waters springing up in my Soul to Everlasting Life and the Eternal Satisfaction of my fiery chirst these Silver Streams that glide so softly and with their warbling sound and murmuring mâ—lody recreate my tired Pâ—ssion of Love These Rivulets which bound upon the Banks of Eden strewed with odoriferous Gaâ—lands of Prayers and Praises This Field of fair Flowers even all these shall be shut up and sealed to the use of the Divine Nature Let my Beloved kiss me said she with the kisses of his pure Mouth For his Love is better than the chearing Wine of Pomegranates Thy Lips O my Dear Spouse said he drop as with pure Manna Stay me with Flagons of blessed Nectar said she and comfort my Love passion with Pine-Apples of Eternal Life For I am now sick of Love §. 4. Perfect Liberty THen said he inspire the odours of thy Soul-ravishing Breath into my Mouth and Heart and let it eternally breath upon the Fire of Love in my Soul Yes said she I will be thy Eternal Satisfaction and Everlasting Refreshment to thy late-passionate Spirit Let thy left Hand be under my Head and let thy Right Hand of true Love embrace me for ever I will wipe away from thy Eyes all Tears of Sorrows over which thou didst swim as over an Ocean of despair to seek after me and find me to the Joy of thy Heart in this thy Rural Paradise the Suburbs of Heaven So naturally is Innocency planted here that nothing knows its Enemy because no Enemy to know Unity and Harmony are inseparable Companions And every Individuum knows no Argument but Love whose Law is alike forcible to others as the Law of Harmony is united in it self For nothing doth Sorrow nor can any thing grieve in as much as there is no cause of Suffering or desire of Revenge Of late I wished thou wert as a Brother that sucked my Virgin Mothers pure Breasts And now my wish is fulfilled When I should find thee without thy Shepherds Arbour or if I should light upon thee in thy late-forsaken pleasant walks I would be so familiar with thee that I would kiss thee and fill thy Soul with the Odoriferous Myrrh of my Holy Breath Yea now I know and am Confident I should not be despised I will lead and guide thee by the motions of my pure Spirit and by the Inspiration of my Vocal Gale into my Virgin Mothers House Into the Habitation of Gods Holy Bride She will instruct me how to please thee There I will cause thee in token of gratuity for all thy loving Kindnesses and Courtesies which thou hast shown unto thy endeared and faithful Spouse to drink and be refreshed with the spiced Wine which I prepared for thee and the pleasant Juice of my Pomegranate §. 5. Religious Vows I Remember thee and the kindness of thy Youth and the Love of thine espousal When thou wentest after me into the Wilderness into a Land that was not sown Behold thy Time is a Time of Love Behold O Virgin I will enter into Covenant with thee Then said I I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine and his desire is toward me I will anoint thee with Holy Oil I will cloath thee with broidered Work wrought by the Virgins of Heavens I will gird thee with the Linnen of Innocency and cover thee with the Silk of Sincerity I will deck thee with Angelical Ornaments I will put a beautiful Crown upon thy Head I will deck thee with Gold and Gems I will write thy Injuries upon the Dust And thy Kindnesses upon Eternal Marble Thou shalt eat with me in my Fathers Palace fine Flower Honey and Oil And thou shalt be exceeding beautiful and shalt prosper into a Kingdom and thy renown shall go forth among the Heathen for bravery For it shall be perfect and eminent through my comeliness which I will put on thee O Virgins behold the Shepherd behold the humane King go forth O ye Daughters of the Deity And behold him with the Crown wherewith his Mother Gods Eternal Bride crowned him in the Holy Day of his blessed Espousals and the gladness of his Heart for it is the best work that ever he did to make a Covenant and be betrothed to the Virgin fair Vertue if he do not break it Else it will be his Eternal Horrour and cause of Everlasting Repentance if he prove faithless Better it is he should not Vow unto me then Vow and not perform §. 6. Resolution I Gave my Royal Shepherd a Chariot of the Wood Lebanon i. e. white Moon In the Original it is Lebanah and signifies the white Moon of the Coelestial Forrest The Pillars were of Silver the Bottom of Gold the Canopy of Purple the midst thereof being paved with the Love of fair Vertue or pure Pleasure for the Divine
if the Mind strongly conceits a Heaven to it self the Mystery of the same conceit unknown makes an intension of its Heaven We often see that Love after Marriage grows Languid Whereas the same Love before the Enjoyment of its wished Object was so elevated and wrapt up in the said Object that it counted the same a seeming Heaven But many times two Lovers who have attained to the Blossom of the Tincture of Venus insect one another by their burning Lust so that they become Deadly Enemies even these very same Persons who were ready to impart the Heart within them one to the other if it could be done without Deaâ—h And tho' sometimes the Complexion of others are more Noble and still some Love remains yet it is not always so pure and faithful as the first As may be seen by Experience that many in Wedlock hunt after Whoredom and wandring Beds more than they did when in a single state Answ The Original of Love and Propagation proceedeth from the hiddennefs of the Virgin All things grasp after the Virgin and that made the Spirit of this World grasp and reach after Man because he found the Virgin in Man before the Fall And when a young Man loves a Maid he thinks to find the Virgin in the said Maid but when he Unites with her and toucheth the Tincture of Venus but cannot get the Virgin in his Possession then followeth a less Esteem of the Felicity which he thought to find in her §. 10. By the Seven Properties SAy what you will saith the Atheist He that hath Skill to rule his own Spirit may draw his Affections and Fancy to what Object he pleaseth Answ Ask thy own Mind why will not it give over Imagination and lie in Silence Ask a Mad-man why he will not stop the Wheel of his Mind that rolleth about too violently Ask a Man why he will not in sleep dream of Comedies And enquire whether any of these have power over this Spirit of Phantacy to retain the Spirit by his own Power It is true both in the Light and in the Wrath-World which soever of the Seven Properties are predominant in the seven fold Wheel of the Eternal Mind that will by and by be lowermost But in the Love Kingdom one Property desireth not to expel the rest out of the Harmony or to move and turn the Wheels backward This is demonstrated in all things especially in Musick For tho' there be insinite Varieties of Notes and Tunes according to the Altering and Transposings of the seven Sounds yet tho' the Saturnine or Martial String may be predominant while an Instrument is dexterously handled the rest by a secret sympathy will bind them in a Melodious Harmony And this is also observable That the end of a Tune hath some Resemblance to the beginning there-thereof to shew that when the Harmony of the Sphears or Stars of Time shall find its beginning again then will it be swallowed up in an Eternal Consort of the Properties Excepting those Essences who have spoiled their Materials or rather changed the form of their Breasts according to the Pattern of which the Instrument is to be tuned It may also be seen in the Variety of other Sensibles For in taste there are many thousand Varieties yet if the seven Properties be rightly and artificially mixed tho' the Saturnine property be predominant yet the other Properties will bind it in an equal Accord The like is understood of other qualities too tedions to enumerate Thus by what hath been said it is clear that a terrible Dream comes from the multitude of vain Business and a Fool in his Eternal Melancholly Fit of Angnith snores in a deep sleep of Despair and sees horrid Spectiums that imposeth real Punishment upon his Soul according to his Lot and Degree And to answer the aforesaid Objection it is consest that when a Man is in love with a Maid the Object engaged to his Noblest Passion her Idea being as it were stamped upon his Spirit with the Character of Sympathy Tho' you proser him another Maid far more worthy in Beauty and Nobility than the former yet none will content his Fancy or stop the current of his Passion but the Enjoyment of her to whose Service he was made Votary before or Death Even so the Soul being in love and enamoured with his fair Virgin though you proffer him all the External Joys and Pleasures that the World can afford yet the Soul doth slight all and contemn them in comparison of the Virgins Love Answ Tho' this External Love hath some Analogy if it be pure and Faithful to the love between the Soul and Gods pure Virgin yet there is a difference between the Phantacy and Imagination in its pursuit after divers Objects The Object makes the Difference For if the Soul takes a Shadow for a Substance there 's the Deceit and the great Error And so as one said Ow. Epigr. If chaste true Love be accounted the greatest Terrestrial Happiness what may we suppose Calestial Love to be CHAP. III. The Souls Allegiance §. 1. There is a Divine Law NOw the Question is Whether the Soul be left loose or dissolute to do that which is right in the sight of his own Eyes not subject to a Law not enjoyned to obey his King by an Oath of Allegiance and so left open to hostile Powers who may allure him and draw him to the Traps of headlong Ruine and Destruction And by this means Religion may degenerate into Sceptism Answ It must be confessed There is a Perfect Law of Liberty but it is in subjection to Gods Spirit in Love not by a slavish Fear For instance A little Child before he can go must be under Guardians and not permitted to creep where he will But when he is so educated that he knows how to comply to the beck of his Guardian or Tutor he is let loose to go where he will and yet he will not do what his Tutoâ— hath forbidden him if he be of a pliable Disposition efpecially having had experience of the Crosness of another Tutor or Master Tho' our Ancestor went beyond his Bounds in a like Case Again Here ariseth agreat Question Where lieth the great Mistake that many a Soul must wander at a Fugitive and never find a Lodge of quiet Repose Is there a Counter-Law in Eternity that forbids him to find Ease O no The Antient Law of Eternity doth strictly command the Soul to give the Souls Spirit the thing that he longs after the Object that he earnestly desireth There never was any other Law in Eternity nor ever will any be repugnant to this Feed on the Tree of Eternal Joy and pure pleasant Life Thou mayest eat of all the fair and pleasant Trees in the Garden of Eternal Delight Yea thou must eat of them But touch not the Tree of Pain opposed to Pleasure upon penalty of feeling Pain without end or of entering into the Property of Death that is Thou
and laies up or provides in the Summer against Winter And he is a Fool that will fare above his Purse to day and want to morrow and eats and drinks beyond the Power of Nature and thereby gets a Surfeit or Disease yet there is no need for Man to gather up more then needs seeing there be many things that increase Vanity and Emptiness and meer husks not proper Food for the Soul §. 2. Trust not in Vncertainties SOme may say Wisdom is good with an Inheritance and by it there is profit to them that shall see the Sun after him his Successors For Wisdom is a Desence And Money or Treasures being Price of necessary things is a defence against the Winter and Forreign-Invaders from Lucifers Dominion Answer The Covetous Man nourisheth an old grudge against God belike For he cannot trust God for Maintenance Though the right Frugal Man be a wise Man yet it is a folly for such a Man when he hath gathered sufficiency for himself to live in the right and natural order of Health and true Pleasure to torment himself too much in heaping up and gathering into a Bag with Holes for his supposed Successors Except he knew that his Successor who should enjoy the Fruit of his Labour would be a Wise Man That is One that will know how to manage those Treasures that are provided for him and fulfil the Proverb One Soweth and another Reapeth that both he that Soweth and he that Reapeth may rejoyce together in an holy Sport of Eternal Love in the Lord. But how can he tell that whether his Successor be a Wise Man or a Fool to whom he shall leave all his Labour What tho' Money or Treasures be a Defence yet the Excellency of Knowledge is that true Wisdom which knows how to use them giveth Eternal Life to them that have it that they may Eternally enjoy the Fruit of their Labour §. 3. The Law-givers Example I Was in Paradise chief Regent over the Essences and Animals in Eden when I dressed the fair Flower-producing Garden in the pure springing Odours and delightfulness of the Spiritual Sences When I made me pleasant Gardens I said in my heart Come on I 'll prove thee with Mirth Therefore enjoy Pleasure And behold if not managed with true Wisdom it is also Vanity I said of temporary laughter It is mad And of mutable mirth What doth it but presage a following fit of Sorrow I sought in mine heart to give my self unto the mirth of Coelestial Wine yet acquainting mine Heart with Wisdom and to lay hold on Folly if Folly were therein that I might see what was that Good for the Sons of Men my Brethren which they should do under their own Heaven all the Days of their Immortal Life I made me great Works in Eden I builded me Houses and many pleasant Maâ—sions in the Forest of Paradise I erected fair Bowers and recreative Walks and Galleries I planted me Vineyards where pure Grapes might be produced I made me fair Gardens and Orchards and I planted Trees in them of all kinds of Fruit pleasant to behold and good for the Everlasting Food of Man I made me Pools of Water to water therewith as with Coelestial Dew the Wood that bringeth forth Trees for my fair Building and for Food I gat me Servants Angel-Guardians and Maiden-Virgins And had Maidens born in my Coelestial House Also I had great possessions of all sorts of Animals which were brought to me to receive their Natural Names according to their genuine Nature and to be in Subjection to my Authority above all the Monarchs yea Lucifer himself that were in Eden before me I gathered me also Silver and Gold the Coelestial precious Metals and the peculiar Treasures of Kings and of Angelical Provinces and Hiâ—rarchies I got me Singers Virgin-Siâ—gers with their ravishing Voices â—he Delights of 〈◊〉 Sâ—ns of Men as Musical Instruments and that of all soâ—tâ— For the workmanship of my Tabrets of my Pipes inâ— Hâ—rps and Viols were prepared in me in the Day that I first appeared in Eden All precious Stones were my Covering and Ornament wherewith I walked up and down in Puriâ—y in the midst of the Siones of Fire §. 4. His Wisdom I Was the Anointed Cherub and God had set me so And so I was great and my Grandeur encreased more than all the Princes that were in Pardise in the Throne of the third World before me Also my true Wisdom remained with me And whatsoever my Eyes desired I kept not from them I with held not my Heart from any Joy For my Heart rejoyced in all my Labour And this was my Portion of all my Labour and Sport Then I looked on all the Works that my Hands had wrought and on the Labour that I had laboured to do And behold all seemed Vanity and Vexation of my Spirit and a wracking of the Spirit of my Successor Adam And there was like to be no profit to him under the Sun of his Third Principle And so I turned my self to behold Wisdom and Madness being a deprivation of the Heavenly Senses and Folly For what can the Man do that cometh after the Royal King of Eden Even that which hath already been That which was done by the holy Angels if he continue in my Wisdom Then I saw that Wisdom excelleth Folly as much as the Light of Heaven excelleth the dark and painful Fire of Hell The Wise Mans Eyes are in his Head and walketh by my Light but the Fool walketh in Darkness and will not bring his Deeds to my Light And yet I my self perceived also that one Event happeneth to them all §. 5. Travail appointed to Man THen said I in my Heart As it happeneth to the Fool so it happeneth even to me Then why was I more wise Then said I in my Heart That this is also Vanity Yea it is a miserable Lot that both the Fool and the Wise should become so subject to Vanity that they must both dye the Corporal Death And while they groan to be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption they must either beget a Child that will when this Corporal Death as pangs of a travailing Femaâ—e seizes upon them either comfort them concerning their Work Labour and Travail and the Toil of their Hands which God hath given to all the Sons of Men to be exercised therewith and concerning the Ground which the Lord hath Cursâ—d Or else they will Eternally remain in this Labour and Pangs and dye the Eternal Death with the imperfect Embryo in their Bellies and shall never be disburthened or cast out their Sorrows In the External World there is no remembrance of the Wise more than the Fool for ever Seeing that which is now in respect in the Days to come shall all be forgotten in the other World And all things are mutabâ—e And how dieth the wise Man As the Fool Therefore I hâ—ted the outward Life and the Life of the salse Birth Because the Work that
Spirit I was but now bathing in a River of Wine But what 's the Matter What are these qualms upon my Stomack They seem now to revenge my out-daring of Bacchus's Foes because I was not a fit Souldier for his Service Therefore his Chirurgion hath given me some of his Pills which now I cast up by filthy Vomitings and Spewings Sure he will give me a Foil at Wrestling Thus I shall stumble over the Dead and reel into a Grave of Worms and Serpents who will be drunk with my Blood Therefore O thou naturally found and healthful Spirit of Man The Luxurious is as full of Diseases as an Hospital For as the Night doth call him to the Supper of Surfeit And as the Morning doth rouze him to his Breakfast He languisheth in the hunger of his Lust making but one Meal a Day Until he hath glutted himself with the Dainties of his Delights And thus eating He wipeth his Mouth in a Corner Accompanied with his Drunken Hostess Whose Body is a Pit of Poyson But to touch it is danger of Death Therefore rather than Dine on her Delicates do thou mingle thy Meat with Mourning §. 6. For spoiling the Souls Sport THen comes a Third the sluggish Harlot come my Dear saith she we will go to the Gaming-house or if thou please to the Temple of the Gods where we will send for the blind Lover our Captive to make us some Sport We will have Musick and Dancing We will wheel about our God Now our Bellies are glutted with the butcherly and bloody Sacrifice of Beasts we will rise up to Play We will lye upon Beds of Ivory and stretch our selves upon our Lazy Couches We will chant to the sound of the Viol And invent to our selves Instruments of Musick like David the sweet Psalmist of Israel We will sing his Psalms in Canting and Mocking of God But O Man consider Give not thy Heart to the Musick of false Mirth Tremble to tread in the Tracks of it Use the Cross as thy Crutches to bear thee upright in the Way Nail the Flesh to the Fashion thereof And the Spirit shall save the Soul Give not sleep O Man to thine Eyes nor slumber to thine Eye-lids Vntil thou find an Habitation for thy self with thy Virgin For thou art born to a good Fortune When O Sluggard wilt thou awake from thy sleep The Day is far spent Go to the Antâ— Consider her ways and be wise at last If not this Harlot hath prepared a Net of Mischief to ensnare thee She will hunt thee into her Pit As thou didst drive the Beasts of thy own Image into the Nooze to be slain So she will draw thee as a Beast into the depth of her Dungeon But the Counsel of the Virgiâ— is the safety of Deâ—ence Which delivers thee from the sweep of her Dragg It saves thee from sliding in the slippery Places And stablisheth thy standing on the Rock Avoid Her that enticeth into every treacherous Trap And allureth into the Doors of Destruction She polisheth her Parlour with artificial carved Images and with the works of most curious Limners Her Entry inviteth with the Odors of Perfumes But her Bed is the Infection of Plague Her Breath is the Contagion of Death And her Breasts the Bottles of Bane He that layeth his Head to repose between them shall be smothered in a deep sleep Enter thou not into the Doors of her House Lest her allurements should murder thy simplicity For she will entice thee with all things that are lovely to the Eye But her purpose is to an end of Slaughter Mark the Line of her Path And behold whom she catcheth with her Hook He that studies the steps of her Feet runs swift to the Doom of Destruction But he that seeks deliverance from her Door shall dwell in the Temple of God He shall draw to a Rest from the Travel of Iniquity which shall compass his Soul with Salvation If this will not do then comes another the Crafty Witch Saying come to my School and I will make thee a Necromancer I will teach thee all the Philosophical Learning of the World and the highest Contemplation of things Thou shalt understand how the Worlds Wheel is rolled about And how the Chain of Eternity is entangled by an indissolvable Band So thou shalt be accounted the Wise Magus among the People O! I will not do so saith the right Spirit of the Soul I am afraid of the Deep of Deeps Lest I fall headlong into the Abyss and by searching and seeking the Universal Tincture I may get a wound in my Soul and then I shall be sent to finish my Contemplation in a Circle of Misery Therefore O Man be wise This false Wisdom is a snare of Death which is hid from the Eye of Man He seeth not her mischievous End Because she hath made his Day a Curse She bewitched by enchantments a couple in Paradise and dragged them from Life to Death And bolted their Generations within the Doors of Darkness And locked them from the Light of the Day Beware therefore lest she lead thee by her subtle Art and Serpentine Wisdom To taste of the Tree of Knowledge of Evil and Good Whose Fruit is desirable to make one wise And to open the Eyes of Curiosity §. 7. For hindering the Propagation of the Species BUT anon the Amazonian shews her self whose hand is against every one and every ones hand against her She will accompany thee in a Virile Garb to the Field of Mars and lead thee to Akeldama She will beat Plough-shares into Swords and perfume thy Nostrils with the stink of her murdering Powder She will perswade thee to cut off many of thy fellow-Creatures as a mighty Hunter of Men before the Lord as if the Earth were too narrow to maintain such a numberless number of Men in the same world saying Keep up thy Pomp gallantly and oppress all monyless Wretches and Widows Make many Martyrs by thy Sword of Cruelty and Rigour Search for the pâ—ths which the Lyons Whelps have not trodden and which the Vultures Eye hath not seen For there is a Vein for the Silver and a Place for the hidden Treasures of Gold But the Martial Iron is Lord of both Dig therewith into the Bowels of thy Fellow-Offspring and see if the Golden Mine be there or no. If any oppose thee see here I give thee these snaky Hairs as so many Furies in the Conscience O no I had rather saith the Souls Spirit dwell in the Corner of a poor Cottage in content and quietness than with a brawling Whore such as thou art in a wide Habitation I had rather sleep in a whole Skin than to boast of Wounds and Scars upon my Body Let Cyrus if he like it glut himself in his Bowl of Blood I love not his Mess I am weary with such Sacrifices This Martial Strumpet drags the Valiant by the Nose and the Lofty by the Fore-lock Yea the Mighty do plunge in her Bloody
of the Spirit of the World destroyeth his own Soul A wound and dishonourable stigmatized Mark shall he get which shall never be wiped away in this World or in that to come For Jealousie is the rage of a Rival Therefore he will not spare in the Day of Vengeance he will not regard any Ransom neither will he rest Content though thou givest all that thou art worth Neither will the Spirit of the Soul be reconciled though thou shouldst give him all the Substance of thine House for a Bribe §. 10. Misery the End of Vice NOW the Covenant is a Lamp and the Law of Loving the Virgin is Eternal Life And the reproof of her Instruction is the high Way to Heaven When thou goest she shall lead thee When thou sleepest she shall keep thee When thou art awake she shall talk with thee in Divine Contemplation By her thy Days shall be multiplied upon the Eternal Earth and the Years of thy immortal Life shall be endless Therefore keep thy Heart true to the Virgin with all Diligence for out of it are the issues of Life and Death Believe not the Whore in her flattering Speech for she is a Lyar when she cries Stoln Waters are sweet and a secret Banquet in a Corner of Darkness is pleasant Be sure that her Cave leads to the Shadow of Death and her Guests go to the Depths of Hell And a desperate wo is pronounced against them that delight to lurk in the holes of Guilt and despise the light of Purity lest their Deeds should be reproved Come to my Tavern saith she It is indeed a House of Sin but not of Darkness For our Candles and hellish Squibs never go out It is like a Country near the Frozen Zone as clear at Midnight as at Noon Beware therefore O humane Souldier For armed Mars doth not so much wound thee as this naked Venus The Sorceresses Mouth drops as the Honey-comb and her Lips are smoother then Oil but her end is as Wormwood it will cost the Soul that loves her many a bitter Tear Her Instruments are sharp as a two edg'd Sword It will cut the Conscience to the Heart Her Feet go down to the Abyss And her steps lead to the Hell of Eternal horror Lest thou ponder the Paths of Life Her ways are moveable that thou canst not know them Remove thy way therefore far from her And come not nigh the Doors of her House CHAP. VII The Virgins Espousal §. 1. Reconcilement IF the Soul recant and change his Mind Fair Virgin-Vertue bearing no grudge in her pure Mind welcometh and entertains him again most joyfully unless he be stigmatized with the Disease of the Stews and so renews their mutual Acquaintance And the Virgin wandring in her Shepherds Rural Fields The long absence of her late Beloved had grieved her Spirit She had enquired of Passengers did they see a Shepherd passing along that way They answered No It was but a little that I passed from them saith she even from the pretended Guides into Paradise but I found him whom my Soul loveth I held him and would not let him go until I had perswaded him to come into my Virgin-Mothers Habitation in Heaven and into the Chamber of her that conceived me of the Divine Seed Who is this said the neighbouring Angels who were Proxime to the Deity as Princes before a Monarch Virgin that cometh out of the Wilderness of Wo and Despair leaning upon the Breasts of her Beloved I raised thee up said he under the Tree of Life there thy Virgin Mother brought thee forth in the upper Paradise There she conceived thee as an Holy Birth of Newness of Life in the Womb of her Virgin-Purity I charge you O ye Daughters of the Holy City said she by the Roes of Paradise and by the Hinds of Edens fair Fields that ye stir not up nor awake my Beloved until he please for he is very weary after his Journey and long Travel upon the Mountains of Vanity And requires a due time of Rest from his Labours and vain Wandrings And now the wearied Bees return home with laden Thighs The tired wandring Sheep that had forgotten their resting place have found their Fold of rest where they may lye down with the Leopards in a safe and quiet repose And now when I perceived how he admired my transcendant Beauty and the form of God in my aspect My Cheeks being comely with rows of precious Jewels and how I was adorned with Topazes and Rubies with Amethysts and Saphires with Diamonds and Gold I gave him a present of borders of Gold with knobs of Silver and the richest Gems For our Mountains are big with Mines and the Veins of our hidden Treasures are Infinite When my Royal Shepherd sits at my Table my Spikenard sends forth the Odours thereof Abundle of Myrrh is my welbeloved unto me My Pastoral Friend is unto me as a Cluster of Camphire in the Vineyards of Eden Because of the Savour of this pure Ointment wherewith I besprinkled thee thy new Name of Vertue is as heavenly Oil poured forth out of Golden Vials full of sacred Odours §. 2. Consecration of the Soul I Am the Holy Rose and the Lilly of the low Vallies As the Lilly among Thorns so is my Love said he among the Daughters of Vanity As the Apple-tree of Eternal Life among the Trees of the divided Properties in the Wood. So is my Beloved among the Sons of worldly Wisdom I sate down under his Shadow with great Delight and the Fruits of his rural Trees were sweet to my Taste He brought me to his Banqueting Arbor and his Banner over me was the Canopy of Love I am come said he into my Gardens my Sister I have led thee through a Wilderness my Spouse I have conducted thee into the Meadows of May Blessed be the Hour that first I saw thy Face I have brought thee to the Rivers of Milk and Honey which flow in this Land of Rest and Rural Refreshment Thou hast accompanied me my lovely Mate to the Mountains of Myrrh and the Holy Hills of Frankincense I have gathered my Flowers said I in the Meadows with my Aroma's in the Vallies Here in this perfect State of Holiness the Earth is not unburdened with Tillage neither is it wounded with Culture Come now said he O fair Virgin of Purity sit down with me under this Vine and under this Fig-tree where none can make us afraid And we will take a walk in the calm Evening in the cool of the Eternal Day and the Divine Springs and aquaeducts shall refresh our Spirits after our Journey Thy Breath is as the Odors of Myrrh as the pure gale of Refreshment upon my late-languishing Spirits Awake O. Eternallybreathing Spirit Come thou Divine Wind and blow upon the Garden of my longing Heart that the Spices thereof may flow out to the rejoycing of our Minds Come my fair one into my rural Garden and eat these pleasant Fruits I have gathered
Daughters of the Holy City Now set me as a seal upon thine Heart As a Divine Stamp upon thine Arm Think upon me and the ways of Vertue as thou walkest in the way and as thou sittest and oestest and as thou risest up For my Love to the is as strong as Death My Jealousie will be cruel as the Grove it will devour the perjured Soul if thou prove false to thy Vow in Eternal Death But O God my Father may that never be For the coals of Jealousie are as coals of Eternal Fire which hath a most cruel Scorching Flame of Torment Many Waters of Sorrows cannot quench my Love to thee Neither can the Floods drown it Neither can the Rivers or Tears of a thousand Suitors and Rivals to thee stop the burning thereof If one should give all Substance of his House for my Love it would be utterly contemned And so if thou abusest me hereafter and runnest gadding in thy Mind after other Lovers though thou shouldst give all that thy Soul and Body are worth and all the Substance of thy House for the enjoyment of me the third time it will be utterly rejected and despised as a vain trifle Take notice of it And be true to me thy Spouse After this Day the Divine Damsels saw me and praised me with this Blessing Be thou Mother of thousands of Millions And the Author of a numberless number to People the Coelestial City by the new Regeneration And let thy Seed effess the Gates of Heaven which Lucifer lost Build thou the House of the Humane Off-spring Thou art our Sister Do thou worthily in Heaven and be thou famous in Paradise And this was the Contract that the Wedding must be solemnized in the preseâ—â—e of the King our Father on the Day of my Tridâ—grooms â—â—tting off his Earthly Tabernacle and Elementary Robe Now Happy is the Man that can arrive to the Haven of so great a Happiness as this so as to find Virgin Vertue God's most Beautiful Daughter called also pure Pleasure or Divine Delight of the Son of Man For her Priâ—e is far â—bove Râ—â—â—es §. 7. Seven-fold Vertue NOW these Coelestial Virgins are of different Degrees for some Vertues are predominant in these which are weak in those And yet all cloathed with the Garments of Unity 1. One is a good House-keeper and diligent as the Bee The Heart of her espoused doth safely trust in her So that he need fear no spoil She seeketh Flax and Wool she worketh willingly with her Hands She is like the Merchants Ships She bringeth her Food from a far She considereth a Field in fair Eden and buys it With the Fruit of her Hands she planteth a Vineyard of Refreshing Bowers She lays her Hands to the Distaff and her Candle goes not out in the Eternal Night She reacheth forth her Hands to the needy And all her houshold are cloathed with Scarlet She makes her self coverings of Tapestry Her Garments are Silk and Purple 2. Another is skilled by Divine Wisdom in playing upon Instruments of Musick She inventeth means for the Recreation of Humane Life She maketh Songs in the Praise of her Creator and Father The Workmanship of her Tabrets were prepared in her in the Day that she was Created whereby she chaseth the evil Spirit that troubleth the Humane Mind 3. A third by her Politick skill in Martial Discipline delivereth a besieged Microcosmical City surrounded by Lucifer and his Souldiers by causing one Man the Offender to dye whose Head shall be thrown over the Wall that the whole City perish not This is the anoynted Virago 4. Another is more beautiful and amiable in her Divine Form as cloathed with the Shape of God and bearing the very Picture of her Virgin-Mother in her Lovely Visage as they indeed all do but this in an especial Manner She is most meek and courteous in Carriage and Communication therefore the froward and grudge-bearing Sycophant shall never partake of her Love 5. Another is wise in true Wisdom and foretelleth of Evils which are like to befal a Humane Soul that is espoused to her if he observe the Divine Motion of her pure Gale in the â—ool of the blessed Day She reveals hidden Mysteries to the Humane Spirit that loveth her Thus though also she be acute and eloquent yet she is intirely Sincere This is the Angelical Philosopher and Prophetess 6. Another is sound and healthy and by that means hath skill in the Plant of Life and the Vertue thereof for the healing of Maladies in Humane Body and Soul This is the Coelestial Physitianess §. 8. Seven-fold Reward LAstly The most Noble is she whose Cloathing is Divine Honour and Magnanimity Majesty and an Heroick Greatness of Spirit is in her Countenance She is adorned with a generous Brightness and she shall rejoyce in time to come in Eternity and shine as the Celestial Star in the Holy World as being brighter than the rest as partaking more of the solar property She openeth her Mouth as one speaking with Authority yet in Modesty and Wisdom yea in her Tongue is the Law of Kindness Her Children in the new Birth arise up and call her Blessed Her Husband also he praiseth her Many Daughters have done Vertuously but thou excellest them all Tho' not equal with the Bride of the Anointed Champion the Sister and Friend of the Great Messias Fawning Favour is deceitful and counterfeit Beauty is vain but this Divine Virgin that obeyeth her Father shall be praised Give her of the Fruits of her Hands and let her own Works praise her in the Gates of Heaven Thus in particular Fair Vertue which is pure Pleasure of the Soul gives to the Soul that accepts of her according to the capacity of the Receiver 1. Treasures of Eternal Life 2. A Clue of Thread to direct Man out of the Labyrinth of false Pleasures and Sports 3. An Armour to resist Lucifer 4. Jewels and Ornaments 5. A Book of Prophecy compiled by the Prince of Philosophers and a new Name written therein 6. Food Bread and Wine without end proceeding from the Tree of Eternal Life 7. A Golden Scepter to rule over the adverse party Thus Man by accepting of a good Fortune proffered to him doth become Rich Sound Prosperous Wise Potent Fair and Noble and so preferred to an Heavenly Dignity and Office §. 9. Grace turned into Wantonness O Man therefore be not so self-conceited and obstinate Be not Osor Mulierum one that Disregards God and the Desire of Women Dan. 11.37 An Hater of the fair Virgin Be willing to enter into the holy Estate of Matrimony for to this thou art purposely born Else thy Soul if thou refuse will be left to be tormented by the Demons and thou wilt die the Eternal Death for Love of a Harlot whose Love thou shalt never enjoy If thou art in love with the fair Virgin have a care of abusing her and offering Violence to her by deflowring her Tho' thou indeed shalt never be able to
all for his good and everlasting welfare Oh saith she How long thou simple one wilt thou hate me and neglect thy own Mercy How long O scorner wilt thou scorn me Yea He was the first occasion which moved her to set her Affections upon him But it seems with an intent to mock and deceive her and make a May-game and Derision of her before his Jezebelish Companions Yet when she sees there is no Hope or Remedy for she resolves never to leave or forsake him while the least Oil capable of receiving the flame of Love remained in him And when she finds that his Mind is resolved another way then she considers with her self And mutteâ—ring saith Why do I pine and waste thus I do not profit at all to my self nor promote the means of regaining his Affections towards me I will again return to Paradise to my Mothers House even where I was raised up under the Tree of Life by the Fountains of Eden and where I was snatched away while I was securely gathering Flowers by the upper Springs of the Coelestial Groves and hurried away into this fair World There in Paradise I shall see my dear and heavenly Mother again and I will complain to her of my hard Fortune and dismal Fate the result of the unkindness of my late Lover There I will open my Mind in Sincerity to her Perhaps she will afford me some comfortable Advice Being come home her Virgin-Mother perceives by her looks that she has not sped well and saith unto her What 's the Matter with my sweet and dear Daughter Is this she who I thought was lost whose lovely Face I almost despaired ever to see again What have not things occurred well with thee Hast thou no Fellow-Traveller No Recreator of thy tedious long Journey What Come through such a terrible Wilderness alone What are those wounds on thy late beautiful Face How is thy fair Visage more marred than thy Sisters and thy form seems more disfigured than pretended Maids Oh dear Mother saith Virgin-Vertue many have been astonished at me My Virgin-Play-fellows did not know me It seems I have no Form nor Comeliness which Mans Soul can see in me no Beauty that he should desire me I am despised and rejected of my Companion I am a Virgin of sorrows and acquainted with Grief my Mate hath hid his Face from me I was dispised and be esteemed me not He looked on me as stricken smitten and forsaken of God And now who shall declare my Generation and the Children of my Womb Yet I have done no Violence neither was deceit found in my Mouth I was true to my Lover But he proved false to his late Companion in Tribulation I was deceived and inveigled into his Wiles by his fair Speeches He seemed to prosess great kindness at the first and drew me into his Nâ—t with smooth but deceitful Promises But now he hath utterly slighted me I received these Marks on the Palms of my Hands by the Malice and Treachery of his false Companions who drew my Lovers Heart from me and the Watchmen of the Night did smite and wound me Then do thou saith her Virgin-Mother slight him as much If he suffer his Eyes to be so blinded that he cannot see his own Good forsaking his own Mercy and the Day of his tender Visitations let him thank himself Choose another and let him go Be not so concerned my blessed Daughter the Child of my Womb Take Heart and raise thy drooping Mind out of the Grave of Despair §. 6. The Talent given to another WHY dost thou take on so Why art thou so affected with thy Sorrow Leave thy Sobbing Sigh no more Stay with me in thy Mothers House as a desolate Widow and she shall cherish thee with the Oil of Joy again And thou shalt again rejoyce in Eternity Come take a drop of this Coelestial Wine into thy fair Mouth it will chear thy dejected Heart and comfort thy pure and sincere Spirit And thou shalt have a sweet nap of refreshment upon my Breasts And when thou awakest this hard-hearted Beloved of thine will be cast out of the Church of thy Affections and committed to the Hell of Oblivion But saith Virgin-Vertue where are my dear Sisters Oh! saith God's Bride they all sympathize with thee and bemoan thy hard Hap and yet congratulate thy safe return from wandring in the wide Wilderness among wild Beasts Blessed art thou my Daughter that hast found thy Native Haven of the Holy Heaven again When she hath had the enjoyment of the sweet Society and Communication of her heavenly Friends a small Season she gradually receives Comfort and a Refreshment of pure rejoycing with a Divine Hallelâ—jah praising the Creator with Songs of Trinâ—ph in her Mouth that he hath delivered her from the Fury and Cruelty of her envious Rivals who laid wait for her Halting and looked for her Ruine Now I being weather beaten and having swum over an Ocean of bitter briny tears am now arrived at my fold of Everlasting Rest Her Virgin Mother saith O my Virgin-Danâ—hter thou shalt be yet in Love with a faithful Companion and divinely inamoured with one who will equally love thee again as thy loveliness deserves The next true Friend whom thou shalt shew kâ—nâ—ness to in a real Commiseration of their ruireable Condition shall resalute thee with an Answer of 〈◊〉 kindness neither will it ever enter into his Heart to receive thee when he shall be espoused to thee with whom thou shalt Eternall abide in the and undefiled â—â—ed of Eternal Joy At this her Virgin Sisters come forth out of a retired Room or Closet in Heaven saying O is this our Sister marked with the Scars of an unfortunate War in the Fields of crossed and unfaithful Love Alas for thee our dear Sister I am black O ye Daughters of the Holy City and Swarthy and my former Comeliness can scarce be perceived Look not upon me because I am Black because my Skin was become Tawny in the parched Wilderness Because the scorching Sun of deceitful Lust and false Love hath looked upon me and sought to infect me My Mothers Stepsons were angry with me They made me the Keeper of their Vineyards I waited upon them in their Superfluiâ—ies and Pleasures and would faintaste of the Gleanings and the Grapes that they refused And so mine own Vineyard I have not kest and now you see my beautiful Flowers are laid in the Dust Alas for thee say they Alas and well a day We have a little Sister and she hath no Breasts she seems to be Eternally Barren and incapable of propagating her Divine Species according to the Creators Law O what shall we do for our Sister in the Day that she shall be spoken for and invited to the great Wedding-Dinner If she be a Wall of Defence against impure Loâ—ers we will build upon her a Palace of Silver which shall be as a Golden Temple of Gladness to entertain her Noble Beloved And
if she be a Door of Invitation we will enclose her with boards of Coelestial Caedar to receive her saithful Shepherd in her Holy Habitation and Tent of Contentment under the Trees of Eternal Life §. 7. The Soul's Anguish THus as it happened to the Fool that is in Labour and Travail to obtain his false Delilah So it happened to this fair Virgin But they shall not have the same Catastrophe in the end of the Act or Play For they shall dye in a different manner which when they shall have sacrificed their Souls devoted to the service of their Lovers The one shall dye to his Condemnation The other to the Resurrection of Everlasting Life and Joy Now the Soul that slighted this fair Virgin being deceived by a blind Fancy of false Passion forsakes her for ever and falls in love with an unworthy Harlot far inferiour to himself and his nobility whereby he degenerates into a bestial State by a Soul-Transmigration Verifying the Proverb Pares cum paribus facillimè Congregantur And this Delilah only plays the Fool with him to sport her self and make a Mock play of him with her Companions and her fellow-Harlots And will not Love him again as he Loves her It is hard to rob a Thieves House And so he becomes a Vagabond and Fugitive upon the Earth and Eternally seeks after her but can never obtain her Love And though perhaps he may so far prevail with her as to have the favour of defiling her in the Bed of obscene wantonness yet that is only to give him a Taint of her Infection which will Eternally burn in and wast his griping Bowels And this is a Description of Mans Hell almost without a Metephor viz. A Separation of the Soul from God his desired Object in his dying Hour and last Minutes when he finds himself by Reason of a wilful and continued course in deadly Sins excluded the Enjoyment of Heaven nor can he lay any claim to the Benefit of the Sacrifice having shut himself out by false Lust falling in Love and being inamoured with a blind Passion A false Delilah having had the Flower of his youthful Love he is no more for her turn And so to speak in a similitude Mans Soul shall be confined to an Eternal Wilderness So that it is very clearly understood how the labour of the foolish Souls will weary every one of them because they know not the way to go to the City of mutual Love and Solace All which ways leads him to endless Sorrow and Miseries being the effects of Sin which confine him to an un-openable Prison in which he shall feel within him a Fire of Eternal Pain and aking of his Mind whereby his Heart shall burst in pieces and yet remain whole by renewing it to endure a fresh wracking Torment in the Grim Life §. 8. The Soul's Despair ANd all this because he would not allow the right Spirit of the Soul the thing that he earnestly begged and cryed after Yea he shall as through a Goal-Grate at times behold this Harlor who was the occasion of his Misery mocking him and saying O Fool now pay Eternally for thy Folly in believing me Now eat thy sower Sawce after thy sweet Meat Also he shall see Heaven above him by looking at times beyond the great Gulf and he shall to his Repentance ever to be repented and to his Grief never to be expiated at times espy his once fair Virgin whom he might have Eternally enjoyed to his unspeakable Solace and mutual Refreshment for she was if he had not undone the knot of true Love his own proper Right by the Law of Eternity And because he refused her there must be a Transmigration of Souls and out of his Ashes must spring another who will gladly step into his Throne and Love his Virgin who never was defiled And this his Rival-Successor he shall look at with an envious Eye embracing his Virgin who is now become his Rivals own by the unalterable Law of the Deity Thus this spiritual Adulterer shall see his Late Virgin in the dear Arms of another but he shall never in Eternity receive so much as one smile nor so much as one of her looks to refresh him wherewith his Heart used lately to be ravished Instead of this he shall Conceit she frowns upon him tho' indeed her Nature is ignorant of the manner of frowning And so shall feel intolerable Pain and Griping in his Conscience which is a difference or Combustion between the Soul and Spirit of the Soul because he hath foolishly squandred away his fair Virgious Gifts and scorned or refused a good or blessed Fortune which the Creator had appointed him And upon the Monument set over his Hâ—llish Grave shall be this Epitaph engraved Here lies the cursed Ashes the Object of Scorn once the Seat of the Fire of pure Love who deceived his own Soul like a Fool and now suffers the Punishment of his own procuring and burns in the Fire of his own kindling Therefore O Man have a Care defraud not the pure Mind of the true Pleasure it earnestly cryeth longeth and panteth after or of the Virgin it laboureth and travails for think not that it will be put off with Foperies and shammed with Toys of Vanity or lusled asleep by a Song of Vanity If it be cast by some Soporiferous Poyson into Sleep yet it will again awake to thy Condemnation And will never cease craving for the right Food that is proper for his Eternaâ— Health and Life and will by his Officer Scourge and Torment thee till he obtain his Desire §. 9. Late Repentance THerefore spend not thy Money for that which is not Right Bread nor thy Labour for that which profiteth not the Spirit of the Soul For I say again he will not be cheated For when the Body comes to drop as a Leaf from the Tree of the Soul to the Grave Death will by no means in the World by no fair Speeches be bribed to put off the time when the forcible Wind is sent to blow it down When the guilty Sinner sees that Death will not be put off then he endeavours to bribe the Souls Spirit and to speak him fair saying O be reconciled to me in my extremity The Soul's Spirit saith Fly hence thy House doth Crack it falls Get under Ground for safer Walls The Soul answers Oh but give me a token of thy savour before the thread of my Life be cut off by the Sword of the Cherub I have done brave Exploits for thee in former days O saith the Spirit so Lucifer's Cities were once famous where Satyrs now dance and doleful Birds howl No I will never be reconciled in Eternity to thee The time is past Where was this desire of Reconcilement before when I was willing to keep peace with thee on condition I should have my will and the end of my longing which once was easily attainable But now thou art wise too late O but saith the Soul
his Will whom he loves nor will never seek to please him You shall never have any good of a Maid that is compelled to Marry against her Will She will be but the more perverse the more you endeavour to humour her Have a Care lest thou neglâ—â—â— thy own Good And when thou art well hope not in vain for higher preferment lest thou justle thy self out of all and repent too late A Hen or some other Fowl aiming at the End of Procreation by the impulse of the natural Spirit counts it no toil to sit upon her Eggs a whole Month or more or less and is willing to be confined without the Element of her Pleasure and Recreation Mayest thou be as willing to promote the Glory of God the End of thy Journey and Labour which to promote is the right Heaven of Mans Soul To which place O King of Heaven direct us all Amen CHAP. X. The Souls Transmigration § 1. Christ the Lawful King BEtter is a Poor and Wise Child the innocent off-spring of God than an old and foolish King that tyrannizeth over the pure Seed who will no more be admonished as being Reprobate or past Reproof For out of an infectious Prison or Dungeon of Darkness he cometh to Reign as being no lawful Heir and not of the Right Line He is an Usurper Whereas also every Subject the Faculties of his Mind that is born in his Kingdom becomes Eternal Beggars I considered all the Living which walk under the Sun of Time with the second Child of Regeneration that shall stand up and sit in the Divine Throne Eternally in his stead There is no end of all the People and Subjects of illegal Tyrants even of all that have been before them in â—â—cifers Apostacy whose Seed lives in the Humane Generation They also that succeed or come after either before or after the end of this World shall not rejoyce in Lucifer or an Humane Usurper This also is Vanity and Vexation of God's Holy Spirit The Humane Commonwealth comes to Ruine under a Foolish Prince even as the Feet stumble by the Intoxication of the Head In the Day of Prosperity be joyful and when things fadge well between thee and thy Virgin let thy Heart be merry But in the Day of Adversity when thou art crossed in thy Desire or Love by the Sorceress consider what thou art a doing God also hath set the one over against the other to the end that Man should find nothing after and Superior to the fair Virgin of God worthy to be sought after §. 2. His Right to Reign THe Fire of Hell and the Ocean-Womb of Eternity are good Servants but bad Masters The Virgin it is true should be Queen in the Humane Republick And the Spirit of the Soul Vice-Roy But if Man inverteth the right Order he himself must pay the Forfeiture or suffer the Penalty Yet the Rebel must have his due And as the Proverb saith He that cannot bear to be a Servant let him be his own Servant When thy Work is done and the Crown obtain'd then rest in Security but wo to him that hath an ill Name in his Youth He will be suspected by the Virgin As having put the Crown of blooming Youth upon the Serpents Head But if thou follow Vertue thou mayest become the Head of all thy kindred Therefore O Son of the Virgin if thou seest the oppression of the Poor Spirit of the Soul in the Humane Republick Marvel not at the matter and if thou beholdest a violent perverting of Justice and Judgment in the Soulish Province for a time wonder not For he that is higher than the proudest and highest Mind regardeth And there be higher than they For the Spirit though ost as a Servant walking a Foot in low place is higher than the Rebel Soul O Man mark what I say I the Preacher returned and reflected upon all the Oppressions that are done under the Sun of this vain Light And behold the Tears of such as were oppressed and the sighing of the Spirit of the Soul and they had no Comforter And on the side of the Soul there Oppressour there was Power for there was no Compulsion to draw him to Sin against his Will but he would not open his Ear of Compassion Wherefore I praised the Dead that are already Dead even the Mortal Animals more then the Living that are yet alive for a time but are like to dye the Eternal Death Yea better is he then both they which have not yet been who hath not seen the Evil that is done under ehe Sun of Time and Eternity An Embryo is more happy than the false Birth Yea an Eunuch is happier than he that is joyned to the Witch like Traduction of a false Will which rebelleth against the Will of the Deity All these things have I seen in the Days of my Conversation in the Vanity There is a Just one the Spirit that perishe or rather vanishes in his Righteousness And there is a wicked one the false Mind who prolongeth his Life of Eternity in his wickedness and yet would willingly Dye but shall not find Death §. 3. False Judgment THis also have I seen and applied my Heart to every Work that is done under both Suns there is a Time wherein one Ruleth over another as the Soul oveâ— the Spirit to his own Eternal Hurt And so I saw the wicked buried in the Abyss who had come and gone from the Place of the Holy by his Aposâ—acy And they were forgotten in the Holy City where they had done any good for their good Works did not follow them This is a great Vanity Because Sentence against an evil Work is not executed speedily for the Spirit of the Soul or Conscience hath not Power to pronounce it till the Day of Death therefore the Heart of the Soul Son of the Humane Root is fully set upon mischief by plotting against his own Judge and working wickedness against God's Friend But know this though a Sinner do evil an hundred times and the Days of his Eternity be prolonged in Pain and Horrour Yet surely I know that it shall be well with the Spirit of the Soul that fears to Sin against God's Law and to the Soul that consents to the Spirit and fears before him And so all is well that ends well But it shall not be well with the Wicked neither shall he prolong his Days of Vanity in this inferiour World which are as a Shadow and whose Spirit will vanish as an Image in a Looking-glass because he feareth not God and to offend his Virgin There is a Vanity which is done upon the Earth of Humanity that there be Just men unto whom if they Apostatize it happens according to the Work of the Wicked And if the Father hath eaten sower Grapes the Child of this Apostate as by Transmigration of or into an unlucky off-spring his Teeth shall be set on Edge Again there be wicked ones to whom if they retract it
happens according to the Work of the Righteous I said that this is also the result of Vanity §. 4. Retaliation THe Soul that diggeth a Pit for the pure Spirit of the Soul shall fall himself into it And whoso breaks an Hedge the Fence betwixt the two Properties a Diabolical Serpent shall sting and bite him Whoso removeth Stones or the true Land-mark shall be hurt therewith and the building of his false Imagination shall fall upon him And he that cleaveth the Pillars of Heaven shall be endangered thereby If the Iron be blunt and there be no Stone to what the Edge because it is lost by Negligence then thou must put more Strength in the Gate of Purgatory in this Life but Wisdom if in time she had been embraced would have directed thee Surely the Serpent will bite without Inchantment And a Babler or false Accuser of the Spirit of the Soul is no better The Tongue will break a Bone Yet it is the best weapon of Defence if skilfully handled The Words of a Wise Man is Gracious and refresh the Spirit of the Soul with his good News and Story of his Travels and escape in Shipwrack but the Self-accusation of a Fool will condemn and swallow up himself in the Abyss He needs no Bell at his Neck His Bolt is soon shot The beginning of the Words of his Mouth contradicting his Conscience is Foolishness And the end of his talk at the Day of Judgment is Mischief and Madness and an eternal Frenzy Curse not therefore the King O Man no not in thy thought Speak not reproachfully against the Princely Spirit in the Bed-Chamber of thy Whorish Companion For the Angel-Guardians of the Air shall carry the Voice And the winged Cherub shall discover the High-Treason For Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft And as a Witch is a Rebel in Physicks So reversing the Point a Rebel is a Witch in the spiritual Politicks §. 5. The Souls Metamorphosis ALso I said in mine Heart concerning the State of the Sons of Men that God might manifest them and they may see that they themselves are of a Bestial Shape in the inward Signature except they be new-born in the right Humane Shape For that which befalleth Men befalleth the outward Animals Even one thing befalleth them as the one dieth the External Death so doth the other Yea they have all one Breath drawn from the Airs Power So that a Man hath no preheminence above a Beast for all is Vanity which is in the outward Love and vanisheth as a Shadow All Animals Humane and Bestial Sensitive and Rational go unto one Place the Grave of the four Elements the Womb of their first Mother which conceived them swallows them again All are of the Dust or of the hoil of Atoms and all turn into the same Chaos again Now observe this Mystical Ancient Philosophical Point who knoweth the noble Soul or Spirit of a Right Humane Being that goeth upward into his own Heaven and the Spirit of the Bestial Man by the Transmigration of his Soul into an Eternal Brute or rather by the Metamorphosis thereof into a degenerated Viper or Toad or other sensual Animal according as his Soul was inclined in its Nature in this Life that goeth downward into the Opacious Cave of the gross dark Earth in the bottomless Abyss This is not set down here to reproach Mankind but because it is certainly known in the Light of the Eternal Sun O Man consider thy self here §. 6. Work in Time CAst thy Bread into a Ship floating upon the Waters of thy Eternal Ocean as Treasures laid up in Heaven and thou shâ—dt find it after many Days in Eternity Give a Portion to seven thy seven Properties and also to the Eighth hidden in the seven the beginning of a new Harmony For thou knowest not what evil may be hereafter in thy Humane Earth If the Clouds of blessing be full of Rain and Heavenly Dew they empty themselves upon the Earth of Man And if the Humane Tree falleth by Ballance toward the pleasant South or toward the Grim North in the Place where the Tree falleth there it shall be to all Eternity He that observeth the Mystical Original of the Holy Wind or Spirit or Breath of God thinking God will come by force into his Heart to compel him to come to Heaven shall not sow Divine Seed And he that regardeth the Clouds of Darkness thinking the Time of the spiritual Harvest is not yet come shall not reap a spiritual Crop As thou knowest not what is the way of the Spirit of the Soul nor how the Bones do grow in the Womb of the Virgin that is with Child of the Regenerated Birth Fven so God thou knowest not the Works of who maketh all In the Morning of thy Youth betimes while it is called to Day sow the blessed Seed and in the cool of the Evening-Gale of God's pure Breath withhold not thine Hand And commit the Improvement to God by Resignation For thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that Or whether they both shall be alike good §. 7. Before the Evil Days come REmember therefore O Man thy Creator and Father in the Days of thy renovated Youth Think of the Ancient of Days in the beginning of thy New Regeneration And he will prolong thy Eternal Days call to mind thy Everlasting State before the evil Days come in which thou shalt say I have to Pleasure in them If thou Love God and the Virgin of Eternal Youth and perpetual Beauty the Evil Days or Years of Sorrow will never draw nigh or overtake thee or if they come they shall not continue For an Everlasting Calm will come after a Storm of true Repentance Therefore remember the kindness of her Youth and the Love of thy Spouse while the Sun of the Eternal Spirit of the Soul or the Mind of the Affections of the Astral Nature be not clouded in blindness nor the Clouds of Darkness return after the Shower of a Purgatory in this Life In the Day when the Keepers of the Humane House and the Maintainers of the Soulish Family tremble and quake for Rottenness in their Bones and the strong Men that carry Provision to the Mill shall bow themselves under their burden And the Milstones cease because they are worn â—ut and the sound of the Mill is low and the Voice that calleth to Repentance is not audible And the Sentinels that keep Watch and Ward at the Windows of true Light be darkned and blinded by false Phantasie And so cannot prevent the Invasion of the Whores Brats which will seize upon the Castle And the Door of the Lips shall be shut in the Streets of the little City and will not be opened to the cries of the miserable Beggar and Wanderer and yet are open from within to utter Blasphemies And Self-accusations in Despair And he shall rise up as being frighted at the noise and terrour of his own Evil Conscience Because he would