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A13154
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Meditations of man's mortalitie. Or, A way to true blessednesse. Written, by Mrs. Alice Sutcliffe wife of Iohn Sutcliffe Esquire, groome of his Maiesties most honourable privie chamber
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Sutcliffe, Alice.
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1634
(1634)
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STC 23447; ESTC S117939
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40,619
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246
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ALICE Ben. Ionson Vpon the Religious Meditations of Mrs. ALICE SVTCLIFFE TO THE READER WOuld'st thou fraile Reader thy true Nature see Behold this Glasse of thy Mortality Digest the precepts of this pious Booke Thou canst not in a nobler Mirrour looke Though sad it seeme and may loose mirth destroy That is not sad which leades to perfect ioy Thanke her faire Soule whose meditation makes Thee see thy frailtie nor disdaine to take That knowledge which a Womans skill can bring All are not Syren-notes that women sing How true that Sexe can write how grave how well Let all the Muses and the Graces tell THO MA To Mr. IOHN SVTCLIFFE Esq upon the receipt of this Booke written by his Wife SIr I receiv'd your Booke with acceptation And thus returne a due congratulation For that good Fortune which hath blest your life By making you the Spouse of such a Wife Although I neuer saw her yet I see The Fruit and by the Fruit I judge the Free My Praise addes nothing to it That which is Well done can praise it selfe and so may this To be a woman 't is enough with me To merit praise For I can never be So much their Friend as they have heretofore Deserv'd although they merited no more When therefore to their Woman-hood I finde The love of sacred Piety conioyn'd Me thinks I have my duty much forgot Vnlesse I praise although I know them not But when to Woman-hood and good Affections Those rare Abilities and those Perfections Vnited are to which our Sexe aspire Then forc'd I am to Love and to admire I am not of their mind who if they see Some Female-Studies fairely ripened be With Masculine successe doe peevishly Their worths due honour unto them deny By overstrictly censuring the same Or doubting whether from themselves it came For well I know Dame Pallas and the Muses Into that Sexe their faculties infuses As freely as to Men and they that know How to improve their Guift shall find it so Then ioy in your good Lot and praises due To Him ascribe that thus hath honor'd you Geo. Withers Vpon the Meditations of Mrs ALICE SVTCLIFFE I Have no Muse my owne but what I see Worthy of praise that is a Muse to me Divinity the highest theame will find No fitter subiect then an humble mind And as in scorne of them that are more fit By instruments lesse notable expresseth it Almes and Devotion Zeale and Charity Might for thy Sexe beseeming Scripture be But when thou speak'st of death and that iust doome Which shall on all conditions ages come And thence descending to Philosophie Teachest weake Nature how to learne to dye It seemes to me above thy Sex and State Some heavenly sparke doth thee Illuminate Live still a praise but no example to Others to hope as thou hast done to doe Live still thy sexes honour and when Death With whō thou art acquainted stoppes thy breath Fame to Posteritie shall make thee shine And adde thy Name vnto the Muses nine PET HEYVVOOD AN ENCOMIVM vpon the Authoresse and Booke GReat Ladies that to vertue are inclin'd See here the pious practice of a wife Expressed by the beauties of the Mind And now set forth in Pictures of the life Wherein matter and forme are both at strife Who shall be Master but i' th end hands shooke For that they have a Mistresse to theyr Booke Whose Language I must needs in truth admire And how such Elegance should from her spring Vntill I thinke of Zeale that Caeliquefire Which might transport her soule by Cherubs wing In Prose or Numbers piously to sing Precepts of Praise worthy your approbation For she is Rara Avis in our Nation And though her youth gives her no SYBILS name Nor doth she Prophecie as they of old Yet she 's indu'd with the most sacred flame Of Poesie Divine and doth vnfold Nought but the truth and therefore may be bold Whose holy paines and study here exprest Shall Register her name amongst the blest VRANIA is her most heavenly Muse Which flyeth vpwards where her minde is placed She sings such Songs as DEEORAH did vse When she and BARVCH had their foes abased For which with Lawrell shee may well be graced And stil'd the Paragon of these our Times In her sweet Prose and true composed Rimes But thinke not Ladies that I doe contrive Numbers to mend ought that is done amisse Or that I meane to keepe her name alive VVhen she is gone and pass'd to greater blisse For I ne're knew her when I framed this Onely I read her lines which forc't me praise The Picture of her minde with this course bayes FRA LENTON THE Contents of the ensuing Treatise I. VVHerie the vncertainty of Mans life expressed and of the fearefull end of the Wicked Fol. 1. II. Motiues and Jnducements to true Godlinesse Fol. 53. III. Of the Peace of a good Conscience and the Joyfull end of the godly fol. 57 IIII. Of the deferring of Repentance how dangerous it is and of the deceivablenesse of Worldly Pleasures fol. 74. V. Comforts for the weake Christian and to bee ware of Back-sliding fol. 101. VI. That man ought to bee wonne to follow Godlinesse in respect of the Eternall happinesse fol. 114. MEDITATIONS OF MANS Mortality I. Wherein the vncertainty of Mans life is expressed and of the fearefull end of the Wicked WHen I behold the Heavens the earth the workemanship of the Almighty and see in 〈◊〉 all Creatures both for commodity and pleasure which as a store-house preserue all things for the behoofe and benefit of Man I cannot but vse to my selfe the saying of the Prophet DAVID Psalm 8. Lord what is Man that thou shouldest thinke on him or the Sonne of man that thou shouldest be mindfull of him thou hast made him but a little lower then the Angels thou hast crowned him with honour and worship by reason of which I thinke him to be onely happy and a God vpon earth and that there is no blessednes beyond this but looking into him with more deliberation I find his breath is in his nostrils and that hee is as the Beast that perisheth Eccles 3. I find his wife to be but a span and the perpetuity of his Happinesse no better then a flower which flourisheth to day and to morrow is out downe and withereth and that his habitation is but a Pilgrimage hee hath no certaine abiding I perceiue there is no building of Tabernacles heere this is no place of rest I remember the foole that sayd to his soule Luke 12. There was much laid up for many yeares but that night his soule was taken from him and how that after Death hee must give an account of his Stewardship for they are not his but lent him of the Lord neyther to abuse through excesse nor niggerdice but to put them foorth to the best vse and to the glory of him who is the giver of all good things For it is true that
Meditations OF MAN'S MORTALITIE OR A WAY TO TRVE Blessednesse WRITTEN By Mrs ALICE SVTCLIFFE wife of Iohn Sutcliffe Esquire Groome of his Maiesties most Honourable Privie Chamber The Second EDITION enlarged ROM 6. The wages of Sinne is Death but the guift of GOD is Eternall life through IESVS CHRIST our Lord. LONDON Printed by B. A. and T. F. for Henry Seyle at the Tygers head in St. Pauls Church-yard 1634. TO THE MOST ILLVSTRIOVS AND GRACIOVS PRINCESSE KATHERINE DVTCHESSE OF BVCKINGHAM AND THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE AND VERTVOVS LADY SVSANNA COVNTESSE OF DENBEIGH her Sister Gracious Princesse WHen I read how the Gods sooner accepted of a Handfull of Franken-sence offered by pure Devotion then whole Hecatombes of Arabian Spices in Ostentation I am incouraged having duely considered Your unlimited Goodnesse to present this my Mite unto your Grace and your Honourable Sister For as you are Twinnes in Virtues so I have joyned You in my Devotions Where first I most humbly crave of You to passe a favourable Censure of my proceedings it beeing I know not usuall for a Woman to doe such things Yet ELIHA sayth There is a Spirit in Man and the inspiration of the Almightie giveth them Vnderstanding And it is sayd againe Out of the mouthes of Babes and Sucklings thou shalt perfect Praise I am assured I shall meet with mocking Ishmaels that will carpe at Goodnesse wherefore I runne to Your selves for refuge humbly craving to bee assisted by your Graciousnesse which will appeare as the Splendant Sunne to disperse those Mists I have chosen a subiect not altogether Pleasing but my ayme is that it may prove Profitable having observed in this short course of my Pilgrimage how apt Man is not to thinke of his Mortalitie which stealeth upon him as a Thiefe in the night Experience teacheth mee that there is no Action wisely undertaken whereof the End is not fore-casted in the first place howsoever it bee last put in execution I have ever accompted Ingratitude to be like a Beast who having received benefites thinkes not of any acknowledgements Owing therefore a due Debt of Thankefulnesse for Your unexpressable undeserved Favours and being no wayes able to cause the desires of my Heart to appeare worthy-your Acceptances I have made choyse of this as being perswaded thereto by that truely Noble vertuousnes which hath evidently appeared in You to the strengthening of Goodnesse that heere it may find admittance which otherwise might want Entertainement and for that you have beene more then a Mother to mee I having onely from her received life but next under God from your Grace your honorable Sister the being both of mee and mine By which as there is none greater then your Selfe to whom in duty I am bound so there is not any to whom I wish greater Prosperity both for Temporall and Spirituall blessings then to your Grace beseeching God to preserve you and your Honorable Off-spring here upon Earth with my no lesse vertuous Lady your Sister to whom I am tyed by the same bonds of Thankfulnesse that as God hath made your Renownes great upon earth so I beseech him to adde to your Lives length of dayes and after life Eternall happinesse in the Heavens whither CHRIST is gone to prepare a place for You. I alwayes remayning Your Graces and your Honors truely devoted Servant Alice Sutcliffe AN ACCROSTIQVE Vpon the Renowned Name of the most vertuous Princesse KATHERINE Dutchesse of Buckingham KNow you this Princesse BVCKINGHAM'S Chast Dutchesse ASke aged Time with his worm-eaten Crutches TO find amongst the numbers of his Role HEr-Paralell of such a Heavenly moule EXcelling so i' th' beauties of the Soule RIch in all Treasures that to Virtue tend IN Faith Hope Charity the blessed's end NOr is there ought that lives in Woman kinde EXceeding the rare prowesse of her Minde BOrne of High blood from RVTLANDS Family VNited to a Duke of Royall state CVrs'd bee the time more curs'd his cruelty KIll'd him and reav'd this Turtle of her mate IN peerlesse woe we still lament that fate NOr shall his memorie e're out of date GOe on then Gracious Princesse grac't by Fame HOnour shall still attend your noble Name ANd as your Goodnesse hath abounded so MAy Heaven the greatest good on You bestow AN ACCROSTIQVE Vpon the Name of the Right Honourable and truely vertuous Lady SVSANNA Countesse of Denheigh SEe heere a Lady blessed in her birth VNto whose Greatnesse Goodnes ioyn'd is still SVSANNA ne're so famous was on Earth AS is this Lady lead by vertuous will NOthing so sweete to her as heavenly mirth NO Musike sounds like Haleluia still A Happy Soule which those delights doth fill DAigne then to view these lines where truely I EXpresse but truth not vsing Flattery NO Fallaces within my mouth once lurkes BVt hates all those that use dissembling workes EVen as your Goodnesse merits so speake I I Am your Servant bound untill I dye GIve leave then gracious Lady for I finde HEaven hath indu'd you with a vertuous minde AN ACCROSTIQVE Vpon the name and Titles of the Right honourable and my ever honored Lord PHILIP Earle of Pembrooke and Montgomery Lord Chamberlaine of his Majesties Houshold c. PEMBROOKE's great Peere your Princely favour I HEere humbly crave to guerdon my weake pen IF this doth show my imbecilitie LIke a good Patron shroud it from bad men I By your favours mov'd doe this present PRay then my Lord accept my good intent POore are my weake endeavours yet if you ENcourage my Minervaes infant Muse MY cherisht thoughts by that may frame anew BOoke of true thanks unto your Lordships use RIght Noble then view but the vertuous tract OF this small Volume and if you shall finde OVght good expressed by our Sexes act KNow honor'd Lord my starres are very kinde MOVNTGOMERY my Caelique Muse doth mount ON Cherubs wing from this low Orbe to heaven VErtue is here exprest vices account NOr is' t a Tale or Fable that is given TRuth never is asham'd to shew it's face GReat man and good but alwayes loves the light OMay it then find an accepted Grace MOre cause a woman did the same indite EVen then as DERORAH's sweet tuned song Run RVng out her sacred Peale in holy Writ OSo I pray my heart my pen my tongue YEa all my faculties may follow it Your Lordships Devoted Servant Alice Sutcliffe TO Mrs. Alice Sutcliffe on her divine Meditations WHen I had read your holy Meditatiōs And in them view'd th' uncertainty of Life The motives and true Spurres to all good Nations The Peace of Conscience and the Godly's strife The Danger of delaying to Repent And the deceipt of pleasures by Consent The cōfort of weake Christiās with their warning From fearefull back-slides And the debt we ' are in To follow Goodnesse by our owne discerning Our great reward th' aeternall Crown to win I sayd who ' had supp'd so deepe of this sweet Chalice Must CELIA bee the Anagram of