procured Nulla coelum reparabile gazâ No golde can time reuerse The losse of which if it were throughly coÌ„sidered would make vs loath our stale musike in comparison of the sweet sounding melodie of time which is the reporter of things most desired the Corner of trueth whose descaÌ„t though it be somwhat crabbed yet that to which we apply our attendance we wish shoulde rather be true then forged rather a matter of certainty then a flying fable But the secure voluptuous Epicure careth not for this aduaÌ„tage of time so he may rest himselfe in his Ladies lappe and haue his eares throughly tickled with a musicall concordance he is content that the circle of the Sun should be rouled backward forward so that he continue still in iolitie without anye interruption of his pleasures Scilicet hoc est viuere but when the date of his time is almost expired arriued at the point from which it took y e beginning then he staÌ„deth bouud before the tribunall seat of time and he thus accuseth him vnfruitfull sluggard didst thou wake or sleep all thy life time If thou didst wake what worke haste thou left behinde thée either visible to the eie or memorable to the minde where be the monuments of thy labours wher be the gaines of thy trauailes where are the fruites of thy life If thou didst sleep and thy actions were only a dream that dreame was a passion but of action thou hast not a print to shewe but that thou mayest sée the bounty and riches of time awake out of thy sléepe wash thine eies and thou shalte clearelye beholde what opportunities haue escaped thee Thou seest on thy right hand the fieldes into the which thou didst wander sometime but I alway presuppose as in a dreame thou didst there onely suruay the colours of flowers thinking perhaps of the transmutation of them into flowers whom the panges of loue did consume thou didst rest on the gréene grasse as on a cushion hauing a minde so dead and destitute of the intellectuall facultie that thou didst hide and burie thy selfe vnder the shadowes of trées not knowing that the gréene Liceum was the Schole of the Peripatetikes and Vmbrifera Academia the Schoole of the Academikes but thou wishing that all thy body were changed into an eye like Argus that thou mightest all thy lyfe time haue nothing els but coloures in veiwe or els wishing that all thy bodye were made a nose as Catullus desired that thou mightest spendeâ— all thie daies in smelling to the fragrant flowers and perfuming hearbes didst make a pause in these fancies if thou haddest bended thine eies but a litle from these these things thou mightest haue espied y e seely Ant or Pismire of wich thou mightest haue learned to haue takeÌ„ paines to haue liued by thy pains to haue reioyced after thy paines to haue takeÌ„ paines by seeing theÌ„ martch in the pathway to the fieldes for their sustenaÌ„ce carrying their burthens on their shoulders hastning returning w t great spéed notwithstaÌ„ding the great waight to haue liued by thy paines by séeing theÌ„ to be so carefull of y e nipping winter hurding vp the corne in the graniers piling it in the barnes cutting it into partes y t it maynot grow to haue reioiced after thy paines in that thou hast preueÌ„ted the sharpnes of huÌ„ger and in that thou hast sufficient to satisfie natures demand but look what shineth ouer thy head the glistering heauen the starrie firmament which thou didst gather to be nothing els then the candlesticke of the world made to none other end then to giue light to discouer the dennes of Moldwarpes in the earth not considering that by the accesse departure of the Sun things increase and decrease that by the waine and full of the Moone the Sea ebs and flowes that by the particular influence of particular Starres such and such alterations are framed in the earth the diuers motions and effectes of those causes might haue led thée by the hand to the first mouer in whose ample gouernment of all things thou mightest haue hadde a bottomlesse consideration of pearelesse value that would hane stirred vp an admiration in thy minde admiration would haue caused inquisition inquisition would haue engendred knowledge which wold haue bene a great ornament vnto thée and a great â—urtheraÌ„ce to further matters but now that thou art ignoraunt blame not me wrich haue often giueÌ„ thée warning to call thy wittes together When thou wast tending from youth to manhoode â— drewe lines in thy visage which signified that thy life did waste and by them I writ vpon thy face the seconde age when from manhood thou wast twining to old age thy denâ—s and riueled chéeks thy toothlesse chaps thy white and hoary heares I sent as messengers vnto thee wherby I foreshewed the third age that was approching now therefore blush at thine owne sluggishnesse be ashamed of thy lingring and sith there be no signes or lineaments of former knowledge in thee I propose thy dotage as a spectakle to be laughed at This sharpe reprehension may perhappes leaue prickles in the mindes of sluggards but the remorse quickly vanisheth Icarus doth not feare his fall til the greatest part of his wings be melted and his bodie do kisse the face of the water but of all the knowledge that ouerpasse them the misticall knowledge of their saluation being hidden froÌ„ their eies debarred from their hartes is with a whole Ocean of teares to bee lamented if out of a Flinte any water may be wrested It may be comprehended in two lines and yet the fleshlie Epicure could not afforde halfe an howers study to the repetition and rehearsal of it in his minde that it might be a perpetuall monumeÌ„t imprinted in his memory God did appear in the flesh was iustified in the spirite was séen of Angels was preached to nations was beléeued in the worlde was receiued in glorie This being perfectly had w tout booke wold haue bene a soueraign retentiue froÌ„ the lustes of the flesh but pleasure being a swéet flattering Enchauntresse doth smoothlie insinuate her self into the mindes of meÌ„ there dwelleth as Helena dwelt in the Citty of Troy who pleased the Troyans but to theire miserye whoe soung delightfully but was too delightfully hard for the honny of words is a poison to the heart a swéet sound in the aâ—re is a Siren in the eare Thus it is euident that the study or exercise wherunto voluptutuous effeminate persons do wholy addict theÌ„selues is nothing els but y e whetstone of vanity the mistres of misdemenour cossin germane to idlenes Nowe it remaineth to be discussed what other abuses they haue in the coÌ„mon course of their life Salust did generally discribe y e gluttony of delicate treÌ„chermen wheÌ„ he did particularly discipher the inordinate appetite of the Romanes the Romanes saith he to satisfye their bellies sought out al thinges y t could be
found either in sea or on the earth they did not tarry til hunger or thirst ouertook theÌ„ but they did preueÌ„t these by an arteficial appetite before the diluge the onely treasure on the earth was wine the people did eate and drinke maried gaue in mariage rise vp to play and vsed all kinde of dalliance euen vntill the daye wherein the windowes of Heauen were opened vpon them till the waters had oueflowed and disfigured the earth that the very shard of a drinking cuppe could not be séene in the worlde It is a verye vnnaturall thing that the belly béeing made by nature a place of excrements shoulde bee made an Idol but it is a greater shame that the Idoll of the beastlie Cyclops shoulde be made a God to Christians which the true GOD will at the length confounde together with all them also that make it a God It is straunge to sée the appetite of man that whereas beasts are contented with that food which nature hath appointed for them and take no more thereof then that quantity which nature hath alotted vnto them man should so far surpasse the limits of reason and reuerence due to nature that with an vnsatiable desire he followeth those things which are discommodious pernitious and pestilent vnto him And although in the kinde of beasts the Lion is most iâ—coÌ„tinent most rauenous and gréedy of his pray and be â—ide this hath aÌ„ excessiue appetite which cannot be stanched without great superfluitie of nourishmeÌ„t yet for the space of thrée daies or at the least two two daies after he is fully satisfied the Wolues when they are gaunted with hunger do eat rather earth and clay then they will violentlie rush vpon the beastes of their owne kinde This abstinence is greater then Mirianis who though she were of singular behauiour amongst the Iewes yet could not abstain from gnawing the bones of her owne childe and man to augment the gréedy worm whereof he is possessed doth inuent and vse daily sauces sirupes brothes mixtures that may pricke his stomacke forwarde to craue more then it may well containe wherby there ariseth such superfluitye and such superabundance of naughty humours in the bodie that there bee more then fiftie kindes of diseases ingendred in the eies and by such varietye of tastes wee are prouoked to drinke so much that a great nuÌ„ber of diseases as Catarres rewmes swellinges goutes dropsies doe shake the foundation of our healthe and the whole frame of our bodie and if the body were only cloyd with the inconueniencies that arise of surfeiting the riot of banquets were more tollerable and lesse reprouable but sith Corpus onustum Hesternis vitijs animuÌ„ quòque praegrauat ipsum The bodie stuft with hosterne cates doth ouercharge the minde Our trenchers are to be washed with our teares our tables whereat we sitte drinking beluing and carousing are to be accounted engines and snares laid by the deuils subtiltie to intrap our soules our costly viandes are to be accompted the lures of gluttonie our musicall and swéete sounding instruments which are prepared to make the minde more cheerfull and frollicke are no better to bee esteemed then alluring Sirens which eate them whom they delight and kill them with their téeth whom they haue called with their tongues It were infinite to number the greate mishappe that hath chaunced the outragious crueltie that hath bin committed after that the minde hath bene ouercast with the miste or exhalation that riseth from the stomacke surcharged with delicates The Cittie of the Troyans was drowned in wine before it was burnt by fire Hierusalem was ouerflowen of gluttonie and drunkennesse before it was ouerrun of the Romanes and Turkes the Aegiptians were not so much ouercom'd by armed men as by the banquettes of Cleopatra Catiline did besiege Rome with a troope of pleasâ—res before he did threaten it w t an army of souldiers Dido was first inchanted of Liber Pater before she was bewitched of the boy Cupid Nero was filled with the wines of Campania before he was poysoned w t the counsail of Anicetus ther was in his stomack a flood of Nectar before ther was Furor in mente or FerruÌ„ in manu y e principal cause why y e Persians were enemies to the Lidians was because of the good cheere that they found iu Lidia Now if any man thinke that the mind being a substance immateriall cannot be infected by any contagioÌ„ procéeding froÌ„ the body he shal perceiue his iudgement to be erronious both by cause by example the soule I graunte might liue-like an angell in the body it doth as yet shine in the corporall lumpe but tanquam coelum in coeno Like an heauen in a dunghill It is so nigh the bankes and borders of this earthly Tabernacle nay it is so inclosed within the walles gates thereof that it must of necessitie be defiled with the dust that ariseth within the walles but to finde out the reason I will vse a very briese discourse which notwithstanding shall carrye some taste of Philosophie There be some thinges that belong to the soule alone as reason meditation reminiscence some thinges to the bodie alone as heauinesse augmentation diminution and that streÌ„gth which the Latines call Robur the Graecians Ischus One thinge there is which is common both to the soule and the body and that is Appetitus or vis concupiscentiae The appetite or force of concupiscence which being an ambidexter or parasite both to the soule body inueagleth the soule by the senses of the body deceiueth y e body by the liking of y e soule for when the minde hath made y e maior proposition of the sillogisme Whatsoeuer is pleasant and sweet is to be liked of the bodie by the force vertue of y e senses maketh the minor proposition Dainty cheare is pleasant and sweet the appetite doth straightway conclude Ergo Dainty cheare is to be liked off the natural carnal maÌ„ hauing learned this lesson triuÌ„pheth in his own conceit is both waies bent either to coÌ„fute y e Stoicke or defend y e Epicure but y e modest wel iudging mind can make a distinction of pleasant thinges as also of pleasure there is a pleasure that is Dulcis decocta Sweet and liquid which melteth as soone as it féeleth the heat of y e mouth is digested as soone as it is deuoured so that being not able to abide y e stamp of y e téeth it is rather to be accouÌ„ted superfluous drosse theÌ„ substaÌ„tial mettel Ther is another plesure y â— is Austera solida Sincere and sound which though it be not as pleasant as spice yet it is as necessary as salte though it do not slide through the bodye as through a conduite yet it descendeth into the minde as y â— euening shower into the caues of the earth the true pleasure is neither painted with colours nor blanched w t cookery
to the game and a confederate in venereous practises such a one as Ouid describeth Qui canit arte canat qui bibit arte bibat he is accounted immediatly a good fellow a flowre of this age and he is inuested with such sible titles that he followeth the race of them that praise him as the Ape dooth the steps of them that trace him The solitarie man hath fewe fréendes and therfore fewe enemies he taketh no partes and therefore is partaker of no harmes Cicero was once determined to prosecute his studie and not to meddle in the ciuill warre betwixt Caesar and Pompeie but alas he drewe hys féete too late out of the myre wherein so long he had bedawbed them for shewing before a fréendly countenance to Caesar and professing great fréendship to Pompeie such like affections to persons so diuersly affectioned he was looked for of the one and longed for of the other the one claymed him the other chalenged him Caesar was iealious of him and set Scoutes to prye whether he applyed himselfe any way to the pleasuring of Pompey and Pompey also watched him very narrowlie with an attentiue héede examining his procéedings and doubting that hee dyd more estéeme of Caesar then of him so that Cicero then beginning to bee solitarie was debarred from his intent and the more close and solitarie that hée was the more diligently and circumspectly was he watched so that it is not enough to shake of partialitie and affection and goe to his studie there betroth himselfe to his Minerua hauing the worlde before him in a Cosmographicall Mappe and the state of the common Weale in the parliament of his cogitations but he must set vpon his doore in the first yere of his Man hoode Hic situs est Vasias Vasias lyeth buried heere as though he hadde lost his life and had entred into a new worlde For if a man be halfe alyue and halfe dead to this wicked worlde full of contentions and cares he purchaseth to himselfe the name of Amphibion a beast that lyueth bothe on water and on land and such a munke is like to the bare scalpe of a Monkes head that is halfe an heade and halfe a skul such demi-worldlinges should bee vsed like the Batte which was thruste both from beastes and byrdes and haue a garment shaped after two fashions that he may learne of his coate what deformitie there is in his mind but the linges are so charmed with the sweete coniuration of pleasure that they think their delightes shal neuer haue an ebb that there shalbe no intermixion of sorow no chaunge of fortune that they shall intreate age with a congie death with a kisse the hellish tyranny with a deuoute placebo and the God that maketh the Temples of Heauen to shake with thunder by powring out a fewe wordes in forme of a prayer Syth they haue aboundaunce of all thinges ioculiaritie at wyll pleasure in theyr hands pouerty vnder their féete welth in a chayne which they plucke in or let out as it shall please their fansies they are fullie perswaded that they shal neuer taste the cuppe of sorrow that they shall neuer be pricked with thornes that they shall neuer behold the sworde of vengeaunce These voluptuous Thrasoes thinke that they shine lyke the greater starres which obscure the lesse And indéede they shine in a kind of brauery but how Euen as y â— glimmering of a glassie substaunce which is darkened as soone as it appeareth and from the Orient to the Occident thereof is a very short space and a little distance In y e darke clowdes of miserie in the ruine of prosperitie in y e wayne of fortune in the confusion of states and the conuersion of times where bée these sparkling starres Hector Troylus Deiphobus Paris and Priamus where is the pompe maiestie of that great kingdome where be these gorgious Women Andromache and Hecuba where be these diuine walles built erected established by y â— hands of Neptune Apollo where is there a monument print or signe of y â— large and famous region which was called Dardania Troy is not in so good case that it is turned into standing Corne as the Poet imagined when he sayde Iam seges est vbi Troia fuit but the corne is cutte and the stubble remayneth These same starres haue nowe lost their light and are couered wyth the mantle of darknes They may say we were Troians but now are ashes we were starres but now are carkasses we were Grapes but now are dregges we were the honour of Troy but now are the footestoole of the Grecians O wonderfull chaunge importunate times and crooked fortune The Sheepeheardes doo sing in the field the conquest of the Troians and the Troian warre is the Sheepeheards caroll O slipperie dignities headlong honoure fugitiue glory which in one moment lighted vpon them and rebounded from them But these were mighty menne that bare too high a sayle and therfore had iustlie such a stripe gyuen them and such a penalty inflicted let it bee so But shall Hector die and Astianax liue Shall the thunderbolt of Ioue strike downe the Giants and shal Phaeton that proude boy scape the force thereof Shall the trees fall and shall not the leaues be mooued Shall Citties be shaken with earthquakes and shall cotages stande it is impossible and incredible but what is this against the voluptuous Troy was deceitfullie ouercome by the Greekish craft periurie but Troy was firste bathed in Wine before it was circumuented by fraude and drenched in blood Inuadunt vrbem vino somnoque sepultam The Greekes inuade a careles drunkeÌ„ Towne When I cal to mind how the sumptuous buildings which the Romaines did consecrate to pleasure are turned to nothing how their Theaters Amphitheaters Circi delightfull bathes are withered with a light drynes dissolued with a little blast and rowlde downe as it were with Fortunes daâ—liance I meruaile that the Epicures are so secure that they thinke theyr ioyes shall alway continue or if they thinke on death yet they imagine that after their death they shall be renowmed for some rare Trophee of pleasure when death hath once seysed vppon them all such thinges are discontinued neither can they looke backe to their former pastimes the Idolles of of their Epicurisme shall bee throwne downe by the breath of his mouth before whose face the Idols of the Gentles were dissundred into dust and now in dust are they buried Let them therfore before their death thinke of their death let them before they be embarcked meditate both of the Hauen which is the Porte of happines and of the Rocke which is the receptacle of the vnhappy and let them in mind foresée the grim and blustering countenaunce of the terrible and threatning day in which the Axletrées of the world shall flie in sunder the starres shall fall from the heauens when the Sunne shall be ouercast with an yron colour hyding his head because he hath
neither sod in a pot nor roasted on a spit but the dew thereof droppeth from heauen the fruitefull effectes thereof are euident to the view of euery Christian cogitation Now that we haue shewed the reason of this Simpathy it remaineth that some examples be sent for to illustrate this treatise to know therefore that the diet of the body doth leaue some colour impression in the minde consider y e diet and dispositioÌ„ of y â— Gothes Tartarians who because they are â—ed with mans bloode drink the gore of their ancestors in the skuls of their ancestors are therfore cruell vnmercifull sauage thirsting after mans bloode and sucking at the skin for blood as the childe at his mothers dugs for milke The Parthians that licke water like dogges are couragious in warfare no whit effeminate the Turkes measuring deuiding their coÌ„mons by waight and ballance haue their wit and magnanimitye fresh against the furie of the enemies but the Indians because they are continually nourished with spires which kind of nourishment is verie slender therfore they are melsh hearted fearful fugitiue to whom I may rightly compare the men of Saba which countrey is very fruitful of sumptuous delicates but very barren of good souldiers like vnto these are the Agrigutini whose mindes whether prosperity flatter or aduersity threateÌ„ are continually in Patinis the ancient Britons are reported to haue bin very valiant victorioâ—s but they are also reported to haue liued very hardly to haue vsed roots for their bread hearbes for their meat the rawe iuice of wilde fruites for their oyle water for wine trées for houses y â— foggy vapors of fennish groundes for the smell of perfumes And geuerally it is alwaies seene y â— in the coldest Climates frozen Alpes which afforde no banquetting cheere the best souldiers haue giueÌ„ a notise of their valiant courage Now when the belly is wel warmed with swéet iunkets then Venus spreadeth a delightful carpet vnto which the eie and affection giue a diligent attendance the mind beginneth to burn in lust to make excursion beyond the limits of reason Solomon who had had experience of both affirmeth y â— same Look not vpon wine saith he when it glittereth and the colour therof shineth in a glasse it goeth in with delight but in the end it wil bite like a snake like theâ—cockatrice it wil sprinkle poisoÌ„ Thus far of glottony but how doth Venery follow Thine eies saith Solomon shal behold strange women and thy heart shall vtter peruerse things thou shalt be like one that sleepeth in the midst of the sea and like a sleepie gouernour hauing lost the healme Sith therfore by the iudgemeÌ„t of this King whose minde was ful fraught with wisedome these two instruments made of the deuil to seduce men from good behauiour to Eâ—icurisme are linked conioyned Miseâ—able is y e state of these y â— make pleasure the mother of these two their Goddesse 〈◊〉 think no life happy vnlesse it be swéetâ—ed w t the sugured iuice of a carnal deleâ—ation y e seek for heauen in the center of â—ell care not how brutish they become â—o they be not couered with the hides â—orns of beasts but let him that mindeth â—o sée good daies followe Christe which ought to be y â— principal profession of christiaÌ„s make a couenaÌ„t w t his eies eares froÌ„ beholding hearing of vanity when the epicures banquet is as bitter to our tast as gall the swéet sauour of fragraÌ„t pouders as lothsome as y â— heÌ„lock then is an arriual made at y â— haueÌ„ of christian security theÌ„ are we entred into y â— straight way which is indéed a large field of happinesse But yet when we haue attayned this many incuÌ„braÌ„ces wil be apposed against our quietnes and the better our stats is the more is the deuils enuy and hatred but this must not discomfort vs. None can climbe to the toppe of heauen w tout sweating God as Plato sayth selleth his benefits for labour and trauaile Wée must consider that the worlde will neuer cease to be deceitfull the deuill neuer to be malitious and the flesh wil neuer intermit his combat conflicte with the spirit as long as we are in this painfull pilgrimage We must suffer the blustering tempest of aduersitie the sharpe edge of temptation and the fiery dartes of the deuil we fight against powers and principalities and therfore may be wouÌ„ded if not ouercome Our affections may become perfidious vnto vs betraying vs to our enemies and therefore being in daunger both of forraine and of domesticall foes we had néed to be very vigilant circumspect least conspiracy accooÌ„plish that which violeÌ„ce could not bring to pas When a Christian is besieged with temptation let him reioyce for the Lorde proueth before hee approoueth and trieth before he trusteth whom he loueth them he chastiseth and his gold is tryed in the middest of the furnace If we may obtaine glory by victory then we must fight to obtaine the victory No man is crowned before he ouercommeth and no man ouercoÌ„meth but hee that lawfully striueth let him think as he is prouoked to fight so hee may be prouoked to a crowne of glory Yea one can not misse of the promotion vnlesse he willingly forsake it his hart cannot faint his strength cannot fayle except he wyll To be willing to fight is to fight couragiously and as long as that will continueth God will countenaunce that courage O the excéeding felicitye of a Christian manne whose onely wyll béeing directed by Gods will is more pearceable then stéele and more impenetrable then the strong Rocke whose wishe atchiueth the victorye and whose victorye is far beyonde his wyshe If wee suruey the affaires of the world we shall find that there is no lucre so vile nor any gayne so grosse but ere wee can compasse it we muste stretch ioyntes and sinewes we must sweate and breath vse restles and endles laboure which when it is purchased vanisheth like a smokie exhalation and like a bubble in the water riseth and faleth in an instant The Merchant man thinketh himself a Monarche and vaunteth of his increase when after a tenne yeeres nauigation after a thousand discommodities daungers and disaduantages he hath gotten a little more treasure then hee had before The Souldier when he hath tasted the bitter fruites of warfare when he hath worne his bodie altered hys complexioÌ„ diminished his health lost some principall member of hys bodie howe large soeuer his stipend bee yet he is like a dead Truncke that hath lost the brauerie of his boughes In séeking the fauour of noble men in getting and reteyning the frendship of equalles in the ambitious labouring for honours and dignities in y â— whording of coyne and scraping of commoditie in closing and disclosing digging and deluing turning areable into pasturable and pasturable into areable woodes into wastes and wastes into woodes
lost his light and the moone béeing depriued of her light shall stand astonished when the reuenging fire shall droppe from Heauen and the sparkes of the lightning shall kindle in the stonye Rockes wheÌ„ the Seas and fountaines shall burne when the ayre shall be inflamed wyth burning clowdes when this auncient forme of the world shall bee chaunged Let them thinke of y â— miserable Dungeon which contayneth the powers of darknes that loathsome lake of hell where the deuills are plunged as in a swallowing gulphe out of which there is no egresse buried in the bottome of a vaste fornace and breathing out of their nostrelles the smoake of vengeaunce out of their mouthes an eternall fire to torment the distressed with one hande they stretche out bright firebrandes in the other they holde theyr thrée forked fuskins both of them as fit instruments of theyr tyrannous crueltie There is continuall gnashing of téeth sighing and sorrowing both of the deuill himselfe and those whom hee scourgeth with whips that will neuer be worne scorcheth with fire that wyl neuer be extinguished fettereth wyth chaynes that will neuer be loosed and teareth with wilde Bulls that will neuer be wearied consumeth with a worme that will neuer be filled dysioynteth with rackes which will neuer be broken The Prince of darknesse howleth because he hath lost the heauenly mansion wherein before hee had the vse of inestimable ioyes And they because they left the happines y â— was offered vnto them if they woulde haue left the waies that ledde to destruction Let them to whom God permitteth the fruition of this vitall ayre thinke of these thinges and lay them vp déepelie in their hartes let them lift vp their eyes to heauen and their hartes to the heauenly comfortes let them long to be placed in the Parradise of blisse and to be cladde with the robes of glorye to be crowned with the garland of victorie to be initiated into the misteries and admitted into the secrete treasure of that diuine contemplation which is not by any mans spéeche or thought counteruailable by the benefit of which they shall behold the shyning gates of the heauenly Ierusalem the walles stréetes and dwellings thereof y â— troope of Cittizens and theyr mightye Monarche whose Towres are of precious stones whose buildinges are adorned with Saphire and Smaragdi Then they shall sée the Sacrifice of their redemption the pure holy and immaculate Lambe with the quyre of Angels they shall glorifie God amidst y e blessed number of Prophets Apostles Martyrs Confessors with the righteous Men and Matrons with the innocent Virgins and Children Wherefore let them desire to bee deliuered from these fleshly bondes let them be wyllingly content to leaue their Tentes of Ceder that dwelling with Cherubins and Seraphins and the happy soules of the Saintes they may triumphantlie sing these hymnes vnto the Lorde which are vsed in Sion Let them adde to these thrée three other contemplations very necessary and conuenient let them déepely I say deliberate of these three thinges First howe base our estate is in this life Secondly howe discommodious this worlde is vnto vs. Thirdlie how short and momentarye this life is For the first let them enter into the consideratioÌ„ of mans original who when he commeth into the world doth with great weakenes imbecillity feare and trembling enioy the earth and receiue the ayre hee shrinketh quaketh and quauereth stagereth and starteth backe as though hee woulde gladly returne and reenter into the closette of his mothers wombe And for the euident demonstration of his mysliking of this world he beginneth to weepe and cry out in most rufull and pittifull manner with a skréeking and dolefull genâ—thliacon which â—s so proper to the nature of man when it first sprouteth in this world that the learned Mirandula not vnwisely sayd that a Child as soone as he is borne giueth out no signe which is proper to man but onely weeping and hath hee not good cause of weeping when hee commeth into the Theater wherein Maliciousnes playeth her prize when hee commeth into a vayle of myseries into a deserte full of vncleane byrddes into the world I meane possessed of white deuills and blacke deuils into a place that receiued him being actually innocent but wyll send him backe béeing ouerflowne of vices and when hee groweth in age he groweth like a tender hearbe vnto which hee hath often beene and may well bee compared not for any internall power wherein hee resembleth the herbes of the fielde but for an internall impotencie for hys fraltie tendernes and weakenes for his great néede of vnderpropping cherishing and defending subiect to the coldnes of the ayre subiect to the parching of the Sunne subiect to rage and violence and when he is euen at the toppe of his perfection how farre is he excelled in many thinges of the brute beastes which he taketh vppon him to mannage to vse at his pleasure and with a lyon-like looke to despise All temporall and worldly delight consisteth in three thinges in perceiuing thinges present which are delightfull vnto vs in remembring thinges past which haue béene pleasant vnto vs and in hoping for thinges to come which may be pleasant vnto vs. In these three thinges Man may challenge the victory but quietnes consisteth in thrée other thinges In perceiuing thinges pleasaunt without hurt in remembring thinges past without greefe in looking for thinges to come wythout feare And in these three thinges Man is ouercomed of the brutish creatures Varietie likewise consisteth in three thinges in enioying many thinges aunswering to many affections in finding out helpes to nature in knowing many thinges in those thrée Man is the victor But contentation is reposed in three other things in being freâ— from mutabilitie of desires in beeing satisfied with that which natures bountie doth exhibite in knowing nothing that might be wyshed to bee knowne and heerein the sauage beastes haue preheminence There bee foure small thinges in the earth sayth Salomon and yet they are wyser then men that bee wyse The Antes a people not strong yet prepare they theire meate in the Summer The Connies a people not mighty yet make they theyr houses in the Rockes The Grashoppers haue no kinges and yet they goe all foorth by bandes The Spider holdeth with her hand and is in kinges pallaces So the Lorde that hee myght shewe howe weake mans power is beeing compared to other creatures that hys owne power might cleerelye shyne in the creation and gouernment of them dooth thus expostulate wyth Iob. Who hath sett the wilde Asse at libertie or who hath loosed his bands It is I which haue made the wildernes his house and the salt places his dwellinges Hee mocketh the multitude of the Cittie hee heareth not the crye of the dryuer And againe Hast thou gyuen the horse strength or couered hys neck with neyghing he diggeth in the valley and reioyceth in his strength he goeth foorth to meete the harnest man he