being One though one in trinity Consisting of himselfe he hath addrest From himselfe all this All 's diuersity To moue to rest in his true vnity As in a Quire of well tun'd voyced Men When the first man hath giu'n the first accent There doth ensue a noise melodious then Of all the voyces ioyn'd in one consent So God by powre super-omnivalent Giuing first motion to the highest Sphere Being first Mouer then incontinent All lower Bodies orderly did steere As by their present motion doth appeare Looke on the World and what it doth comprize And Sence shall see all mouing vnto one The Elementes and ten-fold orbed Skies In motion diuerse tend to one alone And make one World through their coniunction The Sea ingirts the Earth Th' Aire boundeth both Beeing compas'd with the Firy region The Coape of Heau'n doth seeme them all to cloth Who arme in arme vnto an Vnion goth The Sea through vaines and Arteries of the Earth Creeps through her Corpes to fix her droughty dust That done it springs aloft as t' were in mirth For that it hath perform'd what needes it must And then returnes with windings most vniust Iust to it selfe which vndeuided is So many members makes one Body iust And many ioyes compleates one perfect blisse Which blisse is onely Ones and none but his From one selfe Earth all earthly things proceede To which selfe Earth those earthly things retires One silly drop of slime man-kinde doth breed In which one kinde are manifold desires Which nerethelesse one Good alone requires All numbers do consist of many Ones And eu'ry one to only One aspires Which One those seu'rall vnities attones So ONE aboue all ones himselfe enthrones All parts of Man with mutuall respect Discharge their functions to preserue the whole The like in common-weales the parts effect The like the faculties do in the Soule And but one truth is taught in eu'ry Schoole The parts of speech tends but to perfect speech The end whereof is Error to controule And shew one truth which onely one doth teach That by one truth rules all within his reach Where Unitie is lost Confusion's found Where Vnitie is found there 's nothing lost The noblest creatures neede the vil'st on ground The vil st are serued by the honor'd most And which is more the very heau'nly hoast Doth serue the basest creatures voide of sense Yet ouer rules them in each Clime and Coast. So one to other haue such reference As they in Vnion haue their residence Arithmetike from Vnity proceedes Eu'n as from Punctum flowes Geometry Musicke the symphony of sounds succeedes And Architecture Vniformitie Perspectiue at one poynt lookes diuersly Phisicke doth ayme at health and that 's no more But Humors well-consorted vnitie The Lawe lookes at one Right whose onely lore Is to conioyne that Wrong vnioyn'd before Good gouernement brings many Families Vnder obedience to one Maiestrate And many Seruants Daughters Sonnes Alies Vnder a housholde petty Potentate And many Passions in one Minde at bate It reconciles to Reasons onely rule And many peace-infringers in a State The Rod of Discipline doth ouer-rule And makes them One that maketh all mis-rule Which vnion of so many Vnities And which diuersities in Vnion Implies there is but ONE all onely wise Who through his Wisedome made them eu'ry one To whome all laudes diuine belongs alone Pluralitie of Gods who then defends Must be the author of Confusion For many Gods he makes for many ends Which to Distraction and Confusion tends Can all things Thicke and Thinne Heauie and Light Hote Cold Moyst Dry Great Small or Quicke or Dead That doe appeare or not appeare to sight Be held in one without some One their Head Shall these in one to vs alone be lead And we misse-led to many Gods from one Who in these Capitalls may plaine be read To be the God of Gods yea God alone If so we should our wittes were not our owne But with what words can I their blame bewray That maugre all that euer can be saide To proue this God will all that All gainesay And flat affirme and speake as wellapaide There is no God Whose words if they be waide Do make them worse than Fiends for they confesse There is a God of whome they are afraide O Fiendes of Fiends I cannot call you lesse But more much more sith ye much more transgresse Omitting many reasons which they bring Reasons O no but diu'lish blasphemies To proue no God nor any such like thing They say That Man is ill no man denies If then God made him he made Ill likewise If he made Ill then cannot he be good And if not good not God in any wise For God's the Fount and Goodnesse is the flood Thus vrge they this vnlikely likelihoode Know Diu'lls incarnate Antideities To make and marre are two repugnant things To make implies Natures or Substances Both which are good and from Gods goodnesse springs Ill 's none of both for vnto both it clings No otherwise then Rust to Siluer cleaues Which is the accident Priuation brings That Good of goodnesse casually bereaues And so the Good the Ill vnmade receaues Which of it selfe consists not nor consists In aught that nought is but in Good alone It s no Effect but Defect which resists The good of Goodnes by corruption It is not made therefore by any one For were it made by Sinne it must be made And Sinne is nothing but priuation Which in it's nature doth to nothing fade So Euill of it selfe is still vnmade For Ill beeing but a meere defect of Good It followes then it s but a meere Defect Which is no more but a meere Nihilhood For Want can be no more in no respect And not to Bee is nothing in effect Then Nothing beeing but a Negatiue How ere it goodnesse may perhappes infect Produceth Nothing beeing the Priuatiue Which Nought makes good this my affirmatiue Wherefore in that things Bee of God they bee And that they faile they faile sith Nought they were For All of nothing Good created hee Which All to nothing of themselues do weare Then Good they are in that they truly are And Ill they bee sith Beeing they haue none Good on his part that made them so appeare And Ill because they al to nothing rone Then he is good of whom they Are alone Yee Soule-confounding selfe-confounding Soules Can yee not see because yee will not see How all the Orbes of Heau'n in order roules VVhich cannot moue vnlesse they moued bee By some first mouer sith vnmou'd is hee For nothing moues but it another moues So Motion from degree vnto degree Doth mount to that that moues it and approues The same for God as it the same behoues What moues yee then yee Monsters in Mens shapes To moue such questions which assoile yee can By that selfe motion For such willfull scapes Moues from the Fend to him to moue fraile man Your conscience tells yee so which looketh wan With
Bowells breede Without which patterns she cannot proceede Now shee Chimeraes then shee Beauties frame That doe the Mynde beheau'n with matchlesse blisse The whole she cripples and makes whole the lame And makes and marrs as she disposed is Which is as life is led wel or amisse Shee with hir wings that can out-fly the wind Through Heau'n Earth Hell and what they hold doth fly And so imprintes them liuely in the Minde By force of hir impressing property Seeing all in all with her quicke sighted Eye She double dilligence is still in motion And well or ill shee euer is imploy'd Therefore good Spirits and badde with like deuotion Frequent hir still which she cannot avoyde Wherewith the Minde is cheered or annoy'de For as celestiall Spirits can obiect To the Minds Eye diuine soul-pleasing sights So can infernall Sprightes with like effect Present the Soule with what the Soule affrights Soe pow'rfull in their Pow'r are both these Sprights Which Pow'r fantasticke is of so great force As what she powrefully doth apprehend VVithin the Body she imprints perforce For to the Body she doth force extend A proofe whereof in women kinde is kend VVhen they in Coitu fix their Fancie fast On him they fancie if they then conceaue It will be like their Fancies obiect fac'd If then a wife doth but in thought deceaue The husband in that face may it perceaue This Powre is so preualent in the Mind As if some passe a Bridge or some such thing They lightly fall because their Fancies find Danger beneath which to the braine doth bring A giddinesse which causeth stumbling Thus then the Fancie oft the fact produceth That she with recollected virtue mindes And by the shade the substance oft traduceth So violent each Sense her virtue bindes And noyes or ioyes the Mind in diuerse kindes Halla my Muse heere rest a breathing while Sith thou art now arriu'd at Reasons seate To whom as to thy Sou'raigne reconcile Thy straying thoughts and humbly hir entreate VVith hir iust measure all thy lines to meate Lest that like many Rimers of our time Thoublotst much Paper without meane or measure In Verse whose reason runneth alto Rime Yet of the Lawrell wreathe they make a seazure And doth Minerua so a shrewde displeasure HAd my Soule pow'r the Souls pow'r to expresse And with strōg reasons Reasons strēgth bewray Men would admire hir virtue and confesse By Natures right she should their nature sway Monsters alone resists her mightinesse But Men though pow'rfull hir pow'r will obay For shee as Sou'raigne sitteth in the Soule All peruerse passions therein to controule Shee by the pow'r of hir discreete discourse In th'operations of the Fantasie Can iudge of good and bad and by hir force Swiftly surmount each Sences facultie And whatsoeuer interrupts hir course Shee it remooues with great facilitie For Natures bosome nothing doth embowre That is not subiect to his searching pow're In which respect shee hath hir Throne assign'd Betweene th' extreame partes of the parted Braine The place where Nature Vertue hath confin'd There doth shee sit and o're the Sences raigne And by hir might doth signlorize the Minde VVhose wild and waiward moods she doth restraine Their spight of Passion she doth keepe hir place Though Passion in hir spight hir oft disgrace For should shee shee transplac'd to Fantasie Or with Imagination be confounded A world of mists would clowde hir Sunne-bright eye VVherewith shee should be euermore surrounded So that she should not Truth from falshood spye But with strong Fancies should hir pow'r be bounded And like a Queene deposed from hir throne She should not able be to vse hir owne So fares it with hir when th' Affections force Like a swift streame that carries all away Doth carry hir by current of their course Farre from hirselfe as wanting strength to stay Vntill the whole man waxing worse and worse Be brought to vtter ruine and decay But if that shee be strong them to withstand Shee doomes aright and doth aright command Then rules Sans check then doomes without appeale No second sentence can hirs contradict She rules alone the whole Mindes common weale By holsome Heasts and Lawes and Iudgements strict Which to the Memory she doth reueale Else it Obliuion would interdict Wherein as in a booke of Decretalls She writeth hir decrees in Capitalls For which respect the seate of Memory Confineth hard vpon hir Continent That so she may soone empte the Fantasie Of what doth passe through hir arbitterment For else what bootes hir Good and Bad to try If to the Memory it were not sent For that is it that is sole receptacle Of humane Wisdome Natures miracle Therefore hir parte and portion of the braine Is much lesse humid and more firmly sixt Because it so the better may retaine Th'impressions by the Sences there infixt And for its Fount of marrow in the raine Whereof the strongest sinewes are commixt For both which reasons Nature had respect To binde the Braine behind to that effect And yet too hard the Braine may there be bound For so t will hardly open to conceiue And beeing ouer-moyst it will confound All the impressions which the Sences giue VVell temp'red therefore needs must be the ground That truly yeelds the seede it doth receiue Yet the moyst braine conceiues more readily But the drie braine retaines more steadily The iudgement which the outward Sences giue Is eu'n as if we saw the shade of things And what we from the Fantacie receiue Is as it were their liuely picturings The Intellect which seldome doth deceiue Doth shew the substance of those shadowings But that which Reas'n presenteth to the Minde Is their effects and virtues in their kinde Th' externall Sences serues the common Sence The common Sence informes the Fantacie The Fantacie the Minds Intelligence Th' Intelligence doth Knowledge certifie VVhich when it hath past Iudgements conference Committeth all vnto the Memory Then Memory doth mirror-like reflect To them againe what they to hir obiect Thus Reason in the Soule is as hir eye VVherewith shee see'th the well linckt chaine of Causes And vseth euery Sences facultie To find what is included in their clauses Yet cannot lift hir lowly looke so hie Without re'nforcing of hir sight by pauses For since darke Sinne eclipst hir natiue light Shee see'th but by degrees and not out-right But as she is she plainly can discerne The Sence-transcending Heau'ns plurality And in the booke of Nature she doth learne VVhat 's taught in this Worldes Vniuersitie She keepes the Compasse and doth stirre the Sterne That guides to Wisdoms singularity All whose collections when the Soule suruayes Shee sees hirselfe diuin'd a thousand wayes Thus Reasons reach is high and most profound VVhose deepe discourse is two-fold which depends On Speculation and on Practise sound The first hath Truth the last hath Good for ends For Speculation rests when Truth is found But Practise when that Good it apprehends It staies not there but to
Eternity and Time are opposite For Time no more can bound Eternity Then Finite can inuirone Infinite Both of both which haue such repugnancy As nere can stand with Gods true Unity Eternity is then produc'd from hence By ioyning of his sole Infinitie With his essentiall intelligence And all the Attributes proceeds from thence If then Eternity doth bound this One Or rather he bounds all Eternity How could he Bee or beeing all alone How could he worke that worke vncessantly For hee 's all Act that acts continually Hauing no subiect whereupon to worke And beeing without his Creatures vtterly It seemes he must in Desolation lurke Which must of force an actiue nature irke Or how could he extend his goodnesse when None could receiue it if none Beeing were What honor could he haue there beeing then No one to honor him or him to feare Or what in loue if hee his children deere Had made t'exist from all eternity As to eternity th' are made t' appeere What inconuenience could ensue thereby Yes very great and marke the reason why He is an Essence free not bound to ought Who can and doth exist in boundlesse blisse Although besides himselfe that there were nought For he of greatest glory cannot misse Sith that eternally all gloris his But should the Creatures eternall be His glory would be much eclip'st by this For were th' eternall too aswell as he They would be gods as great in each degree Then nought he needes to giue him laude or loue Or subiect for his worke though nought there were For ere nought was he did not worke or moue Yet idle was not for his Spirit did steere In contemplation of his Essence cleere So himselfe to himselfe was Well of Weale And in himselfe did Glory it selfe appeare Which to himselfe himselfe did aye reueale So pleasd himselfe with what himselfe did feale Suppose no man but one were on the Earth And none but Vermine vile did him attend What honour could they yeeld What ioy or mirth Could they afforde that rather doe offend Such and no more doe men their Maker lend Who were made changeable by changelesse will So chang'd they are and to the worse they tend Who in respect of him continue still Worse then vile Uermine though they were more ill Who for his goodnesse is the God of grace And for his glory is the Lord of Light Whose glorious greatnesse filleth eu'ry place For no place is exempted from his Sp'rite And by it all that is compasst quite As the least Poynt is by the Heau'ns clire And nothing is so solid as hath might To keepe him out as it can Aire or Fire But he is all in all and parte intire Hee 's not in Temples made with mortall hands Nor those which his immortall hands haue made Nor in himselfe as Man for Fleshes bands Can hardly hold the least glimse of his Shade Much lesse his Substance which e're biding had No more in one then in an other place And though with Flesh it seemeth to be clad Yet dwells he in it but by pow'r and grace And so he dwells in all he doth embrace He dwells in Heau'n of Heau'ns by his Glory For there that matchlesse Glory glitters most He is in Hell and each place transitory By presence of his Spirit the holy Ghost He dwells in Christ but how O Christ thou knowst For as the Soule and Body makes one Man So God and Man one Christ do make thou showst Yet the coherence neither may or can The diffrence abrogate since Christ began Whose natures from confusion are as free As from distraction they are cleerely quit Which though connext confounded may not be Much lesse distracted both in one beeing knit But how conioyn'd surmounts the reach of Wit For in Christs body bodily doth dwell The fulnesse of the Godhead most vnfit To be contained in Heau'n Earth or Hell His greatnesse doth their greatnesse so excell Then Contemplation stay here make a pause Stirre not too fast about vncompasst things Though thou canst compasse Heau'n and Earth because Thou art the Image of this King of Kings Yet this flight is too farre for thy clipt wings The Trinity in Unitie's a wonder Surmounting wonders which amazment brings Yet lesse if more may be that God is vnder Fraile flesh and so contayn'd God cannot sunder Which two-fold natures oft co-operates And euermore assotiates each other But neuer mutually participates Each others properties as mixt together For what one hath the selfe same hath not either But in their kindes are diuerse yet but one That 's one of two or two in one much rather Which mystery to God is onely knowne But not as he is Man the same is showne To whom yet nerethelesse all pow'r is giu'n In whom as in its proper place it bides By which he ruleth in Earth Hell and Heau'n And were there some thing else the same besides Which powre beeing infinite with it he guides Each finite thing vnto its proper end In which omnipotence such force resides As were he willing he the Heau'ns could bend Belowe base Hell and make it Heau'n transcend Which peerelesse powre though nothing can oppugne Yet doth it selfe it selfe still so restraine As that it selfe cannot it selfe impugne For what it bindes it cannot loose againe At selfe same time for then that powre were vaine As beeing repugnant to it selfe and so No order should that rulelesse powre containe And then it selfe it selfe would ouerthro And with it selfe all things to wrack should go He cannot make Man free and bond at once Nor giue him Will and wrest it how he will He cannot hold in hate his Holy ones Nor in his loue much lesse imbrace the ill He cannot change himselfe beeing changelesse still Such things he cannot do not through defect Of powre what not if please him to fulfill But of his powre this is a strong effect That can do all but that it should reiect Who being euermore a compleate Acts In highest degree of diuine excellence He neede not chase Perfection by the tract For in himselfe It selfe hath residence Then motion hath he none by consequence For that must firmely stand wherein all moues Who is both Center and Circumference Of Motions motion for it him behoues To giue all rest which he moues or remoues He cannot moue but to himselfe alone Because alone at once hee 's eu'ry where And all that is is only in this ONE Then vnto what or whither should he steere Sith all 's in him that shal be is or were For mou'd he Motion should not tend to Rest But Motion should to Motion tend for ere So Time in bootelesse turnes should be at best When it should draw most neere to most vnrest He is that ONE in whom each one doth moue He moues each one that all in him should rest For whatsoe're from him doth most remoue It findes and feeles thereby the most vnrest Yet from himselfe nothing himselfe can wrest Who
such sorrow 's mixt with solace still Which is substantiall good with seeming Ill. This takes away th'obiection vsde by thee Thou godlesse Man against thy Gods good will Which faith he hath no care how ill we be Or if he had from Ills would set vs free Wherein thou dost the Good and Ill confound For to a good man can no ill befall Though hells of harmes did euer him surround And to a bad man no good can or shall Fall to his share though he possessed all For Goods the Ill abuse vnto their woe Wherewith they execute no mischiefesmall As worldly ills doe make the good forgoe All that is ill indeede or ill in shoe For as a Body craz'd conuerts good foode Into the humour ill predominant Whenas the sound conuerts to perfect blood Those meates that are to health most discrepant So doe the Bad with Wealth the Good with Want With thy Mindes eies behold those Caesars past That were fell Tyrants and thou needes must grant That for they were of their owne shades agast That which they held held them to horror fast What if an aking head were crown'd with gold What could that doe more then to paine it more It were too heauy hard and too too cold To giue it case or make it as before Which goldes restoratiue cannot restore How stopps the purple Robe the purple bloud Of him whose hart a traitrous hand did gore If in such cases such can doe no good Then who will Tirants taxe in enuious moode With gold or Ir'n what skils it to be giu'd Sith both our freedome reaues indifferently What matters it to be of life depriu'd With Axe or Hempe sith all is but to die Saue that the Axe doth it more speedily Aduance a Begger on a burning Throne And at his foote let Princes prostrate lie What pleasure takes he in Kings so or'throwne But such as kingly Tyrants feele alone A greater signe of death cannot appeere If fage Hipocrates we credit may Then when we see the Sicke to gripe the geare That lies vpon them or with it to play They are past helpe God helpe them then we say So they which still are fingring worldly things And greedily gripes all that 's in their way Whether they Subiects bee or frolicke Kings Are at Deathes grizly gate and Swan-like sings Many thou seest with Iustice Sword in hand Vpon it fall or it falls from their fist Because they could not well the same command And so themselues might mischiefe ere they wist God spills and spares by like meanes whom he list So want saues some that wealth would cast away Phisitians meates restraine that health resist And we for our health sake doe them obay Because of sufferance comes ease we say Grieue not to see a Beggar made a King Nor yet a King a Beggar made by chance The first doth stand in awe of eu'ry thing The last feares nothing subiect to mischance Because he liues as death should him aduance No Kingdome to Content no Crowne t'a Crosse No peace to that continuall variance We haue with our Affections and no losse To that of Heau'n for a world of drosse Store is no sore some say nor is ease ill So thought not Cirus who the Sardines sill'd VVith all that mought voluptuous thoughts fulfill VVhich for a plague to them he so fulfill'd And that they might so curelessely be spill'd The sober Soule and temp rate Body sees How mortall it is to be ouer-fill'd But th' eyes of swolne Excesse still ouersees That which with God and Nature best agrees Many meets Death at Feasts that in the field Could not come ne ere him though for him they sought A Splint at Triumph hath some Kaesars kil'd That many a bloudy battle erst had fought Thus Kings to death triumphantly are brought Because they will triumph ere victory The end makes all and in the end we ought To triumph only if we liue and die Belowe the Crosse that vs shall crowne on hie But yet saist thou what Prouidence can see The guiltlesse made a bloudy sacrifize To expiate the rage of Villanee That nothing else will quiet or suffize What skills it how the vertuous liuer dyes Sith by a bloudy death in likely-hood It pleaseth God their Soules so to surprize And on the brow of Time write with their blood Their virtues for succeeding Ages good Thus makes he Euill Good in spite of Euill For all that Is doth to his Glory tend Whereto he guides the doings of the Deuill Though Diu'ls doe it not vnto that end Then sith Gods Prouidence so cleere is kend As that sâ—â—se Blindnesse needs must see the same Let Gods â—â—â—les wisely thereon stil depend Whiles these wise men like fooles past Grace and Shame Denying it loose Body Soule and Name FINIS Coloss. 3. Bicause such a Monster should euer breathe The Noble comes sooner by violent death then the obscure