Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	father_n	king_n	son_n	7,892	5	5.4436	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02361	A combat betwixt man and death: or A discourse against the immoderate apprehension and feare of death. Written in French by I. Guillemard of Champdenier in Poictou. And translated into English by Edw. Grimeston Sargeant at Armes, attending the Commons House in Parliament; Duel de l'homme et de la mort. English	Guillemard, Jean.; Grimeston, Edward.	1621 (1621)	STC 12495; ESTC S103559	187,926	790

his enemies terrifie him and his friends are suspect vnto him hee eates not without feare of poison hee sleepes vnquietly for that his aduersaries watch for his mine Enuy filing ouer the triumphs of other men stings him continually hee thinkes himselfe as much deiected as another is aduanced Thou thinkest him happy and hee holds himselfe miserable would confesse it to thee if his ambition did not stay him and if he feared not by this confession to make himself contemptible the which he most abhorreth he would shew thee that in his greatest banquets he hath no more assurance thē he ouer whose head there hangs a naked sword staied onely by a horse haire as in old time that of the Tyrant of Sicile But the aduertisement giuen to Philip King of Macedon growne insolent for the victory of Cheronee by Archidamus King of Sparta after the Spartane manner is notable Philip said hee measure thy shaddow if thou findest it bigger then of custome as if hee would say Why doest thou thus insult ouer thine enemies who in thy person hast receiued no increase vnlesse it he care and feare Then followes Pleasure in eating drinking and in the venerian act this pleasure if it keepes not the bounds of necessity and honesty it is infamous and vnwholesome The throat hath slaine more faith a Phisition then the sword Intemperance is the very bayte of an impure spirit which delights in vnpure and vndigested humours drunkennesse depriues a man of the vse of reason transformes him into a beast yea a furious beast apt to commit many mischiefes And therefore Saint Augustine speakes of drunkennesse that it is the mother of all villanies the subiect of offences the roote of crimes the distēperature of the brain the ruin of the body the shipwrack of chastity the losse of time a volūtary rage an ignominious languishing the corruption of manners c. Either of these voluptuousnesses is like vnto the byting of serpents which they call Tarentula They that are toucht laugh sing and dance but it is a Sardonian laughter which brings them to a fatall end and what pleasure As for the act of venery out of the due of lawfull marriage it is by the testimony of Diogenes wine mixt with poyson which in the beginning seemes sweete but presently after it makes him feele a deadly bittemes it is the mire wherin man doth deuolue ruine and lose himselfe It is in this act onely saith Saint Ierome that God did neuer touch the heart of his Prophets Thrice and foure times wretched Ixion who thinkest to imbrace in thy armes the goddesse Iuno and it is but a cloude thou doest hold The pleasure of this world is but a vaine shadow of felicity the substance is in heauen To bee short wee must abhorre voluptuousnes like the Sirenes as the Ancients haue mystically painted them out all that is seene of them is exceeding faire they glister with the shining of sparkling Diamonds they cast forth a sweete sent of Muske and Amber their greene eyes dart flames into the coldest heart gold binds vp their flaxen haire their necks are circled with rubies a Cypres of siluer wauing ouer their shoulders their breasts of Alablaster open whose pappes like two round curds of milke did seeme to leape on their fore-heads were fixed two of Cupids bowes their cheekes were crimson and their mouthes little but their tayle which is hidden vnder the water is pointed with teeth spotted and venemous finally hideous and fearefull and they that are once stung die without helpe and what pleasure These are the three carreeres which men in this world run by troopes heereunto the most actiue of minde and body straine their sinewes and bend their spirits who shall haue most and al for an imaginary happinesse Some in the beginning of the course fall to the ground others end in the middest and these not able to iudge of the vanity of the world are perished in the middest of it The last beeing come vnto the end finde but it is in the extreamity that r●…ey haue imbraced the shaddow for the body vanity for felicity and desolation for consolation then they crie O deceitfull world O miserable life But before they can come to consider wherein the happinesse of life doth consist and settle themselues in a course to attaine vnto it death seazeth on them Obiection It is no good cōsequence to argue from the abuse to the thing abused Your argument proceeds from the abuse to life THey laugh at Lycurgus causing the Vines to be pull'd vp for that some men were drunke and he were more mad that would cut off his nose because hee is troubled with rheume and what were hee that would take away life vnder colour that one vseth it to couetousnes another to ambition a third to voluptuousnes Let vs banish the abuse and retaine life that knowing with Diogenes the goods of nature to exceed them of fortune let vs refuse Alexanders siluer if hee will depriue vs of our liberty and the true vse of the Sun Let vs imitate Xenocrates who grauely answered his Ambassadours who had brought him 50. tallents or 30000. crownes That he had not vse for so much siluer Finally wilt thou be rich Doe not labour to multiply thy wealth but to make a substraction of thy concupiscence As for the other abuse of ambition let Socrates prescribe vs a Rule who hearing a relation of his praises in a discourse composed by Plato interrupted him crying out Oh what lies this young man speakes of mee Let vs consider rhat glory is mixt with the honey of Trapezonde whose violent vapor doth strangely confound the spirits of such as vse it and makes them forgetfull of God Apostates to the faith and voyd of all naturall reason For Voluptuousnesse let them cast their eies vpon the Curij Fabricij who will bee more then content with turneps and beanes yea vpon Epicurus who with water and a little rice would contend with Iupiter for his felicity Let Cyrus and Zaleucus King of Locres be also heard the first against the excesse of wine the other against whordome Cyrus being roughly demanded by his father in law Astiages why hee had refused to drink the cup which hee had presented vnto him For that said he I conceiued it had beene poyson remembring that at your last feast euery man that vsed it did stagger at euery step and his spirits so confounded as hee could not vnderstand any thing nor speake to purpose Zaleucus made a law that the Adulterer should lose both his eyes wherein he was so strict as his owne son being conuicted he vnderwent the same punishment and by a fatherly compassion pulled out one of his sons and one of his owne eyes Answer I yeeld to all this and doe willingly giue my voyce hauing neuer insisted but for the abuse neither that we may depriue our selues of life for any misery Yea I haue maintained the contrary against the Stoicks heretofore

be not directed and animated from aboue he followes that which he should fly and flyes that which he should follow so as he shall neuer hit the white now win the Crowne of Iustice which is the true felicitie of man Let vs then conclude with S. Iohn That what we shal be doth not yet appeare with S. Paul That our life is hidden in Christ That it is in safe keeping and that the ende of this mortall life is the beginning of the immortall Let vs say in the ende that all things haue their Periode that wee are borne to liue We liue to die and wee die to liue againe but without any more turning for the Circle shal be returned to his point and the light of the bodie shall suffer no more eclipse Come then O gentle death which doest make an end of the miseries of this world and beginnest the happinesse of Heauen which dost free vs from mortall paine and bringest vs to enioy immortall good which doest conuert our teares and toyles into ioy rest which doest change our fantasticall treasure into that which is certaine and our temporall into spirituall and eternall Retire then O you deceitfull vanities for the charme of your pleasures cannot preuaile with me who am resolued to die hold your tongue also O vaine deception of Philosophie and humane tradition for I am taught by the death of my Sauiour by his resurrection that my greatest perfection is to acknowledge my imperfection my blindnesse my death in my sinnes and that my greatest happynesse in this world is to obteyne remission of my sinnes and to mortifie my corrupted members to the end that a good death may soone bring mee to the hauen of saluation and eternall life Amen The second Argument taken from the vicious fruits of the extreame feare of death That which breedes many inconueniences in the spirit bodie of man must bee speedily pulled away The extreame feare of death causeth great inconueniences Therefore that must be speedily pulled away SOme one sayed truely speaking of the excessiue apprehension of death that it is the ordinary obiect which troubleth the vnderstanding of man makes him to lose his Iudgement to abandon all duety and to cast himselfe into a shamefull forgetfulnesse of himselfe Let vs. see how Hee that feares death vnmeasurably he must of necessitie feare euery thing that may bring it that is all that hee sees and what he cannot discerne whereas death lyes in ambush whereby it happens that this man doth easily fall into many errours as into foolish superstition thinking by his voluntarie submissions by m●…toring of words not vnderstood by adoring of stocks and stones to moue God to pitty him and to turne away death which hee imagines vpon the least accident the flying of a bird or the croaking of a Crow should take him by the throate So we reade of Arislodemus King of the Messeniens who being in warre against his subiects the dogs howled like Woolues and an herbe called Dogstooth grew neere vnto his Altar the which being interpreted by his Soothsayers to bee an ill presage he concoiued such a feare as hee died And as this disordered motion of feare makes men credulous to the words of Satan so doth it make them incredulous to the assured promises of the Eternall the which prouoking the wrath of God in the end hee doth execute vpon them his sentence pronounced against the fearefull incredulous casting them into the Lake burning with fire and brimstone which is the second death Apocal. 21. O how fitly then did Saint Augustine say that by too much fearing the temporall death they did ingulfe themselues in the eternall a fearefull man not onely makes himselfe a slaue to fantasticall diuinity but also a bondman to any one that is subiect vnto him said King Lew. 11. who to assure himself against death shut himselfe vp solitarie at Plessis neere Tours yet could he not bee confident the opening of a doore amazed him he hated all those he suspected and he suspected all the world his most confident were dismisss and put from his person and hee remayned alone melancholie dreaming froward and chollericke nothing pleased him but onely displeasure he grew iealous of his son-in-sonne-in-law of his owne Sonne and his Daughter only his Phisitian possest him controlled him and kept him in awe with his words threatning death I know well said hee swearing a great oath that one of these mornings you will send mee away with the rest but you shall not liue eight dayes after Thus this imperious seruant kept his King captiue Thus this King lost his liberty more pretious then his life for maintaining whereof good men should alwaies striue Wherunto Seneca had reference when he sayd that the vilest death was to bee preferred before the honestest seruitude for that this liberty cannot safely confish but in the contempt of death as Agis King of Lacedemon taught him that demanded an assured liberty of him and in truth ●…hee that feares not death may passe freely like a Knight without feare who shall hinder him seeing the extrem●… dangers of death cannot amaze him Moreouer fearefull persons are the ruine of States and Commonalties for in the least dāgers through feare and the threats of great men they yeeld easily to a mischiefe and subiect themselues to the fauour of the wicked and the will of the base multitude Thirdly a man that trembles so at the apprehension of death runnes into assured misery which depriues him of all pleasure of life makes his facewrincle and grow pale before his time Which the Italian Gentleman will verifie who being imprisoned vpon a certaine accusation and receiuing newes that without all doubt he should lose his head the next day the feare of one night did so trouble his braine and distempered his body with shaking as he became all gray and worne But ô miserable men after all your shifts and escapes in the end you must come and yeeld your selues at the Port of Death So much the more miserable I do not call you miserable for that you are subiect vnto death but for your extreame feare that many thinking to free themselues from death haue run head-long into it some thinking to escape haue cast themselues out at a window and broken their neckes others flying their pursuing enemies swords haue leapt like fishes but without fins into a deepe riuer as into an assured Sanctuary where they haue beene drowned Nay besides all this they which thinking still to delay and escape that which they feare so extreamely when they see themselues in the bed of death then doe they vomit out their rage against heauen and exclaime iniuriously against the true God and being desperate they cast themselues into the infernall gulph Let vs conclude with Seneca That the feare of death will neuer profit any liuing man but drawing him into many miseries which are much more to be feared then death it selfe will make him in the