Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
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A51312
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Psychodia platonica, or, A platonicall song of the soul consisting of foure severall poems ... : hereto is added a paraphrasticall interpretation of the answer of Apollo consulted by Amelius, about Plotinus soul departed this life / by H.M., Master of Arts and Fellow at Christs Colledge in Cambridge.
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More, Henry, 1614-1687.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing M2674; ESTC R7962
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134,102
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252
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beauty quite doth crop With its black claws Wisdome love piety Are straight dried up death doth their fountain stop This is those sleepers dull Philosophy Which fairly men invites to foul impiety 15 But if we grant which in my former song I plainly prov'd that the souls energic Pends not on this base corse but that self-strong She by her self can work then when we sly The bodies commerce no man can deny But that there is no interruption Of life where will puts on there doth she hie Or if she 's carried by coaction That force yet she observes by presse adversion 16 And with most lively touch doth feel and find Her self For either what she most doth love She then obtains or else with crosse unkind Contrary life since her decease she hath strove That keeps her wake and with like might doth move To think upon her self and in what plight She 's fallen And nothing able to remove Deep searching vengeance groans in this sad Night And rores and raves and storms with her self doth fight 17 But hearty love of that great vitall spright The sacred fount of holy sympathy Prepares the soul with its deep quickning might To leave the bodyes vain mortality Away she flies into Eternity Finds full accomplishment of her strong desire Each thing would reach its own centrality So Earth with Earth and Moon with Moon conspire Our selves live most when most we feed our Centrall fire 18 Thus is the soul continually in life Withouten interruption If that she Can operate after the fatall knife Hath cut the cords of this bulks sympathy Which she can do if that some energy She exercise immur'd in this base clay Which on this bulk hath no dependency For then the like she 'll do that done away These independent acts its time now to display 19 All comprehending Will proportionate To whatsoever shall fall by Gods decree Or prudent sufferance sweetly spread dilate Stretch'd out to embrace each act or entity That creep from hidden cause that none can see With outward eyes Next Intellect whose hight Of working 's then when as it stands most free From sense and grosser phansie deep empight In this vild corse which to purg'd minds yields small delight 20 Both Will and Intellect-then worketh best When sense and appetite be consopite And grosser phansie lull'd in silent test Then Will grown full with a mild heavenly light Shines forth with goodly mentall rayes bedight And finds and feels such things as never pen Can setten down so that unexpert wight May reade and understand Experienc'd men Do onely know who like impressions sustain 21 So far 's the soul from a dependency In these high actions on the body base And further signe is want of memory Of these impressions wrought in heavenly place I mean the holy Intellect they passe Leaving no footsteps of their former light When as the soul from thence descended has Which is a signe those forms be not empight In our low proper Chaos or Corporeall spright 22 For then when we our mind do downward bend Like things we here should find but all is gone Soon as our flagging souls so low descend As that straight spright Like torch that droppeth down From some high tower hold steddy clearly shone But in its fall leaves all its light behind Lies now in darknesse on the grail or stone Or dirty earth That erst so fully shin'd Within a glowing coal hath now its light confin'd 23 So doth the soul when from high Intellect To groveling sense she takes her stooping flight Falling into her body quite neglect Forget forgo her former glorious sight Grosse glowing fire for that wide shining light For purest love foul fury and base passion For clearest knowledge fell contentious fight Sprong from some scorching false inust impression Which she 'll call truth she gains O witlesse Commutation 24 But still more clear her independent might In understanding and pure subtile will To prove I will assay t' explain aright The difference ' cording to my best skill 'Twixt these and those base faculties that well From union with the low vitality Of this out-world that when my curious quill Hath well describ'd their great disparity To th' highest we may give an independency 25 The faculties we deem corporeall And bound unto this earthy instrument So bound that they no'te operate at all Without the body there immerse and meint Be hearing feeling tasting sight and sent Adde lower phansie Mundane memory Those powers be all or more or lesse ypent In this grosse life We 'll first their property Set down and then the others contrariety 26 This might perceives not its own instrument The taste discovers not the spungy tongue Nor is the Mundane spright through all extent From whence are sense and lower phansie sprong Perceived by the best of all among These learned five nor yet by phantasie Nor doth or this or those so nearly throng Unto themselves as by propinquity To apprehend themselves They no'te themselves descry 27 Nor ever learnd they their own energie The mind held somewhere else in open sight What ever lies unknown unto the eye It lies though there its image be empight Till that our soul look on that image right Wherefore themselves the senses do not know Nor doth our phansie for each furious wight Hath phansie full enough so full't doth show As sense nor he nor 's phansie doth that phansie know 28 Age potent objects too long exercise Do weaken hurt and much debilitate Those lower faculties The Sun our eyes Confounds with dazeling beams of light so that For a good while we cannot contemplate Ought visible thus thunder deafs the eare And age hurts both that doth quite ruinate Our sense and phansie so if long we heare Or see 't sounds not so sweet nor can we see so clear 29 Lastly the Senses reach but to one kind Of things The eye sees colours so the eare Hears sounds the nostrills snuff perfumed wind What grosse impressions the out-senses bear The phansie represents sometimes it dare Make unseen shapes with uncouth transformation Such things as never in true nature are But all this while the phansies operation Is bound to law of bodies such is her figurat on 30 This is the nature of those faculties That of the lower Mundane spright depend But in our Intellect farre otherwise We'st see it if we pressely will attend And trace the parallels unto the end There 's no self-knowledge Here the soul doth find Her self If so then without instrument For what more fit to show our inward mind Then our own mind But if 't be otherwise defind 31 Then tell me Knows she that fit instrument If the kens not that instrument how can She judge whether truly it doth represent Her self there may be foul delusion But if she kens this organ straight upon This grant I 'll ask how kens she this same tole What by another by what that so go on Till to infinity you
from the dern pit So much gets in as Optick art counts meet To shew the forms that hard without do flit With learned quaere each other here they greet True moving substances they deem each shadow slight 11 When fowls flie by and with their swapping wings Beat the inconstant aire and mournfull noise Stirre up with their continuall chastisings In the soft yielding penitent the voice These solemn sages nought at all accoyes 'T is common onely they philosophize Busying their brains in the mysterious toyes Of flittie motion warie well advize On'â—… inward principles the hid Entelechyes 12 And whereabout that inward life is seated That moves the living creature they espie Passing in their dim world So they 'r defeated Calling thin shadows true realitie And deeply doubt if corporalitie For so they term those visibles were stroy'd Whether that inward first vitalitie Could then subsist But they are ill accloy'd With cloddie earth and with blind duskishnesse annoy'd 13 If roaring lion or the neighing horse With frisking tail to brush off busie flies Approch their den then haply they discourse From what part of these creatures may arise Those greater sounds Together they advise And gravely do conclude that from the thing That we would term the tail those thund'ring neyes Do issue forth tail of that shadovving They see then moved most while he is whinneying 14 And so the lions huge and hideous roat They think proceeds from his rugg'd flowing mane Which the fierce winds do tosse and tousell sore Unlesse perhaps he stirre his bushie train For then the tail will carrie it again Thus upon each occasion their frail wit Bestirres it self to find out errours vain And uselesse theories in this dark pit Fond reasoning they have seldome or never hit 15 So soon new shadows enter in the cave New entelechias they then conceive Brought forth of nature when they passed have Their gloomy orb false shades eas'ly deceive Not onely they that visible bereave Of life and being but the hidden might And root of motion unliv'd unbeen'd they leave In their vain thoughts for they those shadows light Do deem sole prop and stay of th' hidden motive spright 16 This is that awfull cell where Naturalists Brood deep opinion as themselves conceit This errours den where in a magick mist Men hatch their own delusion and deceit And grasp vain shows Here their bold brains they beat And dig full deep as deep as Hyle's hell Unbare the root of life O searching wit But root of life in Hyles shade no'te dwell For God's the root of all as I elsewhere shall tell 17 This is the stupid state of drooping soul That loves the bodie and false forms admires Slave to base sense fierce 'gainst reasons controul That still it self with lower lust bemites That nought believeth and much lesse desires Things of that unseen world and inward life Nor unto height of purer truth aspires But cowardly declines the noble strife 'Gainst vice and ignorance so gets it no relief 18 From this default the lustfull Epicure Democrite or th' unthankfull Stagirite Most men preferre 'fore holy Pythagore Divinest Plato and grave Epictete But I am so inflam'd with the sweet sight And goodly beautie seen on Eloim-hill That maugre all mens clamours in despight I 'll praise my Platonissa with loud quill My strong intended voice all the wide world shall fill 19 O sacred Nymph begot of highest Jove Queen of Philosophie and virtuous lear That firest the nobler heart with spotlesse love And sadder minds with Nectar drops dost chear That oft bedrencht with sorrows while we 're here Exil'd from our dear home that heavenly soil Through wandring wayes thou safely dost us bear Into the land of truth from dirtie foil Thou keepst our slipping feet oft wearied with long toil 20 When I with other beauties thine compare O lovely maid all others I must scorn For why they all rude and deform'd appear Certes they be ill thew'd and baser born Yet thou alas of men art more forlorn For like will to its like but few can see Thy worth so night-birds flie the glorious morn Thou art a beam shot from the deitie And nearest art ally'd to Christianitie 21 But they be sprung of sturdie Giants race Ally'd to Night and the foul Earthie clay Love of the carcase Envie Spight Disgrace Centention Pride that unto th' highest doth bray Rash labour a Titanicall assay To pluck down wisdome from her radiant seat With mirie arms to bear her quite away But thy dear mother Thorough-cleansing virtue hight Here will true wisdome lodge here will the deigne to light 22 Come Gentle Virgin take me by the hand To yonder grove with speedie pace wee 'll hie It s not farre off from Alethea land Swift as the levin from the sneezing skie So swift wee 'll go before an envious eye Can reach us There I 'll purge out the strong steem Of prepossessing prejudice that I Perhaps may have contract in common stream And warie well wash out my old conceived dream 23 And when I 've breath'd awhile in that free aire And clear'd my self from tinctures took before Then deigne thou to thy novice to declare Thy secret skill and hid mysterious lore And I due thanks shall plenteously down poure But well I wote thou 'lt not envaffall me That law were rudenesse I may not adore Ought but the lasting spotlesse veritie Well thewed minds the mind doth alwayes setten free 24 Free to that inward awfull Majestie Hight Logos whom they term great son of God Who fram'd the world by his deep sciency The greater world Al 's makes his near abode In the lesse world so he can trace the trod Of that hid ancient path when as he made This stately Fabrick of the world so broad He plainly doth unfold his skilfull trade When he doth harmlesse hearts by his good spright invade 25 O thou eternall Spright cleave ope the sky And take thy flight into my feeble breast Enlarge my thoughts enlight my dimmer eye That wisely of that burthen closely prest In my straight mind I may be dispossest My Muse must sing of things of mickle weight The souls eternity is my great quest Do thou me guide that art the souls sure light Grant that I never erre but ever wend aright THE ARGUMENT OF PSYCHATHANASIA Book 1. Cant. 2. What a soul is here I define After I have compared All powers of life That stamp divine Show that brutes never shared 1 NOw I 'll addresse me to my mighty task So mighty task that makes my heart to shrink While I compute the labour it will ask And on my own frail weaknesse I gin think Like tender Lad that on the rivers brink That fain would wash him while the evening â—…een With sharper aire doth make his pores to wink Shakes all his body nips his naked skin At first makes some delay but after skippeth in 2 So I upon a wary due debate With my perplexed mind after perswade