Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
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A23301
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Hæc homo wherein the excellency of the creation of woman is described, by way of an essay. By William Austin Esquire.
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Austin, William, 1587-1634.
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1637
(1637)
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STC 974; ESTC S100237
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46,771
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198
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of marriage And that is the opposite to unity Discord Which shall never overcome them till God which is unity withdraw himself from them And this I say may bee gathered from the name of Isha 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For take from thence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the two essentiall letters of the high JEHOVAH which makes her Isha of Ish and there will remaine nothing but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ignis fire so take from Isha that is from man and woman in marriage the essentiall and effectuall blessing of JEHOVAH the high GOD which preserves them in love and unity and there will remaine nothing but fire and rage diâ—cord and jealous contention which will soone consume dissolve and disunite that holy band and leave them at the last in danger of fire eternall to their everlasting condemnation And as this name Isha cannot be divided in taking Ish from Isha but that the man shall remaine alone and the woman without a name so cannot the firme knot wherein they were tied when it was given bee at any time through discord or adultery disolved but the man shall remaine alone and the Woman without a name at least without a good one Thus you see how mysticall this first name Isha is the generall name of woman in that thence may be gathered the Author Persons and Duties of marriage what may best continue it and what dissolve it A name impoâ—ed upon her by Adams natural and humane reason and therefore though excellent and significant yet it containes but a mystery of marriage which is an estate but for this life for in the life to come they neither marrie nor are given in marriage as our Saviour saith Wee will therefore speake but a word of the Second name containing a mystery of the second life Which name though it was pronounced by man yet was the reason given by God ere hee imposed it And therefore more divine Her second and proper name was Eva For which if we will seeke Etymologies wee shal finde enow and their reasons First from our owne language of English though it little concernes it Verstegan will have it Eva quasi Consimilis Even the same as all one with her husband in office and likenesse Others in Latine Anagrammatize it from Eva into Vae because they say she was the cause of our woe But Peter Martyr thinks that they are not well in their wits that say so Ineptiunt qui dicunt saith he Rather leaning to that of S. Bernard Eva quasi Ave all haile or rather A vae from woe Belike alluding to that of the Angell Gabriel who when he brought the newes from heaven of the womans seed that was comming to breake the Serpents head began his salutation with Ave or Eva to whom it was firâ—t promised and was now to bee performed with an Ave all haile all health or an Avae a cleare deliverance from all woe of â—inne and death These conceits derived from that tongue let them that please please themselves withall for my part seeing Adam spake no Latine I can hardly beleeve hee had any respect to this Etymology but according to his owne tongue gave it as he interprets it because shee was the mother of all living Shee is Eva then quasi life or living Notwithstanding not to dissent wholly from the former this name and the force thereof in effect is not improperly expressed in the former A' vae For death being the end to which all woe and sorrow tends hath for its opposite life And Eva being life may well be turned into A' vae because it resists and expells woe which is the cause of death But to come to Adams Hebrew Eva whose own interpretation wee will take and follow She is said by him to bee living or the Mother of the living In which we see that this name Eva hath no coherence with either of both his neither Ish nor Adam neither in sound nor signification Isha her first name indeed was taken from Ish his first name which signifies lively heat force and vigour But her second name Eva was not taken from his second name Adam which signifies but clay or earth Somewhat was the cause then why shee was not called Adama of Adam as well as Isha of Ish. If wee will find the cause wee must goe backe to the Time For wee said that Isha was given before the fall when man knew of no life but the Present wherein he should never have died And therefore in a mysticall fashion he framed a name for her from the best of his to expresse their nere conjunction and of fice for that time beyond which as then he saw not But afterwards when his eies were opened and that he perceived two lives and two deaths before him the one temporall the other eternall and no comfort of hope in either of their present names for Isha could not serve shee was but a mystery of this life and Adam was earth and to earth must returne Being therefore at a Non plus God tells him the Womans seed shall breake the Serpents head Christ shall overcome death and give eternall life to his children From whence being inlightned he readily concludes she shall be not Adama of the earth but Eva the mother of the living From hence then growes this name From a reason given from God and an approving voyce from man Which is indeed a mixture of Heâ—ven and earth as it expresses it selfe For the name which man gave himselfe was but of this life but when God shewed him of a life to come he comprehended both in Eva. So that Eva is both the mother of the living on earth and of the life in Heaven I am the life saith Christ and Christ is the seed of the woman So here is Heaven and Earth met the Sonne of God and the seed of the woman the life present and the life to come And this is the mystery which then was revealed but as in a cloud but since hath inlightned the whole world Isha seemes now to bee of no stead seeing in Eva the present and future life is contained The present life of man shee maintaines in procreation and being the mâ—ther of the living and the Future life in being the mother of our Saviour who is the life it selfe So that if we raise our selves into the contemplation of the life to come signified in this name Eva wee shall quite loose Isha Mortality shall put on immortality Isha shall bee translated into Eva. Women shal lose their name of Isha they shall put off the name of their Sex But Eva the name of life they shall never lose For in the life to come they neither marrie neither is there difference of Sex or Person but men and women shall receive like bodies in eternall glory according to the similitude of Angels In which likenes and similitude I leave them And forbeare also
the eyes and body of man Yea even to dumb and reasonlesse creatures For if but a dog tast of it he will never runne mad I omit not only the generall benefit by the most necessary difference of Sex But many other things to the Physitians whom it better becomes to dispute thereof Concluding this point still with the same Pliny who observes her body to be so naturally inclined to do good to man that if any thing do but touch her it shall bee a medicine for him For he affirmes that if the head be but bound with a womans haire-lace it presently cureth or much abateth the grievous paine of the head-ach Thus have you heard in the description of the forme what it is like how beautifull both Corporally and vocally And lastly how helpefull in use to man Which Section you must pardon in the length for this argument hath caused others to write whole volumes and therefore a few leaves may well be forgiven me CAP. VI. THE next that comes in order to be handled is the name First then that it may appeare that this observation of the Name is no idle nor unnecessary commendations to the Sex I will first in generall deliver what the Civill law and the Nations themselves both Iewes and Gentiles have thought of names their force and vertue The Civill law hath a rule Condemn ari nemo debet antequam nomen ejus delatum sit None ought to bee condemned before his name bee knowne And their reason is quia nomina plerumque referunt mores illorum quibus induntur because names for the most part doe expresse the condition of the person on whom they be imposed This reason being by much experience knowne true hath made the wisest parents among the Nations to have great care in giving of Names and as great respect to names given Among the Gentiles the Romanes the most Famous gave not the names of Caesar Cicero Caligula Scaevola c. without soÌ„e speciall outward or inward observation of the quality or appearance of the Person And to names given they had as great respect For as Pliny saith every fifth yeare they sought out with great care persons whose names were of good and happy signification to present their Sacrifices More particularly In giving of names they observed time and number First for the time They were wont as Plutarch testifies to impose names sooner on women children then on men and their reason was as he seemes to affirme because they came soonest to â—ipenesse and perfection Which seemes to bee granted by the Civill and common Lawyers For they make them capable of inheritance marriage and dower with other benefits of Law sooner then men as being sooner usefull in body and minde then they Which Agrippa observes to be no small benefit in nature or commendation unto them Secondly for the Number which they gave They were unto men for the most part three as Quintus Fabius Maximus Quintus Horat. Flaccus c. but women ordinarily had but two as Claudia Aemyliana as the same Plutarch affirmes Peradventure observing the rule of Pythagoras who held the odde number to bee Masculine and the eaven Foeminine From whence hee drew a good admonition for the women of his time that in all their actions they should be eaven and square according to the eaven and just number of their names But howsoever the Roman Gentiles did ordaine it is plaine that the ancient Iewes from the beginning gave great respect to names from the example of Adam himselfe For the first thing wherin God would try the wisedome of the man that hee had newly made was in giving of names For it is said that the Lord brought all the creatures before the man to see how he would call them Who giving them apt names according to their natures did therein first expresse as S. Chrysostom observes the great wisedome and knowledge given unto him by God in his creation Since whence the discreet Parents of the Iewes from the Spirit of prophesie or morall reason have strove to give names unto their children of such signification as they knew they would be or desired they should be in their life and manners For example some from their disposition as Esau rough Iacob a supplanter Ierobâ—am resisting Iudith praising Some from Office or Calling as Aaron a teacher Sarah a Lady Some of Colour as Edome red Naomi beautifull Some of accidents at birth as Benoni the Sonne of my sorrow Ichabad no glorie c. And many other which the Scriptures in divers places take notice and make use of As in Genesis Was he not iustly called Iacob for he hath now deceived me these two times And in Samuel Nabal is his name and folly is with him Whereby may be perceived that they had alwayes both in the gift and the use speciall respect to names and their significations And indeed he that will observe the care was had for the giving of names in the old Law yea and from the beginning of the world when men were most industrious he shall easily out of the very name almost of every particular man or person read his disposition and the whole story of his life they are so full of prophetical mysteries It seemes then both by profane and divine observation that names both dignifie the persons and expresse the qualities Wherefore we must thinke that woman in the making of whom God expressed so much art cannot also want a name of as great excellency to adorne her and of as vertuous signification to expresse her Wherefore in discoursing this ornament of name I will observe but these three branches and that which shall naturally spread it selfe from them First who gave the name Secondly when it was given Thirdly what it was All which though they seeme in particular to adorne and commend the first Woman only upon whom they were bestowed personally and at the first yet as the oyntment that was powred on Aarons head went downe to the skirts of his garments And as the first names and natures which were given to the first creatures of heaven and earth yea and to man do still continue unto all their kind unto this day So all those names dispositions offices and honours imposed on the first woman in her Creation doe still descend as hereditary glories unto all her daughters unto this day First therfore to begin with the person that gave the name It was not a woman who might perchance have favoured her owne Sex but it was Adam the Man himselfe that you may see there was no partiality to hinder the honour it gives her For had hee found any evill in her nature or espied the least fault or inconvenience in her disposition it is likely he would have left it in her name perpetually given her such a one as should have expressed some such vices as men doe at this day with singular delight lay on all