to the earth and his soule to God that gaue it The third at the end of the world when body and soule revnited shal enioy heauen So likewise a wicked man hath three distinct deaths Dead in sinne while he liues dead in soule when hee dyes dead in body and soule when both are adiudged to eternall condemnation Malis fit mors sine morte fin◠fine fine defectus sine defectu Quia mors viuit fints semper incipit desicere defectus nescit To labour not to lye is labour in vaine it is to deferre not to auoid To forget to dye and hope to liue is dangerous securitie This let a wise man doe quod ne cesse est ne timeat quod incertum est semper expectet Seeke not consolation against death but let Death bee thy consolation for there is no comfort against death but in death Supremum necoptes nec metuas diem Mortem optare malum timere peius Now to make Death easie Thinke of the glory that followes it Who will not endure a few pangs for infinite pleasures The bitter pill promising health is swallowed willingly Mors non anfert vitam sed in melius transfert That the aspect of Death may not trouble thee looke not vpon Death in death but looke beyond it Thinke not so much of it as of the happinesse that comes by it Erit somnus dilectis initium refrigerij scala montis haereditas secura Ianua vitae ingressus in tabernaculum Therefore saith Iob From sixe troubles it deliuereth thee in septima that is at point of death non tanget te malum Fit your selfe for it and you will neuer feare it doe by it as you doe in other things when you would goe sleepe you put off your cloathes you draw the curtaines and goe to bed Thus as it were acting sleepe before you goe to sleepe So addresse your selfe to death before hand Bring your selfe acquainted with it that when it comes you may entertaine it non vt hostis sed vt hospes not as a foe but as a friend not as a stranger but as a guest that you had long looked for and bid welcome Death more blessed then thy Birth What a griefe is it to see some great men build stately houses as if they should alwayes liue and yet they to liue as if they had but mortall soules It is good counsell Effice mortem tibi familiarem vt possis cum sors tulerit illi laetus alacriter obuiam exire Those Philosophers were more mortified who had their graues alwayes open before their gates that going out or comming in they might alwayes thinke of Death Good Ioseph of Arimathea built his Sepulchre in the middest of his garden So doe thou amid all thy pleasures and delights thinke of death and that wil coole and temper all thy vaine desires It will so qualifie thee to the world and the world to thee as thou wilt not much care for it In this world wee are all Benonies the sonnes of Sorrow The way to Heauen is by weeping crosse Hi motus animorum atq haec certamina tanta Pulueris exigut tactu cōpressa quiescunt It is obserued that most of other creatures liue long but dying perish all to nothing Man that is short-liu'd he dying liues eternally Thinke but of this and you will thinke as S. Bernard did that life was little better then hell were it not for the hope of Heauen Surely Christ would not haue dyed but that wee might die with safety Hee by death in death did deliuer vs from death And did Christ dye for mee that I might liue with him I will not therefore desire to liue long from him It is a token of little loue to God to be loth to goe to God All men goe willingly to see him whom they loue Our brother Ioseph liueth therefore though with Iacob I cannot say I will goe see him before I dye Yet Lord let mee dye that I may see him whom my soule loueth Liuing I cannot but dying I shall Let no difficulties hinder for since Adams fall none passeth vnto Paradise but by burning Seraphims The way to Canaan is cumbersome but knowing that our iourney leades to the land of promise wee passe it pleasantly Yet before wee come at Hierusalem we take in our way the valley of teares The swift Riuer of Iordan must be crossed before wee come to the sweet Waters of Siloam Let no delights tempt you prosperous fortunes may hinder a cheerefull dying but if pleasures of life allure not feares of death will neuer trouble Neminem aduersa conuincunt nisi quem secunda decipiunt Adam was set vpon in Paradise Iob on the dunghill yet Iob fortior in stercore quam Adam in Paradiso The very place of pleasure is dangerous In Paradise Adam could not be innocent but out of Paradise he was a good man For any thing in life lose not the cause of life nor iudge not of things by the face of things For life and death haue deceiueable vizards vnder the faire face of life lurkes griefe vnder the foule feature of death which is but fancy lies felicity Take off the mask and you shall change your minde loath that you loued and loue that you loathed Vita habitu casto cum non sit casta videtur Mors praeter cultum nil meretricis habet Now for the freedomes that come by Death Freedo by deat First it frees from all worldly iniuries Mors multorum malorum finis nullius boni Heere good men doe but liue and suffer benè agere male pati It is their portion and it is good for mee saith Dauid that I haue beene afflicted Non sentire mala non est hominis sed non ferre non esset viri Sufferings are greater trials then actions Secondly it ends all miseries Man in misery saith Iob longs for death and digs for it more then treasure Mors finis est non poena Nay saith one Nec finis nec paena bonis lex est non paena perire Death ends sinnes not life it reformes but doth not destroy Nature Vitiorum est Sepultura virtutum Resurrectio Thirdly it frees vs from all corporall infirmities Mors omnium dolorum solutio Life it selfe is a disease and we dye by corruption of humours whether they be of body or manners who thinke to heale all infirmities with an easier plaister then Death Delineamenta potius quam remedia podagraesuae ponunt Fourthly it frees vs from all bodily labours So saith the Spirit Blessed are they that die in the Lord they rest from their labours Adeo iuuat occupatum mori Fiftly it eases vs of all troubles Refrigeries est animae Refection to the Soule Were wee but in a throng wee thinke that man at ease who gets out first Noah when hee had beene tossed but a yeere vpon the waters Mount Ararat was to him a gladsome place for there the Arke rested So likewise miscrable man after many wearisome
yeeres tossed vp and downe the world as in a troubled sea will bee glad of Death as of Mount Ararat a resting place for his tyred Soule As an Apprentise patiently vndergoeth seuen yeeres labour to bee made a Freeman or as a bondman waites for the yeere of Iubile So doth the Soule for her deliuerance Lastly death doth vs not the least pleasure in freeing vs from phantasmes and vaine pleasures Pleasure may stand with innocencie for God loues to see his creatures happy But commonly the pleasure of the body is the poyson of the soule A man smothered in Roses meetes with Death though in sweetnesse Delicatas enim mentes eneruat felicitas In vaine mirth there is no true ioy nor gladnesse in laughter Nam res est seuera verum gaudium Delight in pleasures and you shall finde your greatest pleasures become your bitterest paines in their losse A man whose soule is conuersant with God finds more pleasure in the desart and in death then in the Palace of a Prince The benefits that come by death FVlnesse of grace The benefits by death which heere we haue but in part Viuere velinthomines vt perfectisint Mori volunt perfecti sunt Heere wee haue but arrham Spiritus there we shall haue pretium Secondly perfection of glory Erimus participes non spectatores gloriae Enioy with these eyes visionem illam beatificam ioy vnspeakeable And saith S. Iohn your ioy shall no man take from you Thirdly inseparable fellowship with Christ They follow the Lambe whithersoeuer hee goeth There wee shall bee married to him heere we are but contracted Desponsabo te mihi saith the Prophet Those fauours and loue-tokens I haue heere receiued doe but inflame not satisfie desires and I am willing to part with them lest they should make mee loth to depart to him that gaue them Meretricius est amor plus amicum quà m sponsum diligere Lastly it brings mee where I would be into my owne countrey into Paradise where I shall meete not as in the Elysium of the Poets Catones Scipiones Scaeuolas but Abraham Isaac and Iaeob The Patriarks my Fathers the Saints my Brothers the Angels my Friends my wife children kindred and seruants that are gone before me and doe there attend mee looking and longing for my ariuing there Therefore with Dauid I will say Lord when shall I come and appeare before thee Like as the Hart panteth for the water brookes so panteth my soule for thee O God I had rather be a doore-keeper keeper in thy house then dwell heere though in chambers of pleasure Touching the second generall Diuision II. The feares or ioyes that death brings NAturally men feare Death The feares of death because it ends being which Nature would preserue Rachel mourned for her children and would not be comforted because they were not When Moses Rod was turned into a Serpent it was fearefull But when God bids Feare not to take it vp it may well be handled Timeat mortem qui Deum non timet sed si sperare desideras desine timere It is well said Pompa Mortis magis terret quam mors ipsa Groanes convulsions and a discouloured face shew death terrible But that Philosopher is not to bee followed who to prepare himselfe the better for death set forth death most fearefully nor yet that Emperour to be praised who so little esteemed of death that hee dyed in a complement Feare of death kills vs often where death it selfe can doe it but once The Philosophers thought that if death as bad as men count it were not mingled with bitternesse men would runne to it with desire and indiscretion Ergo mortem concupiscentes timentes aeque obiurgat Epicurus It is true life would not willingly be troubled with too much care nor death with too much feare Feares betray cares trouble those succours that reason would yeeld to both Multi ad fatum venêre suum dum fata timent Feares multiply euils Faith diminishes them yet most men wish vt mors potius semel incidat quam semper impendeat because nothing is so painefull as to dwell long vnder the expectation of some great euill Conscience of dying giues the right sence of death and the true science of liuing For by death absoluitur anima resoluitur corpus gaudet quòd absoluitur quòd resoluitur non sentit Therefore said the Heathen man Non nego poenas esse quibusdam post mortem sed quid ad mortem quod post mortem est If there be any feares in death saith a wise man Quare iuuenes non timent fieri senes But it is the nature of feare to make dangers greater helpes lesse then they are When Anaxagoras had word brought him that his deare and onely sonne was dead Scio said hee me genuisse mortalem The sonnes condition satisfied the fathers passion without more words Hee can neuer be at ease nor liue contentedly that liues continually in feare of death Nil in morte metuamus si nihil timendum vita nostra commisit There is no such gentle remoouall of all life's discontents as a quiet death Hee that knowes not how to end his time hath lost all his time Nescire mori miserrimum Socrates de morte disputabat vsque ad ipsam When Otho and Cato had prepared all things for their death they setled themselues to sleepe when they awaked and found themselues vpon the stroke of execution all they said was Vita supplicio data est mors remedio Cruell tyrants haue beene told to their faces that their threates of death were promises of life Their swords were fauours to the sufferer Mortall wounds made them immortall Viuere non potest qui mori non audet Though it be true that it is in vaine to feare what wee cannot shunne and feare of death as a tribute due to Nature is a weakenesse yet feares be not alwayes ill symptomes before death nor in death at that instant nature will reluct for loue sake to keepe still her being But grace thus distinguishes of being To the wicked the best thing of all were not to haue beene Non nasci optimum His next best were to liue long It was ill with him that he was borne worse that he must dye for hee not being sure of a better would faine be sure of this Conscious to himselfe that this dying life will bring him to a liuing death His hope is no longer then his breath His word is Dum spiro spero he flutters inter mortis metum vitae tormentum viuere nolit merinescit With good men it is otherwise to them the best thing of this life is to haue been for this leades the way ad beatitudinem patriae to the fruition of their faith Quid huius viuere est saith hee sed dijs mori His word is Cum expiro spero his hopes faint not when his breath failes him Patienter viuit delectabiliter moritur To this man mori
violently both by destinie all men by Decree Quē dederat cursum natura peregi said the Poet. But the Diuine tels vs though Moses dyed vpon one Hill Aaron vpon another Hill yet both where they might see the land of Promise How familiarly did Moses heare of Death when there was no more betwixt God and him But Moses goe vp and dye With such a sociable compellation are good men inuited to Death as to a Feast Nec mihi Mors grauis est posituro morte labores Mors mihi merces erit The assurance of life after Death ALthough my flesh bee eaten with wormes Assurance of life after death these wormes turned to dust this dust blowne through the earth yet after thou hast turned all to destruction Againe thou sayest Come againe you children of men Redemptor meus is the word of assurance My Father and your Father saith the Gospel Meum and tuum are words of Assurance to mens soules though in mens states they make all Controuersies I know that my Redeemer liueth How doe I know it not by Opinion but by Faith Fides non creditur sed cernitur Things are not so because we are perswaded they are so but because they bee so therefore wee are so perswaded The woman with child knowes shee is with child when shee feeles it stirre liuely So the Spirit of God assures our spirit when wee feele his Spirit in vs. Holy Iob saith Though after the skinne wormes destroy the body yet in my flesh I shall see God for my selfe and mine owne eyes shall behold him and not an others Which numerall Identity giues certaintie that this soule of mine impersonated anew and so inanimating my body againe shall giue a new being and a better being vnto both That soule the lost pearle which to finde a man would haue giuen all that he had shal there be found ingrauen in gold where as heere it was found set but in clay The fourth generall diuision IIII. What our last thoughts should be AS in greatest extremities good Physicians leaue drugges and minister onely Cordials so deale by thy soule when death approaches cast away all worldly cares entertaine onely thoughts that will animate thy weake body and refresh thy thirstie soule as did that dew of Hermon falling vpon the Hill of Sion nor will I feare how this body of mine shall appeare an other day For I am promised by him that will performe it shall not be found naked But this couering of flesh being cast off I shall take this body againe cloathed with glory as with an other garment This doth Saint Paul most elegantly and diuinely expresse saying Wee know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle bee destroyed wee haue a building giuen of God that is a house not made with hands but eternall in the heaueus For therefore wee sigh and desire to be cloathed with our house which is from heauen Because that if wee be cloathed wee shall not be found naked For indeede we that are in this Tabernacle figh and are burthened because we would not be vncloathed but cloathed vpon that immortalitie might be swallowed vp of life And hee that hath created vs for this thing is God who also hath giuen vs the earnest of his Spirit Therefore we are alwayes bold though we know that whilst we are at home in the bodie wee are absent from the Lord. For wee walke by faith and not by sight Neuerthelesse we are bold and loue rather to remoue out of the body and to dwell with the Lord. 2. Cor. 5. This is so promising and so sweet as it seemes to transport a man aliue from earth to Heauen Hîc in via es sed illic eris in Patria Therefore baite not too long vpon pleasures by the way All the while I liued said a good man I was going on my iourney towards my countrey but now that I am dying I finde my selfe neere home I am now come to Mount Sion the Citie of the liuing God the heauenly Hierusalem I will not therefore sit downe on this side Iordane but hasten to the Citie whither when I come I shall there see my God face to face Heare my Sauiour say Euge bone serue It is my Fathers will to giue thee a kingdome Is it not enough that my God is gone vp to prepare a place for me but will hee giue mee a kingdome also And shall not I bee glad when God shall come and fetch mee to inthrone mee in this kingdome Absit Now mee thinkes I heare my soule say Cur non accedis Domine Quid moraris I haue too long dwelt in this sepulchre of earth And woe is me that I still remaine in Mesech and dwell in these tents of Kedar It is enough Lord as Elias said in the wildernesse Take now away my life for I am no better then my Fathers were Nay my soule is now growne so high minded that shee saith Maior sum ad maiora genitus quà m vt mancipium sim huius corporis Thus rich in thoughts and great in expectation doth diuine Contemplation make vs. God hath not giuen a soule to any creature else but Man Therefore it is but duety in Man to know the dignitie of his Soule which is so heauenly ambitious as it will not let heauen alone till it may see as it is seene Grauata est anima mea my bodie is a burthen to my soule It hath had honour enough to haue beene so long companion with my Soule wherefore now as Saint Hierome said Egredere anima egredere The Hermite sitting on his turft said to his soule Sexaginta annos seruiuisti Deo nunc mori times Goe out of this Arke of flesh O my soule for I smell the sauour of rest Celeritas nunc in desiderio mora est Though my soule as a bird for necessitie sake hath been faine to stay awhile heere vpon earth yet willingly would she be soring in the skies But I finde that ista vita est mihi impedimento ad id propter quod viuitur Specially when I heare my Sauiour say Father I will that those whom thou hast giuen mee be with mee also where I am That they may behold my glory To him that is faithfull vntill death I will giue a Crowne of life Therefore desiderio desideraui ergastuli huius egressum that I may see facie ad faciem him whom my soule loueth and to bee Lord where thou enioyest thy selfe and glorified spirits enioy thee Entertaine thy last houres with such like thoughts Et hatibi dabunt ad aeternitatem Iter in itinere subleuabunt They will Angelize thy body and imparadise thy soule before thou commest into Heauen yeeld a sweetnesse farre beyond the bitternesse of Death Certainely a good soule thus imploying it selfe in ista hora will not leaue the felicitie it shall haue in such a transmigration from death to life for all the ioyes that life past did euer render her Good Saint Austine
in a high speculation endeuouring to expresse this heauenly ioy was asked by a graue old man Father Austine quid agis A man may as well draw in all the ayre in the world with one breath as expresse to the life that which thou art now about Though this ineffable ioy cannot bee expressed yet it is res generosa conari alta mente maiora concipere quà m quae effici possunt Therefore this wee may doe some way sample that which wee can no way expresse Looke as a Bird that hath been long encaged then chants it most merrily when she gets loose into the open ayre Nititur in syluas quaque rediresuas Or as a sicke man that hath wearily tossed and turned himselfe in his bed all night is them comforted when hee sees the day breake and the sunne beames guild the morning Or as a prisoner that feeles his chaines heauy vpon him longs for releasement Liberaque â ferris crura futura velit So it will bee with thy Soule when thou shalt heare thy Sauiour say I am thy saluation Come vnto mee thou that art weary and heauy laden and I will refresh thee Poenitentibus petentibus pertinet Regnum Coelorum To them that are weary of this durance and sue for deliuerance belongeth the kingdome of heauen Wherefore as a wearied traueller that hath passed a long iourney though perhaps met with some delights by the way is then gladdest when hee comes within kenning of his countrey Natale solum dulcedine cunctos ducit Euen so thy soule after many yeeres pilgrimage in the wildernesse of the world being come with Moses to Mount Nebo and beholding the pleasant land of Canaan from the top of Pisgah will then laugh for ioy as doth the Horizon to see the Sunne comming as a Bridegroome out of his chamber Dilectus meus descendit ad hortum suum ad areolam aromatum Of this ioy thy dazled eyes might haue some glimpses when thou wast in health but then it was as the blind mans visiō in the Gospel to whose first sight men seemed to walke like trees But in this thy new state thou shalt see clearely men and Angels stand before the Lambes Throne and heare thy selfe inuited to the Lambes Supper where thou shalt be brought into the wine seller and loue will be the banner ouer thee Come then O Shunammite stay me with flagons and comfort me with Apples for I am sicke of loue Kisse me with the kisses of thy mouth for thy loue is better then wine Shew mee O thou whom my soule loueth where thou feedest where thou lyest at noone Thus with Solomon in a Canticle and with Dauid in a Psalme let be the Raptures of thy Soule which as in trance shall bee caught vp to Heauen as was Philip by the Spirit or Abdias by the Angel And with an Heroicall alacritie tempered with a gracious humilitie giue vp thy soule to God and bid farewell to the world It was S. Bernards I shall neuer truely ioy till I heare this word Come you blessed Nor cease to sorrow till this be past Goe ye cursed Dying Saint Stephen before his eyes were closed had a faciall fight of his Sauiour looked stedfastly into heauen and saw the glory of God and Iesus standing at the right hand of God And old Simeon after hee had seene his Sauiour then reioyced to say Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace for mine eyes haue seene thy Saluation Hoc videā moriar Morior vt videam THE RAPTVRE OF THE SOVLE RApitur anima cùm coelestia Contemplatur contemplando iucundatur And because sight increases delight Therefore Rapture would faine ascend to vision But that 's a priuiledge for Saint Paul It so diuinely rauishes as it raises in man towring thoughts irradiates his soule with high apprehensions yea so it eleuates mans soule to God as it takes him out of himselfe to liue aboue himselfe The Soule being thus powerfully attracted by the faire inducements of so diuine delight She on her party corresponds and with a willing assent glides after these attracts And as a vapour exhaled by the Sun shee goes out of her selfe would willingly draw the body with her but that substance is too sad wherefore shee quitts it as not agil and spritefull enough to soare so high It is an admirable thing to consider that the eye of a man so weake a creature should looke vp euery day to heauen so wonderfull in height and yet neuer bee tyred by the way But by this I see that heauenly Contemplation if it be strong enough and not ouer-clogged with earthy thoughts is able to carry vs with case to heauenly extasie but then there must be application of the will and vnderstanding from things sublunarie to things heauenly For the will takes pleasure to perceiue the vnderstanding taken into Rapture and when as the faculties both of will and vnderstanding doe intercommunicate their rauishments then are we sweetly brought into diuine extasie Of this sacred extasie the Seraphical Diuines make diuerssorts One of Vnderstanding a second of Affection a third of Action Action is well added for a man is not to bee aboue himselfe in Contemplation and vnder himselfe in Conuersation The first of the three is in Splendore The second in Feruore The third in Labore The one caused by Admiration the other by Deuotion the last by Operation In these Raptures the Fathers who were stiled Saints had such a complacency as they stroue to act this as the way of a new life sometime before their Death insomuch as the Votaries would say Neuer was Saint but had Extasie and rauishment of life before his death They laboured by a liquefaction of their soules into God to Insoule themselues in God to put their foules out of the naturall comportment of the body and so to liue in diuine extasie without liuing in the body Some so liued as it was doubted whether they were liuing-men dead or dead-men liuing nay some with feruency of spirit were transported into such Extasie that their soules being wholly conuersant in diuine Contemplation they cared not to afford common assistance to Nature and so haue dyed through exinanition and want of strength Thus did loue performe the office of Death Loue is as strong as Death saith Solomon nay with them it wrought more then death could doe For death onely performeth by effect that which loue operated by affection Death did but separate their bodies from their soules But loue separated their soules from their bodies In such a trance they report Saint Austine to say O God thou onely art all mine when shall I bee wholly thine S. Bernard to say What is there in heauen or what desire I on earth but thee O Lord Thou art the God of my heart and my eternall portion my Soule is satisfied with nothing but to be with thee S. Ambrose to say The soule of Ionathan was knit to Dauid but my soule is glued vnto
thee O Lord. S. Hierome to say O my Sauicur diddest thou die of loue for mee A loue more delorous then death but to me a death more louely then loue it selfe I cannot liue loue thee and be longer from thee S. Basil to say That Iacob when hee had fast hold on God let him goe for a blessing but the Shunamite My soule will not let thee goe so For she now seekes no more Benedictions of God but to enioy the God of Benedictions When Sauernius the Indian Saint was recouering from dying it is reported hee was heard to say O my God doe not for pitie so ouerioy me if I must liue still and haue such consolations take me to heauen For he that hath once tasted this and thy sweetnesse must necessarily liue in bitternesse This is the state of loues life in God which giueth a super-humane Being vnto man man being yet on earth So that this ardent loue neuer satiated heere hauing ingrafted mee into God by her vniting vertue makes me now say Viuo ego sed non ego viuit verò in me Christus My life is hid in Christ with God And though my Sauiour be hidden from my corporall eyes in God as God was hidden in him while hee liued heere on earth yet now me thinkes I see him face to face Visione beatificâ iugitèr reuelatâ facie Sponsi gloriam speculando transformatur anima de claritate in claritatem Audet ipsa loqui Tota pulchraes amica mea MORTIS EPILOGVS QVoniam mors me quotidiè expectat ego mortem quotidiè expectabo But before thou goest consider well these foure things 1 Vndevenis 2 Quò vadis 3 Quides 4 Quid eris Vpon enquiry vndè venio I am told Peccatores peccatorem me in peccato genuerunt Miseri miserum me in hanc lucis miseriam induxerunt Conceptus culpa Nasci miseria Viuere paena Mors Angustia Et quantò est vita mea longior tantò est culpa mea numerosier This makes me to thinke Quorsum commodata est mihi vita humana For this onely Ad comparandum vitam coelestem Et hoc vult diuina clementia Quòd vita mea sit breuior Vt labor meus sit leuior For my Quò vado IT is lifes Posy Vadere to fade and decay Vado tels me I am in transitu But it reioyces mee to thinke Eo ad Patres And this promise comforts Sepelieris in aetate bonâ Therefore nec me taedet viuere nec timeo mori Mihienim Mors seruit in solatium vitae Vitam habeo in Patientia Mortem verò in desiderio Plangam ergo Paulatim dolorem meum Et tunc Oblitus exilij Ibo ad Patriam nam Mortuâ morte reuertitur mihi Christus To expresse Quid sum QVis fando explicare queat Puluis Aer this I know Et in puluerom reuertêris This is sure That homo is Morbidum putre cassum This euery man findes Homo de humore liquido This is our metall And the mould is no better In vtere impuro Damnatus antequà m natus that 's our Condition Semen Abrahae that 's our best Stocke Dicens putredini Thou art my Mother And to the Wormes You are my Brethren So heere is our great kindred Our dwelling is Inter pulices culices amongst Flyes and Fleas Our qualitie is vile and base lighter then vanity there is our waight A thing of nothing that 's our worth Et in non hominem vertitur omnis homo There is our end What then is our being Somnium dolor est tota vita hominis cùm crescit vita decrescit Vita ipsa non est vita sed vmbra mortis figura vitae Flentes nascimur In labore viuimus In dolore morimur Then certainly Si natus sum plorans Si morior plangens Nolo egoviuere ridens Hoc tantum volo Animam meam ornare quae Deo Angelis mox praesentenda est in coelis Now for Quid eris This also I know QVodsum me nonesse scio Sedid esse nôsse desidero Num videre Deum viuere cum Deo Esse in Deo habere Deum Haec est aeterna securitas secura aeternitas This may be admired but cannot be througly vnderstood Yet better vnderstood then can be expressed Therefore to my soule I say not O Animula blandula vagula but O Anima Dei insignita imagine Decorata similitudine Desponsata Fide Redempta Sanguine Dotata Spiritu Deputata cum Angelis Quidtibi cum Carne But to contemplate Quanta claritas quanta suauitas quanta iucunditas maneat te in illa visione cùm facie ad faciem videbis Christum FINIS Erratae PAge 2. line 2 is redundat pag. 18. line 23. fawnes pro fannes p. 19. l. 2â— Diseere pro Desere p 29. l. 12. the threats pro for threats p. 30. l. 6. animas but suas pro animas suas but p. 30. li. 7. Inde pro Iudae p. 36. l. â—3 conu ncunâ— pro comminuunt p 38. l. 23. we chinke pro wee would thinke p. 51. l. 23. amaze pro amuse p. 41. l. 8 amicum pro annulum p. 74 l. vltima Tolerabiliâ—r pro Tolerabilius p. 80 l. 4 Signicinium pro Cygnicinium p. 92. l. 7. Palmarios pro Palmares
CONTEMPLATIO MORTIS ET IMMORTALITATIS LONDON Printed by Robert Barker Printer to the Kings most Excellent MAIESTIE and by the Assignes of Iohn Bill Anno Dom. 1631. CONTEMPLATIO MORTIS ET IMMORTALITATIS PHilosophers Statesmen Diuines do all hold that in this world there are but tria genera vitae Vna est actiua Altera Contemplatiua Tertia voluptuaria Which of these is best Quaeritur Actio Contemplationis expers is but vita impolita Contemplation if it take vp all a mans time makes vitam sterilem Voluptuaria vita though it bee not otiosa because it is in actu yet is but desidiosa occupatio Amongst these who so tryes all as I haue done shall finde that Action profits most but Contemplation pleases best specially that which indebts a man to action For man was not made for Contemplation onely It is true retirednesse is is more safe then businesse yet as hee is not happy that is alwayes busie so a publike man should not alwayes bee shut vp in thoughts pleasing his life in the sweetnesse of thinking The sweetnesse of thoughts and vertue of Contemplation lyes in the right choice of the subiect euery knowing man being so inquisitiue by nature and of so busie a fancie as it is happy for him in this way to fall vpon a fit subiect Some ancient Fathers and some late Writers haue fixed vpon the loue of God some vpon the Passion of Christ some vpon the ioyes of Heauen some vpon contempt of the World So seuerall others vpon seuerall other subiects All opining that some one is to bee chosen For who so will viuere sibi must vacare Deo Ego in meo solito recessu in quo à negotijs publicis vacans mihi ipsi vacaueram which was but seldome found it fruitfull vsefull and delightfull cogitare de Nouissimo Quatuor sunt Nouissima say the Fathers Death Iudgement Heauen and Hell subiects large enough But considering I had passed so much imployment so many offices in seuerall professions I was some while musing whether any of these fitted me to contemplate In the reuolution of many things I found that when Meditation had produced Deuotion then it applyed it selfe to Contemplation And that true Contemplation required a settlement vpon some diuine obiect Hereupon I made choice of Death and Immortalitie for the subiect of my Contemplation But first my thoughts did beate to finde a difference betwixt Meditation and Contemplation Meditation or recogitation I saw was but a reiterated thought proper to production either of good or euill Day and night haue I meditated on thy Law saith Dauid in one Psalme in an other Why haue they meditated vaine things But Diuines doe now dedicate Contemplation to diuine mysteries Which affecting our soules and exciting our wils produceth some holy resolution We meditate saith one to know God wee contemplate to loue God Meditation is the mother Contemplation the daughter Yet as Ioseph was the crowne of his father and brought him encrease of honour and contentment the like doth Contemplation to her mother Meditation When God himselfe had seene the things created in seuerall peeces hee said they were good But when hee considered the Vniuerse as it were in Contemplation then hee said Lo they were exceeding good For Meditation considers her obiects peece by peece but Contemplation summes them vp all together and sees as in a grosse all the seuerall beauties of meditations obiects Meditation is with a man as hee that smels the Violet the Rose the Iessamy and the Oringe flowers one after the other distinctly But Contemplation is a sweet water compounded of them all wherein you shall smell all these odours together extracted from the seuerall sents which before you smelt diuidually Which extract is farre more fragrant then were any of the simples though euery one was sweet alone This is more elegantly denoted in the Canticles where the Spouse pleates vp her hayre trussing it vp in one knot to shew that wee should not diffuse our thoughts into varietie of considerations but recollect them by contemplation The end of all is after many changes of meditations and discourses to reduce all cogitations to one conclusion Which is contemplation of things diuine Here with a mans soule being once affected hee shall hardly obtaine leaue of his thoughts to returne againe to imployment Now to returne ad meum Nouissimum What man liueth saith Dauid and shall not see death And if after death Iustus vix salnabitur as the Gospel saith Then wee may well bee fearefull and had neede be carefull that wee be not taken vnprepared When I was a young man saith Seneca my care was to liue well I practised Artem bene viuendi when age came vpon me I studied Artem bene moriendi how to die well It is true Iter vitae occupatis non apparet nisi in fine yet when I was occupatissimus hoc me dulci oblectabam solatio aliquando me victurum mihi And this at last I am come to disponendo non mutando me The couenant of the graue is shewed to no man saith the Wiseman But the watch-word is giuen to all men Sint lumbi praecincti Lucernae ardentes semper vigilantes Lord let me be found in this posture when I shall bee to dye Nunquam ego fortunae credidi etiamsi videretur pacem agere I haue had my portion as another man of the worlds fauours yet did they neuer so delight mee or abuse mee as to make mee neglect or to deferre this worke of preparation I considered this Guttatim per horas dies fluit vita And although the houre bee not past till all the glasse be runne nemo multum ex stillicidio potest perdere yet the glasse then runnes most faintly when it drawes neerest to effluxion Carefull Martha was full busie about many things but was well admonished there was onely vnum necessarium Physicians exclaime Vita breuis Ars longa est But Diuines teach Ars optima est vsuendo discere artem bene moriendi If this Science bee to learne when prae foribus Mors est Thy sin-sicke Soule will say Infelix ego homo quis me liberabit à corpore mortis huius But if thou hast learnt it betime then it will reioyce to say Mihi viuere Christus est mori lucrum Welcome death more blessed then my birth In the whole course of my life I haue alwayes thought the right way to die was to liue well and the way to liue well in the world was to dye betimes to the world Mihi Mundus Crucifixus ego Mundo yet I found it rem difficilem In mundo viuere mundi bona contemnere Therfore for assistants I tooke three coadiutors Faith Hope Charity Charitatemex corde puro spemex conscientia bona fidem non fictam And for my soules health often vsed this preparatiue Examen conscientiae meae Nam quicunque cordihabet salutem suam let him euery day mane
vespere examine his heart Quid nocte vel die praecedente hath hee thought hath he said hath he done Et in quo peccati labem inuenerit Let him mend it cum proposito efficaci simili non peccare This if it be done daily I dare boldly say Vix fieri poterit vt quis moriendo peccet aut peccando moriatur Inter these thoughts I had these things in Contemplation 1. First what Death was and the kinds of death 2. Secondly what feares or ioyes death brought 3. Thirdly when death was to be prepared for and how 4. Fourthly death approching what our last thoughts should then be Of these I thus resolued THat Death was a fall What death is which came by a fall Our first framed father Adam falling in him wee all fell Cecidimus omnes saith S. Bernard super acerbum lapidem in luto vnde inquinati vulneratisumus Therefore wee needed water in Baptisme to wash vs Blood in the Eucharist to heale vs. This falling sicknesse infected not only the person but the nature such is the infection of euill alwayes worse thē the Act making man that was immortall subiect to Death as are Birds and Beasts whereas before wee were differenced from them in this condition though made of the same matter Dust. Yet as wee now stand the fault is ours if that fall be not our rise the aduantage wee haue by Christ being more then the damage wee had by Adam ideo qui stat videat ne cadat For relapse may turne vs againe to be as Birds and Beasts that haue no ioy but being no sorrow but dying Consider Death originally or in his owne nature and it is but a departed breath from dead earth inliuened at first by breath cast vpon it Take the dimension of it and it is but a point of Time interiected betweene two extremes A Parenthesis which interposed breakes no sense when the words meete againe When Seneca was asked Quid est Mors he answered Aut finis est aut transitus Rogatus Secundus Philosophus said to the Emperour Adrian Mors est aeternus somnus Diuitum Pauor pauperum desiderium incerta peregrinatio ineuitabilis euentus latro hominis fuga vitae resolutio omnium Plato said it was Lex Naturae Tributum mortalium Scaliger defines it to bee but the cessation of the soules functions All men graunt the cause of Death was iust yet few can tell who was the Author or what 's the name or nature of it Estimemus singula famâ remotâ quaeramus quid sint non quid vocentur In Nature it can be nothing for it hath no cause efficient The nature of Death but deficient Post mortem nihil est ipsaque Mors nihil It hath no Essence though Existence It is no substance but priuation no creature but creaturarum sepultura Therefore curiously to search the efficient of it were to labour the eye to see darknesse God made it not saith the booke of Wisedome nor is it mentioned as any of his workes God that made all things saw that all things which he had made were good Omne ens bonum omne bonum estens Therefore good Saint Augustine said finely Lord thou hast not made Death wherefore I beseech thee suffer not that which thou hast not made to reigne ouer that which thou hast made It is no errour to say that man made death For curiositie the itch of mans Soule affecting to know that which God neuer made which was the euill of death thinking it had been good to know euill by desiring to know it made it He that knew all other things knew not this one thing that hee knew enough So diuine a thing is knowledge that wee see innocencie it selfe was ambitious of it Life did not content that was thought but the act of knowledge knowledge was the life the soule looked at That yet begets a studious scrutinie to discouer things wee can neuer know So we see that although Nature be moderate in her desires yet conceit is vnsatiable But since God hath reuealed more then we can know enough to make vs happy let vs learne sober knowledge and contented ignorance Who then was the Author of Death The Autho◠of Death The booke of Wisedome saith that through enuie of the diuell death came into the world and they that hold on his side finde it But if the Diuell was the father Sinne was the mother For saith Saint Iames sinne being finished trauaileth in child-birth like a mother to bring foorth death Adam falling sin followed him Man being tempted Death attempts him and by sinne death entred Death had no interest in man till sin had dispossessed him of the freehold hee had in God There was no trust in Gods seruants saith Eliphaz but euen Angels were charged with folly And to doe the Diuell right hee did but perswade not compell It was in mans choice to stand or fall Adam acceperat posse quod vellet non velle quod posset nos accepimus posse quod volumus velle quod possumus ille posse non mori nos non posse mori sic Augustinus Power of standing man had from God but possibilitie of falling from himselfe Therefore though wee may thanke our first parents for our birth-sinne Yet wee may thanke our selues for improouing of it wherefore said the old Letanie Ame salaa me Domine All mans natiue vertues were giuen him but in trust and vnder a condition Hee abused the trust and brake the condition so incurred the penaltie For that is mans nature euer subiect to extremities either dull in want or wanton in fruition Ne moriemini was a faire warning but hee cared not for it when Satan tempted hee consented Had the mind gouerned the eye the Apple could not haue beguiled though it was faire to see to The proud aspiring thought was hatched in man The Diuell was but the deuiser sinne was the Author and wee being partners in the sinne shared likewise in the punishment Facinus quos iniquinat aequat Since then Death stole in at the eare by our hearkening to ill counsell let vs now cast it out by the eares through hearkening to Gods Word the word of life the life of Death For the name of Death The name of Death Saint Iohn cals it a sleepe Amicus noster Lazarus dormit Of Saint Steuen it was said and when hee had thus spoken hee slept The Patriarkes and Kings of Iudah slept with their Fathers Transitum ad vitam aliqui appellant mortem saith Saint Bernard Sed ideo Scriptura dormientes appellat vt euigilaturos minimè desperemus Hee is not dead saith Dauid but sleepeth whose flesh doth rest in hope The night sauours of mortalitie and sleepe is but the shadow of death and where the shadow is the body cannot bee farre off But let it be Mors à morsu which our first Parents tasted or Mors à mora which yet tarries for vs all Let her bee
Death to doe them the kindnesse to take them soone out of the world counting a short death the happiest houre of a mans life And for this saith Tully a man is most beholding to Nature Quòd vnum introitum ad vitam dedit exitus vero multos Sed non sic itur ad astra Christians know better wayes as how to liue in grace that they may die in peace And to whom this grace is giuen for him glory is reserued saith Saint Paul Many a good man is sore troubled to see men of the best liues to haue distempered and perplexed ends Some rauing some despairing some dying suddenly and seldome haue any so bitter draughts as those whom God loues best It is fit therefore to take notice of the causes that be naturall Despaire in dying may arise as well from weakenes of nature as from trouble of minde but in neither case can this preiudice him that hath liued well Marke the righteous and behold the perfect man for the end of that man is peace Rauings and other strange passions are many times rather the effect of the disease then mouing from the minde For vpon deaths approaches choler fuming to the braine wil cause distempers in the most patient soule In these cases the fairest and truest iudgement that can be made is that sinnes of sicknesse occasioned by violence of the disease in a patient man are but sinnes of infirmitie and not to be taken as ill signes or presages I will not despaire in respect of that mans impatient dying whom the worme of conscience had not troubled or deuoured liuing Dauid in this case the better to make his way prayed and cryed Lord spare mee a little O spare me that I may recouer strength before I goe hence and be no more Indeede to Ezekias some yeeres of dayes were lent but we are not worthy of that fauour wee must time it as we may and bee content to liue and die at vncertainties As a sicke man hearkens to the clocke so let vs watch Death For sudden comming of death finding a weake soule vnprepared makes it desperate leaues it miserable Sudden death of it selfe is not therefore euill What death is to bee counted suddaine because it is sudden but because it may take vs away suddenly our soules vnprepared The good man neuer dyes vnprepared because his perseuerance in goodnesse is a prouidence against sudden death If a man bee alwayes prepared and haue set all euen betwixt heauen and his conscience sudden death is but a quicker passage to heauen and is not to be accounted a sudden death but a sudden departure because it came not vnlookt for Though the righteous be preuented by Death saith the Booke of Wisedome yet shall hee bee at rest because hee hath made his peace beforehand His departure is no miserie for his hope is full of eternitie Ezekiel the Prophet so often stiled Sonne of man to him God sayes I take away from thee the delight of thine eyes which was his wife with a stroke suddenly and yet thou shalt not weepe Let not the present pleasures of this life allure thee nor the cares thereof possesse thee and sudden death cannot surprise thee Improuisa nulls Mors cui prouida Vita But if a man doe not prepare to die he may liue seuen yeeres in a consumption and yet die a sudden death For any time is sudden to him that is vnprepared They take their marke amisse who iudge a man by his outward behauiour in his death If you know the goodnesse of a mans life iudge him not by the strangenesse of his death When a man comes to bee iudged his life and not the manner of his death shall giue the euidence with him or against him Many that liue wickedly would seeme to die holily more for feare to be damned then for any loue to goodnesse To these men there is malum triplex quod manet in septima Which is Horrour in exitu Dolor in transitu Pudor in conspectu Dei If my life please God I am sure my death shall please me for hee that liues well is sure to die well but he that liues ill is not sure to dâ—e well Vitae praesentis finem talem esse oportet quale futurae est principium It is a great happinesse to die in ease Quis tam facile quando vult dormit as he that layes downe his life in peace Yet a good man doth not alwayes die in the exercise of his goodnesse But as a wise man when hee sleepes leeses not his knowledge no more doth a good man his graces though he die in distemper For habitudes of goodnesse doe not then leaue him though they cannot then do their office for him But the vulgar opinion if a man die quietly and goe away like a lambe which in Consumptions and dul diseases all men doe then sure hee goes to Heauen But if he die distempered and of franticke behauiour which happens to many through extreame inflammations then sure he goes to hell is a iudgement from nature not of Religion and in this case trust not Natures iudgement for it is arted with subtilties of physicke Serenitie ioy and peace in a dying man is a hopefull behauiour yet wee see the cleere starres that are so delightfull to behold bring forth their Rayes by sparkelings and dartings as though they were deliuered of their light by trauell and hard assayes So good men in their death haue great varietie of accidents many languors many agonies many iterated endeauours trauailing of Death as in a Childbirth But when the passages of the soule lye open to God without opposition of worldly cares then it peaceably makes egresse with a sweetnesse and without disturbance Naturall causes haue their operations but it is the God of nature that commands them It is Gods propertie sometimes to worke supernaturally by nature But trust to this beleeue aright and liue as you beleeue and you shall be sure to die in safety and the way to end life quietly is to render it willingly Let no contentment of the world so fixe you to the world as to make you desire longer life Saepe in hoc esse Bene non diu Shortnesse of life is no vnhappinesse Citiùs mori vel tardiùs adrem non pertinet bene mori aut malè adrem spectat The Booke of Wisedome saith Hee was suddenly taken away least ill should alter his vnderstanding or deceit beguile his soule Had present death beene euill or long life good Cain had beene slaine and Abel had suruiued But Death commonly begins first where God loues best His soule saith the sonne of Sirach pleased God therefore hasted hee to take him away Wee see the best men liue not longest And indeede it were iniurious to wish that goodnesse should hinder any man from happinesse Hee that lends good men to the world owes them a better turne then to let them liue long in the world One man seemes to die casually another