Mirum in modum.
A Glimpse of Gods Glorie and The Soules Shape.
Eyes must be bright, or else no eyes at all
Can see this sight, much more then mysticall.
LONDON Printed for William Aspley. 1602.
To the most noble, iudicious, and my best beloued Lorde, William Earle of Pembrooke; the most honorable Sir Robert Sidney Knight, Lord Gouernor of Vlishing; and the right right worshipful Edward Herbert of Mountgomery Esquire, my most honored and respected Friendes.
TO subdiuide
Soules indiuisible,
(Being wholy in the whole, and in each part)
For me were more then most impossible,
Though I were
Arte it selfe, or more then
Arte.
Yet must I make my
Soule a
Trinitie,
So to diuide the same, betweene you three;
For
Vnderstanding, Will, and
Memorie,
Makes but one
Soule, yet they three
Virtues be.
The
Vnderstanding being first, I giue
Unto the first; (for
Order so doth craue)
And
Will (Good-will) the second shall receiue.
Then
Memory the last shall euer haue.
And as I part my
Soule, my
Booke I part
Betwixt you three, that shares my broken hart.
All yours wholy, and to you most humbly deuoted Iohn Dauies.
Mirum in modum A glimpse of Gods Glorie, and the Soules shape
Wlt yeeld me words,
Wits words
Wisedome bewray.
My
Soule, infuse thy selfe in't
Sames diuine.
The froath of
Wit, O
Wisedome skumme away;
Powder these lines with thy preseruing Brine:
Refresh their saltnesse, salt their freshnesse fine;
That
Wits sweete words, of
Wisedomes salt may taste,
Which can from crude
Conceit corruption stay,
And make the same eternally to last,
Though in
Obliuion be buryed ay
The skumme of
Wit, the witty
Skummes repast,
Which like light skum, with those lewd
Skums doth waste
O Thou maine
Ocean of celestiall light,
(From whom all
Lights deriue their influence)
The light of
Truth infuse into my sprite,
And cleere the eyes of my Intelligence,
That they may see my Soules circumference,
Wherein the
Minde as Centre placed is.
Wherein thou restest Center of true
Rest,
Compass'd with glory, and vncompass'd blisse,
Which do thy
Lodge with glorious light inuest,
—Then lighten thy darke
Inne, O glorious Ghest.
The
Soule of
Man immortall and diuine,
By
Natures light beholds the light of
Nature,
Like as the
Bodies eyes when
Sunne doth shine,
Doe by the
Sunne behold the
Sunnes faire feature:
So by that light shee sees shee is a
Creature;
Created to her faire
Creators forme,
In
Wisdome, Knowledge, and such goodly graces
Which doe the
Vnderstanding right informe,
To guide the
Will aright in sundry cases,
Whenas the
Sence deluded,
Reason out-faces.
For as the
Uaynes the body ouer-spreds,
And to its vtmost bounds themselues extend:
So
Science in the
Soule from certaine heads,
In great varietie her vaines doth send,
To whatsoe're the soule may comprehend.
This is her
Birth-right, with the body borne,
Kinde
Natures larges giu'n with hand displai'd,
Which doth the
Minde illustrate and adorne:
To, and from whom, all knowledge is conuai'd,
That tends vnto the soule or bodies aide.
Which is deduced from pow'r more supreame,
Then in th'externall
Senses doth reside,
This light proceeds from that infused beame,
Which in the
Soules supreamest part doth bide,
The
Bodies motions and hir owne to guide.
For though th'incomprehensible hath stampt,
His wisdome in his workes to prooue his
Beeing,
Yet all saue
Man, from this
Light is exempt,
By which the
Soules eyes sees (past sense of
Seeing)
Celestiall sweets with hir sweete selfe agreeing▪
For th'outward
Senses Beasts with vs enioy,
Nay they possesse the same in greater pow'r:
But yet those
Senses they cannot imploy
To
Reasons vse, and
Understandings cure,
[Page] But these effects doe flowe from
Sense more sure,
Which from an vnderstanding
Soule proceeds,
Yet nought that
Understanding doth digest,
But first on it the outward
Senses feedes:
Both which inuites the
Will vnto their feast,
Those
Senses beeing tastèrs to the rest.
Then if the
Senses bee affected ill,
Or apprehend their
Obiects with offence,
They wrong the
Vnderstanding and the
Will:
With false reporte of their experience.
But first they misse-informe th'
Intelligence,
It giuing credit to their information,
Misse-leads the
Will (that way ward is by kinde)
Which moues the
Members wih all festination:
(Beeing instrumentall agents of the
Minde)
To doe what ere the
Senses pleasant finde.
But when we say the
Understanding seazeth
On nought but what the
Senses first surprizeth,
Its meant of things that pleaseth, or displeaseth,
And to the
Senses sensibly ariseth:
Then herevpon the common
Sense deuiseth,
And then transferres it to the
Intellect,
Which by hir pow'r inherent doth discourse,
By
Reasons rules from
Causes to th'
effect:
And beeing there, runnes forth with greater force,
Till
Iudgement (with strong hand) doth stay her course.
Herehence it is, the
Soule her selfe doth know,
Hir owne effects shee to hir selfe discloseth,
So to herselfe, herselfe, herselfe doth shew,
By powres which shee within hirselfe encloseth;
Whereof hirselfe, not of hirselfe disposeth;
But are directed by a higher
Pow'r,
Yet hath shee eyes to see, and sence to feele,
The way vnto hirselfe (though most obscure)
[Page] Which hirselfe virtues to hirselfe reueale,
Through which she wots what works hir woe or weale.
This knowledge of the vnknowne parte of
Man,
(Namely the knowen
Soules vnknowen parte)
From
Man is hid since he to sinne began,
For
Ignorance of
Sinne is the iust smart,
Which now doth hold enthrall'd his vniust hart.
But sith the
Soule is such a precious thing,
As cost the price of past-price deerest bloud,
Then can no knowledge more aduantage bring,
Then knowledge of the Soule, as first she stood,
Or since she fell from her extreamest
Good.
For she enwombes worldes of varietie,
Of Sunne-bright
Beauties and celestiall
Sweetes,
Vnited all in perfect sympathie,
Whereas the
Minde with diuerse
Pictures meetes,
Which
Fancie formes, and from the
Fancie fleetes.
From whence proceedes all maruellous
Inuentions,
Which doe produce all
Artes and
Sciences
That
Doubts resolue, and doe dissolue
Dissentions,
Touching the vniuersall
Essenses,
Subiect t'our inward, or our outward
Senses.
Then what
Soule on the
Soule excogitates,
But it is rapt with ioy and wonderment,
Sith when the
Minde but her adumberates
(In
Fancies forge) it feeles such rauishment,
As yeeldes therewith a heau'n of high content:
Then sith all
Weale, or
Woe, that vs befall,
Flowes from the
Soule, as from their speciall
Spring,
We should not to her
Weale be neuterall,
But study to preserue that precious thing,
As that conserues the
Soule and
Bodies Being.
Wherein three
Faculties still working be,
The
Animall diuided is in three,
Motiue, Sensitiue, and
Principall.
The
Principall hath three parts speciall,
Imagination, Reason, Memory.
The power
Sensitiue includes the powres
Of the externall
Senses seu'rally.
The
Motiue powre, the
Corps to stirre procures,
As long as
Vitall faculty indures.
Which Facultie is seated in the
Hart,
Infusing Spirites of Life through eu'ry vaine.
The vertues
Animall doe play their part,
In all the seu'rall cauerns of the
Braine.
The virtues
Naturall the wombe containe;
Which doe consist of three essentiall partes,
Feeding, Growing, and
Ingendering;
Which subdiuided are by
Natures Artes
Into sixe
Faculties, with them working,
And common to them all in eu'ry thing.
The first and second, with the third and fourth,
Attracts, retaines, concocts, and distributes;
The fift, and sixt, encorp'rates and puts forth
What is supersluous. And thus executes
Their pow'res as one, though sextiplied in sutes▪
The foode the Mouth prepareth for the Maw;
The Maw forthwith prepares it for the Liuer,
From whence a sanguine tincture it doth draw,
And then vnto the
Hart doth it deliuer,
Who in the nerues and veines it soone doth seuer.
Then through those channels of the bloud it flowes,
Through all the limbes, to giue them nourishment,
And by those condites to the
Braine it goes,
(Whereas the Soule doth hold her
Parliment,
Where, if the foode be fine and delicate,
It turnes to bloud, that in the
Braine doth breede
Those Spirites fine, that doe refine the pate,
And crowne the same with glory for its meede,
For
Glory Spirites refined dooth succeede.
The like is found betweene th'internall
Senses,
And those same
Powres, and virtues
Animall.
First must a
Powre receiue the
Images
That form'd are in the
Senses corporall,
Which
Powre is calld, the powre
Fantasticall:
This is the
Soules eye (seeing all vnseene)
Which viewes those
Senses obiects being absent,
And of th'internall
Senses is the meane;
They to the
Memorie the same present,
Who safely keepes that which to her is sent.
Thus then the
Fantasie attracts we see,
The
Memorie retaines, and
Reas'on digest:
Iudgement distributes all in their degree;
Experience then incorporates the best:
And
Wisedome by hir powre expells the rest.
Now for these
Senses, Powres, and
Faculties,
Haue all their
Organs seated in the
Braine,
Order requires that we particularize
What cauernes in the scull the same containe,
And in what manner they doe there remaine.
Which
Caues or
Cells distinguisht are with skinne,
Or subtill
Membranes, and so being diuided,
The
Head is like a House, that is within
Too many rowmes, or chambers subdiuided,
Vaulted with
Bone, and with
Bone likewise sided;
The skinne that rafters, or else lines the roofe,
Is hard, for durance, and thicke, to enwall,
Which is the skinne of
Skinnes, a skinne of proofe,
[Page] That
Dura mater loe, the Latines call,
For it enwombes the rest from dangers all.
The vse whereof, is to preserue the
Braine,
(When it doth moue) from hardnesse of the Scull;
For discreete
Nature maketh nought in vaine,
Whose tender prouidence, of care is full:
With
Meanes she doth
Extreames together pull.
It likewise serues to giue a passage free;
For all the
Veines the
Braines to feede and guide,
Whereby the vitall spirites may gouern'd be,
And likewise into partes the
Braine diuide,
Before, behind, on this, and on that side.
Besides this
Membrane, there is yet another,
More fine and subtill, wou'n of many vaines,
Hight
Piamater, or the godly Mother,
Which in her wombe doth subdiuide the
Braines,
And them in seu'rall secret
Celles containes,
Wherein the
Soule doth vse hir chiefest
Pow'res,
Namely the
Animall; and
Rationall.
Therefore all braines of
Beasts are lesse then ours,
Ours fill their
Cells and well-neere Scull and all.
Which doe refine the Spirits
Animall.
Those
Spirits that thus the
Braynes repurifie,
Procures the
Bodyes vnconceiued blisse;
And serues as
Organs to
Reas'ns faculty:
Which in the
Soule the highest virtue is,
That hir corrects, if she directs amisse.
Foure
Ventricles or concaues close conioyn'd,
In substance of the
Braine, Dame Nature seates,
With mutuall passages which are assign'd:
For all the
Spirites egresse which
Sense creates,
For Nature all, to all, communicates.
Those
Cells wherein this witty work's begun,
[Page] Are made by right more rowmsome then the rest,
Of those to which the
Spirites well-wrought do runne:
For there they purge their bad, and keepe their best,
For the last
Uentricles, which are the least.
Two of the foremost then like
Cressents twaine,
Plac'd on each side the
Head, are most compleate.
The third's in middle Region of the Braine,
Where
Reason rules, and holdes hir royall Seate,
The Fourth's behinde, where
Memorie is greate.
The
Brayn-presse, into which the
Bloud is prest,
(That giues the
Braines their vitall nutriment,)
Is compast with those concaues (with the rest,)
By which the
Soule effecteth hir intent,
As with hir worke-performing Instrument.
Likewise an
Organ made most curiously.
(Like little Wheeles together close connext)
Is plac'd as Portall of the
Memory,
To let the
Spirits swift passage, lest perplext,
It might bee by their throng, and shrowdly vext.
From the midde
Uentricle, vnto the last,
A pipe doth passe as Chariot of the
Sp'rites;
There to, and fro, they come and go in hast,
In mutuall wise as
Nature them incites,
To do their duties, and performe their rites.
In this part of the
Brayne the
Brayn-wrights skill,
And wisdome infinite do most appeare.
And here to
Man hee shewes his great good will.
For he imprints his owne
Character there;
Wherein his diuine Nature shineth cleere.
Which wee the more perspicuously should see,
If we could see to which internall
Sence
Each of these parts pertayne, or Vessells bee;
Wherein the
Soule most shews hir excellence.
[Page] But this surmounts the
Mindes intelligence,
For such a
Mystrie is embozomed,
In
Wisdoms Breast, chest of such
Secrets hie,
Which is with obscure clouds invironed.
That it's concealed from the
Eagles eye,
Much more from
Man, that seeth but here by.
Thus hauing slightly toucht this tender parte,
(For I could not but touch it thus at least;
Because the
Soule therewith performes hir Arte,)
It now remaines to prosecute the rest:
Of what my
Muse touching the
Minde exprest.
Imagination, Fancie, Common-sence,
In nature brooketh oddes or vnion,
Some makes them one, and some makes difference,
But wee will vse them with distinction.
With sence to shunne the
Sence confusion.
The
Common-sence (whose locall scituation,
The
Fore-head holdeth) hath that name assign'd:
Because it first takes common information
Of all the outward
Sences in their kinde.
Of inward
Sences this is first I finde,
Ordain'd to sort, and seuer eu'ry thing,
According to its nature properly,
Which th'outward
Sences to this
Sence doe bring,
And then transmitteth it successiuely,
To each more inward
Sences faculty.
The outward
Sences then, cannot discerne,
What they doe apprehend but by this
Sence,
Of which those
Sences all their science learne:
And vnto which their skill haue reference.
As it referres all to th'
Intelligence.
Making a through-fare of the
Fantacie,
Which doth so forme, reforme, and it deformes,
As pleaseth hir fantasticke faculty,
[Page] Not pleas'd with what the common
Sence informes,
But in the
Minde makes calmes, or stirreth Stormes.
This
Pow'r is pow'refull yet is most vnstaid;
Shee resteth not, though
Sleepe the
Corpes arrest:
She doates, and dreames, and makes the
Minde afraide,
With visions vaine, wherewith she is opprest.
And from things likely, things vnlikely wrest:
Shee is the
Ape of
Nature, which can doe,
By imitation what she doth indeed,
And if shee haue hir Patterns adde thereto
A thousand toyes, which in hir 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,
[Page] 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,
[Page] For so twill 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,
[Page] And in the booke of
Nature she doth learne,
VVhats 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 the
Will proceedes,
And with that
Good the
Will it freely feeds.
Yet lest the
Soule beholding hir faire forme,
Aboue hirselfe, should of hirselfe aspire:
He giues vs proofe, he can hir parts deforme,
That form'd hir parts, if pride prouoke his ire,
Then lets hee
Fiends the
Fantacie enorme,
VVith strong delusions and with passions dire:
Herehence it is that some suppose they are
Stone dead, some, all-
Nose, some, more brittle ware.
Some hauing this parte perfect, are defected
In the powre rationall, the
(Soules sentinell)
That is, with doting dulnesse so infected,
As what they say, or do, they wot not well;
Yet is their
Memory right well affected,
And all their other
Faculties excell:
So
Sicknesse some
Mens Memory vnframes,
That they forget their country, friends, and names.
Some others, not in parte, but wholy loose
The vse of all the
Sences of their soule,
(Because they did their faculties abuse)
And worse then beasts they liue, and cannot chuse
The
Good from
Bad, ne yet the
Faire from
Fowle:
But like infernall
Furies fare they than,
Iniurious to themselues, to
God, and
Man.
Thus may these
Powers perish all, or parte,
VVhen that almighty
Powre his grace withdrawes,
Then let high
Spirits retaine a lowly hart,
That may obedient be to
Reasons Lawes,
For ill successe proceeds from worse desart,
And good effects proceeds from no ill cause:
If thy
Mindes eyes see more then such eyes can,
Thanke God therefore, yet thinke thy selfe a man.
For if thy thoughts flie higher then that pitch,
And
Luciferian pride thy
Minde inflate,
Thou mayst with him fall hedlong in the ditch,
And runne into
Gods vnreuoked hate:
Then will the
Fiend so much thy
Mind bewitch,
That thoushalt be possesst in endlesse date:
VVith his strong
Legions. Then let
Reason raine
Thy head-strong
Will, and thy high thoughts restraine.
Now hauing seene how each internal
Sence
Contained is in cauernes of the
Braine:
And how their works haue mutuall reference,
That so they may their common good maintaine,
Let vs with Eagles eyes without offence
Transview the obscure things that do remaine:
For
Mans aye-searching
Sp'rite with toil's opprest:
Til it haue found that
Good that giues it rest.
Yet this breeds bate twixt
Reas'n and
Fantacie:
For
Fantacie beeing neere the outward
Sences:
Allures the
Soule to loue things bodily;
But
Reason mounts to higher
Excellences,
[Page] And mooues the
spirit her nimble wings to trie,
In pursuite of diuine
Intelligences,
Who in the iawes of
Fantasie doth set
A Snaffle, to o're-rule her wilde coruet.
And all this vigor to the
Spirite is giu'n,
To flie with restlesse wings of
Contemplation,
Vnto that
Powre which in the highest
Heau'n
Makes his no powre-impeaching
Habitation:
Of which
Powre, if this Powre be quite bereau'n,
Her dignitie incurreth degradation.
For as nought is more rare in Man then
Spright,
So nought but rarest things should it delight.
For it beseemes not that high
Maiestic,
To
Man (his creature) lower to descend
Then Man by force of his Mindes
Ingeny
Is able to him easly to ascend.
That makes him not appeare to Mans weake eie,
Because his
Reason can him apprehend.
If
Reason then (by vse) be cleere and bright,
She may see him (vnseene) by her owne light.
For by our
Reason and
Intelligence,
We know him, from which knowledge,
Loue doth slowe;
For we may loue, that we see not by Sense,
But cannot loue, the thing we doe not know;
Our Soules we loue, and loue the place from whence
Our Soules first came, though
Sense them cannot show.
So that high
Powre, though our Sense cannot show him,
Yet may we loue, because our Reasons know him.
For, can it be
Mans Soule should be endow'd,
With
Understanding, Reason, Will and
Wit,
(To whose high powre, the highest
Powre hath bow'd
His goodnesse, to be conuersant with it)
But that the
Soule is therewithall allow'd,
[Page] On sempiternall Thrones with him to sit,
If so, what can be worth the
Soules discourse,
But that same
Minde, that gaue the
Soule such force?
Let
Beasts, whose soules are meerely
Sensitiue,
Whose
Beeing ceaseth with their
Bodies beeing:
Let those with Tooth and Naile striue here to liue,
Because they die for euer with their dying:
To them no other
Soules did
Nature giue,
But such as to this life was most agreeing;
But sith
Mens soules of
God Characters bee,
With nothing but with God, they should agree.
Which
Soules without their corp'rall Instruments,
By vertue of their intellectiue powres,
Within themselues can act some good intents,
(Though not expresse them to this sence of ours)
Who are sometimes rapt vp with rauishments,
As parted from the Body certaine howres,
Wherein they exercise their virtue so,
That more then erst they knew, they doe, and kno.
Wherein the
Vnderstanding and the
Will,
(Wherewith the
Soule are sumptuously set forth)
Are most imploi'd; whose functions are to fill,
The
Soules with Treasures of the rarest worth,
Which th'
Intellect to
Will presenteth still,
And to the loue thereof the will allur'th,
For
Will will nothing entertaine in loue,
But what the
Vnderstanding doth approue.
And what it doth approue (as erst was said)
It sends to
Memories safe custodie:
So then the powres that most the
Soule do aide,
Is
Understanding, Will, and
Memorie,
Which if by
Error they bee not betraid,
They will the
Soules affects so fortifie,
[Page] That shee in spight of all the
Pow'res belowe,
Shall giue hir foes a glorious ouerthrowe.
Yet as the
Sunne to vs imparts his light,
Now more, now lesse, as it is cleare, or clouded,
So fares it with our
Vnderstandings sight,
That's darke as hell, if it with
Sinne be shrowded:
Or if that Earthly things inclose it quight,
VVherewith the
Soule may be so ouer-crowded,
That she may faint and finally may fall
To vtter darkenesse, hir foe Capitall.
Besides, the
Sodies state and constitution,
May much auaile, or disaduantage it;
Then
Riot is no good Phisition,
To heale, or keepe in health, mans feeble
Wit,
For excesse tends to
Dissolution,
And
Dissolution doth in
Darkenesse sit,
Then wouldst thou haue a cleere
Intelligence?
Feare God, fare well, but feede without offence.
For though the
Soule the Body should o're-rule,
By lawe of
Nature, and in
Reasons right,
Yet oft we see the
Body rule the
Soule,
When meates excesse augments the
Bodies might:
The
Flesh exalted, wil the
Spirit controule,
And make the
Bodies manners brutish quight:
But if thy
Flesh be ill compos'd by kinde,
Mend it with holsome meate, and mod'rate minde.
For what a monstrous vice is this in
Man,
To quench his
Spirit with wine and belly-cheare,
When
Beasts will take no more then well they can,
Although (by force) they should aby it deare:
For neuer
Man a
Beast by rigor wan
To eate, or drinke, more then hee well could beare.
Then if thou wouldst not haue a
Beast excell thee,
Take thou no more then
Nature doth compell thee.
O that these
Healthes that makes so many sicke,
Were buried in the lake of
Leachs quicke!
For since our English (ah) were
Flusbeniz'd,
Against good manners, and good men they kicke,
As
Beasts they were, and wondrous ill aduiz'd:
Band be these
Bacchus feasts which oft they make,
"Which makes Reason sleepe, and
Riot keepes awake.
Can
Meate and
Drinke which pleaseth but the
Taste,
(A
Sence from th
Understanding most remote)
Which pleasure for so small a while doth last,
As passing but (two inches of the throte)
Make men their sames and
Soules away to cast,
GOD shield that famous
Men so much should dote.
Let neuer
Men of
Minde their
Mindes defile,
With such a vice more vile, then Vice most vile.
O what a hell of
Minde good
Mindes endures,
When they in minde behold such
Men of
Minde,
Whose
Soules are deckt with intellectiue pow're,
Imploy the same (repugnant to their kind,)
To find out lothsome leakage which procures
Them witts to loose, where they such Leakage finde!
Can any griefe be greater then to see,
A man that men commands, a beast to be?
Conuerting martiall sports that were in vse,
To winie vnaccustom'd
Combates; O
That valiant men should dare men to carouse,
And count them cowards that will not doe so!
For now it is become a great abuse,
Healthes to refuse, If legges can stand or goe:
But out vpon such Combatts and such game,
Whereas the victors glory is their shame.
The
Spirit of
Man whose temper is diuine,
And made to mount vnto the highest height,
[Page] Should not, to such
Soule-smillings base decline,
But with hir nimble wings should take her flight,
Where she might druncke be made with
Angels wine,
To make her slumber in diuine delight.
But if his Sprite ascend, when wine descends,
The Spirite of
Wine, and not his Sprite ascends.
Then how prodigious is it when the Mind,
(That should be conuersant with heau'nly Sweetes)
To swash of Swine, should (Sow-like) be inclind,
That swallowes vp, what ere their rauine meetes?
And in strong drinke deuouring pleasure finde
Till they lie durt-deuoured in the Streetes.
But let great men whose sp'rites are most diuine,
This most base beastlinesse, to
Beasts assigne.
For if the Head replenisht be with
Wit,
No roome remaines for
Wine there to reside.
For if the
Wine thrusts in, it out thrusts it.
Much
Wine and
Wit together cannot bide.
And when the Hart where the
Affections sit,
With wine's inflam'd th'
Affects soone shrinke aside;
And like enraged
Furies doe confound,
Both
Grace and
Nature, Wit, and
Iudgement sound.
For when the
Braines are full of winie fumes,
The
Soule with
Aegypts darkenesse is inclosde.
And what the
Braine receiues the
Hart assumes,
For as the one, the other is disposde.
The
Powres of both
Wine vtterly consumes,
If
Wine against their
Powers be opposde.
Are brought to nought by
Wines (too bad) effects.
For if the
Soule at best, (and best aduizd)
Be prompt
Opinion still to chop and change;
What will shee doe when she with
Wine's baptizd?
How will she wander then? where will she range?
Where? nay, where not? she being so disguizd,
If from herselfe, herselfe she may estrange;
Then eu'ry way sheele runne, saue that is right,
Because her eie of
Iudgement wanteth sight.
For
Reas'n (th'effect of the
Intelligence)
Winde-driu'n from the Sterne that rules the Minde,
What shall direct the faculties of
Sense
In their right course, but bolde affections blind,
Which headlong runnes into all foule offence,
As they are mooued by their corrupt kind?
For eu'ry
Sensuall man in sensuall sort,
Of
Sensualitie makes but a sport.
Then
Reas'n must rule, or Sense will runne awry,
(Vnruely
Sense, by kinde, is so o'rethwart,)
Yet
Reason hath a two-folde property,
And in her practise vseth double Art:
For now by
Consequence she
Truth doth try:
Then heere and there for
Truth her trialls start:
And starting so, she balkes
Truths euidence,
Then right she doomes not, but by
Consequence.
Sharpe
Wits, wil pierce hard
Propositions strait;
Quicke
Wittes, by sharp coniecture
Truth attaines;
Great
Wits, at once conclude it in Conceit;
Slowe, and yet sure wittes, find it out with paines:
And all those wittes on
Wisedome still doe waite,
To serue her in the
Skonce that bounds the braines.
[Page] Whose
Powre she still imployes t'augment her might,
And doomes of their indeuors most vpright.
For shee within the Soule is
Queene of Queenes,
As
God vnto the
Soule is
King of Kings:
Th'internall
Senses are Queenes, yet but meanes
Wherewith her businesse to effect she brings.
On whome (as on her Minions) still she leaner,
With greater ease to doe vneasie things.
But for her selfe, she is in
Natures due,
Soules
Mind, Mindes
Soule, and
Gods sole Image true.
Or rather,
Gods Soules sole
Character right,
In whose breast it had, haue, and shall haue euer,
True restlesse rest, whose word true
Wisedome hight,
(That past beginnings liu'd, and dieth neuer)
Did on our flesh (which dide in painefull plight)
That none might from our
Soules that
Wisedome seuer:
For wein that, and that in vs doth bide,
By vnchang'd interchange on either side.
The
Body in the Elements is cloz'd;
The
Bloud within the Body is confind;
The
Spirits within the Bloud: the
Soule's dispoz'd
Within the
Spirites, which
Soule includes the
Minde.
The
Vnderstanding in the
Minde's repoz'd,
And
God in th'
Understanding rest doth find:
So this
Worlde's made for
Man, Man for the
Soule,
Soule for the
Mind, the
Minde for
God her
Gole.
How be't it is too true she was betray'd,
When
Sinne perswaded hir, shee should be eu'n
With
Wisdome infinite, and so assay'de,
To match that
Pow're that all hir pow'r had giu'n,
Then, for she was ingrate, and so vnstay'd,
She was bereft much virtue (though forgiu'n:)
[Page] That now she see'th
Truth but through a vaile,
So in discerning
Truth, she oft doth faile.
For as the
Soule, so is her faculties,
The
Spring beeing choak'd the streame cannot be strong,
They see not wel, that haue but sand-blind eyes,
Nor is that firme, that frailty hath among.
So humane
Wisdome, be it ne're so wise,
Oft goeth right, but ofter runneth wrong;
Whose restlesse trauells are but
Truth to meete,
And yet (though oft at hand) shee cannot see t.
For how can humane
Wisdome chuse but erre,
When all hir science comes from th'outward
Sences?
Which oft misse apprehend, and misse referre,
And so betrayes our best intelligences.
Then
Iudgement needs must fayle that doth conferre;
False
Antecedents with false
References:
For what those
Sences constantly affirme,
The
Iudgement doth as constantly confirme.
But yet in cases of our constant faith,
Wee
Faith beleeue, and giue our
Sence the lie,
Nay, whatsoe're our humane reason saith,
If it our faith gainesay, we it deny:
On highest heights
Faith hir foundation laith,
Which neuer can be seene of mortall eye;
For if
Faith say, a
Maid may be a
Mother,
Though
Sence gainesay it, wee beleeue the other
If
Faith affirme, that God a man may bee,
(A mortall man, and liue, and die with paine)
We it belieue, though how, we cannot see,
For heere strong
Faith doth headstrong
Reas'n restraine
And with the truth compells hir to agree,
Lest she should ouer-runne hir selfe in vaine:
[Page] So, if
Faith say one's three, and three is one,
Though
Sence say nay, we
Faith belieue alone.
Faithes Sences are so firme, they cannot faile,
For they deriue their science from Gods Sonne,
Through whom, in what she seekes, she doth preuaile,
And by the light thereof, aright doth runne:
Faith hath no
Fancies fell hir thoughts to quaile,
Nor by delusions is to wauer wonne:
For beeing guided by so true a light,
Hir
Iudgement and discourse must needes be right.
No maruell then though men with
Faith endow'd,
Become so firme, that no plague, pow'r, or skill,
Can shake them once: for they are wholy vow'd
To him, whose
Rod and
Staffe doe stay them stil.
In few, by no meanes can she be subdu'd:
But stands as vnremou'd as
Sion hill.
Then
Faithes foundacions must of force be sure,
That can all kinde of force so wel endure.
Yet
Iudgements function is of great effect,
Which sortes
Particulars from
Generalls,
Then
Generalls from
Generalls elect,
And so from
Speciall, parteth
speciall,
Then all conferres, and (as she can) select
The good from bad, and
Spirits from
Corporals.
This by hir pow're she able is to doe,
Especially, if God giues ayme thereto.
But when
discourse sets out,
Fancy must rest;
Shees like a whelpe that playes with eu'ry toy,
Nor must the
Will the
Memory molest,
Because it doth the
Intellect annoy,
Which quietly must
Sence reports disgest,
And al hir powre it must thereon imploy:
[Page] But if commotions of the
Minde impugne,
She cannot worke; and all must needs go wrong.
For as in well composed Common-weales,
The
Members in their place, their works apply;
And with reciprocall affection feales
Each others want, and it with speede supply:
So in well-mannag'd mindes the
Sences deales,
Which hinders not ech others faculty.
But for the publike good of
Souls and
Minde,
Each
Pow're applies the worke to it assign'd.
And
Memory is true, if she be trusted;
If otherwise, shee's more then most vnsure;
Shee'l keepe
Mindes riches else till they be rusted,
(Yet riches of the
Minde are passing pure)
But if the
Minde with rust of
Care be crusted,
Then
Memory in force cannot endure:
For cares are moathes and cankers of the
Minde:
That
Memory consumes, therein confin'd.
So while
Reas'n worketh,
Iudgement rest doth take:
But when that worke is wrought, the same she wayes
And markes with
Linxes Eyes what
Reas'n did make:
If wel, or ill, or neutrall, she bewrayes.
And if she finde hir eyes not wel awake,
VVith watchfull eyes againe she it suruayes;
And ceaseth not till she be fixed fast,
In that which of the truth hath greatest taste.
And when she doubts she is her selfe deciu'd,
It growes from
Ill that is so like to
Good;
That for that good its commonly receiu'd:
Yet is the
Frier not made by the Hood;
But likelihoods of
Truth by
Sence conceiu'd,
May drowne her (without heede) in
Errors flood.
[Page] Else hardly would she slide, but firmly stand.
If
Falshood, like
Truth, bare hir not from land.
For as true
Good, agreeth with the
Will,
So
Truth hath with the
Minde true simpathy,
And as the
Will hath no such foe as
Ill,
So
Error is the
Mindes most ennemy.
If
Iudgement then approue of
Reasons skill,
Shee ioynes hir selfe thereto insep'rably.
And so of
Iudgments reas'n and
Reas'ns iudgement
Makes then but one, by force of one consent.
Fow'r things there are that makes our knowledge strong,
Experience knowne, to know each
Principle;
Naturall iudgement, (hauing health among)
And reuelation from th'
Inuisible
That's iust and right, and cannot vtter wrong:
These makes vs know all comprehensible.
The first three tendeth to Philosophy,
The last belongeth to Diuinity.
These are the
Elements whereof is form'd,
Our totall knowledge, humane, or diuine;
And had the first
Man not bin sinne-deform'd,
More bright then
Sol, it in the
Soule should shine,
For to that
influence t'had bin conform'd,
That make the
Mindes eyes pure and chistaline;
For then
Gods glorious Sonne all only wise,
Had lent the Spirite Sunne-bright all-seeing eyes.
Now twixt the
Soule and
Spirit, great oddes there is,
(Though vulgarly they taken are for one,)
For by the
Soule is meant those faculties,
That doe consorta humane
Soule alone.
The
Spirit doth not (as they doe) oft amisse,
For it to grace and virtue still is prone.
For that with Sinne and
Flesh, still maintaines fight.
Whereto (in sort,) agrees what
[...] faine,
How
Ioue did
Reas'n ensconse within the
[...].
And for th'
Affections did the
Corpes ordaine:
Which
Reas'ns regiment doth disannull,
Taking two Tirants fell with them to raigne,
VVhich oft the whole man to their parte doe pull.
That's
Ire, which in the
Hart hath residences
And in the
Belly raignes
Concupiscence.
VVhich
Passion of it selfe, is of such pow'r
(Vnlesse th'almighty
Powre preuent the same,)
As,
Nolens volens will the
Soule deolow'r,
And make the flesh
Gomorrah-like to flame,
Though
God and
Nature at that sight doelow'r,
And
Hell wide-gaping laughes to see the same.
Nay though it should foorthwith destroy the
Soule,
Yet
Flesh being fraile, wil make faire
Flesh thus fowle.
But from this
Passion to repasse from whence,
VVe past
Oblique, and so out-right proceede;
For hauing past the faculties of
Sence,
It rests that now wee weigh what doth succeede.
But stay a while my
Muse, thou must from hence,
Mount higher then thou canst; then hast thou neede.
To rest in contemplation of thy flight,
Sith
Contemplation next ensues by right,
WHen from the outward
Sences is conuai'd,
All their relations in the common
Sence,
And so to
Fantasie (as erst was said)
And then to
Reason, or
Intelligence,
From whence (being sent to
Iudgments confe-
It lastly comes to
Contemplations sight, rence,)
Which is the viewe of
Truthes true consequence,
For
Reas'n and
Iudgement findes out what is right,
Which
Contemplation viewes with rare delight.
For to the
Spirit nought more pleasing is,
Then naked
Truth, she is so passing faire,
For when they meete, they do with comfort kisse,
And nought but
Error can that ioy impaire,
Herehence it is, that though we do dispaire,
Of some whose manners are most monstrous,
Yet they, by Natures instinct,
Truth desire;
For knowledge to their
Spirits is precious,
And deeme all dull-heads most inglorious.
Nay though the
Sp'rit cannot come neere the truth,
It pleaseth hir t'approach the neer'st she may,
Which like an egre
Beagle it pursu'th,
Whose paines are passing pleasure all the way:
Then as the
Minde is more diuinely gay;
So wil it most, most diuine
Truth affect:
But beeing base, it will the same bewray,
By most pursuing things of least effect,
Which
Spirits of diuine temper do neglect.
The
Contemplation then doth ruminate
On
Truth, and none but
Truth; for onely it
Vnto hir dainty tast is delicate,
And nothing doth the same so fully fit,
As this
Soule-feeding single, simple bit,
Then
Contemplation must be most diuine,
That can with
Truth diuine a humane wit,
And
Zeale from
Error doth aright refine,
And to the purest faith the same combine.
She (diuine
Pow're) consociates
Pow'res diuine,
Gliding through
Heau'n, on hir celestiall wings,
And to the
Angells Hymnes hir eares incline,
And all the Hoast of
Heaun together brings
At once, to view those bright-eye-blinding things:
Yet stayes not here, but doth hir selfe intrude,
Into the presence of the King of Kings,
To see th▪
Obiectiue sole
Beatitude,
That of the
Cherubins cannot be view'd.
And hou'ring here she staies, and straines hir fight,
To see the same (as of it selfe its seene)
But taper-pointed Beames of extreame light
Darts through hir eies, and make them sightlesse cleane,
Yet inly sees a certaine
Light vnseene,
That so doth rauish all hir powres of
Sence,
As in the Heau'n of
Heau'ns it makes hir weene,
She sensibly hath reall residence,
O'rewhelm'd with Glory and Magnificence.
But if the
Body in disposed bee,
And due proportion of the
Humors want,
(If
Wisdome do not well the same foresee)
She here may passe the bounds of
Grace (I grant)
And so wax franticke, vaine, and ignorant,
Or else presumptuously too curious,
For
Powre inscrutable she must not fcant,
To hir powres reach, for that were impious,
And most impard'nably presumptuous.
For as our Corp'rall Eyes cannot behold
The Sunne, whose substance is but corporal:
So the
Soules Eye (being fixt to mortall mould)
Cannot behold the
Deity immortall:
But if our Eye were supernaturall,
And fixt vnto the
Sunne, then might it see
The
Sunne it selfe, and with the
Sunne see all:
So shall the
Soules Eye see that
Deitie,
When after death, it fixt to it shall bee.
Yet
Contemplation may by force of loue,
Whilst yet the
Soule is to the
Body tide,
(Wing▪d with
Desire) ascend her selfe aboue,
And with hir
God eternally abide,
So neare, as if she toucht his glorious side:
For as one drawing nigh materiall fire,
Doth feele the heate, before the flame be tride,
So who drawes nigh to
God by Loues desire,
Shall, to, and with, that heau'nly
Flame aspire.
This is that holy, kind, and sugred
Kisse,
That
God in loue vouchsafes the louing
Soule,
To which this louing Lord espowsed is,
When (as hir Lord) he, by his grace, doth rule,
Which doth extinguish all affections foule;
This
Kisse must needes be short as
Lightnings leame,
Or else it would the
Body so controule,
Through
Soules excesse of ioy (in such extreame)
That it would leaue hir in a datelesse dreame.
Those
Soules that are by
Contemplation fixt
So fast to
God, that th'are remou'd by none,
Are like the
Seraphins to
God confixt,
Who are exempt from outward charge alone,
And still (like burning lampes) surround his Throne,
For as fine
Gold beeing molten in the fire,
Doth seeme, as if the fire and it were one,
So is the louing
Soule through loues desire,
With
God in
Contemplation made intire.
Here
Contemplation may so long reside,
(For here she makes the
Soule drunke with delight)
As if the
Body, Soulelesse did abide,
And all the
Sences were depriu'd of might,
While from hir selfe, the
Soule thus takes hir flight,
To such excesse of mind some men are brought,
That they do see by reuelation right,
How they should liue, and belieue as they ought,
VVith many maruells else surmounting thought.
This ghostly wine in
Contemplation drunke,
Hath made, ere now, some
Soules so drunke with ioy.
As some good
Bodies in the same haue suncke,
As if they were strooke dead with some annoy.
And othersome, it hath constraind to toy,
To sing, to leape, to laugh, and some to rue
(Who then to weepe they doe themselues imploy)
Some nothing say, but,
Iesu, Iesu, Iesu:
And othersome, some words they neuer knew.
The cause of all these motions (as should seeme)
From the
Soules blisse and ioyes-aboundance came,
Which to the
Body shares that ioy extreame,
And it not able to containe the same,
Doth vent it out with jestures vsde in game.
As when new wine into a caske is cast,
It vpwardes boiles, and many motions frame.
And wanting vent, it will the vessell brast;
So fares the
Body which these
Dainties taste.
But heere me thinkes I heare some
Athist say,
All these are but meere naturall effects,
For th' obiect of our
Loue, our
Soules betray
To eu'ry
Passion which it selfe reflects:
And so the
Pagan his false God respects
As Loue thereto, these things in him doth worke:
But neuer
Heathens heart had these
Affects;
For neuer in a
Pagan, Iew, or
Turke,
Can such
Soule-pleasing
Iubilations lurke.
For as in Tempests, Smoake away doth flie,
Which yet augments the fire, and spreads the flame,
So in
Afflictions stormes these dogges will die,
And can no praier with deuotion frame.
But
Christians then, can best performe the same,
Who though with Troubles stormes they still are tosst;
Yet of their endlesse griefes they make their game,
And in their most affliction, glory most
When such affliction grieues a Pagans ghost.
Know then (whose knowledge is but Ignorance,
Whose
Wit (though ne're so nimble) is but lame).
That all is subiect to the gouernance
Of that
I Am, that no Tongue well can name.
For there is nothing subiect vnto
Chance,
But as he will, so will all Fortunes frame,
Who is the proppe of diuine
Prouidence,
Which thou seest not, for want of
Grace and
Sence.
Thou Diu'l incarnate,
Monster like a Man,
Perfidious
Athist, gracelesse
Libertine,
Which
Nature then produc'd when she began
To wrong her selfe, and from herselfe decline.
Yea then when
Reason farre herselfe ore-ran,
And to the brutish part did whole incline:
What brow of Brasse can beare thy earned blame,
Whose
Conscience fear'd wants sense of sinne, and shame?
For loe the Soule (by force of Contemplation)
Engulphed lies in ioyfull
Extacy.
Where she doth languish in a loue-sicke passion,
Swallowed with sweets in such extremity,
That shees eu'n stifl'd with felicity.
But O (wretch that I am) when, when, O when
Shall my dry soule her thirst here satisfie?
But I a sincke of sinne and Soile of Men,
Am too too fowle this
Fount a loofe to ken.
Here neede the Soule to stand vpon her guard,
And keep the
Tempter at the
Sp'rits sword-point,
Else pride will puffe her, sith so well she far'd:
Which swelling will runne downe from ioynt to ioynt,
That she wil burst, if
Grace her not annoynt.
This found he true, that found this true repast,
In the third
Heau'n as God did fore-appoint,
Yet must he Buffetts with such Banquets taste
Lest he should be puft vp, and so disgrac'd.
For our Soules foe extracts Ill out of Good,
As our Soules friend doth draw Good out of Ill,
The foe can foile (if he be not with-stood)
With
Pride our
Piety, and our good-will.
But our best friend, though we offend him still,
From these offences drawes humilitie:
Which makes vs crouch, and kneele, and pray, vntill
He doth commiserate our misery;
This doth our friend, vnlike our enemie.
The Soule cannot her soundnesse more bewray,
Then when she doth Temptations strong resist,
For like as when our
Pulses strongly play,
We know wee neede not then a
Galenist.
So when the Soule doth paint, striue, and persist,
In strugling with Temptations, then we kno,
That Soule with perfect health is truly blist:
For she by demonstration it doth sho,
And blest are all those Soules that striueth so.
But in the
Mindes excesse and traunce of
Spirit,
(When
Reuelations rusheth on the Soule)
It her behoues to haue much ghostly might,
The spirit of
Pride with courage to controule,
Lest with the Prince of
Pride hir fall be foule;
For he being mounted neere
Heau'ns Maiestie,
Sought with the same the
UNIVERS to rule,
So fell he from his glorious dignity,
So may a Soule inflate with
Sanctity.
But if the Soule through the
Almighties pow'r,
(Anteperistezing hir pow'res with grace)
Breake through those
muddy walls which hir immure,
And would compell hir fowle affects t'embrace,
Shee then
(sans pride) might looke
God in the face.
Which to expresse, ah who can it expresse?
Not
God as Man, can shew
Gods glories grace,
Much lesse can
Moses: Paule, and
Iohn much lesse,
Then what can I do Sincke of Sottishnesse?
Moses sawe but his backe:
Paule not so much,
Iohn but his shade, being shadowed with his wings,
Such as the Eyes, their obiects stil are such:
Then mortall Eyes can see but mortall things,
No king can liue and see that King of kings.
No pow'r can giue that priuiledge to Man,
But onely
Death and
Grace to
God him brings,
That
Heau'n and
Earth doth measure with his span,
Then to discribe his greatnesse, ah, who can!
Dare I, vile froth of
Frailty, Follies scumme,
Presume t'exploit impossibilities?
In my base barren witt dare I inwombe
The magnitude of all
Immensities?
And proue so great improbabilities?
Vaile, vaile thy thoughts, th' imaginations vaile,
Vnto the depth of all profundities:
And ere thou enterst this
Sea, strike the Saile,
Or thou wilt be o'rewhelmed without faile.
But be it granted wee may safely swimme,
Neere to this boundlesse
Oceans shorelesse-shore,
Yet if
Presumption beare vs from the Brimme,
Then are we lost, and can come out no more.
Nay, if too much thereon we chaunce to pore,
Albe't we are within a ken of
Land,
T'will turne our braines, and make our Eyes so sore,
That we our
Senses hardly shall command,
With vpright iudgement vprightly to stand.
To forme the
Godhead (in our
Fancies forge)
With all the
Beauties, Heau'n and
Earth containes,
We must be faine againe it to reforge,
For in his sight those
Beauties are but staines.
In vaine therefore it is to beate our braines,
To frame that
Forme, that fram'd all
Formes that are,
And yet himselfe a formelesse
Forme remaines,
That in
Formosity is past compare,
His glory is so great, his grace so rare!
Obiects of
Sence are printed in the
Minde,
By that which from those
Obiects, Sence attracts;
But that which
Sence still seekes, yet cannot finde,
The
Minde from thence no
Images abstracts:
Then if the
Minde, GODS forme of
Sence exacts,
Sence must enforme it with forme sensible,
Which from
Gods creatures beauty it extracts,
Which cannot be incomprehensible,
As
Gods forme is, that's most insensible.
He that but toucht his
Arke at point to fall,
He strake stone-dead, then needs must the offence,
To looke therein be more then Capitall,
Because himselfe had there true residence:
Then truly we may well collect from hence,
No creature should be so presumptuous,
To search for
Gods true forme, with erring sence,
Which at the best is most ambiguous;
Then so to do is deadly dangerous.
The
Seraphins beeing
Angells most supreame,
Exists but as a meane twixt
God and
Men,
(Yet neere the lower then the high
Extreame)
Then if those
Spirites no mortall eve can ken,
For glittering glory with the which they bren,
How shall such eyes behold
Iehouahs face,
Sith
Seraphins themselues are blinded, when
They do but glaunce vpon his glories grace?
They must confounded be, they are so base.
Men beeing most vnable to finde out
The substance of the
God-head by their sence,
Haue with the highest Titles gone about,
To explicate that Super-
excellence:
But that which argues most preheminence,
Of all high Titles, they the
GOOD him call,
But that name fits not his beneficence,
For
Good is good, of
Goodnes, but hee's all
Goodnesse it selfe supersubstantiall.
Nay,
Goodnes cannot possibly extend
T'expresse his goodnesse, that we
Goodnesse call,
For
Goodnesse on some substance doth depend,
Butin that
God-head can be nought at all,
That is not more then super-
substantiall:
Then can no name his namelesse Name expresse,
But what (in
Sence precise) vnnames them all,
For who so knowes it most, doth know it lesse,
As they that knoweth most of all confesse.
He is vnmou'd, vnchang'd, pure, bodilesse,
Most simple, subtile endlesse, infinite,
All wise, all good, all great, beginninglesse,
All these are names by which we do recite,
Not what he is, but what he is not, right
Hee's vncontain'd, yet in himselfe confin'd,
VVhose mightinesse is bounded in his might,
VVhich so extends that he himselfe can finde,
Without himselfe, no
Being in no kinde.
An actuall vnderstanding infinite.
Philosophy can reach no higher stile,
Which in respect of him is but finite.
Diuinitie it selfe, cannot compile,
His name in words, for words are too too vile:
I am (quoth he) what art Lord?)
that I am.
Lo heer's the highest state (alas the while)
That
Words can reach, though hee deuis d the same,
That with words cannot tell his namelesse name.
Yet as a worme that only hath a will,
To trie hir force in that she cannot do,
So I (though voide of grace, and want of skill)
Bring with me more then much good will hereto,
And still to it my selfe, my selfe doth woo,
Yet am I terrified when well I way,
How some great Doctors did their wits vndo,
VVhen they this mystery sought to bewray,
Then will I, ere I enter, humbly pray.
O great and dreadfull Si
[...]e of
Gods and
Men!
O all-wise
Word, that no word can expresse!
O
Vnction Spirituall that bright dost bren!
O three-fold, yet all one
Almightinesse!
Inspire my wit, (compris'd in mortall presse)
With that pure
Influence thy Throne attending;
That notwithstanding my vnworthinesse,
I may, in part, vnfold (without offending)
That which doth farre surmount all comprehending.
Mount
Muse, but rise with reuerence and feare;
With
Icarus soare not too neere the
Sunne,
Lest that thereby thy waxen wings do meare,
And in this
Sea thou fall, and be ore-runne,
Where thou shalt loose thy selfe, and be vndone:
Couer'thy face with thy celestiall wings,
As
Cherubins now do, and still haue done;
Yet through thy plumes, glaunce at this
Thing of Things,
Beeing the cause intire of all
Beeings.
For hee is
Good, without all
Quallity,
Then, O how good is hee, that knowes the same!
And he is great, beyond all
Quantity,
Then, O'how great is hee that can him name!
Eternall, without time, from whome
Time came,
Being present euery where, yet without place,
For euery place hee fram'd, and keepes in frame:
Beholding all, yet none beholds his face,
He giuing all, none giuing to him grace.
But where art thou? What shall I call thy name?
O
GREAT, O
GOOD, a good great name I want,
Thou art so great, that I no name can frame
To fitte thy greatnesse, but it is too scant,
Thy goodnesse is as great, good
Great I grant:
But where art thou? among thy
Angels? Noe;
Where then? with thy
Church euer triumphant▪
There, and where not thou art, but yet not so
As thou art with, and in, thy selfe, I know.
For twixt the
Heau'n, where
Saints and
Angels rest,
And that same
Heau'n of Heauens, where thou resid'st,
Is greater distance then from
East to
West:
Yet on the
Cherubins thou often rid'st,
And euery where in
Essens thou abid'st;
But where thy
Glories beames doe glitter most,
With distance infinite, thou it deuid'st:
From all the
Orders of the heau'nly
Hoast
Where to thy selfe thy selfe alone thou sho'st.
In quintescens of
Glories quintescens,
Which was, and is, most vnapprochable,
The
Throne is plac'd of thy magnificence▪
Whereon thou sitt st in light vnthinkeable,
Then not by Tongue, or Pen, expressable,
For eu'n as when the
Sunne his beames display.
(Because our Eyes to see the same's vnable)
We through a scarfe behold them as we may,
Eu'n so must Man, behold Gods
Glories ray.
Such as goe downe into the Sea profound
Of deepe
Philosophy, doe meete thee there,
Of Men profane thou art there often found,
For in thy
Workes thy steppes do plaine appeare:
Nay in thy works is stampt thine Image cleere;
And yet no worke of thine resembles thee
So right (though Men and Angels drawen neere)
But that the difference infinite must be,
Sith thou art infinite in each degree.
The
Deites that in the
Starres do dwell,
Thy
Deity their seu'rall Mansions made,
And all that
Sacred Senate found full well,
That it o're them supreme dominion had,
Who found it permanent, when these did fade;
By
Natures light, they saw a light extreame
Glaunce from his grace that did their glory shade,
And saw his Image true as in a dreame
Together with the new
Ierusalem.
This goodly
Great, or greatly
Good is he,
(So good, so great, as none so great, or good)
That was, that is, and euermore shalbe,
(In each respect) without all liklyhood;
Including in his threefold-single
Godhood,
Notions, Properties, Relations,
In whom they stil, as in their
Subiect stood:
Then all
Diuines diuide the
Notions
Into fiue braunches or partitions.
Namely, into
Innascibility,
Fatherhood, breathing or
Spiration,
Son-hood, Procession; these fiue naturally
Dependeth still by Logicall relation,
Vpon the
mistery of the
Trinity:
All which conioynd makes but one
Unity;
The two first solely to the
Sire pertaines;
The third to
Sire and
Sonne indifferently;
The fourth the
Sonne, within himselfe retaines
And to the
holy-spirit the fift remaines.
Which
Notions are
Relations in some sence,
For
Father, Sonne, doth euer presuppose:
And
Sonne a
Father by like consequence;
The holy
Spirit proceeding from both those,
Implieth them, from, and with whom he goes,
The
Notion of
Innascibility,
Is no
Relation, sith it doth suppose
No other person in the
Trinity
But is a
Notion noting
Vnity.
The two first is the
Fathers in respect,
He onely doth beget, and doth vnite,
Spiration Father and the
Sonne effect;
From it the
Holy-Ghost's excluded quite.
They breathe, and what is breathed is that Sprite,
But
Filiation solely to the Sonne
Doth appertaine, sith only Sonne hee hight:
For as one
Father, so one Sonne alone
The
Trinity affords, and brookes but one
cession with the holy
Spirit accords,
(And only with that
Spirit it doth agree)
As with the other two, three other words
Agreed, and did with him quite disagree:
So this alone applied to him must be,
For if they breath'd him foorth (as erst was said)
None can be sayd then to proceed but he,
Sith from the other two he is conuaide,
Yet in the other two, he still is staid.
Now in another
Sence we may transmute
These
Notions into
Properties. To witt,
When they doe one, and not another sute,
As father doth the
Father only fitt,
The Sonne, the Sonne, and to the holy
Sprite,
Procession is peculiar. And againe,
Innascibility we must admitt
The
Father. But
Spiration th'other twaine;
Then name of
Property t'will not sustaine.
So in the
Trinity fiue
Notions are,
Foure
Properties, and foure
Relations,
Wherein besides are other
Secrets rare,
Founded vpon vnsearchable foundations.
The
Sires beginning is th'eternall
Sonnes,
(Though he be said to be the
Sonnes beginning)
Yet no beginning had these holy ones,
But from beyond
Beginnings both haue bin
Nor can their neuer endings, euer li
[...].
The
Sire and
Sonnes beginning being one,
Breath foorth their blessed Spirit, a third one being,
VVhich by a generall creation,
Beginning gaue to all (in one agreeing)
And from eternity the same foreseeing.
The greatest
Monarch, and the least
Insect,
With earthly things; aquaticall, or fleeing,
Whose seu'rall shapes, and what they should effect,
Had euer being in their
Intellect.
et how they should there actually exist,
And by what meanes they should haue entrance there,
(Sith there eternally they did subsist)
Is hard for Man to know, who doth appeare
A
Chaos of defect, and folly meere.
They entred not by meanes into his mind,
As from
Ideas which without him were,
VVithout whom nothing is in any kind,
Then in him selfe, he all that all doth finde.
Yet are they not of such necessity,
As without them he could no way exist,
For they on him, not he on them rely,
Then how eternally can they consist,
Sith he alone doth only so subsist?
They are not of his Nature, but his wil,
His
Intellect inciting to insist.
In knowledge of what that will should fulfill,
So in that knowledge they existed still.
For as to
God it is most naturall,
To know himselfe, in whome he all doth seet
Eu'n so to him, it is essentiall,
To know the kindes of all things as they be,
Or else he should not know his owne degree.
Yet his essentiall knowledge doth not stretch
Vnto particulars, as Mee, and Thee;
For he may well exist without that reach,
And which his knowledge no way can impeach.
But all his Science of distinguisht things,
Flowes from the freedome of his sacred will,
Drawne from those Notions which his nature brings,
And are essentiall to his nature still.
Who made (to shew his vniuersall skill)
What is created in particular,
As t'were a proofe of that he can fulfill,
When he is pleas'd, to make, or mend, or marre,
Then in that skill all things distinguisht are.
The things that were, or are, or are to come,
Makes, in his minde, no change, though chang'd they be,
Obiects our mindes affect, our mindes o'recome▪
But his intelligence is euer free,
Actiue, not
Passiue, sith all
Act is he.
For, as by Sense he makes vs
Arts to learne,
And abstract-
Formes by other meanes to see:
So he, by meanes, can seu'rall things discerne,
Though it no way his nature doth concerne.
Who being infinite, nought is in him
Thats lesse then so, but so he could not be,
If his all-seeing Eies should be so dimme,
That now he sees, what erst he could not see:
Then sees he all from all eternitie.
The whole, the partes, the rootes, and what they beare,
The thoughts, words, deedes of men; and then must he
In Vnderstanding infinite appeare.
Who is not chang'd by
Place, for he fills all,
Nor yet by
Time, for he is without time,
He is not chang'd in
Forme nor neuer shall,
Because he alwayes is an
Act in prime,
Nor chang'd by
Chance, sith he aboue doth clime,
For he all moues, and yet is mou'd of none:
He opes the Sluce through which we flowe like slime,
Which if he shuts, we cease, and quite are gone,
But he is aye one, and the same alone.
Place is conceiued as a thing created,
Or as that which includeth some thing plac'd,
In this last sence
God is in no place seated;
Yet in the other sence no where displac'd:
So hee's no where, and each where, first and last,
In no place barr'd, but fills and bounds each place,
For beeing indissoluble and fast,
Hee's whole in all, and in parte, and in each case,
And without mixture doth all interlase.
For as the
Obiects which our
Mindes conceiue,
Mixt not themselues together with the
Minde,
Albee't they do the
Minde in't them receiue,
VVithout beeing mixt or clos'd in any kinde,
Eu'n so
God all conceiues, and yet doth wind
Himselfe in't all▪ but is conceiu'd of none,
Like as the
Sunne (within himselfe confin'd)
Infuseth
Light to all, yet he alone,
Is not contain'd, or mixt with any one.
God which is one, yet one of three compact,
Essentiall, nor
Personall's vnderstood,
For to create is an essentiall act,
Not personall (which cannot bee withstoode;)
But when by
Lord, wee meane the same
Godhood:
Wee take it
Personall, not
Essentiall.
For it's referr'd vnto the
Fatherhood,
That did beget the
Sonne, God coeternall,
And to beget, is an act personall.
Now none (I hope) can be so ignorant,
T'imagine any such begetting here
As creatures vse, for that were discrepant
To
Reason; for we said
They euer were,
VVhich temporall begetting cannot beare:
Begetting then doth
Cause and Order show,
Sith to beget, the Getter did not steere,
But from him without motion, that did flow,
That was himselfe, and to himselfe did go.
Then but respectiuely the
Sire and
Sonne,
And not essentially distinguisht bee,
As
Sole his beames begets, yet so begunne,
That they are full as old and bright as hee,
And from them both the Light proceeds we see:
VVhich is as old and bright as
Sunne or Beames,
And nothing differs but respectiuely?
For first the
Sunne begate his radiant Leames,
Then both yeelds
Light, and all in like extreames.
But more distinctly to distinguish them,
And to expresse their
Natures vnity,
(If it be not impiety extreame,
To liken them to things so transitory:)
Then may we imagine from eternity,
A Taper burnes, which doth a second light.
Those two doe light a third, and ioyned nie,
They shew all one, and all alike are bright,
Which doe illustrate this darke
Secret right.
Which meerely is all
Essence and excludes
All (whatsoere) that is not of the same;
So though his
Essence all his works includes,
And in his
Essence all those works did frame,
Yet neere his
Essence his works neuer came:
For no
Effect is wholy like his
Cause,
If so it be, then what a sinne, and shame
Its for
Men, that like
Men, this
Essence drawes,
As knowing nought aboue themselues like Dawes.
Were
Angells Limners to delineate,
That
All (but that) excelling Maiesty,
(Sitting in chaire of State, surmounting
State)
They must, with wings displai'd, defend their Eie,
From being confounded with his radiancy,
Then how shall
Man (an outcast
Eglet) view,
That
Glory, or paint his
Vbiquity,
That
Arte itselfe, nor
Knowledge neuer knew?
And
Beauty is too base to blaze their hue.
Put
Vacuums foe, the cleere corps of the
Aire,
Ten times refin'd therein, and giue them
Sp'rite
T'will file, not fill, the least parte of that
Chaire.
Nay, all the
Hoast of
Heau'n in one vnite,
(Yea, adde to that what all tongues can recite)
And set it in that
Seate, t'will scarce appeere;
But seeme as it were turn'd to nothing quite,
For nothing can at once be eu'ry where,
But him alone that no where hath a Peere.
Borrow from
Heau'n and
Earth and what they hold,
The perfect'st parts of
Beauties excellence,
Cast these perfections in the perfect'st mould.
To make his like, twill be but
Impotence,
Compar'd to
Glory, and
Omnipotence.
Who can precribe a forme t'a formelesse
Forme?
(Yet in that
Forme all
Formes haue residence:)
But to make all in one doth him deforme,
Then but this
ONE, who can this All performe?
Hee's
Infinite, put this to whatsoere,
It makes it God, sole cause of things finite,
Sith infinite can nothing caused beare,
For to be caus'd, is to be definite,
Chiefe essence must it be, that's
Infinite,
And
One alone, two
Infinites exclude,
Which
One must needs be incorporeall quite,
Because a
Corps a place must needes include,
Wherein this
Infinite cannot be mu'de.
Then to be
Infinite, is to be free
From matter; and from matter to be quit
Is voide of
Passion, and of
Change to be:
For
Change hath
Passion resident in it,
And to them both is
Motion firmly knit.
Which
Motion tends to
Rest, which
Rest remaines,
Where
Rest remaining resteth
Infinite;
That is in him, without whom nothing is
Subiect to
Rest, or
Motion, Bale, or
Blisse.
Though hee (his Actions to diuersifie)
Takes on him parts, and passions of a
Man,
(Stouping thereby to our capacity)
Yet none of both's in him that all things can,
Without them both: then both are as a
Fan,
To kepee our
Reasons eye from that defect,
Which cannot apprehend where that began,
VVhich as the
Cause, our ioy or griefe effect;
All which he doth t'informe our
Intellect.
Those
Attributes are borrowed from our
Kinde,
To lend our
Reason light, that
Light to see:
But those essentially to him assignd,
Of his owne nature and existence bee,
Namely
Ubiquity, Simplicity,
Eternity, and sole
Omnipotence,
Consorted all with perfect
Unity;
Yet are these Attributes, not his essence,
For they are diuerse, that▪s but one
Immence.
Which
Essence is the
Fount from whence doth flow,
Each fore rehears'd
Essentiall property,
But to that
Essence they do not reflow,
To mix the same with their variety;
For that stands not with his simplicity.
What then? can aught be first, or last, in it?
In
Order yea; in
Time I it deny,
For
Order sets the
Will behinde the
Wit,
And yet in
Time they both together sit.
In
Order then his
Vnderstanding's set,
Before each one essentiall propertie,
Which is his forme, wherein he doth beget,
His co
[...]ternall
Sonne, his
Wisdomes eye.
Wherewith vpon himselfe he still doth prie,
Producing so a third one infinite,
Yet infintenesse is not their
Essence, why?
Beecause that must exist, ere it exite,
That which confineth al, that is finite.
In
Tyme they are all one, for
One is hee,
In
Order hee's an
Essence ere hee's wise;
So hee's sole wise, ere insinite can bee:
VVhich stands with
Reasons rules in sence precize.
And whoso sees it, must haue
Reasons eyes,
Yet is not his true
Essence priuatiue,
(As that which still bereaues without supplies,)
But really, and truely
Positiue,
From whom all
Positiues themselues deriue.
Then
Wisdome, Knowledge, and
Intelligence.
(As in their
Subiect,) are in him alone;
VVith, and without, a proper difference:
By which, as one, or diuerse, they are knowne.
That's as they are consid'red, all, or one;
And all, or any one, are in him so,
As they exist by power of their owne,
And in existence all together go,
Though in their functions parted other fro.
Now from his
Vnderstanding flowes his
Will,
Essentially traduced from the same;
(VVhich is the act ofth'
Vnderstanding still:)
VVhence flowes his Actions free (as
Will) from blame.
As from the VVel (his
Will) from whence they came.
VVhose Office is true
Good to couet aye,
Which is his
Glory whereat it doth ame,
Which of all goods, most goodly is, and gay.
Beeing the
Obiect of his
Will alway.
Which
Will is stable, and omnipotent,
Nothing can alter it, or it constraine;
How then (being changelesse) seemes hee to repent:
That one hee willd, as though hee willd in vaine?
And
Prayers seemes, and seemes not, it to straine.
VVee must distinguish heere, betweene his will
Know'n, and vnknow'n, and then the case is plaine.
That know'n hath chang'd, the vnknow'n standeth still,
Yet prayers pure, both those good wills fullfill,
Which being good, from it can come no ill.
Here is the
Gulph that swallowes all amisse,
This is the
Hell, that hatcheth eu'ry euill;
Our shallow, yet too deepe insight in this:
Makes
God our foe;
Sinnes cause, and so a
Diuill.
O damn'd presumptuous ignorance vnciuill!
Sinne, Flesh, and
Bloud, stay, stay, O stay; heere stay,
This point dispute not, for yee can but cauill;
God saues by meanes, the meanes vsd, hee doth say,
He sure will saue; who doubts, are cast away.
For to conceiue that so himselfe he bindes
To any such absurd
Necessity,
That though he would, he cannot change our mindes,
Nor grant our suites, though made in charity,
Were fond, and full of damnd impietie:
Yea opposite to both his
Will and
Word,
Which stil are good, without variety;
But neither can they be, if they afford
No grace to them, that with them doe accord.
Now if that
Curiosities Cattes eies,
Would faine be prying (further than is fit)
To see how this cleere doctrine can arise
From light so darke (which Light in darke doth sit)
Still let them ptie, till they fall out with it.
For
God be'ng constant if vnconstant
Man
Would finde him other, he may lose his wit
In search thereof: for
God such Searchers ban,
Because they would do more than Himselfe can.
Who being immateriall, cannot change,
(For thats immutable thats matterlesse)
No accident is to his knowledge strange:
No obiect can his fixed will impresse:
Angells consists of
Matter more or lesse,
Which may be chang'd, and
Passion to endure:
So Men and
Angells may thereby transgresse;
But God in
Essence is so passing pure,
That all he wills and workes is passing sure.
Now from his
Will flames foorth his ardent Loue,
Which is as t'were the substance of his
Forme,
Which without motion, still his will doth moue,
To doe what e're his will would faine performe.
Loues office is to loue,
Spirites to conforme.
Loues obiect is those
Spirites sanctity:
For
Loue, the like will to the like transforme,
Sith where there is a perfect simpathy,
Loue likes to make a perfect vnitie.
If God be
Loue, how then can true
Loue hate?
For he loues
Good, and hates
Ill perfectly;
Yet
Hate dooth seeme his goodnesse to abate,
And yet it is but the antipathie▪
Of his pure nature with impurity.
Which
Grands his Goodnesse, and augment; his fame;
For if he should not hate iniquitie,
Which doth his
Image true confound and shame,
He should not loue himselfe, much lesse the same.
Loue cannot hate, no more than
Fire can freeze,
God cannot hate, no more than Good be Ill:
But when his
Iustice vniust
Soules surprize,
Hee's said to hate them, sith he them doth spill;
Which as hee's
Mercy, is against his will:
But as hees Iust, he dooth it willingly.
This
Will and
Nill his goodnesse doe fulfill,
And both agree in perfect vnity,
T'aduaunce the glory of his Maiesty.
He cannot hate, nor is he mou'd to wrath,
As Men doe hate, and are to anger mou'd.
No
Passion in the Godhead being hath,
But those hee likes that are of him belou'd;
And those he loathes that are of him reprou'd,
By an eternall motion of his will:
Mouing to that which is by him approu'd,
And ay remouing from all shew of ill;
So in this
Loue and
Hate, hees constant still.
Which
Hate is no lesse Great, than He is Good,
Thats infinite, for nought in him is lesse:
Wert in him, as in vs, a passiue moode,
He were not God, for God is Passiuelesse;
He is an Actiue
Spirite, motionlesse.
Seeing all at once,
Past, Present, and
to Come,
Without succession, seeing all successe;
Then sith at once, hee seeth all and some,
No chaunce with Passion can his
Sprite orecome.
Who in their causes, and essentiall formes,
Knowes all that was, or is, or e're shall be.
Then no Intelligence his
Minde informes
Of that he knowes not; sith he doth foresee,
Eu'n all that
All, beyond eternitie.
For he beyond beginnings did exist.
Existing so, he sawe in each degree,
What should beginne, and end, or still consist.
Which in
Praescience infinite he wist.
Could he beginne,
Beginnings that began?
If so hee could, what is beginninglesse?
Or
Time, or
Nothing. Thats vntrue, for than,
If there were
Time, it was not motionlesse;
For
Time is made by
Motion, all confesse.
But where there nothing is, no
Motion is,
For
Nothing hath no motion, and much lesse
Can
Nothing make of nothing,
Something. This
Some-thing sometime, of nothing made▪ all his.
God euer was, and neuer was not
God,
Not made by
Nothing, nothing could him make.
Could nothing make, and not make? this is odde;
And so is he, that could creation take
Of
Nothing; for all was, whenas he speke.
Nothing was made, that was not made by it.
Then nothing was that could it vndertake,
To make its Maker, what had powre or wit,
Not him that can doe all, that he thinkes fit.
Time's but a
Moments flux, and measured,
By distance of two
Instants (this we proue)
Which then commenc'd (it selfe considered)
When fist the Orbs of
Heau'n began to moue.
Thats but sixe thousand yeeres, not much aboue.
But whats so many yeeres, as may be cast,
In thrice as many
Ages, to remoue
Eternitie, from being fixed fast;
And
God therein, from being
First and
Last.
He is eternall, what is so, is he.
So is no creature, for it once was made,
Then ere it could be made, it could not be:
But the
Creator euer beeing had,
To pull out from
Not-beeing
[...] who can wade?
(Beeing a
Deapth so infinite profound)
But he that was, and is, and cannot fade?
This
Beeing infinite, this
Deapth must sound,
To list vp all to
Beeing, there beeing dround.
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,
Coloss. 3.
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 shalbe, 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 being
One, though one in trinity,
Consisting of himselfe he hath addrest,
From himselfe all this
Alls 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, theres 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 thats 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:
Its 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, its 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 bleeding still, your selues still wounding it)
If
Diuills Be, Godis, assure ye than,
And I presume, your diu'lish searching witt,
Findes out
God by the
Diu'll, though most vnfit.
VVhat's vnder
Heau'n, but
God aboue doth preach?
Saue
Hell it selfe, which in you yee retaine,
And yet the very
Hell, a
Heau'n doth teach,
VVhich is not voide, for then it were in vaine.
But hee there dwells, that doth the same sustaine.
Thou great wise man, why lett'st thy braines to beate,
On things vnworthy of thy beaten braine?
For all thou think'st on, is, how to defeate,
Thy selfe of
God, and himselfe of a Seate.
VVhat humane
hart of temper is so hard,
That yeelds not to th'impression of
Gods forme?
From whence can his
Ubiquitie be barr'd,
That what hee will, doth eu'ry where performe?
Then can the hart of
Man, a forcelesse worme,
Keepe out that
God that nothing can with-stand?
No, no, perforce hee must himselfe enforme,
There is a
God by whose allmighty hand
All things were made; and all things doth commaund.
What ist that hang'd the
Earth within the
Aire?
Yet hang'd it so, that it is fixed fast?
VVhat made the
Gulfe, where waters all repayre▪
VVhose foming fury makes the
Earth agast,
Lest it in rage, the same should ouer-cast.
Yet is it barrd, with flatt fraile sandy bounds,
What powre could make such weake barres so to brast
The banded Billowes which on them rebounds,
But
Pow'r, whose praise both
Land and
Sea resounds?
Who peopled that wide watry
World with store,
Of scaly creatures, which there wandring are?
Resembling all that liue on
Earth and more,
More supereminent, and much more rare,
The
Whale (amongst the rest) doth make this cleare,
Which beeing the amplest
Master-peece of
Nature,
VVith thundring voice, doth amplely declare,
There's some high
Hand, that gaue him his huge stature,
And
Nature did direct, to frame his feature.
For eu'ry thing that
Nature doth produce,
(As by experience is most euident)
She doth direct vnto some end and vse,
Then what directeth that hir regiment,
But some one
Thing much more preheminent?
For she is finite in hir Acts and powre,
But so is not that
Powre omnipotent,
That
Nature subordain'd, chiefe
Gouernour,
Offading
Creatures while they do endure.
For that all worldly things do end we see,
It doth inferre the
World beginning had,
Then if this
World began; how could it
Bee,
VVithout a cause
Efficient had it made,
To say it made it selfe, when t'was vnmade,
Doth
Nature, Reas'n and common Sence impugne,
To say a parte the whole made, were more mad,
Can part e're to the whole it doth belong,
Create the whole? this wholy is more wrong.
Weigh all the
World in Ballance of the
Minde,
And all the world will make thee
God to way,
Looke in thy little
World, and thou shalt finde,
That great, great great, three greates in one alway,
Which
GREAT in thy least parts doth wholy stay,
His rare existence to thee to reueale,
That beeing felt (as t'were) thou shouldst bewray,
Vnto his praise what thou dost see and feele,
And not in sullen silence it conceale.
There dost thou finde, the
World epitomiz'd,
A corps for motion meete, of diuerse kindes,
A diuine Soule wherewith its all suffiz'd,
Which vnremou'd, the Body turnes and windes:
And powres to eu'ry part, with powre assignes,
Thy corps a coppy of this copious Masse,
Thy Soule his
Image that no
Image findes
Like him but it, that able is to passe,
Through Heau'n and Earth, yet stay still where it was.
For as we hold there's but one God alone,
But yet three persons in the
Deity:
So the
Soule's parted (though in substance one)
In't
Vnderstanding, Will, and
Memory,
These
Powres or
Persons makes one
Trinity,
Yet but one
Substance indiuisible,
Which perfect
Trinity in
Vnity,
(Both beeing
Spirituall and inuisible)
Doe make the Soule, hir God so right resemble.
And like as one true God in persons three,
Doth rightly rule this great
Worlds Monarchy,
So in Mans little World these
Uirtues bee,
But one Soule ruling it continually,
Yet in this lesser
World, as wel we try,
Be sundry sorts of people; some there are
That be as heads, Some Rulers not so hie,
Some common Cittizens; and some lesse rare,
Those Ruralls bee, that still are out of square.
The Heads are those aboue recited three,
The vnder Rulers
Thoughts, and
Fancies are,
The
Cittizens the outward
Sences bee,
The
Ruralls be the
Bodies rare,
(Which often make the
Soule most poore and bare)
For when these Riffe-raffes in commotion rise,
And all will haue their will, or nought will spare,
The
Soule (poore
Soule) they then in rage surprise,
And rob hir of hir wealth, and blinde hir of hir eyes.
Then set
Iehouah thunder from on hie,
And in the Soule aduance his glorious voice,
The
Vnderstanding, Will and
Memory
Then cannot heare it for the other noise:
As when a king speakes to his captaines choise,
Though nere so neere, if th' Army make a shoute,
They heare him not, though his speach high he hoise;
So God may speake, but were as good be mute,
For hee's not heard, when
Passions doe dispute.
But when those traitrous Tirants are supprest,
Then like as
Moises did ascend the
Hill,
And left the
Izralites below in rest;
To commune with his
God and know his will,
So the
Soules Senses may the like fulfill.
Who then may
Contemplations Mountaine scale,
To talke with
God, the
Passions being still,
And left below in
Meekenesse humble vale,
Where they are cool'd with many temprate gale.
Loe thus the
Soule hath the similitude
Of
God, and of the
World; of
God, because
He with his
Attributes hath hir endu'd;
And of the world, sith that so neere shee drawes,
To be, and not to be, contain'd by lawes.
Of
God in point of gouernment shee's like,
And of the
World, sith she doth seldome pause:
Against hir gouernment (though iust) to like,
For which hir selfe, hir selfe doth oft mislike.
But what a needelesse paine is it to proue,
The Sunne (that lighteth each Eye) to be light?
When none endu'd with
Sence, a doubt will moue,
Of that which doubtlesse is so passing bright:
That eu'n the blinde perceiues it without sight.
Then much more needlesse is this proofe of mine,
Sith
Wrong it selfe, must needs know
God aright;
And
Powres of
Darkenesse sees this
Powre diuine,
Much more must Men whose Eyes are christaline.
What shall I say? looke thou with all thine Eyes
Seene or vnseene, on things vnseene, or seene;
Eyther aboue, or vnderneath the Skyes:
What canst thou see, in which God is vnseene?
Sith hee's much more then all in all, I meane
He all, and much more, able is to fill
Without an adiunct, or a second meane,
Eu'n by the only motion of his will,
Which can doe all, and yet can doe no ill.
What makes the hugest, and the strongest things
Obedient to the things most small and weake?
Will strong things be the weakers vnderlings
Ofselfe accord; sith all things freedome seeke,
Without some mightier will, their will to breake?
The smallest
Ante, whose strength is but
Defect,
Hath more preeminence, and virtue eake,
Then the Earthes totall Globe, in each respect,
Then
Powre in weaknesse show'n, workes this effect.
And naturally
Contraries spill each other,
Then how can
Nature (these
Diu'ls God) compound,
The disagreeing
Elements togeather:
But that shee must those
Elements confound?
In
Nature no such force was euer found.
Then must some
Power supernaturall,
Giue to each
Element his vttmost bound,
That though they swarue in
Nature; yet they shall
In one agree, through
One vniting
All.
The
Sunne doth warme the cold wombe of the
Earth,
The
Moone and
Starrs, hir reasons doth assigne,
The
Aire, and
Water bringeth foorth hir birth,
Which serueth Beasts, and Beasts serue
Men in fine:
If from
Eternity these things thus were,
How could they to them selues an end designe?
Seeing the ende for which things formed are,
Before the things themselues, must needes appeare.
And in our selues we finde and feele a Minde,
That can at once a thousand
Worldes containe,
Which needes must be of a celestiall kinde:
Then can we thinke no Minde doth else remaine,
When to our
Mindes that Mind appeereth plaine.
For we can nothing minde, or good, or bad,
But it directs our
Mindes, with might and maine
Vnto a
Minde that ne're beginning had,
By whome in our beginning ours were made.
If not from thence, from whence was our beginning?
Did we beginne our selues, that once began?
For that must needes begin, that needes hath ending:
And runne we vp Mans race, from
Man to
Man,
A first we finde from whome all others ranne.
For could we make our selues, why make we not
Such as our selues are, where we list, and whan?
Why hath a wise man, to his Sonne a Sotte?
But that he cannot make his Sonne, God wot.
Man cannot make a Moath, much lesse a Man.
For as no hand but his, that
Man did make
Could make an
Angell; so no other can
Make the least haire, or make it white, or blacke.
If not a haire, nor colour if it lacke,
Can Man create, how make himselfe can he?
No, no, he cannot that Taske vndertake,
For through his ignorance he needes must see,
His blessed
Being that made him to
Be.
Because we see him not: (not as he is)
But by effects which from him doe proceede.
Shall we deny his being, or his blisse,
And so subuert the fore-front of our
Creede?
Then raze we
Reas'n and
Conscience by that deede.
Were we endungeon'd from our birth, yet wee
Would weene there were a Sunne, whose beames are shed,
Through chincks on vs, though him we could not see;
Then shall we question, if a
God there be?
And shall wee question make if
God there be,
When through
Sun, Moone, and
Stars, and all below them,
He darts his
Glories beames for vs to see,
And yet shall we not see them, though he shew them?
But wincke (wincke hard) because we wil not know them?
For should we thinke nought is, which we see not,
We should not thinke we had eies, though we owe them.
For though with them we see, yet well we wot,
We see them not themselues, though free from blot.
Much lesse they see the Soule, by which they see,
Yet
Reas'n perswadeth
Sense, there is a Soule,
From whom the
Senses powres deriued bee,
Yet shall our
Sense, our
Reason so controule,
To make it to maintaine this error foule,
That
God is not, without whome nothing
Is.
For all that
Is, is but as t'were a Scroule,
Wherein in letters plaine, that none can misse,
God is enroulde, aboue all
Deities.
But some there are, (ah woe that such there are,)
That do confesse, (perforce they do confesse,)
There is a GOD; yet hold hee hath no care,
Of worldly things; but raignes in blessednesse,
And of the
World makes
Fortune gouernesse.
These
Diuills are more dampned then the rest,
Sith they confessing
God, make more transgresse,
For if a
Prouidence bee not confest,
Who will not liue to liue as hee thinks best.
These fooles confessing
God doe
God deny,
Whom to confesse, without his
Atributes,
Doth to that fond confession giue the ly,
Because it selfe, against it selfe disputes;
And to their shame, it selfe, it selfe confutes,
For aske a Sauage, if a
God hee holdes,
Why so he weenes? he straight his reasons sutes,
From
Order drawne which hee in all beholdes,
Which hee beeleeues, some ord'ring
Pow'r vpholdes.
By nought so much as by his prouidence,
Is God discern'd; which all must needs discerne,
That hath a humane Soule, and common sence;
For common sense, the outward'st sense interne,
At the first sight that
principle doth learne:
For if through the
effects we see their
cause,
Then may we plainely see, whose
Nature's Sterne,
By that
Decorum wee see in hir lawes,
Namely this
Powre, that
Land and
Ocean awes.
Who if he carelesse were of wordly things,
It is for want of powre, or want of will;
If want of powre, his powre in bounds it brings:
If want of will, his goodnesse it doth spill,
For of his works to haue no care is ill.
But if thou
God confesse, confesse thou dost,
That he is good, and most almightie still,
Ifso he be, then needs confesse thou must,
That he is prouident, or most vniust.
For
Prouidence being but a wise connay,
Of things created to some certaine end;
And that no humane soule hir powres imploy,
Ought to effect, but doth the same intend;
Then shall we say, he to whom all doth tend
VVhen he made all, meant not they should doe so,
As if against his will to him they bend,
So spill his wills and spoile his wisedome to?
If not, then must we say,
God all must do.
For as his will had pow're, the
World to make,
So had his wisedome might to sway the same,
For
Wisedome infinite cannot mistake;
But as it deemeth, so will all things frame,
And in lesse power, neuer looseth ame:
For as he made the whole, the parts he made,
And if the whole he cares for, sure I am
The parts he cares for, (though they seeme to fade)
Which sence and common reason doth perswade.
Nature (we well perceiue) makes nought in vaine
And thou mak'st nought, but to some end or vse.
Thou ween'st thou merrits, praise for that thy paine,
(As sure thou dost) and think'st thou dost misse-vse,
In making vselesse things, thy wits and
Muse,
Darst
GOD bereaue, of what returnes thee praise?
And giue him that in thee thou deem'st abuse.
O Men! O Manners! O most damned
Dayes!
What
Tongue or
Pen can paint your iust dispraise▪
Alphons, the tenth that
Spaine did signiorize,
(The maine obiection gainst all
Prouidence)
Bicause such a Monster should euer breathe.
Said, (O that such a
Slaue from Kinges should rise!)
Had he bin with
God, when things did commence,
They should haue better bin, in their essence,
This
Foole, the
Only wise would needs direct,
But for his paine,
Paine was his recompence,
Who for he would surmount
God in effect,
This
Lucifer to Earthes Hell was diject.
Pherecides the damn'd
Assirian,
For scorning God, and
Prouidence out right,
Lice him consum'd, for on him so they ran,
That he for shame abandoned all mens sight,
And desolately died in wretched plight.
So
Lucian that from the
Faith did slide,
(In
Traians time) became an
Athist quight,
And did both
God and
Prouidence deride,
For which in peeces torne by dogs, he dide.
Vpon the
Statua of
Senacherib,
Engrauen was,
Learne by me God to feare,
Who for this monster, at Heau'ns
God did gibe,
Was slaine b'
Adramelech, and
Sharezer,
The wicked Sonnes, of this more wicked Sire.
And so th'appostata, damn'd
Iulian,
Of plagues for such contempts can witnesse beare,
Whose bloud whilst from his hart, amaine it ran,
Cryed, thou hast ouercome, O
Galilean!
Iustinian, whom
Pelagius ill did schoole,
For holding but that onely heresie,
Was quite of
Sence bereft, and made a foole,
And in one day was well, ill, and did die;
So ended in a day, his life, and folly.
But should I scite, the Iudgements (as I might)
That haue bin powr'd on such impiety,
It would be tedious, and with horror dight,
The hardiest hearer it would sore affright.
Pirrhon, Plutarchus Sonne, would not belieue,
What his Eyes, Eares, Nose, Tongue, and hands did kno,
His
Sences he imagin'd might deceiue,
And therefore did conclude, they still did so:
So
God, and
Prouidence deniers do;
Who though their
Sences outward and interne,
The being of them both do plainely sho,
Yet they will not belieue what they discerne,
Though ne're so neere it do their
Soules concerne.
But bring we their best reasons to the
Scoles
Of
Iudgement; and well weigh the same therein,
If there were
Prouidence, say these wise fooles,
Why should not vselesse thinges which made haue bin
To comber
Man, cease, or to ruine rin?
Whereto serues
Rockes, and
Seas, and
Dales, and
Hills;
Desartes, wild
Beastes? by such, what do we win▪
Which burdens but the
Earth with harmefull
Ills,
That
Men annoy, and oft destroy and killes.
Why are the virtuous plagu'd, the vitious pleas'd?
And twixt all creatures, why is here such strife?
Yea, why hath
Sinne vpon all mankinde seas'd?
And why do such leade here a dying life
Where goodnesse is most rare, and euill rife?
Can
Prouidence remaine where these consist?
As-well may concord rest twixt
Man, and
Wife,
That still are tongue to tongue, and fist to fist,
As
Prouidence appeere, where these exist.
With
Reasons, leauing no place for reply,
These questions oft haue bin replide vnto:
Then in a word, thou canst not this deny,
But in an
Artists worke thou canst not do,
Are things made to some end, thou dost not kno.
Yet blam'st thou not the worke-man but thy
Wit;
Then, wilt thou not to
God like fauour sho.
But censure things he makes, as most vnfit,
VVhen thou want'st reason, but to ayme at it?
For he is
Reas'n it selfe, we
Rashnesse are,
VVhich nerethelesse had
Reason for our guide,
VVhich
Guide plaid least in sight, ere we were ware,
And almost quite forsooke vs for our pride,
That now in vs, it's scarce seene to abide.
But should we see with
Reasons open Eyes,
The secrets which in
Wisdomes brest reside,
VVe should be
Gods; at least should be as wise,
For we with
God should all that
Is, comprise.
But sith fooles follies must be answered,
Lest they do weene them wiser then they bee,
In few, too few of their obiections bred,
In their best braines, (that with the worst agree)
VVee'l shape (as beeing bound) them answer free,
Had it not bin, (saist thou lewde
Libertine)
Meeter that
Man should ne're
Corruption see,
Then to the same (made as he is) incline,
And so impeach the
Prouidence diuine?
VVhie dost not rather aske, why
Man is
Man?
And not an
Angell, rather then a clod?
Mans Minde immortall is, and reason can,
And were he all vnchang'd, he were a
God.
God stedfast stands, but his works needs must nod,
Man's not created, here still to remaine,
But to his Maker he is made to plod
Through thick and thin, and cannot rest attaine,
Till in his
God alone, he it obtaine.
How can there be (saist thou) such prouidence,
Sith
God made
Man, to serue him as his end?
Then how could
Man preuent
Gods purpose since,
And fall from that his Maker did intend,
Without his
God should thereto condiscend?
Or if not so, then tis a consequent,
What did eusue, God could not comprehend,
Or if he could, he could it not preuent,
And so not
God; if
God, not prouident.
Nor
Grace, nor
Powre, nor
Wisdome did he want,
This to preuent, but he it did permit,
(Not that his prouidence therein was scant,)
But to make man more cling to him by it,
What prouidence can better
God befit,
Then
Ill to turne vnto a greater
Good?
For had we still bin staid, we had not flit,
Then would we weene, that of our selues we stood,
And thinke our selues
Gods peeres in constant moode.
For what procur'd
Mans fall, but peerelesse pride?
Which was, that he would needs be without peere,
And as a
God, without his
GOD abide;
So
God to make himselfe, sole
GOD appeere,
Made man to see he could not stand or steere
Without his God, that seeing he could not stand,
But by his ayde, he should to him drawe ncere,
Inuoking humbly, his all-helping hand,
And binde himselfe, to him in louing band.
For we with ghostly pride are oft inflate,
And beeing so, God suffers to fall,
With
Wit and
Will, for which our selues we hate,
And ay are vexed at the very Gall,
That we to sinne should so our selues enthrall,
So
Sinne it selfe, serues for a Sentinell,
To keepe vs from it, sith no sorrow small,
It threatens to hir
Slaues, then O how well,
Ought we to speake of God, and his counsell▪
Of whom our
Motions, and our
Actions are,
But their disorder from our selues▪ proceede,
Yet he of our well-doing hath a care,
Though of our selues we do not well indeed,
But yet he makes our ill oft well to speed,
He whom his hart approu'd, did proue this true,
Who through adultrous, and a worse misse-deed,
Himselfe, and eake his God, he better knew,
And did himselfe forsake, and God ensue.
As he permitted
Man for
Iustice sake,
To fall, to make his
Iustice so appeere,
So suffers he
Mans will, his to forsake,
That his pow're should be seene to draw them neere,
And make of both free-wills, one will intire,
For were there but (twixt
God and
Man) one will,
Then Gods great pow're not so perspicuous were,
Which makes
Mans wayward will his owne fulfill,
Without constraint, through pow're and peerelesse skill.
But yet thou saist, why staid he not
Mans will?
How should he then haue made his will bin free?
Better vnfree (saist thou) then be so ill,
But tis not ill at libertie to bee.
If it brings bondage, better be vnfree
(Saist thou againe.) But then
Man were not
Man,
And he would grudge at lacke of liberty,
So God did for the best, say what thou can,
Although
Mans libertie to loosenesse ran.
But wouldst thou God bereaue of liberty?
That is selfe
Freedome, and his hands so bind,
That hee should not (through straight extremity)
Do with his owne, according to his minde?
Then all Gods pow're by thee should be assign'd,
And so thou God wouldst bee, and
Man him make,
For other reason,
Reason cannot finde,
If thou his libertie wilt from him take,
But he should be thy subiect for thy sake.
But yet thou saist, how stands it with his grace,
To let his
Creatures quite to ruine runne?
Can
Prouidence in him haue any place,
That so will end the workes he hath begunne?
Yet, what he doth is for his Glory done,
(Damnd Hel hound, that against thy
God dost howle)
For by whats lost, to him is Glory wonne,
Sith glorious tis to damne thy sinfull Soule,
That will thy God in all his workes controule.
For he is glorifide (none can deny)
By
Iustice and by
Mercie both alike.
But heere I heare thee aske the reason, why
He doth not spare those whom his
Iustice strike,
Whome if he would, he should no way mislike?
For what preuailes gainst his preuailing will?
Not
All, though all at once against it kicke.
Then if he would,
All should the same fulfill:
And sith he will not, it is worse then
Ill.
To such rash
Whies! (that vnder runne his
Rodde,)
He thus replies (by him through whom he spake)
O Man, what art thou that shouldst question God?
May not the
Potter what it please him make
Of his owne Clay? And what if all he brake
When it is made? doth he vnlawfull act?
Thou canst not say he dooth, and not mistake.
But here thou wilt inferre vpon this
Fact,
That
God perforce
Mans will must needes coact.
God by his
Powre and
Will, all
Powres hath made,
And all
Willes hath disposde to each effect:
That his powre swaies all
Powres, Sense doth perswade,
But that his will, all free-
Willes should direct
Without constraint, our reason doth reiect.
If God those
Willes should guide without their sway.
His powre could not haue gaind so great respect,
As when all
Willes his
Will doe disobay;
Yet to his will, all willes themselues betray.
Two wicked ones, whom he would plague with death,
(With sodaine death) flie to the field to fight
(By malice mou'd) there reaue they others breath.
And in their malice they performe aright
His righteous will, by rigor most vnright.
Nero must dye his hands in
Christians blood,
To make them
Martires, moou'd thereto by spight;
So God would haue it for his
Churches good,
And for the
Tyrants plague that her withstood.
To cast away a mans owne handy workes,
Although the workes be his, and stuffe and all,
Doth argue no great wisedome in him lurkes,
And lesser goodnesse; for its prodigall.
If this in mortall Man be criminall,
VVhat ist in him, whose
All is infinite?
Ist not in him crime more than capitall,
To marre what erst he made with rare delight?
Herein, saist thou, thou canst not God acquite.
No can? curst dogge, 'that barkes and bites at once,
God can himselfe acquite, though I could not,
And thee requite with vengeance for the nonce,
For that his beauty thou so faine wouldst blot.
But to his goodnesse it can be no spot,
Nor to his wisedome blemish can it be
To marre, sith he thereby hath glory got,
As well as make, sith both in their degree,
VVith his prerogatiue doe well agree.
Say he brought that to nought, he made of nought,
Sith it prou'de nought, though he it good had made,
Must he to
Sinners Barre for this be brought,
And there arraignd, condemnd, and doomd as bad,
Because such
Changelings he created had?
To make Man God, he could not bring to passe,
For God is coeternall and vnmade;
Then must he needes make Man such as he was,
Or not haue made Mankinde in any case.
For were a
Nature reasonable vnchang'd,
And subiect to no accident of
Tyme,
Aboue an
Angell t'were, for they haue chang'd,
Therefore it needes must be the
Nature prime,
To which
Man beeing created, cannot clime.
But yet thou saist
Adam in
Paradice,
Could not so slide (though he were made of slime.)
But
Prouidence it needes must preiudice,
Which should haue staid him still in his iustice.
Then must it haue bereft him of free-will,
(Whereat hee would haue still repining griu'd,)
And kept from him the knowledge of all
Ill,
(Which knowledge of all good, hath him depriu'd,)
Yet
God, at first, from him that knowledge hiu'd.
But
Man would needes be
God, and so know all,
And knowing all, he knew him selfe was giu'd.
(That first was free) so did himselfe enthrall.
And so himselfe, did cause himselfe to fall.
O but (saist thou) had God so pleased bin,
T'haue kept him from the thought of that amisse,
And so haue staid him, that he could not sinne,
He still in
Paradice had liu'd in blisse.
But yeelde to
God (damnd wretch) as reason is,
That due that to a mortall king belongs,
By whose prerogatiue, and powre of his,
He may, aboue his lawes do seeming wrongs,
We may not question with repyning tongs.
If God should render reason for this
Fact,
It should be such as we could not conceaue;
For being
Reas'n it selfe, he cannot act
Vnreasonable deedes, which should bereaue
Him of his nature which he cannot leaue.
Yet
Reas'n it selfe, when it doth mount as hie
As it can reach, and there a proofe doth giue
What it can do, wee cannot that descry,
Vnlesse we
Reason were, eternally.
This height is past
Mans reach which is but lowe,
This Depth cannot be gag'd but by the
Highst,
This
Secret's such, as who the same doth know,
Must needes be
God, or at the least be
Christ.
Then curst art thou, that in it further pri'st
Then is conuenient for a creature made;
In his
Creators seruice to insist,
And not too farre into this whirle-poole wade,
Where thou mayst loose thy selfe in Errors shade.
And which of both (thinkst thou) would
Reason choose?
To be made capable of endlesse blisse,
With possibility the same to loose,
And winne a Hell, where all is quite amisse;
Or not to Bee at all, both those to misse:
Sure,
Reaz'n the first would choose, because the last
Is lowest hell, where highest horror is;
For in
Not-beeings bottome, being fast,
Ought would to worse then
nought, vnworen wast.
But to haue
Beeing, and such
beeing to,
As next to
Gods and
Angells is the best;
And so to
Bee; what not? would
Nothing doe,
If it had pow'r to doe, right
Reasons hest.
Then
Man blesse
God, for this thy
Beeing blest;
That though thou be accloid with worlds anoy,
And standst in danger worse to be distrest,
If thou doe not thy
Beeing well imploy;
But liue to die: and thou shalt liue in ioy.
If
Hell we get it is with greater toile,
Then we endure to gaine Heau'ns happinesse;
Our Soules and Bodies we doe more turmoile,
In worldly-solace (Sincke of
Wretchednesse)
Then
(Crost by
Christ) we doe in all distresse.
For
Sinnes Ambrosia is compact of Gall,
But moane for
Sinne is
Manna Angells Messe,
And they that
Hell endure for
Heau'n, they shall
Feele
Heau'n in
Hell, and
Hell no
Hell at all.
For worldly pleasure doth but kill the Soule,
As worldly sorrow doth the Body spill.
Sorrowe for sinne doth make both sound and whole,
Because 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;
The Noble comes sooner by violent death then the obscure.
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 s
[...]se
Blindnesse needs must see the same,
Let
Gods
[...]les wisely thereon stil depend,
Whiles these wise men, like fooles past Grace and Shame,
(Denying it) loose
Body, Soule, and
Name.
FINIS.