in Containg COEli' the fuprenle Good , which is perpetual, and fincere without the leafi mixture of evil, and produces the higheff delight to the Soul. Now all thefe concur to vilifie worldly things : z. They are fhort in their dura- tion : Not only the voice of Heaven but of the Earth declares this, That allflefb is graft, and theglory ofit as theflower of thegraft. Life the foundationof all Tem- poral enjoyments is but a Span : The longeff Liver can meaCure in a thought the fpace of time between his Infant-Elate and the prefect hour : how long foever, it feems as fhort to him as the twinkling of an eye. And all the glory of the flefh, as Titles, Treafures, De- lights, areasthe flower of the grafs, which is the moff tender amongfl Vegetables, and fo weak a fubfiffance, . that a little breath of Wind, the handof an Infant, the teethof a Worm can defiroy it. The pleafures of Sin (under which Secular Greatnefs and Wealth are com- prehended) are but for a feafon. They are fo fhort- liv'd, that they expire in the birth, and die whilfi- they are tafled. Again ; they bring only a flight pleafiire, . being difproportionable to the defines of' the Soul. They are confin'd to the Senfes, wherein the Beafis are more accurate than .Man, but can't reach to the up- per and more comprehen live Faculties. Nay they can- not fatisfie the greedySenfes, much lefs quiet the fpi- ritual and inanrortal Appetite. What the Poet (peaks with af}onifhment of Alexander's infatiable Ambition, . 'fluat infelix anguilo limite nzundi, That the wholeWorld feem'd to him as a narrow Pri- fon, wherein hewas miferable, and as it were fuffoca- ted, is true of every one. If the World was feated in the Heart of Man, it can nomore fatisfie it, than the Piiure ofa Feafl can. fill the Stomach. Belides, vexation 5 5 Chap. IV. !fa. 40. 6, 7. Per..sg,z<.. uxrás ovaQ. a''v8p cuarQ- ° Pindar. Heb, ¢ r'. sr,. Eccltf. r..
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