Downame - Puritan-02038 v2

40 644 Of theJhortne' andfrailly-of mans life. Greg.Mora1. feth,the neerer theother approcheth to it end,& cutting off; fa lib.8. cap.7. the more is added to our age, the more is detra6tedfrôour life, and themore timepafl is increafed, the more time to come is Wi[d. 5.13. fhortned and diminifhed. Thus the time of infancie perifheth, when childhood approchcth;andchildhood diethwhen youth beginneth ;and youth paffeth, when ripe age commeth;and all is loft and vanifheth, when old age and death feazeth vpon vs. Whereby it appeareth, that our continuance in the world can - not truly be called a life,, feeing it is but a continual) paffage, wherein we like pilgrimes traue! vnto death; fo that whileft we Hoc ip ¡rsmna liue,we daily die,and neuer ceafe dying till weceafe to liue;our fra =viaere life being nothing elfe but a paffage from life, and a neerer ap- gxotidièavita proching vnto death:for from the day ofour birth,to the day of tran fireeft. our death,our lines are in.a continual confumption,andno foo- Greg. Moral. owe nerdbegin toliue, butwealfobegintodie;fordailyfame lib.tt. @ay.a5, part ofour hues are taken away, feeing all which is pail, is pe Seneca. rifhed,and whilefl our bodies grow and increafe, our hues de- creafe and are diminifhed. They therefore are much deceiued, who account the lafl day only,the day of their death Peeing we die (as it were) piece-meale, and the longer we liue, the more death feazeth on vs,al the time which is already pafl,being loft genfun, face and confumed.And fo likewife they abufe théfelues, who fee - fenfa,leaefcrt ling no decay ofhealth or flrength, do imagine day after day. °`sQ°' that they are equally diflant front death, becaufethe alteration which. is in theirüues, commingby degrees & by little and lit tle,is not fo eafrly difcerned : for as their folly were ridiculous, who not fenfibly perceiuing the going forward ofthe fhadow in the diall;orhand of the clocke,would therfore be perfwaded that it flandeth flit!; for thoughthey fee not the motion, yete- uery hourc they may plainly difcerne,that it hath moucd ; fo a- like foolifh are they,who not fenfiblie perceiuing,how far they hauetrauelIed towards death,doconclude with themfelues that theyflandataflay; feeing the more.daies are added to their BaaOrar.z.q. flues, theneerer they approch to their death, though their paf- dgMort. f ge cannot palpably be difcerned. For as.thofewho fade in a fhip,whether they fleepe or wake,fit or fland; go forward with fomedefire to arriueat the hauen,or banke,as far as the fhip wil fuffer themwith a contrary motion, .as defirous to returne, yet they are (till going on,and carted whether they will orno,with the i