The Traife ofMoatrniñg, or be in death ? as for thole that are dead, they ceafe to be, and they that are alive: reap no benefit by it but mourning, and there is little good, little happinefs in this, to cxercife a mans thoughts about mournful obje&s ; Yes ( faith he ) it is better to go to the houlee of mourning, than to the houfeofeafing, for the living ìtill lay it to bùheart. And upon this he fpendeth fore. time , becaufe naturally we are exceeding backward, to believe that it is good fQr a man to be mourning upon' earth. Others make the ; dependance of the; words thus That Solomon having before: tlewed the vanity of riches, he doh in?the fix fofújeiverfes of this. Chapter pre- fer even death it lelf, beföre wealthand abundance. And he sheteth wherein it¡ is better. Firxt in the Adjun&s, the Adjun& of death is mourning : the Adjun& of . wealth and abundance is feafling : yet mourning is better than feafing. And becaufe it feemetn a Paradox to every natural man, he cometh to confirm and prove it. By the Effe&.s. In the third verfe ; Sorrow is better than laughter, for bythe fad_ net of the countenance the heart is made better. Sorrow can do that for us that'¡ wealth cannot, it makes the heart better. By the different fubje&s in which they are. That fame worldly mirth is in the heart offools. In the fourth verle : the heart of fools, is in the bout of mirth: but this mourning it is in theheart of the wife : the heart of the wife is in the lfoufe of mourning. By the Efficient caufe. One cattle of mourning is the rebukes of the wife. In the fifth verfe ; It is better to hear the rebukesof the wife, than for a man tobear the Fong of fools. And then in the fixth verle by a Proleplis, he prevents an obje&ion that Tome might make. For whereas he had laid that mourning was better than joy, fome might fay ; It feemeth other wife, there is delight injay,there isnone in mourning. He telleth them that that delight, it is but a very fhort delight, but as thecracking of thorns under a pot, it is but vanity. ells the crackj.ngof thorns under a pot, fo u the laughter ofa fool, this alto isvanity. We will not Rand much about the matter. So many leverai men as handle this book, do feyerally conned and joyn the words together, according to their own conceits andopinions of them. The meaning It is evident, that inthis verle that I have now read to you, the Wifeman fpeaks ofthe words. of fuch a mourning, as is occafioned by the death of friends. And he faith ofthat mourning, that it is better than to be in the boufe offeafling. That he fpeaks of fuch a mourning, appears by that which followerh: (-lift he faith, that that is the end ofall men, hefpeaks therefore of filch a mourning, as is upon the end of men, upon the departureof men out of this world : and fecondly he faith, the livingwill lay it to bis heart : he fpeaks of filch an end of men, as is oppoflte to the life ofmen. In a word,By thehoufeofmourning,he meaneth a houle wherein fome one is dead, which giveth occafion to the parties that dwell there, of forroty andmourning for their departed friend. It it better to go to filch a boufe. By the bottle of fealting, hemeaneth not only loch a houle wherein there is featt- ing, but alto all manner of abundance : as commonly men Phew their wealth in feafting. By theend ofall men, he meaneth that which the Schools calls the endof termina- 'tion. Now there is a twofold end of termination (as they fpeak) either Pofitive, or 'Privative. A Pofstive end, as apoint is the end of a line, and an inftant is the end of time : becaufe the line refolveth it felf into a point at Taft, and all timere- folveth itfelt at Taft into an inftant. APrivative end, and that is that that caufeth a ceffation of being, that isthe end of affirm, wherein all the work, and invention, and enterprizes ofa man ceafe, Of filchan endhere he fpeaks, fuckan endof a man as that heceafeth tobe as hewasupon earth, and ceafeth todo as he did upon earth. By laying to heart, he meanethmore than a bareknowing , or a bareoblerving, and
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