8 Earth theWell Vpon'Afhwednefday. Element. r Our vo!up muffle-a. Our Cone tournefie. Arrg.qfuper Eaod.cap.s. termeth deatha mans returningagaineto the earth,fromwhencehe came. Con uertetur in terramfuam,proietisu ellin terram ruins. Thefower, the leale, haue fomegoodin them,though of(lioncontinuance,ascolour,odor,beauty,vertue, and fhade;and albeit notgood inthemfelues,yetthey are the image& reprefen- cationofgood;butDuft & Afhesfpeakenoother.good.Amongf t theelements, theEarth isthe leaftnoble,and the molt weake the firc,the water, and theayre hauefpirit andactitüde;'but the, larch is as it wereaprifonerladenwith weigh- tineffeas withgyues. Acertaiin'e"Poetftilesthe Earth Bruta,not onelyfor that ithath anvnpleafant countenance :iSDefarts,Quiçk-fands,Dens,and Caues;but alfofor that itistheir=ofSerpents, Tygres, Panthers, and the like. So that it is neithergood to the taftnor the fmell,nor the feeling, nor the hearing, nor the feeing ; thou beeing therefore Earth , d fuperbis terra 6. einis , i. why artthou ô Daftsnd tf hes ? The fecond conclufionis,Ifthóuart Athes,Ouidvtilitatimfginando corpere? Whyfuchadeale ofcare inpamperingthybodies which the wormes areto de- uourtomorrow' Looke vpon that flefhwhich thy fathermade fo muchof,that (now) rotten & flunking carkaffe;and this confderation will moderatethy &fire ofbeing ouer daintie and curious in cherifhingthine owne. Tjac on the night of his nuptialls,placed his wifesbed in thechamberwherehismotherdied:To- bias fpent all the night withhis Spoufe inprayer, being mindful' of the liarme which the Deuill haddoneto her former husbands;as being aduifed fromHea- uen that hefhould temperwith theremembrance ofdeath, the delights &plea- fures ofthis short life ofours. The Cammomile,the worfeyou treat it,and the more you treadonit the betteritthriues, other Plants require pruningand ten- ding tomake themfruitfull: but this herbe bath a quite contrarie condition, that withill vfage itgrowes thebetter.It is the pamper'd flefh that bringsforth thiftles andthorns,but the flefh that is trodden downe andhumbled,that yeelds (tore offruir. The third , Ifthou aitDuft,andmuff tomorrow becomeDuff, Why fuch a deale ofcoueting ofhonoursand riches' Why fuchgreat and ftately houfes,& fo richly furnifhed' Our forefatherslined eight hundred yeares and vpwards, and thofe teeming but few, they paff ouer this life inpoore Cabbins : nowwe hue but threedayes, (as it were)and we build houfes is ifwemeant tohue for euer, theyare fo ftrongand durable. Efau fould his birthright for ameffe of pottage, but heexcufed his fodoing,for that hefaw his death was fo neere at hand, En,mariar,quidpraderunt mihiprimogenita ? i. Behold, lam readietodieamhat willbirthrightprofit me ? Saint Auflenputs adoubt , why the 'Egyptians did fo freely beftowtheir jewells, and their goldand filueron the Hebrews' and the refolutionis,That feeing their firft begottenwere all dead,they made light rec- koningofthofe things whichbefore they fomuch effeemed. Abulenfsmoues adoubt,Why the Gyantsofthe promifed landdid not deuoure the Ifraelites, beingbut as grafhoppers incomparifon of their greatneffe' Whereunto is a twofold anfwer; The firft,That they came inas ftrangers,fromwhom they pre- fumed theycould receiue nohurt : The fecond, That God feet a confuming plague amongft them,Terra deuorat habitatores[nos, i. TheEarthdeaoareth her h,- habitants.And there is noman ofwhatftrengthor mettall foeuer, that hath not Deathsdartficking in his fides. There is agreat dealéofdifference made ofhonourandwealth, between the liningand the dyingman : the rich Mifer, that would not giue Lazarus a crum, would vndoubtedly when hewas adying,haue beene contentedhe fhould haue had
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