The Vanity of the World. much of them as thy felf: Yea, and if Men could be contented with Rcafon, ~11 that they behold with their Eyes, is as much theirs as it is the Owners. . . And indeed if we Jtrip all thefe admired Nothings to their nak~d Prmctples, we fh:.~ll find them as b:tfc and ford id as the nwancft of thofe things wh1ch _we fpurn and def])ifc· enly Art or Nature put new flmpes upon them, and fancy a pnce upon thofc fhapes.' * What arc Gold and Silver, but diverfified Earth, hard , , 0 , · , ~ and fuining Clay? ~he very place wh~re they arc ln:cd, thc~ntrails S~t~11 .._ 1:~",;~,!~~:~~7;~ of the E:~.rth upbr:uds us for accountmg the1.11 prec1ous. 1 he beft ;.itt r,;;e.~.t3tt.'1f4 .:U~o.:rity M[itll( and richcftPerfumes, 'vhat are they but the clammy fweatofTrccs, J\JtJ,v.fh.. Oilw~ hi =P or the mucous froth of Beall:s? The fofteft Silks arc but theExcre- ~.Aov :t ~iov71o1liiv1 ~0~~ AtiY ment of :1 vile Worm. The moft :a;y and ,gene_rous Wines,. arc <j(:;::J;.;~'?'/i:~:aP~ nothing elfe but Puddle-Water ftram d thro a Vme. Onr ch01ceft 7 LuJ Jl-riM•d.Vdu-mv r,g_.'Jo:J "q11 Delicates arc but Dirt, cook'd and ferv'd u_p to us in various Forms. ~7~11 i)CeJ«¥U;.' ri n,u.,tJH7:;u The very fame things which we contemn under one fh:1pc we ad- -r/el;ufit'v. M. ?nto· de£e.;ptO. mire in another, and with this, Fancy and Cuftom have confj_1ir'd -~;'vs".r.f~o·!~.i~ ~~-,:::~~-; together to cheat us. ;"11 ~,1JJI&J ~, 11 .0m,O~o.-,'"J~ "-· a@- iJ ;-rri,.,,, ';""l"(;e; t y'iih 7J td.r~y, ~ J.md9tJ.!U ~ ;tfu~~, ~ .t~1vr®-, ~'T~Ji<:t, ,; i.:7J;~ "7~» -;;>jrtVa. Id· [, 9· s. JO· 6. Think, 0 waddling! when thou cafteft thy gteedy Eyes upon thy Riches, think, here are Bags that only Fancy hath fill'd with Treafurc, which elfe were fill'd with Dirt. Here are Trifles that only Fancy hath call~d]ewels, which clfe were no better than common Pebbles. And Ihall I lay the Foundation of my Content and Happi... nefs upon a Fancy, a thing more light and wavering tlun the very Air? Nay, confider, That a diUemper'd Fancy can eafily alter a Man's Condition, and pllt what fhape it pleafeth upon it. If a black and fi11len Melancholy fcizeth the Spirits, it will make him complai n of Poverty in the midft of his abundance; of pain and fickncfs, i11 the midft of his Health and Strength. 'Tis true, thefe arc but the Ef!Cfrs of a diftorted Fancy; but tho' his Sicknefs and Poverty be no~ real, . yet the torment of them is. It is all one, as to our difquiet, whether we be indeed unhappy; .. T / or only* imagine our felves fo. .:.s<~ ~;~ .iv9r~~~ ~ 7i :;;;e;.r,t..UI.1t:t. dMJ. -ro' 'liel r ~yp.d"Tf.<)~ Jb'"y[.VJ.7f/... Epillet. Enchir.c. ro. & diffirt. /, 3· e. 19~ Again; If the Fancy be more merrily perverted, !height they arc nothing lcfs than Kings, or Emperors, i a their own Conceit. A Straw is as majeftick as a Sceptre; they will fpc:tk of their Rags as magnificently as if they were Robes: and look upon all that come near tht: rry as their Subjetl:s orServants. They make every Stone a Gem, c.very Cottage a Palace ; :Ill they fe~ is their own, and all their own is moft excellent. Now what think you, are thcfe things vain, or no? I doubt not but you v:ill coodude them moft extreamly vain ; and yet they ferve their turns as well, and bring them in as much folace and contentment, as if they were really what they ima- t A: '' ginc them. Thns-{- Thra[ylllu noted down all the Ships that arrived at the Port of 1. i· ~: 3~~ .Athem, think ing them, &nd their Merchandize ~o be all his own. And when cured of that pleafant madnefs, * confeft, That he ne- ~ "EAtJ.tv Mllli""n ,j,e:iyp ver in his who\e Life enjoyed lo much content, as in that conceited '71i\1~'71iv, ~ ".o~ ;fn i!J\:r~ !':ti Wealth thofeShips br?ught him. An~ in_decd for my pan,I.know ;~ti'~J~:~f:.uJ,.~~J~bid: not whether thcfe thmgs are more vam m the Fancy, or 111 the " · Reality. Such is the exceeding Vanity of all th ings in the \Vorld, that were it not for the Etern.1l Concernments of the Soul, which cannot be fo well regarded under a fi.1fpenfion or diftrattion of Reafon,I fhould make no difficulty to account and prove them the happicll: Men on Earth. . I_f then there be !o great a Power. in Fa_ncy,. how vain ~ltlfl: all thofc things be Wluc~ you purfuc With e~ger~efs and_nnpatre!~cc, fincc a vam :Fancy without them, can giVe you as muc~ fat1sfaC:hon, as 1f you enJoy'd them all? And a vain Fancy.can, on the other hand1 m the greateft abundance of them, make your lives as wearifome and vexatious, as d you enjoyed nothing. That is the firft Dcmonfrration. , SecondLy) The Vanity of the World appears in its deceitfulnefs and treachery. It u. is not orily Vanity,1but a lying Vanity, an~ betrays both our Hopes, and our Souls. l~ bet:ays our Hopes~ and leaves us nothing but difappointment, whenitpromifeth S:msfa~.bon an<l Happmefs. What fr~nge Confidences do we build upon the falfc ~attenesof the World? In our profpenty we fing a Requiem to our felves, and arc · ready to fay> Our Mountain U fo ftrong, that it j1Ja/l never be moved: But within a whiic ~fa!. 30 ' D God ' 1 '
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