A Difcourje of .LV! an's Mortality. that other Creatures decay and perilli ~s w7JI as he; yer among aJI peri/hing things_, Man only hath char wretched denomt?a~wn o~ bemg Jl.!ortal; and there is good reafon for ir, fince he alone, of all pertfhmg th1~gs, bemg created Immcrtal, voluntarily fubjec1ed himfelf unto Death, a1ad by hts own Fault brought upon hirnfelf char Name of M ortal, as a Bran~ of perpe~ual Infam_y. And rhus now I come to the ~ubJed: that I mtend to tnfift upon, ~nd that is, The Unavoidablenefs and Cercamry of Death. To go about m prove this, were to lofe fo much time; every one grams he muft die. All other ~eftiom about Man, are anfwered b! Peradvent 11 res: If it be demanded, Whether fuch a_n Emb,io Jball f~e the Light. W.hat's the Anfo,,., but perhaps it !hall, perhap• 1t !hall not. If 1t be born, and It be asked,Whe- . the~ it lhall Jive apd grow up to Age? Why, perhaps fo, perhaps orherwife : If it grow up t~ Age, and Enquiry be made, Shall it be rich, or /hall it he poor? honourable, or delpifed? learne_d,;>r ignorant? What's _rhe Anfi~er? Only, perhaps ic !hall, perhaps no~. B~t If 1t be asked, Whether 1t lhall.die? The An[wer now is Yes · it is cerram, wuhout any Peradventure ; there JS no doubt at all of this'; I/;, 'r.ppointcd bJ God["' M'?' once to die. And therefore though PhJJicinn.t have wriccen Books of prefervmg of Health, yet never any wrote Books of avoiding of Death. We need no other pro0f of .Man's M ortality, bur only eo fearch imo the Records of the Grave; there lye Rtch and Poor, Strong and Weak, Wife and Foolilh, Holy and l'rophane_; the Rubbilh of ten thoufar.d Generations heaped one upon another, and thts Truth that all mutt die, writ- . ten indelibly in their Dull. . Thac therefore that I !hall do !hall be in an Applicatory way, to make fome Reftedionsupon thebrucifh Stupidity ofMen,who,rhough they know themfelves Mortal, yet th.rufl: from t~le~!etvc:s the Tho~ghrs of Deat"l, a~d neglect: due Preparations for tt. Men hve m r?e World as tf they were arburary of their own Time, as if chey lhould never die and come ;o Judgment. Ofi_rhe beail!y Sottifhnefs of Men, who though they fee ~ultitudes cut down dally by the hand of Death, round about them, yet they hve careleJly a~d prefumptuouJly, as if they were privileged Perfons, ~nd Death dur~ ~ot touch th7m. Should we. make Enquiry into the Caufes of rhts grofs Stuptdlty and Sotctlhnefs, perhaps we Jhould find it to proceed from fome of thefe fo!Iowing. Firft, The generaiiry of Mm are foimmers'd and drm_vned in thr! Affairs anJPlea/ures Rtll/ont of Life, that all f erious t~ougkts of Death and prepnratsons for it are fiunl/rnved up and why Mnt .jt'T.Ioured b.J them: TheJr mtnds are taken up about other things, and their time put off' M~ fpenr upon other matters ; like an heap of .Ants that bufily toil to gather in rhoughu # :heir !'rovifion, not regarding the fo?t t~at is r~ady !O tread ~pon them ; fo ~;J:;h~ Js tt With moft men,they are taken up With tmpertznenctes and vam things: One 11re dr.-wn'd contrives how he may me le away his days in Luxury and Pleafure and with in .tht .&[- variety of im•emed Delights imp rhe wings of Time that in their apPrehenfions f,m~cf '" 4 makes buc flow hafte, that fo their days and hours may roul away rhe fafter • WQr d. the!C are fuch Prodigals of their rime, and lavilh it away at thar rate as if their ilock would laff as long as Et_ernity it fel( Some are bufi.l:y climbi~g up the fteep afccnr of Honour and D1gmty, and are fo taken up tn feeking after Promotions .and new ~itles, thac t!1ey forger their old fiile of mortal Creatures. Orhers are plotting_ With che Fool m the Gofpel,how they may grow rich,and Jay up goods for dH::mielves for many Years, as they fancy, Wh'en1yet they )\now not but God may rake away their Souls from the~ rhis very n,ight; and wl·;at then remains to them of all that they have rhus greedily fcraped- together r 0 vain and foulifh men, are thefe the things you fer your beans upon? Muft the World drink up all your thoughts, and Death that lhort!y will fnatch you· from all your enjoymems here below, be forgotten by your • I. J Secondly, Mm put •if the thought• of Dc~th.andtbei, peparalion{l"' it ' /.eca~j; they gcmrally look upon it a• afar off. . ThiS ." the gceateil f?ttiihnefs in .thb ';/,';:/~::If World,and yet mof! men are too guilty of"· Thofe that are young and in P'"'P'"' the prime of their Days ; if it be askt them what they think of D cnth ;hey will f" ~wh, readily Anf>v,, that they think they ought of right and courfe t~ live t~l '""f"h'! they are aged : And they that are aged will tell you their weakneffes and decays ;;:j!:".J. are not fo many or fo great,but they f!13Y well weather away a few more"Ye s. Thofe that are healthful and flrong thmk furely they need not prepare ford y~g • r,iiL
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