Chapter VII: Front Matter (7)

Though, _Worthlesse_ in my owne repute I am;
And, (though my _Fortune_, so obscures my Name
Beneath my _Hopes_; that, now, it makes me seeme
As little worth, in other mens esteeme,
As in mine owne;) yet, when my _Merits_ were
No better, than, to most, they now appeare,
It pleased some, ev’n some of those that had
The _Noblest Names_, (and, those of whom was made
The best Account) so lowly to descend,
As, my well-meaning _Studies_, to befriend.
Among those WORTHIES, I may both bemone
(My selfe in HIM) and memorize, for _One_,
Your much renowned BROTHER, as a _Chiefe_
In bringing to my waned _Hopes_, reliefe;
And, in my _Faculties_, were I as able
To honour _Him_, as he was honourable,
I would have showne, how, all this _Emperie_
Hath lost a _Friend_, in HIM, as much as I.
To MEE, so freely, of his owne accord
It pleased HIM, his _Favours_, to afford;
That, when our learned, and late _Sov’raigne-Prince_,
(By others mis-informed) tooke offence
At my Free _Lines_; HEE, foun’d such _Meanes_ and _Place_
To bring, and reconcile mee to his _Grace_;
That, therewithall, his _Majestie_ bestow’d
A Gift upon mee, which his _Bountie_ show’d:
And, had inrich’d mee; if, what was intended,
Had not, by othersome, beene ill befriended.
But, as I long time, suffred have by those
Who labour’d much, my thrivings, to oppose:
So, _I my selfe_, (although not out of pride,
As many thinke it) have so much relide
Vpon the _Royall-Gift_, neglecting so
To fortifie the same, as others do
By making Friends; that my estate grew lesse
(By more than twice five hundred Marks decrease)
Through that, which for, my profit was bestowne.
And, I, ere this, had wholly been undone;
But, that the _Wealth_, which I relie on, most,
Consists in things, which never can be lost.
Yet, by his _Losse_, I have _Occasions_ had
To feele, why other men are often sad.
And, I, (who blushed, to be troublesome
To any Friend) therby, almost am come
To such a passe; that, what I wish to have,
I should grow impudent enough to _Crave_,
Had not impartiall _Death_, and wasting _Time_,
Of all my Friends quite worne away the _Prime_;
And, left mee none, to whom I dare present
The meanest suite without encouragement:
Although, the greatest _Boone_, I would implore,
Should cost them, but a _Word_, or little more.
Yet, some there are, no doubt, for whose respect
I might endeavour, with no vaine effect;
Had I but cause, to have as high esteeme,
Of mine owne _Merits_, as I have of them.
And, if your _Honour_ should be so inclin’d,
As I desire; I, now am sure to finde
Another _Pembrooke_, by whose ayde sustain’d,
I may preserve, what by the _Last_ I gain’d.
To make adventure, how it will succeed,
I now am come. And lo, my LORD, insteed
Of better _Advocates_, I first begin,
Mine EMBLEMS, by these _Lines_, to Vsher in;
That, _they_, by these admittance may effect
For _Mee_, and for _themselves_, your kinde respect.
That, which in _them_, best Worthy you shall find,
Is this; that, they are Symptomes of a _Minde_,
Affecting honestie: and of a _Heart_,
So truly honouring a true desert,
That, I am hopefull made, they will acquire
As much respect as I can well desire:
And, SIR, your _Candor_, your knowne _Courtesies_,
With other praisefull _Vertues_, make mee rise
To this Beliefe; that, YOV by fav’ring mee
Hereafter, may as highly honour’d be,
As by some former Bounties; and encrease
My Future _Merit_, by your _Worthinesse_.
However, what I _am_ or shall be knowne
To _Bee_, by _Your Deservings_, or mine _owne_,
You may command it; and, be sure to finde
(Though false my _Fortunes_ prove) a Faithfull _Mind_.

_Thus, unfainedly, professeth_

_Your Honours_

_truest Honourer_,

GEO: WITHER.

TO
THE RIGHT HONORABLE,
_HENRIE_, Earle of HOLLAND, &c.
_Captaine of the =Guard=; _Lord-chiefe-Iustice_ in Eyre
of all his Majesties Forrests, Parkes and Chases
=on this side= Trent; =Knight of the most noble Order
of the Garter, and one of his Majesties
most Honourable= Privie Counsell._

_Right Noble SIR_,

_Having, of late, some =Cause=, to overlooke
That thankfull =Register=, wherein I booke
My noblest =Friends=; I found so many =Names=
Possessing nothing, but their honour’d =Fames=,
(Whose =living Persons=, wee injoyed, here,
A while agoe;) that, I began to feare,
I might grow =Friendlesse=; (having now so few)
Vnlesse I sought, their =Number= to renew._
_By some =Disasters=, also, gaining proofe,
How much this =Course= would make for my behoofe;
I call’d my =Wits= to =Counsell=, =Where=, and HOW
I might, with hopefulnesse, begin to sow
The seeds of such =a Blessing=: And, me thought
=Within mee=, something said: =Where should be sought
What thou so gladly wouldst renewed finde,
But, from some BRANCHES of the selfe-same kinde;
Whose faire Aspects may seeme to promise fruit,
According to the Virtues of the= Roote?_
_Assoone as Fancie had inform’d me so,
Your =Lordship=, came to my remembrance, too,
With what our =Soveraigne’s= Favour, =Vulgar Fame=,
Or, your owne =Merits=, addeth to your =Name=.
Which, having weigh’d, no doubts at all I had
Of =Worth= in =Yov=; But, rather, doubtings made
That, all my =Wits= would insufficient be,
To make that =Worth=, become a =Friend= to mee.
For, I have oft observ’d, that, =Favour= shunnes
The best =Desert=, if after =her=, it runnes._
_Yet_, who can tell what may befall? thought I:
It is no great _Adventure_, if I try
Without successe: And, if, I gaine my _End_,
I am assured of a _Noble-Friend_.
His honourable FATHER, deem’d mee worth
So much respecting as to seeke me forth,
When, I was more _obscure_: And, MEE, for nought
But, onely to _Befriend mee_, forth HEE sought.
Then, wherefore, of his SONNE, should I suspect
That (feeling =Him=) hee can my love reject?
Since, _Courtesie_ doth alwaies, there, abound,
Where such a lovely _Personage_ is found?
_My LORD, these were my =Fancies=: But I take them
To be of no more worth, than, you shall make them
By your =Acceptance=: Nor, is’t my intent
To Court you, with fruitlesse =Complement=:
But, to attempt your =Favour= with a mind,
As readily, and really, inclinde
To =serve= you, when my services may steed;
As to expect your Favours, in my need.
For, had my =Fates= enabled me so much,
I should more willingly have sought out such
On whom I Courtesies might have bestowne,
Than, seeke to cure =Misfortunes= of mine =owne=.
No doubt, but, every day, your =Lordship= heares
=Inventions=, which may better please your eares
Than these I now present; And, yet you might
(For ought I knew) finde profit, or delight,
By our plaine EMBLEMS, or, some =uses= in them,
Which from your =Honour=, some respects may win them;
Ev’n for that good =Moralitie=, which they
To Vulgar Vnderstandings will convay.
But, Truth to speake, the chiefest cause which drew
My minde, to make them PRESENTS, for your view,
Was, but to take =Occasion= to professe,
That, I am =Servant=, to your WORTHINESSE.
In which, if YOV are pleased; All is got,
At which I aym’d: And, though you like it not,
It shall but teach Mee (for the time to come)
To take more heed, where I am troublesome._

And, I shall be, neverthelesse,

your Honours to be commanded,

as becommeth your Servant,

GEO: WITHER.

_Whil’st I, the =Sunne’s= bright Face may view,
I will no meaner =Light= pursue._

ILLVSTR. I. _Book. 4_]

When, with a serious musing, I behold
The gratefull, and obsequious _Marigold_,
How duely, ev’ry morning, she displayes
Her open brest, when _Titan_ spreads his Rayes;
How she observes him in his daily walke,
Still bending towards him, her tender stalke;
How, when he downe declines, she droopes and mournes,
Bedew’d (as 'twere) with teares, till he returnes;
And, how she vailes her _Flow’rs_, when he is gone,
As if she scorned to be looked on
By an inferiour _Eye_; or, did contemne
To wayt upon a meaner _Light_, then _Him_.
When this I meditate, me-thinkes, the _Flowers_
Have _spirits_, farre more generous, then ours;
And, give us faire Examples, to despise
The servile Fawnings, and Idolatries,
Wherewith, we court these earthly things below,
Which merit not the service we bestow.
But, oh my God! though groveling I appeare
Vpon the Ground, (and have a rooting here,
Which hales me downward) yet in my desire,
To that, which is above mee, I aspire:
And, all my best _Affections_ I professe
To _Him_, that is the _Sunne of Righteousnesse_.
Oh! keepe the _Morning_ of his _Incarnation_,
The burning _Noone-tide_ of his bitter _Passion_,
The _Night_ of his _Descending_, and the _Height_
Of his _Ascension_, ever in my sight:
That imitating him, in what I may,
I never follow an inferiour _Way_.

_The =Earth= is God’s, and in his Hands
Are all the =Corners= of the Lands._

ILLVSTR. II. _Book. 4_]

Long since, the sacred _Hebrew Lyrick_ sayd,
(A Truth, which never justly was denayd)
That, _All the world is God’s_; and that his _hands_
Enclose the limits of the farthest _Lands_.
The selfe same _Truth_ affirmes, that likewise, there,
By him, their _clodds_, and _furrowes_ warred are,
And, that with _dewes_ and _showres_, he doth so blesse
The dwellings of the barren _Wildernesse_,
That, those Inhabitants (whom some conceiv’d,
Of usefull, and all pleasant things bereav’d)
Their labors, with advantage, doe employ,
And, fetch their yearely _Harvests_ home, with joy.
Why then should wee, that in God’s _Vineyard_ live,
Distrust that all things needfull hee will give?
Why should his _Garden_ doubt of what it needs,
Since hee oft waters barren _Rocks_ and _Weeds_?
Why should his _Children_, live in slavish feare,
Since hee is kind to those that strangers are?
Or, whither from his presence, can we flie,
To whom the furthest _hiding-place_ is nigh.
And, if I may, from lower objects clime,
(To questioning, in matters more sublime)
Why should I thinke, the _Soule_ shall not bee fed,
Where God affoords, to _Flesh_, her _daily Bread_?
Or, dreame, that hee, for some, provided none,
Because, on us, much _Mercie_ is bestowne?
'Tis true enough, that _Hell_ devoureth all,
Who shall be found without the _Churches_ pale;
But, how farre that extends, no Eye can see,
Since, _in Gods hands, Earth’s farthest Corners bee_.

_By seeming other than thou art,
Thou dost performe a foolish part._

ILLVSTR. III. _Book. 4_]

The World is much for _Shewes_, and few there are
So diligent to _bee_, as to _appeare_;
Although a little travaile more, would make them
Those men, for which, the _lookers-on_ mistake them.
Some, have so toyled, and consum’d so much,
To get a false repute of being _Rich_,
That, they have spent farre more, than would have bought,
The _substance_ of the _shadow_, they have sought;
And, caused those, who deem’d them rich before,
To know them, to bee miserably _poore_.
Some others, would so faine be counted _Wise_,
That, they consume in _Curiosities_,
In _Sophistries_, and superficiall _showes_,
More pretious Time, than would have made them those,
They long to seeme, (had halfe that meanes been spent,
In seeking _Wisdome_, with a pure intent)
Whereas, the glorioust purchases of such,
(Though by their Peeres they seeme applauded much)
Are still so vaine, that little they possesse,
But fruitlesse _leaves_, of _learned foolishnesse_:
Yea, by affecting more than is their due,
They lose ev’n both the _substance_, and the _shew_;
And, so, instead of honours _Crowne_, have worne
The _Coxcombes_, of a well-deserved scorne.
But, of all _Fooleries_, the grossest _Folly_
Is theirs, who weare those _garbes_ of _seeming-holy_,
Which paine them sore, yet make them still appeare,
To _God_ and _Men_, as wicked as they are.
Be, therefore, what, to be thou hast profest;
But, bee not of this last, of all the rest.

_Pursue thy =Workes=, without delay,
For, thy short =houres= runne fast away._

ILLVSTR. IIII. _Book. 4_]

Though this bee but the picture of that _Glasse_,
By which thou measur’st how thine _houres_ doe passe,
Yet, sleight it not; for, much 'twill profit thee,
To ponder what the _Morals_ of it bee.
And, 'tis an _Emblem_, whence the _Wise_ may learne,
That, which their persons, neerely doth concerne.
The brittle _Glasse_, serves fitly to expresse
The _Bodie’s_ frailtie, and much crasinesse.
Foure _Pillars_, which the glassie worke empale,
Instruct thee, that the _Vertues_ Cardinall,
To guard the _Manhood_, should bee still employ’d,
Lest else the feeble fabrick bee destroy’d.
The _Sand_, still running forth, without delay,
Doth shew, that _Life-time_, passeth fast away,
And, makes no stop: yea, and the _Motto_ too,
(Lest thou forgetfull prove) informes thee so.
By viewing this, Occasion, therefore, take,
Of thy fast-flying _Houres_, more use to make;
And, heedfull bee, to shunne their common crime,
Who take much care to trifle out the time;
As if it merited their utmost paine,
To lose the gemme, which most they seeke to gaine.
_Time-past_ is lost already: _Time-to-come_,
Belongs, as yet, thou knowst not unto whom.
The _present-houres_ are thine, and, onely those,
Of which thou hast _Commission_ to dispose;
And, they from thee, doe flye away so fast,
That, they are scarcely knowne, till they are past.
_Lord, give mee grace, to minde, and use =Time= so,
That, I may doe thy =worke=, before I goe._

_Repent, or God will breake the thread,
By which, thy =doome= hangs o’re thy head._

ILLVSTR. V. _Book. 4_]

Marke well this _Emblem_; and, (when in a _thread_,
You see the _Globe_, there, hang above their head,
Who in securitie, beneath it sit)
Observe likewise, the _Knife_, that threatens it;
The smallnesse of the _Twine_; and, what a death
Would follow, should it fall on those beneath:
And (having well observ’d it) mind, I pray,
That, which the word about it, there, doth say:
For, it includes a _Caveat_, which wee need
To entertaine, with a continuall heed.
Though few consider it, wee finde it thus
(Throughout our lives) with ev’ry one of us.
_Destruction_ hangeth in a _single thread_,
Directly over every _Sinner’s_ head.
That _Sentence_ is gone forth, by which wee stand
Condemn’d to suffer death. The dreadfull hand,
Of God’s impartiall _Iustice_, holds a _Knife_,
Still ready, to cut off our _thread of life_;
And, 'tis his _mercie_, that keepes up the _Ball_
From falling, to the ruine of us all.
Oh! let us minde, how often wee have bin,
Ev’n in the very act of _Deadly-sinne_,
Whilst this hung over us; and, let us praise,
And love him, who hath yet prolong’d our dayes:
Yea, let our thankfulnesse, bring forth such fruit,
As, to the benefit may somewhat suit:
For, though a _sudden-Death_ may not ensue,
Yet, (since _Times_ Axe, doth every minute hew
The _Root of Life_) the Tree, e’re long, must fall;
And, then perhaps, too late, repent wee shall.

_When =woe= is in our selves begun,
Then, whither from it, can wee run?_

ILLVSTR. VI. _Book. 4_]

Poore _Hart_, why dost thou run so fast? and why,
Behind thee dost thou looke, when thou dost fly?
As if thou seem’dst in thy swift flight, to heare
Those _dangers_ following thee, w^{ch} thou dost feare?
Alas! thou labour’st, and thou runn’st in vaine,
To shunne, by _flight_, thy _terrors_, or thy _paine_;
For, loe, thy _Death_, which thou hast dreaded so,
Clings fast unto thee, wheresoere thou goe:
And while thou toyl’st, an _outward-ease_ to win,
Thou draw’st thine owne _destruction_ further _in_;
Making that _Arrow_, which but prickes thy hide,
To pierce thy tender entrailes, through thy side.
And, well I may this wounded _Hart_ bemoane;
For, here, me thinkes, I’m taught to looke upon
Mine owne condition; and, in him, to see
Those deadly wounds, my _Sinnes_ have made in mee.
I greatly feare the _World_, may unawares
Intangle mee, by her alluring snares:
I am afraid, the _Devill_ may inject
Some poys’nous fume, my _Spirit_ to infect,
With ghostly _Pestilence_; and, I assay,
To flie from these, with all the pow’rs I may.
But, oh my Flesh! this very _Flesh_ I weare,
Is worse to mee, than _Worlds_, and _Devils_ are:
For, without this, no pow’r on mee, they had.
This is that _Shirt_, which made _Alcides_ mad.
It is a _griefe_, which I shall never cure,
Nor flie from, whilst my life-time doth endure:
From thence, oh _Lord_, my greatest _sorrowes_ bee;
And, therefore, from my _Selfe_, I flie to _Thee_.

_When =Magistrates= confined are,
They revell, who were kept in feare._

ILLVSTR. VII. _Book. 4_]

A Tyrannous, or wicked _Magistrat_,
Is fitly represented by a _Catt_:
For, though the _Mice_ a harmfull vermine bee,
And, _Cats_ the remedie; yet, oft wee see,
That, by the _Mice_, far lesse, some house-wives leese,
Then when they set the _Catt_ to keepe the _Cheese_.
A ravenous _Cat_, will punish in the _Mouse_,
The very same Offences, in the house,
Which hee himselfe commits; yea, for that _Vice_,
Which was his owne (with praise) he kills the _Mice_;
And, spoyleth not anothers life alone,
Ev’n for that very _fault_ which was his _owne_,
But _feeds_, and _fattens_, in the spoyle of them,
Whom hee, without compassion did condemne.
Nay, worse than so; hee cannot bee content,
To slaughter them, who are as innocent,
As hee _himselfe_; but, hee must also play,
And sport his wofull _Pris’ners_ lives away;
More torturing them, 'twixt fruitlesse _hopes_ and _feares_,
Than when their bowels, with his teeth he teares:
For, by much terrour, and much crueltie,
Hee kills them, ten times over, e’re they die.
When, such like _Magistrates_ have rule obtain’d,
The best men wish their powre might be restrain’d:
But, they who shun enormities, through _Feare_,
Are glad when _good-men_ out of Office are.
Yea, whether _Governours_ bee good or bad,
Of their displacings _wicked-men_ are glad;
And, when they see them brought into disgraces,
They boldly play the _Knaves_ before their faces.

_Loe, heere is all, that bee possest,
Which once was =Victor= of the =East=._

ILLVSTR. VIII. _Book. 4_]

When hee, who by his conquering Arme, possest
The rich, and spacious Empires of the _East_,
Felt his approaching end; he bade them beare
A _Shirt_ throughout his _Armie_, on a _Speare_,
Proclaiming, that of all his large estate,
No more was left him, then, but only that:
Perhaps intending, thereby, to expresse,
A sorrow for his wilde _Ambitiousnesse_;
Or, hoping, by that _Spectacle_, to give
Some good _Instructions_ unto those that live.
However, let it serve us, to declare,
How vaine their toylings, and ambitions are,
Who rob themselves, and other men of rest,
For things that are so little while possest.
And, if that powerfull King, could nothing have,
That was of use, to carry to his _Grave_,
(Of all his conquered _Kingdomes_) but, one _Shirt_,
Or, _Winding sheet_, to hide his Royall durt;
Why should we pinch, and scrape, and vext become,
To heap up Riches, for we know not whom?
Or, macerate the _Flesh_, by raising strife,
For more, than will bee usefull during life?
Nay, ev’n for that, which sometimes shortens _breath_,
And makes us, also, wretched after _Death_.
_Let mee, oh God! my labour so employ,
That, I, a competencie may enjoy.
I aske no more, than may =Lifes= want supply,
And, leave their due to others, when I =die=.
If this thou grant, (which nothing doubt I can)
None ever liv’d, or dy’d a richer man._

_When =Hopes=, quite frustrate were become,
The =Wither’d-branch= did freshly bloome._

ILLVSTR. IX. _Book. 4_]

T’is true, a _wither’d-branch_ I am, and seeme
To some, as voyd of _Hopes_, as of esteeme;
For, in their judgements, I appeare to be
A saplesse _Bough_, quite broken from the Tree,
(Ev’n such as that, in this our _Emblem_, here)
And, yet, I neither feele _Despaire_, nor _Feare_;
For, I have seene (e’re now) a little _Spray_,
(Rent from her _Stemme_) lye trodden by the way,
Three moneths together; which, when _Spring_ drew on,
To take an unexpected Root begun;
(Yea, grew to bee a Tree) and, growing, stood,
When those great _Groves_, were fell’d for firing-wood,
Which once had high esteeme; and sprung unhurt,
While that poore _Branch_, lay sleighted in the durt.
Nay, I have seene such _twiggs_, afford them shade,
By whom they were the meanest shrippings made,
Of all the _Wood_; And, you may live to see,
(For ought yet knowne) some such event in mee.
And, what if all who know mee, see me dead,
Before those _hopes_ begin to spring and spread?
Have therefore they that hate me, cause to boast,
As if mine expectations I had lost?
No sure: For, I, who by _Faith’s_ eyes have seene,
Old _Aarons_ wither’d _Rod_ grow fresh and greene;
And also viewed (by the selfe-same _Eyes_)
_Him_, whom that _Rod_, most rightly typifies,
_Fall_ by a shamefull _Death_, and _rise_, in spight
Of _Death_, and _Shame_, unto the glorioust _height_.
Ev’n I, beleeve my _Hope_ shall bee possest,
And, therefore, (ev’n in _Death_) in _Hope_ I’le rest.

_True =Vertue=, whatsoere betides,
In all =extreames=, unmoov’d abides._

ILLVSTR. X. _Book. 4_]

When, in this _Emblem_, here, you have espide,
The shape of a triangled _Pyramide_,
And, have observed well, those mightie _Rockes_,
Whose firme foundation bides the dreadfull shockes
Of angry _Neptune_; you may thereby see,
How firmly setled, _Vertues_ reall bee.
For, as the raging _Seas_, although they roare,
Can make no breach upon the Rockie shore;
And, as a true triangled _Pyramide_,
Stands fast, and shewes alike, on ev’ry side:
So, howsoever _Fortune_, turnes or winds,
Those men, which are indow’d with vertuous minds,
It is impossible, to drive them from
Those _Formes_, or _Stations_, which those minds become.
And, as the raging _Sea_, with foming threats,
Against the _Rockie-shore_, but vainely beats;
So, _Envie_ shall in vaine, loud blustrings make,
When vertuous resolutions they would shake.
For, _Vertue_, which receives an overthrow,
Was _Vertue_, not _indeed_, but in the _show_.
So farre am I, oh _Lord_! from laying claime
To have this _Vertue_, that, I doe but ayme
At such _perfection_; and, can come no nigher
As yet, than to obtaine it in _desire_.
But, fixe thou so, this weake desire of mine,
Vpon the _Vertues_ of thy _Rocke_ divine,
That _I_, and that invaluable _Stone_,
May bee incorporated into _One_:
And, then, it will bee neither shame, nor pride,
To say, my _Vertues_, will unmov’d abide.

_The =motion= of the =World=, this day,
Is mov’d the quite contrarie way._

ILLVSTR. XI. _Book. 4_]

What was this _Figures_ meaning, but to show,
That, as these kinde of _Shell-fish_ backward goe,
So now the _World_, (which here doth seeme to take
An arseward Iourney on the _Cancer’s_ backe)
Moves counterwise; as if delight it had,
To runne a race, in _Courses retrograde_:
And, that, is very likely to be true,
Which, this our _Emblem_, purposeth to shew.
For, I have now, of late, not onely seene,
What backward motions, in my _Friends_ have beene;
And, that my outward _Fortunes_ and _Affaires_,
Doe of themselves, come tumbling downe the staires:
But, I have also found, that other things,
Have got a wheeling in contrary _Rings_;
Which _Regresse_, holding on, 'tis like that wee,
To _Iewes_, or _Ethnicks_, backe shall turned bee.
Some punie _Clerkes_, presume that they can teach
The ancient holy _Doctors_, how to preach.
Some _Laicks_, learne their _Pastors_ how to pray.
Some _Parents_, are compelled to obay
Their _Sonnes_; and, so their Dignitie to lose,
As to be fed and cloth’d, at their dispose.
Nay, wee have some, who have assay’d to draw,
All backward, to the _Bondage_ of the _Law_;
Ev’n to those abrogated _Rites_ and _Dayes_,
By which, the wandring _Iew_ markes out his wayes.
And, to pursue this _Round_, they are so heady,
That, they have made themselves, and others giddy.
_Doe then, these froward =Motions=, LORD, restraine,
And, set the =World= in her due course againe._

_=Invincibilitie= is there,
Where =Order=, =Strength=, and =Vnion= are._

ILLVSTR. XII. _Book. 4_]

From these well-order’d _Arrowes_, and the _Snake_,
This usefull Observation you may make;
That, where an able _Prudence_, doth combine
_Vnited-forces_, by good _Discipline_,
It maketh up a pow’r, exempted from
The feare, or perill, to be _overcome_:
And, if you covet _safetie_, you will seeke
To know this _Ward_, and to acquire the like.
For, doubtlesse, neither is it in the force,
Of iron _Charets_, or of armed _Horse_,
In which, the _King_, securitie may finde,
Unlesse the Riders bee well _Disciplinde_.
Nor, lyes it in the Souldiers common _Skill_
In warlike _Postures_; nor in theirs, who drill
The _Rankes_ and _Fyles_, to order them aright,
According as _Occasion_ makes the _Fight_.
But, men must use a further _Prudence_ too,
Or else, those _vulgar-Arts_ will all undoe.
For, these, are onely _Sciences_ injoynd,
To order well the _Body_, not the _Mind_:
And, men best train’d in these (oft times) we see,
The _Hare-brain’dst-fooles_, in all our _Armies_ bee.
To _strength_, and _skill_, unite we must, therefore,
A manly _Prudence_, comprehending more,
Than all these _Powr’s_: ev’n such, as when shee please,
To all her ends, can use and mannage these;
And, shew us how to cure, or to prevent
All _HaZards_; or, withall to bee content.
Hee that’s thus arm’d, and trusts in _God_ alone,
May bee _oppos’d_, but, _conquered_ of none.

_When thou art shipwrackt in Estate,
Submit with patience, unto =Fate=._

ILLVSTR. XIII. _Book. 4_]

When I beheld this Picture of a _Boat_,
(Which on the raging _Waves_ doth seeme to float)
Forc’d onward, by the current of the Tide,
Without the helpe of _Anchor_, _Oare_ or _Guide_,
And, saw the _Motto_ there, which doth imply,
That shee commits her selfe to _Destinie_;
Me thinkes, this _Emblem_ sets out their estate,
Who have ascribed ev’ry thing to _Fate_;
And dreame, that howsoe’re the businesse goe,
Their _Worke_, nor hinders, neither helpes thereto.
The leaking _Ship_, they value as the sound:
Hee that’s to hanging borne, shall ne’re bee drown’d;
And, men to happinesse ordain’d (say these)
May set their _Ship_ to float, as _Fate_ shall please.
This _Fancie_, springing from a mis-beleeving
Of God’s _Decrees_; and, many men deceiving,
With shewes of _Truth_, both causeth much offence
Against God’s _Mercies_, and his _Providence_;
And brings to passe, that some to ruine runne,
By their neglect of what they might have done.
For, _Meanes_ is to bee us’d, (if wee desire,
The blessing of our safetie to acquire)
Whose naturall effects, if God deny,
Vpon his _Providence_ wee must relye,
Still practising what naturall aydes may bee,
Vntill no likely ayd untride wee see.
And, when this _Non plus_ wee are forc’d unto,
_Stand still_, wee may, and wayt what God will do.
Hee that shall thus to _Fate_, his fortunes leave,
Let mee bee ruin’d, if Shee him deceive.

_The best, and fairest =House=, to mee,
Is that, where best I love to bee._

ILLVSTR. XIV. _Book. 4_]

They are not _Houses_ builded large and high,
Seel’d all with _Gold_, and pav’d with _Porphyrie_,
Hung round with _Arras_, glaz’d with _Christall-glasse_,
And cover’d o’re with plates of shining _Brasse_,
Which are the best; but, rather, those where wee
In _safetie_, _health_, and best _content_, may bee;
And, where wee finde, though in a meane Estate,
That portion, which maintaines a quiet _Fate_.
Here, in a homely _Cottage_, thatcht with reed,
The _Peasant_ seemes as pleasedly to feed,
As hee, that in his _Hall_ or _Parlour_ dines,
Which Fret-worke Roofes, or costly Cedar Lines:
And, with the very same affections too,
Both to, and from it, hee doth come and goe.
The _Tortois_, doubtlesse, doth no house-roome lack,
Although his _House_ will cover but his back;
And, of his _Tub_, the _Cynicke_ seem’d as glad,
As _Alexander_ was of all hee had.
When I am setled in a place I love,
A shrubby _hedge-row_, seemes a goodly _Grove_.
My liking maketh _Palaces_ of _Sheds_,
And, of plaine _Couches_, carved Ivory _Beds_:
Yea, ev’ry _path_, and pathlesse _walke_, which lies
Contemn’d, as rude, or wilde, in others eyes,
To mee is pleasant; not alone in show,
But, truly such: For, liking makes them so.
As pleas’d in theirs, the _Snailes_, and _Cocles_ dwell,
As doth a _Scallop_ in his pearly shell:
For, that commends the _House_, which makes it fit,
To serve their turnes, who should have use of it.

_The =King=, his pow’r from God receives:
For, hee alone the =Scepter= gives._

ILLVSTR. XV. _Book. 4_]

The Gift of _Kingdomes_, _Children_, and _good-Wives_,
Are three of God’s most choice _Prerogatives_,
In temp’rall Blessings; and, of all these three,
The gifts of _Kingdomes_, his rar’st Favours bee:
For, in five hundred Millions, there’s not one,
Whom this high _Honour_ is conferr’d upon;
Nor is there any knowne _Estate_ on earth,
(Whereto wee come, by _Merit_, or by _Birth_)
Which can, to any man assurance bring,
That, hee shall either _live_, or _die_ a _King_.
The _Morning-Starre_, that’s Heire unto a _Crowne_,
Oft sets, before the _shining-Sunne_ is downe;
And, some, that once a glorious _Empire_ swayd,
Did lose their _Kingdomes_, e’re their heads were layd.
The greatest earthly _Monarch_ hath no powre,
To keepe his Throne one minute of an houre,
(Vse all the meanes, and policies hee can)
If God will give it to another man.
_Hee_, when _Belshazzar_ was in high’st estate,
His _Kingdome_ to the _Persians_ did translate.
King _Saul_, and _Rehoboam_, could not stay
The _Royalties_, which God would give away;
And, _Hee_ that was the proudest of the rest,
God, changed from a _King_, into a Beast.
Nor is there any man so meane, but hee,
When God shall please, an _Emperour_ may bee.
Some, from the _Pot-kilne_, from the _Sheep-cote_, some,
Hee raised hath, great _Princes_ to become:
Yea, hee o’re heav’n and earth, hath rear’d his _Throne_,
That was on earth, the most _despised-one_.

_Her favours, =Fortune=, oft imparts,
To those that are of no deserts._

ILLVSTR. XVI. _Book. 4_]

Would you not laugh, and thinke it beastly fine,
To see a durtie, and ill-favour’d _Swine_,
Weare on her snout, a _Diamond_, or a _Pearle_,
That might become the _Ladie_ of an _Earle_?
And hold it head, as if it meant to show
It were the _Pigg_ of some well-nurtur’d _Sow_?
Perhaps, you thinke there be not any where
Such _Antickes_, but in this our _Emblem_ here.
But, if you take these _Charmes_, and then goe forth
Among some troupes, which passe for folkes of worth,
You shall discover, quickly, if you please,
A thousand sights, as mimicall as these.
Here, you shall see a noble _Title_ worne,
(That had not mis-beseem’d one better borne)
By him, whose vertues are of little price,
And, whose estate, was gotten by his _Vice_.
You shall behold another _Mushrome_, there,
Walke with our _Lords_, as if hee were their _Peere_,
That was well knowne, to be but tother day,
No fit companion for such men as they;
And, had no other meanes to climbe this height,
But _Gaming_, or to play the _Parasite_.
Yet (though he neither hath his _Trade_, nor _Lands_,
Nor any honest _In-come_, by his _hands_)
Hee, oft consumes at once, in _Games_ or _Cheare_,
More than would keepe his _Better_ all the yeare.
Yea, many such as these, thou shouldst behold,
Which would bee vext, if I describe them should:
For, thus, unworthily, blind _Fortune_ flings,
To _Crowes_, and _Geese_, and _Swine_, her precious things.

_The best =good-turnes= that =Fooles= can doe us,
Proove disadvantages unto us._

ILLVSTR. XVII. _Book. 4_]

A _Foole_, sent forth to fetch the _Goslings_ home,
When they unto a Rivers brinck were come,
(Through which their passage lay) conceiv’d a feare
His Dames best _Brood_, might have been drowned there;
Which, to avoyd, hee thus did shew his wit,
And his good nature, in preventing it.
Hee, underneath his _girdle_, thrusts their heads,
And, then the Coxcombe through the water wades.
Here learne, that when a _Foole_ his helpe intends,
It rather doth a mischiefe, then befriends;
And, thinke, if there be danger in his _love_,
How harmefull his _Maliciousnesse_ may prove:
For, from his _kindenesse_, though no profit rise
To doe thee spight, his _Malice_ may suffise.
I could not from a _Prince_ beseech a boone
By suing to his _Iester_ or _Buffoone_:
Nor, any Fooles vaine humor, sooth or serve,
To get my bread, though I were like to starve.
For, to be _poore_, I should not blush so much,
As if a _Foole_ should raise me to be _rich_.
Lord, though of such a kinde my faults may be,
That sharpe _Affliction_ still must tutor mee,
(And give me due _Correction_ in her Schooles)
Yet, oh preserve me from the scorne of _Fooles_.
Those wicked _Fooles_, that in their hearts have sed
There is no God; and, rather give me _Bread_
By _Ravens_, LORD, or in a _Lions_ Den,
Then by the Favours of such foolish men:
Lest, if their _dainties_ I should swallow downe,
Their smile might more undoe, me, than their _frowne_.

_Though =weaknesse= unto me belong,
In my =Supporter=, I am strong._

ILLVSTR. XVIII. _Book. 4_]

Although there bee no Timber in the _Vine_,
Nor strength to raise the climbing _Ivie-twine_,
Yet, when they have a helper by their side,
Or, prop to stay them, like this _Pyramide_,
One roote sometime, so many _Sprayes_ will beare,
That, you might thinke, some goodly _Grove_ it were:
Their tender stalkes, to climbe aloft, are seene;
Their boughs are cover’d with a pleasant greene;
And, that, which else, had crept upon the ground,
Hath tops of loftie trees, and turrets crown’d.
This _Emblem_, fitly shadowes out the Natures
Of us, that are the _Reasonable-creatures_:
For, wee are truely by our _nat’rall-birth_,
Like _Vines_ undrest, and creeping on the earth;
Nor free from spoyling, nor in case to beare
Good _fruits_, or _leaves_, while we are groveling there.
But, if _new-borne_ by _Grace_, streight borne are wee,
From earthly creepings, by that _Living-tree_,
Which, here, was planted, meerely to this end,
That, by his _pow’r_, our _weaknesse_ might ascend.
And, hee our _frailtie_ to himselfe so takes,
So, of his _might_, the partners us hee makes;
That, hee, in us, doth seeme to hide his _pow’rs_,
And, make the _strength_ hee gives, appeare as ours.
Continue, _Lord_, this _Grace_, and grant wee may,
Firme hold, on our _Supporter_, alwayes lay:
So climbing, that wee nor neglect, nor hide
His _Love_; nor over-climbe it, by our _Pride_.
Thus, our yet staggering _weaknesse_, shall at length,
Bee fully changed into perfect _Strength_.

_Be wary, whosoe’re thou be,
For, from =Loves= arrowes, none are free._

ILLVSTR. XIX. _Book. 4_]

Good Folkes, take heede; for, here’s a wanton _Wagge_,
Who, having _Bowes_ and _Arrowes_, makes his bragg
That, he hath some unhappy trick to play;
And, vowes to shoot at all he meets to day.
Pray be not carelesse; for, the _Boy_ is blinde,
And, sometimes strikes, where most he seemeth kinde.
This rambling _Archer_ spares nor one, nor other:
Yea, otherwhile, the _Monkey_ shoots his Mother.
Though you be little _Children_, come not neere;
For, I remember (though’t be many a yeare
Now gone and past,) that, when I was a _Lad_,
My Heart, a pricke, by this young Wanton had,
That, pain’d me seven yeares after: nor had I
The grace (thus warn’d) to scape his waggery;
But many times, ev’n since I was a man,
He shot me, oftner then I tell you can:
And, if I had not bene the stronger-hearted,
I, for my over-daring, might have smarted.
You laugh now, as if this were nothing so;
But, if you meet this _Blinkard_ with his Bow,
You may, unlesse you take the better care,
Receive a _wound_, before you be aware.
I feare him not; for, I have learned how
To keepe my heart-strings from his Arrowes now:
And, so might you, and so might ev’ry one
That vaine _Occasions_, truely seekes to shunn.
But, if you sleight my Counsells, you may chance
To blame at last, your willfull ignorance:
For, some, who thought, at first, his wounds but small
Have dyed by them, in an _Hospitall_.

_On whether side soe’re I am,
I, still, appeare to bee the same._

ILLVSTR. XX. _Book. 4_]

This _Cube_, which is an equall-sided-square,
Doth very well, in _Emblem_-wise, declare
The temper of that vertuous minded man,
Whose resolutions nothing alter can.
For, as the _Cube_, which way soever plac’t,
Stands ever in one _posture_, firmely fast,
And, still, appeares the same in forme and size,
Vpon what side or part soe’re it lyes:
So, men well formed by the _Word_ divine,
And, truly squar’d by vertuous _Discipline_,
Will keepe (though _changes_ them shall turne & wind)
The _forme_ and _firmnesse_ of an _honest-minde_.
If, digging deepe, his _Fortunes_ lay him, there,
Where he his owne, and others weights must beare,
(There, many yeares compelling him to lie,
Opprest with dis-respect or povertie)
Hee keepes the place to which hee stands enjoyn’d,
And brooks his chances with a constant mind.
If shee remoove him thence, and set him up
On temporall _Prosperities_ high top,
The _Squarenesse_ of _Plaine dealing_ hee retaines,
And, in the same integritie remaines:
Nor coveting vaine _Wealth_, or false _esteemes_;
Nor, being any other than he seemes.
Although by Nature, wee are wondrous hard,
_Lord_, let us into such like _Stones_ be squar’d:
Then, place us in thy spirituall _Temple_, so,
That, into one firme _Structure_, we may grow;
And, when we, by thy _Grace_, are fitted thus,
Dwell _Thou thy selfe_, for evermore, in us.

_=Deformitie=, within may bee,
Where outward =Beauties= we doe see._

ILLVSTR. XXI. _Book. 4_]

Looke well, I pray, upon this _Beldame_, here,
For, in her _habit_, though shee gay appeare,
You, through her youthfull _vizard_, may espy
Shee’s of an old _Edition_, by her _Eye_:
And, by her wainscot face, it may bee seene,
Shee might your _Grandams_ first _dry nurse_ have been.
This is an _Emblem_, fitly shaddowing those,
Who making faire, and honest outward showes,
Are inwardly deform’d; and, nothing such,
As they to bee suppos’d, have strived much.
They chuse their _words_, and play well-acted _parts_,
But, hide most loathsome projects in their hearts;
And, when you think sweet _Friendship_ to embrace,
Some ugly _Treason_, meets you in the face.
I hate a painted _Brow_; I much dislike
A Mayden-blush, dawb’d on a furrowed _Cheeke_:
And, I abhorre to see old _Wantons_ play,
And, suite themselves, like _Ladies of the May_.
But, more (yea, most of all) my soule despiseth
A _Heart_, that in _Religious formes_, disguiseth
Prophane intentions; and arrayes in white,
The coale-blacke conscience of an _Hypocrite_.
Take heed of such as these; and, (if you may)
Before you trust them, tract them in their way.
Observe their footsteps, in their private _path_:
For, these (as 'tis beleev’d, the _Devill_ hath)
Have _cloven feet_; that is, _two wayes_ they goe;
One for their _ends_, and tother for a _show_.
Now, you thus warned are, advise embrace;
And, trust nor gawdy _Clothes_, nor painted _Face_.

_My =Hand= and =Heart=, in one agree,
What can you more desire of mee?_

ILLVSTR. XXII. _Book. 4_]

A _Heart_ with _Hand-in-hand_, united thus,
Makes here an _Emblem_ not unknowne to us;
And, 'tis not hard for any Vulgar wit,
Without a _Comment_, to interpret it.
But, though of ev’ry man confest it be,
That _Hand_ and _Heart_ together should agree;
And, that, what we in _outward-shew_ expresse,
Perform’d should be, with _inward-heartinesse_.
(Since, now the World, to such a passe is growne,
That, all is not consider’d, which is knowne)
I cannot thinke it altogether vaine,
To speake of that, which may appeare so plaine.
When thou dost reach thy _hand_ unto thy friend,
Take order, that thy _heart_ the same intend:
For, otherwise in _Hand_, or _Heart_, thou lyest,
And, cuttest off a _Member_, e’re thou dyest.
Some, give their _Hearts_ (as many _Lovers_ do)
Yet, are afraid, to set their _hands_ thereto.
Some give their _Hands_; and, then by many a deed,
To ratifie the _gift_, they dare proceede;
Yet, keep their _tongues_ from saying what they meant,
To helpe excuse their _hearts_, when they repent.
Yea, some can very cunningly expresse,
In outward shew, a winning heartinesse,
And, steale the deare _affections_ they have sought,
From those, to whom they meant, nor promis’d ought.
Then, will they, if _advantage_ come thereby,
Make all their _Deeds_, for want of _Words_, a ly.
Among _Dissemblers_, in things temporall,
These _Raskalls_ are the ver’est _Knaves_ of all.

_No =Emblem=, can at full declare,
How fickle, =Minds-unconstant= are._

ILLVSTR. XXIII. _Book. 4_]

Some, thinke this _Emblem_ serveth to expresse
No more, but onely _Womens_ ficklenesse;
And, they will most desire to have it so,
Who, like those best, that most inconstant grow.
Although my _Fortunes_ were, in some things, bad,
I never in my life, experience had
Of an _inconstant woman_: Wherefore, then,
Should I condemne the _Females_, more than men?
I heare some talke, that _Women_ fickle be:
And so I thinke; and so I know are wee.
And (being put together) say I dare,
That, they and wee, in equall manner, share
A _giddinesse_, and _ficklenesse_ of minde,
More wavering, than a _Feather_, or the _Winde_.
The _Woman_, heere, is plac’d, to typifie
A minde distracted with much levitie:
Not, that the womans _Wav’rings_ are the more;
But, for this cause: Most _Vices_, heretofore,
And _Vertues_ too, our _Ancestors_ did render,
By words declined in the _female-gender_.
The _winged Ball_, (whose tottering Foundation,
Augments the causes of our _variation_)
Meanes, here, those uselesse, and vaine _temp’rall things_,
That come and goe, with never-staying _wings_;
And, which (if thereupon our hearts we set)
Make _Men_ and _Women_, the _Vertigo_ get.
Hereafter, then, let neither _Sexe_ accuse
Each other; but, their best endeavours use,
To cure this _Maladie_ in one another,
By living well, and lovingly together.

_Hee that enjoyes a =patient Minde=,
Can =Pleasures= in =Afflictions= finde._

ILLVSTR. XXIV. _Book. 4_]

What meanes this _Countrey-peasant_, skipping here
Through prickling _Thistles_ w^{th} such gamesom cheere?
And, plucking off their tops, as though for _Posies_,
He gather’d Violets, or toothlesse Roses?
What meaneth it, but onely to expresse
How great a joy, well-grounded _Patientnesse_
Retaines in Suff’rings? and, what sport she makes,
When she her Iourney through _Affliction_ takes?
I, oft have sayd (and, have as oft, beene thought
To speake a _Paradox_, that favours nought
Of likely truth) that, some _Afflictions_ bring
A _Honey bag_, which cureth ev’ry Sting
(That wounds the _Flesh_) by giving to the _Mind_,
A pleasing taste of _Sweetnesses_ refin’d.
Nor can it other be, except in those,
Whose Better part, quite stupifyed growes,
By being Cauterized in the Fires
Of childish _Feares_, or temporall _Desires_.
For, as the _Valiant_ (when the _Coward_ swounds)
With gladnesse lets the _Surgion_ search his Wounds;
And, though they smart, yet cheerefully indures
The Plaisters, and, the Probe, in hope of Cures:
So, Men, assured that _Afflictions_ paine
Comes not for vengeance to them, nor in vaine;
But, to prepare, and fit them for the place,
To which, they willingly direct their pace;
In Troubles, are so farre from being sad,
That, of their _Suffring_, they are truely glad.
What ever others thinke, I thus beleeve;
And, therefore, _joy_, when they suppose I _grieve_.

_All is not =Gold=, which makes a show;
But, what the =Touchstone= findeth so._

ILLVSTR. XXV. _Book. 4_]

When Silver _Medalls_, or some coynes of _Gold_,
Are by the _Gold-smith_ either bought or sold,
Hee doth not only search them with his _Eye_,
But, by the _Scale_, their _weight_ will also trie;
Or, by the _Touchstone_, or the _Test_, assay
The truenesse of them, and their just _Alay_.
Now, by their warinesse, who thus proceed,
Wee fairely are admonished, to heed
The faithfulnesse of him wee make our _Friend_;
And, on whose love wee purpose to depend:
Or else, when wee a _Iewell_ thinke to get,
Wee may bee cheated by a _Counterfet_.
All is not _Gold_ that glisters: Otherwhile,
The _Tincture_ is so good, it may beguile
The cunningst eye: But, bring it to the _Touch_,
And, then, you find the value not so much.
Some, keepe the _Tincture_, brooking, likewise, well
An ordinarie _Touch_; but, yeeld a _Smell_,
Which will discover it, if you apply
Vnto your _Nose_, that piece of _Chymistrie_.
Sometime, when there’s enough to give content,
In _Colour_, in the _Touch_, and in the _Scent_;
The _Bulke_, is more than answers _Gold_ in _weight_,
And, proves it a sophisticall deceit.
Nay, some, is fully that which you desire,
In all these _Properties_; and, till the fire
Hath made _assayes_, you’l thinke you might be bold
To pawne your life, it had been _Ophir-gold_:
But, to bee false, the _Metall’s_ then descride;
And, such are many _Friends_, when they are tride.

_=Apollo= shoots not ev’ry day,
But, sometime on his =Harpe= doth play._

ILLVSTR. XXVI. _Book. 4_]

There are a sort of people so severe,
That, _foolish_, and _injurious_ too, they are;
And, if the world were to bee rul’d by these,
Nor _Soule_, nor _Bodie_, ever should have ease.
The _Sixe dayes_, (as their wisdomes understand)
Are to bee spent in _Labour_, by command,
With such a strictnesse, that they quite condemne
All _Recreations_ which are us’d in them.
That, which is call’d the _Sabbath_, they confine
To _Prayers_, and all _Offices-divine_,
So wholly, that a little _Recreation_,
That _Day_, is made a marke of _Reprobation_:
And, (by this meanes) the reason is to seeke,
When their poore _Servants_ labour all the _weeke_,
(Of which, they’l bate them nothing) how it tyes
Them, to observe the sixe-fold _Sacrifice_
By some injoyn’d; and gives them such due _Rest_,
As _God_ allowed, both to _Man_ and _Beast_.
Hee, gave the _Woods_, the _Fields_, and _Meddowes_, here,
A time to _rest_, as well as times to _beare_.
The _Forrest Beasts_, and _Heards_, have howres for _play_,
As well as time to _graze_, and hunt their prey:
And, ev’ry _Bird_ some leasure hath to sing,
Or, in the Aire, to _sport_ it on her wing.
And, sure, to _him_, for whom all these were made,
Lesse kindnesse was not meant, then these have had.
The _Flesh_ will faint, if pleasure none it knowes;
The Man growes madd, that alway muzing goes.
The _Wisest men_, will _sometimes merry_ bee:
And, this is that, this _Emblem_ teacheth me.

_=Live=, ever mindfull of thy =dying=;
For, =Time= is alwayes from thee flying._

ILLVSTR. XXVII. _Book. 4_]

This vulgar _Figure_ of a _winged glasse_,
Doth signifie, how swiftly _Time_ doth passe.
By that leane _Scull_, which to this _houre-glasse_ clings,
We are informed what effect it brings;
And, by the _Words_ about it, wee are taught
_To keepe our latter ending still in thought_.
The common _houre-glasse_, of the _Life_ of _Man_,
Exceedeth not the largenesse of a _span_.
The _Sand_-like _Minutes_, flye away so fast,
That, _yeares_ are out, e’re wee thinke _months_ are past:
Yea, many times, our _nat’rall-day_ is gone,
Before wee look’d for _twelve a clocke at Noone_;
And, where wee sought for _Beautie, at the Full_,
Wee finde the _Flesh_ quite rotted from the _Skull_.
Let these Expressions of _Times_ passage, bee
_Remembrancers_ for ever, _Lord_, to mee;
That, I may still bee guiltlesse of their crime,
Who fruitlesly consume their precious _Time_:
And, minde my _Death_; not with a slavish feare,
But, with a thankfull use, of _life-time_, here:
Not grieving, that my _dayes_ away doe post;
But, caring rather, that they bee not lost,
And, lab’ring with Discretion, how I may
Redeeme the _Time_, that’s vainely slipt away.
So, when that _moment_ comes, which others dread,
I, undismay’d, shall climbe my _dying bed_;
With joyfull _Hopes_, my _Flesh_ to dust commend;
In _Spirit_, with a stedfast _Faith_ ascend;
And, whilst I _living_ am, to _sinne_ so _dye_,
That _dying_, I may live eternally.

_In ev’ry =Storme=, hee standeth fast,
Whose dwelling, on the =Rocke= is plac’d._

ILLVSTR. XXVIII. _Book. 4_]

What thing soever some will have exprest,
As typified by this _Halcyons-nest_,
I shall not thinke this _Emblem_ ill-appli’d,
If, by the same, the _Church_ bee signifi’d.
For, as it is (by some) affirm’d of these,
That, whilst they breed, the fury of the seas
Is through the world alayd; and, that their _Brood_
Remaines in safetie, then, amidst the flood:
So, when the Christian _Church_ was in her birth,
There was a generall _Peace_ throughout the earth;
And, those tumultuous _Waves_, which after that
Began to rise, and bee enrag’d thereat,
Were calmed so, that _Hee_ was borne in peace,
From whom, the faithfull _Off-spring_ did encrease.
They, likewise, on a _Rocke_, their dwellings have,
As here you see; and, though the raging _Wave_,
Of dreadfull _Seas_, hath beaten, ever since,
Against the _Fortresse_ of their strong defence,
Yet, still it stands; and, safe, it shall abide,
Ev’n in the midst of all their foming pride.
Vpon this _Rocke_ so place me, oh my God!
That, whatsoever _Tempests_ bee abroad,
I may not feare the fury of my Foe;
Nor bee in danger of an overthrow.
My life is full of _Stormes_; the _Waters_ roule,
As if they meant to swallow up my soule.
The _Tides_ oppose; the furious winds doe roare;
My _Cable’s_ weake, my _tacklings_, Lord, are poore,
And, my fraile _vessell_ cannot long endure;
Yet, reach to mee thy hand, and I’m secure.

_That’s =Friendship=, and =true-love=, indeed,
Which firme abides, in time of need._

ILLVSTR. XXIX. _Book. 4_]

That’s _Love in earnest_, which is constant found,
When Friends are in _Affliction_, or in _Bands_;
And, their _Affection_ merits to be _crown’d_,
Whose _hearts_ are fastned where they joyne their _hands_.
Tis easie to be friendly, where wee see
A _Complement_ or two will serve the turne;
Or, where the _kindnesse_ may required bee;
Or, when the charge is with a trifle borne.
It is as easie too, for him to spend
At once, the full Revenues of a yeare,
In Cates, for entertainment of his _Friend_,
Who thinkes his _glorie_, is _expensive-cheere_:
For, 'tis his pleasure; and, if none should come
Like _fashionable-Friends_, for him to court,
Hee would with _Rogues_, and _Canters_, fill the Roome,
Or, such as should abuse, and flout him for’t.
But, hard it is, to suffer, or to spend
For him (though worthy) that’s of meane estate,
Unlikely our occasions to befriend,
Or, one unable to remunerate.
Few men are liberall, whom neither _Lust_,
_Vaine glorie_, _Prodigalitie_, nor _Pride_,
Doth forward into foolish _Bountie_ thrust;
As may, by Observation bee espide.
For, when a slender _Bountie_ would relieve
Their vertuous _Friend_, whose wants to them are knowne,
To their _Buffoone_, a Knights estate they’l give,
And, thinke on t’other trifles ill-bestowne.
Yet, this Ile say; and, give the _Devill_ his due;
These _Friends_, are to their _lusts_, and _humours_, true.

_The =Sword= hath place, till =War= doth cease;
And, usefull is, in time of =Peace=._

ILLVSTR. XXX. _Book. 4_]

The _Sword_, to bee an _Emblem_, here, we draw,
Of that Authoritie, which keeps in awe
Our _Countries_ Enemies; and, those that are
The Foes of _Peace_, as well as those of _Warre_;
That, _Peace_ may give the _Law of Armes_ her due,
And, _Warre_, to _Civill-pow’rs_, respect may shew.
For, _Kingdomes_, nor in _Warre_ nor _Peace_, can stand,
Except the _Sword_ have alway some command:
Yea, that, for which our forraine _Spoylers_ come,
_Domesticke Foes_, will else devoure at home;
And, _stranger-drones_ the peacefull _Bees_ will harme,
Vnlesse with warlike stings, themselves they arme.
Considering this, let none bee so unwise,
The _Swords_ well-us’d protection to despise:
Or, thinke the practice of this _double-guard_,
In any place, or age, may well bee spar’d.
Let not the _Sword-man_ sleight the pow’rfull _Gowne_;
Nor _Gowne-men_ cast the _Sword_ out of their Towne,
Because it terrifies, or draweth Blood;
For, otherwhile Phlebotomy is good:
And, though to kill a Lowse, the _Banians_ feare;
(Though _Anabaptists_ love no _Sword_ to weare)
Yet, being drawne, to fright, or cut off _Sinne_,
It may bee brandish’d by a Cherubin.
However, from the _Sword_ divide not you
(In any case) the peacefull _Olive-bough_:
That is, let _Peace_, at all times, be that _End_,
For which, to draw the _Sword_ you doe intend;
And, for _well-doing_, bee as ready, still,
To give _rewards_, as _blowes_, for _doing-ill_.

_A =Fortune= is ordain’d for thee,
According as thy =Labours= bee._

ILLVSTR. XXXI. _Book. 4_]