Part 54 (1/2)

13, [4606]”which inflames our souls with a divine heat, and being so inflamed, purged, and so purgeth, elevates to G.o.d, makes an atonement, and reconciles us unto him.” [4607] ”That other love infects the soul of man, this cleanseth; that depresses, this rears; that causeth cares and troubles, this quietness of mind; this informs, that deforms our life; that leads to repentance, this to heaven.” For if once we be truly linked and touched with this charity, we shall love G.o.d above all, our neighbour as ourself, as we are enjoined, Mark xii. 31. Matt. xix. 19. perform those duties and exercises, even all the operations of a good Christian.

”This love suffereth long, it is bountiful, envieth not, boasteth not itself, is not puffed up, it deceiveth not, it seeketh not his own things, is not provoked to anger, it thinketh not evil, it rejoiceth not in iniquity, but in truth. It suffereth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,” 1 Cor. xiii. 4, 5, 6, 7; ”it covereth all trespa.s.ses,”

Prov, x. 12; ”a mult.i.tude of sins,” 1 Pet. 4, as our Saviour told the woman in the Gospel, that washed his feet, ”many sins were forgiven her, for she loved much,” Luke vii. 47; ”it will defend the fatherless and the widow,”

Isa. i. 17; ”will seek no revenge, or be mindful of wrong,” Levit. xix. 18; ”will bring home his brother's ox if he go astray, as it is commanded,”

Deut. xxii. 1; ”will resist evil, give to him that asketh, and not turn from him that borroweth, bless them that curse him, love his enemy,” Matt.

v; ”bear his brother's burthen,” Gal. vi. 7. He that so loves will be hospitable, and distribute to the necessities of the saints; he will, if it be possible, have peace with all men, ”feed his enemy if he be hungry, if he be athirst give him drink;” he will perform those seven works of mercy, ”he will make himself equal to them of the lower sort, rejoice with them that rejoice, weep with them that weep,” Rom. xii; he will speak truth to his neighbour, be courteous and tender-hearted, ”forgiving others for Christ's sake, as G.o.d forgave him,” Eph. iv. 32; ”he will be like minded,”

Phil. ii. 2. ”Of one judgment; be humble, meek, long-suffering,” Colos.

iii. ”Forbear, forget and forgive,” xii. 13. 23. and what he doth shall be heartily done to G.o.d, and not to men. ”Be pitiful and courteous,” 1 Pet.

iii. ”Seek peace and follow it.” He will love his brother, not in word and tongue, but in deed and truth, John iii. 18. ”and he that loves G.o.d, Christ will love him that is begotten of him,” John v. 1, &c. Thus should we willingly do, if we had a true touch of this charity, of this divine love, if we could perform this which we are enjoined, forget and forgive, and compose ourselves to those Christian laws of love.

[4608] ”O felix hominum genus, Si vestros animos amor Quo coelum regitur regat!”

”Angelical souls, how blessed, how happy should we be, so loving, how might we triumph over the devil, and have another heaven upon earth!”

But this we cannot do; and which is the cause of all our woes, miseries, discontent, melancholy, [4609]want of this charity. We do _invicem angariare_, contemn, consult, vex, torture, molest, and hold one another's noses to the grindstone hard, provoke, rail, scoff, calumniate, challenge, hate, abuse (hard-hearted, implacable, malicious, peevish, inexorable as we are), to satisfy our l.u.s.t or private spleen, for [4610]toys, trifles, and impertinent occasions, spend ourselves, goods, friends, fortunes, to be revenged on our adversary, to ruin him and his. 'Tis all our study, practice, and business how to plot mischief, mine, countermine, defend and offend, ward ourselves, injure others, hurt all; as if we were born to do mischief, and that with such eagerness and bitterness, with such rancour, malice, rage, and fury, we prosecute our intended designs, that neither affinity or consanguinity, love or fear of G.o.d or men can contain us: no satisfaction, no composition will be accepted, no offices will serve, no submission; though he shall upon his knees, as Sarpedon did to Glaucus in Homer, acknowledging his error, yield himself with tears in his eyes, beg his pardon, we will not relent, forgive, or forget, till we have confounded him and his, ”made dice of his bones,” as they say, see him rot in prison, banish his friends, followers, _et omne invisum genus_, rooted him out and all his posterity. Monsters of men as we are, dogs, wolves, [4611]tigers, fiends, incarnate devils, we do not only contend, oppress, and tyrannise ourselves, but as so many firebrands, we set on, and animate others: our whole life is a perpetual combat, a conflict, a set battle, a snarling fit.

_Eris dea_ is settled in our tents, [4612]_Omnia de lite_, opposing wit to wit, wealth to wealth, strength to strength, fortunes to fortunes, friends to friends, as at a sea-fight, we turn our broadsides, or two millstones with continual attrition, we fire ourselves, or break another's backs, and both are ruined and consumed in the end. Miserable wretches, to fat and enrich ourselves, we care not how we get it, _Quocunque modo rem_; how many thousands we undo, whom we oppress, by whose ruin and downfall we arise, whom we injure, fatherless children, widows, common societies, to satisfy our own private l.u.s.t. Though we have myriads, abundance of wealth and treasure, (pitiless, merciless, remorseless, and uncharitable in the highest degree), and our poor brother in need, sickness, in great extremity, and now ready to be starved for want of food, we had rather, as the fox told the ape, his tail should sweep the ground still, than cover his b.u.t.tocks; rather spend it idly, consume it with dogs, hawks, hounds, unnecessary buildings, in riotous apparel, ingurgitate, or let it be lost, than he should have part of it; [4613]rather take from him that little which he hath, than relieve him.

Like the dog in the manger, we neither use it ourselves, let others make use of or enjoy it; part with nothing while we live: for want of disposing our household, and setting things in order, set all the world together by the ears after our death. Poor Lazarus lies howling at his gates for a few crumbs, he only seeks chippings, offals; let him roar and howl, famish, and eat his own flesh, he respects him not. A poor decayed kinsman of his sets upon him by the way in all his jollity, and runs begging bareheaded by him, conjuring by those former bonds of friends.h.i.+p, alliance, consanguinity, &c., uncle, cousin, brother, father,

------”Per ego has lachrymas, dextramque tuam te, Si quidquam de te merui, fuit aut tibi quidquam Dulce meum, misere mei.”

”Show some pity for Christ's sake, pity a sick man, an old man,” &c., he cares not, ride on: pretend sickness, inevitable loss of limbs, goods, plead suretys.h.i.+p, or s.h.i.+pwreck, fires, common calamities, show thy wants and imperfections,

”Et si per sanctum juratus dicat Osyrim, Credite, non ludo, crudeles tollite claudum.”

Swear, protest, take G.o.d and all his angels to witness, _quaere peregrinum_, thou art a counterfeit crank, a cheater, he is not touched with it, _pauper ubique jacet_, ride on, he takes no notice of it. Put up a supplication to him in the name of a thousand orphans, a hospital, a spittle, a prison, as he goes by, they cry out to him for aid, ride on, _surdo narras_, he cares not, let them eat stones, devour themselves with vermin, rot in their own dung, he cares not. Show him a decayed haven, a bridge, a school, a fortification, etc., or some public work, ride on; good your wors.h.i.+p, your honour, for G.o.d's sake, your country's sake, ride on.

But show him a roll wherein his name shall be registered in golden letters, and commended to all posterity, his arms set up, with his devices to be seen, then peradventure he will stay and contribute; or if thou canst thunder upon him, as Papists do, with satisfactory and meritorious works, or persuade him by this means he shall save his soul out of h.e.l.l, and free it from purgatory (if he be of any religion), then in all likelihood he will listen and stay; or that he have no children, no near kinsman, heir, he cares for, at least, or cannot well tell otherwise how or where to bestow his possessions (for carry them with him he cannot), it may be then he will build some school or hospital in his life, or be induced to give liberally to pious uses after his death. For I dare boldly say, vainglory, that opinion of merit, and this enforced necessity, when they know not otherwise how to leave, or what better to do with them, is the main cause of most of our good works. I will not urge this to derogate from any man's charitable devotion, or bounty in this kind, to censure any good work; no doubt there be many sanctified, heroical, and worthy-minded men, that in true zeal, and for virtue's sake (divine spirits), that out of commiseration and pity extend their liberality, and as much as in them lies do good to all men, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, comfort the sick and needy, relieve all, forget and forgive injuries, as true charity requires; yet most part there is _simulatum quid_, a deal of hypocrisy in this kind, much default and defect. [4614]Cosmo de Medici, that rich citizen of Florence, ingeniously confessed to a near friend of his, that would know of him why he built so many public and magnificent palaces, and bestowed so liberally on scholars, not that he loved learning more than others, ”but to [4615]eternise his own name, to be immortal by the benefit of scholars; for when his friends were dead, walls decayed, and all inscriptions gone, books would remain to the world's end.” The lantern in [4616]Athens was built by Zenocles, the theatre by Pericles, the famous port Pyraeum by Musicles, Pallas Palladium by Phidias, the Pantheon by Callicratidas; but these brave monuments are decayed all, and ruined long since, their builders' names alone flourish by meditation of writers. And as [4617]he said of that Marian oak, now cut down and dead, _nullius Agricolae manu vulta stirps tam diuturna, quam quae poetae, versu seminari potest_, no plant can grow so long as that which is _ingenio sata_, set and manured by those ever-living wits. [4618]Allon Backuth, that weeping oak, under which Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, died, and was buried, may not survive the memory of such everlasting monuments. Vainglory and emulation (as to most men) was the cause efficient, and to be a trumpeter of his own fame, Cosmo's sole intent so to do good, that all the world might take notice of it. Such for the most part is the charity of our times, such our benefactors, Mecaenates and patrons.

Show me amongst so many myriads, a truly devout, a right, honest, upright, meek, humble, a patient, innocuous, innocent, a merciful, a loving, a charitable man! [4619]_Probus quis n.o.bisc.u.m vivit_? Show me a Caleb or a Joshua! _Dic mihi Musa virum_--show a virtuous woman, a constant wife, a good neighbour, a trusty servant, an obedient child, a true friend, &c.

Crows in Africa are not so scant. He that shall examine this [4620]iron age wherein we live, where love is cold, _et jam terras Astrea reliquit_, justice fled with her a.s.sistants, virtue expelled,

[4621] ------”Just.i.tiae soror, Incorrupta fides, nudaque veritas,”------

all goodness gone, where vice abounds, the devil is loose, and see one man vilify and insult over his brother, as if he were an innocent, or a block, oppress, tyrannise, prey upon, torture him, vex, gall, torment and crucify him, starve him, where is charity? He that shall see men [4622]swear and forswear, lie and bear false witness, to advantage themselves, prejudice others, hazard goods, lives, fortunes, credit, all, to be revenged on their enemies, men so unspeakable in their l.u.s.ts, unnatural in malice, such b.l.o.o.d.y designments, Italian blaspheming, Spanish renouncing, &c., may well ask where is charity? He that shall observe so many lawsuits, such endless contentions, such plotting, undermining, so much money spent with such eagerness and fury, every man for himself, his own ends, the devil for all: so many distressed souls, such lamentable complaints, so many factions, conspiracies, seditions, oppressions, abuses, injuries, such grudging, repining, discontent, so much emulation, envy, so many brawls, quarrels, monomachies, &c., may well require what is become of charity? when we see and read of such cruel wars, tumults, uproars, b.l.o.o.d.y battles, so many [4623]men slain, so many cities ruinated, &c. (for what else is the subject of all our stones almost, but bills, bows, and guns!) so many murders and ma.s.sacres, &c., where is charity? Or see men wholly devote to G.o.d, churchmen, professed divines, holy men, [4624]”to make the trumpet of the gospel the trumpet of war,” a company of h.e.l.l-born Jesuits, and fiery-spirited friars, _facem praeferre_ to all seditions: as so many firebrands set all the world by the ears (I say nothing of their contentious and railing books, whole ages spent in writing one against another, and that with such virulency and bitterness, _Bionaeis sermonibus et sale nigro_), and by their b.l.o.o.d.y inquisitions, that in thirty years, Bale saith, consumed 39 princes, 148 earls, 235 barons, 14,755 commons; worse than those ten persecutions, may justly doubt where is charity?

_Obsecro vos quales hi demum Christiani!_ Are these Christians? I beseech you tell me: he that shall observe and see these things, may say to them as Cato to Caesar, _credo quae de inferis dic.u.n.tur falsa existimas_, ”sure I think thou art of opinion there is neither heaven nor h.e.l.l.” Let them pretend religion, zeal, make what shows they will, give alms, peace-makers, frequent sermons, if we may guess at the tree by the fruit, they are no better than hypocrites, epicures, atheists, with the [4625]”fool in their hearts they say there is no G.o.d.” 'Tis no marvel then if being so uncharitable, hard-hearted as we are, we have so frequent and so many discontents, such melancholy fits, so many bitter pangs, mutual discords, all in a combustion, often complaints, so common grievances, general mischiefs, _si tantae in terris tragoediae, quibus labefactatur et misere laceratur humanum genus_, so many pestilences, wars, uproars, losses, deluges, fires, inundations, G.o.d's vengeance and all the plagues of Egypt, come upon us, since we are so currish one towards another, so respectless of G.o.d, and our neighbours, and by our crying sins pull these miseries upon our own heads. Nay more, 'tis justly to be feared, which [4626]Josephus once said of his countrymen Jews, ”if the Romans had not come when they did to sack their city, surely it had been swallowed up with some earthquake, deluge, or fired from heaven as Sodom and Gomorrah: their desperate malice, wickedness and peevishness was such.” 'Tis to be suspected, if we continue these wretched ways, we may look for the like heavy visitations to come upon us. If we had any sense or feeling of these things, surely we should not go on as we do, in such irregular courses, practise all manner of impieties; our whole carriage would not be so averse from G.o.d. If a man would but consider, when he is in the midst and full career of such prodigious and uncharitable actions, how displeasing they are in G.o.d's sight, how noxious to himself, as Solomon told Joab, 1 Kings, ii. ”The Lord shall bring this blood upon their heads.” Prov. i. 27, ”sudden desolation and destruction shall come like a whirlwind upon them: affliction, anguish, the reward of his hand shall be given him,” Isa. iii. 11, &c., ”they shall fall into the pit they have digged for others,” and when they are sc.r.a.ping, tyrannising, getting, wallowing in their wealth, ”this night, O fool, I will take away thy soul,” what a severe account they must make; and how [4627]gracious on the other side a charitable man is in G.o.d's eyes, _haurit sibi gratiam_. Matt. v. 7, ”Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy: he that lendeth to the poor, gives to G.o.d,” and how it shall be restored to them again; ”how by their patience and long-suffering they shall heap coals on their enemies' heads,” Rom. xii. ”and he that followeth after righteousness and mercy, shall find righteousness and glory;” surely they would check their desires, curb in their unnatural, inordinate affections, agree amongst themselves, abstain from doing evil, amend their lives, and learn to do well. ”Behold how comely and good a thing it is for brethren to live together in [4628]union: it is like the precious ointment, &c. How odious to contend one with the other!” [4629] _Miseriquid luctatiunculis hisce volumus? ecce mors supra caput est, et supremum illud tribunal, ubi et dicta et facta nostra examinanda sunt: Sapiamus!_ ”Why do we contend and vex one another? behold death is over our heads, and we must shortly give an account of all our uncharitable words and actions: think upon it: and be wise.”

SECT. II. MEMB. I.

SUBSECT. I.--_Heroical love causeth Melancholy. His Pedigree, Power, and Extent_.

In the preceding section mention was made, amongst other pleasant objects, of this comeliness and beauty which proceeds from women, that causeth heroical, or love-melancholy, is more eminent above the rest, and properly called love. The part affected in men is the liver, and therefore called heroical, because commonly gallants. n.o.blemen, and the most generous spirits are possessed with it. His power and extent is very large, [4630]

and in that twofold division of love, [Greek: philein] and [Greek: eran]

[4631]those two veneries which Plato and some other make mention of it is most eminent, and [Greek: kat' exochaen] called Venus, as I have said, or love itself. Which although it be denominated from men, and most evident in them, yet it extends and shows itself in vegetal and sensible creatures, those incorporeal substances (as shall be specified), and hath a large dominion of sovereignty over them. His pedigree is very ancient, derived from the beginning of the world, as [4632]Phaedrus contends, and his [4633]

parentage of such antiquity, that no poet could ever find it out. Hesiod makes [4634]Terra and Chaos to be Love's parents, before the G.o.ds were born: _Ante deos omnes primum generavit amorem_. Some think it is the self-same fire Prometheus fetched from heaven. Plutarch _amator. libello_, will have Love to be the son of Iris and Favonius; but Socrates in that pleasant dialogue of Plato, when it came to his turn to speak of love, (of which subject Agatho the rhetorician, _magniloquus_ Agatho, that chanter Agatho, had newly given occasion) in a poetical strain, telleth this tale: when Venus was born, all the G.o.ds were invited to a banquet, and amongst the rest, [4635]Porus the G.o.d of bounty and wealth; Penia or Poverty came a begging to the door; Porus well whittled with nectar (for there was no wine in those days) walking in Jupiter's garden, in a bower met with Penia, and in his drink got her with child, of whom was born Love; and because he was begotten on Venus's birthday, Venus still attends upon him. The moral of this is in [4636]Ficinus. Another tale is there borrowed out of Aristophanes: [4637]in the beginning of the world, men had four arms and four feet, but for their pride, because they compared themselves with the G.o.ds, were parted into halves, and now peradventure by love they hope to be united again and made one. Otherwise thus, [4638]Vulcan met two lovers, and bid them ask what they would and they should have it; but they made answer, _O Vulcane faber Deorum_, &c. ”O Vulcan the G.o.ds' great smith, we beseech thee to work us anew in thy furnace, and of two make us one; which he presently did, and ever since true lovers are either all one, or else desire to be united.” Many such tales you shall find in Leon Hebreus, _dial. 3._ and their moral to them. The reason why Love was still painted young, (as Phornutus [4639]and others will) [4640]”is because young men are most apt to love; soft, fair, and fat, because such folks are soonest taken: naked, because all true affection is simple and open: he smiles, because merry and given to delights: hath a quiver, to show his power, none can escape: is blind, because he sees not where he strikes, whom he hits, &c.” His power and sovereignty is expressed by the [4641]poets, in that he is held to be a G.o.d, and a great commanding G.o.d, above Jupiter himself; Magnus Daemon, as Plato calls him, the strongest and merriest of all the G.o.ds according to Alcinous and [4642]Athenaeus. _Amor virorum rex, amor rex et deum_, as Euripides, the G.o.d of G.o.ds and governor of men; for we must all do homage to him, keep a holiday for his deity, adore in his temples, wors.h.i.+p his image, (_numen enim hoc non est nudum nomen_) and sacrifice to his altar, that conquers all, and rules all:

[4643] ”Mallem c.u.m icone, cervo et apro Aeolico, c.u.m Anteo et Stymphalicis avibus luctari Quam c.u.m amore”------

”I had rather contend with bulls, lions, bears, and giants, than with Love;” he is so powerful, enforceth [4644]all to pay tribute to him, domineers over all, and can make mad and sober whom he list; insomuch that Caecilius in Tully's Tusculans, holds him to be no better than a fool or an idiot, that doth not acknowledge Love to be a great G.o.d.