very species in the world,
but a plurality of worlds; so that the abhorrers of solitude are not
solitary, for God, and Nature, and Reason concur against it. Now a man
may counterfeit the plague in a vow, and mistake a disease for religion,
by such a retiring and recluding of himself from all men as to do good
to no man, to converse with no man. God hath two testaments, two wills;
but this is a schedule, and not of his, a codicil, and not of his, not
in the body of his testaments, but interlined and postscribed by others,
that the way to the communion of saints should be by such a solitude as
excludes all doing of good here. That is a disease of the mind, as the
height of an infectious disease of the body is solitude, to be left
alone: for this makes an infectious bed equal, nay, worse than a grave,
that though in both I be equally alone, in my bed I know it, and feel
it, and shall not in my grave: and this too, that in my bed my soul is
still in an infectious body, and shall not in my grave be so.

V. EXPOSTULATION.

O God, my God, thy Son took it not ill at Martha's hands, that when he
said unto her, _Thy brother Lazarus shall rise again_,[53] she
expostulated it so far with him as to reply, _I know that he shall rise
again in the resurrection, at the last day_; for she was miserable by
wanting him then. Take it not ill, O my God, from me, that though thou
have ordained it for a blessing, and for a dignity to thy people, _that
they should dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations_[54]
(because they should be above them), and that _they should dwell in
safety alone_[55] (free from the infestation of enemies), yet I take thy
leave to remember thee, that thou hast said too, _Two are better than
one_; and, _Woe be unto him that is alone when he falleth_;[56] and so
when he is fallen, and laid in the bed of sickness too. _Righteousness
is immortal_;[57] I know thy wisdom hath said so; but no man, though
covered with the righteousness of thy Son, is immortal so as not to die;
for he who was righteousness itself did die. I know that the Son of
Righteousness, thy Son, refused not, nay affected, solitariness,
loneness,[58] many, many times; but at all times he was able to command
_more than twelve legions of angels_[59] to his service; and when he did
not so, he was far from being alone: for, _I am not alone_, says he,
_but I, and the Father that sent me_.[60] I cannot fear but that I
shall always be with thee and h