himselfe, and by himselfe, that the keeping
it selfe of the greatest felicitie in this worlde, is full of
vnhappinesse and infelicitie. Conclude then, that Childhoode is
but a foolish simplicitie, Youth, a vaine heate, Manhoode,
a painefull carefulnesse, and Olde-age, a noysome languishing:
that our playes are but teares, our pleasures, feuers of the
minde, our goodes, rackes, and torments, our honors, heauy
vanities, our rest, vnrest: that passing from age to age is but
passing from euill to euill, and from the lesse vnto the
greater: and that alwayes it is but one waue driuing on an
other, vntill we be arriued at the Hauen of death. Conclude I
say, that life is but a wishing for the future, and a bewailing
of the past: a loathing of what wee haue tasted, and a longing
for that wee haue not tasted, a vaine memorie of the state past,
and a doubtfull expectation of the state to come: finally, that
in all our life there is nothing certaine, nothing assured, but
the certaintie and vncertaintie of death. Behold, now comes
Death vnto vs: Behold her, whose approch we so much feare. We
are now to c[on]sider whether she be such as wee are made beleeue:
and whether we ought so greatly to flie her, as commonly wee do.
Wee are afraide of her: but like little children of a vizarde,
or of the Images of _Hecate_. Wee haue her in horror: but
because wee conceiue her not such as she is, but ougly,
terrible, and hideous: such as it pleaseth the Painters to
represent vnto vs on a wall. Wee flie before her: but it is
because foretaken with such vaine imaginations, wee giue not our
selues leisure to marke her. But staie wee, stande wee stedfast,
looke wee her in the face: wee shall finde her quite other then
shee is painted vs: and altogether of other countenaunce then
our miserable life. Death makes an ende of this life. This life
is a perpetuall misery and tempest: Death then is the issue of
our miseries and entraunce of the porte where wee shall ride in
safetie from all windes. And shoulde wee feare that which
withdraweth vs from misery, or which drawes vs into our Hauen?
Yea but you will say, it is a payne to die. Admit it bee: so is
there in curing of a wounde. Such is the worlde, that one euill
can not bee cured but by an other, to heale a contusion, must
bee made an incision. You will say, there is difficultie in the
passage: So is there no Hauen, no Porte, whereinto the entraunce
is not straite and combersome. No good thing is t