A Discourse of Life and Death, by Mornay; and Antonius by GarnierMornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly
Religion
A Discourse of Life and Death, by Mornay; and Antonius by Garnier
Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly
Antonius, Marcus, 83 B.C.?-30 B.C. -- Drama; Death -- Early works to 1800
But vnto vs brought vp in a more holy schoole, death is a farre
other thing: neither neede we as the Pagans of consolations
against death: but that death serue vs, as a consolation against
all sorts of affliction: so that we must not only strengthen our
selues, as they, not to feare it, but accustome ourselues to
hope for it. For vnto vs it is not a departing frõ pain & euil,
but an accesse vnto all good: not the end of life, but the end
of death, & the beginning of life. Better, saith _Salomon_, is
the day of death, then the day of birth, and why? because it is
not to vs a last day, but the dawning of an euerlasting day. No
more shall we haue in that glorious light, either sorow for the
past, or expectation of the future: for all shall be there
present vnto vs, and that present shall neuer more passe. No
more shal we powre out our selues in vaine & painfull pleasures:
for we shal be filled with true & substantiall pleasures. No
more shal we paine our selues in heaping togither these
exhalatiõs of the earth: for the heauens shall be ours, and this
masse of earth, which euer drawes vs towards the earth, shalbe
buried in the earth. No more shal we ouerwearie our selues with
mounting from degree to degree, and from honor to honor: for we
shall highlie be raysed aboue all heights of the world; and from
on high laugh at the folly of all those we once admired, who
fight together for a point, and as litle childrẽ for lesse then
an apple. No more to be brief shal we haue combates in our
selues: for our flesh shall be dead, and our spirit in full
life: our passion buried, and our reason in perfect libertie.
Our soule deliuered out of this foule & filthie prison, where,
by long continuing it is growen into an habite of crookednes,
shall againe draw her owne breath, recognize her ancient
dwelling, and againe remember her former glory & dignity. This
flesh my frend which thou feelest, this body which thou touchest
is not man: Man is from heauen: heauen is his countrie and his
aire. That he is in his body, is but by way of exile &
confinement. Man in deed is soule and spirit: Man is rather of
celestiall and diuine qualitie, wherin is nothing grosse nor
materiall. This body such as now it is, is but the barke & shell
of the soule: which must necessarily be broken, if we will be
hatched: if we will indeed liue & see the light. We haue it
semes, some life, and some sence in vs: but are so croked and
contracted, that we cannot so much as stretch out our wings,
much lesse take our flight towards heauen, vntill we be
disburthened of this earthlie burthen. We looke, but through
false spectacles: we haue eyes but ouergrowen with pearles: we
thinke we see, but it is in a dreame, wherin we see nothing but
deceit. All that we haue, and all that we know is but abuse and
vanitie. Death only can restore vs both life and light: and we
thinke (so blockish we are) that she comes to robbe vs of them.
We say we are Christians: that we beleeue after this mortall,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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