As I said before, the King of Might would be worshipped by two kinds
of beings, angel and man. Adam was created, therefore, to make the
tenth order, which Lucifer tried to destroy. Adam was not made of earth
alone, but of four elements: his blood of water, his flesh of earth,
his heat of fire, and his breath of air. His head has two eyes. The sky
has sun and moon that, as men know, are set for sight; so man's eyes
serve as sun and moon of light. Seven chief stars are fixed in heaven,
and man's head has seven holes, which, if you think about it, you may
find with little labor. This breath that man draws so often betokens
the wind that blows aloft, of which thunder and lightning are created,
as breath is bred in the breast with a cough. All waters sink into the
sea, so man's stomach drinks all liquors. His feet bear him up from
falling, as the earth upholds all things. The upper fire gives man his
sight, the upper air his power of hearing, the under wind gives him his
breath, the earth gives him his taste, feeling, and touch; the hardness
of bone that man has comes to him from the nature of stones. From the
earth grow trees and grass; and from man's flesh, nails and hair. With
dumb beasts man has his share of things which he likes ill or well. Of
these things, I have heard said, Adam's body was put together. For this
reason that you have heard, man is called the lesser world.
OF MAN'S SOUL
But you have not yet heard the story of how man's soul was wrought.
A ghostly light man says it is that God has made in His likeness; as
print of a seal is fixed in wax, so man has God's likeness. He has
wrought him as friend and companion, since nothing is so dear to Him.
His Godhead is the Trinity, so a soul has properly three powers: the
perception of what is, was, and shall be. It has pure understanding of
what is seen and is unseen; it has, also, wisdom of will to take the
good and leave the evil. All the powers that may be dwell in that Holy
Trinity. That soul which is cleansed from sin has all virtues. As God,
who is one and three, may by no kind of creature be understood nor
overtaken, but He overtakes each one, so the soul, without spot, is
unseen, though it has sight of all things. To see the soul you have no
power. Now have I shown you how two things hold man together;—the soul,
a thing spiritual, and the body, which is flesh and skin.
Translated by M. H. S.
DEBATE
THE AMOROUS CONTENTION OF PHILLIS AND FLORA
THE PLEADING OF THE ROSE AND OF THE VIOLET
THE AMOROUS CONTENTION OF PHILLIS AND FLORA[4]
In flowry season of the yeere,
And when the firmament was cleere,
When Tellus hierbales paynted were
With issue of disparent[5] chere.
When th'usher to the morne did rise,
And drive the darknes from the skyes,
Sleepe gave their visuale liberties
To Phillis and to Floras eyes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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