And first, for the magnitude of the time of our life; A man (say the Philosophers) is Microcosmus, a little world: little for goodness, but a world of wickedness. Of this world if you'll have the dimensions according to the rules of Geometricians, the length, breadth, and depth of our short life; then first for our length from East to West, from our birth to our burial. I need not to take so many paces, as will make mille passus, a mile; our little life bears no proportion to such a length: I dare not say as ⟨p. 15⟩Stobaeus relates, that our life hath the last of a cubits length:1 for that's more then the Scripture will afford it: it is but a span, or hand breadth, saith David, that's little: nay, Alcaeus in carmine Lyrico, saith, it is but an inch long, that's less: nay,2 saith Plutarch, All our life is but a prick, a point: yet less, saith Seneca, it is a point that we live, and less then a point. that's less then either I can say, or you conceive. What is it? not a mile, but a cubit, but a span, but an inch, but a point, nay less then that: here's little longitude of life. Well, but our latitude perhaps is greater: no, take a measure if you please from one pole to another, as we stand betwixt the terms of life and death and wheresoever we are, death is within an hand-breadth of our life: if we be on the sea, there's but a thick board betwixt us and drowning: if on the land, there's but a shoe-sole betwixt us and our grave: if we sleep, our bed is our bodies grave, and there's but a sheet, (perhaps a winding-sheet) betwixt us and it: when we are awake, our body is our souls grave, and there's but a few skins (as say Physicians) betwixt death and us. What is it? but the breadth of an hand, of a board, of a shoe-sole, of a thin sheet, of a small skin: there's little latitude you see. Well, but our profundity may help all this: go to therefore, and see what that is. I shall not lead you down many steps, for indeed there are not many steps to lead you down: in one word come to the centre of the heart of man: The Grecians to express the shallowness of this life, give the same name to the heart, that they do to death. [Greek or Hebrew] is the heart, the author of life; and [Greek or Hebrew] is destiny, the worker of death; to show that as every man hath an heart; so death hath a dart for every man. Christians! mortals!
And first, for the magnitude of the time of our life; A man (say the Philosophers) is Microcosmus, a little world: little for goodness, but a world of wickedness. Of this world if you'l have the dimensions according to the rules of Geometricians, the length, breadth, and depth of our short life; then first for our length from East to West, from our birth to our buriall. I need not to take so many paces, as will make mille passus, a mile; our little life bears no proportion to such a length: I dare not say as ⟨p. 15⟩Stobaeus relates, that our life hath the last of a cubits length:1 for that's more then the Scripture will afford it: it is but a span, or hand breadth, saith David, that's little: nay, Alcaeus in carmine Lyrico, saith, it is but an inch long, that's lesse: nay,2 saith Plutarch, All our life is but a prick, a point: yet lesse, saith Seneca, it is a point that we live, and lesse then a point. that's less then either I can say, or you conceive. What is it? not a mile, but a cubit, but a span, but an inch, but a point, nay less then that: here's little longitude of life. Well, but our latitude perhaps is greater: no, take a measure if you please from one pole to another, as we stand betwixt the terms of life and death and weresoever we are, death is within an hand-breadth of our life: if we be on the sea, there's but a thick board betwixt us and drowning: if on the land, there's but a shoe-sole betwixt us and our grave: if we sleep, our bed is our bodies grave, and there's but a sheet, (perhaps a winding-sheet) betwixt us and it: when we are awake, our bodie is our souls grave, and there's but a few skins (as say Physicians) betwixt death and us. What is it? but the breadth of an hand, of a board, of a shoe-sole, of a thin sheet, of a small skinne: there's little latitude you see. Well, but our profundity may help all this: go to therefore, and see what that is. I shall not lead you down many steps, for indeed there are not many steps to lead you down: in one word come to the centre of the heart of man: The Grecians to expresse the shallowness of this life, give the same name to the heart, that they do to death. 〈non-Latin alphabet〉 is the heart, the authour of life; and 〈non-Latin alphabet〉 is destiny, the worker of death; to shew that as every man hath an heart; so death hath a dart for every man. Christians! mortals!
- 1Psal. 39.5.
- 2Punctum est quod vivimus, & adhuc puncto minus.
