University of Virginia Library

Restraint, which is an Engine, right or wrong,
Made use of, (first, or last, short time or long)
By most Oppressors, hath been oft my lot;
And, at this present, I escape it not:
For, (though not in the ordinary way
It feemeth now inflicted) I might say,
I am imprisoned, and so confin'd
That, I am no way free, except in mind.
Of most enjoyments I am quite depriv'd
Which from external things may be deriv'd,
Yet thereby not undone; for I possess
My whole essential Freedome neretheless.
My toyes are lost, but by their deprivations
I furnish'd am with real consolations,
Which, though they to the world-ward make no shows
Yield sweeter comforts than the things I lose,
And make my hidden Freedoms to be more
Than those the world vouchsafed heretofore:
For, to her Freedoms, when respect I gave
I was then only free to be a slave,
Whereas, this, doth from nothing me restrain,
Which, to true Liberty, doth appertain.

That, which gives most content to flesh and blood
I finde to be the basest servitude;
And that we nothing have whereof to boast
Till what the world calls Liberty is lost.
What Freedom want I, save what being had
makes many Free-men slaves, and wise men mad?
None, have upon themselves, and others, brought
More plagues than they have done, who would be thought
The freest men: for Freedoms mis-imploy'd
Have lately all our Liberties destroy'd;
And, most, whom we much reverence as our betters
Are but our fellow-slaves in golden fetters.
What Liberty had I, whereof to vaunt
By those Infranchisements I seem to want?
I was at Liberty to rowle in dust,
To prosecute my fancies and my lust;
And therein joy'd, when I could walk abroad;
But, now, I finde the Services of GOD
Are Perfectst Freedom. That, I am debarr'd
Of nothing, which deserveth my regard;
And, that the Liberty I did possess,
Was not true Freedom, but Licentiousness;
At which experiment I am arriv'd,
By losing that whereof I am depriv'd.

This (though fore-seen it was) to me befell
Before I for it was prepared well,
And, I confess, at first it made a change
Within me, and without, that seemed strange:
But, not long after, at the second sight,
That, which appear'd the wrong-side, prov'd the right;
And I am well contented therewithall:
For, I could see GODS Mercies through the wall;
Discern'd, when inwardly, I turn'd mine eyes,
Much more of Heaven, than when I saw the skies.
And, that, from very little I was barr'd,
Which I have reason greatly to regard.

What can I see abroad, which hath not been
By me before, almost to loathing seen,
Or, heard not so describ'd, that being shown
It will not seem a thing already known?
Both Changes and Rechanges I have view'd;
Seen new things old become, old things renew'd;
Princes petitioning disdainful Grooms
Great Kings dethron'd, & Peasants in their rooms;
Laws out-law'd, Out-Laws raised to be Judges
Of Laws, Lives, Goods, and of our Priviledges,
By Law and Conscience; Loyaltie made Treason,
And Treason Loyaltie; Non-sense for Reason
Allow'd, and Reason thought irrational:
Yea, Meteors I have seen rise, and Stars fall;
Foundations that immoveable appear'd
Thrown down, and Castles in the Air uprear'd.
I have seen Heads and Feet exchange their places,
Wealth make men poor, and honour bring disgraces;
Beauties, which ravished beholders eyes
Wax more deformed than Anatomies,
Or, no more lovely to be lookt upon,
Than Rawridge, Mumble-crust, or Bloody-bone,
But, truth to say, they who most lovely be,
Now, no more pleasureful appear to me
Than Pictures, nor so much as ugly faces
Whose hearts are beautifi'd with inward graces,
Although to Beauty very few were more
A Servant, than I have been heretofore,
And if that please not, which I once lik'd best,
What pleasure is there to behold the rest?
That, at this present, and all other sights
Afford so little which my heart delights,
That, all the earth, and one poor little room
Are so equivalent to me become,
That I know nothing any other where
More to be priz'd than my enjoyments here;
And, that which makes me so indifferent
Nor melancholy is, nor discontent.

Confinement, in a house of strength doth dwell,
A homely, and sometimes a nasty Cell,
In furnitures, and in attendance poor,
A Cerberus lies alwayes at the door
Fawning a little, when we entring are
But ever snarls while we continue there:
Yet, I so quickly had found out his diet,
That, I knew either how to keep him quiet,
Or order so my self, that when I please,
I can lye down and sleep in LITTLE-EASE;
Enlarge within, that which without hath bound,
Contrive conveniences where none I found;
And, every whit as much content receive
In what I have not, as in what I have.

I view not here the pleasures of the fields
Or what a Garden, Grove, or Meddow yields
Which were of late my daily recreation,
But, I have Visions by my contemplation,
Which hither, during my Confinement brings
Not only sights of more essential things
But an assurance of enjoyments too,
Whereof I doubted more a while ago.

I could not be at that Solemnization
Which honoured my Soveraigns Coronation,
Nor saw his Royal Train in their late Marches
Through LONDON, under their Triumphant Arches;
Yet in my solitariness, alone,
What they were doing, I did think upon,
With what should else be done, that's not done yet
And, which I wish we may not quite forget,
Nor so long, that there, may at length be lost
Much real honour, and no little cost;
And which, perhaps, to bring now into mind
By this expression, I am thus confin'd;
For Providence, did neither me restrain
At this time, nor infuse these thoughts in vain.

Ionick, Dorick, and Corinthians works,
In which, an Architectors cunning lurks
Apart, or inter-wove (with that apply'd
Whereby it may be richly beautifi'd)
I can conceive, as if I saw it made,
And all which paintings thereunto can add.
I know, as well as they who did behold
That costly Show, what Silver, Silk and Gold,
Pearls, Diamonds, and precious Rubies, can
Contribute to adorn a horse or man.
I have seen all materials which were thither,
To make up that great triumph, brought together.
Princes and Dukes, and Marquesses and Earls,
Plebeians, Men and Women, Boyes and Girls,
As many thousands as then present were
I did as well imagine to be there
As if I them had seen; and can suppose
Not only what is acted at such Shows,
But also, more than was at any one
Since first the Roman Triumphs were begun,
And fancy by my self such glorious things
As would quite beggar Emperors and Kings
To represent them. So, by being there
I had but seen a meaner Show than here
My fancy could have made; and what had I
Been then, I pray, advantaged thereby?
What had I gained then, by sitting long
And paying, to be crowded in a throng?
What great contentment could I have deriv'd
From what Mechanick Artists had contriv'd,
Compar'd to that which my imagination
Contriv'd in honour of that Coronation?
At which the Trophies cost, at most, no more
Than would have made some needy persons poor?
I seldom took, at any time much pleasure
In Shows, which ev'ry vulgar eye can measure;
And time and cost require to make them gay,
Yet in a moment vanish quite away,
Behinde them leaving nothing that conduces
To Pious, Moral, or to Civil uses.

What though I did not see the King that day?
I did in my Confinement, for him pray
As heartily as any person there,
And, GOD, perhaps, assoon the same will hear,
Although my Tongue was not then heard among
Those Acclamations of the vulgar throng,
Which did salute his ear; my silent Voice
Wing'd with Devotion (though it made no noise)
Ascended Heav'n, and may bring blessings down,
Which will conduce to setling of his Crown,
If he unfix it not by mis-endeavour,
Or, valuing of the Gift more than the Giver.
I do presume his duties on that day
He did discharge; and (wishing others may
Perform their dues to him) do not envy
The glory of that day's Solemnity
To him, for whom 'twas purpos'd, nor the sight,
Thereof, to those who took therein delight;
But wish'd, both might be perfectly contented
In what was at that present represented;
And hope, nought was to him ascribed then,
Which rather appertains to GOD than Men:
For, when to Hereds eloquent Orations
The people gave blasphemous Acclamations,
And he that honour to himself apply'd,
Whereby, GOD ought to have been glorifi'd,
The Doom, which that offence did on him bring,
Made him a lifeless, and a louzie King.

Of these things my confinement did produce
Some thoughts, which are perhaps of some good use.
I, likewise exercis'd my Meditation,
That day, on other things which have relation
To what was then in act; and mus'd upon
That, which occasion gave of things then done,
On some now past, and upon other some
Which probably will be in time to come.
I mus'd upon the Changes, and the Chances,
The Publick Troubles, and Deliverances
Which I have seen. I seriously did ponder
GODS, and Mens actions joyntly and asunder;
Our foolish Projects, his wise Providences,
Both in their Progress, and their Consequences.
I thought both on the People and the King,
What good or evil possibly might spring
From their deportments towards one another
Now by GODS mercy they are brought together.
On those too, in particular, I thought
Whom, GOD into his power hath lately brought:
How great, erewhile, his wants and sufferings were,
What, his enjoyments at this present are;
And, on some other matters, not a few,
Which these, to my consideration drew,
And which perhaps, that day had been by none
Mus'd on, so much, had I not been alone.
Moreover it occasion'd thoughts of that
Which to a Nobler Object doth relate;
Even to that Kingdom, King, and Coronation,
That should be thought on with more veneration
Than all the Monarchs in their greatest glory,
Who now live, or are memoriz'd in story.
My Contemplation, with as much content,
As others had, to me did represent
That DAY wherein CHRIST through Jerusalem
Rode meekly on an Ass, whilst after him
The people throng'd or laqued by his side,
And voluntarily HOSANNA cry'd,
Yet afterward pursuing him with scorns
Cry'd Crucifie, and crowned him with Thorns;
And this, me thought, was so considerable,
That it made all our Pomp seem defpicable.
For, then my Muses drew me by degrees,
To meditate on what my soul fore-sees
Concerning them, who, whilst they do pretend
CHRIST's Kingdom, do pursue another end;
And that, which for his glory was bestown,
Make use of, for advancement of their own.
Not seldom, likewise, I then thought upon
Those many thousand families undone,
Who sit and weep through want of what that day
Was wastfully and vainly, thrown away,
At such a time, wherein both Man and GOD,
Proceedings lookt for in another mode,
And when, our publick hazards and distress,
Requir'd another way of thankfulness.

Upon that solemn day, (not without wonder)
I saw and heard, the Lightning, rain, and thunder
Wherewith GOD seem'd to answer and out-vy
Our Guns and fire-Works, (though I was not nigh)
And such resemblance had the works of Art,
To Nature's, that they could not be apart
Distinguish'd; but that, to prevent our error,
The last was loudest, and infus'd more terrour.
This, I observed well; and furthermore
Took special heed, that nigh two Moneths before,
And likewise ever since, from Rainy weather
We were not oft free, one whole day together,
Until that Royal Triumph was begun,
Nor till that moment wherein it was done:
Yet, durst I not be so prophane, to say
(As one hath writ) it dar'd not rain that day.
Nor at that time, Flaminian like, durst I
Conjecture by a Heathenish Augurie
What GOD thereby intended: but, with awe
Consider'd upon what I heard and saw:
And I confess the Lightning, Rain, and Thunder
At this our Seed-time, caused me to ponder
On that, which Sumuel prayed GOD to send
In Harvest-time, and what that did portend;
Which I conceive to be a Meditation
Not then improper, for my Contemplation.
And, though some peradventure may suspect
That these expressions, may some way reflect
On what concerns them, it concerns him more
Whose cause and honour I prefer before
All earthly things; and can be not afraid,
Who ere shall be displeas'd with what I've said;
For, I was barr'd from seeing what is done
By men; that, GODS works might be mused on.

Such things, although we then much mind them not,
Should not amidst our Triumphs be forgot;
And, that, (which then by me was thought upon)
Much more effectually, perhaps, was done
In this condition which I now am in,
Than could in that state, wherein I have been:
Forgot therefore, by others, if it be
It will seem no great wonderment to me;
For, who remember Josephs in their sports,
Or in the jollities at Princes Courts?

Confinement (which I once a damage thought)
To me, hath other priviledges brought.
It manifests apparently to me
Who are my Kinsmen, who my Neighbours be;
And whether he who passeth by me than,
Be Levite, Priest, or a Samaritan:
For, Neighbourhood and Kindred, he best tryes
That's robbed, wounded, or, imprison'd lyes.

In Liberty, I sometimes doubted whether
They, who then came to visit me, were either
My Friends or Foes, for, I found other while
They whom I trusted most, did most beguile.
But, few or none my Visitants now are
Save they, whose Visitations are sincere;
The Friends I got, when I did walk abroad
I gain'd my self: These, are made mine by GOD.
These were acquired without pains or cost;
Not won by merit, nor by small faults lost.
The first, were for prosperity decreed,
The latter, for my help, in time of need,
And sought my Body out, unknown before
Because, they heard it was distrest, and poor;
Which hath to me, Confinement sweeter made,
Than all the Freedoms which I lately had;
And, me, with that Communion of the Saints,
Experimentally, it now acquaints,
Which, in this life enjoyed is, by all,
Who, in the life to come, enjoy it shall.
A Prison, cannot dreadful seem to me,
For, there I first was taught my A, B, C,
In Sufferings: There, when I had scarcely past
Mine Nonage, to be schooled I was place't.
And, so long as the Providence of GOD,
Was pleas'd, that, to instruct me with that Rod,
I should continue my abiding there.
Princes, my Tutors, and Correctors were.

A Prison, is that House of Discipline,
Wherein the MARTYRS usually begin
To be Probationers; it is the Colledge
Of SAINTS, wherein experimental knowledge
Is first acquired by a carnal sense
Of that, which tries their Christian patience.
Prisons, to them, are sanctified Temples,
Wherein, they by their meekness and examples
Preach to the world by Deeds (a powerful way)
What, many other do but meerly say.
And, as our Prelates, in each Cathedral
Have several places, which they please to call
More or less holy: so, there likewise be
Imprisonments of differing degree:
The Outer-ward, an entertainment gives
Most commonly to Murtherers and Thieves,
Or, such like malefactors, who displease
The world sometimes, and interrupt her ease,
For which they are confin'd, till their just guerdon
They shall receive, or bribe her for a pardon;
And whereto she gives all advantages
That may in Prisons granted be to these.

But, all her Prisoners are not confin'd
To Wards, and Receptacles of one kind.
The Inner-wards, which do to me appear
The same that Chancels unto Churches are,
Are not made use of (except now and then)
But for most holy and Religious men.
The deepest Dungeons be reserv'd for those
Who dare our Vices, or her Lusts oppose;
Or, things repugnant to our ends profess,
(When mov'd thereto by conscientiousness)
And, whosoere presumes to plead their cases,
As Innocents, doth hazard in like places
His own Restraint; or else unto suspects,
Which peradventure may have worse effects.
Yet, Freedom yields to none so much content,
As these enjoy, by such Imprisonment.
For, they with inward comforts are delighted,
Whilst they with outward darkness are benighted:
And sweet Refreshments, in amongst them come
When they are throng'd up in a nasty Room.
When, they of their familiars are depriv'd,
They are by those, who knew them not, reliev'd;
When they from earthly men, fast lockt have been,
Celestial Angels have sometime broke in;
Knockt off their chains; the gates and doors unbar'd
The Prison shook; the sturdy Jaylor scarr'd
And made him (falling down before them too)
Cry, Men and Brethren, say, what shall we do?

A Prison is the best retiring Room
That can be got; the best Museolum
For him, wherein to contemplate, that would
Those Objects without fallacy behold,
Which most concern him; or would notions have
Of what he ought to do, hope or believe;
For, most of those things, which abroad he spies,
Either delude his ears, or blind his eyes,
Pervert his Judgement, or withdraw his mind
From that, wherein his welfare he might find.
A Prison is a place; which he that can
Make use of, as becomes a prudent man,
Findes there, more lasting, and more perfect solace
Than in the greatest earthly Princes Pallace;
And, when he knows what Priviledges are
In this condition, will scorn all that's there.

In Prison, quickly, understand he shall
The worst that can to him, at last, befall.
There, he may notice take, how most men pother
Themselves; what plagues they are unto each other.
How, causelesly men terrified are
By those, to whom they dreadful would appear;
And, peradventure, if they patient be
That, they pursued by their Foes will see,
By which their self-destruction shall be wrought,
And those freed, whom, they into bondage brought.
There, they may learn, that to make black or white,
One hair, or add one straws-breadth to their height
Care nought avails; and in that poor estate
To laugh at all the worlds despight and hate:
For, over them, no power then left she hath,
Except of prosecuting them to death,
Which them ten thousand fold will happier make
Than all, that she can either give or take.
These are such benefits as I enjoy,
By what, now seems my Freedom to destroy.

In Prison, too, this Priviledge I have,
That, living, I descend into my Grave,
And by my Contemplation can fore-see
What my condition in that place will be.
I search it to the bottom, by that spark
Of Light, which shineth brightest in the dark.
The terrours of that Dungeon I fore-stall,
I, (as it were) pre-act my Funeral,
And in a manner also, see and hear
What will be said and done, when I am there;
Which are advantages not to be known,
Whilst in the world I flutter up and down.
In Prison also, when least room I have,
And close am kept, I, far beyond the Grave
Do Prospects view; and can see pretty well
What may concern men, both in Heaven and Hell;
Whereof, if here I should my knowledge speak
Them, for Phanatick dreams, the world would take;
And not believe the things I could declare,
Because, she knows that I was never there;
And, therefore, Ile proceed again to show
What, my Experiments are here below.

Restraint, from me, hath totally shut out
That frivelous, and that offensive Rout,
Which interrupts my Musings with discourse
That's either wholly vain, or somewhat worse:
For, to nought else, it for the most part tends
But fruitless complements, or graceless ends;
And, what among us, is at meetings blown,
Wrongs other mens affairs, or else our own,
Whereas, our words whilst here we are together,
Tend to the edifying of each other,
In Faith or Manners; or else, to improve
That Hope, that Meekness, Constancy and Love
Which may enable, patiently to bear
Those Burthens, wherewith we oppressed are:
And, when our Bodies are asunder gone,
We never leave each other quite alone;
For, we (ev'n when corporeally apart)
Are present, both in Spirit and in Heart.

Though this Fraternity did often minde me,
Till my Imprisonment they could not finde me,
Nor did I know their persons. Thou, therefore
Oh foolish world, to my content add'st more
By my Restraint, than if to me were given
All carnal Freedoms on this side of Heaven;
And, if this be the great'st harms thou canst do,
Prethee, let every spight thou dost be two.

But, all the comforts which best friends afford,
(As they are men) may prove like Jonah's Gourd,
For, as next morning, that, did wither quite
Which GOD did cause to spring up in one night,
So, when the Sun burns, or a sharp wind blows,
This may as quickly fade, as it arose:
For, Death or Injuries, do every day
Take those mens lives, or, their estates away
Who are most charitable, and, of bread
They may have need, by whom I have been fed,
For, unto all men underneath the Sun
That may betide which doth befall to one.
Not therefore, upon those things which GOD sends,
But, on himself alone, my soul depends:
Here, all my confidence, vain world, is place't,
Or else I might be ruined at last;
And all my present hopes, as vain would be,
As if I had repos'd my trust in thee.

By this Restriction, not a few temptations
Will be repelled; many deviations
Of mine prevented; duties better done;
Things which have been forgot, more thought upon;
It peradventure may prepare me too,
For what I'm yet to suffer and to do,
Much better than that Freedom did, or could,
Which, by the Common Tenure I did hold:
And who knows, but some corporal mis-hap
I may or did by this Restraint escape,
Which might have else befell me when together
The people throng'd and trod upon each other.
Which, though no more but shunning so much harm,
As breaking of a neck, a legg, or arm,
Were considerable, and ten to one
Such mis-adventures daily fall upon
Some persons unconfin'd, when they least dread them,
Because, where dangers are, they little heed them.
Scap'd I no more here, than that flavish load
Of Complementings, wherewithall abroad
Men tire themselves, and others; that, alone
Sufficient were, if well consider'd on,
To make amends for all the sufferings
Which my confinement now upon me brings.

For, as to pay this life, I am a debter
To Nature, and then hope to have a better,
My Wants, Restraints, and Poverty do less
Afflict my Body, by all that distress
Now laid upon it, than my soul hath been
To hear and see, what I have heard and seen,
Whilest I had liberty abroad to go,
And hear and see, what many say and do:
With what dissembling Complements, Caresses,
Affected Speeches, flattering Addresses,
And false Pretendings, men of ev'ry sort
Do cheat, fool, claw, and one another court,
As if they did Realities intend
When, in meer Nullities, at last they end.
How, Letters, Promises, Vows, Declarations,
Orders, Oaths, Covenants, and Protestations
Annihilated are, and turn to smoak
Or stinks, which rather poison us, and choak
Than truly nourish; and how they go on
In acting still, such things as they have done
Who are destroyed; and yet, nere the less,
Dream they pursue the waies of Happiness.
I am, as well pleas'd, with my sad condition,
As others, with what they have in fruition,
And, if desire a longer life I could,
For nothing else the same desire I should,
Except it were that I might live to see
What GOD will do, and what their end will be.
Frequent I cannot, with conveniency
(As lately, when I had my Liberty,
I might have done) the Publick Congregation;
But, I, upon GOD's Word, by meditation,
(To exercise my self) may set apart
The time they dedicate; and both my heart
And my best Faculties, employ that day,
In preaching somewhat to the world my way
Which will advance GOD's glory, and improve
My Brethren in good life, hope, faith, and love:
Or, that prepare, which thereunto may tend,
When Daies and Times, with me will have an end:
And, GOD (I know) confines not Saving Graces
To ordinary Means, Forms, Times, or Places,
Nor is displeased when his services
Endeavour'd are, without contentiousness,
As we are able, and with upright heart,
Though of our duties we may fail in part.

Some other Notions, which in this estate
Are apprehended, I might now relate,
Which further may illustrate those mis-haps
That man by an Imprisonment escapes
But, they are Trifles to what I possess,
In my constrained Solitariness.
For, though it be not what I might have chose
(Had I been left unto mine own dispose)
It proves much better: and for that respect
What I most naturally do affect
I dare not absolutely to request,
(Much less make choice of) but to him that best
Knows what's best for me, wholly have resign'd
Both mine own self, and things of ev'ry kind.
'Tis he, who hath assign'd this lot, and all
What ere it be, which thereby doth befall;
And, this Restraint, not only makes him dearer
To me, but also, to him, draws me nearer,
So that the more my troubles do increase,
The nearer unto him is my access.
He, fortifies my confidence in him,
And heartens me, the World thus to contemn,
As boldly as if doubtless cause there were
For her to fear me, more than I fear her.
I have my fears, but they are nothing else
Save what Perdues and Scouts, and Centinels
Are to an Army: they do not dis-heart
A valiant Souldier; though they make him start
At first Alarm; but cause him to prepare
For those assaults, which nigh approaching are.
When I am judged, in an undone-case,
Because, confin'd, in wants, and in distress;
When all my outward Comforters are gone,
And, I lie musing on my bed alone
Of what I knew before, or heard that day;
Of what my Friends fear, and my Foes do say;
What men they are, who seem with me offended,
What is already done, and what intended;
Sometimes a little shuddring doth begin,
As if a panick-fear were breaking in,
Which he marks, ere to me it doth appear
Forthwith, steps down betwixt me and that fear
Supplies defects, expelleth doubts and sadness,
Replenisheth my heart with sober gladness,
About me sets his Angels, watch to keep,
And (as to his beloved) gives me fleep.

These things considered, Prisons and Restraints
(Which have been long, the portion of the Saints)
Are not alone things little to be fear'd,
But also many times to be preferr'd
Before those Liberties, and all those things
That can be found in Palaces of Kings;
What ere their flatterers are pleas'd to say,
By fruitless hopes, to drive their fears away.
For, more are there endanger'd, more destroy'd:
There, many times, is less content enjoy'd,
Less outward safety, and a great deal less
Of what conduceth to true happiness,
Than in a Prison: And who ere well heeds
What, there is done, and what thereon succeeds
Will finde cause, their condition to bewail
Sometimes, much more, than his that's in a Gaol.
For, errors flowing from Prosperity
Indanger more, because unseen they lie.
Men many by their Afflictions be prepar'd
For whatsoere can follow afterward,
And are oft fitted by a lingring grief,
For future happiness in death or life:
But, while corrupted by excessive Treasures,
Befool'd with honours, and bewitch'd with pleasures,
The cause of self-destruction still they nourish;
They grow as brutish as the beasts that perish;
And, daily so besotted, by degrees
That, sense of their humanity they leese;
So long dream, they are GOD's (or somewhat greater,)
Till they are Devils, or but little better;
And suddenly, when they think all goes well,
Sink from supposed Happiness to HELL.

Most men, (yea very many of the best)
Their Talents, till they Palm-like down are prest,
Improve not; nor their Duties truly do,
Till by Afflictions they are whipt thereto.
A Prison, was long time the School, wherein
Chast Joseph those progressions did begin,
Which, him forth from obscurity did bring
To be the second person to a King.
Jonas was not obedient to GOD'S Call
Till he, both by a Storm, and by a Whale,
Was disciplin'd: And, if I had a thought
My duties were performed as they ought
In any thing, affirmed it should be
That, thereto my Afflictions fitted me:
For, such like Simples, as I am, require
To make them yield forth Oyl, the Press, or Fire,
My Flinty-nature gives not out one spark
To light my self, or others in the dark,
Till knockt with Steel. This knowledge I have gain'd
Of mine own temper, and it is unfain'd.
To be imprison'd, slander'd, or made poor,
Shall therefore, henceforth, frighten me no more,
Nor make me, whilst I live asham'd of either
Of those three Lots, nor of them altogether.
Priests, Prophets, Kings and Saints, yea (whilst abode
He made on earth) the glorious Son of GOD
Was pleased to submit to all of them
(But to the latter two in an extream)
And, with such Company, Ile undergo
My share, and think, I'm thereby honour'd too.

To this effect, much more might here be said,
But, this will be sufficient, if well weigh'd,
Which, I suspect; for, very few men heed,
Or mind, long, what they hear, or what they read.