University of Virginia Library

Upon the death of the honorable Ladie D. H. B. L. Essel.

The defunct La. to her living friends.

You yet that brukes this breath,
By birth who euer you bee;
Discend duwn deeplie in your selfe,
Consider, search, and see
From whence thou came, when, how,
And whither thou must go,
What strength thou hes, what stuf thou art,
Learne carelesse man and kno.
Thou art but momentare,
And not immortall made,
Your flesh thogh fair,, it fragill is,
And like a flowre shall fade.
What is thy Idol wealth?
What is estate or strength?
And what be these thy pleasures all.
which thou shall leaue at length:
They are like shooting starres,
That make a shining shoe,
Or like to these straight running streams,
That but regresse doe goe.
All flesh is grasse, and grasse,
Be course it does decay,
So shall the glorie of the flesh,
Evainish [illeg.] once away.
Th'vnhappie Heire of Sin,
The Sonne of yre forlorne
And giltie banisht from thy blisse,
By Nature thou art borne,
O then whence springs thy Pride,
Conceau'd in Sin since ze,
Be borne in bail, in labour liues,
And out of doubt must die.
Vane is the trust in men,
Thar glorie vaine, and than.
Amongs all vanities, most vaine,
The vainest Vaine, is Man.
When passing pleasures off,
This posting life most please,
Zit they, they passe, and fade, they flie,
And perish does all these.
To vermine ze convert,
From worms to dust ze doe.
Dissolue and all your pompe departs,
To Earth, and ashes too.
Bot O vaine glorious worme,
In pleasure, pride, and pompe,
That liues thy life looke here below
To me a liueles lompe.
Wha while I plaid my part,
On the vnstable stage,
And in this wofull wordly vaile,
Past o're my pilgrimage,
My Nature fram'd me faire,
My Fortune gaue me welth,
And many daies my gratious God,
With honour gaue me health,
Preferment, Pleasure, wit,
Contentment, and delight,
Thou wretched world saw me possesse,
With solace in thy sight:
Yet honour, beautie, birth,
Riches, renowne, and rent,
Nor kingdomes can releiue the life,
When here hir space is spent.
For Prince nor Peasant poore,
The Libertine, and slaue
The Monarch and the Miser meine,
Shall all goe to the Graue.
Wit wordly, nor vaine welth,
Nobilitie, nor blood,
T'exeme the one day, from thy death,
Shall doubtles doe no good,
Th'ambitious hautie head?
What helps his honour him,
VVhen dreidful death, that ghostly Groome
Leane, Meagre, Pale, and grimme,
Feirce, and inflexible,
To peirce him shall appeare?
Shall lordships then prolong his life,
Or honour hold him heir?
No not one houre, although,
He did possesse all that,
Great Cæsar, Cyrus, Salomon,
VVith all their glory gat.
Inane, and futill was,
And like a floure, fast fled,
The pleasures all, that they possest,
And honours which they had;
A Sar'cine Saladine,
Once Emp'rour of the East,
VVhen death did him attach, and with,
That rigrous rod arrest,
Through Askalon sometime,
In Palestine a Towne,
That proud and pagane Potentat,
Cause carrie vp and downe,
Vpon his launce, his linning shirt,
And thus causd crie: no moir,
Hes now deid Saladine of all,
His treasures, wealth, and stoir.
All pleasure so shall passe,
Gold treasure is but trash,
And as the Sunne dissolues the snow,
So wealth away does wash.
And what while we are here,
Seemes to the sense most sweet,
Or best does please, it is nought but,
Vexation of the spreit,
This world then it is nought,
That onely worthy wairs?
That suld the Christian Conscience cloy,
Nor too much clag, with cares?
No no that is it nought,
Since euery thing, and all,
That earthly is, shall haue an end,
And is but temporall,
Weell since this world within,
We no thing firme can finde,
And what this life, most large does len,
Shall all be left behind,
Goods, children, kin, and frends,
And which more deare, we loue,
Our life we leaue, theirs no remeid,
But from this Monde remoue.
Here honour keepes no hold,
Nor does delights indure,
Zone heauē, this Earth, the Aer, that Sea,
From shifting are not sure:
Nor no thing on the Earth,
(That helps to humane vse,)
From alteration quite exempe,
Did th'All-Diuine produce.
For man, beast, fish, and foule,
Plant, metall, stones, and Trees,
Once widders, wracks, once rots, or rusts,
Decayes, departs, or dies.
Than thou art madde O man,
Into those toyes to trust,
That temp'rall are, zea transitore:
And nought but drosse and dust.
Herefore what is but dust,
And what thou deems most deere.
This grassie glore forget, and think
On Heaven whill thou art here.
There lay thy compt a Crowne
To conquesse, and atchyue:
Here throughlie think that there the life,
Ay lasting thou must liue.
Here guide thee so, at lest
To grow in grace, begin
From hollow of thy heart, to hate
Iniquitie and sin.
Prepare provision here,
And make thee in some measure,
There onely there for to extruct,
A never tracking treasure.
And there to dwell here must
Th'endevours be addrest;
Where ever, and perpetuallie
Is pleasure, peace and rest.
And where in full of joy's
The just and blessed byd's,
But change beyond all date of day's,
All termes, all times, and tyd's.
Where Mourning shall in Mirth,
Losse be exchangd in Gaine;
And where Mortalitie refind,
Immortall shall remaine.