Schola Cordis or the Heart of it Selfe, gone away from God ::

Set thine heare upright, if thou would'st reioyce,
And please thy self in thine hearts pleasing choise:
But then be sure thy plimme, and levell be
Rightly appli'd to that which pleaseth me.

Ode. 23.

1

Nay, yet I have not done: one triall more
Thine heart must undergo, before
I will accept of it:
Unlesse I see
It upright be,
I cannot think it fit
To be admitted in my sight,
And to partake of mine eternall light.

2

My Will's the rule of righteousnesse, as free
From errour as uncertainty:
What I would have is just.
Thou must desire
What I require,
And take it upon trust:
If thou preferre thy will to mine,
The levell's lost, and thou go'st out of line.

3

Do'st thou not see how thine heart turnes aside,

And leanes toward thy self? How wide
A distance there is here?
Untill I see
Both sides agree
Alike with mine, 't is cleer
The middle is not where't should be,
Likes something better, though it looke at me.

4

I, that know best how to dispose of thee,
Would have thy portion poverty,
Lest wealth should make thee proud,
And me forget:
But thou hast set
Thy voyce to cry aloud
For riches, and unlesse I grant
All that thou wishest, thou complain'st of want.

5

I, to preserve thine health, would have thee fast
From Natures dainties, lest at last
Thy senses sweet delight
Should end in smart:
But thy vaine heart
Will have its appetite
Pleased to day, though grief, and sorrow
Threaten to cancell all thy joyes tomorrow.

6

I, to prevent thine hurt by climing high,
Would have thee be content to lie
Quiet and safe below,
Where peace doth dwell;
But thou dost swell
With vast desires, as though
A little blast of vulgar breath
Were better then deliverance from death.

7

I, to procure thine happinesse, would have
Thee mercy at mine hands to crave:
But thou dost merit plead,
And wilt have none
But of thine owne,
Till Justice strike thee dead.
Thus still thy wand'ring wayes decline,
And all thy crooked paths go crosse to mine.

University of Virginia Library

The levelling of the Heart.

Epigr. 23.

Ode. 23.

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