I have set before thee life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose
life, that thou and thy seed may live.
1
The world's a Floore, whose swelling heapes retaine
The mingled wages of the Ploughmans toyle;
The world's a Heape, whose yet unwinnowed graine
Is lodg'd with chaffe and buried in her soyle;
All things are mixt; the usefull with the vaine;
The good with bad; the noble with the vile;
The world's an Ark, wherein things pure and grosse
Present their lossefull gaine, and gainfull losse,
Where ev'ry dram of Gold containes a pound of drosse.
2
This furnisht Ark presents the greedy view
With all that earth can give, or heav'n can add;
Here, lasting joyes; here, pleasures hourely new,
And hourely fading, may be wisht and had:
All points of Honour; counterfeit and true
Salute thy soule, and wealth both good and bad:
Here maist thou open wide the two-leav'd doore
Of all thy wishes, to receive that store
Which being emptied most; does overflow the more.
3
Come then, my soule, approach this royall Burse,
And see what wares our great Exchange retaines;
Come, come; here's that shall make a firme divorse
Betwixt thy Wants and thee, if want complaines;
No need to sit in councell with thy purse,
Here's nothing, good, shall cost more price than paines;
But O my soule, take heed; If thou relie
Upon thy faithlesse Opticks, thou wilt buy
Too blind a bargaine: know; Fooles onely trade by th'Eye.
4
The worldly wisdome of the foolish man
Is like a Sive, that does, alone, retaine
The grosser substance of the worthlesse Bran;
But thou, my soule, let thy brave thoughts disdaine
So course a purchace; O, be thou a Fan
To purge the Chaffe, and keep the winnow'd Graine;
Make cleane thy thoughts, and dresse thy mixt desires;
Thou art heav'ns Tasker; and thy GOD requires
The purest of thy Floore, as well as of thy fires.
5
Let Grace conduct thee to the paths of peace,
And wisdome blesse thy soule's unblemisht wayes,
No matter, then, how short or long's the Lease,
Whose date determins thy selfe-numbred dayes;
No need to care for wealths or Fames increase,
Nor Mars his Palme, nor high Apollos Bayes:
LORD, If thy gracious bounty please to fill
The floore of my desires, and teach me skill
To dresse and chuse the Corn, take those the Chaffe that will.
S. AUGUST. lib. 1 de doct. Christi
Temporall things more ravish in the expectation, than in fruition: but things
eternall more in the fruition than expectation.
Ibid.
The life of man is the middle betweene Angels and beasts: If man takes
pleasure in carnall things, he is compared to beasts; But if he delights in
spirituall things, he is suited with Angels.
