 | Manuductio ad Coelum. A Poem. In Two Parts. I. Of Joy and Sadness. How a good Man ought to rejoice. He that looks before him is not cast down. Several Antidotes against Sorrow. II. Of Patience: The Occasions and Effects of it. The Signs of it. An Exhortation to it; with Instructions how to behave our selves in Adversity. The necessity of Perseverance. Extracted out of the Writings of the Holy Fathers and Ancient Philosophers, by John Bona [i.e. Sir James Chamberlayne] a Cistertian Abbot: and turned into Verse by James Chamberlayne |  |
I.
Patience a Virtue is, that makes Mankind
To bear Affliction with an even mind.
But as of Mis'ries sev'ral sorts there are,
Some more vexatious, and some less, so there
Are sev'ral Names which fitly we bestow
On humble Patience, suitable unto
The various Evils which it is to be
Practic'd upon, to try its Constancy.
To bear Affliction with an even mind.
But as of Mis'ries sev'ral sorts there are,
Some more vexatious, and some less, so there
Are sev'ral Names which fitly we bestow
On humble Patience, suitable unto
The various Evils which it is to be
Practic'd upon, to try its Constancy.
Patience, so called properly, is this;
An Heav'nly Gift of bearing Injuries,
Without the least disturbance of the Mind,
And with a Courage not to be confin'd
When it relates to the low worthless things,
(Which oft-times trouble to the Owner bring,)
The loss of Worldly Goods, and Fortune, we
Give it the Name of Equanimitie.
And that which buoys the Heart up (which the fear
And Fountain is of active Life, and Heat)
In the delays, and the defeat of some
Expected Good, which ne're is found to come,
We have a proper genuine Name, which we
Express this by, call'd Longanimitie.
But the Heroick Virtue which defends
And fortifies us to all other ends,
Which doth support and comfort us in all
The Griefs, and Miseries that do us befal,
Is known by the all-glorious Name, which we
Deserv'dly give't, unshaken Constancie.
A Virtue which all others doth exeed,
And which we more than all the rest do need.
An Heav'nly Gift of bearing Injuries,
11
And with a Courage not to be confin'd
When it relates to the low worthless things,
(Which oft-times trouble to the Owner bring,)
The loss of Worldly Goods, and Fortune, we
Give it the Name of Equanimitie.
And that which buoys the Heart up (which the fear
And Fountain is of active Life, and Heat)
In the delays, and the defeat of some
Expected Good, which ne're is found to come,
We have a proper genuine Name, which we
Express this by, call'd Longanimitie.
But the Heroick Virtue which defends
And fortifies us to all other ends,
Which doth support and comfort us in all
The Griefs, and Miseries that do us befal,
Is known by the all-glorious Name, which we
Deserv'dly give't, unshaken Constancie.
A Virtue which all others doth exeed,
And which we more than all the rest do need.
'Tis not for nothing that Mans Life is here
A Warfare call'd, consid'ring how we are
With Foes beset, what Troops of Mischiefs break
Dayly into us, their Revenge to wreak.
There's not a nimble Moment slips away
Without a fierce Assault, and furious Fray;
And if we had no spiteful Foes without,
Yet we should find it work enough to rout
Those cruel ones which in our Bosoms lie,
Strugling with us to gain a Victory.
We breed and Harbour Enemies enow,
Within our selves to work our overthrow;
That give no respite, but do all they can
To torture, and disturb the Soul of Man.
A Warfare call'd, consid'ring how we are
With Foes beset, what Troops of Mischiefs break
Dayly into us, their Revenge to wreak.
There's not a nimble Moment slips away
Without a fierce Assault, and furious Fray;
And if we had no spiteful Foes without,
Yet we should find it work enough to rout
Those cruel ones which in our Bosoms lie,
Strugling with us to gain a Victory.
We breed and Harbour Enemies enow,
Within our selves to work our overthrow;
That give no respite, but do all they can
To torture, and disturb the Soul of Man.
Weeping we come into the World, and so
We live in it, and so do forth of't go.
'Tis the first thing we learn, in our young Morn,
And Dawn of Years, so soon as we are Born;
And we can find our Eyes with Tears distil,
When we of nothing else are capable.
We live in it, and so do forth of't go.
12
And Dawn of Years, so soon as we are Born;
And we can find our Eyes with Tears distil,
When we of nothing else are capable.
Divers there are upon Record, who while
They here convers'd were never known to smile,
But we ne're heard of any Person yet
Whose Eyes a pensive-Tear did never let.
It therefore doth concern us all to be
With Patience arm'd, without which Virtue we
No Noble Conquest o're our Foes can gain,
Nor e're Perfections glorious height attain.
No Mortal knows the Luster of this Gem,
Nor rightly how to give't its due Esteem;
Till he doth read it, that's to say, till He
Is plung'd into the Sea of Misery.
They here convers'd were never known to smile,
But we ne're heard of any Person yet
Whose Eyes a pensive-Tear did never let.
It therefore doth concern us all to be
With Patience arm'd, without which Virtue we
No Noble Conquest o're our Foes can gain,
Nor e're Perfections glorious height attain.
No Mortal knows the Luster of this Gem,
Nor rightly how to give't its due Esteem;
Till he doth read it, that's to say, till He
Is plung'd into the Sea of Misery.
Never was any prudent Person known
To be impatient in Affliction.
To be impatient in Affliction.
| Manuductio ad Coelum. A Poem. In Two Parts. I. Of Joy and Sadness. How a good Man ought to rejoice. He that looks before him is not cast down. Several Antidotes against Sorrow. II. Of Patience: The Occasions and Effects of it. The Signs of it. An Exhortation to it; with Instructions how to behave our selves in Adversity. The necessity of Perseverance. Extracted out of the Writings of the Holy Fathers and Ancient Philosophers, by John Bona [i.e. Sir James Chamberlayne] a Cistertian Abbot: and turned into Verse by James Chamberlayne | |