 | 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.
Joy, when it once doth so excessive grow,
That it all Bounds of Reason doth or'e-flow,
Draws ever after't, as we daily find,
A total Dissolution of the Mind.
We then must have a prudent care of that,
And likewise must our Joys so moderate,
That if need be from Mirth, to Grief we may
Dispose our selves, act readily each way.
That it all Bounds of Reason doth or'e-flow,
Draws ever after't, as we daily find,
A total Dissolution of the Mind.
We then must have a prudent care of that,
And likewise must our Joys so moderate,
That if need be from Mirth, to Grief we may
Dispose our selves, act readily each way.
Our blessed Saviour, who must sure be thought
The ablest Arbiter of things, says not
Those are the Blest that laugh, and frollick here,
But they that Mourn the truly Blessed are.
It were indeed a strange indecency
For one that doth profess himself to be
Pursuant of the great Eternity,
Among so many perils that are found
Daily the All of Man to Circle round,
So many just occasions as there are
Of sadness, to be always Gigling here,
Making of antick mouths, and like a Boy
Laughing to transport for each trifling Toy.
The ablest Arbiter of things, says not
2
But they that Mourn the truly Blessed are.
It were indeed a strange indecency
For one that doth profess himself to be
Pursuant of the great Eternity,
Among so many perils that are found
Daily the All of Man to Circle round,
So many just occasions as there are
Of sadness, to be always Gigling here,
Making of antick mouths, and like a Boy
Laughing to transport for each trifling Toy.
This Worlds sugacious Pleasures, and the Joys
Of which we talk, and make so great a Noise,
Are frequently observ'd to be the Fate,
And Prodromus of a most anxious state:
There neither true nor solid Joy can be,
But in a Conscience just, serene and free,
He that doth cherish, and take care o'th' one,
Shall find the other his Companion,
For in his Breast it grows, there takes delight,
And baffles all the efforts of base despight.
All other Joy, but what proceeds from this,
Wants substance, and but light and trivial is;
And there are those that Laugh, who in that while
Of their false Mirth, have little cause to smile.
Of which we talk, and make so great a Noise,
Are frequently observ'd to be the Fate,
And Prodromus of a most anxious state:
There neither true nor solid Joy can be,
But in a Conscience just, serene and free,
He that doth cherish, and take care o'th' one,
Shall find the other his Companion,
For in his Breast it grows, there takes delight,
And baffles all the efforts of base despight.
All other Joy, but what proceeds from this,
Wants substance, and but light and trivial is;
And there are those that Laugh, who in that while
Of their false Mirth, have little cause to smile.
True Joy a serious matter is, and there
Must be a Conscience from Pollutions clear,
Intentions honest, Actions most upright,
A great contempt of this vain Worlds delight,
And the continu'd Series of a fair
Unspotted Life, for to maintain it here.
Must be a Conscience from Pollutions clear,
Intentions honest, Actions most upright,
A great contempt of this vain Worlds delight,
And the continu'd Series of a fair
Unspotted Life, for to maintain it here.
There never can be perfect Joy without
Impartial Justice, Temp'rance, and a stout
Undaunted Courage, that is resolute.
This Virtue's Method is, at first to weep,
And ever after Halcyon days to keep.
Impartial Justice, Temp'rance, and a stout
Undaunted Courage, that is resolute.
This Virtue's Method is, at first to weep,
And ever after Halcyon days to keep.
| 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 | |