 | 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 |  |
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II.
Sadness, the black'st of Passions, is defin'd
To be a perturbation of the Mind,
Which from some present Evil takes its rise,
That either real, or conceived is.
To be a perturbation of the Mind,
Which from some present Evil takes its rise,
That either real, or conceived is.
This fetters all our Senses, pulleth down
Heav'ns Image, Reason, from her rightful Throne,
And in her room, by Fancies pow'rful Charm,
Sets up a feigned Ill to work our Harm.
By which we oft-times to our selves create,
And find more trouble in the fond Coneit
Of Things, than in the Things themselves can er'e
Be found, if strictly they examin'd were.
Heav'ns Image, Reason, from her rightful Throne,
And in her room, by Fancies pow'rful Charm,
Sets up a feigned Ill to work our Harm.
By which we oft-times to our selves create,
And find more trouble in the fond Coneit
Of Things, than in the Things themselves can er'e
Be found, if strictly they examin'd were.
Wherefore be not too sedulous to know,
And prie into the state of things below,
How with our selves, or others, matters stand
Concerning Servants, Moneys, Business, Lands;
But rather take into regard th'esteem,
And real judgement which we have of them.
And prie into the state of things below,
How with our selves, or others, matters stand
Concerning Servants, Moneys, Business, Lands;
But rather take into regard th'esteem,
And real judgement which we have of them.
'Tis not within the Pow'r of any Wight,
Of greatest Wit or Courage, clearest sight,
By one, or all together, that can free
Himself from Force, Disgrace, or Robbery.
But this is in his Pow'r to undertake,
An upright judgment of these things to make,
And to content himself that they are not
Entirely Evil, as by him they're thought,
But often-times (if he but wisely knows
To manage them) prove advantageous.
Of greatest Wit or Courage, clearest sight,
By one, or all together, that can free
Himself from Force, Disgrace, or Robbery.
But this is in his Pow'r to undertake,
An upright judgment of these things to make,
And to content himself that they are not
Entirely Evil, as by him they're thought,
But often-times (if he but wisely knows
To manage them) prove advantageous.
He that is under present Trouble brought,
Though ne're so great, let him but bend his thought
To a good guarded Conscience, which a sure
And lasting Comfort is, and there's his Cure.
To a good Man nothing can come amiss,
Not that he feels not what sad Mis'ry is,
But he doth master't, and considers all
Bitter Afflictions that do him befall,
Only as matter for his Patience to
Be busi'd on, lest it should idle grow;
Or as the Instrument, and means of Grace,
And that which opens him a way to pass
Into Eternal Glory, where the Blest
No Sorrows know, but undisturbed rest.
A good man may be thought unhappy, though,
If rightly judg'd, he never can be so.
Though ne're so great, let him but bend his thought
To a good guarded Conscience, which a sure
And lasting Comfort is, and there's his Cure.
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Not that he feels not what sad Mis'ry is,
But he doth master't, and considers all
Bitter Afflictions that do him befall,
Only as matter for his Patience to
Be busi'd on, lest it should idle grow;
Or as the Instrument, and means of Grace,
And that which opens him a way to pass
Into Eternal Glory, where the Blest
No Sorrows know, but undisturbed rest.
A good man may be thought unhappy, though,
If rightly judg'd, he never can be so.
| 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 | |