Partheneia sacra. Or The mysterious and delicious garden of the sacred Parthenes symbolically set forth and enriched with pious deuises and emblemes for the entertainement of deuout soules; contriued al to the honour of the incomparable Virgin Marie mother of God; for the pleasure and deuotion especially of the Parthenian sodalitie of her Immaculate Conception. By H.A.

THE XXI. SYMBOL. THE SHIP. (Book 22)

THE DEVISE.

[illustration]

THE CHARACTER.

THE Ship is the artificial Dolphin of the Seas,* 1.1 that much addicted to musick, is neuer set on a merrier pin, then when the winds whissel to her dancing. It is a floating Castle, that hath the gates open indeed, but trusts to her Battlements, which she hath wel planted with Canons and Sacres, wher∣in she more confides, then manie do in Sacred Ca∣nons; her whole saluation depending vpon them. It is a litle Common-wealth, whose whole Reason of State consists in iealousies, & spyes, which she sends

vp to her turret-tops, to discouer, if the coasts be clear, stil standing on her guard, against the neigh∣bour waues, that seeke but to swallow her vp. And al her care is, to walke vpright amidst her enemies, least vnawares they arrest her, and cite her to ap∣peare at Pluto's Court, for euerie errour or default of the least ship-boy. There is no Bride requires so much time to dresse her on her wedding-day, as she to be rigd, whensoeuer she goes to sea. If they haue their fillets to bred and wreath their haires with, she hath her tacklings to trim her vp; whose ropes are as manie & as intricate as they; if they haue their veyl∣es to spread vpon them, she hath her sayles, to hoyse vp to go her wayes. It is the Lion of the seas, that fea∣res no Monsters, but is as dreadful herself, as anie Monster, hauing as manie mouthes as Gun-holes, & in euerie mouth a Serpent tongue, that spits & vo∣mits fire, & which euen spits her teeth too, in the fa∣ce of her enemies, which often sincks them vnder water. It is one of the prettiest things in the world, to see her vnder sayle, how like a Turkiecock she strouts it out, as brauing euen the Elements them∣selues, both aboue and beneath her, wherof the one she ploughes with her slicing share, and braues the other with her daring look. She is an excellēt swim∣mer, bnt no good diuer at al; which she neuer doth, but sore against her wil, and that with so il successe, as likely she is neuer seen more. The first that euer was seen to our Antipodes, was thought by them to haue had indeed a liuing soule with her; els would the simple people say, how could so great a bulk, so easily wind & turne it sell euerie foot; & this, becau∣se they knew but the Oare only, and not the Rudder. What would they haue said then, had they knowne the effects of her Card and Compas? doubtles she had a reasonable soule. She likely neuer goes without

her Pages with her, to wit, her Long-boat and her Cockboat, wherof she makes such vse now & then, as without them, she might starue for ought I know. She is very ciuil, if a Marchant-man; but when she is a Man of warre, then Marchants beware, and looke to your selues.

THE MORALS.

DE LONGE PORTANS PANEM.

IN the Tēple of Salomon, no gold would serue his greatcuriositie,* 1.2 but that of Ophir. Which the Sou∣thern Queē of Saba knowing wel perhaps, thought no doubt her presents would be gratful to him, coming so frō parts remote. Who is he that is not takē much with verie toyes that come frō China, which carrie I know nor how in themselues, (at least in our opiniō) a kind of luster with thē, greater farre then otherwise they would. The presēts which the Magi brought vn∣to the Crib, coming from the East were deemed by them sit presents for a King, yea for a GOD. And how were Iosue & Caleb the Spyes & Intelligencers of the people of Israel extolled & magnifyed at their retur∣ne with those rare & admirable booties fetched from Canaan? And yet the gold of Ophir was but gold, a yel∣low earth; the presents made by Saba, such as that Co∣untrie afforded; & those Indiā toyes, but toyes indeed. Yea the guifts the Magi brought, had greater luster with them from the giuers harts, then frō thēselues; & more respected for the place to which, thē whēce they came. And for those forren fruits, they came in∣deed frō the lād of promise, frō Palestin, which was but the figure only of the Heauenlie countrie. But lo, our Incōparable Virgin like a Ship, most richly fraighted, hath brought vs Bread frō farre. What bread; but the true & liuing bread? How farre? As farre as Heauen. But how bread? Bread whose corne was haruested in the Mightie man's rich Boozfield, framed by the hand of the Maister Baker himself of a most pure

meale or flower, to wit, of the immaculate Bloud of the holie Virgin herself, baked in the Ouen of an ardēt Loue, which She hath brought into the world. And therefore is truly sayd: DE LONGE PO••TANS PANEM.

THE ESSAY.

I Can not tel, whether in the world besi∣des, be a more statelie fight to behold, then an English Ship vnder sayle, riding in the Ocean, & cutting the watrie play∣nes with her sharp keel,* 1.3 in case she haue a gallāt gentle gale in the poop; for then they feast it, and make good chear, who are the liuing soules abi∣ding in this bulk of human art, compiled togeather in despite of Nature, to frame a liuing creature more then she intended, that neither should be fish nor fowle, yet liue in the ayre and water. But if the Seas proue rough, & al the marine Mōsters vise vp against her, cōspiring with the blustering Spirits of the ayre; to sinck her quite, it is a sport to see, how she rides & prances on his crooked back, sporting herself the while, and making a meer scoff at al their menaces▪ There is an infinit number of seueral sorts of these artificial creatures in the world, each country al∣most hauing their kinds. There are Ships, Pinaces, Ho∣yes, Barkes, Ketches, Galleyes, Galeons, Galleasses, Frigots, Brigandines, Carackes, Argoseyes, for the Seas; to say nothing of Lighters, Barges, Tiltboats, Lighthorsmen, Oares, Canoas, & Gundeloes, for the Riuers. The Ships do fly and swimme togeather, with the help of ••ayles only; the Galleyes and their like, as Swans do sometimes fly, and sometimes paddle with the oare. They haue maine masts, crosse sayles, top & top gallāns, they haue stern, poop, rudden, ancker, ca∣ble, decks, tacklings, gunnes, andigun-holes, where they haue Canon Demy-canō, Saker, Culuering; not

to speak of the smal shot, as muskets, harkebuses, & firelocks, and a thousand more. And so much for the sensles bodie of this bulk in it-self. But then to speak of the soule, or policie, and oeconomie of this admi∣rable artificial creature, or mouing world, it is a bu∣sines no lesse, to set them downe. For as for the Offi∣cers which are simply necessarie either in the Admi∣ral or Vice-admiral of a Fleet or Royal Armado at the seas, there is a General, a Lieutenant General, a Captain, a Pilot, and the Pilot's mate; a Maister, and the Maister's mate; a Marchant, & a Marchāt's mate; the Maister of the Ship-boyes, a Secretarie, a Chirur∣gion; a Boatswain, a Purser, Dispensers, Cooks, Cano∣nier, & his mate, with vndergunners, ship-boyes and marriners without number. The Captain commands absolutely in al things; the chief marchāt hath power ouer the marchandize and commerce only. They double so the principal Officers, that one may supply the others want. The Secretarie sets downe the mar∣chādize the Ship is fraighted with, & takes accompt of goods vnladed. The Pilot hath no other commād, but in what concerns the nauigation. The Maister hath cōmand ouer al the Mariners and saylers of the Ship; & of al the prouisions and victuals; he places & remoues the Officers at his pleasure. The Maisters of the boyes are the ablest of al the marriners, and haue the care of the cordages, sayles, and tacklings, & the like, and command the yong marriners, and do only giue correction to the Ship-boyes.

THE DISCOVRSE.

Bvt now come we to our mystical Ship, whose wayes in the vast seas the Oracu∣lous Salomon admired so much.* 1.4 This had for Architect and Shipwright no lesse then the Blessed Trinitie it-self, wherin

the Diuine persōs bestowed their chiefest Architec∣ture. For the Heauenlie Father employed his Omni∣potēcie therin as farre as the subiect was capable of, the eternal Word made vse of his wisdome, in preser∣uing so entire the seale of integritie, & the Holie-Ghost shewed his Loue, by infusing such a plenitude of gra∣ce into her. The matter she was framed of, tels vs she was of herself, of wood doubtles most sacred & my∣sterious. As the Cedar am I exalted in Libanus, and as the Cypresse in mount Sion;* 1.5 as the beautiful; Oliue in the fields; & am exalted as the Planetree neer the waters in the streets. This Ship then was made of the Cedar of virginitie, in that the Cedar is odoriferous and incorruptible; & there∣fore signifyes her virginitie, which made her grate∣ful and odoriferous to GOD, & kept her flesh imma∣culate & incorrupted. It was made of Cypresse, which is a wood so strong & solid, as shrincks & yealds not with anie burden, being qualities most apt for ship∣ping: nor would the charitie of the blessed Virgin per∣mit her euer, to shrinck vnder the weight of tribula∣tions.* 1.6 For Loue is strong as death. She was made of the Oliue of pietie, which alwayes flourisheth, & looks green, in that her pietie neuer fayled any, either in the Spring of their youth, in the Autumne of their age, in the Winter of tribulation, or in the heat of inordi∣dinate concupiscences. She was further made of the Plane-tree of humilitie; for the Plane is a most spacious & ampletree; & humilitie made the Virgin most am∣ple & illustrious; because thereby she receaued him into her womb, whom the Heauen of heauens was not able to containe, since S. Bernard sayth: She pleased with her virginitie, but conceaued through Humilitie.

Her stern, is her wisdome & discretion; her Oares most sacred and holie affects; the Mast, high & subli∣me contemplation; the Galleries, pure & chast con∣uersation; the ropes & tacklings, the cords of loue,

vnitie and concord; the Anckor, firme hope & confi∣dence in GOD; the deckes & hatches, external & ho∣lie example & edification; the sayles, cleanes & puri∣tie of bodie, ioyned with the blush of shamfastnes, The Pilot or Maister of the ship, the Holie-Ghost, which steered, guided, & directed her in the whole nauiga∣tion of her sacred life. For if they be led by the Holie-Ghost, who are the sonnes & children of GOD, how much rather shal she be gouerned by it, who is ack∣nowledged to be not only the Daughter but likewi∣se the natural Mother of GOD!

The forme & figure of a Ship we know to be open aboue, close beneath, streight in the beginning, nar∣row in the end, broad in the midst, & very deep. And this ship of ours the Incomparable Virgin, according to the superiour part of the Soule, was open to recea∣ue Celestial guifts, but as for the inferiour, wholy shut vp frō terrene affectiōs; & moreouer so strict in the beginning of her Cōception, as Original sinne could find no place to stayne her in; She was narrow in the end of the Passiō, while for the death of her Sonne she was put to diuers streights; in the midst she was most, capacious or broad, because, as we sayd, Whō the hea∣uens could not hold, she held & cōtained in the lap of her wōb; Lastly she was deep through humilitie, when being raysed to the top of the highest dignitie of being the Mother of GOD, she calles herself his lowlie hādmayd saying: Behold the handmayd of our Lord. But for the M••st indeed,* 1.7 and tree of this Ship, it was CHRIST Our Lord,* 1.8 the verie same, who called himself green wood, saying: If this be done in green Wood, what shal beco∣me of the dry? Erected also,* 1.9 as S. Paul sayth: Being made higher then the heauens; raysed in, and born of the Virgin Ship. Of which tree or mast,* 1.10 we haue this in Exodus: They took out a Cedar from Libanus to make

be no other then Christ erected in this Ship of our Vir∣gin heer.

The Ships are made for burden; and for as much as Nations oftentimes stand in need of each other, they serue for transportation of commodities to and fro, and especially corne from the fruitful to barren countries, with the abundance of the one to supply the necessities of the other. And therefore the bles∣sed Virgin, as we haue in the Prouerbs, was made as a Marchants ship,* 1.11 bringing her bread from farre & remote parts. For euen from the fertile and most fruitful soyle of the Celestial Paradise, brought she indeed that su∣persubstantial bread, into the barren coasts of this world;* 1.12 which bread sayes of itself: I am the liuing bread, who descend from heauen, wherewith the faythful are fed and nourished. Whence appeares, how farre off this mysterious ship brought the Celestial Bread vnto vs, being no lesse then from heauen to the earth, an im∣mense distance; shewing yet a greater distance of natures, in that this Bread consists of the Diuine and human nature, which are infinitly distant one from the other, togeather with the distance of merits; because no merits had euer deserued, that for our sakes GOD should become Mā; Which bread it seemed she likewise made her self, so signifyed by that Wo∣man in the Ghospel, who mingled togeather the three hād-fuls of meale, as heer are vnited the soule, the bodie, and the Diuinitie itself. O glorious Baker of so heauenline bread! O Diuine bread so mysterious∣ly made! And most rich and precious Ship, that con∣ueighed the same to vs from parts so remote!

Lastly, as the Ship vseth the Winds only to sayle with, & the Galley passes not to & fro without the help of oares: So likewise between the blessed Virgin,

and the rest of Saints, this difference is; that they, as Galleyes, performe the nauigation of this life, with the strength of the oares, as it were, against the wind and tyde of carnal difficulties, and tra∣uel with infinit encounters of worldlie assaults, vnto their heauenlie Countrie. But the blessed Virgin with the gentle gale of the Holie-Ghost, and the most sweet push thereof, was conueighed thither. And as the Ship is driuen with twelue sorts of seueral winds; the bles∣sed Virgin like a prosperous Ship, with the twelue fruits of the Holie-Ghost, which S. Paul reckons vp, as with so manie fauourable winds, without rebellion or impugnation of sinne, or anie Remora, to stop her course, was sweetly wafted to the hauen of the Cele∣stial Countrie.

THE EMBLEME.

[illustration]

THE POESIE.

A Iewish Rabby sayes, the Angels fed On Manna; But an other,* 1.13 better read, Affirmes' twas Light condens'd (& so made meat. For men, (which shin'd before God's glorious seat, As food of Angels. True; for one of three, The Second Person of the Trinitie Descends, & sayes, He is the liuing bread, He was the light whereon the Angels fed: Which, when the Holie-Ghost o'er cast his shade Was first condends'd, when Flesh the Word was made In Maries womb, wherewith our Soules are fed. She is the Ship, that brought from farre her bread.

THE THEORIES.

COntemplate first,* 1.14 that as Ships of Salo∣mon, as we read of in the book of Kings, brought most precious gold from Ophir, to adorne the Temple he had built to the Maiestie of GOD; So our mystical Ship, brought forth our Lord, the finest gold; not from Ophir truly, but from the most precious Mines of Heauē; with whose merits, as the daughters of Hierusalem, deckt their heads in memorie of Salomon's yealow hayre and Crowne: So the Catholick Church is most gloriously enriched, honoured, and delighted, by our second Salomon's glorious merits, through whose valew and inestimable price, great sūmes of debts are defray∣ed; with whose admirable vertue, as with a most present antidote, are the sick and infirme cured, and the harts of the faythful cōforted; & finally through his meruelous luster and bright splendour, the Tem∣ple of the Church incredibly shineth.

Consider then, that wheras other Ships are subiect to infinit dangers in the Seas, being tossed with tēpests

and oftentimes cast away and swallowed vp in the waues, or dasht against the Rocks; for Ecclesiasticus sayth:* 1.15 Who trauel on the seas, do recount their perils: either tyrannized by the winds, or falling into the hands of Pirats or running on the Sirtes or Scylla, and falling sometimes into the gulf of Charibdis, & lastly allured through the Sirens songs, to their owne destruction: Yet this Ship of our Ladie heer, while of the one side, the stormes of Original sinne had no power vpō her, so as she felt not the least internal rebellion of the bodie or mind, against the rectitude of Reason; and of the other was inuincibly through the Diuine assi∣stance preserued against the assaults of the ghostlie Enemie: So as neither the Syrtes or Scylla of riches, nor the Charibdis of worldlie honour, nor the Pirats of Concupiscence, nor the Sirens of eternal delights, could stopp or hinder her, in the fayre nauigation, she made vnto the heauenlie Countrie.

Ponder lastly, that as heretofore in the vniuersal Deluge & floud of Noë, in that general inundation of the wrath & furie of GOD, was no mā saued or anie li∣uing creature besides, except such only, as fled to the Arck of Noë, built in effect as a goodlie & statelie Ship: So no sinner escapes the indignation of GOD, but such as hye thēselues & fly vnto the Virgin-Mother for re∣fuge, according to that of S. Bernard.

If thou darestnot approach to the Maiestie of GOD, least thou melt as wax before the fire; go to the Mother of Mercie, & shew her thy wounds, & she for thee wil shew her breast & paps, & the Sonne to the Father his side & woūds. The Father wil not deny the Sonne requesting; the Sonne wil not, deny the Mother crauing; the Mother wil not deny the sinner weeping. My children, why feare you to go to Marie? she is not austere, she is not bitter, but milke & honie is vnder her tōgue. This is the Ladder

and honie is vnder her tongue. This is the Ladder of sinners, this my great confidence, this the whole reason of my hope. And what meruel? For can the Sonne repel the Mother? or be repelled of the Mother? Neither one, nor other. Let not therefore humane frailtie feare to approach vnto her; For she is wholy sweet, and sweetnes itself.

THE APOSTROPHE.

O Thou ••al and goodlie Arck,* 1.16 thou valiant Woman, valiant by excellence, more faire then Rachel, more gracious then Hester, more pleasing then Sara, more gentle and generous then Iudith, more sweet and chast then Abiseig the Sunamite, more officious and prudent then Abigail, more magnanimous then Debora, more illumined then Marie the Sister of Moyses. Thou who hast found grace before the eyes of GOD, work with thy prayers most dear Ladie, O my most noble Princesse, that I may alwayes find grace before thy Sonne. Thou who through thy Sonne hast broken the head of the Serpent; crush likewise through thy holie prayers his head vnder thy Seruants feet. Thou Ship of the great GOD, who from those counries so farre remote hast brought to vs the bread of Para∣dise, true GOD in flesh Grant, I beseech thee, I may be fed with the bread of grace, of life, and wisdome; and that receauing the sacred bread of Angels, which is the precious Bodie of sweet IESVS thy Sonne, I may euen suck in the fountain itself, the most sweet pleasures, and the most pleasing sweetnesses of the Diuinitie, and be wholy inebriated with the torrent of Diuine consolations.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The Impresa
• * 1.2

  The Mott••.
• * 1.3

  The Reuiew.
• * 1.4

  The Suruey.
• * 1.5

  Eccl. 24.
• * 1.6

  Cant. 8.
• * 1.7

  Luc. 1.
• * 1.8

  Luc. 23.
• * 1.9

  Heb. 7.
• * 1.10

  Ex. 27.
• * 1.11

  Pro 31.
• * 1.12

  Lue. 6.
• * 1.13

  The Pause.
• * 1.14

  The Contem∣plation. Reg 3.
• * 1.15

  Ec. 43.
• * 1.16

  The Collo∣quie.