9. MEDITATION.

THey haue seene me, and heard mee, ar∣raign'd mee in these fet∣ters, and receiu'd the eui∣dence; I haue cut vp mine own Anatomy, diffected my selfe, and they are gon to read vpon me. O how manifold, and per∣plexed a thing, nay, how wanton and various a thing is ruine and destru∣ction? Page  202 God presented to Dauid three kinds, War, Famine, and Pestilence; Satan left out these, and brought in, fires frō hea∣uen, and windes from the wildernes. If there were no ruine but sicknes, wee see, the Masters of that Art, can scarce nūber, not name all sicknesses; euery thing that disorders a fa∣culty, & the function of that is a sicknesse: The names wil not serue thē which are giuen frō the place affected, the Pluris•• is so; nor from the effect Page  203 which it works, the fal∣ling sicknes is so; they cā∣not haue names ynow, from what it does, nor where it is, but they must extort names frō what it is like, what it resem∣bles, & b•t in some one thing, or els they would lack names; for the Wolf, and the Canker, and the Polypus are so; and that question, whether there be more names or things, is as perplexd in sicknesses, as in any thing else; except it be easily resolud vpon that side, that there are Page  204 more sicknesses thē names. If ruine were reduc'd to that one way, that Man could perish noway but by sicknes, yet his danger were infinit; and if sick∣nes were reduc'd to that one way, that there were no sicknes but a feuer, yet the way were infinite still; for it would ouer∣lode, & oppress any na∣turall, disorder and dis¦compose any artificiall Mem•ry, to deliuer the names of seuerall Feuers; how intricate a worke then haue they, who ar• Page  205 gone to consult, which of these sicknesses mine is, and then which of these feuers, and then what it would do, and thē how it may be countermind. But euen in ill, it is a de∣gree of good, whē the euil wil admit consultation. In many diseases, that which is but an accident, but a symptom of the main dis∣ease, is so violēt, that the phisician must attend the cure of that, though hee pretermi• (so far as to in∣termi•) the cure of the di∣sease it self. Is it not so in Page  206 States too? somtimes the insolēcy of those that are great, put the people into commotions; the great dis∣ease, & the greatest dan∣ger to the Head, is the in∣solency of the great ones; & yet, they execute Martial law, they come to present executions vpō the people, whose commotion was indeed but a simptom, but an accident of the maine disease; but this symptom, grown so violent, wold allow no time for a con∣sultatiō. Is it not so in the accidents of the diseases Page  207 of our mind too? Is it not euidently so in our affe∣ctions, in our passions? If a cholerick man be ready to strike, must I goe about to purge his choler, or to breake the blow? But where there is room for consultatiō, things are not desperate. They consult; so there is nothing rash∣ly, incōsideratly done; and then they prescribe, the• write, so there is nothing couertly, disguisedly, vna∣vowedly done. In bodily diseases it is not alwaies so; sometimes, assoon as Page  208 the Phisicians foote is in the chamber, his knife is in the patients arme; the disease would not allow a minutes forbearing of blood, nor prescribing of other remedies. In States & matter of gouernmēt it is so too; they are som∣times surprizd with such accidēts, as that the Magi∣strat asks not what may be done by law, but does that, which must neces∣sarily be don in that case But it is a degree of good, in euill, a degree that ca∣•ies hope & cōfort in it, when we may haue r••course Page  209 to that which is written, and that the pro∣ceedings may bee apert, and ingenuous, and can∣did, and auowable, for that giues satisfaction, and acquiescence. They who haue receiued my Anatomy of my selfe, con∣sult, and end their consul∣tatiō in prescribing, and in prescribing Phisick; pro∣per and conuenient re∣medy: for if they shold come in again, and chide mee, for some disorder, that had occasion'd, and inducd, or that had hast∣ned and exalted this sick∣nes, Page  210 or if they should be∣gin to write now rules for my dyet, and exercise when I were well, this were to antidate, or to postdate their Consultati∣on, not to giue phisick. It were rather a vexation, then a reliefe, to tell a condemnd prisoner, you might haue liu'd if you had done this; & if you can get your pardon, you shal do wel, to take this, or this course hereafter. I am glad they know (I haue hid nothing from them) glad they consult, Page  211 (they hide nothing frō one another) glad they write (they hide nothing frō the world) glad that they write and prescribe Phisick, that there are re∣medies for the present case.