A Child of God bettered by Afflictions. [ 1254]
STars shine brightest in the darkest night; Torches are better for the beating; Grapes come not to the proof,* 1.1 till they come to the Presse; Spices smell sweetest, when pownded; young Trees root the faster for shaking; Vines are the better for bleeding; Gold looks the brighter for scowring; Glow-worms glister best in the dark; Iuniper smells sweetest in the Fire; Pomander becomes most fragrant for chasing; The Palm-Tree proves the better for pressing; Camomile, the more you tread it, the more you spread it: Such is the condition of all Gods Children, they are then most triumphant, when most tempted; most glorious, when most afflicted; most in the favour of God, when least in Man's; as their Conflicts,* 1.2 so their Conquests; as their Tribulations, so their Triumphs: True Sala∣manders, that live best in the Furnace of Persecution; so that heavy Afflictions