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The losse of good Men not laid to heart, condemned. [ 1946]
AS you may see a silly Hen go clocking and scraping in the midst of her chickens; then comes the Kite and snatcheth away first one, then another, after that a third, till all are gone, And the Hen brustles and flut∣ters a little when any of them is so snatched away, but returns instantly to her scraping and picking,* 1.1 as if she had lost nothing. Even so do the most of Men, God hath in these later times made many great and lamentable breaches amongst us, top'd the greatest Cedars in this our Lebanon, depriv'd us of many excellent Men both in Church and State, and we (it may be for a moment) bewail their losse in some such like passionate expression,* 1.2 There is a brave Man lost, I am sorry such a Man is dead,* 1.3 &c. and then every one goeth on again in his own way, presently forgetting the losse; but no Man sitteth alone by himself to en∣quire, What God hath done, and What he meaneth to do with us, or What we have done to provoke him thus far against us; We thrust such thoughts far away from us, passing by on the other side, as the Priest and Levite did by the wound∣ed Man, as if it nothing at all concerned us.