Religio jurisprudentis, or, The lawyer's advice to his son in counsels, essays, and other miscellanies, calculated chiefly to prevent the miscarriages of youth, and for the Orthodox establishment of their morals in years of maturity / per Philanthropum.

XVII. De Vitâ & Morte. Of Life and Death.

MAnes suos quisque patimur, said the great Horace. Our Urns and Ends are as certain as our Beginnings: Orimur, morimur, All of us that live must die; which fatal word to the unthinking Vulgar is the most formidable in Nature, and by the Heathen called so; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. But some of the more thinking of them have had a rarer Notion of it, viz.

Dii celant homines, ut vivere durent, Quam sit dulce mori.

That Men may endure to live's the Reason why, The Gods conceal, how sweet it is to die.

And the divine Philosopher Seneca seem'd to be much of that Mind, when he saith, that, Pompa Mortis magis terret quam mors ipsa, that the Circumstances of our Depar∣ture, are more frightful than Death it self: and Dr. Brown wonders any wise Man was afraid of it; he professes himself to be ra∣ther asham'd to see so sudden and conside∣rable a Change made in a Carcass: it's as natural to die as to be born, saith Sir Fra. Bacon, and therefore ought not to be so dreadful. So that a Jurisprudent being well apprized of the Law of Mortality, so lives, that he's neither afraid nor asham'd to die,

whensoever his great Soveraign, that put him into Being, thinks fit to recal him out of it.

It's true that Life is a mighty Blessing, and a living Dog is better than a dead Li∣on; but in comparison with the Ends of Life, and Consequences of Death, it's not worth the talking of.

Quis propter Vitam vivendi perdere Causas Velle potest?

could a Heathen say.

Who for Life's sake, wou'd ever quit the Cause Of Living, by his fundamental Laws.

Especially believing, that a better Life, and infinitely more to purpose, will be subse∣quent to every one that dies a Jurispru∣dent.

Illi Mors gravis incubat, Qui notus nimis omnibus, Ignotus moritur sibi.

said the Tragedian Seneca excellently well, ss. Death cannot be really formidable to any, but such as are too well (and notori∣ously) known to the World, and under∣stand not themselves. Cogi qui potest, nescit mori, (said he too.) That Man can't tell how to die, that can be compell'd there∣unto, (note that!) For in many Cases Death is more eligible than Life to a Juris∣prudent; but a Jurisimprudent, or Ignoramus, is afraid of his own Shadow, and can't tell you why he does dread to die.

He that lives well, need not fear to die, Because he knows good reason why, He leaves Time for Eternity.

While a Jurisprudent is present in the Bo∣dy, he is (all that while) absent from the Lord; which I take to be the chief Reason, why that Chief Justice of the Gentiles, St. Paul, desired rather to be dissolv'd than not, as to himself; but as to the care of the Churches, and their edification by his Function (for a season) which was the great Province he was charged withal, he was contented to endure to live a while longer. The sager sort of the Heathen themselves had arriv'd to this Metaphysical Point, That to be in Statu seperato, from the cumbersom Body, was much more eli∣gible, in it self singly consider'd, from the benefit of Mankind, than their longer resi∣dence in the Body.

Wherefore duly consider'd, and jurisprudentially, what we are, and whither we tend, we can shew no cause why we shou'd be at all dis∣may'd at Death. Indeed if we had no further Assurances of future Felicity, the Case were alter'd; but who can be happy too soon? or who that prudentially considers all the Weal and Woes of humane Life to∣gether, does not judge him the happiest man that is well extricated out of the body?

There's more perhaps than we are aware on, primâ facie, in that Saying, ss.

Nemo ante obitum, suprema{que} funera faelix.

No Man is truly happy till he dies, This is no Riddle unto him that's wise

Life indeed is all in all, (when all's said) but to exchange a worse for a better Life, is more than all that can be said, è contra, against it. It's better not to be, than to be miserable all agree; but if we are morally certain of an eternal Life, he must needs be (non Compos mentis) out of his Wits, that is loth to die. As Death is an extin∣guishment of all our Faculties, and a di∣vorce of Soul and Body; indeed it's formi∣dable; but if we as Jurisprudents look on't but as an Emancipation, or Gaol-delivery, and as a future State, to which (ab initio) at first we were framed, it is rather what we should long for and covet, than be shy of, or dread. A Jurisprudent argues thus:

If I am here but by the By; If it's impossible (long) Death to fly; If Life eternal be to me hard by; If no man can 'gainst it shew good Cause why; Within a little while I must needs dye: To be translated hence, wherefore should I Be al a mort before-hand, or be shy. If Solomon and Paul approved best Of Dissolution, why should not the rest

Of the sage Jurisprudents, and men wise, Resolve the Point? It is but a Demise, No Prince or Jurisprudent ever dies. Seneca said very true, that Non est vivere, sed valere vita. He that's in pain, and no health hath, His Life may properly be called Death.

The Life that now is (as much as we make of our selves) is not a thing worth the taking up, were it not in pursuance of, and in order to something better, as the vulgar Note well observes:

Can Life be a Blessing, And worth the possessing, If Love were away? O no, &c.

The Practice of which principal part of Piety, or Jurisprudence, upon this Stage of Philanthropy, and the full fruition of the beatifick Vision, who is defined to be Love in the Abstract, is that which is our main Business here, and which only makes Life considerable, and Death not so dreadful as desirable.

The very heathen Philosophers, that had not so clear a Prospect of the future State, made no Bones (as we say Prover∣bially) of it, as Sir Fra. Bacon in his learn∣ed Essays gives us many Instances: Fear induced some to court it; Love and Friend∣ship others; others in Complements and generous Bravado's, as Augustus Caesar part∣ing with his Wife Livia, at his Execution

takes his leave of her and the World toge¦ther, thus:

(Livia!) memor sis nostri Conjugii, vive, vale{que}

That is to say,

Remember (Livia) our things Conjugal, Live and prosper, fare thee well.

It's the Consequences of it are so formi∣dable and astonishing, and not it self, which is nothing but a deprivation of something, which is as natural and as ne∣cessary for us to part with as to enjoy. Whoever leads a Jurisprudent Life, need never dread never so sudden Death. It's for Fools (and guilty Knaves) to be a∣fraid of their own Shadows, and not for men of Temper and Discretion. Life is here a thing only considerable in order to somewhat better and future; Death is (if rightly consider'd on) at best but a transi∣tion to another State (not Place) if ap∣plied to Intelligent or jurisprudent Agents.

Sera nimis vita est crastina, vive hodie.

said an Elegant heathen Poet to pur∣pose, viz.

What you mean to do, do to day, Dream not to live to morrow, pray.

Nec propter vitam, vivendi perdito causam.

said another appositely, and emphatically.

Dote not so much on this Life, as to make The Reason why you live here, a mistake. Life is a very pretty pleasant thing, (If health attend it) to Beggar, or King.

But all the wealth and honour in the world, If at once into your arms they were hurl'd, Could never make you be so much in love With Life below, if you'r secure above Of such a Posture as you'r now beneath, To which nothing can you conduct but Death, By God's permission, when you'v lost your Breath.

We commonly wonder, (which is a vulgar Error) when we hear of any bo∣dy's Death; whenas we have much more reason to wonder, that any Individual is in Life and Health, if we do but consider, how small a matter serves to turn the strongest Constitution out of Being, and how many millions of those accidental Matters we meet withal in a little time, besides the incurable Disease of old Age.

We ar' no sooner born, than we begin to dye, Take Time by the Forelock then, there is good reason why For she behind is bald, and swiftly does she fly.

And eximious is that Saying of the hea∣then Philosopher,

—Vitae nimis avidus quisquis, Non vult mundo secum moriente, mori.

That Man's abominably covetous Of Life, that's loth to die with us; The rest of all the Universe about, Will keep him quickly company no doubt.

I close this Essay, as Sir Wa. Rawley does his History of the World, p. 776. who then had a close Prospect of his untimely End. O Eloquent, just and mighty Death!

whom none cou'd advise, thou hast perswaded; what none has dared, thou hast done; and whom all the World has flatter'd, thou only hast cast out of the world, & despised, thou hast drawn together all the far-stretched Greatness, all the Pride, Cruelty, and Ambition of Man, and co∣ver'd it all with these two narrow words, Hic jacet.