Miscellanea spiritualia: or, Devout essayes: the second part, composed by the honorable Walter Montagu Esq; Abbot of Nanteul, &c.

SECT. III.

Advertisements to young Women against their diversions from considering of death.

VVE have endeavour'd to disarm death of one of the sharpest weapons the Devil furnishes him, in the hands of men; which are the swords of Duellists: nor will it be less useful to essay his disarming of those darts, whereof, though but fabulous, yet he makes real use: for, as the Apostle sayes, the end of them is death. These are those vain shafts of praises and flatteries which Loves Poetical Quiver affords; to wound indeed the understanding and judgment of young women; by which means, they are in danger of making no provision against death, through that great distance the false lights of vain men seem to set them in, from mortalitie and perishing. Is not the stile of the world to young women such, that one may

say, men seem to be studying an exchange for mans first decep∣tion; by shutting the eyes of women towards the discernment of the evils of this life; and consequently to punish them by their over-loving it? For now adayes few converse with youth∣ful and handsom•• persons, but to entertain them with shews and triumphs of their own beauties: being led so far from the thought of their own frailtie, that commonly, they hear of no∣thing, but what themselves are idly said to consume and destroy; not a word of their own true perishing and consumption. It would be thought a rude, if not an unreasonable advice, to tell them, that when they look upon their most partial glasses, ev'n then they see but a deaths-head; and yet this is a verier truth then those reflections which the flatteries of the world make them; for that will one day be true, and every day advances that truth; whereas the other fain'd immortal ascriptions ne∣ver were true, and are every day going farther off from the ap∣parences of it. But alas, for the most part, this frail sex in the world, is so inconsidering of truth, that while they have beams of praises and fl••tteries in their faces, they imagine not they m••ke any shadow behind them: when the truth is, all the while they live in the belief of these vain adulations, they are sitting in darkness, and the shadow of death.

The familiarity with truth, is certainly, the only means for a safe and friendly acquaintance with death. Hence it is that they who seldom hear of him, but in some such fiction, as they cannot credit, ev'n while they are fancied by it (as in all those frivolous attributions to themselves of the power of life and death,) such cannot be much wondred at, for remaining in an inconsideration, and incogitancie of their own dissolution. For by the means of those amusements, women may be said, too frequently, held inchanted by their own charms; since ev'n their advantages of nature, perverted by flatteries, dazel and blind them, in the understanding their own nature. This befals them, when beautie (the fadingness whereof is the greatest de∣t••ctor and impeacher of our frailtie) proves an insurer of the lastingness of this life: and when this light becomes darkness, how

great must this darkness be? when the creature, by this account, takes Gods blessings as pawns for securitie of her idle wishes; and by them, induces an unmindfulness of her Creators order, imprinted in the same fading colours and figures that make all mortal beautie.

Does not this veritie manifest how pernicious that fabulous entertainment (which young women are diverted by) is to the knowledge of themselves: for though in these pleasant parts which men are acting before them, there may be many so in∣nocent that they mark the language only, and mind not the plot: yet at the best, these vails of falsities keep them unacquainted with the face of truth: by which they should come to va∣lue life, not as it diverts them, but as it disposes them for death.

I may therefore very justly propose to all young women, the suspecting and discrediting all great praises and indearments of themselves, which are offer'd them: For surely, the more they are believ'd, the less they are true. Let them credit only such as profess the making love to truth; who will inform them that beautie is the greater blessing, the less it is valu'd and ac∣counted upon; and teach them to extend its blessing beyond the duration of its matter. For the vertue of neglecting it while it continu'd shall remain a lasting beautie; when the frail matter is pass'd and perish'd: and we know corporal beautie is so perishable a fruit of nature, that it seldom lasts out her sea∣son. Wherefore, not to be seduc'd by its present attractives, is the only means of gathering and laying up the blessing of beautie: remembring what the holy Spirit admonishes us, Beau∣ty is vain, and handsomness deceitful; the woman that fears God shall only be praised.

I have labour'd to discouncel the crediting those excessive commendations (which are for the most part, unbeliev'd ev'n by the presenters themselves) as being much in order to my design: for such as are out of danger of being affected with these flatteries, are well advanc'd towards the knowledge of the little estimableness of this life. And this perswasion will lead them,

by an easie gradation to an acquaintance and correspondence with death: which being thus entred into, will be so far from overcasting the lightsomness of any legitimate delights, that it will clear and dissipate, ev'n most of the clouds and obscuri∣ties of life; and keep them from being surpriz'd by the fore∣seen eclipse.

Let me therefore beseech these young persons, to whom I address this advise, that in stead of the fashion of assigning so many thoughts to this purpose of passing pleasantly their time; they would allot some little portion of every day to the thinking on what is to follow after all their time is past; and when they look so far forward, they'l find death expecting them in that posture they have put it, by the passing of their time: either as a bridge, lying under their feet, only to pass them over to eternal beatitude; of as a torrent roaring, and frighting them with a precipitous fall. If they will but consider that all our life is but a composition of death, and every day works upon it, ev'n while we think least on't; they'l easily be perswaded to assign some time in each day to the surveying this work: which once done we can never mend again; and by this me∣thod of a daily supervising, can hardly be ill finish'd: we have the Holy Ghosts word for it, Think on thine end, and thou shalt never sin. This course of frequent meditation on death, shall set the practiser so much above the fear of it, that this of the Prophet may fitly be apply'd to this case, The sucking child shall play upon the hole of the asp; and the weaned child shall put his hand into the Serpents nest.

Notes

• Isa. 11•• 8.