The Pathway to Prayer and Piety, Dedication 3
TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE THOMAS, Earle of Exceter, Knight of the moſt Noble Order of the Garter, and one of his Maieſties moſt Honourable Priuie Counſell: Grace, and Peace.
RIght Honourable: Although it be appointed that all muſt die, yet the moſt put farre from them that euill day. It is certaine, we muſt hauehave an end: and the remembrance of it keepes vsus from ſinne. The goodlieſt Cities hauehave beene equalled with the ground, the ſtatelieſt buildings leuelled with the earth, the greateſt Empires brought to nothing, the Kings of the earth hauehave beene bound in chaines, and their Nobles in fetters of iron: We all waxe olde as doth a garment, wee dwell heere as in houſes of clay, our breath paſſeth away, and wee are gone. Where is Methuſhelah, with all his yeeres? Sampſon with all his ſtrength? Abſolom with all his beauty? Salomon with all his wiſdome? Dauid with all his victories? or Croeſus with all his wealth? Are wee in our yong age? till thirty, we may bee ſaluted with a good morrow: are we in our full age? till fifty, wee are ſaluted with a good day: are wee in our old age? wee muſt take it patiently, that we are then ſaluted with, God ſend you good reſt.
I hauehave ſeene (ſaith Dauid) an end of all perfection: and happy are they that hauehave Dauids eyes. But all men hauehave not this ſight; the god of this world hath ſo blindfolded many, that if they bee young, they cannot ſee death at their backes: if old they will not ſee it before their eies. Wee would mourne, if wee knew wee ſhould liue but a monethmonth: wee laugh, when, it may bee, wee ſhall not liue one day.
Heu! viuunt homines tanquam mors nulla ſequatur,
Et velut infernus fabula vana foret.
Alas! men liue as though they ſhould not die:
And as if hell were nothing but a lie.
Ambitioſus honos, & opes, & foeda voluptas,
Haec tria pro trino numine mundus amat.
Vaine pompe, and wealth, and luxurie,
The worldling makes his trinitie.
To the end therefore that all men might thinke of their end, I hauehave publiſhed this Direction to die well. And though this ſmall mite, be not worthy to come into your rich Treaſurie, yet am I bold to caſt it in: and becauſe it is all I can giuegive at this time, I moſt humbly beſeech you to giuegive it entertainment.
You hauehave gained much in this preſent world: but you hauehave eſteemed godlineſſe the greateſt gaine: and, with that bleſſed Apoſtle Saint Paul, You account all …hings to be but dung, to the ende you …ight winne Chriſt. And though it hath …leaſed God to giuegive vntounto you great riches in this world, yet am I perſwaded, that the remembrance of death is not bitter vntounto you:Eccl. 41.1. for as you are not aſhamed to liue, ſo you are not afraide to die. You waite for it, becauſe by her two Harbengers, Sickeneſſe, and Old age, it euer waiteth vponupon you.
Heere you ſow liberally, that hereafter you may reape plentifully: you caſt your bread vponupon the waters, Eccl. 11.2.after many daies you are ſure to find it. And if he hath his reward for a cuppe of cold water; you who deale your bread to the hungrie, who bring the wandring poore to your houſe, who ſee the naked and couer him, and hide not your ſelfe from your owne fleſh *Eſai. 58.7.: you, Right Honourable, ſhall not want your reward.
2. Chr. 30.22.And ſeeing you (with good King Hezekiah) ſpeake comfortably to eueryevery poore and painefull Leuite; how ſhould they but ſpeak honourably of you? The Lord grant th… that ſheafe of your family, may euer be like vntounto Ioſephs ſheafe, and eueryevery day grow to a greater increaſe of fruitfulneſſe, Gen. 37.7.till it be… fitted as a ricke of Corne for the Lord Barne: and he grant vntounto you a long life, godly poſterity, and a peaceable end; that heere you may ſee your Childrens Children in great proſperity: ſo as you may louelove yours, yours may honour you, and both you and yours bee honoured of God: and that you who are bleſſed in your honorable Predeceſſors, may euer be happy in your future Succeſſours,
I doubt not, but it will pleaſe you to pardon my boldneſſe; and the rather peruſe this Direction to die well, becauſe your whole life is, as it ought to bee, a meditation of death. And becauſe it is but a little Manuall, and may bee read ouer in a few houres, giuegive me leaue to commend vntounto you two other Bookes, in which you may reade, all the daies of your life: The one is the booke of Gods mercies; the other is the booke of Gods iudgements. In the one, you may ſee his goodneſſe to you and yours; in the other, his iuſtice againſt his and the Churches enemies. This Booke of mine hath many leaues; theſe other hauehave only two: in the one, you may reade of Mercy, in the other, you may reade of Iudgement.
The Lord grant vntounto your Honor, with your moſt honorable Counteſſe, the Lady Francis, a ſecond Dorothea, (giuen both as a gift to you that feare God) ſuch a life, that at the houre of death, when your glaſſe ſhall be runne, and the Bridegrome call for you, you may both ſay, with that holy man;
Vixi dum volui, volui dum Chriſte volebas:
Sic nec vita mihi, mors nec acerba fuit.
London: From S. Martins in the fields. May 30. 1613. Your Honors, at command: ROBERT HILL.