The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men, Chapter 11
CHAP. XI.
Of the vanity of the paſsion of Dolour, or Sorrow.
SOme Moraliſts are of opinion, that Adam in the ſtate of Innocency was free from this paſſion of Dolour, and that it was after his Fall inflicted upon him as a puniſhment for his diſobedience againſt his Maker; becauſe this paſſion is ſo common to men, that it followeth them at the heeles, as the Spaniel doth his Maſter, their lives being but a continual ſucceſſion of anguiſh, grief, and ſorrow, from their very Cradle to their Grave: Which unparallel'd miſery could not conſiſt, ſay they, with that bleſſed condition in which man was created at the firſt: yet I rather conceive, that all the paſſions that are at this preſent incident to men, were in our firſt father in the time of his innocency; and that God was pleaſed then to give him the power and ability to keep them obedient and ſubordinate to his Will and Reaſon, which power was taken away from him for his apoſtacy and preſumptuous rebellion againſt the ſpecial charge and*Gen. 3.6, 7. command given unto him by his Creator; and was not onelyonly deprived of this power, but alſo of that royal Prerogative that God had given him over the beaſts of the Field, the fowls of the Air, and the fiſhes of the Sea; ſo that ever ſince his Fall, his ſeed hath had enemies within, and without, to puniſh and correct them, for the tranſgreſſion of their firſt Parents, and their own actual ſins, againſt their gratious God, who had created all things perfectlyaGen. 1.25. good, and ſubmitted the moſt fierce and cruel beaſts of the Field, the devouring fowls of the Air, and the monſters of the Sea to be ſubject and ſubordinate to the will of man: But he having firſt of all rebelled againſt his Maker, his own paſſions, and the bruit creatures by the juſt judgment of God have alſobGen. 3.18. ſhaken off the obedience and reſpect they did ow unto him: yet the unreaſonable creatures are his meaneſt enemies, for by that ſmall ſpark of knowledg and divine Power and Majeſty that is left in him, he doth daily finde out means to curb their fury and rage, but wants power and ability to regulate the exorbitant diſtemper of his own paſſions, of all which Dolour is one of the moſt irkſome. Now for the better deſcription of it, I will ſpeak of theſe particulars in order.
1. Of the definition of Dolour.
2. Of the different ſorts of it.
3. Of the cauſes of it.
4. Of its nature and effects.
5. Of the remedies of it.
6. Of the uſe of ſpiritual ſorrow.
Firſt, The Moraliſts are of different opinions, concerning the definition of this paſſion of Dolour, under which is compriſed, Anguiſh, Grief, and Sorrow, ſome ſay it is a paſſion of the ſoul, proceeding from ſome ſenſible loſs or diſpleaſure received; others ſay, it is a perturbation of the minde, and an anguiſh of the body; others, that it is a paſſion afflicting the ſoul, by the apprehenſion of preſent and future evils: but this laſt opinion ſeemeth to be the beſt.The definition of Dolour according to the Biſhop of Marſeillis, pag 302. Dolour is a paſsion of the ſoul, proceeding from the diſlike that men receive from the objects repreſented to their imagination by their Senſes, which are averſe, to their inclinations, and irkſome to their bodies. Moreover, It is the laſt paſſion incident to the Concupiſcible appetite, and the root of divers other paſſions, and the great Antagoniſt of worldly Joy, becauſe all carnal Joy doth end in Sorrow; there being none ſo pure, but it leaves in the ſoul a ſting of remorſe and repentance: but Spiritual Sorrow is one of the greateſt motives that men have to induce them to beate with fervency the ways of righteouſneſs, For godly ſorrow, 2 Cor. 7.10.ſaith St. Paul, worketh Repentance to ſalvation not to be repented of, but the ſorrow of the world worketh death.
Secondly, There are divers ſorts and degrees of Dolour, for the very word of Dolour doth ſignify Anguiſh, Grief, and Sorrow, and every one of theſe have their degrees: Anguiſh doth properly ſignifie the Dolours, Pains, and Torments of the Body, whether they be natural or accidental: and Grief doth ſignify the Dolour of the Minde; and Sorrow is an invetered grief of the Minde, which is by long continuance turned into an habit of Sorrow: The firſt of theſe which is Anguiſh, hath a ſecret reflection to the Senſitive appetite of the ſoul, by means of the communion there is between it and the ſenſes; yet the ſeat of Anguiſh is in the body: or in ſome of the members of it; but the ſeat of Grief and Sorrow is in the Minde,The three different ſorts of Dolour. and this kinde of Dolour is inviſible to the eyes of men, becauſe it is intellectual, and hath but little reflection to the body, except it become exceſſive in degree: but when the grief of the minde is by long continuance turned into an habit of Sorrow, then it hath a great influence upon the body, for by flow paces and degrees it conſumes the body, the radical humor, and the very marrow in the bones, and therefore the inveterate Sorrow is accounted the worſt Dolour of the three, becauſe it is in a maner incurable, for it doth ordinarily reject all remedies that might eaſe and cure the ſame: as for Anguiſh and Grief they are eaſily cured by removing of the cauſe of them; the ſymtomes of the firſt being always viſible and apparent by the paleneſs, or the high colour of the face, by the inflammation of the parts, by the diſtemper of the pulſe, or by the pains that are felt in any of the members of the body, to which remedies may be applied by learned Phyſitians; and as for the grief of the minde, which is recent and not yet inveterate, the cauſe being known by ſuch as frequent, or are familiar with the grieved and afflicted party; ſuch arguments and ſeaſonable conſolations may be uſed that they may ſtifle this Cockatrice in the ſhell.
Thirdly, The cauſes of theſe three different ſorts of Dolour may be reduced to theſe Heads: firſt, To Publick: ſecondly, To Private: thirdly, To Natural: fourthly, To Accidental.
1. The Publick cauſes of Sorrow ſhould be more ſenſible to men then any other: yet in theſe days they are not regarded, although there never was greater cauſe: firſt, It was a cauſe of publick ſorrow to the People of Iſrael, when they were informed of the cruel and bloody decree that Pharoah King of Egypt had made to caſt all their male children into the River,Fxodws 1.22. that the Hebrew Nation might by degrees be utterly deſtroyed: ſecondly, It was a great cauſe of publick ſorrow, of weeping and lamentation for the whole Nation of the Jews, Publick cauſes of of ſorrow.when they were advertiſed that their good and religious King Ioſiah had been mortally wounded in the battels fought in the Valley of Megiddo againſt Necho King of Egypt, 2 Chron. 35.23.and all their Army routed and defeated: thirdly, It was a great cauſe of publick lamentation and ſorrow for the people of Iſrael, when they ſaw before their eyes the Temple of the Lord to be burned, the City of Ieruſalem to be ſacked,2 Chron 36.19, 20. and the reſt of the people to be carried captives into Babylon, by the King Nebuchadnezzar, for which great deſolation the Prophet Ieremiah did wiſh that his head were waters, Jer. 9.1.and his eyes a fountain of tears that he might weep day and night for the ſlain of the daughters of his people: fourthly, It was a great cauſe of publick ſorrow for the people of the Iews that were ſcattered through the hundred and twenty ſeven Provinces of the great King Ahaſuerus dominions,Eſther 3.12, 13, 14, 15. when they were informed of the cruel decree that Haman their mortal enemy had obtained to put them their wives and children to the ſword, for which there was great mourning, and lamentations in the ſaid Provinces, but ſpecially in the City of Shuſhan.
2. It was a private cauſe of ſorrow to the old Patriarch Iacob when he was informed that his dear and beloved ſon Ioſeph had been ſlain and devoured by wilde beaſts,Gen. 37.33. although he was living, but had been ſold by his brethren out of envy as a ſlave to the Iſhmaelites Merchants that were travelling down into Egypt: ſecondly,Private cauſes of Sorraw. It was a cauſe of private ſorrow for King David to hear of the Rape of his daughter Tamar, who was raviſhed by his own ſon Amnon: and again, of the murder of the ſaid Amnon committed by his darling ſon Abſolon, 2 Sam. 13, 14, and 29.in vindication of the Rape of his ſiſter Tamar: thirdly, It was a cauſe of private ſorrow for King Ieroboam and his Queen to ſee the beſt of all their children, Abijah, their elder ſon to be taken away by death in the flower of his age, and the more, becauſe it was by a judgment of God,1 King. 14.12. for the Idolatry of Ieroboam: fourthly, It was a cauſe of private ſorrow for the great Emperor Auguſtus Ceſar, that his daughter Iulia by her impudicity was baniſhed, and that none of his grand children were thought worthy to ſucceed him in the Empire, becauſe of their vitious miſcarriages, but was inforced to adopt,See Tacitus and Suetonius in his life. or elect Tiberius Nero his wives ſon, the worſt of men, for his Succeſſor in the Empire.
3.The cauſes of dolour of the Minde. The cauſes of Dolour or Sorrow of the Minde may be theſe: firſt, The privation of the injoyment of mens deſires may be the cauſe of their ſorrow, for Lovers, Ambitious, and Covetous men are caſt into ſtrange fits of Melancholy and ſorrow if they be deprived of their Love, or of the honors and riches they aim at: ſecondly, The carking cares that men uſually take to increaſe their means, or to preſerve their lives and eſtates, is a cauſe of their ſorrow: thirdly, The fear that many men have to fall into penury is a common cauſe of their ſorrow: fourthly, The loſſes of mens goods, fame, or reputation, is a cauſe of their ſorrow, becauſe they want the grace of patience, and cannot ſay with Iob, Job 1.21.The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, bleſſed be the name of the Lord; nor with the Prophet David, I will waſh my hands in innocency: Pſal. 26.6.fifthly, The loſs of Parents, Wife, Children, or intimate Friends, is often times the cauſe of mens ſorrow; for want of the rememoration of this ſaying of Salomon, Eccleſ. 3.20.All are of the duſt, and all ſhall return to duſt again: ſixthly, the vain apprehenſions that man have of the evil to come, is the cauſe of their ſorrow, becauſe they rely not upon this gracious promiſe, All things work together for good to them that love God: ſeventhly,Rom 8.28. The want of courage in men is the cauſe of their ſorrow, becauſe like faint hearted Pilots, they give over the Helme of the Ship in a ſtorm; I mean, the Helme of their Reaſon, whereby they might regulate the diſtempers of this paſſion of Sorrow: eightly, The fears that poſſeſs men for the puniſhment of their ſins, is a cauſe of their ſorrow; whereas they ſhould fear and grieve for the guilt of ſin, to attain to that ſpiritual Sorrow, which worketh repentance to ſalvation.
The Natural cauſes of the Dolour and Anguiſh of the body may be theſe: firſt, Long and tedious diſeaſes,The natural cauſes of the Dolour and Anguiſh of the body. as the Stone in the Kidneys or Bladder, the Gravel, the Strangullion, the Gout, the Cough, and conſumption of the Lungs, or the Hectick Feaver; for all theſe in continuance of time by the ſecret communion that the ſenſes have with the ſenſitive power of the ſoul, do beget in the minde grief and ſorrow; beſides the Dolour and Anguiſh of the body: ſecondly, The Aduſt or burnt Choler or Bilis gathered in the Meſentery veines, which ſendeth virulent vapors up into the braine, is a natural cauſe of much ſorrow.
4.The accidental cauſes of ſorrow. The accidentall cauſes may be theſe: firſt when men themſelves, or their Parents, Children, or intimate Friends do accidentally come to their end, by ſea or by land, as to be murdered upon a Rode, or caſt away at ſea, or taken captive by Pyrats, or ſlain by a fall from a horſe, or lamed by ſome other accident; all theſe things are cauſes of ſorrow and grief: yet none of theſe natural, or accidental cauſes are or ſhould be ſufficient to breed ſorrow to mens minde, ſith nothing happens caſually or accidentally, but is guided by the hand of the divine Providence, to whoſe bleſſed will men are obliged to ſubmit themſelves; and our bleſſed Saviour doth aſſure us, that the meaneſt Sparrow, or an hair of our head, doth not fall to the ground without the permiſſion of our heavenly Father.
Fourthly, The nature and effects of Sorrow, are directly contrary to the nature and to the effects of Joy: firſt, The nature of Joy, is to dilate and ſpread the blood, and the vital ſpirits that reſide in it into the utmoſt parts of the members of the body; but Sorrow being of a cold and dry nature, draws the blood and vital ſpirits from the utmoſt parts of the body towards the heart to comfort the ſame: ſecondly, Joy is hot and active, and by its ſudden motion indangers the life of men;The natur and the effects of Anguiſh, Grief, and Sorrow. but Sorrow is cold and ſlow, and comes upon men with leaden feet; and never cauſeth death, but by long continuance, and lingering diſeaſes, except it caſt men into deſpair, as it doth oftentimes, as it will be ſhown in the effects of it: thirdly, Joy is proper and pleaſant to Nature, and rejoyceth the heart, and makes men chearful in their Calling, both private and general, but Sorrow is adverſe and diſtaſteful to Nature, and makes men ſlow and ſtupid in their particular and general calling: fourthly, Joy preſerveth and increaſeth health, and lengtheneth mens days, and makes them paſs their lives with mirth and content; but Sorrow impairs mens health, and ſhortens their days, and makes their lives to be tedious and irkſome: In a word, moderate Joy is comfort to man, and exceſſive Sorrow is the bane of man. And the effects of worldly Sorrow are as bad or rather worſe: firſt, Sorrow makes men flee the ſociety of men, nay the very light of the Sun, and all things that may rejoyce and comfort Nature, the ſight of their deareſt friends, nay, of their wife and children is irkſome to men that are poſſeſſed with exceſſive ſorrow: ſecondly,See the Acts and Monuments, or Book of Martyrs. If mens Sorrow proceeds from mens Apoſtacy in Religion, it doth commonly caſt them into deſpaire, and inflicts upon them in this life the very paines of hell, as it doth appear in the life of Franciſco Spira: thirdly, Sorrow tempts carnal men to be rid of it, to deſperate reſolutions, as to bereave themſelves of life, by hanging, ſtabbing, and drowning of themſelves, as it hath lately been ſeen in this City of London: fourthly, Sorrow makes men careleſs to make their calling and election ſure, and to neglect the means appointed by God for their ſalvation, I mean, the hearing of the Word, with that attention as they ſhould; for their thoughts and cogitations are ſo fixed, upon the object of their ſorrow, that they minde nothing elſe; for this pernicious paſſion doth ſtupifie the moſt noble faculty of the ſoul, as the Memory, the Imagination, and the Underſtanding. Divers other effects might be produced, but theſe will ſuffice to induce men to indeavor to eſchew, or regulate this dangerous and deſtructive paſsion.
Fifthly, The Remedies againſt the venom of this paſsion are, firſt, Natural; ſecondly, Moral; thirdly, Spiritual. The Natural are, firſt, to flee as far as men can from the object of their ſorrow: ſecondly, If mens ſorrow proceeds from Natural infirmities; they are in the firſt place to call upon God; and then uſe the Counſel of Phyſitians, for they muſt not do as Ahaziah King of Iſrael did,2 Kings 1.2. who being faln from an upper Chamber thorow a Latteſs, ſent to the God of Ekron, to know whether he ſhould recover of his diſeaſe (as too many do in theſe days, who ſend to Aſtronomers to know the events of things) not to the Phyſitian,2 Chron. 16.12. as Aſa King of Iuda did, who being diſeaſed in his feet, ſent to the Phyſitian, before he had called upon the Lord by prayer, for God is the Paramount Phyſitian, and the God of Nature and neither the Art of men, nor the hidden Vertues of drugs and Simples, are of any effect without his bleſſing: thirdly, the change of Air from bad to good, and the pleaſent proſpects of green Medows, corn Fields, beautiful Gardens,The natural remedies againſt Sorrow. and odiferuos Flowers, rejoycing the Senſes are remedies againſt Sorrow: fourthly, Honeſt and godly Company, and moderate Exerciſes, as Walking, Shooting and Bowling, divert and drive away Sorrow: fifthly, wholſom Diet, and broath with Chickens and Mutton, Borage, Buglos, Marigolds and yellow Flowers, with a cup or two of Claret Wine with Sugar, are excellent remedies againſt Grief and Sorrow. The Moral remedies are Fortitude, Temperance, Conſtancy, and Patience; for the uſe and practice of theſe Vertues are ſpecial antidotes againſt the venom of Sorrow: I do not allow of the Stoicks Conſtancy,The moral remedies againſt Sorrow. who would have their wiſe men to be inſenſible of anguiſh in the midſt of the greateſt torments, nor to be ſad for the loſs of Parents, Wife, Children, or intimate Friends, for this is rather a brutiſh ſtupidity then a true conſtancy; Neither do I approve of an extream dejectedneſs, or exceſſive ſorrow for the loſs or deprivation of any thing that is dear unto men, but of a moderate demonſtration of the ſinſibility required by Humanity and Chriſtianity of ſuch a loſs; for ſuch as are truly wiſe are never tranſported with exceſſive Joy, nor with extream Sorrow for any thing which befalleth them in proſperity or in adverſity, the medium temper being to be preferred before any extream; as for Fortitude, Temperance, and Conſtancy; I muſt acknowledg the Heathen have out-gone in their Vertues the Chriſtians in theſe days,The Pagans have outgone the Chriſtians in Moral Vertues. as it may appear by the lives and actions of divers of them, as of Ariſtides, Phocion, Epamonides, Scevola, Regulus, Fabricius and Cato; but for true Patience Chriſtians have out-gone them, as it may appear in the Book of Martyrs. Now becauſe Patience is not onelyonly a moral Vertue, but alſo a divine Grace; I will ſpeak of it in the next Diſcourſe, becauſe
Sixthly, The Remedies I am to ſpeak of have a coherence with the uſe of Spiritual Sorrow; and the chiefeſt are theſe: firſt, Humility: ſecondly, Fortitude: thirdly, Patience, for the pride of mens hearts is the eſſential cauſe of all their ſorrows; the other cauſes being but branches of it,The ſpiritual remedies againſt Sorrow. as the of loſs Parents, Wife, Children, intimate Friends, Goods, Riches, Honor, Reputation, and the Anguiſh and Paines of their natural infirmities. Now if men endevor to obtain from God by fervent prayer theſe three graces, they will be able to regulate their greateſt ſorrows: firſt, If they acknowledg with all humility, that all things they have are the immediate gift of God, they will have no occaſion to be grieved, or to be ſorrowful when God, who was, and is the giver of them all, is pleaſed to take them away: And for inſtance, let the Humility, Fortitude, and Patience of Job be their Patern and Preſident:Job 1. he loſt his dear children, all his goods and riches by four caſual accidents; (as men call them) and beſides,Job 2. the immediate hand of God was upon him to try and prove his patience; for beſides the ſore Boiles that were upon his body, his wife, and intimate friends that ſhould have comforted him, did aggravate his grief; nay, as he ſaith himſelf,Job 6.4. The Arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poiſon whereof drinketh up my ſpirit; the terrors of God do ſet themſelves in array againſt me: and yet Satan with all his temptations, nor by theſe loſſes, and bodily anguiſhes, could never induce him to murmur againſt the Lord, nor caſt him in a pit of exceſſive Sorrow, being always ſupported by the confidence he had in the mercies of God, and in the aſſurance that his Redeemer liveth, Job 29.25.and that he ſhall ſtand at the latter day upon the earth; beſides, Humility makes men to be contented in any condition, but Pride makes men fret and grieve for the want of ſuperfluous things: ſecondly, Fortitude makes men caſt away all timerous fears that beget ſorrow, for men are apt to grieve and ſorrow for imaginary evils that they apprehend will come upon them (although there is no probability they ſhould befal them) as much as for thoſe which they ſuffer:The ſpiritual uſe of Sorrow. Moreover, in Dolour and Anguiſh of the body; Fortitude gives men courage, and makes them to regard them no more then a Flea-bite: Laſtly, Patience mixt with Hope, ſuffers all Griefs, Anguiſhes, ſorrows, afflictions, tribulations, and perſecutions, as things that be of no continuance, for it teacheth men to know, That weeping aPſal. 30.5.may indure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning; and that the ſufferings of this preſent time bRom. 8.18.are not worthy to be compared with the glory that ſhall be revealed in us. The firſt Uſe is, that men ſhould not grieve, nor be ſorrowful for any thing but for ſin, for ſin indangereth the ſoul, which is more worth then all that a man hath; nay, men muſt not onelyonly be ſorrowful for ſin, but they muſtcZach. 12.10. mourn for ſin, as one mourneth for his onelyonly ſon; Nay, men muſt not onelyonly mourn for their ſins, but their ſins dPſal. 51.3.muſt ever be before them, that they may ſay with the Prophet David, Hide thy ePſal. 51.9.face from my ſins, and blot out mine iniquities; and they muſt continually pray, Waſh me fPſal. 51.2.throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanſe me from my ſin: then ſhal all worldly ſorrow be bah ſhed away, and their mourning ſhal be turned into joy, and they be made partakers of this bleſſing promiſed by our bleſſed Saviour, Bleſſed are they that gMatt. 5.4.mourn, for they ſhall be comforted. It appears then by theſe Diſcourſes, that worldly Sorrow is meer vanity and vexation of Spirit; and that godly Sorrow is an introduction to a godly life, and by conſequence, to Salvation, &c.