Funeral Poem to Thomas Westrow, Canto 3
The third CANTO.
The Author, ſheweth to what end,
This Poem, was deſign'd, and pen'd.
Next, he proceeedeth to unfold
What, is begun, and left untold
Relating to his Friend, and Him;
And, gives you then, a breathing time.
WHen I have ſpent the day, as oft I do,
In vvheeling round, and trudging to and fro,
Through that meander, which do what I can
Still further leads, (then when I firſt began)
From my deſired reſt; and, nothing leaves me,
But new aſſurance, that the World deceives me;
And yet ſtill keeps me active, with a thought
That, I am thereby doing what I ought;
(Becauſe, ev'n by perſuing what is vain,
A knowledg of ſome uſefulnes I gain,
Which els could not be had) I take content
In ſuffering what I labour to prevent;
Permitting GOD, to order as he pleaſes,
Me, and my ſomething, and my nothing neſſes.
And, in the night, when all to reſt are gone;
I muſe on things more worthy thinking on,
And, how, to others, and my ſelf, I may
Add ſomewhat, by our loſſes in the day.
Nor are my watchings, in that ſtollen leiſure,
So painfull, as ſome think; but full of pleaſure.
Nor do my ſolitary Muſings tend
To that deceitfull, and unfruitfull end,
As is perhaps thought, in thoſe lucubrations,
Wherein I take my loanly recreations;
For, that, which me all night doth waking keep,
Refreſheth more my ſpirit, then my ſleep.
The ſubject, which this hour employes my pen,
Makes my dead friend, to live with me agen:
I, viſit him, and oft he viſits me
With inter-courſes, which no eyes can ſee.
Within my Chamber; (none els being there)
Me thinks, we two, as if alone we were
Converſe together, and he brings unto
My memory, and thought, what I ſhould do
To order ſo my life, that when I dye,
No living ſoul may be more glad as I.
Sometime, with him I walk unto his grave,
To view what kind of lodgings dead men have,
And whether I can, ſee among them, there,
Such dreadfull things, as fleſh and blood doth fear.
Yea, there, at midnight I have with him been,
And every corner of the grave have ſeen,
By Contemplation, (which ſees many ſights,
Not to be view'd by ordinary lights)
Yet there I did behold no greater dread,
Then when I ſleep moſt ſweetly in my bed.
Sometimes, he comes into my mind, and brings
A multitude of temporary things
To be by many thought of, who yet live,
And were of that late Repreſentative,
Which from it honor, and, it being, fell,
Becauſe they nor beleev'd, nor acted vvell.
Of ſomethings too, that neerly vvill concern
The wiſe, (till they are grovvn too wiſe to learn)
He me remembers, by thoſe conferences
Which vve oft had, vvhen he enjoy'd his ſenſes.
And, whereupon, I oft did more then gueſſe
At what was verifide in their ſucceſſe:
Yea, and ſometimes, he makes me think upon
The preſent Powre, and on what's yet undone,
And ſhould be done, and will be done, ere long,
Unles, it grows, in ſelf opinion ſtrong,
And ſleights that counſel, which may ſave the State,
As their Foregoers did, till 'twas too late
Sometime, the thought of him, tranſlates me hence
To Heav'n; where, what tranſcends intelligence
And my expreſſion, is to me diſclos'd,
By fraction, and by notions diſcompos'd;
Which, nay the leſſe a certainty declare
Of ſome things, which for edifying are.
Sometime again (for we can any whither
Go ſafely) we deſcend to Hell together
By contemplation; and there, take full views
Of that which on Hypocriſie enſues;
And, on each other failing, and offence,
Perpetuating an Impenitence;
And, thence, aſſume occaſion to improve
My thank fulnes, for that eternall love
By whom I am ſecured from that place,
Through his preventing, and aſſiſting grace.
By thinking upon him, who in his grave
Lies thoughtles, of what thinkings I can have
Thus, I my ſelf employ; and, by things paſt,
The ordering of future things forecaſt;
And, find a means whereby I do refreſh
My Spirit, whilſt impriſon'd in the Fleſh
And wherefore, judg you, I my time thus ſpend?
Is it to tell the World I had a Friend?
How vain were that! ſince, I am not to know
It cares not, whether I have Friends, or no.
And, loves to hear of no reſpect that's ſhown
To any, whom ſhe takes not for her own.
Is it to gain a gratiouſnes with thoſe
Who, have, what he hath left at their diſpoſe?
That were to fall, ten thouſand leagues below
My ſpirit; and more baſe in me, would ſhow
Then it would do in them, to look upon
With ſuch a thought, what, here, by me is done,
For, theſe my retributions, are as free
From ſelf ends, as his bounty was to me,
And, rather ſhould be paid back, ten time double,
Then I would looſe my freedom for that buble.
It is to pleaſe, his near and dear relations,
With large applauſes, and commemorations
Of him that's gone? Alas! that doth but keep
Sorrows awake, which els would fall aſleep.
Doth but his knowledg in the fieſh renew,
Which keeps his better being, from their view;
Adds brine to thirſt; and to devouring fire
Caſts Oyl, which makes it but to flame the higher:
And, if no better uſe, could hence be rais'd,
It came to far leſſe, then, not to be prais'd.
Is it to honor him, that's in his Grave?
That were the ſimpleſt thought the fool could have,
What honor can they want, who tryumph there,
Where ſulnes of eternall glories are?
What honor can he have from earthly things,
Or glory, from a fame with paper vvings,
Which cannot make a flight for many miles,
Beyond the compaſſe of theſe Britiſh Iſles?
Or, from an Epitaph, on ſtone, or braſſe
Read by a fevv, in ſome obſcured place?
Or, hovv vvill it concern, or pleaſe him novv,
Who, to himſelf, vvould not, in life, allovv
Thoſe attributes of honor, vvhichwhich appear'd
Then due; nor, for an empty title car'd?
And, vvould have been diſpleas'd, if he had knowvvn
I, vvould on him, this trifle, have beſtovvn,
(OnelyOnly becauſe, it to his honor tends)
Although, therewith, compos'd to other ends?
Beſide, (although it ſomwhat may concern
His reputation) I am not to learn
That theſe Blaſts, for the moſt part, oftner rear
A duſt, to cloud it, then preſerve it clear;
Or, ſtirs up, envy, hate, or evill-will,
To brawl, which elſe (it may be) had lain ſtill.
For, to the Flower that ſpreads the faireſt blooms,
The Cankerworm and Caterpiller comes.
Moreover, they, who leaſt deſerving are
May in this kind of honor have a ſhare
With beſt Deſert; and buy, with what was theirs,
A better Monument then this appears.
Is it for ſome advantages deſign'd
Unto my ſelf? ſure no; for none I find
Hereby acquirable; nor had I brought
My poverty to light, if I had ſought
Self-honor; ſeeing, there is nothing more
Diſhonourable thought, then to be poore.
Well then; if it were neither ſo nor ſo,
What is my purpoſe, in what now I do?
Ev'n this, That, from the beſt man whom I knew
Here living, I might ſet forth to your view
A ſelf-deniall, through the want of which
The Common-wealth grows poore, and poore men rich.
That, alſo, by him, in whoſe charity,
GOD, did appear, in my neceſſity,
Others may be provok'd, through his examples,
To ſhew more love unto thoſe living Temples,
In which he dwelleth; and, at leaſt, forbear
To ruine them, although they have no care
Of their Repair: For, this is one of thoſe
Deficiencies, which multiplies our woes,
And, through defect, whereof our former coſt,
And preſent hopes, will ſuddenly be loſt,
As they have been; unleſs we do with ſpeed
Put, what is yet but words, into a Deed;
Not dreaming ſtill, that, we from GOD can hide,
What is by men, apparently eſpide:
For, though we will not ſee, what we behold,
Nor credit what we know true, being told,
It ſhall, in ſpight of all our impudence,
Let in a Fear, againſt which, no defence
Can poſſibly be made; and, then, the doom
We fear'd in ſecret, openly ſhall come.
He, of this ſelf-deniall vvas a Teacher,
Yea, and as vvell a Pattern as a Preacher
Who, taught vvith power, ſuch principles as theſe,
And, not as do our Scribes and Phariſees.
I vvrote this partly likewiſe, in requital
Of his rare kindneſs; and by his recitall
Of vvhat he vvas, to ſtir up imitation
In all thoſe vvho had any near relation
Unto his fleſhly being; and thereby,
To pay my debt to his poſterity;
And, that (if vvell improved) it might be
Some retribution, for his love to me.
But, (in the firſt place, though I name it l…ſt)
This opportunity I have embrac'd,
To keep ſtill viſible, before mine eyes,
That Object, vvhichwhich the vvorld doth moſt deſpiſe
To look upon; ev'n that, diſgracefull, poore,
And lovve eſtate, in vvhichwhich I, heretofore
Was friendleſs left; and, in hovv juſt a time,
GOD, ſent me full Deliverance, by him;
One, from a Thouſand choſe, to ſignifie
Thus much; that, (notvvithſtanding they vvhom, I,
Remembred often; me remembred not)
His everlaſting love, vvas not forgot.
Having novv ſhevvn the Reaſon of my Rime,
I vvill return again to ſpeak of him
Who cauſed this diſcourſe, which I am in;
And, where I left …ff, there, I will begin.
Before, the bounty, which from him did come,
Amounted to the fore expreſſed ſum,
Aſhamed in my ſelf, to ſee how far
He had ingag'd me, without taking care
Of reimburſement; unto him I ſent
Unask, a true and full acknowledgment
Of all I had received: But, to my hand,
He back returned it, with this command
That, to no Perſon, I a word ſhould ſay
Of what had paſt betwixt us, in that way.
For, well I know, ſaid he, both you, and I,
Shall get but diſadvantages thereby.
The World, is full of envy, and malicious,
Making to us, our beſt works moſt pernitious.
They who in her affairs, are chiefly wiſe,
And, view, our actions, with meer carnal eyes,
Will judg me but a fool; and, think perchance,
Your wit, hath wrought out of my ignorance
Or eaſines, that, which is an effect
Of GODS good providence, and my reſpect:
Keep it in ſecret therefore; for, from thence,
There can ariſe no miſchief, or offence.
Theſe Reaſons charm'd me; and, with much ado,
I ſilence kept, becauſe, he wil'd it ſo.
Only, (ſome few dayes after he forbid
This to be mention'd) him, I friendly chid
By theſe enſuing Verſes, which are next
Inſerted here, as not beſide my Text.
SIR, though, ſo friendly, you to me have been,
That, to forget it, were a mortall ſin,
Yet, I am one, whom divers do ſuppoſe
To make no difference, betwixt Friends, and Foes
In my reproovings; And, if that be true,
My worthy noble Friend, then, have at You.
For, you forget your ſelf, and ſtrive to clime
To heights, ſo unfrequented at this time,
That, I ſuppoſe, I am in conſcience tide
Your temper, and your practiſes, to chide,
Leſt by ſoft-hearted kindnes, and compaſſion
(With ſuch like vertues, now grown out of faſhion)
It may deſervedly be ſaid, by ſome,
One of theſe Sectarie you are become,
(And, of theſe Hereticks thought worſe then Turks)
Who ſhew their true beleeving, by their works;
And, ſeem to bring their ſimple cuſtome hither,
Of living well, and lovingly together.
Fy! have you honor'd been to ſit among
The wiſeſt of this Common-wealth ſo long?
And where, the men, who do themſelves ſuppeſe
To be (at leaſt) the wiſeſt part of theſe,
Can many dayes, weeks, moneths, yea many years,
Hear Widdows out-cries, and ſee Orphans tears,
Without the caſting of one look aſide
On thoſe, who by their path, ſtand Crucifide?
And will you ſo degenerate from them
Whoſe practiſes, are patterns for the time
To look on him, whom they have trampled on,
And leſt, as to the world-ward, quite undone?
Can you deſcend ſo low, to fix your eyes
On thoſe, whom men in honor do deſpiſe?
Yea, in a manner, ſeek unto them, too,
Who are diſtreſt, (before they ſeek to you?)
W…e them to be releev'd, by your expen…e?
(As if you ſuffer'd, by their indigence)
And charge them, that they tell it unto none,
As if a deed of darknes, you had done?
Beleeve, it SIR, this is a novelty,
Which doth betray you, ſo apparently
That, were it known, your beſt Friends would not ſtick,
To voice you, publickly, a Schiſmatick.
Scarce parallel'd: For, you in this divide
From all I know, in all the World beſide,
Excepting one or two; and you, and they
Make up that little Congregation may,
With whom CHRIST promis'd he would preſent be
Though it conſiſted but of tvvo, or three:
And which was promiſed, (for ought I hear)
Though none of them, a Prieſt, or Prelate were.
The circumſtances heeded in your acts,
Do very ſtrangely aggravate the facts.
Had it been only, in a humor done,
Or, in a fit, but once, or tvvice alone
(As works of charity, are, now and then,
Performed, and repented of agen,)
Or, had that charity, from you diſtil'd,
But, drop by drop; or had it forth been fil'd
By thimbles full, (as unto thoſe we give,
Our Aquavitae, whom we faint perceive)
Had it been ſo, or ſo, I ſhould have thought
So much thereof, as I in reaſon ought;
(Though, with much more reſpect then yet I ſee,
My publike ſervices, will thought on be)
And would have ſtriv'd, as far as I was able
To make the gifts, and thanks, proportionable,
As wiſe men do; or, ſome way complemented,
And cuſtomary ſervices preſented,
According to the faſhion: But, the courſe,
That you have took, Acknowledgments inforce
Beyond all Preſidents: For, Sir, you ſtretch
Your noblenes ſo far beyond the reach
Of my weak faculties, to retribute
Acknowledgments, which therunto may ſuit;
Yea, and ſo oft, ſo long, ſo gen'rouſly
You have releeved my neceſſity;
That, therewith overcharged, I am fain,
To break out of the ro de, into a ſtrain,
Some way extravagantly to declare,
As often in ſuch ſtraights as theſe we are
Conſtrain'd to do; And, as once Peter did
When through CHRISTS manhood, he the Godhead ſpid;
And, when, he having fiſh'd all night for nought,
And drew a whole ſhip lading at one draught,
He cride out, LORD, go from me (get thee gone)
For I confeſſe my ſelf a ſinfull one.
As, is the Fruit, ſo, may the ſeaſon be
A token of the nature of the Tree:
(As that which cometh by the Rivers ſide,
And, whereby Righteous men are typifide
Illuſtrates well,) I, therefore, in reſpect
Ev'n of the time, may ſomewhat here object,
To ſhow, yet farther, how you rend from thoſe
Who have our earthly things, at their diſpoſe.
For, at ſuch times of need, ſtill, ayd you lent,
As if by GOD himſelf, it had been ſent,
Who, only, knew my wants; and unto whom
I, only ſhew them, when ſuch great ones come:
Becauſe, in greateſt wants, I do perceive
Men readier to deſtroy, then to relieve.
Such, is the ſtate of many in diſtreſſe;
Such, is the hate, of thoſe, who do oppreſſe.
The rightly timing of a benefit,
Doth, very often, more then double it:
And, though ſuch charity, may, in theſe dayes,
Return you little preſent gain, or praiſe,
Yet, GOD obſerves it; and, as ſure, as he
Will of a cup of Water heed full be
Beſtow'd on him who doth aſſume the name,
Of his Diſciple, (although not the ſame)
You timely, and your large benevolence,
Shall have a timely, and large recompence.
Me, in due ſeaſon, GOD not only ſhall
Enable too, ſome way, to pay you all;
But, add mean time, a bleſſing to defray
That intereſt which he doth yet delay:
And, in that place, where ſome of thoſe (I fear)
Who, me oppreſt, will tremble to appear,
You, ſhall be welcomed, with come ye bleſſed,
Who fed, and cloath'd me, when I was diſtreſſed.
Theſe things conſider'd, this, which I begun,
Pretending ſome reproof, intendeth none:
But, rather, is, (that debts be not forgot)
A memorandum only, or a note,
Subſcribed with my hand, for intimation,
That, you, with me, ſhall have his obligation
Whoſe word is paſs'd already to reſtore
Whatever ſhall be lent unto the poor:
And, who, doth good to every one intend,
Whoſe heart he moves, the needy to befriend.
Yet, that, mean time, I may not failing be
To pay as much in hand, as lies in me;
Receive this Benediction. Whenſoere
The day of fiery tryall ſhall appear,
To prove your Faith, and purge you quite from all
Your ſelfnes: which ere long time will befall:
Let, then, your Faith be ſtrong, and GOD be ſeen
A friend to you, as you to me have been:
And let your charity before him ſtand,
To manacle, and weaken every hand,
That would oppreſs thoſe, whom you leave behind:
Let them GODS favour, in all troubles find:
Be ſafe preſerved, in all times, and places,
By his free mercies, and preventing Graces;
And let this prayer, ſtil, about GOD'S Throne
Be fluttering, till he ſaith, ſo be it done.
Theſe Verſes, for his large benevolence
Were, for a long time, all his evidence.
Nor would he more receive, though many a time
Security was offer'd unto him.
And, once, it was in words like theſe, denide:
When firſt I your neceſſity ſupplide,
My purpoſe was not, meerly to relieve
Your preſent need; but, likewiſe, ayd to give
That, by your own endeavour, (with my coſt)
You might recover that which you have loſt.
The State, hath no part ſatisfied, yet,
Of your allow'd, and overlong due debt:
And, till that ſhall be done, I will expect
No payment, neither ought to that effect.
But, his aſſiſtance having made me ſtrong,
That, to recover, which had been by wrong
Detained from me, in a private hand;
(And having ſomwhat more at my command)
I thought my ſelf oblig'd (as I was able)
To render ſome returns proportionable
To my Eſtate. So, he accepts, at laſt,
Security for part, and left the reſt;
(Of which, to him, I ſomewhat yearly brought)
Without his asking, as expecting ought
(By any thing expreſſed) untill that,
Were pay'd me, which is owing by the State;
Or, till the reſidue, I could repay,
By ſome enablement another way.
This, ſhews it is no frivilous occaſion
From whence this Poem ſprings; or, Obligation
To be as inconſiderable, ſlighted
Which me to this acknowledgment invited:
But rather, in regard of GOD, and Man,
An act, which ought, as fully as I can
To be expreſt; That, for it I might give
The praiſe to GOD, and, men th' example have.
For, by his charity, GOD'S love appears:
I was, thereby, preſerved many years
From periſhing: Thereby, likewiſe, together
VVith that aſſiſtance, which I had from other
Concurring helps, (which have the ſame way, been
To me by GOD'S good providence, ſent in.)
I got to be poſſeſſor of the gate,
Of thoſe, who were mine enemies of late;
And, thereby, alſo, partly to expreſſe
To others, in their need, my thankfulneſs.
Thereto, the Noble, and much Honored
Bradſhaw, and Dixwell, ayde contributed,
Among ſome others, who are not forgot.
Although their kindnes I here mention not;
Yea, GOD, for me, ſo likewiſe, did diſpoſe
The purpoſe, of my avaritious foes,
That, doubly, it advantag'd me, and more
Then all thoſe loving friends had done before.
VVhichWhich, ſuddenly improoving my Eſtate
Beyond, what I did hope, or aimed at;
The World doth ſeem to think, and ſome do ſay,
That, I, to thrive, have practiſed her way;
And, on my conſcience, would now love me too,
If, truly, ſhe beleev'd it had been ſo:
For, nothing renders her, a Foe to me
But, that ſhe fears my words, and deeds agree.
And, that, though baits, and ſnares for me are laid
To ſerve her ends, I ſhall not be betraid.
Now, having finiſhed this little ſtory,
VVhichWhich hath a neer relation to GOD'S glory
As well as to the honour of my Friend,
With ſome brief inferences, I will end.
But, leſt, theſe may detain you overlong,
Here pauſe; and read them, in the following Song.