A Discourse of Life and Death, by Mornay; and Ant

Page 1 of 46

This text is intended for users whose text readers cannot use the "real" (unicode/utf-8) version of the file. Characters that could not be fully displayed have been "unpacked" and shown in brackets:

[em], [en], [om], [on], [un] vowel with overline (for following nasal)

The "oe" character is shown as two separate letters.]

A Discourse of Life _and Death_.

Written in French by _Ph. Mornay_.

Antonius, _A Tragoedie written also in French_ by _Ro. Garnier_.

Both done in English by the _Countesse of Pembroke_.

[Illustration: publisher's device]

AT LONDON,

Printed for _William Ponsonby_.

1592.

[Illustration: Emblem]

[Decoration]

A Discourse of Life and Death,

Written in French by _Ph. Mornay_.

_Sieur du Plessis Marly_.

It seemes to mee strange, and a thing much to be marueiled, that the laborer to repose himselfe hasteneth as it were the course of the Sunne: that the Mariner rowes with all force to attayne the porte, and with a ioyfull crye salutes the descryed land: that the traueiler is neuer quiet nor content till he be at the ende of his voyage: and that wee in the meane while tied in this world to a perpetuall taske, tossed with continuall tempest, tyred with a rough and combersome way, cannot yet see the ende of our labour but with griefe, nor behold our porte but with teares, nor approch our home and quiet abode but with horrour and trembling. This life is but a _Penelopes_ web, wherein we are alwayes doing and vndoing: a sea open to all windes, which sometime within, sometime without neuer cease to torment vs: a weary iorney through extreame heates, and coldes, ouer high mountaynes, steepe rockes, and theeuish deserts. And so we terme it in weauing at this web, in rowing at this oare, in passing this miserable way. Yet loe when death comes to ende our worke, when she stretcheth out her armes to pull vs into the porte, when after so many dangerous passages, and lothsome lodgings she would conduct vs to our true home and resting place: in steede of reioycing at the ende of our labour, of taking comfort at the sight of our land, of singing at the approch of our happie mansion, we would faine, (who would beleeue it?) retake our worke in hand, we would againe hoise saile to the winde, and willinglie vndertake our iourney anew. No more then remember we our paines, our shipwracks and dangers are forgotten: we feare no more the trauailes nor the theeues. Contrarywise, we apprehende death as an extreame payne, we doubt it as a rocke, we flye it as a theefe. We doe as litle children, who all the day complayne, and when the medicine

Prev - Next >>

Share this book

Table of contents (by pages)