П Religious Melancholy, Sect. 4.

In ex

A proof that there is such a species of Melancholy, Name, Object God, what his beauty is, how it allureth, Part and parties affected, superstitious, Idolaters, Prophets, Hereticks, &c.

Sub. 1.

Causes
Sub. 2.

From others
Or
from them-
selves.

Gene

ral

Or Particular.

Prognosticks. Subs. 4.

Cures. Subs. 5.

Secure void
of grace and
fears.

Or
Distrustful,
or too ti-

morous, as
desperat.
In despair
consider,

The divel's allurements, false miracles,

Priests for their gain. Politicians to keep men in obedience, Bad instructors, blind Guides. Simplicity, fear, ignorance, solitariness, Melancholy, curiosity, pride, vainglory, decayed Image of God. Zeal without knowledge, obstinacy, superstition, strange devotion, stupidity, confidence, stiffe defence of their tenents,mutual love and hate of other sects, belief of incredibilities, impossibilities Of Hereticks, pride, contumacy, contempt of others, wilfulness, vain-glory, singularity, prodigious paradoxes.

In superstitious blind zeale, obedience, strange works, fasting, sacrifices, oblations, prayers, vows, pseudo-martyrdome, mad and ridiculous customes, ceremonies, observations.

In Pseudo-prophets, visions, revelations, dreams, prophecies, new doctrines, &c. of Jews, Gentiles, Mahometans, &c. New doctrines, paradoxes, blasphemies, madness, stupidity, despair, damnation. By Physick if need be, conference, good counsel, perswasion, compulsion, correction, punishment. Quæritur an cogi debent? Affir.

Epicures, Atheists, Magitians, Hypocrites, such as have cauterised consciences, or else are in a reprobate sense, worldly-secure, some Philosophers, impenitent sinners. Subs. 1.

Causes
Subs. 2.

The divel and his allurements, Rigid
Preachers, that wound their consciences,
Melancholy, contemplation, solitariness.
How melancholy & dispair differ. Distrust,
weakness of faith. Guilty conscience for
offence comitted, misunderstanding Scr.
Fear,sorrow, anguish of mind,extream

Symptomes
tortures and horror of conscience,
Subs. 3.
fearful dreams, conceits, visions,&c.
Prognosticks; Blasphemy, violent death. Subs. 4.

THE

THIRD PARTITION.

LOVE-MELANCHOLY.

THE FIRST

SECTION, MEMBER, SUBSECTION.

The Preface.

a

THER
HERE will not be wanting, I presume, one or other that
will much discommend some part of this Treatise of Love-
Melancholy, and object (which Erasmus in his Preface to Sr
Thomas More suspects of his)" that it is too light for a Di-
vine, too Commical a subject to speak of Love. Symptomes,
too phantastical, and fit alone for a wanton Poet, a feeling
young love-sick gallant, an effeminate Courtier, or some such
idle person." And 'tis true they say: for by the naughtiness
of men it is so come to pass, as Caussinus observes, ut castis
auribus vox amoris suspecta sit, & invisa, the very name of
love is odious to chaster ears; and therefore some again, out of
an affected gravity, will dislike all for the name's sake before
they read a word; dissembling with him in Petronius, and
seem to be angry that their ears are violated with such obscene
speeches, that so they may be admired for grave Philosophers,
and staid carriage. They cannot abide to hear talk of Love
toies, or amorous discourses, vultu, gestu, oculis in their out-
ward actions averse, and yet in their cogitations they are all
out as bad, if not worse then others.

"Erubuit, posuitq; meum Lucretia librum,
Sed coram Bruto, Brute recede, legit."

Encom. Moriæ leviores esse nugas quam ut Theologum deceant. * Lib. 8. Eloquent. cap. 14. de affectibus mortalium vitio fit qui præclara quæq; in pravos "Quoties de amatoriis mentio facta est, tam vehementer excandui; tam severa tristitia violari aures meas obsceno sermone nolui, ut me tanquam unam ex Philosophis intuerentur. +Martial.

usus vertunt.

But let these cavillers and Counterfeit Cato's know, that as the Lord John answered the Queen in that Italian Guazzo, an old, a grave discreet man is fittest to discourse of love matters, because he hath likely more experience, observed more, hath a more staid judgment, can better discern, resolve, discusse, advise, give better cautions, and more solid precepts, better inform his auditors in such a subject, and by reason of his riper years sooner divert. Besides, nihil in hac amoris voce subtimendum, there is nothing here to be excepted at; Love is a species of melancholy, and a necessary part of this my Treatise, which I may not omit; operi suscepto inserviendum fuit; so Jacobus Mysillius pleadeth for himself in his translation of Lucian's Dialogues, and so do I; I must and will perform my task. And that short Excuse of Mercerus, for his edition of Aristænetus shall be mine, "+ If I have spent my time ill to write, let not them be so idle as to read." But I am perswaded it is not so ill spent, I ought not to excuse or repent my self of this subject, on which many grave and worthy men have written whole volumes, Plato, Plutarch, Plotinus, Maximus, Tyrius, Alcinous, Avicenna, Leon Hebreus in three large Dialogues, Xenophon sympos. Theophrastus, if we may believe Athenæus lib. 13. cap. 9. Picus Mirandula, Marius Æquicola, both in Italian, Kornmannus de linea Amoris, lib. 3. Petrus Godefridus hath handled in three books, P, Hædus, and which almost every Physitian, as Arnoldus, Villanovanus, Valleriola observat. med. lib. 2. observ. 7. Elian Montaltus, and Laurentius in their Treatises of Melancholy, Jason Pratensis de morb. cap. Valescus de Taranta, Gordonius, Hercules de Saxonia, Savanarola, Langius, &c. have treated of apart, and in their Works. I excuse myself therefore with Peter Godefridus, Valleriola, Ficinus, and in Langius' words. Cadmus Milesius writ fourteen books of Love, and why should I be ashamed to write an Epistle in favour of young men, of this subject?" A company of stern Readers dislike the second of the Eneads, and Virgil's gravity, for inserting such amorous passions in an heroical subject; But Servius his Commentator justly vindicates the Poet's worth, wisdome, and discretion in doing as he did. Castalio would not have young men read the Canticles, because to his thinking it was too light and amorous a tract, a Ballade of Ballades, as our old English translation hath it. He might as well forbid the reading of Genesis,

Lib. 4. of civil conversation. + Si male locata est opera scribendo, ne ipsi locent in legendo. Med. epist. 1. 1. ep. 14. Cadmus Milesius teste Suida. de hoc Erotico Amore. 14. libros scripsit nec me pigebit in gratiam adolescentum hanc scribere epistolam. Comment. in 2. Ercid. amores meram impudicitiam sonare videtur nisi, &c.

Mcros

because

because of the loves of Jacob and Rachael, the stories of Sichem and Dinah, Judah and Thamar; reject the book of Numbers, for the fornications of the people of Israel with the Moabites; that of Judges for Sampson and Dalilah's embracings; that of the Kings, for David and Bersheba's adulteries, the incest of Ammon and Thamar, Solomon's Concubines, &c. The stories of Esther, Judith, Susanna, and many such. Dicearchus, and some other, carp at Plato's majesty, that he would vouchsafe to indite such love toyes; amongst the rest, for that dalliance with Agatho,

"Suavia dans Agathoni, animam ipse in labra tenebam;

Agra etenim properans tanquam abitura fuit."

For my part, saith * Maximus Tyrius, a great Platonist himself, me non tantum admiratio kabet, sed etiam stupor, I do not only admire, but stand amazed to read, that Plato and Socrates both should expel Homer from their City, because he writ of such light and wanton subjects, Quod Junonem cum Jove in Idà concumbentes inducit, ab immortali nube contectos, Vulcan's net. Mars and Venus fopperies before all the Gods, because Apollo fled, when he was persecuted by Achilles, the Gods were wounded and ran whining away, as Mars that roared lowder then Stentor, and covered nine akers of ground with his fall; Vulcan was a summer's day falling down from heaven, and in Lemnos Ile brake his leg, &c. with such ridiculous passages; when as both Socrates and Plato, by his testimony, writ lighter themselves: quid enim tam distat (as he follows it) quam amans à temperante, formarum admirator à demente, what can be more absurd then for grave Philosophers to treate of such fooleries, to admire Autiloquus, Alcibiades, for their beauties as they did, to run after, to gaze, to dote on fair Phædrus, delicate Agatho, young Lysis, fine Charmides, hæccine Philosophum decent? Doth this become grave Philosophers? Thus peradventure Callias, Thrasinachus, Polus, Aristophanes, or some of his adversaries and æmulators might object; but neither they nor Anytus and Melitus his bitter enemies, that condemned him for teaching Critias to tyrannize, his impiety for swearing by dogs and plain trees, for his jugling sophistry, &c. never so much as upbraided him with impure love, writing or speaking of that subject; and therefore without question, as he concludes, both Socrates and Plato in this are justly to be excused. But suppose they

* Ser. 8. + Quod risum & eorum amores commemoret. + Quum multa ei objecissent quod Critiam tyrannidem doctisset, quod Platonein juraret loquacem sophistam, &c. accusationem amoris nullam fecerunt. Idcoq; honesjus amor, &c,

had