SECT. IV. MEM. I. SUBSECT. I. RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY Its object God; what his beauty is; How it allureth. The parts and parties affected. THA HAT there is such a distinct Species of love Melancholy, no man hath ever yet doubted; but whether this subdivision of Religious Melancholy be warrantable, it may be controverted. "Pergite Pierides, medio nec calle vagantem I have no pattern to follow as in some of the rest, no man to imitate. No Physitian hath as yet distinctly written of it as of the other; all acknowledge it a most notable Symptome, some a cause, but few a species or kinde. 2 Arcteus, Alexander, Rhasis, Avicenna, and most of our late writers, as Gordonius, Fuchsius, Plater, Bruel, Montaltus, &c. repeat it as a Symptome. "Some seem to be inspired of the Holy Ghost, some take upon them to bee Prophets, some are addicted to new opinions, some foretell strange things, de statu mundi & Antichristi, saith Gordonius. Some will prophecy of the end of the world to a day almost, and the fall of the Antichrist, as they have been addicted or brought up; for so melancholy works with them, as b Laurentius holds. If they have been precisely. given, all their meditations tend that way, and in conclusion produce strange effects, the humour imprints symptomes according to their several inclinations and conditions, which makes Guianerius and Felix Plater put too much devotion, blinde zeal, fear of eternal punishment, and that last judgment for a cause of those enthusiasticks and desperate persons: but some do not obscurely make a distinct species of it, dividing Love Melancholy into that whose object is women; Called Religious because it is still conversant about religion and such divine objects. * Grotius. * Lib. 1. cap. 16. nonnulli opinionibus addicti sunt, & fatura se prædicere arbitrantur. Aliis videtur quod sunt prophetæ & inspirati à Sp.ritu sancto, & incipiunt prophetare, & multa tutura præd cunt. Cap. 6- de Melanch. Cap. 5. Tractat multi ob timorem Dei sunt melancholici, & timorem gehennæ. They are still troubled for their and into the other whose object is God. Plato, in Convivio, makes mention of two distinct furies; and amongst our Neotericks, Hercules de Saxonia lib. 1. pract. med. cap. 16. cap. de Melanch. doth expresly treat of it in a distinct Species. "Love Melancholy (saith he) is twofold; the first is that (to which peradventure some will not vouchsafe this name or species of Melancholy) affection of those which put God for their object, and are altogether about prayer, fasting, &c. the other about women." Peter Forestus in his observations delivereth as much in the same words: and Felix Platerus de mentis alienat. cap. 3. frequentissima est ejus species, in quà curanda sæpissimè multùm fui impeditus; 'tis a frequent disease; and they have a ground of what they say, forth of Areteus and Plato. í Areteus an old author in his third book cap. 6. doth so divide Love Melancholy, and derives this second from the first, which comes by inspiration or otherwise. Plato in his Phædrus hath these words, " Apollo's priests in Delphos, and at Dodana, in their fury do many pretty feats, and benefit the Greeks, but never in their right wits." He makes them all mad, as well he might; and he that shall but consider that superstition of old, those prodigious affects of it (as in its place I will shew the several furies of our Fatidici dii, Pythonissas, Sibyls, Enthusiasts, Pseudoprophets, Hereticks and Schismaticks in these our latter ages) shall instantly confess, that all the world again cannot afford so much matter of madness, so many stupend symptomes, as superstition, heresie, schisme hath brought out: that this Species alone may be parallel'd to all the former, hath a greater latitude, and more miraculous effects; that it more besots and infatuates men, than any other above named whatsoever, doth more harme, work more disquietness to mankinde, and hath more crucified the souls of mortal men (such hath been the divel's craft) than wars, plagues, sicknesses, dearth, famine, and all the rest. : Give me but a little leave, and I will set before your eyes in breif a stupend, vast, infinite Ocean of incredible madness and folly a sea full of shelves and rocks, sands, gulfes, Euripes and contrary tides, full of fearfull monsters, uncouth shapes, roaring waves, tempests, and Siren calmes, Halcyonian seas, unspeakable misery, such Comedies and Tragedies, such absurd and ridiculous, feral and lamentable fits, that I know not whether • Melancholia Erotica vel que cum amore est, duplex est: prima quæ ab aliis forsan non meretur nomen melancholiæ, est affectio eorum quæ pro objecto proponunt Deum & ideo nihil aliud curant aut cogitant quam Deum, jejunia, vigilias altera ob mulieres. f Alia reperitur furoris species à prima vel à secunda, deorum rogantium, vel affatu numinum furor hic venit. s Qui in Delphis futura prædicunt vates, & in Dodona sacerdotes furentes quidem multa jucunda Græcis deferunt, sani vero exigua aut nulla. they they are more to be pitied or derided, or may bee beleived, but that we daily see the same still practised in our dayes, fresh examples, nova novitia, fresh objects of misery and madness, in this kind that are still represented unto us, abroad, at home, ia the midst of us, in our bosomes. But before I can come to treat of these several errours and obliquities, their causes, symptomes, affections, &c. I must say something necessarily of the object of this love, God himself, what this love is, how it allureth, whence it proceeds, and (which is the cause of all our miseries) how we mistake, wander and swerve from it. Amongst all those divine attributes that God doth vindicate to himself, eternity, omnipotency, immutability, wisdome, majesty, justice, mercy, &c. his beauty is not the least, One thing, saith David, have I desired of the Lord, and that I will still desire, to behold the beauty of the Lord, Psal. 27. 4. And out of Sion, which is the perfection of beauty, hath God shined, Psal. 50. 2." All other creatures are fair, I confess, and many other objects do much enamour us, a fair house, a fair horse, a comely person. "i I am amazed, saith Austin, when I look up to heaven and behold the beauty of the stars, the beauty of Angels, principalities, powers, who can express it? who can sufficiently commend, or set out this beauty which appears in us? so fair a body, so fair a face, eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, brows, all fair and lovely to behold; besides the beauty of the soul which cannot be discerned. If we so labour and be so much affected with the comeliness of creatures, how should we be ravished with that admirable lustre of God himself?" If ordinary beauty have such a prerogative and power, and what is amiable and fair, to draw the eyes and ears, hearts and affections of all spectatours unto it, to move, win, entice, allure how shall this divine forme ravish our souls, which is the fountain and quintessence of all beauty? Calum pulchrum, sed pulchrior cæli fabricator; if heaven be so fair, the sun so fair, how much fairer shall he be, that made them fair?" For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures, proportionally, the the maker of them is seen," Wisd. 13. 5. If there be such pleasure in beholding a beautifull person alone, and as a plausible sermon, he so much affect us, what shall this beauty of God himself, that is infinitely fairer then all creatures, men, angels, &c. Omnis pulchritudo florum, hominum, ange. lorum, & rerum omnium pulcherrimarum ad Dei pulchritu Miror & stupeo cum Deus bonus, justus, pulcher, juxta Platonem. coelum aspicio & pulchritudinem syderum, angelorum, &c. & quis digne laudet quod in nobis viget, corpus tam pulchrum, frontem pulchram, nares, genas, oculos, in ellectum, omnia pulchra; si sic in creaturis laboramus; quid in ipso deo? Drexelius Nicet. lib. 2. cap. 11. VOL. II. ᏞᎥ dinem dinem collata, nox est & tenebræ, all other beauties are night it self, meer darkness to this our inexplicable, incomprehensible, unspeakable, eternal, infinite, admirable and divine beauty. This lustre, pulchritudo omnium pulcherrima. This beauty and "splendor of the divine Majesty," is it that draws all creatures to it, to seek it, love, admire, and adore it; and those Heathens, Pagans, Philosophers, out of those reliques they have yet left of God's Image, are so far forth incensed, as not only to acknowledge a God; but, though after their own inventions, to stand in admiration of his bounty, goodness, to adore and seek him; the magnificence and structure of the world it self, and beauty of all his creatures, his goodness, providence, protection, inforceth them to love him, seek him, fear him, though a wrong way to adore him: but for us that are Christians, regenerate, that are his adopted sons, illuminated by his word, having the eyes of our hearts and understandings opened; how fairly doth he offer and expose himself? Ambit nos Deus (Austin saith) donis & forma suá, he wooes us by his beauty, gifts, promises, to come unto him; "the whole Scripture is a message, an exhortation, a love letter to this purpose," to incite us, and invite us, "God's Epistle, as Gregory calls it, to his creatures. He sets out his Son and his Church in that Epithalamium or mystical song of Solomon, to enamour us the more, comparing his head" to fine gold, his locks curled and black as a Raven, Cant. 4. 5. his eyes like doves on rivers of waters, washed with milk, his lippes as lillies, droping down pure juyce, his hands as rings of gold set with chrysolite: and his Church to a vineyatd, a garden inclosed, a fountain of living waters, an orchard of Pomegranates, with sweet scents of saffron, spike, calamus and cinamon, and all the trees of incense, as the chief spices, the fairest amongst women, no spot in her, " his sister, his spouse, undefiled, the onely daughter of her mother, dear unto her, fair as the Moon, pure as the Sun, looking out as the morning;" That by these figures, that glass, these spiritual eyes of contemplation, we might perceive some resemblance of his beauty, the love betwixt his church and him. And so in the 45 Psalm. this beauty of his Church is compared to a "Queen in a vesture of gold of Ophir, embroidered raiment of needle worke, that the King might take pleasure in her beauty." To incense us further yet, John, in his Apocalypse, makes a description of that heavenly Jerusalem, the beauty of it, and in it the maker of it; "Likening it to a city of pure gold, like unto cleer glass, shining and garnished with all manner of precious stones, Fulgor divinæ majestatis. Aug. In Psal. 64. misit ad nos Epistolas & totam scripturam, quibus nobis faceret amandi desiderium. Epist. 48. 1. 4 quid est tota scriptura nisi Epistola omnipotentis Dei ad creaturam suam? Cap. 6. 8. • Cap. 27. 11. 4 having having no need of Sun or Moon: for the Lambe is the light of it, the glory of God doth illuminate it: to give us to understand the infinite glory, beauty and happiness of it." Not that it is no fairer then these creatures to which it is compared, but that this vision of his, this lustre of his divine majesty, cannot otherwise be expressed to our apprehensions, "no tongue can tell, no heart can conceive it," as Paul saith. Moses himself, Exod. 33. 18. when he desired to see God in his glory, was answered that he might not endure it, no man could see his face and live. Sensible forte destruit sensum, a strong object overcometh the sight, according to that axiome in Philosophy: fulgorem solis ferre non potes, multo magis creatoris; if thou canst not endure the Sun beams, how canst thou endure that fulgor and brightness of him that made the Sun? The Sun it self and all that we can imagine, are but shadowes of it, 'tis visio præcellens, as P Austin calls it, the quintessence of beauty this," which far exceeds the beauty of Heavens, Sun and Moon, Stars, Angels, gold and silver, woods, fair fields, and whatsoever is pleasant to behold." All those other beauties fail, vary, are subject to corruption, to loathing; "But this is an immortall vision, a divine beauty an immortall love, an indefatigable love and beauty, with sight of which we shall never be tired nor wearied, but still the more we see the more we shall covet him. "For as one saith, where this vision is, there is absolute beauty; and where is that beauty, from the same fountain comes all pleasure and happiness; neither can beauty, pleasure, happiness, be separated from his vision or sight, or his vision from beauty, pleasure; happiness." In this life we have but a glimpse of this beauty and happiness: we shall hereafter, as John saith, see him as he is: thine eyes, as Isay promiseth, 33. 17. shall behold the King in his glory," then shall we be perfectly inamoured, have a full fruition of it, desire, behold and love him alone as the most amiable and fairest object, or summum bonum, or cheifest good. t This likewise should we now have done, had not our will been corrupted; and as we are enjoyned to love God with all our heart, and all our soul: for to that end were we born, to love this object, as "Melancthon discourseth, and to enjoy it. "And him our will would have loved and sought alone as our In Psal. 85. omnes pulchritudines terrenas auri, argenti, nemorum & camporum pulchritudinem Solis & Lunæ, stellarum, omnia pulchra superans. Immortalis hæc visio immortalis amor, indefessus amor & visio. • Osorius; ubicunque visio & pulchritudo divini aspectus, ibi voluptas ex eodem fonte omnisque beatitudo, nec ab ejus aspectu voluptas, nec ab illa voluptate aspectus separari potest. Leon Hæbreus. Dubitatur an humana felicitas Dco cognoscendo an amando terminetur. " Lib. de anima. Ad hoc objectum àmandum & fruendum nati sumus; & hunc expetisset, unicum hunc amasset humana voluntas, ut summum bonum, & cæteras res omnes co ordine. Ii2 summum |