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<DATE>2009-09-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B090812.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A84096">
<STC T="W">E3308</STC>
<STC T="T">E250_1</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99871148</BIBNO>
<VID>159066</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>A PRECIOUS <HI>And mo&s;t Divine</HI> LETTER FROM THAT FAMOUS, AND Ever to be renowned Earl of ESSEX, (Father to the now Lord Generall his Excel|lence) to the Earl of SOUTH-HAMPTON, in the latter time of Queen ELIZA|BETHS Reigne.</P>
<P>Printed according to Order.</P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>printer's or publisher's device</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
<P><ADD>London Aug: 14. 1643</ADD></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
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<HEAD>To the <HI>READER.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THis Letter, many Yeares &s;ince received from the hands of a mo&s;t Honourable Per&s;on, eminent in the Court in tho&s;e <HI>Elizean</HI> dayes, (when Honour crowned &V;irtue, and &V;irtue was the glory of the Times) I have long &s;tored up for my owne private, as a Gem and Trea&s;ure ine&s;timable.</P>
<P>Earthly Trea&s;ures wa&s;te, but Heavenly increa&s;e by Communi|cation! Be&s;ides, I feare (with the Lepers of Old) I doe not well long to conceale, what all that read will judge to be a Common Trea&s;ure. What the Author was for Heigth and Greatne&s;&s;e all know; What for Grace and Goodne&s;&s;e (though Envy or Ig|norance, have as it were Con&s;pired to Vaile over his Orient Lu&s;tre) thou maye&s;t take &s;ome &s;cantling of by this.</P>
<P>His Magnanimity and &V;alour the World knew, as farre as <HI>Hercules</HI> his Pillars, and the utmo&s;t Extent of the <HI>He&s;perian</HI> Pride. His Humility and Plaine-heartednes (which heightned Him above all his Honours) tho&s;e that knew him were not ignorant of.</P>
<P>That Noble <HI>Heroe</HI> yet lives in the true Succe&s;&s;or of Honour and &V;irtue, our Noble <HI>GENERALL.</HI></P>
<Q LANG="lat">(Neque degeneres pariunt Aquilae Columbas.)</Q>
<LB>
<P>His incorrupted Fidelity, Valour, and Wi&s;edonme, are above the reach of Ignorant or Envious Malignants.</P>
<P>His immovable Re&s;olution (ever, and of late expre&s;t) to deny his Honour, his owne Wi&s;edome, yea his life for the Common Safety, &s;hines &s;o bright in the Eyes of all Judicious, that nei|ther
<PB REF="5"><!-- PDF PAGE 41 -->the malicious fomentings of Malignant Spirits, nor the weake Clamors of impatient Ignorance, nor the Nece&s;&s;ity of Gods mo&s;t holy Providence, (exerci&s;ing his Excellency and the Kingdome, I hope for good) I &s;ay that none, nor all of the&s;e, can ju&s;tly cloud and Eclip&s;e his Shine and Lu&s;tre.</P>
<P>There is nothing within the Circumference of Politicall and prudentiall Arts, that hath more uncertaine and various E|vents then that of Warre: <HI>Eventus Belli incertus.</HI></P>
<P>The protracting lengthning, &s;hortning, lies in the hand of a higher Excellency, even onely his, in who&s;e hand is our Way and Breath, as <HI>Daniel</HI> told <HI>Bel&s;hazzar.</HI></P>
<P>The Greate&s;t and be&s;t Commanders that ever the World yet &s;aw, mu&s;t remember, in who&s;e hand is their VVay and Breath, and both they and all Men mu&s;t with Patience &s;ee (for oft it comes to pa&s;&s;e) both Moneths, and Summers &s;pend beyond their Thoughts, De&s;ires, Endeavours, and yet no Blemi&s;h to their VVi&s;dome, Va|lour, Fidelity, or Vigilancy.</P>
<P>He that is the God of Peace mercifully &s;hew us the Paths of it, even of that Peace, which no Man can give nor take from us.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
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<HEAD>A LETTER FROM That famous, and ever to be renowned Earle of ESSEX, to the Earl of <HI>South-hampton,</HI> in the lat|ter time of Queen ELIZABETHS Reigne.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_AS neither nature nor cu&s;tome ever made me a man of complement, &s;o now I &s;hall have le&s;&s;e will than ever for to u&s;e &s;uch Ceremonies, when I have left with <HI>Mar|tha</HI> to be <HI>&s;olicitus circa multa,</HI> and believe with <HI>Mary, unum &s;ufficit:</HI> but it is no com|plement or Ceremony, but a reall and ne|ce&s;&s;ary duty that one friend oweth to ano|ther in ab&s;ence &amp; e&s;pecially at their &s;eave taking, when in mans rea&s;on many acci|dents may keep them long divided, or per|haps barre them ever meeting till they meet in another world; for then &s;hall I thinke that my friend, who&s;e ho|nour, who&s;e Per&s;on, and who&s;e fortune is deare unto me, &s;hall pro&s;per and be happy where ever he goes, and what ever he takes in hand when he is in the favour of that God, under who&s;e protection there is onely &s;afety, and in who&s;e &s;ervice there is onely true happine&s;&s;e to be found. What I thinke of your naturall gifts or abilities in this age, or in this State, to give glory to God, and to winne honour to your &s;elfe, if you imploy the Talents you have received to their be&s;t u&s;e, I will not now tell you, it &s;ufficeth, that when I was farthe&s;t of all times from di&s;&s;em|bling, I &s;pake truly, and have witnes enough: but the&s;e things only I will put your Lord&s;hips in mind of.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that you have nothing that you have not received.</P>
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Secondly, that you po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e them not as Lord over them, but as an accomptant for them.</P>
<P>Thirdly, If you imploy them to &s;erve this world, or your own world|ly delights, (which the Prince of this world will &s;eek to entertain you with) it is ingratitude, it is inju&s;tice, yea it is perfidious treacherie. For what would you thinke of &s;uch a &s;ervant of yours, that &s;hould convert your goods committed to his charge, to the advantage or &s;ervice of your greate&s;t enemy; &amp; what do you le&s;&s;e than this with God, &s;ince you have all from him, and know that the world, and Prince thereof, are at a con|tinuall enmity with him? and therefore if ever the admonition of your true&s;t friend &s;hall be heard by you or if your Countrey which you may &s;erve in &s;o great and many things, be deare unto you; If your God, whom you mu&s;t (if you deale truly with your &s;elfe) acknowledge to be powerfull over all, and ju&s;t in all be feared by you; yea if you be dear unto your &s;elfe and preferre an everla&s;ting happines before a plea&s;ant dreame, which you mu&s;t &s;hortly awake out of, and then repent in the bitternes of your &s;oul; if any of the&s;e things be regarded by you, then I &s;ay, call your &s;elfe to account for what is pa&s;t, cancell all the leagues you have made without the warrant of a religious con&s;cience, make a re|&s;olute Covenant with your God, to &s;erve him with all your natural and &s;pirituall, inward and outward gifts and abilities, and then he that is faithfull (and cannot lie) hath promi&s;ed to honour them that honour him; He will give you that inward peace of Soul, and true joy of heart, which till you have you &s;hall never re&s;t, and which when you have, you &s;hall never be &s;haken, and which you can never attaine to any other way than this that I have &s;hewed you.</P>
<P>I know your Lord&s;hip may &s;ay to your &s;elfe, and object to me, this is but a vapor of melancholie and the &s;tile of a Pri&s;oner, and that I was far enough from it, when I lived in the world as you doe now, and may be &s;o again when my fetters be taken from me. I an&s;wer, though your Lord&s;hip &s;hould thinke &s;o, yet cannot I di&s;tru&s;t the goodne&s;&s;e of my God that his mercy will fail me or his grace for&s;akeme; I have &s;o deeply ingaged my &s;elfe, that I &s;hould be one of the mo&s;t mi&s;erable Apo&s;tates that ever was, I have &s;o avowed my profe&s;sion and called &s;o many from time to time to witnes it, and to be watchmen over me, that I &s;hould be the hollowe&s;t hypocrite that ever was borne: But though I &s;hould peri&s;h in my owne &s;in, and draw upon my &s;elfe my own damnation, &s;hould not you take hold of the grace and mercy in God which is offer|ed unto you; and make your profit of my fearful and wretched example?
<PB N="3" REF="6"><!-- PDF PAGE 42 -->I was longer a &s;lave and &s;ervant to the world and the corruptions of it. then you have bin, and therefore could hardlyer be drawn from it. I had many calls, and an&s;wered &s;ome of them &s;lowly; thinking a &s;oft pace fa&s;t enough to come to Chri&s;t and my &s;elfe forward enough when I &s;aw the end of my journy, though I arrived not at it, and therefore I have been by Gods providence violently pul'd, hal'd, and drag'd to the Marriage Fea&s;t as the world hath &s;een. It was ju&s;t with God to afflict me in this world that he might give me joy in another. I had too much knowledge when I performed too little obedience, and was therefore to be beaten with double &s;tripes: God grant your Lord&s;hip may feel the comfort I now enjoy in my unfaigned conver&s;ion, but that you never feele the torments I have &s;uffered for my too long delaying it; I had none but Divines to call upon me, to whom I &s;aid, if my ambition could have entred into their narrow hearts, they would not have bin &s;o humble; or if my delights had bin ta&s;ted by them, they could not have been &s;o preci&s;e: but your Lord&s;hip hath one to call upon you, that knowes what it is you now injoy, &amp; what the greate&s;t fruit and end is of all the con|tentments that this world can afford. Thinke therefore deare Earl, that I have &s;taked &amp; bounded all the waies of plea&s;ure to you, &amp; left them as Sea markes for you to keep the Channell of religious virtue; for, &s;hut your eyes never &s;o long they mu&s;t be open at la&s;t, and then you mu&s;t &s;ay with me, there is no peace to the wicked. I will make a Covenant with my Soul, not to &s;uffer my eyes to &s;leep in the night, nor my thoughts to attend the fir&s;t bu&s;ines of the day, till I have prayed to my God, that your Lord&s;hip may believe and make profit of this plaine, but faithfull admonition; and then I know your Countrey and friends &s;hall be happy in you, and Your &s;elf &s;ucce&s;&s;efull in all you take in hand; which &s;hall be an un&s;peakeable comfort to</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Lord&s;hips Cou&s;in and true friend, whom no world|ly cau&s;e can divide from you <HI>ESSEX.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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