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<DATE>2014-02-26</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Brian Matzge</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Checklist: x *Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate x *Review structure: FRONT,BODY, BACK, DIV or rarely GROUP x *Add DIV TYPEs, make sure that types makes sense as a navigational aide, and work in the context of the whole text, validate x *Survey book for troublesome formats of all kinds, including lists, illustrations, tables, music, math, end-notes, quasi-tabular arrangments, and marginalia. x *Proof title page(s) x *Examine marginalia. Is it all best tagged as NOTE? x *Observe divtop and divbottom material marking beginnings and ends of divisions, check that they are correctly tagged as HEAD, TRAILER, OPENER, CLOSER, ARGUMENT, EPIGRAPH, SIGNED, DATELINE, BYLINE, etc. x *Check for GAPs x *Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N="" x *Check ^, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c. x *Check for illustrations and correct usage of FIGURE. Add FIGDESCs if necessary. x *Check q; startq endq Q x *If appropriate, check for yoghs. x *If appropriate, check for Latin problems, e.g. oe and ae digraphs x *If appropriate, check for abbreviation and brevigraph problems. x *If appropriate, check for units of measure, symbols (alchemical, astronomical, etc.) and the like. x *Correct illegibles from proofsheet x *Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs x * Run Check x *Final validate Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B14373">
<STC T="S">15117.7</STC>
<STC T="C">S103207</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99838964</BIBNO>
<VID>176869</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE LITLE GARDEN OF OVR B. LADY. Or, diuers practicall Exer|ci&s;es in her Honour.</P>
<P>VVritten in Latin, by the R. Father, Francis de la Croix, of the So|ciety of IESVS.</P>
<P><HI>And tran&s;lated into English.</HI></P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>ornament</FIGDESC>
<P>IHS</P>
</FIGURE></P>
<P>Permi&s;&s;u Superiorum. 1631.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL HIS MVCH HONOVRED LADY, THE LA. E. M.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>_MADAME,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THE true Deuotio~ w^c^h your Ladi&s;hip is knowne to haue all|wayes borne vnto the B. Virgin MARY (together
<PB REF="3">with the many courte&s;ies You lately &s;hewed me, farre beyo~d my de&s;erts) hath emboldened me to pre&s;ent this little GAR|DEN of our LADY (be&s;et with mo&s;t fragrant, and odoriferous Flowers) vnto you: wel knowing the Noblene&s;&s;e of your Mynd to be &s;uch, as will accept of a meane guift, wher better ability doth want in the giuer; as ha|uing no other way wher by to manife&s;t the high
<PB REF="3">E&s;timation, and mo&s;t faythfull Ob&s;eruance, wherewith he abounds towards You.</P>
<P>Into this GARDEN may you often, &amp; confi|dently enter, both for your &s;pirituall &amp; corpo|ral Exerci&s;e. A GARDEN it is, mo&s;t plea&s;ant, and pla~ted with the Flowers of all cele&s;tiall Delights. And if at any time your Lad. Pchance to be di&s;t|racted through worldly Cares, or other bu&s;ines,
<PB REF="4">retyre hither with &s;peed to recreate your wearied Mynd and Sen&s;es, with the Variety, and &s;weet Ayre thereof.</P>
<P>Walke throgh the &s;ame dayly &amp; diligently. Co~|po&s;e for your &s;elfe a No|&s;e-gay of &s;weet &s;melling Flowers. Heere gather a Ro&s;e of Loue &amp; Confi|dence: There a Lilly of entyre &amp; &s;incere Deuo|tion: Heere a Violet of humble reuere~ce &amp; &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ion. There a Mary|gold
<PB REF="4">of perfect Imitatio~ of the B. Virgins vertues</P>
<P>And as the indu&s;tri|ous Bee, in &s;ucking Ho|ny out of Flowers, doth with no le&s;&s;e Wi&s;dome then Di&s;cretion, choo&s;e what is mo&s;t fit and apt for her artificiall Buil|ding; &s;o may your Ladi|&s;hip imitate that proui|dent, &amp; laborious Crea|ture, in &s;electing, amo~g&s;t &s;o great variety, what &s;hall be mo&s;t fit for your &s;pirituall Edifice.</P>
<PB REF="5">
<P>I will not be ouer trou|ble&s;ome with a lo~ger E|pi&s;tle, &s;ince the Bou~ty of your good Nature a&s;&s;u|reth me, a&s;well of a gra|teful Acceptance of this mean Offer; as of a care|full Imitatio~ of the ver|tues w^c^h the en&s;uing Gar|de~ doth liuely repre&s;ent. In confidence wheof, I re&s;t, very re&s;pectfully,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your La.</HI>P^s <HI>euer deuoted &s;erua~t in Christ</HI> IESVS. I. Wo</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="companions of devotion">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>THREE INSEPA|rable companions of De|uotion, towards the Sa|cred Virgin Mary.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="companion">
<HEAD>The first, is <HI>Diligence,</HI> and <HI>Feruour.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THAT the B. Virgin is not to be honoured ne|gligently, &s;louthfully, &amp; only for fashion &s;ake, is cleere &amp; euident; yet, that the fier of our loue, and deuotion may dayly be more ferue~t towards her, behould beer three principall reaso~s taken
<PB REF="6">out of the <HI>86. P&s;alme,</HI> which by frequent meditation may be ca&s;t into this flame, as fuell to main|taine it.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t rea&s;on why me ought with feruor to honour the B Vir|gin, is her Excellency, the which is by the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> expre&s;&s;ed vn|der the Type of the Temple of <HI>Hieru&s;ale~</HI> in the&s;e words: <HI>Her foundations are in the holy mountaines; our Lord lo|ueth the gates of Sion, more then all the Tabernacles of Iacob.</HI> Out of which words, Do|ctors do co~monly inferre, that the first, &amp; lea&s;t grace that was be|&s;towed vpon the Bl. Virgin in the
<PB REF="6">first moment of her Conception, was greater the~ he greatest that euer any man or Angel receiued.</P>
<P>They &s;ay al&s;o, that our B. Lady did co~tinually increa&s;e the grace with she had receaued, yea dou|bled the &s;ame. From whence &s;ome no le&s;se piou&s;ly, then probably di&s;|cour&s;ing, do conclude, That her grace and glory alone, is more perfect the~ that of all the Saints and Ble&s;sed togeather, and con&s;e|quently more e&s;teemed, and belo|ued of God, then all other pure creaturs what&s;oeuer. Wherfore if honour &amp; reuerence mu&s;t an|&s;were in proportion vnto the Ex|cellency; who cannot ea&s;ily gather
<PB REF="7">from hence that our Ble&s;. Lady is more to be honored &amp; loued, then all the Ble&s;sed togeather?</P>
<P>Ca&s;t now the eye of your Vn|der&s;tanding vpo~ the whole world, &amp; con&s;ider euery kingdome, Pro|uince, Citty, and Village, how greatly, by how many, &amp; in what manner, a&s;well priuately as pub|lickly the Angells, Apostles, Mar|tyrs, Confe&s;&s;ors, Virgins, and the rest of Ble&s;sed are honoured; and after that your haue well pondered, and admired the &s;ame, &amp; making one ma&s;&s;e of them all, O how great will it &s;eeme to be? and verily, if the B. Virgin may lustly challenge vnto her&s;elfe far
<PB REF="7">greater honour &amp; reuere~ce then all that; how feruent then, how ready, how enflamed, how many winges of Deuotion ought you to haue, how many heads &amp; hands, to adore and honour her, as you ought? Her, I &s;ay, whome the B. Trinity &s;o much honoureth; how much more ought you (poore wor|me and abiect Creature) to ho|nour?</P>
<P>The Second rea&s;on, why we should honour and reuerence our B. Lady with feruor is, becau&s;e she is the Mother of God; the which the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> tou|cheth in the&s;e words: <HI>Glorious thinges haue bene &s;ayd of
<PB REF="8">thee, O Citty of God. P&s;al. 86</HI> Do you de&s;ire to know what glorious thinges may, &amp; ought to be &s;ayd of her, whome God hath cho&s;en for the Citty, in which him&s;elfe meant to dwell, to wit his B. Mother? Fir&s;t this title of <HI>Mother of God,</HI> giueth vnto the Ble&s; Virgin a dignity in &s;ome &s;or<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> infinite. Secondly it declareth her woderful merits at the hands of our Sauiour Chri&s;t whome as a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">er and louing Mother she mo&s;t louingly brought vp, cloathed, cherishd, defended, for&s;ooke not vntill death, and euen buried his dead body with vn&s;peakable care and lous. What honour therefore
<PB REF="8">doth she not de&s;erue at our ha~ls, who &s;o much honoured our Sa|uiour Christ, our Father, &amp; the Loue of our Hart?</P>
<P>Lastly, the prerogatiue of the <HI>Mother of God,</HI> comprehen|deth her innumerable merits to|wards all mankind. For when the Sonne of God came to take humane Nature vpon him, then should the world haue receyued him with great reuerence, and ope~ armes of Loue, it should haue gone out to haue met, and imbra|ced him with the feruent loue of the Seraphims, with the beauty of the Cherubims, with the variety of the Vertues and Thrones: but
<PB REF="9">&s;uch was the blindnes, ingrati|cude and vnworthynes therof, as that it de&s;pi&s;ed &amp; reiected him, and as much as lay in it, euen a|bandoned that nece&s;sary, and &s;o long de&s;ired worke of our Re|demption. Yet you, O mo&s;t Ble&s;|&s;ed Virgin Mary, you only amo~g&s;t all the world, enflamed with Charity like the Seraphims, in Wi&s;dome like the Cherubims, by your Humility &amp; purity did pre|&s;ent your &s;elfe a most gratefull Throne vnto Almighty God, and with the fragrant odour of your Vertues, did &s;o temper the vn|&s;auoury &s;tench of &s;inne, which had made the world &s;o abomi|nable
<PB REF="9">to the Sonne of God, as that you allured, yea drew him downe from heaue~ to earth; most officiou&s;ly le~ding your bowels vn|to men, to receiue him, your armes to imbrace him, your tongue to prai&s;e him, and finally euen your &s;elfe wholy to &s;erue him perpetu|ally for them.</P>
<P>And to omit other merits of the B. Virgin towards men; as al&s;o her many &s;eruices exibited in their behalfe vnto the Sonne of God, let vs weigh what <HI>S. Ber|nard</HI> &s;ayth of her only con&s;ent in the conceyuing of the Sonne of God. <HI>(Homilia &s;uper Mi&s;|&s;us e&s;t.)</HI> You haue now heard
<PB REF="10">(&s;ayth he) O Virgin the tydings &s;ent from heauen (to wit, that you are cho&s;en to be the Mother of God) the Angel expecteth your an&s;were, for it is time that he re|turne vnto him that &s;ent him. And we likwi&s;e. O Lady, expect a word of commi&s;eration: for behold the price of our Redemp|tion is offered vnto you; if you giue your con&s;ent, we shall be forthwith &s;et all liberty. This humble &s;upplication, O pious Vir|gin, the dolefull <HI>Adam,</HI> with his mi&s;erable progeny ca&s;t out of Pa|radi&s;e, doth prese~t vnto you. This is the humble reque&s;t of <HI>Abraha~,</HI> of <HI>Dauid,</HI> and of the other Holy
<PB REF="10">Patriarches, your Progenitors, who dwell in the region of dark|nes, &amp; in the shaddow of death. This the whole world prostrate at your feet doth expect. And not without cau&s;e, &s;eeing that vpon your word dependeth the comfort of the mi&s;erable, the redemption of the captiue, the ran&s;ome of tho&s;e that are condemned, and fi|nally the health, and welfare of all the Children of <HI>Adam,</HI> that are of your stock. Thus <HI>S. Ber|nard.</HI> O how glorious thinges, &amp; with what feruor of affection haue byn &s;ayd of you, and here|after ought to be v&s;ed by vs, O Citty, O Mother of God!</P>
<PB REF="11">
<P>The third cau&s;e that ought to styrre vs vp to Feruor, in honou|ring our Ble&s;. Lady is her infinite Mercy towards all mankind: For (as the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> &s;ayth in <HI>86. P&s;al.) The habitatio~ in you, is as it were of al reioycing.</HI> Verily <HI>of all;</HI> and why <HI>reioy|cing,</HI> but for the manifold bene|fits which she dayly heapes vpon vs? In &s;o much that I may boldly &amp; truly &s;ay with <HI>S. Bernard: Let him be &s;ilent, O B. Vir|gin, in the pray&s;es of your Mercy, who&s;oeuer he be, that hauing called vpo~ you in his di&s;tre&s;&s;es, can truly &s;ay, that you haue bin wan|ting
<PB REF="11">to helpe him. And be|cau&s;e there is none &s;uch to be found, therfore let none be &s;ilent, but all ioy full and feruent; let them honour the Lengh of her Mercies, with a perpetual deuotion; the Breadth with all kind of excellent Pray&s;es; the Height with mo&s;t diuine wor&s;hip; &amp; the Depth with a mo&s;t profound reuerence.</HI> But of the benefits &amp; Mercyes of our B Lady, we shal &s;peake more afterward.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="companion">
<PB REF="12">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Companion, is <HI>Con&s;tancy.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THere is to be pondred al&s;o another thing in thes words of the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t: The habita|tion in you, is as it were of all reioycing. P&s;al. 86. The habitation</HI> (&s;ayth he) <HI>&s;uch as is that of Cittize~s, not an aboad of &s;ome few houres, or of one day, as that of Pil|grims is wont to be;</HI> to giue vs to vnderstand, that the flouds of heauenly graces and delightes, are wont to be deriued vnto &s;uch only, as are constant in the ho|nour of our B Lady and do per|&s;euere in piety towards her. For
<PB REF="12">tho&s;e who honour or &s;alute her as it were in pa&s;sing by, and make them&s;elues as pa&s;&s;engers only and strangers in her &s;eruice, &amp; do neglect their exerci&s;es of Deuo|tion begun towards her; be&s;ides that they are liable vnto the pu|nishement due to their inco~&s;tan|cy, they incurre al&s;o the Di&s;plea|&s;ure of the Mother of God, as may be gathered by the exam|ples following of two (otherwi&s;e most deuout vnto the B. Virgin, and al&s;o Saints) who were shar|ply reprehended by our B. Lady for their &s;lacknes &amp; negligence in their wonted exerci&s;es of reue|rence and deuotion towards her.</P>
<PB REF="13">
<P>The fir&s;t of the&s;e was one <HI>Her|man,</HI> who was &s;o inflamed with deuotion towards the B. Virgin, that therfore he de&s;erued to be admitted of her for her Spou&s;e, giuing him the Name of Io&s;eph. This man, through many bu&s;i|ne&s;ses, and wordly cares being di|stracted in recyting his accusto|med Hymnes, and office of the B. Virgin, and growne more negli|gent in her &s;eruice; our B. Lady one day met him, not beautifull as she was wont, but with an old withered, and wrinckled face: Behould, &s;ayd she, I appeare &s;uch a one as I now am become with thee. Where be now tho&s;e times
<PB REF="13">in which thou dide&s;t &s;o often make mention of me, &s;alute me, and pray&s;e me? Art thou not a|shamed to be &s;o remi&s;&s;e &amp; negli|gent in this point? Is my remem|brance with thee now growne old? <HI>Herma~</HI> by this &s;weet corre|ction renewed his fir&s;t feruour. <HI>[Surius in eius vita. 5. A|prilis.]</HI> The other was Thomas <HI>a Kempis</HI> (who&s;e name is fa|miou&s;ly knowne to all) to whome our B. Lady once appeared, being yet a youth and going to Schoole at <HI>Dauen try</HI> in <HI>Gelderland,</HI> &amp; was very angry with him for omitting his accustomed deuo|tions vnto her, refu&s;ing to im|brace
<PB REF="14">him, as she did his other &s;choole-fellows. <HI>[Spec. Exem. di&s;t. 10. n. 7.]</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="companion">
<HEAD>The third Companion, is <HI>Di&s;cretion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>TO the end that <HI>Con&s;tan|cy</HI> in honouring of our B. Lady may be ob&s;erued, the which &s;o greatly she de&s;yreth, and is &s;o nece&s;&s;ary for the reaping of fruit; it is requi&s;ite to adioyne a third Companion of Deuotion, to wit, Di&s;cretion, which &s;etteth downe a rule, and order vnto the Exer|ci&s;es of Piety, that neyther too many thinges togeather, nor yet too hard, or not agreeing with our state of life, be vndertaken:
<PB REF="14">for which cau&s;e our deuotions are &s;omtimes performed which an|xiety, little gu&s;t, and ouer much ha&s;t, &amp; finally are often through tediousne&s;se wholy omitted.</P>
<P>And this is the cau&s;e, why &s;o many Exerci&s;es are hereafter &s;et downe, in &s;uch plaine manner (for we only meane to shew the practi&s;e, and proue the &s;ame by &s;ome few Examples,) to the end, that euery one may make choyce of &s;uch as are mo&s;t fit for him&s;elfe, di&s;tributing them into diuers times &s;ome for euery day, &s;ome for Sundayes &amp; holy dayes, others for more principall &amp; &s;o|&s;emne Feastes.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="15">
<HEAD>THE TABLE OF Chapters.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>THE I. BED.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>NOt to go rashly, and without recollection to prayer.</HI> C 1.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To commit our office of &s;aluting the B. Virgin to the Angells.</HI> Cap. 2.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To honour the &s;acred Name of Mary.</HI> Cap. 3.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To &s;alute her Image.</HI> Cap. 4.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To go on Pilgrimage to her Chur|ches.</HI> Cap. 5.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To reuerence all things that be|long vnto her.</HI> Cap. 6.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To honour her by often bending
<PB REF="15">our knees.</HI> Cap. 7.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>By prostrating our &s;elues &amp; ki&s;|&s;ing the ground.</HI> Cap. 8.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To deny nothing lawfully, and prudently asked in her Name.</HI> Cap. 9.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To dedicate all our purpo&s;es vn|to her.</HI> Cap. 10.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>THE II. BED.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>TO &s;tirre vp affection to the</HI> B. <HI>Virgin, by contemplating her Perfections.</HI> Cap. 1.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>By remembrance of her Mercyes and benefits to vs.</HI> Cap. 2.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>A renewing of our Loue, &amp; de|uotion vnto her.</HI> Cap. 3.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>An Exerci&s;e of Loue &amp; Confide~|ce in the</HI> B. <HI>Virgin.</HI> Cap. 4.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Effects &amp; &s;ignes of true Loue to|wards her.</HI> Cap. 5. 6. &amp; 7.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<PB REF="16">
<LIST>
<HEAD>THE III. BED.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>HOw to commit our &s;elues to the protection of the</HI> B. <HI>Virgin.</HI> Cap. 1.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>How to dedicate our &s;elues in &s;peciall manner vnto her,</HI> Cap. 2. &amp; 3.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>To deuote our &s;elues vnto her, by entring into Religion.</HI> Cap. 4.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>THE IV. BED.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>OF the Aue Maria, or Ange|licall Salutation.</HI> Cap. 1.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of the Corone, or Ro&s;ary of the B. Virgin.</HI> Cap. 2.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>The &s;econd manner of &s;aying the Ro&s;ary.</HI> Cap. 3.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>The third manner.</HI> Cap. 4.</ITEM>
<PB REF="16">
<ITEM><HI>Of the Office of our B. Lady</HI> C. 5.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her P&s;alter, Letanyes, &amp; Office of her Couception</HI> Cap. 6.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>How to ob&s;erue the Saturday in her Honour.</HI> Cap 7.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of honouring the Fea&s;ts of our B. Lady.</HI> Cap. 8.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>THE V. BED.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>The generall practice of imitating the</HI> B. <HI>Virgin.</HI> Cap. 1.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>The fir&s;t help, is to repre&s;entin our mind her Vertues.</HI> Cap 2.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>The</HI> 2. <HI>help, is to purpo&s;e truly to imitate her.</HI> Cap. 3.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>The</HI> 3. <HI>help, is a particular Exa|men of our &s;elues.</HI> Cap. 4.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>The</HI> 4 <HI>help, is to implore her ayd and a&s;sistence often</HI> Cap. 5.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>How to begge any thing four</HI>
<PB REF="17">B. <HI>Lady.</HI> Cap. 6.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her contemplation of heauenly things.</HI> Cap. 7.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her deuotion towards the Sa|crifice of the Ma&s;&s;e.</HI> Cap. 8.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her receauing the</HI> B. <HI>&s;acrament.</HI> Cap. 9.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of labouring with her hands, and corporall exerci&s;e.</HI> Cap. 10.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her eating, and bodily Refe|ction.</HI> Cap. 11.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her repo&s;e &amp; &s;leeping.</HI> Ca. 12.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her Purity.</HI> Cap. 13.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her Chastity.</HI> Cap. 14.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her Pouerty.</HI> Cap. 15.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her Humility, Modesty, Pa|tience, &amp; Obedience.</HI> Cap. 16.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her charity towards her Neigh|bour.</HI> Cap. 17.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Of her Loue to God.</HI> Cap. 18.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="part">
<PB N="1" REF="17">
<HEAD>OVR B. LADIES LITLE GARDEN.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">THE FIRST BED, planted with Violets.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>From whence may be gathered diuers Exerci&s;es of Reueren|ce, and Submi&s;sion; whereof the <HI>Violet</HI> is a Token.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_THe acts of Reue|rence (chiefly in|ternall) towards the B. Virgin, co~|taind, in the fir&s;t Bed; as all
<PB N="2" REF="18">the Acts of Loue which are deliuered in the &s;econd, are the principall, &amp; as it were the ground &amp; foundation whereon the Exerci&s;es fol|lowing do rely. For if one, eyther with litle or no Re|uerence at all, or without due attention, or only for fa&s;hio~ &s;ake, &amp; rather of cu|&s;tom then deuotion, &s;hould make his prayers and offer his Exerci&s;es vnto the Bl. Virgin; he &s;hould neyther winne her fauour, not reape that fruite which they are knowne to haue gathered by the&s;e exerci&s;es by who&s;e example the thinges fol|lowing are co~firmed. Let it
<PB N="3" REF="18">therefore be the fir&s;t, and chiefe&s;t care of him, who hath deuoted him&s;elfe vn|to the &s;eruice of the B. Vir|gin, to be alwayes conuer|&s;ant in &s;ome practi&s;es of re|uerence and loue, in which more ordinarily and fami|liarly he may exerci&s;e him|&s;elfe.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I. <HI>The fir&s;t Exerci&s;e of Reuerence towards the B. Virgin, is not to go rashly, and without recol|lection to prayer.</HI></HEAD>
<P>AS often as you &s;hall goe to make your Prayer vnto our B. Lady, and re|peate
<PB N="4" REF="19">her pray&s;es, to the end you may performe the &s;ame with due reuerence; before you beginne it &s;hal|be good to recollect your &s;elfe a litle, and (all other cogitations layed a &s;ide) weigh well with your &s;elfe, whither you goe, what to do, &amp; with whome you are to &s;peake. Surely you go to &s;alute her who is the Mo+ther of God, the Queene of Heauen and earth, who &s;itteth full of Maie&s;ty in a Throne of Glory, enuiro|ned with the Quiers of An|gels; with how great reue|rence and attention then, &s;hould you, a poore and
<PB N="5" REF="19">vile worme, appeare in the pre&s;ence of &s;uch a Queene?</P>
<P>That you may therfore make this recollectio~ more ea&s;ily, and without yrke|&s;omnes, it is expedient you haue in readines &s;ome &s;hort Ver&s;icles which you may v&s;e before you beginne to &s;ay your Beades, Office of our Lady, or other prayers; as for example this:
<Q><L>Ah, let my lips &s;ing, and di&s;play,</L>
<L>The B. Virgins pray&s;e this day.</L></Q> which is found in the be|ginning of that mo&s;t aun|cient litle office of her Im|maculate Conception; or
<PB N="6" REF="20">this which is the beginning of the Hymne, made by <HI>S. Ca&s;imire.</HI>
<Q><L>Do thou, my Soule, early and late,</L>
<L>Pray&s;es to the Virgin con|&s;ecrate.</L></Q> Or els this, which is com|mo~ly v&s;ed by the Church.
<Q><L>Grant me, O Virgin, thee to pray&s;e,</L>
<L>Agayn&s;te thy foes, giue &s;trength alwayes.</L></Q> This kind of recollection doth <HI>S. Ignatius</HI> Founder of the Society of IESVS &s;et downe in generall termes, when in his booke of &s;piri|tuall exerci&s;es he teacheth, that &s;uch recollection is ne|ce&s;&s;ary
<PB N="7" REF="20">to be made before all kind of prayer.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. <HI>The &s;econd Exerci&s;e of Reuere~ce towards our B. Lady, is to co~|mit our Office of &s;aluting her, vnto the Angels.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IT will be noe &s;mall te&s;ti|mony of true reuerence and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, towards the Virgin Mother, if re|membring your owne ba|&s;ene&s;&s;e, &amp; con&s;idering her excellency, you accoumpt your &s;elfe as mo&s;t vnwor|thy of her great pre&s;ence, &amp; do make your recour&s;e
<PB N="8" REF="21">vnto the Angels, begging and crauing of them that they would be plea&s;ed to di&s;charge your duty in this &s;o high &amp; noble &s;eruice of &s;aluting, &amp; earne&s;tly pray|ing vnto the Queene of Heauen.</P>
<P>Turning your &s;elfe ther|fore to your Angell Guar|dian, be&s;eech him earne&s;tly by that immen&s;e goodnes and mercy of our Lord, by which he was giuen vnto you for a Gouernour and Keeper, and by his father|ly loue and continuall care ouer you (well knowing your vnworthines &amp; lacke of vtterance) that him&s;elfe
<PB N="9" REF="21">who both for the grace of his vertue, and ornaments of glory, is mo&s;t gracious in the &s;ight of the B. Virgin, and withall mo&s;t eloquent and expert in that Angeli|call office which you com|mit vnto him, would &s;alute our B. Lady in your behalfe with al-be&s;eeming reuere~|ce, &amp; deuout affection, and obtaine for you all that he knoweth nece&s;&s;ary, as well for your profit in vertue, as for the eternall weale, &amp; &s;aluation of your &s;oule.</P>
<P>Make al&s;o your humble &s;upplication vnto the Ar|changell Gabriell, that he would vouch&s;afe in your
<PB N="10" REF="22">name to &s;alute the Mother of God, once againe with the very &s;ame words, with that reuerence &amp; loue, de|mon&s;tration of ioy, con|gratulation, and like affe|ctions, as he then felt with|in him&s;elfe, &amp; which he vt|tered, when being &s;ent on that Emba&s;&s;adge from the &s;acred Con&s;i&s;tory of the Ble&s;&s;. Trinity vnto Naza|reth, to report vnto the Virgin Mary the fir&s;t and happy tidinges of the In|carnation of the Sonne of God. In the meane while, &s;uppo&s;ing you &s;ee &amp; heare the Archangell Gabriell, &amp; your Angell Guardian &s;a|luting
<PB N="11" REF="22">the Ble&s;&s;. Virgin in your behalfe, you &s;hall do well to offer, in the deuou|te&s;t manner you can de|ui&s;e, vnto the &s;ame Virgin, their &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion and reue|rence, as proceeding from your &s;elfe; their words as if they were your owne, and the mo&s;t true interpreters of your hart and mynd.</P>
<P><HI>S. Gerard</HI> of <HI>Pannonia Bi|shop</HI> &amp; Martyr hauing ere|cted an Altar in Honour of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady, cau&s;ed a &s;yluer Cen&s;ar to be pla|ced before it, and ordayned that two Venerable men &s;hould attend both day &amp; night, only to prouide,
<PB N="12" REF="23">that Incen&s;e were neuer wa~ring in the Cen&s;ar. [<HI>Sur. in his life</HI> 24. <HI>Septem.</HI>] Now if you being moued with the like zeale of Honour vnto our B. Lady do com|mend your prayers to the Angels (who are &s;ayed in holy Scripture to carry a Cen&s;ar, for the di&s;charge of that duty) you may be a&s;&s;ured, that their kindling the incen&s;e of your praiers with the flames of their earne&s;t deuotio~, will make them &s;oe gratefull &amp; odo|riferous vnto that Heaue~|ly Queene, that &s;he with manifold benedictions wil abundantly acco~pli&s;h your
<PB N="13" REF="23">reque&s;ts.</P>
<P>To the practi&s;e of this deuotion tho&s;e very figu|res, &s;hapes, diuer&s;ity of for|mes that dayly appeare in the ayre, might &s;erue vs for a &s;ufficient incitement, by which we may euidently gather not only with what promptitude, and con&s;tan|cy the Angels imploy the~|&s;elues in the &s;eruice of the B. Virgin, but al&s;o in how many, and what kind of offices they endeauour to &s;erue her. In &s;o much as that demaund of the Pro|phet <HI>J&s;ay</HI> 6. may fitly be applyed vnto the: <HI>Qui &s;unt isti, qui vt nubes volant?</HI> who
<PB N="14" REF="24">are tho&s;e that flye like vnto clouds? Not only becau&s;e by their feruor, &s;peed, and promptitude in the&s;e fun|ctions they &s;urpa&s;&s;e the &s;wiftne&s;&s;e, or to &s;peake in the wordes of holy Scrip|ture, the flight of the clou|des; but al&s;o as the clouds to perform the will of God doe in diuer&s;ity of formes often vi&s;ibly &s;hew them|&s;elues to men, &s;ome thick &s;ome thinne, &s;ome plaine and &s;mooth, others rough and gathered into heapes like rockes; others re&s;em|bling high mountaynes, with flockes of &s;heep gra|&s;ing thereon; and &s;ome|tymes
<PB N="15" REF="24">al&s;o they repre&s;ent gulfes, whirlpooles, Crow|nes, battayles, raynebowes and &s;uch like &s;pectacles: Euen &s;o, the Angels atten|ding on our B. Lady, and &s;eeking to adua~ce her Ho|nour and Reuerence, do according to their offices, a&s;&s;ume vnto them&s;elues di|uers &s;hapes. One while they &s;eeme as chiefe Peeres of her Court, and enuirone her throne and Chayre of State: other whiles they appeare like armed men, deuided into &s;quadro~s rea|dy to guard her per&s;on, &amp; fight for the defence of her honour. Somtymes as Exe|cutioners
<PB N="16" REF="25">of the diuine Iu|&s;tice they draw their wea|pons to &s;trike the heretical Bla&s;phemers of her &s;acred Name. One while like &s;te|wards, and Hou&s;houd-&s;er|uants, as when they admi|ni&s;tred meate and drinke vnto the B. Virgin her&s;elfe while &s;he liued in the Tem|ple of Hieru&s;ale~ before &s;he was e&s;pou&s;ed to S. Io&s;eph; and in tyme of nece&s;&s;ity likewi&s;e they often a&s;&s;i&s;t tho&s;e that are her deuo|ted &s;eruants. They often like curious painters haue artificially expre&s;&s;ed in co|lours the feature of her body, beauty, and comli|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="17" REF="25">of her countenance; Ofte~ with melodious har|mony haue they re&s;ou~ded her pray&s;es, &s;ometimes like vnto Mai&s;ters of Ceremo|nies, by diuers acts of de|uotion &amp; Reuerence, haue they taught how me~ addi|cted to her &s;eruice &s;hould more religiou&s;ly wor&s;hip her. La&s;tly like vnto Mai|&s;ters of Reque&s;tes do they repre&s;ent, with mo&s;t hum|ble, entire &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, our prayers vnto her, this being theyr &s;peciall charge, in which they be dayly im|ployed. Mo&s;t memorable exa~ples of all the&s;e things might be alleadged, if they
<PB N="18" REF="26">were not frequent in Hi|&s;tories.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. III. <HI>The third Exerci&s;e of Reuerence is, that we ought to honour the must &s;acred</HI> NAME <HI>of Mary.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis Reuerence may be practi&s;ed diuers wayes.</P>
<P N="1">1. By neuer v&s;ing ra&s;hly the &s;acred Name of Mary, but as it were reuere~tly co~|cealing the &s;ame, &s;ay, the B. Virgin, the mother of God our B. Lady, or the like; and &s;o doing you &s;hall imi|tate the Archangel Gabriel who for the reuerence, and
<PB N="19" REF="26">re&s;pect he bare vnto that &s;acred Name, forbare to pronou~ce it at the fir&s;t, &s;ay|ing only, <HI>Aue gratiaplena,</HI> Hayle full of grace: yet af|terwardes beholding the greatnes of her humility, &amp; that &s;he was &s;omewhat di&s;turbed with wordes of &s;uch commendation, he then pronou~ced the &s;ame, <HI>Ne timeas</HI> MARIA, Feare not Mary &amp;c.</P>
<P N="2">2. By vncouering your head, or bowing downe the &s;ame, by bending your knees when you heare that &s;acred Name pronounced. For (as a deuout Contem|plant &s;peaking vnto the B.
<PB N="20" REF="27">Virgin &s;ayd) the mo&s;t Holy Trinity hath be&s;towed on you a Name which next af|ter the Name of your Bl. Sonne, is to be honoured aboue all Names; and that in your Name all knees do bend (as is manife&s;t) both of tho&s;e that are in heauen, on earth, &amp; in hell; &amp; euery toung co~fe&s;&s;eth the Grace, the Glory, and Vertue of this mo&s;t holy Name. [<HI>lib. Contemp. de Virg. Ma. c.</HI> 5.]</P>
<P><HI>S. Gerard,</HI> whome we mentioned before, in&s;tru|cting the Hungaria~s in the Chri&s;tian faith, willed them that they &s;hould in co~mon talke, &s;eldome v&s;e the pro|per
<PB N="21" REF="27">Name of the mo&s;t B. Virgin, but in familiar co~|ference &s;hould call her, La|dy; and if by them&s;elues or others the Name of Mary &s;hould by any chaunce be vttered, that the~ they &s;hold bow their heades, or bend their knees &amp;c.</P>
<P N="3">3. You &s;hall much honour and reuerence the Name of the B. Virgin, if when you eyther write, paint, or en|graue the &s;ame, you endea|uour to do it curiou&s;ly, comely, &amp; deuoutly, both with externall &amp; internall Reuerence. [<HI>Cani&s;. lib. 1. de B. &V;irg. c. 1.</HI>]</P>
<P>For if euer any mortall
<PB N="22" REF="28">creature had a Name, re|nowned, delectable, gra|cious, which for the wor|thynes &amp; excellency therof ought to be written, read &s;ong, paynted, or engraue~, it is the Name of the mo&s;t &s;acred Virgin Mary, which indeed mo&s;t worthily de|&s;erueth to be placed be|fore euery ones eyes, to be &s;ounded in their cares, and engrauen in their harts, &amp; by euery one publikely &amp; priuatly, with the greate&s;t deuotion to be vttered. To the exerci&s;e of this deuo|tion &amp; reuerence, the holy Angels by their examples inuite vs, who haue often
<PB N="23" REF="28">written this Name in gold &s;iluer, and diuer&s;ity of mo&s;t rare colours; &s;ometimes by it &s;elfe, &s;ometimes con|ioyned with the Venerable Name of IESVS; &s;ometi|mes al&s;o with a part of the Angelicall Salutation.</P>
<P>It is a knowne hi&s;tory which we read of an ould &s;ouldiar, who after lo~g &s;er|uice in warre became a Ci|&s;tercian Monke, where he bega~ &s;o to imprint the An|gelicall Salutation in his hart (which Prayer only by rea&s;on of the &s;lowne&s;&s;e of his wit, he was capable to learne) as that he was accu|&s;tomed euery moment al|mo&s;t
<PB N="24" REF="29">to repeat the &s;ame a which deuotion of his how acceptable and plea&s;ing it was vnto the B. Virgin, did then mo&s;t manife&s;tly ap|peare when after his depar|ture out of this life, there &s;prung forth of his graue, yea out of his mouth, a litle tree, in euery leafe where|of was writen, with letters of Gold, the &s;acred Name of Mary, with the begin|ning of the Angelical &s;alu|tation: which wee may vn|doubtedly belieue was per|formed by the handes of Angels. <HI>[Tho. Cantipra. l. 2. apum. c. 29. p. 9.]</HI></P>
<P>This very Name, as di|uers
<PB N="25" REF="29">Hi&s;tories do recount, hath byn ofte~ painted with a heauenly Pencill, &amp; wri|ten by the hand of Angels, in garments, in flowers, &amp; in the ayre it &s;elfe. Take therefore, in this &s;ingular deuotion, tho&s;e cele&s;tiall Citizes for your directors and mai&s;ters. Imprint this Name with the mo&s;t amia|ble Name of IESVS in the Center of your hart. Let your hart be in charity a Ro&s;e, in purity a Lilly, in humility a Violet, in de&s;ire of heauenly things, a Hya|chinth. Let it be marked with the&s;e names IESVS, MARIA, your only repo&s;e
<PB N="26" REF="30">and comfort. Then &s;hall you be like the flower which di&s;plaieth his leaues to the ri&s;ing &s;unne, when euery morning &s;haking off drow&s;y &s;leepe, you turne your &s;oule to God the fou~|taine of light, &amp; the &s;unne of Iu&s;tice; opening it by manyfould thankes, dila|ting it more &amp; more with de&s;ires of plea&s;ing him, and confirming it with &s;trong &amp; re&s;olute purpo&s;es of ne|uer more offending him: which if you &s;eale vp with the&s;e mo&s;t fragrant Names IESVS and MARIA, your hart, being made a true flower of &s;weet-&s;melling
<PB N="27" REF="30">deuotion, will breath out an odour mo&s;t acceptable to God, his mo&s;t &s;acred Mo|ther, &amp; to the holy Angels &amp; Saintes in Heauen. And likewi&s;e when in the Eue|ning, like vnto the flower, &s;hutting it &s;elfe at the &s;et|ting of the &s;unne, you &s;hall &s;ilently con&s;ider all things pa&s;&s;ed that whole day, and pondering euery thought, word, and deed, &s;hutting vp within the Center of your hart the&s;e mo&s;t &s;weet Names, IESVS, MARIA, then &s;hall you enioy a pea|cefull &s;ecurity, and a &s;ecure happine&s;&s;e.</P>
<P N="4">4. It will be al&s;o an ar|gument
<PB N="28" REF="31">of e&s;peciall Reue|rence towardes this &s;acred Name, to recite tho&s;e fiue P&s;almes or Hymnes who&s;e fir&s;t letters make the Name Maria. The&s;e are, <HI>Mag|nificat. Ad Dominum c&ugrave;m tribularer. Retribuc Jn con|uertendo, &amp; Ad te leuaui.</HI> Or the&s;e, <HI>Magnificat. Aue Regina caelorum. Regina cae|li. Jnuiolata, &amp; Aue Ma|ris stella,</HI> being the mo&s;t pious, and &s;ingular inuen|tio~ of a holy man of the or|der of <HI>S. Benet.</HI> This exer|ci&s;e did <HI>S. Jo&s;cius</HI> a Monke of admirable piety, of the Mona&s;tery of <HI>S. Bertin</HI> in <HI>S. Omers,</HI> ob&s;erue dayly li|uing,
<PB N="29" REF="31">and being dead com|mended the &s;ame to all po|&s;terity. For after his death fiue Ro&s;es of rare beauty did &s;pring from his head. One out of his mouth, (wherin the Name Maria was written in letters of gold) two out of his eyes, and other two out of his eares: which Ro&s;es not on|ly all the Religious that were then liuing in the mo|na&s;tery, but al&s;o the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Arras,</HI> the Clergy and all the whole Citty &amp; Coun|trey that then flocked thi|ther, did with amazement behold. <HI>[&V;incent. Bellonac. Spec. Hist. l. 7. c. 116. An.
<PB N="30" REF="32">Domini 1163.]</HI></P>
<P>O Ble&s;&s;ed Mary, mo&s;t mercyfull, mo&s;t benigne! Place your mo&s;t amiable Name as a &s;ignet vpon my eyes, that being preuented with the benedictions of your &s;weetnes, I may be re|fre&s;hed by the light of your mercyes. Place it vpon my eares, that being &s;ecure of your protection, I may not feare in that terrible day of iudgment to heare the dreadfull &s;entence which &s;hall be vttered again&s;t the damned. Place it al&s;o on my mouth, that recreated with the milke of your co~|&s;oiation, I may both in this
<PB N="31" REF="32">and the next life, with per|petuall pray&s;es, exalt the Glory, &amp; &s;weetnes of your Holy Name.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV. <HI>The fourth Exerci&s;e of Reuere~ce towards our Ble&s;sed Lady, is to Honour her Image.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE deuout Seruant of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin mu&s;t fir&s;t haue an e&s;peciall re|gard that her Image be pla|ced in &s;ome decent &amp; con|&s;picuous part of his Ora|tory: which <HI>S. Charles Bor|romeus</HI> of Millan, for his &s;ingular deuotio~ vnto that
<PB N="32" REF="33">&s;acred Queene did alwayes mo&s;t carefully ob&s;erue; and among&s;t other thinges appoynted, that through his whole Dioce&s;&s;e, there &s;hold be placed ouer euery Church doore the Picture of our B Lady. For as that holy Bi&s;hop (according to the opinion of <HI>S. Bernard</HI>) thought there was no place more worthy vpon earth to receiue the &s;onne of Al|mighty God then the &s;a|cred Teple of his Mothers wombe, nor no place more noble in Heauen then the royall throne which our B. Sauiour be&s;towed vpon his Mother: &s;o did he iudge
<PB N="33" REF="33">that place fitte&s;t for the Picture of the B. Virgin, which for &s;anctity &amp; wor|thynes was mo&s;t eminent. For another rea&s;on al&s;o, would he haue it placed o|uer the church doore, ther|by to admoni&s;h all tho&s;e, who entred to make their prayer, that the be&s;t mea|nes to come to Almighty God, was by the interce&s;|&s;ion of his Ble&s;&s;ed Mother, and that neuer any man is to be admitted into that Heauenly Temple, which doth not loue and reue|re~ce her who is called, <HI>The Gate of Heauen.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. It is behouefull al&s;o
<PB N="34" REF="34">that whe~ you &s;e the picture of this &s;acred Virgin, e&s;pe|cially if you pa&s;&s;e by it, that you make &s;ome &s;igne of Reuere~ce vnto it, either by putting off your hat, bow|ing your heade, bending your knee, or the like. This deuotion all true Seruants of our B. Lady haue alwaies diligently ob&s;erued: &amp; to let pa&s;&s;e in &s;ilence many o|thers, <HI>S. Margarite</HI> daugh|ter to the King of <HI>Hunga|ry,</HI> pa&s;&s;ing by any picture of our Lady, was allwayes wont to recite the Angeli|call Salutation vpon her knees. <HI>[Sur. in her life. 28. Ian.]</HI></P>
<PB N="35" REF="34">
<P>And for more confirma|tion of the excellency of this practi&s;e of Reuerence, I wil adioyne heere a mira|cle that happened at <HI>Affli|gem</HI> in <HI>Brabant</HI> in the Mo|na&s;tery of <HI>S. Benet,</HI> where there is yet an image of our B. Lady to be &s;eene, which being on a tyme &s;aluted by <HI>S. Bernard</HI> after his wonted cu&s;tome, with the&s;e words of <HI>Salue Maria,</HI> Haile Mary; did againe with an intelli|gible and courteous voyce re&s;alute him with <HI>Salue Ber|narde,</HI> God &s;aue thee al&s;o Bernard. O mo&s;t happy, O &s;ublime &s;alutatio~! with the true&s;t and mo&s;t earne&s;t de|&s;ires
<PB N="36" REF="35">of our harts to be wi|&s;hed for. I &s;hould ea&s;ily be|lieue the&s;e two words, as &s;o many darts of loue, to haue &s;o pierced the bre&s;t of this mellifluous Doctour, with &s;uch &s;weetnes and heaue~ly delight, that his hart did leape, &amp; the re&s;t of his bo|dy exult with ioy, and ten|dernes of loue. And as the &s;oule of the Spou&s;e did melt at the voyce of her beloued; &s;o was his &s;oule in like ma~ner euen melted when he heard the voice of his beloued Mother. The like te&s;timony of loue may you &s;ecurely expect from the B. Virgin, if in your car|riage
<PB N="37" REF="35">towards her, you be|haue your &s;elfe like ano|ther S. Bernard.</P>
<P N="3">3. The third manner of honouring the Images of our B. Lady, is, to handle them with Decency &amp; Re|uerence, imparting ki&s;&s;es of piety, and deuotion vn|to them, pray&s;ing the pi|ctures, &amp; chiefly her, whom the picture doth repre&s;ent. <HI>Lewis</HI> &s;urnamed the pious Emperour, &s;onne to <HI>Charles</HI> the Great, when he went a hunting, carried allwayes with him an Image of our B. Lady, and in the midde&s;t of the woodes he was wont with great deuotion vpon
<PB N="38" REF="36">his bare knees to make his prayers and &s;upplications before the &s;ame. <HI>[Cani&s;. l. 5. de B. Ma. cap. 29.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Some deuout &s;er|uants of hers, v&s;e alwayes to hang about their neckes putting it again&s;t their hart eyther her Image, or &s;ome medall at their beades ha|uing her picture on it, or els they inuent &s;ome other meanes to be &s;ure alwayes to carry her picture about them.</P>
<P>This manner of reueren|cing our B. Ladyes Image gaue help to a &s;icke noble yongman, who&s;e cure was de&s;perate, in the co~fines of
<PB N="39" REF="36"><HI>Ebora</HI> in Spain in the yeare 1593. of which the Annuall letters of the Society make mention. This young No|ble man by rea&s;on of a ve|hement &s;icknes, had wa~ted a good while the perfect v&s;e of his wits, when once being one a tyme left by &s;ome cha~ce alone in his bed without any attendance, he &s;uddenly by the diuels in|&s;tigatio~, perceauing the cha~+ber free from all company &s;tarteth vp, putteth on a doublet in which not long before he had &s;owed two meddals of our B. Lady, &amp; had hanged another at his necke; which done, he pre|cipitateth
<PB N="40" REF="37">him&s;elfe out of the window vpon a heape of &s;harpe &s;tones, falling &s;e|cure without hurt of bruze The diuel amazed with the miracle who in the &s;hape of a man appeared vnto him, conducted him by the ha~d to a deepe well, where the di&s;tracted man &s;til obeying him, he cau&s;ed him fir&s;t to loo&s;e the medall from his necke (as not knowing of the other he had &s;owed in his doublet) and ca&s;t it in|to the water, and throw him&s;elfe in afterwardes; downe &s;inks he to the bot|tome, when as &s;udde~ly ha|uing implored the help of
<PB N="41" REF="37">our Lady, who was alwaies pre&s;ent to affi&s;t him, he ap|peareth to the arme pits a|boue water &s;u&s;tained by the two medals, vntill &s;uccour co~ming, and drawing him out of the well, he was re|&s;tored to his perfect health both of &s;oule and body.</P>
<P N="5">5. Wee may honour al&s;o her Image by adorning it with flowers, co&s;tly robes, iewels, &amp; with burning of lampes, &amp; wax candles be|fore it. Which Reuerence though it be in it &s;elfe but &s;mall, yet how gatefull the &s;ame is to the B. Virgin may be &s;eene by this exa~|ple which here followeth.</P>
<PB N="42" REF="38">
<P>The Daughter of a poore Sheepheard feeding her Fathers flocke neere to an old decayed Chappell, wherin yet remayned an I|mage of our B. Lady all di&s;|figured &amp; defiled with du&s;t &amp; filth, did often enter in thither, de&s;irous to adorne and garni&s;h the &s;ayd image with &s;ome better orna|ments. Shee was grieued that the &s;lendernes of her e&s;tate, could not corre&s;|pond with her good de&s;i|res. Wherefore on a tyme comming thither &s;he decla|reth her mynd vnto the B. Virgin before the Image, and although her pouerty
<PB N="43" REF="38">could not afford any thing of price; notwith&s;tanding in&s;teed thereof, &s;he dayly offred vp the Angelicall &s;a|lutation, with great deuo|tion for many yeares, vntill at la&s;t being taken with a feuer &s;he found how grate|full the de&s;ire of adorning her Image is to our B. La|dy: for being by the vehe|mency of her di&s;ea&s;e al|mo&s;t &s;pent, behould our B. Lady accompanyed with 3. troupes of Virgins, (the fir&s;t of &s;uch who all their liues had remayned volun|tary Virgins, the &s;econd, which had vowed cha&s;ti|ty, and the third, which to
<PB N="44" REF="39">the Lilly of Virginity had adioyned the Ro&s;e of Mar|tyrdome) not di&s;dayning the poore mans Cottage, humbly vouch&s;afed to en|ter to the &s;icke mayde, re|creating her with her Ble&s;|&s;ed pre&s;ence, comforting her with wordes of great con&s;olation, and attending the departure of her ho|ly &s;oule, which &s;he ioyful|ly receaued into her &s;acred armes, imbraced it, crow|ned it with a garla~d of glo|ry, and la&s;tly with ioyes of triumph a&s;cended with it, into heauen. <HI>[Spec. Exem|plor. distinct. 29. Exempl. 118.]</HI> Thus ought we to
<PB N="45" REF="39">decke &amp; adorne the Image of our B. Lady whyles we liue, if we will &s;eeke to en|ioy the like triumph after death.</P>
<P N="6">6. But that Reuerence &s;eemeth e&s;pecially lauda|ble when with &s;ole~ne pom|pe and proce&s;&s;ion her Ima|ge is carried through the Citties. Of this piety and deuotion <HI>Ioannes Zemi&s;ces</HI> Emperour of the Ea&s;t, left a rare and worthy example to all po&s;terity, when ha|uing vanqui&s;hed the King of <HI>Bulgaria</HI> and his Coun|try, returning to Con&s;tan|tinople cau&s;ed a mo&s;t Ve|nerable Image of the Ble&s;.
<PB N="46" REF="40">Virgin, with the enemyes &s;poyles layd at her feete, to be carryed in a triumphant Chariot, he him&s;elfe acco~|panying it mounted on a white &s;teed. <HI>[Zonaras hist. tom. 7.]</HI> The like rare de|uotion was performed to the Sacred Virgin by <HI>Ioan|nes Comnenus</HI> Emperour al|&s;o of the Ea&s;t, which in the next Bed of Ro&s;es we &s;hall recount.</P>
<P>There haue bene many Emperors al&s;o in the We&s;t, which being inflamed with like zeale and emulation, haue co~tended with tho&s;e of the Ea&s;t in honouring our B. Lady. A mo&s;t noble
<PB N="47" REF="40">truly, &amp; happy contention, where the Monarches of the world &s;triue to reuere~ce the Empre&s;&s;e of Heauen, and Mother of God; where the field appointed for the combat are Temples, the weapons Ro&s;aries, &amp; &s;uch like deuotions: where to loue the B. Virgin be&s;t, is to conquer; to honour her mo&s;t, is to triumph.</P>
<P N="7">7. The la&s;t Exerci&s;e of reuerence to the Image of our B. Lady, is to procure that the like honour &amp; re&s;|pect be done by others; &amp; al&s;o to defend again&s;t the Iconocla&s;ts or Image-brea|kers, Caluiui&s;ts, Luthera~s,
<PB N="48" REF="41">and all enemies of Images, the reuerence due vnto them; to &s;tirre vp Catho|likes &s;eriou&s;ly and feruent|ly to honour them, by &s;er|mons, by priuate Confe|rence, by good example, by di&s;tributing pictures or medals to others, endeuou|ring by the like meanes to procure, con&s;erue, and aug|ment piety.</P>
<P>As for defending the ho|nour due to Images <HI>S. Iohn Dama&s;cene</HI> hath left vs a mo&s;t &s;ingular example, who for con&s;tantly maintaining by writing and di&s;putation the reuerence due to our B. Lady &amp; her Image, had his
<PB N="49" REF="41">right ha~d cut of by that fu|rious Emperour <HI>Leo J&s;au|ricus,</HI> a profe&s;&s;ed enemy of Images, but not long after by a &s;trang miracle had it re&s;tored, to the &s;ame v&s;e as before. To which al&s;o may be added that of <HI>S. Hya|cinthus. [Ribad. 16. Aug. in his life.]</HI> when as the Tartarians ru&s;hing into the Church, he taking the Ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament in his hands beganne to fly, and flying heard a voyce of a &s;tatue of our Ble&s;. Lady, O &s;onne <HI>Hyacinth,</HI> why for|&s;ake&s;t thou me? Wilt thou thus leaue me to the re|proach and malice of myne
<PB N="50" REF="42">enemyes? Come, Come, tran&s;port me with my &s;o~ne to &s;ome other place: but he mi&s;tru&s;ting his owne &s;tre~|gth alleadged the heauines of it being made of Alaba|&s;ter: To whom the Image replyed, that he &s;hould co~|fidently vndertake it, and that his &s;trength &s;hould be made equall with his bur|den. Wherupon with teares taking the Image on his &s;houlders, he perceaued it very light, and comming to the riuer <HI>Guar&iuml;stin,</HI> finding no meanes of pa&s;&s;age ney|ther by bridge nor boate, he made the &s;igne of the Cro&s;&s;e, and tru&s;ting in the
<PB N="51" REF="42">protection of the Ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament, and the Statue of our B. Lady, hauing &s;pred his cloake on the water, pa&s;&s;ed ouer &s;afly. A monu|ment of which Miracle as yet remayneth to be &s;eene.</P>
<P>In the other kind, of exhorting Catholickes to the honouring of our La|dies Image, the &s;ingular piety of B. Father <HI>Borgia</HI> may be a patterne. He being fir&s;t, Duke of <HI>Gan|dia,</HI> afterwardes Religious and the third Generall of the Society of IESVS, a man excelle~t for humility, and true contempt of him|&s;elfe, notable for the guift
<PB N="52" REF="43">of contemplation, &amp; &s;ingu|lar for his affection to our B. Lady, of which he often gaue mo&s;t manife&s;t te&s;ti|mony, but then e&s;pecially whe~ procuring many Ima|ges to be drawne out ac|cording to that of S. Lukes painting, which is re&s;erued in the Church of <HI>S. Mary Maior</HI> at Rome, and had in great honour among&s;t the Romanes; he &s;ent &s;ome to Princes &amp; Per&s;ons of great worth, di&s;tributed others to all the Colledges then of the Society, that &s;o in al places the glory of our B. Lady might more increa|&s;e. And Fa. <HI>Jgnatius Azebe|dius</HI>
<PB N="53" REF="43">of the &s;ame Society of Ie&s;us, &amp; a famous Martyr, mo&s;t intierely deuoted to the &s;acred Virgin, being to depart from Rome in the yeare 1570. returning Pro|uincial into Bra&s;ile, carryed with him one of the&s;e Pi|cturs, &amp; being with his co~|panions intercepted by cer|taine Caluini&s;t Pirates, his feruour to God &amp; tru&s;t in his &s;acred Mother did with admiration &s;hew it &s;elfe, when managing well the office of a &s;tout Captaine, he tooke the Image in his ha~ds, exhorted his compa|nions to dy generou&s;ly for God; &amp; then couragiou&s;ly
<PB N="54" REF="44">going forth to meete his enemies, houlding the &s;ayd Image in his hand, &amp; pro|te&s;ting to dye for our Sa|uiours &s;ake, a Caluini&s;t co~|te~ding by violence to wre&s;t the picture from him, gaue him three woundes in the bre&s;t, and one in his head: not being able otherwayes by force to take it from him, he threw him, cla&s;ping fa&s;t the Image, headlong in|to the &s;ea; &amp; although the of bodyes of thirty eight his fellowes being all there martyred, did pre&s;ently &s;inke, he notwith&s;tanding hauing &s;tretched out his armes in forme of a cro&s;&s;e
<PB N="55" REF="44">was &s;eene with admiration of al, to &s;wimme aboue wa|ter, as far as the eyes of the behoulders could di&s;cerne him, which vndoubtedly was by vertue of the Image he &s;till carryed in his hand. <HI>[Jn vita P. Borgiae l. 3. c. 10.]</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. V. <HI>The fifth Exerci&s;e of reuerence towards the B. Virgin, is to honour Places dedicated vnto her.</HI></HEAD>
<P>ANother great argument of piety, and Reuerence towards our B. Lady, is to build Churches, and erect
<PB N="56" REF="45">Altars in her honor, which notwith&s;tanding we will omit, becau&s;e the perfor|mance of this, is in few mens power; neither do we determine to inferre any particular matter concer|ning the adorning thereof, for that mo&s;t of tho&s;e thin|ges alleadged in the former Chapter may be reduced to the &s;ame point: But by going on pilgrimage, we may honour places dedica|ted vnto her, and this may be done in two &s;ortes. Fir&s;t by vndertaking Iourneys to remote places, as to the Holy Hou&s;e of <HI>Loreto, Mont-&s;erat, Sichem, Foy;</HI>
<PB N="57" REF="45">which pilgrimages, with what deuotio~ we ought to beginne them, with what vertuous exerci&s;es co~tinue them, with what fruite fi|ni&s;h them may be gathered out of <HI>Father Richeome</HI> in his Booke intituled, <HI>The Pilgrime of Loreto.</HI></P>
<P>Neyther is it nece&s;&s;ary to &s;earch farre Countries for examples of piety and de|uotion in this kind, when not long &s;ince we haue be|held the Example of <HI>Alber|tus</HI> the Archduke and Lord of all the Low Countries, who as a patterne to all Princes, for all the con|tinuall affayres of his Prin|cedome,
<PB N="58" REF="46">though very feeble by rea&s;on of the weaknes of his body, was wo~t yearly to &s;pend nyne dayes in vi&s;i|ting our Lady of <HI>Sichem,</HI> the Infanta his Lady acco|panying him with the like deuotion; which he perfor|med al&s;o not many mone|thes before his death, be&s;y|des other Holy places in <HI>Flanders</HI> dedicated to our B. Lady, which he had wo~t often to vi&s;it, &amp; to adorne with votiue tapers, and all &s;ortes of ornaments, per|forming &s;uch actes of piety towardes the B. Virgin, as perhapes few ages can &s;hew the like te&s;timony of deuo|tion
<PB N="59" REF="46">in &s;o great a Prince.</P>
<P>Secondly, we may make our Pilgrimages to &s;ome places nere at hand, namely to &s;ome Chappell either in the &s;ame Towne, or Citty, or not far di&s;tant; of which deuotion, becau&s;e it may be common and practi&s;ed by all, we wil heere propo&s;e two Exerci&s;es, which euery one may v&s;e as they will, &amp; as occa&s;ion &s;hall permit.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>&para; <HI>The fir&s;t manner of vi&s;iting places dedicated to our Lady.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>What is to be done in the Iorney.</HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t you &s;hall take vnto your &s;elfe two Compa|nions
<PB N="60" REF="47">of this your Pilgri|mage; on the one &s;ide your Angell Guardian, on the other &s;ome Sainte, who was famous for deuotion towards our B. Lady: Then &s;hall you implore the a&s;&s;i|&s;tance of your good Angel in the manner following. I be&s;eech thee, O Angeli|call &s;pirit, my faithfull kee|per, that by thy protection I may be &s;ecurly co~ducted in the way of peace, &s;afety, and happynes, and that no wicked temptations may oppre&s;&s;e me. I de&s;ire al&s;o, that thou beg for me thy poore&s;t Seruant, grace en|tyrely to &s;erue the Ble&s;&s;ed
<PB N="61" REF="47">Virgin in this life, that in the next, I may &s;ing her pray&s;es with thee, for al E|ternity. Amen.</P>
<P>To the other companion you &s;hall &s;ay: O Ble&s;&s;ed N. mo&s;t &s;ingular louer &amp; wor|&s;hiper of the &s;acred Virgin, obtain for me that I by thy imitation may truly reue|rence and &s;erue that Holy Queene, and by thy inter|ce&s;&s;ion may be &s;uccoured in all perils, &amp; tribulations of this life. Amen.</P>
<P>Secondly. In this Pilgri|mage, you may take vpon you diuers per&s;ons, accor|ding to the diuer&s;ity of co~|&s;iderations, by which you
<PB N="62" REF="48">meane euery day to &s;tir vp your mind to deuotion, recyting one of the Hym|nes of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin: for exa~ple, on Sunday you &s;hall &s;uppo&s;e your &s;elfe the &s;erua~t of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady, bound and obliged vnto her by a iu&s;t &amp; &s;trait bond, going to pray&s;e and glorify your mo&s;t potent mi&s;tre&s;&s;e and Queene, and you &s;hall recite the Hymne, <HI>Regina coeli;</HI> your co~panion &s;hallbe B. Father Ignatius who be|ing by apparitio~ (in which the B. Virgin vi&s;ibly repre|&s;ented her&s;elfe vnto him) called from a &s;ecular warre to a more &s;pirituall co~flict,
<PB N="63" REF="48">in the Mount of <HI>Serrato,</HI> bega~ his conuer&s;ion, dedi|cating him&s;elfe wholy to the &s;eruice of our Lady, &amp; hanging his &s;word at her Altar, afterwards his whole and only imployment and endeauours were, to aug|ment both by him&s;elfe and his &s;onnes, the honour of our B. Lady throughout al parts of the world as much as po&s;&s;ibly he could. <HI>[Or|land. in hist. Soc. l. 1.]</HI></P>
<P>On Munday, Imagine your &s;elfe a pilgrime in the world, expo&s;ed to a thou|&s;and errours and dangers, going to &s;alute your mo&s;t faithfull Lady. Choo&s;e,
<PB N="64" REF="49">with your good Angell, <HI>S. Dominicke,</HI> to accompany you in the way, whome our B. Lady did with her particuler protection a&s;&s;i&s;t, in defending her honour again&s;t the Heretikes cal|led <HI>Albigen&s;es,</HI> and procu|ring her greater &s;eruice by teaching the &s;aying of the Ro&s;ary. In the way, &s;ay the hymne, <HI>O glorio&s;a Domina.</HI></P>
<P>One Twe&s;day, &s;uppo&s;e your &s;elfe loaden with an infinite weight of &s;innes, going to &s;alute your mo&s;t mercifull Aduocate; in the way recite the Hymne, <HI>Sal|ue Regina,</HI> and choo&s;e for your Companion <HI>S. Ber|nard,</HI>
<PB N="65" REF="49">who &s;peaking (as al|wayes was wont) mo&s;t &s;wet|ly of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin his Aduocate &s;ayth: <HI>Filioli, haec peccatorum &s;cala, haec meae maxima fiducia, haec tota ratio &s;pei meae.</HI> My &s;onnes, this is the ladder, by which &s;inners mu&s;t climbe to hea|uen, &s;he is my greate&s;t confidence, yea the only meanes of my hope. With which inward feeling and affection while&s;t in the Ca|thedrall Church at <HI>Spire</HI> he recited the <HI>Salue Regina,</HI> being ab&s;orpt with heat of deuotion, he kneeled three tymes, in three diuers pla|ces, at tho&s;e la&s;t words, <HI>O
<PB N="66" REF="50">Clemens, &ocirc; Pia, &ocirc; Dulcis Vir|go Maria,</HI> in the memo|ry whereof, three plates of bra&s;&s;e, to di&s;tingui&s;h tho&s;e three places, are nayled.</P>
<P>On Wedne&s;day thinke your &s;elfe a Scholler, rude and ignorant, yet de&s;irous of true wi&s;dome, going to honour your mo&s;t wi&s;e &amp; learned mi&s;tre&s;&s;e: recite the Hymne, <HI>Aue Regina caelo|rum,</HI> and let <HI>S. Augustine</HI> accompany you, who be|ing placed betweene the wounds of IESVS, and the bre&s;ts of MARY, as on the one &s;ide he was nouri&s;hed with tho&s;e ioyfull waters of heauenly doctrine flow|ing
<PB N="67" REF="50">from the woundes of our Sauiour, &s;o from the other he &s;ucked the &s;weet milke of eternall Wi&s;dom.</P>
<P>On Thur&s;day, imagine your &s;elfe a Spou&s;e without any de&s;ert of yours, &amp; one far vnworthy of &s;uch a ma|riage, freely loued &amp; cho|&s;en by our B. Lady, going to honour your mo&s;t beau|tifull &amp; beloued E&s;pou&s;e. You &s;hall retite the himne, <HI>Jnuiolata;</HI> &amp; take for your companion <HI>S. Jo&s;eph,</HI> who was the Spou&s;e of the Ble&s;. Virgin, and Fo&s;ter-father to our Sauiour.</P>
<P>On Friday, imagine your &s;elfe full of &s;ores &amp; almo&s;t
<PB N="68" REF="51">wounded vnto death, go|ing to your mo&s;t mercifull Surgeon, the Mother of our Redeemer, who on this day with the effu&s;ion of his owne pretious blood made a &s;alue for our &s;ins. Recite the Hymne, <HI>Stabat Ma|ter doloro&s;a,</HI> and choo&s;e <HI>S. Francis</HI> your companion, who hauing vndertaken in the hou&s;e of the B. Virgin, by her authority &amp; patro|nage that holy In&s;titute of Pouerty &amp; abnegation of him&s;elfe, did by her a&s;&s;i|&s;tance, &s;o con&s;tantly per&s;e|uere therein, arryuing to the top of &s;uch perfection, that he was as it were tran&s;|formed
<PB N="69" REF="51">into our Sauiour crucified, bearing the mar|kes of his mo&s;t &s;acred wou~|des in his body.</P>
<P>On Saturday, imagin your &s;elfe as a Sonne dearly be|loued, notwith&s;ta~ding you haue often degenerated &amp; run a&s;tray, going to ho|nour your mo&s;t louyng mother. Say the Hymne, <HI>Aue maris stella,</HI> and let your companion be <HI>S. Iohn</HI> the Euangeli&s;t, whome our Sauiour, hanging on the Cro&s;&s;e, gaue to our Ble&s;|&s;ed lady for her Sonne, &amp; to whome al&s;o he gaue the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin for his Mo|ther.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<PB N="70" REF="52">
<HEAD>When you shall come to the Church, or Chappel of our B. Lady.</HEAD>
<P>HAuing made a low Re|uerence to the Image of our B. Lady, recyte on your knees the Letanies of Loreto, and al&s;o three A|ues: after the fir&s;t, recyte this prayer. O mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, I humbly be&s;eech you, &s;ince God the Father by his Omnipotency hath made you mo&s;t powerfull, that you will be plea&s;ed to be pre&s;ent with me in the houre of my death, and to expell all the temptations, and a&s;&s;aults of my mortall
<PB N="71" REF="52">aduer&s;aries. After the &s;e|cond Aue, &s;ay. O Holy Mo|ther of God, &s;ince your &s;a|cred Sonne hath endewed you with &s;uch knowledg &amp; clarity, that with your &s;ple~|dour the brightnes of Hea|uen is augmented, enligh|ten I humbly be&s;eech you, my &s;oule in the houre of my death, and confirme it with the true knowledge of Fayth, that it be not darkened with any mi&s;t of errour or ignorance. After the third Aue, &s;ay. O mo&s;t &s;acred Queene of Heauen, as the Holy Gho&s;t hath in|fu&s;ed all abundance of loue into you; &s;o you at my
<PB N="72" REF="53">death di&s;till into my &s;oule the &s;weetnes of diuine loue, by which all bitternes may be made mo&s;t &s;weet, &amp; all heauines ioyfull vnto me. This ma~ner of recyting the <HI>Aue</HI> did B. our Lady teach vnto <HI>Saint Maude,</HI> pro|mi&s;ing, that if &s;hee dayly ob&s;erued it, &s;he would be pre&s;ent with her, at the houre of her death.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>In your returne from the Chappell.</HEAD>
<P>REcyte the <HI>Magnificat, Te Deum,</HI> or &s;ome part of your Ro&s;ary in thankes giuing to our B. Lady for the gift of deuotion, v&s;ing
<PB N="73" REF="53">almo&s;t the &s;ame con&s;idera|tions that you did in your going thither.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The Second manner of vi&s;iting the Churches, or Chappels of our Lady.&mdash;As you goe.</HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t implore the ayde &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;ta~ce of the &s;ame co~|panions which were de&s;i|gned for euery day, in the precedent Paragraphe.</P>
<P>Secondly, con&s;ider &s;ome iorney vndertaken by our B. Lady while&s;t &s;he liued on earth; &amp; the~ adioyning your &s;elfe vnto her for co~|panion, endeauour to imi|tate her mode&s;ty, deuotio~ &amp; the like vertues, expre&s;|&s;ed
<PB N="74" REF="54">in that my&s;tery: which that you may the better performe, craue the help of that &s;acred Queene, by re|cyting the Letanies of Lo|reto.</P>
<P>Euery day choo&s;e the&s;e iourneyes according to the order pre&s;cribed. On Mun|day, thinke how the Ble&s;|&s;ed Virgin went to vi&s;ite her co&s;en S. Elizabeth. On Tew&s;day, co~&s;ider her iour|ney to Bethleem, where &s;he brought forth the Sauiour of the world. On Wedne&s;|day, thinke how &s;he we~t to the Temple of Hieru&s;alem, eyther when &s;he pre&s;ented her litle Sonne IESVS to
<PB N="75" REF="54">his Eternal Father, or when being lo&s;t for the &s;pace of three dayes, &s;he found him againe with incredible ioy. On Thur&s;day, &s;uppo&s;e her going to Chri&s;t our Lord during tho&s;e three la&s;t yeares, which he be&s;towed in preaching the Gho&s;pell. On Fryday, imagine how &s;he followed our Sauiour carrying his Cro&s;&s;e to Mo~|te Caluary. On Saturday, ponder, how after his A&s;|cen&s;ion, &s;he went to vi&s;ite the holy places. On Sunday behould her gloriou&s;ly a&s;|&s;umpted into Heauen.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<PB N="76" REF="55">
<HEAD>In the Chappell.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hal &s;ay your Beades after the manner pre|&s;cribed in the fourth Bed and 2.3. and 4. Chapters.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>In your Returne.</HEAD>
<P>IMagine the Ble&s;&s;ed Vir|gin returning from tho&s;e places, whither you acco~|panied her going, namely on munday returning from the hou&s;e of S. Elizabeth: on Tew&s;day from Bethlem into Hieru&s;alem, and from thence into Nazareth &amp;c. But on Sunday you are to haue a mo&s;t plea&s;ant and delectable ta&s;t of the mo&s;t &s;weet loue, and Motherly
<PB N="77" REF="55">care, with which &s;he im|braceth her Seruants and Clientes.</P>
<P>In the meane tyme whil&s;t you meditate the&s;e thinges in your mynd, recyte the&s;e fiue Ant-hymns in the ho|nour of the name Maria, the <HI>Magnificat. Aue Regina celorum. Regina celi. Inuiola|ta. Aue Maris &s;tella.</HI></P>
<P>Many haue obtained great fauours &amp; benefits at the hands of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady, by this kind of pil|grimage, vi&s;iting, not of curio&s;ity, but of zeale, and feruent de&s;ire of her ho|nour, places eyther dedica|ted vnto her, or els famous
<PB N="78" REF="56">for &s;ome Image of hers. A|mong the re&s;t S. Bernar|dine being a young man, was accu&s;tomed to goe dayly to the gate of the Citty of Sienna called <HI>Ca|mulia,</HI> &amp; there before the Image of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady &s;euerently and humbly to bend his knes, and to &s;alute the Mother of God, his be|loued &s;pou&s;e and friend, as he was wont to call her. Afterwardes this fragrant flower being tran&s;planted from amid&s;t the brambles of the world, into a plea|&s;ant garden of Religion, &s;o burned with heate of de|uotion vnto the &s;ame Ble&s;.
<PB N="79" REF="56">Lady which by diuers hu~|ble ob&s;equies he declared, that one day the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin vi&s;ibly repre&s;ented her &s;elfe vnto him, as he was reciting her Beades, and with a great affability thus &s;pake vnto him: O Bernardine my deuout &s;er|uant, I haue bin much de|lighted with thy piety; for reward of which, I haue obtained of my &s;onne for thee, the gift of prea|ching and working of mi|racles; and a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elfe, that at la&s;t, with me thou &s;halt be made partaker in heauen of the eternall hap|pines. [<HI>Pebl. in Stell. l. 2. p.
<PB N="80" REF="57">2. art. 3.]</HI> After which time <HI>S. Bernardine</HI> became mo&s;t famous, for the gift of preaching, and working of miracles, with diuers other rare gifts be&s;towed on him by the B. Virgin.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI. <HI>The &s;ixth Exerci&s;e of Reuerence towards the B. Virgin is, to honour all that doth any way belong vnto her.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WE ought not only to reuerence her Name, her Image, and places de|dicated vnto her, but al&s;o in particular all thinges which any way do apper|taine
<PB N="81" REF="57">vnto her, as her Ro&s;a|ry, her Office, or P&s;alter, or litle books in which are contained eyther prayers, miracles, prai&s;es due vnto her, or the Acts and Ver|tues of her Ble&s;&s;ed life, and to be co~mended to all po|&s;terity. Al&s;o any thing de|dicated to her, as oblations or Offerings, or any Mo|nument erected or &s;et vp in her honour. La&s;tly her Pa|rents, Kinsfolkes, and all tho&s;e that are particularly deuoted vnto her are to be held in great Reuerence &amp; e&s;teeme by vs, becau&s;e by them the B. Virgin here&s;elfe hath bene honoured. It is
<PB N="82" REF="58">not nece&s;&s;ary to di&s;cour&s;e of all particulers, becau&s;e we may gather out of the en&s;uing Beds many flowers for this Exerci&s;e. Let ther|fore the&s;e two Exa~ples of the Ro&s;ary which now I &s;hall rehear&s;e, &s;uffice for proofe of all the re&s;t.</P>
<P>One Antony of the or|der of <HI>S. Francis</HI> in Spaine, as he went to <HI>&V;incentia</HI> being ouertaken by a great &s;hower of raine, &amp; finding no &s;helter at hand, put his Ro&s;ary on his head, cra|uing the protection of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady. Scarce had he made an end of &s;pea|king, but behould a &s;trang
<PB N="83" REF="58">thing, as if his Beades had ben turned into &s;ome faire dry roofe, they defended &amp; couered him &s;o, that he pa&s;&s;ed &s;ecurely vnto the Citty through all the vehe|mency of the &s;torme, not touched with the le&s;t drop of raine. <HI>[Chron. Min. p. 3. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1. c. 36. &amp; 37.]</HI></P>
<P>Neyther can we omit to recount the deuotion of <HI>Alanus</HI> a Dominican Friar vnto the Ro&s;ary by rea&s;on of the often &s;uccour which he found in his great di|&s;tre&s;&s;es, by the vertue ther|of. For hauing learned that deuotion of <HI>S. Dominike,</HI> he did allwais e&s;teeme mo&s;t
<PB N="84" REF="59">highly the Ro&s;ary, yea be|fore his admi&s;&s;ion into that order, he recited it daily on his knees, and not without fruit eue~ whils he was a lay man &amp; &s;ouldier. And vpon a time being in the warres, and in a conflict again&s;t the Hetetikes named Albigen|&s;es, and enuironed on euery &s;ide by his Enemyes, with great danger of his life, the B. Virgin was &s;eene &s;tan|ding by him, fighting for him with 150 &s;tones, which throwne by her owne ha~d, gaue an vtter ouerthrow vnto his foes, making her Client a famous Conque|rour.</P>
<PB N="85" REF="59">
<P>Another tyme the &s;ame <HI>Alanus</HI> &s;uffering &s;hipwrake &amp; being in the mid&s;t of the &s;ea to&s;t hither and thither, in mo&s;t apparent danger of his life, he &s;aw &s;uddenly by the fauour &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Ble&s;. Virgin a 150. litle hillockes ri&s;ing aboue the waues, which all in ranke reached vnto the &s;hore, by the which he was &s;afely co~|ducted to land. A ma~ might &s;ay, that the 150. beads of the Ro&s;ary were turned fir&s;t into &s;o many &s;tones; then into &s;o many hils. But that e&s;pecially was a &s;ingu|lar te&s;timony of his deuo|tio~, that not only his mouth
<PB N="86" REF="60">which had oftentimes &s;o piou&s;ly pronou~ced the An|gelicall &s;alutation, but al&s;o his hands which had &s;o re|uerently touched the Ro|&s;ary, did &s;hine like Cri&s;tall, after his death. <HI>[Chron. S. Dom. l. 1. c. 34.]</HI></P>
<P>O how mercifull is this B. Virgin who doth reward &s;uch &s;mall &s;eruices, piou&s;ly performed by her &s;eruants, with &s;uch ample gaine? Of who&s;e benignity, that we may make experience, let vs &s;tudy how to honour, &amp; e&s;teeme any thing what&s;oe|uer, dedicated to her. But on the contrary &s;ide let vs &s;eriou&s;ly take heed that we
<PB N="87" REF="60">offer no abu&s;e vnto them, or apply them to prophane v&s;es, lea&s;t we incur iu&s;tly the high di&s;plea&s;ure of our B. Lady, being well admo|ni&s;hed by the example fol|lowing.</P>
<P>In a certayne Sodality of our B. Lady there were two Pennes fayrly decked, ap|pointed to write the letters Patents, which the fellows of that Sodality going fro~ one place to another, were always accu&s;tomed to car|ry with the~. One of the&s;e Pens a Youth of the &s;ame Sodality had &s;ecretly &s;tolne who though by inward in|&s;pirations he felt him&s;elfe
<PB N="88" REF="61">often called to Religion by Almighty God, yet not|with&s;tanding being entan|gled with the loue of a cer|tayne woman, he negle|cted this vocation. Vpon a tyme determining to write vnto the &s;ayd woman, and hauing taken the &s;tolne penne in his ha~d, he felt &s;o|dainly a great blowe giuen him on the eare, and a voy|ce rebukinge him in the&s;e wordes: And dare&s;t thou, wicked fellow, by thy vn|cleane atte~pts defile a thing dedicated vnto me? With which blow the youth be|ing a&s;toni&s;hed, altered his determinatio~: but the print
<PB N="89" REF="61">of the blow remayned for certayne dayes in his face, &s;hewing that it was a force more then humane which gaue it him. <HI>[Bonif. in hi&s;t. Man. l. 5. c. 1. ex Bencio.]</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. <HI>The &s;eauenth Exerci&s;e of Re|uerence to the B. Virgin is, by be~ding our knes to giue her the worship of</HI> Hyperdulia.</HEAD>
<P>THis Honour of <HI>Hyper|dulia,</HI> is inferiour, and le&s;&s;e, then that of <HI>Latria,</HI> which is due only to God, &amp; yet &s;uperiour &amp; greater the~ <HI>Dulia</HI> which is common
<PB N="90" REF="62">to other Saintes: And it is conuenient that it be giuen to our B. Lady by rea&s;on of her Excellency. You may practi&s;e the &s;ame by ben|ding your knees after the manner following.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t &s;tanding before an Oratory, or Image of our Ble&s;. Lady, contemplate her &s;itting in a &s;tately Throne, exalted next vnto her Ble&s;. Sonne aboue all the quires of Angels, full of maie&s;ty, and among&s;t all Creatures the mo&s;t excellent.</P>
<P>Secondly, ob&s;erue how all the Orders of Angels, &amp; Saintes falling before her as to their Queen &amp; Lady,
<PB N="91" REF="62">with great &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, ho|nour her.</P>
<P>Thirdly acknowledging your &s;elfe the mo&s;t poore&s;t and abiect of all her Ser|uants, and mo&s;t vnworthy to be admitted to &s;o noble &amp; glorious a Co~gregation, and &s;o high an Office, yet tru&s;ting in her benignity, and clemency, with an in|ward reuerence, mo&s;t pro|foundly, &s;ubmit your &s;elfe before her, with your armes ca&s;t a cro&s;&s;e vpon your brea&s;t, or hands ioyned de|uoutly, &amp; humbly bowing your knees vnto the grou~d without vttering a word; of if you had rather &s;peak,
<PB N="92" REF="63">only &s;ay, and repeat the&s;e two, <HI>Salue Maria,</HI> or <HI>Aue Maria.</HI> Fourthly, ri&s;ing vp a litle after, &amp; recollecting your &s;elfe as before, togea|ther with all the Court in heauen, bend your knees againe, and againe, as often as di&s;creet deuotion &s;hall &s;ugge&s;t.</P>
<P>You may commodiou&s;ly thryce a day repeate this Exerci&s;e, in honour of the 15. My&s;teries contained in the Ro&s;ary. Ri&s;ing in the morning bend your knees 5. times in honour of the 5. glorious Mi&s;teries, the fir&s;t of which was performed at the time of the Re&s;urrectio~
<PB N="93" REF="63">of Chri&s;t our Lord: but you may reuerence tho&s;e My&s;teries, if bending your knees either with your hart alone, or with your mouth al&s;o, you &s;ay, Hayle Mary who&s;e Sonne ro&s;e againe: Hayle Mary who&s;e Son a&s;|cended into heauen, and &s;o concerning the re&s;t &amp;c. A|bout Noone, bend your knees againe in honour of the 5. Dolorous My&s;teries, the chiefe of which was done about that time, na|mely the crucifiyng of our deare Lord and Sauiour. At Night before you go to bed, bend agayne your knees in honour of the 5.
<PB N="94" REF="64">Ioyfull My&s;teries, whereof the chiefe&s;t, to wit the An|nuntiation, was accompli|&s;hed as many Authors &s;up|po&s;e, at that time. Vpon the &s;olemnity of any Fea&s;t of the B. Virgin you may adde one bending of your knee more in honour of the Mi|&s;tery then celebrated.</P>
<P>This Exerci&s;e hath byn very familiar and v&s;uall to many &s;eruants of our Ble&s;. Lady. And Saint Mary of <HI>Oegnia</HI> did (as we read) &s;o|metymes in the &s;pace of a day and a night, bend her knees a thou&s;a~d &amp; an hun|dred times &s;aluting the mo|ther of God, &amp; per&s;euered
<PB N="95" REF="64">in this kind of &s;alutation 40. dayes togeather. <HI>[Sur. in her life 25 of Iune.]</HI></P>
<P>It is recounted that a re|ligious per&s;o~ neglecting the like duty to the B. Virgin was &s;harpely rebuked, who when vpon a tyme through &s;loth lying in his bed, he omitted the v&s;uall cu&s;tome of bending his knees at the &s;igne of the Aue bell, which is giuen thrice a day to re|new the memory of the Angels &s;aluting the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, the night following he perceyued in his &s;leepe the litle bell of the Church to bow it &s;elfe three tymes &s;o low that the very top al|mo&s;t
<PB N="96" REF="65">touched the earth, hearing withall a voyce re|proouing him, and &s;aying: Thou &s;louthfull fellow, be|hold how &s;en&s;eles creatu|res bow them&s;elues before the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, &amp; thou a rea&s;onable Man negle|cte&s;t it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. <HI>The eight Exerci&s;e of Reuerence to our B. Lady is, to exerci&s;e the fore&s;ayd acts of</HI> Hyper|dulia <HI>by pro&s;trating our &s;el|ues, &amp; ki&s;sing the ground.</HI></HEAD>
<P>YOu may all&s;o v&s;e this exercy&s;e at three tymes as you did the former. Fir&s;t
<PB N="97" REF="65">&s;tanding &s;till, without mo|tion, beholde the &s;acred Virgin adua~ced to the top of the Empyriall heauen in a princely Throne, all the heauenly Court beholding and applauding her, &amp; the mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Trinity crow|ning her with a Crowne of twelue Starres, which do &s;ignify her twelue priuiled|ges or vertues, and the re|wards thereof, with which &s;hee is endowed in a mo&s;t high degree, aboue al other Creatures. Conceaue then a ferue~t de&s;ire to adde &s;ome|thing all&s;o to this noble triumph and glory of our B. Lady, &amp; to be&s;tow your
<PB N="98" REF="66">&s;elfe wholy in honouring her, &amp; to that end recite this Prayer.</P>
<P>O mo&s;t excellent &amp; mo&s;t pure Virgin, Mother of God, and our Qneene, be|hold me the mo&s;t abiect, &amp; poore&s;t of all your Seruants heere pro&s;trate at your feet I do prese~t vnto you the&s;e two litle Mites, to wit, my SOVLE and my BODY, to &s;erue and obey you as per|petuall &s;laues for euer. I al&s;o bequeath vnto you my vn|der&s;tanding, and my Me|mory, that I may thinke &amp; meditate on you; my Hart that I may feruently loue you; my Head that it be
<PB N="99" REF="66">bowed in your honour; my Ha~ds that I may ioyne the~, my knees that I may hum|bly be~d them before you; my Tou~g that it may vtter your prai&s;es: la&s;tly my whole Body, that I may pro&s;trate it in reuerence to your Roy|all Maie&s;ty.</P>
<P>Then in pre&s;ence of all the heauenly Cittizens, as if you were a fellow, or co~panion among the Ble&s;|&s;ed, al performing the &s;ame with you, recite the lit|le Ro&s;ary, at three diuers tymes, contayning twelue Aues, equally deuided with three <HI>Pater Nosters</HI> in re|membrance of the 12. Pre|rogatiues
<PB N="100" REF="67">of our B. Lady, &amp; after euery <HI>Aue</HI> pro&s;trating your &s;elfe, ki&s;&s;e the grou~d. The manner of deuiding the&s;e prayers, is this.</P>
<P>In the morning, &s;ay in honour of God the Father, the fir&s;t <HI>Pater Noster,</HI> who in &s;ight of all the Court of heauen did crowne the B. Virgin his beloued daugh|ter. Then with the holy Pa|triarkes &s;alute the Sacred Virgin, &s;aying fir&s;t an <HI>Aue Maria,</HI> in honour of her mo&s;t excellent Fayth, and Hope, &s;ince no pure Crea|ture was euer enriched with greater. The &s;econd recite with the Prophets, in ho|nour
<PB N="101" REF="67">of her &s;ublime Con|templation. The third with the Apo&s;tles, in honour of her mo&s;t feruent Charity &amp; Zeale. The fourth with the Martyrs, in honour of her Fortitude and Magna|nimity; and after euery one you may, as is before &s;ayd, ki&s;&s;e the ground.</P>
<P>At Noone, recite the &s;econd <HI>Pater Noster,</HI> in ho|nour of God the Sonne, who crowned his B. Vir|gin-Mother. Adioyne al&s;o 4. other Aues in honour of the&s;e foure Priuiledges fol|lowing: The fir&s;t with the holy Doctours, in honour of her di&s;cretion and wi&s;|dome.
<PB N="102" REF="68">The 2. with the Prie&s;ts, in honour of her &s;anctity. The 3. with Reli|gious per&s;ons in honour of her Pouerty &amp; Obedience. The fourth with Eremits in honout of her &s;olitarines and prayer.</P>
<P>In the Euening &s;ay the 3^d^. <HI>Pater Noster</HI> in honour of God the holy Gho&s;t, who crowned the Ble&s;. V. Mary his E&s;pou&s;e. Adioyne al&s;o 4. Aues in honour of 4. other Priuiledges. The fir&s;t with holy Confe&s;&s;ors, in honour of her Patience. The 2. with Virgins in ho|nour of her Virginity. The 3. with widdows, in honour
<PB N="103" REF="68">of her humility. The 4. with married per&s;o~s in ho|nour of her Fidelity, and Concord in wedlocke.</P>
<P>Sometymes in&s;teed of the&s;e priuiledges you may meditate vpon the&s;e things following. In the Morning, 1. Con&s;ider the mo&s;t co|pious grace, infu&s;ed into the B. Virgin in her imma|culate Conception. In the 2. That high dignity in the angelical Salutation. 3. The ouer&s;hadowing of the holy Gho&s;t. 4. The Conception of the &s;onne of God.</P>
<P>At Noone, Con&s;ider 1. That &s;hee was a B. Virgin mo&s;t pure, without any
<PB N="104" REF="69">&s;pot, or blemi&s;h of her Vir|ginity. 2. That &s;hee was a Mother and yet remayned a Virgin. 3. That &s;hee bore our Sauiour in her wombe without eyther waight, or trouble. 4. That &s;hee was deliuered without paine or griefe.</P>
<P>In the Euening, Con&s;i|der 1. The firmene&s;&s;e of her Fayth, in belieuing. 2. Her profound humility in obeying. 3. Her great di&s;|cretion in &s;peaking. 4. Her high perfection in vnder|taking and following any worke. This exerci&s;e is ex|plicated otherwi&s;e in the Mirrour of Examples, &amp; is
<PB N="105" REF="69">called there, <HI>The Crowne of our B. Lady,</HI> namely when the 3. <HI>Paters,</HI> &amp; 12. <HI>Aues</HI> are recited at once in honour of the Priuiledges before mentioned. In commenda|tion of which Exerci&s;e, I mu&s;t not omit an example &s;et downe in that Booke.</P>
<P>Three men going a iour|ney together, two of them, ouergoing the third, and pa&s;&s;ing through a wood, fell into the hands of thee|ues, by whome they being fir&s;t &s;poyled of their clo|thes were afterwards cruel|ly murthered. The third, who with great piety and con&s;tancy was dayly accu|&s;tomed
<PB N="106" REF="70">to recite this for|&s;ayd Crowne or Ro&s;ary, ignora~t of his fellows mi&s;|fortune, entred into the &s;ame wood, and was &s;ud|dainly apprehended by the &s;ame theeues; and ready to be &s;layne, he earne&s;tly in|treated of them, that they would but &s;pare him &s;o long, vntill he might re|cite that &s;hort Ro&s;ary. To which they ea&s;ily conde&s;|cended. But the B. Virgin mooued with motherly piety, being not able wi|thout compa&s;&s;ion to be|holde the di&s;tre&s;&s;ed e&s;tate of her afflicted Clie~t, made ha&s;t pre&s;etly to relieue him
<PB N="107" REF="70">and came vnto him &s;itting by him in a thron of glory, full of Maie&s;ty, and brigh|ter then the &s;unne. On ech &s;ide <HI>S. Catherine</HI> &amp; <HI>S. Lucy,</HI> the e&s;peciall Patrones of this poore man did guarde her. The theeues with &s;ted|fa&s;t eyes beheld al that was done, and did &s;ee fallyng from his mouth, at euery <HI>Pater noster,</HI> a red Ro&s;e, and at euery <HI>Aue,</HI> a pure white one, which by the com|maundment of our B. Lady <HI>S. Catharine</HI> gathered vp, &amp; deliuered them vnto <HI>Saint Lucy;</HI> who bound them on a circle of gould with &s;iluer threed. The garland being
<PB N="108" REF="71">fini&s;hed, they gaue it to their Queene, who putting it on her Clients head, va|ni&s;hed away. Wherupo~ the theeues, renouncing that wicked cour&s;e of life, and &s;orry for their fault, tould their Captiue what they had beheld, and for a te&s;ti|mony of the truth &s;hewed him the Crowne put on his head: whether he was more &s;truken with a&s;toni&s;hment of the thing, or rapt with ioy is hard to &s;ay, but with a gratefull mynd he ac|knowledged this benefit of the &s;acred Virgin, &amp; that he might more fully after|wardes dedicate him&s;elfe
<PB N="109" REF="71">vnto her, he became a Re|ligious Man.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX. <HI>The ninth Exerci&s;e of Reuere~ce, is to deny nothing which law|fully, and prudently may be graunted to tho&s;e who aske it in our B. Ladyes Name.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WIth this Exerci&s;e, as with a vitall bayte, did the B. Virgin entice <HI>Alexan|der</HI> of <HI>Hales</HI> into the Or|der of <HI>S. Francis,</HI> a man fa|mous for learni~g but more renowned for his rare piety and deuotion towards our B. Lady, of which he gaue an euident argument, when
<PB N="110" REF="72">as he vowed he would ne|uer deny any thing asked of him in her Honour. <HI>[S. Ant. 3. p. hist. 24. c. 8. &sect;. 1.]</HI></P>
<P>One day a friar of <HI>S. Fra~|cis</HI> Order meeting him, &amp; fallyng into di&s;cour&s;e of &s;piritual matters, &s;ayd vnto him: And why do you not leaue a &s;ecular life, &amp; in Re|ligion bequeath your &s;elfe wholy to God? I be&s;eech you, for the honour of the mo&s;t Ble&s;. Virgin to enter into our Order. <HI>Alexander</HI> at fir&s;t was amazed with a Petition &s;o vnexpected, yet calling a litle after his vow to remembra~ce, togeather al&s;o with the in&s;piration of
<PB N="111" REF="72">God, who &s;till vrged him, he promi&s;ed he would per|forme what was reque&s;ted, and &s;o for the reuerence &amp; loue borne to our B. Lady he enterd into that Order, greatly gracing the &s;ame with the excellency of his learning.</P>
<P>Who&s;oeuer wil &s;eriou&s;ly labour in the rooting out of any vice or imperfectio~, let him with great dilige~ce, &amp; fidelity attend vnto this deuotio~; to wit, that in the morning at his vpri&s;ing let him feruently, &amp; &s;incerely beg of him&s;elfe, for our B. Ladyes &s;ake to ab&s;taine fro~ &s;uch an imperfection for
<PB N="112" REF="73">that one day: or if he be accu&s;tomed to fall often into that imperfection, let him aske but for the &s;pace of &s;ome few houres. After|wards that time being &s;pe~t, let him demaund it earne|&s;tly againe for one day, or 3. or 4. houres more, &s;o ab|&s;taining day by day in this ma~ner vntil by the a&s;&s;i&s;ta~ce of the B. Virgin he &s;hall get a full conque&s;t ouer him|&s;elfe. And if at any time v|pon occa&s;ion the tempta|tion do oppre&s;&s;e him more grieuou&s;ly, let him vrge him&s;elfe more feruently in this manner: What, &amp; wilt thou not heare the B. Vir|gin
<PB N="113" REF="73">asking, de&s;iring, &amp; be|&s;eeching thee, to ab&s;taine from this imperfection? By the like practi&s;e <HI>S. Bernard</HI> mooued a Noble man of France to reforme his life. For after applying many other remedies in vaine to recall him from a certayne vice: well, &s;aid <HI>S. Bernard,</HI> if it be &s;o, that you cannot lo~g re&s;trayne your&s;elfe, yet for Almighty Gods &s;ake, for beare for 3. days, which he did. The 3. dayes being ended he vrged him againe that for 3. dayes more he would in honour of our B. Lady ab&s;tayne, to which he al&s;o agreed. After being
<PB N="114" REF="74">de&s;ired to ab&s;taine 3. other dayes in Honour of all the Saints in heauen, he did, &amp; &s;o forth, vntill at la&s;t co~|ming to <HI>S. Bernard,</HI> he pro|fe&s;&s;ed he would now make no more truce with God Al|mighty for 3. dayes, but a perpetual peace, being cha~|ged into another man. [<HI>De la Puent. t.</HI> 3. <HI>de perf. Christ. tract. 2. c. 8. ex &s;pec. Exemp.</HI>]</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. X. <HI>The tenth Exerci&s;e of Reuerence to the B. Virgin, is to dedicate all our good purpo&s;es vnto her.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IT is a thing of very great moment, and much auay|ling
<PB N="115" REF="74">to the attaining of true perfection &amp; eternal &s;alua|tion, if renewing daily your good purpo&s;es &amp; intentio~s before an Image of the B. Virgin, you re&s;igne the~ into her mo&s;t &s;acred hands, and lay them in her mo&s;t holy lap, as in a &s;a~ctuary; or adde them to her Crowne as &s;o many &s;tarres, that &s;o you may the more efficaciou&s;ly be mooued by this Exer|ci&s;e to the accomplis&s;hing of your purpo&s;es by rea&s;on of the reuerence &amp; dignity of our B. Lady, &amp; may con|ceaue a more firme hope of obtaining help from her.</P>
<P>To this <HI>S. Bern.</HI> &s;tirreth
<PB N="116" REF="75">vs vp in his Sermon of the natiuity of our Ble&s;. Lady. Reme~ber &s;ayth he, to com|mend what&s;oeuer you vn|dertake to the Ble&s;&s;ed. Vir|gin Mary. And a litle after: Haue (&s;ayth he) a diligent care, that you endeauour to giue that litle which you de&s;ire to offer, into the mo&s;t gratefull and mo&s;t worthy handes of the Ble&s;. Virgin MARY. Which if you doe, you &s;hall doubtles find the B. Virgin as fauourable to you in this &s;pirituall tra|ficke, as &s;he was at another tyme in a worldly negocia|tion vnto a certaine Mer|chant. [<HI>Vincent. Bellouac.
<PB N="117" REF="75">&s;pecul. hist. lib.</HI> 1. <HI>c. 81.</HI>]</P>
<P>This Merchant hauing borrowed money at <HI>Con|stantinople</HI> of a Iew, pro|mi&s;&s;ed the payment of it agayne at &s;uch a day, v&s;ing our Lady as a witne&s;&s;e, be|fore who&s;e Image he made this bargain. Wherfore the Iew remaining &s;atisfied, he tooke his iourney with his money to <HI>Alexa~dria,</HI> nego|tiating there very pro&s;pe|rou&s;ly. When as now the day was at hand in which the debt was to be payd, &amp; &s;o neere that he could ney|ther returne by any meanes him&s;elfe, nor se~d the mony by any me&s;&s;e~ger, what &s;hold
<PB N="118" REF="76">he doe? He vndertaketh a &s;trange cour&s;e, which was a peculiar deuotion into our B. Lady &s;car&s;e euer heard of before, &s;ugge&s;ted vnto him. He clo&s;ed the mony in a lit|le Che&s;t, which he &s;ealed with his owne &s;eale, with this in&s;criptio~: Receyue <HI>A|braha~</HI> (for that was the Ie|wes name) the mony which I borrowed of you. This litle Coffer he put into the &s;ea, a day before the mony was due, hu~bly be&s;eeching the B. Virgin, that by her help it might &s;afely be co~|ducted vnto <HI>Constantino|ple</HI> into the Iewes handes. Whe~ behold the mony be|ing
<PB N="119" REF="76">miraculou&s;ly carried through al the &s;eas, arriued to the &s;hore of <HI>Constanti|nople,</HI> where the &s;ame Iew walking on the banke &s;ide receyued it. Neyther heere cea&s;ed the myracle, for the perfidious Iew after the re|ceit of this mony, hid the Coffer, demaunding, after the merchants returne, the debt before the magi&s;tra|tes, and (con&s;trained there|unto becau&s;e other te&s;ti|mony was wanting) tooke his oath before the &s;ayd I|mage of our Ble&s;. Lady that neuer any &s;uch mony came to his hands. Scar&s;e had he &s;worne, but the Image with
<PB N="120" REF="77">a loud voyce in the hearing of all, replyed; Thou lye&s;t, for thou ha&s;t receiued both money and box, &amp; ha&s;t hid them. The Iew, a&s;tonis&s;hed with the wonder &amp; amazed with the nouelty of the thing, confe&s;&s;ed his wic|kednes, &amp; acknowledging the power &amp; mercy of the B. Virgin, became a Chri|&s;tian.</P>
<P>Do you imitate this con|fidence in our B. Lady, and repre&s;enting your &s;elfe be|fore her, make your de&s;ires of attaining to perfection. Renew good purpo&s;es of amending your life, and ca|&s;ting of ill habits: and with
<PB N="121" REF="77">greate&s;t reuerence and &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ion of your &s;elfe re&s;ign all to her, and doubt not, though many ob&s;tacles &amp; difficulties oppo&s;e them|&s;elues, but that the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin executing the office of a good Mariner, will di|rect your good intentions through flouds, rockes, sa~|des and te~pe&s;ts, conducting them to the &s;afe hauen of a good and pro&s;perous end.</P>
<P>With this loue and reue|rence toward<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> the B. Vir|gin did holy Father <HI>Igna|tius,</HI> as with a mo&s;t &s;trong &s;eale, &s;igne &amp; confirme his fir&s;t purpo&s;e of altering his manner of life, into a
<PB N="122" REF="78">better cour&s;e, giuing his Sword as a pawne, &amp; &s;ea|ling his intentio~s as it were in the motherly bo&s;ome of the Sacred Virgin. He did offer al&s;o vp into the ha~des of our B. Lady the Vowes which he, and his fellowes made at <HI>Paris</HI> in her Chap|pel called, <HI>The Mont of mar|tyrs,</HI> on the day of her A&s;|&s;umption, commending in like manner to her the &s;o|lemne profe&s;&s;ion made by him&s;elfe and his fellows in <HI>Rome,</HI> at <HI>S. Paules,</HI> within her Chappell. Neyther in|tended he any thing el&s;e, when in the Rules of his Order he interpo&s;ed the&s;e
<PB N="123" REF="78">wordes, [Before the mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin Mary] then that he might leaue it as a document vnto his Sonnes, that as their Vowes, &s;o all their good purpo&s;es &s;hould be offered vp before the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, to the end that partly by the reue|rence and re&s;pect due vnto her, partly by the confi|dence of her a&s;&s;i&s;tance, they may be made more ready and cheerefull in bringing them to effect.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="part">
<PB N="124" REF="79">
<HEAD>OVR B. LADIES LITLE GARDEN.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">THE SECOND BED, planted with Ro&s;es.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Wherin diuers Exerci&s;es of Loue to our B. Lady are co~tained.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_BEhold the Ro&s;e, the &s;econd flower of this Virginall Garden, an Em|bleme of Loue, which if you gather with &s;uch de|uotion, diligence and con|&s;tancy as it behooueth; you
<PB N="125" REF="79">may ea&s;ily compo&s;e therof a mo&s;t faire Garland, fitt both in beauty and odour for the glorious Head of the Ble&s;. Virgin. Fir&s;t ther|fore &s;triue daily to &s;tirre vp in your &s;elfe as &s;oone as you ri&s;e, a tender and &s;weet affection vnto this glorious Queene, reme~bring as well her &s;ingular Perfections, &amp; beauty, as her infinite Mer|cies &s;hewed vnto vs &s;inners. Which two con&s;iderations will &s;erue as fewell, to in|crea&s;e and nouri&s;h within your brea&s;t the fier of di|uine loue towards &s;o beau|tifull a Queene, &amp; &s;o louing a Mother: But lea&s;t this
<PB N="126" REF="80">heate of deuotion, which you inioy in the morning waxe cold ere night, by rea&s;on of many cares and imployments which daily are like to trouble you, you mu&s;t labour to kindle and quicken the &s;ame, by fre|que~t, though briefer, deuo|tio~s, as the practice follow|ing &s;hall in&s;truct you.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I. <HI>The first way to stirre vp Affe|ction to the B. Virgin, is the contemplation of her Perfe|ctions and Beauty.</HI></HEAD>
<P>YOur co~po&s;ition of place &s;halbe to imagine, that
<PB N="127" REF="80">you &s;ee the B. Virgin &s;hi|ning with infinite beauty, and glory, in the mid&s;t of men and Angels, towards whome are directed the af|fections of euery Saint in particular.</P>
<P>Your petition &s;halbe to demau~d grace of our Lord to perceaue, &amp; ta&s;t in &s;ome &s;ort, how dearly our Ble&s;. Lady ought to be loued for her rare Pefections, &amp; Beauty.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="point">
<HEAD>The first Point.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Of the multitude, and greatnes of our B. Ladyes Perfections.</HEAD>
<P>I Magin you &s;ee the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin in the mid&s;t of all
<PB N="128" REF="81">creaturs, darting our of her owne hart, as from a bow, innumerable arrows, wher|of euery one flying a di|uers way, woundeth a &s;eue|rall hart. The&s;e arrowes are &s;o many perfectio~s of hers, which wounde the behol|ders of her beauty with loue, to wit, Men, Angels, yea &amp; God him&s;elfe. Thou art all faire, O my beloued, thou art all beautifull, and there is no &s;pot in thee. <HI>[Cant. 4.]</HI> Void &s;he is from originall, yea and from the very lea&s;t blemi&s;h of actuall &s;inne; Beautifull in body, faire in &s;oule, plea&s;ing in this life by grace, re&s;plen|dent
<PB N="129" REF="81">in the other by glory, mo&s;t excelent &amp; worthy of loue aboue all creatures; becau&s;e &s;he being fir&s;t or|dained, prede&s;tinated, and elected before all others, by the mouth of the Hig|be&s;t <HI>[Eccle&s;. 24.]</HI> was by law of birth-right, by her portion of grace and inhe|ritance of heauenly glory, preferred by her cele&s;tiall Father before all creaturs. Yea what&s;oeuer otherwaies is fou~d among&s;t Creatures good, faire, holy, or amia|ble, all that in a far more ample manner is fully con|tained in the B. Virgin.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<PB N="130" REF="82">
<HEAD>Affections of Loue.</HEAD>
<P>WIth this con&s;ideration you &s;hall &s;tirre vp in your &s;elfe, affectio~s of loue, reioycing to &s;ee your deare Mother indewed with &s;o many perfectio~s, worthy of al honour, prai&s;e &amp; loue; in &s;uch &s;ort, that if you en|ioyed the &s;ame, &s;he being depriued therof, you would mo&s;t willingly re&s;igne the~ all vnto her againe. With this &s;o ardent charity, was <HI>Charles</HI> the Sonne of <HI>S. Bri|git</HI> enflamed, who receiued great comfort and exulted with ioy, as often as he co~|&s;idered the excellent prero|gatiues
<PB N="131" REF="82">of this B. Virgin, but e&s;pecially when he re|membred, how &s;he amo~g&s;t all others was cho&s;en by God to be the Mother of his only Sonne; and he did often prote&s;t, that he had rather choo&s;e to lye in the grieuous torments of hell, for all eternity, the~ that the B. Virgin &s;hould be depri|ued, although but for one mome~t (if it were po&s;&s;ible) of that dignity, in which now &s;he &s;hineth. This was a great expre&s;&s;ion of loue.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="point">
<PB N="132" REF="83">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Point.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Of the exteriour Perfection, and Beauty of our B. Lady.</HEAD>
<P>AFter you haue thus in generall be held the ad|mirable perfection of our B Lady, you may begin by litle &amp; litle to de&s;ce~d to po~|der in particular euery part therof. And in the fir&s;t pla|ce, remember to con&s;ider the excellent beauty which externally proceeded either from the admirable pro|portio~ of her body, or from the exteriour Portraiture of her diuine vertue. Let not that worthy &s;aying of <HI>Saint Denis,</HI> or rather &s;ome
<PB N="133" REF="83">other vnknowne, though mo&s;t excellent Writer, goe out of your mind, who, in an Epi&s;tle to <HI>S. Paul,</HI> after he had beheld our Ble&s;. La|dy, &s;ayth thus of him&s;elfe: Eft&s;oons as I came into the pre&s;ence of the &s;acred Vir|gin, &s;o great a light &s;ud|dainly enuyroned me exte|riourly, and fully enlighte|ned me interiourly, &s;o fra|grant a &s;mell of all kind of odours abounded in me, as that neyther my vnhappy body, nor my poore &s;oule was able to &s;u&s;taine the en|&s;ignes of &s;uch, and of &s;o great happines. My hart fainted, &amp; my &s;pirit failed,
<PB N="134" REF="84">ouerwhelmed with the ma|ie&s;ty of &s;o great glory; I take God to witnes, who was then pre&s;ent in the Vir|gin, had not that doctrine which I learned of thee, taught me the contrary, I &s;hold haue belieued that &s;he had bene the true God.</P>
<P>So he. If &s;uch were the beauty of this Virgin, while &s;he liued yet a pilgrime in this vale of tears, how great may we imagine the &s;ame to be, whil&s;t &s;he now triu~|pheth in the kingdome of heauen.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Affections of Loue</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall make a firme purpo&s;e to imploy all|waies
<PB N="135" REF="84">hereafter the powers of your body and &s;oule, in celebrating the prai&s;es of this &s;o glorious and beau|tifull Virgin &s;peaking vnto her in the words of <HI>Blo&s;ius,</HI> a mo&s;t deuout Client of hers. [<HI>in Prec. pijs endolog.</HI> 4.] Haile MARY, Virgin mo&s;t honourable, Virgin more cleere then the &s;unne brighter the~ the &s;tars, more &s;weet the bal&s;amum, more ruddy then the Ro&s;e, whi|ter then the Lilly, farre more gratious and comely then can be imagined. Mo|rouer you &s;hall de&s;ire to v&s;e the tongues of all men, and Angels; to play on all kind
<PB N="136" REF="85">of in&s;truments, that &s;o with mo&s;t plea&s;a~t harmony, you might &s;ound forth both in heauen and earth, honour &amp; renowne vnto the Name of MARY.</P>
<P>And for an example or patterne of this tender af|fection, you may take Fa. <HI>Peter Faber</HI> of the Society of IESVS, and one of the Ten fir&s;t Companions of S. <HI>Ignatius,</HI> who being pre|se~t at <HI>Spire,</HI> in a Church de|dicared to the mo&s;t &s;acred Virgin, where he heard E|uen&s;ong &s;ung with as great pompe &amp; celebrity as po&s;|&s;ible could be, vpon the eue of our B. Ladyes A&s;&s;um|ption
<PB N="137" REF="85">to heauen, &amp; percea|uing the Altar to be decked with flowers, &s;hining with ca~dels, adorned with many holy reliques, the wals hu~g with Tape&s;try, the Quiers &s;ounding with variety of mu&s;icke, was &s;o raui&s;hed with inward ioy, that he be|ganne to wi&s;h all happines vnto tho&s;e, who had ra~ked and lighted the candels in &s;uch good order, who had adorned the wals with Ta|pe&s;try, had expo&s;ed the &s;a|cred reliques, had gathered the mu&s;itians togeather: In &s;uch affectuous manner did the &s;ignes of a mind reioy|cing in God, and exulting
<PB N="138" REF="86">at the Honour of our Ble&s;. Lady &s;hew it &s;elfe on euery &s;ide. <HI>[In eius vita.]</HI></P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="point">
<HEAD>The third point.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Of the internall Beauty of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady.</HEAD>
<P>THat you may in &s;ome &s;ort perceiue how great the internall Beauty of our Ble&s;. Lady is in very deede, you &s;hall con&s;ider fir&s;t the beauty of a &s;oule free from &s;inne, &amp; indewed with ver|tues. So great, &s;ayth <HI>S. Ca|tharin</HI> of <HI>Siena,</HI> is the beau|ty of a &s;oule, as that if it could be &s;eene with cor|porall eyes, there would be none who would not mo&s;t
<PB N="139" REF="86">willingly giue his life to con&s;erue the &s;ame, in &s;o beautifull &amp; amiable e&s;tate. <HI>[Surius in eius vita.]</HI></P>
<P>For if all beauty, grace, comeline&s;&s;e, or amiable|ne&s;&s;e what&s;oeuer that &s;hi|neth in any creature, as in the Sunne, Moone, &s;tars, Gold, Siluer, Precious &s;to|nes, rich apparell, gorgeous Pallaces, rare Gardens, cu|rious Pictures, or in the ex|cellent feature and compo|&s;ition of body, that either is, was, or &s;hall be: If, I &s;ay, all the beauty that might be gathered out of all and euery one of the&s;e, &s;hould be ama&s;&s;ed, and put
<PB N="140" REF="87">togeather, to make one beauty, although it &s;eeme it would be almo&s;t infinite and incomprehen&s;ible, yet would it not parallell that beauty, which the lea&s;t de|gree of Grace, (or of any vertue, that commeth with it) imparteth to a Soule.</P>
<P>Rai&s;e now your mind as high as you &s;halbe able, &amp; contemplate the beauty of the <HI>B.</HI> Virgin her &s;oule, en|dewed not only with one, two, or &s;ome few degrees of grace, but with &s;o many and tho&s;e &s;o great, as that &s;ome Deuines renowned as well for piety, as learning, hould, that &s;he had impar|ted
<PB N="141" REF="87">to her alon, more grace in this life, &amp; glory in the other, the~ all the re&s;t of the Saints together; as we &s;ayd before in the <HI>Preface.</HI> &sect;. 1.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Affections of Loue.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall admire &amp; prai&s;e the&s;e &s;o great and &s;ingu|lar perfections in the mo&s;t Ble&s;. Virgin, &s;aying: <HI>[with Prouerb. 31. ver&s;. 29.]</HI> Many daughters haue gathered &amp; heaped vp riches, yet haue you exceeded the~ all. You &s;urmount the Patriarkes in Fayth, the Prophets in knowledge, the Apo&s;tles in zeale, the Martyrs in pa|tience, in humility the Co~|fe&s;&s;ours,
<PB N="142" REF="88">and in purity the Virgins. You being decked and trimmed vp with Ie|wels of in&s;peakable worth, draw the heauenly Spirits to behould you. You are as it were a mo&s;t cleere Sunne voyde of Eclip&s;e, a Sunne di&s;playing his beames from earth vpon heauen, &amp; from heauen vpon earth; &amp; euen a Sunne di&s;&s;oluing the very cloudes of our iniquities.</P>
<P>After this, you &s;hall be &s;orry, that hitherto you haue e&s;teemed &s;o lightly the admirable &s;anctity of this diuine Virgin and &s;ay; O if &s;he with the &s;weet pe~|&s;ill of her &s;ingular mercy
<PB N="143" REF="88">would but with the fir&s;t ground, or colour of di|uine grace paynt my &s;oule forth vnto her owne like|nes! O if &s;he would cle~&s;e &amp; adorne it, with &s;uch ver|tues, as might make it acce|ptable vnto her &s;elfe &amp; her|deare Sonne! Then do you a&s;pire with burning de&s;i|res after that true beauty, which only de&s;erueth to be &s;ought for, and this to no other end, but only that you may loue, and be be|loued of the mo&s;t glorious and B. Virgin.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>The Speach or Colloquy.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hal adioyne to the&s;e Contemplations, &amp; Af|fections
<PB N="144" REF="89">of Loue, thanks gi|uing to the mo&s;t B. Trini|ty, which hath beene plea|&s;ed to &s;et forth the mo&s;t pure Virgin with &s;o many gifts, &amp; rare vertues; which hath enriched her, with &s;o great perfection, &amp; made her amiable in the eyes of all: and therfore &s;hall you al&s;o honour Her, euen with the whole powers of your &s;oule &amp; body, prouoking with great and mo&s;t liuely affectio~, all Creaturs to doe the &s;ame. La&s;tly, you &s;hall be&s;eech the mo&s;t B. Virgin that &s;he would &s;hoote one only dart of her Loue into your &s;oule, and grant you
<PB N="145" REF="89">this only fauour, that you may liue, and dye her mo&s;t true, and Faithfull Seruant. Then &s;ay, <HI>Pater Noster,</HI> &amp; <HI>Aue Maria.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. <HI>The &s;econd contemplatio~ to stirre vp loue in vs towards the B. Virgin, is the remembrance of her mercyes, &amp; benefits to vs.</HI></HEAD>
<P>YOur Preamble &s;halbe the &s;ame, as in the former meditation.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="point">
<HEAD>THE FIRST POINT.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Of the greatnes of the mercyes of our B Lady, by rea&s;ons he is the Mother of God.</HEAD>
<P>THe &s;econd incitement to loue the mo&s;t &s;acred vir|gin,
<PB N="146" REF="90">after the co~templation or her Perfectio~s &amp; Beauty, is a pious con&s;ideration of her Mercy, Liberality, and Care of vs humane creatu|res. The which that in &s;ome &s;ort you may co~ceiue how great it is, remember her to be the Mother of God, who&s;e bowells, doubtles were wholy turned into Mercy, &s;ince therein &s;hee bare, for nine monethes togeather, Mercy it &s;elfe. Who&s;e hart, &amp; brea&s;t were throughly enkindled with the fire of charity, &s;ince &s;he often imbraced and fo&s;te|red in her bo&s;ome, Fier, &amp; Charity it &s;elfe. She well
<PB N="147" REF="90">knew into what plight the loue of vs lo&s;t Sinners had brought euen God him|&s;elfe her deare&s;t &s;onne: &s;he heard his words, in which euery &s;yllable, was an ar|gument of his loue to vs. La&s;tly &s;he both &s;aw &amp; felt, how great the torments, griefes, &amp; mole&s;tatio~s were which he &s;uffered, onely for the redemption of ma|kind. And is it po&s;&s;ible that &s;he &s;hould not mo&s;t vehemently thir&s;t after our good, and &s;aluation, who heard on the Cro&s;&s;e her de|are&s;t Sonne, though all his body were torne, and man|gled with whips and &s;cour|ges,
<PB N="148" REF="91">and his handes &amp; feete pierced with hard nayles, yet notwith&s;tanding (more mindfull of vs then of him|&s;elfe) cry out, I thir&s;t? For if this voyce of our mo&s;t be|loued IESVS, vnder&s;tood by Fayth, and di&s;tilled into the eares of the hart by me|ditation, did mooue and incite tho&s;e Apo&s;tolicall men, tho&s;e <HI>Paules,</HI> tho&s;e <HI>Dominickes,</HI> tho&s;e <HI>Francis'es</HI> tho&s;e <HI>Ignatius'es,</HI> tho&s;e <HI>Xa|ucrius'es</HI> to &s;o noble, and heroicall attemps, for the Saluation of their neigh|bours; what did it not worke in the Ble&s;. Virgin, who in the &s;tage of Mount
<PB N="149" REF="91">Caluary, in that Scaffolde of diuine loue, heard, &s;aw, and euen felt the wonder|full loue her Sonne bare to mankind?</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Affections of loue.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall proceede fur|ther, &amp; beginne to ta&s;t, and &s;ee how benigne, and &s;weet our B. Lady is. Then &s;hall you congratulate with her, for her mo&s;t &s;ingular mercy, wherby &s;he is made &s;o deare &amp; acceptable vnto all per&s;ons; yea you &s;halt re|ioice and co~gratulate with all mankind, that our Lord God hath cho&s;en &s;o amia|ble a Mother to him&s;elfe,
<PB N="150" REF="92">who al&s;o was to be vnto vs the Mother of Mercy.</P>
<P>With the &s;weetnes of this affection, was <HI>S. Ber|nard</HI> filled, when he &s;pake vnto the &s;ame B. Virgin in the&s;e words: We thy hum|ble &s;erua~ts, &ocirc; mo&s;t glorious Queene, reioyce and exult with thee for all the re&s;t of thy Vertues, but for this one we congratulate with our &s;elues: we prai&s;e thy Virginity, we admire thy Humility, we honour thy Mode&s;ty, but thy Mercy to the mi&s;erable &s;auoureth more &s;weet: we imbrace thy Mercy more louingly, more often remember it, &amp;
<PB N="151" REF="92">more frequently call vpon it. <HI>[Serm. 4. de A&s;&s;ump.]</HI></P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="point">
<HEAD>THE SECOND POINT.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Of the greatnes, &amp; exten&s;ion of our B. Ladyes Mercyes.</HEAD>
<P>TO the end you may the better conceaue the gre|atnes of her Mercyes, you mu&s;t mea&s;ure the~ after the manner of &s;ome corporeall &s;ub&s;tance, taking the le~gth, the breadth, the height, &amp; the depth thereof. The Length may be &s;ayed to be that continuance of her mo&s;t &s;ingular fauours, for &s;o many ages alwaies to en|dure, euen to the end of the world, as <HI>S. Bernard</HI> no|teth,
<PB N="152" REF="93">&s;aying: The length of her Pitty will endure vnto the la&s;t day, and neuer be wanting tho&s;e who &s;hall call vpon it. <HI>[Ibidem vbi &s;up.]</HI> Turne ouer the An|nalls, and rehear&s;e the ti|mes of our Forefathers, &amp; you &s;hall find no age, no yeare, no month, no weeke, no day, no houre, yea not &s;o much as a moment in which haue not proceeded, as out of a continuall foun|taine (&amp; &s;hall alwaies pro~|ceed as long as there &s;hall be any di&s;tre&s;&s;ed per&s;on) rare, and notable &s;ignes of her mercyes vnto vs.</P>
<P>The breadth, may be
<PB N="153" REF="93">called the diuers and mani|fould exten&s;io~s of her mer|cyes to all. In &s;o much as <HI>S. Bernard</HI> in the &s;ame place affirmeth, the Latitude of her fauours, to co~pa&s;&s;e the whole world, and all the earth to be full of her mer|cies. For if we con&s;ider the manifold benefits receiued fro~ her, there will be found no guift, neither corporall nor &s;pirituall, which was not deriued vnto vs, chie|fly by her meanes. In cor|porall; &s;he helpeth women in child birth, cureth wou~|des and di&s;ea&s;es, defendeth from dangers, granteth vi|ctories and triumphs vnto
<PB N="154" REF="94">vs. In &s;pirituall; &s;he procu|reth vs bapti&s;me, helpeth in the defence of cha&s;tity, is pre&s;ent in de&s;peration, admitteth religious Fami|lies into the Church of God, &amp; la&s;tly neuer faileth vs in the houre of death. Wherfore it &s;eemeth to me that the&s;e &s;o great mercies of this mo&s;t &s;acred Virgin, were not vnfittly expre&s;|&s;ed by that famous Cloud, which couered the Chil|dren of I&s;raell from the Ae+giptia~s pur&s;uing the~, which guided them through da~|gerous wilderne&s;&s;es, both by day and night, which &s;haddowed them from the
<PB N="155" REF="94">great heate of the &s;unne, &amp; finally through which God did giue an&s;wers, and Ora|cles. <HI>[Exod. 13. &amp; 14.]</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Affections of loue.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall de&s;ire excee|dingly to &s;ee all creaturs mo&s;t gratefull to her; from who&s;e hands they haue re|ceiued &s;o many benefits, &amp; that they would keep well regi&s;tred in their mindes a perpetuall memory therof, endeauoring alwais accor|ding to their ability, by &s;er|uices of reuerence and de|uotion to requite them. O if you could by all your la|bours, afflictions, and toils
<PB N="156" REF="95">obtaine, that euen one of &s;o many lukewarme world|lings would become ferue~t &amp; &s;tudious in the &s;eruice of this mo&s;t glorious Queene; how wel &s;hould you then haue be&s;towed your pai|nes, how worthy a &s;eruice word it be of your labour? Wherfore at lea&s;t purpo&s;e mo&s;t firmely allwais to de|fire and effect the &s;ame, en|deauoring to honour her which way &s;oeuer you can, imitating heerin S. Bona|uenture who burning with this zeale, inuiteth all the iu&s;t &amp; holy men, who haue experienced the mercy of our B. Lady, to recioyce, co~|gratulate,
<PB N="157" REF="95">and render mil|lions of thanks giuings. <HI>[In P&s;alt.]</HI> Exult, &amp; reioyce al+yee iu&s;t in the B. Virgin, in righteou&s;nes of hart pra~i&s;e her. Approach vnto her, with reuerence and deuo|tion. Let your hart be de|lighted in &s;aluting of her. Offer &s;acrifices of Prai&s;es vnto her; and be inebria|ted with the &s;weetnes that floweth from her brea&s;ts. For &s;hee will &s;end through your harts the beames of her piety, and clarify you with the &s;plend our of her mercyes.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="point">
<PB N="158" REF="96">
<HEAD>THE THIRD POINT.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Of the heigh, and depth of our B. Ladies Mercies.</HEAD>
<P>THe height of our B. La|great Pitty is &s;uch, that it cannot po&s;&s;ible be con|tayned in the &s;trait bounds of this world, it penetrates euen to the top of the Hea|uens, where the mo&s;t ple|&s;ant fruite thereof buddes forth, and from whence &s;he &s;hooteth on euery &s;ide the bright beames of her loue, &amp; affection. O that we did know, or could for one moment only, behould, with what kind of ioy, exultation, &amp; plea&s;ure &s;he
<PB N="159" REF="96">doth recreate the Citty of God; &s;ending forth the &s;treams of her &s;weetnes as a mo&s;t true Arch vpon tho&s;e happy cytizens of the Ce|le&s;tiall Hieru&s;alem, whome &s;he recreated with the oint|ments of her &s;ingular mer|cies, being yet pilgrims in the de&s;ert of this world!</P>
<P>The depth of our B. La|mercies de&s;ce~deth euen vn|to Hell it &s;elfe. For this is &s;he, who hath often with|held infinyte multitude of &s;oules ru~ning head long in|to that bottomles pit of damnation, by procuring grace of her beloued &s;onne for the amendeme~t of their
<PB N="160" REF="97">liues. This is &s;he, who put|teth to flight the roaring lyons of hell, and breaketh their forces, by helping vs again&s;t them in tyme of te~|ptation. La&s;tly, this is &s;he, who alwais refre&s;heth with the &s;weet &s;howers of her con&s;olations, the &s;oules in Purgatory; as her&s;elfe re|uealed to <HI>S. Gerirude.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>Affections of Loue.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall a&s;pire to the kingdome of heaue~, that you muy with all the An|gels, and Saintes lay downe your hart at the feete of the B. Virgin, &s;etting forth her great mercyes, togeather
<PB N="161" REF="97">with the mercies of God, and melting with oue, as often as you &s;hall heare re|peated the &s;acted, and holy Name of MARY.</P>
<P>You &s;hall al&s;o imitate this Mercy of our B. La. by praying, and offering &s;uch workes as may &s;atisfy for the &s;oules detained in Pur|gatory: reque&s;ting her fir&s;t that &s;he will be plea&s;ed to free the poore &s;oules from their paines, and help them to heauen, making therby her &s;ingular mercyes more knowne, &amp; apparent to all creatures, and increa&s;e the number of her Pray&s;ers.</P>
<P>And truly how gratefull
<PB N="162" REF="98">this is vnto the B. Virg. &s;he declared her&s;elfe vnto <HI>John Ximenez,</HI> a Coadiutor of the Society of IESVS, who vpon the fea&s;t of all-Saints, as he was praying before a picture of the Immaculate conception of our B. Lady for the Soules in Purgato|ry, being throughly &s;orry to &s;ee the Faithfull liuing, labour no more for the de|liuering of the out of tho&s;e exceeding paynes, heard a voyce, crying: <HI>Ximenez, Xi|menez,</HI> be mindfull of the &s;oules in Purgatory: by which wordes he was &s;o greatly moued, that vntill his dying day, which was
<PB N="163" REF="98">about 8. years after, he of|fered vp all his deuotions, prayers, &amp; mortifications, for no other end, but only for their deliuery out of torments. <HI>[In vita P. Balta|zaris Aluarez. cap. 45.]</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>The Speach, or Colloquy.</HEAD>
<P>IN the end of this Medita|tion you &s;hall make your Colloquy thus. Fir&s;t you &s;hall giue thankes to the B. Virgin both in your owne, &amp; all other creatures names, for her exceding great mer|cyes towards vs. Second|ly you &s;hal lay downe your owne hart before the hart of our B. Lady, which you
<PB N="164" REF="99">may imagine to lye in the mid&s;t of the whole world, wounded and pierced with darts of Loue by the mo&s;t B. Trinity, by all Angels &amp; Saintes, by the Soules in heauen, Earth, and Purga|tory: For you are dearly beloued of all. O Mother of God, Mother of men, De&s;ire of the Eternal Hils, Glory of humane nature, &amp; Delight of the world; I de&s;ire to offer vnto you a thou&s;and, and a thou&s;and tymes multiplied, all the pray&s;es, congratulations &amp; &s;ignes of ioy, all the ditties &s;onges and Canticles that euer any Creature made in
<PB N="165" REF="99">your honour, &amp; with them I al&s;o bequeath my &s;elfe mo&s;t &s;traitly obliged vnto you, by innumerable, and the&s;e mo&s;t iu&s;t, titles.</P>
<P>This meditation &amp; exer|ci&s;e will be mo&s;t gratefull to the B. Virgin, and very meritorious al&s;o to your &s;elfe, wherin as it were in a great Pompe of all pray&s;es you carry the name of our B. Lady in triumph, as di|uers Emperours did, ha|uing obtained by her In|terce&s;&s;ion, Victories ouer their enemies; and in parti|culer <HI>Iohn Comnenus</HI> Em|perour of <HI>Constantinople,</HI> who after he had, by the
<PB N="166" REF="100">only ayde of the B. Virgin the yeare 1123. vanquis&s;hed, &amp; put to flight the proude <HI>Scithians,</HI> inuading <HI>Thracia</HI> with their pui&s;lant army, for thankes-giuing to this mo&s;t glorious Queene, he cau&s;ed a mo&s;t &s;umptuous Chariot to be made, draw|ne by foure &s;now-white hor&s;es, wherin he did place a faire Statua of the mo&s;t glorious Mother of God, riding in triumph. The rai|nes of the hor&s;es were ma|naged by the chiefe Peeres of the Realme, the Chariot was guided by his owne Kinsmen, and he him&s;elfe going on foote immediatly
<PB N="167" REF="100">before, carried a Cro&s;&s;e in his hands. <HI>[Nicetas in An|nal.]</HI> Euen &s;o let the Ble&s;. Virgin be honoured, &s;o let her triumph ouer you, &s;hi|ning with no other pompe then the frequent Exerci&s;es of loue, and carried in no other Chariot, then in the &s;eat of your owne Hart.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. III. <HI>A Renewing of Lone, and Deuo|tion towards the most B. Vir|gin, to be made in the day time by a more briefe Recollection.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IT is not &s;ufficient for a deuout Client of our B. Lady only to &s;tirre vp him|&s;elfe
<PB N="168" REF="101">in the morning by &s;ome long meditation to the loue of &s;o noble a Queene, vnles he al&s;o labour to renew it hourely by other, though &s;horter Con&s;iderations, all the day following. For which kind of recollection, it will not be ami&s;&s;e to pra|ctice this Excrci&s;e follow|ing, in imitatro~ wherof you may forme to your&s;elfe di|uers others to the &s;ame fa|&s;tion.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t therfore laying a &s;ide for a while, all other bu&s;i|ne&s;&s;e, and turning to your &s;elfe, you &s;hal be hould with the eyes of your vnder&s;tan|ding, Saint <HI>John</HI> Euangeli&s;t
<PB N="169" REF="101">with the mo&s;t &s;acred Virgin placed at the foote of the Cro&s;&s;e, hearing the&s;e words of our Sauiour, (Behould thy Mother,) and fulfilling that which is writie~ of him, (And from that very houre the di&s;ciple of IESVS re|ceiued her for his Mother.) Secondly, you &s;hall incite your &s;elfe to imitate <HI>Saint Iohn,</HI> and from that very houre, to renew your affe|ction vnto the Ble&s;&s;ed Vir|gen, in&s;i&s;ting &s;omewhat the longer vpon the&s;e words; (And fro~ this very houre,) making &s;eauen meditations for the &s;eauen dayes of the weeke.</P>
<PB N="170" REF="102">
<P>Fir&s;t therfore, begin with Sunday, and &s;ay &s;ecretly to your &s;elfe: (From this very houre) wherin&s;o many with filiall loue and affection do wholy deuote, offer, &amp; con|&s;ecrate them&s;elues to this their mo&s;t louing Mother, &s;inging forth her prai&s;es, in heauen and earth. Put your &s;elfe into the mid&s;t of them &amp; it is not po&s;&s;ible but that the yee of your cold deuo|tio~s wil therwith be thawed &amp; di&s;&s;olued. O Seraphicall Flames! &ocirc; &s;ingular deuotio~s of all the holy Saints &amp; An|gels vnto the mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin! Where are you? Where are you? Why will
<PB N="171" REF="102">you not &s;end forth at lea&s;t one only &s;parke of affectio~ vnto vs, who are &s;o dull, &s;o colde, &s;o negligent in cele|brating the prai&s;es of your mo&s;t glorious Queene!</P>
<P>On munday. (From this very houre.) Before which tyme percha~ce you haue ne|uer &s;erued the B. Virgin as it was fitting. Good god! Is it po&s;&s;ible, that you haue as yet rendred nothing vnto &s;uch a benefactrix! &s;o great a Queene! hauing receiued al|mo&s;t euery mome~t &s;o many and &s;o great benefits! of &s;o many howers as you haue liued, neuer to haue &s;pent one in the &s;eruice of &s;o deare
<PB N="172" REF="103">a Mother! Why are you &s;o &s;low? what hinders you, that you do not euen now pre&s;ently begin to offer, &amp; co~&s;ecrate vnto her &s;erui|ce, at the lea&s;t, this very Houre?</P>
<P>One Twe&s;day. (From this very houre.) Wherein &s;o many do peri&s;h for want of loue and recour&s;e vnto the B. Virgin: thou&s;ands perhaps, &amp; thou&s;ads in this houre lying on their death beds, being by the iu&s;t iud|gement of Almighty God, to be throwne in the next minute into the bottome|les pit of Hell: wheras, had they but once craued the
<PB N="173" REF="103">aide of this glorious Virgin they &s;hould haue raigned and triumphed eternally in heauen. What a thing is it to be damned eternally? to peri&s;h eternally? for al eter|nity? to lye &s;corching and broyling among&s;t the bla&s;|phemous diuels for al eter|nity? And how &s;mall a la|bour is it to call vpon MA|RY, to loue and reuerence her? See that you carefully performe this, euen now, that you may e&s;cape the o|ther.</P>
<P>On Wedne&s;day. (From this very houre.) In which on the one &s;ide three po|werfull, and dreadfull ene|mies,
<PB N="174" REF="104">the Diuell, World, and the Fle&s;h do per&s;ecute vs, being naked and vnar|med: On the other &s;ide, the diuine Iu&s;tice calleth vs to receiue puni&s;hment due vn|to our &s;innes. Wee doubt|les &s;halbe ouerthrown with the violence of temptatio~, we &s;hall become a prey vn|to our enemies, vnle&s;&s;e our B. Lady do a&s;&s;i&s;t vs, vnle&s;&s;e &s;he make interce&s;&s;io~ for vs.</P>
<P>Who&s;oeuer therefore thou be, that reade&s;t this, hauing thy con&s;cience de|filed with the lea&s;t mor|tall &s;inne, con&s;ider and ponder, I pray thee, thy owne e&s;tate in this &s;ort fol|lowing:
<PB N="175" REF="104">Thou being ca&s;t out of the protectio~ of Al|mighty God, in the which by grace thou dide&s;t remai|ne before, bereaued of all the faire ornaments both of thy vertues and merits, liker to a bea&s;t then a man, and as another <HI>Nabuchodo|no&s;or</HI> feeding with wilde bea&s;ts, in the de&s;ert of &s;in|ne: all the Angels, but chie|fly thy good Angel, bewai|ling thy calamity, who&s;e coun&s;ells had&s;t thou fol|lowed, thou woulde&s;t not now, vnhappy wretch, lye groaning, oppre&s;&s;ed with the weight of mi&s;ery. Thou liue&s;t continually beaten
<PB N="176" REF="105">with the whipps of thy guilty con&s;cience, all alone, for&s;aken of thy frieds; per|haps to morrow, perhaps to day, yea perhaps this ve|ry moment to be cited to the dreadfull Tribunall of the &s;euere iudge, and can&s;t thou yet liue in this e&s;tat? Behold our Ble&s;. Lady, the &s;anctuary, &amp; refuge of &s;in|ners, offering freedome, &s;e|curity, peace; why the do&s;t thou not fly vnto her?</P>
<P>On Thur&s;day. (From this very howre.) In which &s;o many Idolatours, Here|ticks, bla&s;phemers, and &s;a|crilegious Caytiffs, reuile the Name of the B. Virgin,
<PB N="177" REF="105">tread her Images vnder their feet, dete&s;t to reue|rence her; and wilt thou through thy &s;lothfulnes o|mit to make recompence for their wrongs done vnto her, by louing her euen this very houre, more feruent|ly; by honouring and wor|&s;hipping her more deuout|ly, e&s;pecially &s;eeing both thy owne, and the Angell keepers of the&s;e Bla&s;phe|mers do demaund, and ex|pect it at thy hands?</P>
<P>On friday. (Fro~ this very howre.) In which Chri&s;t him&s;elfe doth &s;o much de|&s;ire that thou &s;houlde&s;t re|uerence his Mother; doubt|les
<PB N="178" REF="106">thou would&s;t haue co~|&s;ented to Chri&s;t, had he in the mid&s;t of his cruell tor|ments which he &s;uffred for thy &s;ake, only demaunded this comfort fro~ thee, &s;tan|ding hard by him, that thou would&s;t take from hence|forth his Sacred and Holy Mother to be the ine, yiel|ding her due reuere~ce: what he then asked of S. Iohn, that did he aske of thee, &amp; this very houre yet asketh; and do&s;t thou not con&s;ent? Wilt thou not now more truly reuerence her, being demaunded of &s;uch an one, at &s;uch a time, &amp; with &s;uch words, when thou oughte&s;t
<PB N="179" REF="106">of thine owne accord much more adore, and reuerence her?</P>
<P>On Saturday. (Fro~ this very houre.) Wherein the B. Virgin mo&s;t louingly re|membreth thee, occupied in thy daily affaires, &s;hee parlieth with thy Angell Guardian, &amp; with others, thy deare Patrons concer|ning thee: for thy &s;ake &s;he interrupteth her B. Sonne otherwaies imployed: &s;he be&s;toweth on thee benefits without number; and &s;hall not &s;uch motherly care, &s;o tender affection, &s;o con&s;ta~t charity once pierce thy heart with the mo&s;t &s;weet
<PB N="180" REF="107">dart of loue, making thy Soule euen to langui&s;h and melt away with the de&s;ire of plea&s;ing her?</P>
<P>Now, after that for &s;ome &s;hort &s;pace of time, you haue daily con&s;idered one of the&s;e points, you mu&s;t fir&s;t &s;triue to &s;tirre vp in your &s;elfe a de&s;ire and pur|po&s;e all waies to &s;erue the B. Virgin with moie fer|uour heereafter. Then &s;ay either once <HI>Auc Maria,</HI> or els, this praier en&s;uing. Ho|ly Mary Mother of God, and Virgin, I from this ve|ry houre, and for euer, do choo&s;e you for my perpe|tuall Patrone&s;&s;e and Aduo|cate,
<PB N="181" REF="107">and take you for my Mother hence forth, com|mending my &s;elfe &amp; all my affairs vnto your protectio~: wherfore take and receyue me likewi&s;e into the num|ber of your deuout &s;erua~ts, and let me, though vnwor|thy be accou~ted your Son|ne, be fauourable vnto me in all my actions, and for|&s;ake me not, but a&s;&s;i&s;t me in the hower of death. Amen. How much this Exexci&s;e did auayle a wicked Soul|dier, and notable Robber may worthily appeare: for that the diuell did in hu|mane &s;hape for the &s;pace of fourteene whole yeares
<PB N="182" REF="108">wayte on him, hauing leaue by the permi&s;&s;ion of All|mighty God, to breake his necke that very day whe|rein he &s;hould fir&s;t omit this his holy cu&s;tome of &s;a|luting the mo&s;t Glorious Virgin. <HI>[Spec. Exempl. ex|empl. 6.]</HI> Yea how much the whole worlde &s;hould haue needed the &s;helter of this Exerci&s;e, when Chri&s;t our Sauiour incen&s;ed with wrath &amp; indignatio~ again&s;t &s;inners, did brandi&s;h, and with threatning &s;hake three &s;peares or Lances, one ouer the haughty neckes of the Proud, another again&s;t the greedy bowels of the Co|uetous,
<PB N="183" REF="108">&amp; the third again&s;t tho&s;e who followed the de|&s;irs of the fle&s;h, ready to de|&s;troy them all, had not our B. Lady made interce&s;&s;ion for the world, at that very in&s;tant, and brought forth her two mo&s;t faythfull &s;er|uants <HI>S. Dominicke,</HI> and <HI>S. Francis,</HI> who &s;hould re|clay me mortall men from &s;inne, and bring them to true repentance. <HI>[B. An|ton. 3. p. Hist. tit. 22. c. 3.]</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="184" REF="109">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV. <HI>An Exerci&s;e of the loue, and tru&s;t we must haue in our Ble&s;sed Lady, when we demaund any thing of her, e&s;pecially in the tyme of Aduer&s;ity.</HI></HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t you &s;hal ponder how our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady hea|ring the&s;e words of Chri&s;t, (Behold thy Sonne. <HI>Ioan. 19.</HI>) by which &s;he was or|dayned the Mother of all men, pre&s;ently enlarged her bowels, and &s;tretched abroad with her &s;ingular charity, the armes of her mercyes to receiue and im|brace with a motherly af|fection,
<PB N="185" REF="109">&s;uch a company of children, &amp; your &s;elfe one among&s;t the re&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. You may demaund, that &s;he will now in heauen remember the&s;e wordes, &amp; that &s;tate of Chri&s;t, and ac|count vs her Sonnes, as he was, and as he commaun|ded her to do, by tendring vs with the &s;ame care, as &s;he did him incarnate vpon earth.</P>
<P N="3">3. You &s;hall vnfold all your nece&s;&s;ityes vnto her, crauyng help with confi|dence in her as from a mo&s;t carefull and mo&s;t diligent Mother. Then add therto the&s;e 7. con&s;iderations.</P>
<PB N="186" REF="110">
<P N="1">1. Throw your &s;elfe downe, as it were an infant before her feete, with this, or &s;uch like prayer. OB. Mary, my deare&s;t Mother, behold me heere, as an in|fant not able to go, or any way to vp-hold my &s;elfe; &amp; though alltogether vn|worthy of your cele&s;tiall helpe, yet doubt I not to craue, that you will be plea|&s;ed to &s;hroude me, vnder the armes of your &s;ingular protection, as you did your Ble&s;&s;ed Infant, and Sonne IESVS.</P>
<P N="2">2. Offer your &s;elfe as an infant al naked &s;aying. O B. Mary my mo&s;t liberall Mo|ther,
<PB N="187" REF="110">be hold me your poo|re&s;t Child, an infa~t, bereft of all vertues, expo&s;ed to the iniuries of cold, and &s;piri|tuall repidity; I do be&s;eech you, that as you did &s;hroud &s;weet IESVS your Sonne in his &s;wathing bands: &s;o you will be plea&s;ed to en|wrappe me with the &s;wa|thing clothes of vertue, that I may &s;o obtayne a &s;pi|rituall heat.</P>
<P N="3">3. Offer your &s;elfe as an infant hungry, &s;eeking his Mothers brea&s;ts. O Ble&s;&s;ed Mary my deare&s;t Mother, behold me your owne Son|ne, as an Infant euen &s;tar|ued and void of all food: I
<PB N="188" REF="111">mo&s;t humbly de&s;yre you, that as you did giue the &s;weet milke of your brea&s;ts vnto your little Infant IE|SVS for his nouri&s;hment: &s;o you would giue vnto me the brea&s;ts of your loue, &amp; the milke of deuotion.</P>
<P N="4">4. Offer your &s;elfe as a Child, that is to be &s;piri|tually circumci&s;ed, and of|fered vnto God. O Ble&s;&s;ed Mary, my mo&s;t true Mother behold me your Sonne all|together impure, and the|refore afraid to approach vnto the mo&s;t holy Eucha|ri&s;t, lea&s;t in&s;teed of life I &s;hould take iudgement &amp; death; I humbly craue, that
<PB N="189" REF="111" MS="y">as you did offer &s;weet IE|SVS the fountayne of pu|rity, newly circumci&s;ed in the Temple of Hieru&s;alem, vnto the Eternall Father with a payre of Turtle Doues, as a mo&s;t gratefull &s;acrifice: &s;o you will al&s;o be plea&s;ed to offer me your Sonne, vnto the &s;ame Fa|ther, fir&s;t clen&s;ed by con|digne pennance, by your pious interce&s;&s;ion, from all &s;pot &amp; filth of &s;inne; and with the &s;harpe edge of mortification circumci&s;ed from all my inordinat pa&s;|&s;io~s, adorned with humble &s;implicity &amp; loue of God, and vnited to his deare&s;t
<PB N="190" REF="112">Sonne in the holy Eucha|ri&s;t.</P>
<P N="5">5. Offer your &s;elfe as one that is bani&s;hed, driuen out of his owne country by the fury of his Enemies. O my mo&s;t potent Mother, behold me your owne So|ne, whom the diuell, the world, and the fle&s;h labour by all meanes to de&s;troy, crying out for helpe vnto you: I humbly be&s;eech, that as you hiding mo&s;t wi&s;ely your little Sonne IESVS, conuayed him from He|rods fury, and carried him into Aegypt: &s;o you wilbe plea&s;ed, in all chaunces, to guard and defend me with
<PB N="191" REF="112" MS="y">a Motherly charity, again&s;t the force of all my mo&s;t dreadfull Enemies.</P>
<P N="6">6. Offer your &s;elfe as one wandering out of his way, and &s;ay. O my mo&s;t wi&s;e Mother, B. Mary, be|hold me your mo&s;t vnwor|thy So~ne, like a lo&s;t &s;heep, through ignora~ce, &s;traying from the right way: I hum|bly be&s;eech you, that as you did &s;eeke little IESVS being lo&s;t, and after three dayes fou~d in the Temple, did bring him backe a|gaine, feeding, &s;u&s;taining, &amp; nouri&s;hing him euen to the thirtith yeare of his age: &s;o you would be plea&s;ed to
<PB N="192" REF="113">inquire after me your &s;trayd child almo&s;t lo&s;t in the er|rour of imperfection, and bring me backe to the Fa|therly hou&s;e of diuine gra|ce and mercy, in&s;tructing &amp; teaching me with your wi&s;e precepts, in &s;uch &s;ort that I may hereafter become per|fect in all vertue.</P>
<P N="7">7. Offer your &s;elfe as one being iudged to death. O my mo&s;t glorious Mo|ther, behold me your So~ne iudged by the diuine Iu|&s;tice to death, although vn|certaine of the time of exe|cution, yet howerly expe|cting and &s;earing the &s;ame. Therefore as you did ac|co~pany
<PB N="193" REF="113" MS="y">your Ble&s;&s;ed Sonne IESVS with an vn&s;peakea|ble affection of griefe, con|demned to death for our &s;akes, &amp; were pre&s;ent with him dying vpo~ the Cro&s;&s;e: In like manner I humbly be&s;eech you, to a&s;&s;i&s;t me with pre&s;ent ayde, and not to for&s;ake me in that la&s;t hower of my life. And as you receiued into your bo &s;ome the body of your So~|ne IESVS, taken downe from the Cro&s;&s;e: &s;o receiue I humbly de&s;eech you, O Ble&s;&s;ed Mary, Mother of Grace, Mother of mercy, into tho&s;e your Motherly armes, my poore &s;oule de|parting
<PB N="194" REF="114">out of my body.</P>
<P>The&s;e &s;eauen con&s;iderati|o~s may be deuided into the &s;eauen dayes of the Weeke, adding to the end of ech one the hymne <HI>Aue Maris stella.</HI> And truly, how great profit this kind of filiall confidence bringeth vnto our &s;oules, may ea&s;ily be knowne by the example of <HI>S. Bernard,</HI> to whome for this cau&s;e only, our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady de&s;cended from hea|uen, giuing vnto him the milke of her owne brea&s;ts. From whence, as it is cre|dible, he &s;ucked that admi|rable &s;weetnes, intermixed with piety, which euery
<PB N="195" REF="114" MS="y">line of his writings doth &s;auour off.</P>
<P>But what &s;hall I &s;ay con|cerning Ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Stani&s;laus Ko&s;tka</HI> a Nouice of the &s;o|ciety of IESVS, who euen from his infancy nouri&s;hed in his bre&s;t &s;o tender an af|fection vnto our B. Lady, that he doubted not all|waies to call her his Mo|ther, and that with &s;o great feeling of deuotion, &amp; in &s;o louing a manner that he al|wayes moued exceedingly the &s;tanders by to piety. Neyther did our B. Lady omit to &s;hew her Motherly affection many times vnto him, but chiefly when &s;he
<PB N="196" REF="115">placed her little Sonne IE|SVS in his bed, as he lay &s;icke, and thereby filled his Soule with comfort, &amp; re|&s;tored health vnto his bo|dy, and departing co~maun|ded him to enter into the Society of IESVS.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. V. <HI>That the often deuout remem|brance of our B. Lady, is an effect, and &s;igne of true loue towards her.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHere thy Trea&s;ure is, there is thy hart &s;ayth the holy Scripture. Where loue is, there is often re|membra~ce of the thing be|loued.
<PB N="197" REF="115">Hence it commeth, that the true Seruants of our B. Lady, do recreate as it were their minds, with the remembrance and con|templation of her; &amp; when they &s;ee any Image of hers, then do they &s;hew their de|uotion, by &s;aluting her as pre&s;ent in the &s;ame, with the&s;e, or the lik words. Haile Mother of beautifull loue of feare, of knowled|ge, of Holy Hope. Shew your &s;elfe to be a Mother &amp;c. Or el&s;e they haue al|wayes in readines, &s;ome other Iaculatory prayer.</P>
<P>Of which kind of deuo|tion <HI>S. Philip Nereus</HI> had
<PB N="198" REF="116">great &s;tore, as for example: O Virgin Mary, Mother of God, pray vnto IESVS for me. O Glorious Virgin, grau~t I may alwaies be min|defull of you &amp;c. Many more like vnto the&s;e, had he gathered togeather, to the number of the Beads of his Ro&s;ary, reciting them ofte in&s;teed of his <HI>Pater No|sters,</HI> &amp; <HI>Aue Maries.</HI> What we haue &s;ayd heeretofore of &s;hewing reuerence both to other things, and to the pictures of our Ble&s;. Lady, may be reduced vnto this place: for the Reuerence we <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">eated of there, is a fi|liall duty ioyned with loue
<PB N="199" REF="116">and proceeding from the &s;ame.</P>
<P>You may adioyne vnto the former di&s;cour&s;e that which is recounted in the life of <HI>S. Dominicke,</HI> con|cerning the fir&s;t Friars of that Order, who were all|waies accu&s;tomed to place in their Ceis, our B. Ladyes picture imbracing her little Sonne Ie&s;us, with another of Chri&s;t hanging on the Cro&s;&s;e; by the behoulding whereof, their memory might be alwayes &s;tyrred vp, and their exteriour &s;en|&s;es gather new &s;pirituall force. <HI>[Vita S. Dom. lib. 6. c. 20.]</HI></P>
<PB N="200" REF="117">
<P>Moreouer the louers of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady, as if &s;ome &s;weet hony were di&s;tilled into their bowels, do re|ioyce and exult as often as they heare her mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Name: which thing was mo&s;t ordinary with B. <HI>A|loy&s;ius Gonzaga</HI> of the So|ciety of IESVS, who being yet but a child, conceiued &s;o great deuotion towards our B. Lady, that as often as he heard her Name, he &s;eemed to be moued, and begin to melt with a &s;piri|tuall feeling of deuotion. <HI>[In eius vita l&iuml;b. 1. c 6.]</HI></P>
<P>And for this cau&s;e doth <HI>S. Bonauenture</HI> cry out not
<PB N="201" REF="117" MS="y">without rea&s;on: O Ble&s;&s;ed Mary, how famous is your Name! how can it choo&s;e but be famous, &s;eing it is neuer pronounced without &s;ome very great profit vnto the &s;peaker? Let your <HI>Ber|nard</HI> be witnes of this, who &s;ayth: O Great, O Godly, O Worthy Mary! You ca~|not be &s;o much as named, but you enkindle vs with your loue, nor thought vpo~ without comfort vnto the minds of your Seruants! You neuer do enter into the gates of our pious affe|ction, but you are accom|panied with an heauenly &s;weetnes, engrafted in you
<PB N="202" REF="118">by the diuine hand.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, all who are truly vigilant in the &s;eruice of this Glorious Virgin, do hourely, when they heare the Clocke &s;trike, recite an <HI>Aue Maria</HI> in the honour of the Angelicall Saluta|tion, and the Incarnation of the Sonne of God: for which kind of deuotion <HI>Pope Leo</HI> the tenth, &amp; after him <HI>Paul</HI> the fifth, haue graunted a thou&s;and dayes pardon.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="203" REF="118" MS="y">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI. <HI>Another euident &s;igne of Affe|ction vnto the B. Virgin, is, to &s;peake often of her.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe tongue alwayes &s;pea|keth out of the aboun|da~ce of the heart: &amp; who&s;e Soule the loue of our Ble&s;. Lady doth once po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e, his tongue doth challenge it, as its owne. For your &s;peaches, mo&s;t B. Virgin, are &s;weet in the mouth of them that loue you, there|fore they often v&s;e them, &amp; with great contentement heare the~ vttered by others and vtter them vnto &s;uch
<PB N="204" REF="119">as will heare them. <HI>S. Ber|nardine</HI> being yet a child was carried with &s;uch fer|uour to talke of Chri&s;t, &amp; his B. Mother, that his co~|panions dur&s;t not bring in any other di&s;cour&s;e in his pre&s;ence. <HI>[In eius vita.]</HI></P>
<P>This al&s;o was ob&s;erued in <HI>B. Stani&s;laus Kostka</HI> a|fore&s;aid, that although he &s;pake frequently of the B. Virgin, yet he alwaies inue~|ted new, &amp; tho&s;e mo&s;t mag|nificent Names wherewith be did entitle her, and euer &s;ought the highe&s;t degrees to place her in; yea it &s;ee|med oftentymes grieuous to him, that he could not
<PB N="205" REF="119" MS="y">parallell the excellency of his Iudgement with words, and that he could not in|uent &s;ome higher places to allot her.</P>
<P>Neyther would I haue you imagine in this place, that our affection to the B. Virgin mu&s;t be only decla|red in priuate meetings; but al&s;o in publike Sermons, by &s;etting forth her pray|&s;es in great A&s;&s;emblies, by refuting Heretical bla&s;phe|myes, and la&s;tly by exor|ting Catholikes to a more feruent reuerence of her.</P>
<P>This deuotion was very profitable vnto a certayne Religious man, a pious and
<PB N="206" REF="120">Godly Preacher, who for the &s;ingular affection he bore vnto the Ble&s;. Virgin, was wont to end all his Ser|mons with the rehear&s;all of &s;ome miracle of hers. This man being at the point of death, was much &s;trengthe|ned by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance and vi&s;ible pre&s;ence of our B. Lady, and ouerwelmed with incredible ioy, &amp; iu|bily of hart, &s;inging the Virgins pray&s;es, the diuels &s;torming in vaine he depar|ted out of this life into hea|uen. <HI>[Spec. Exempl. d. 7. Ex|emp. 56.]</HI></P>
<P>Nor can I omit the de|uotion of <HI>S. Francis Xauier</HI>
<PB N="207" REF="120">to our Ble&s;. Lady, which he &s;hewed in teaching the Chri&s;tian doctrine in the Indies; for in explicating the Articles of the Creed, and the Ten commaunde|mets, he v&s;ed this method, that in the end of Euery Precept, he woulde fir&s;t craue, by reciting the <HI>Pater Noster</HI> our Sauiours help; but afterwards he cau&s;ed al the a&s;&s;embly to &s;ing with a loud voyce the&s;e words: Holy Mary Mother of God, obtaine for vs grace of thy B. Sonne IESVS Chri&s;t, all|wayes to ob&s;erue this pre|cept. And not being conte~t with this admirabe deuo|tion,
<PB N="208" REF="121">he allwayes did end his Catechi&s;me with a <HI>Sal|ue Regina,</HI> whereby the whole company craued the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the B. Virgin. <HI>[lib. 1. epist. Xauer. ep. 5.]</HI></P>
<P>Out of the &s;ame foun|taine of loue towards our Ble&s;. Lady &s;pringeth their piety, who &s;ing forth her pray&s;es and celebrate them a&s;well by &s;ongs and dytties as by other their labours. And truly all po&s;terity may take for a parterne in this kinde <HI>S. Ca&s;imirus,</HI> Sonne to the King of Polonia. This man being very much addicted vnto the B. Vir|gin, daily on his knees &s;alu|ted
<PB N="209" REF="121">her with mo&s;t Excellet and learned ver&s;es, made by him&s;elfe, wherin were con|tayned all the my&s;teryes of Chri&s;t incarnate. <HI>[Bellar. de offic. c. 3. in eius. vita.]</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. <HI>Another euidente &s;igne of Loue towards our B. Lady is, to honour, and reuerence her Friends.</HI></HEAD>
<P>FIr&s;t togeather with our Ble&s;. Lady, we ought to loue, reuerence and honour <HI>S.</HI> Io&s;eph, whome our B. Lady e&s;teemed as her mo&s;t cha&s;t and deare&s;t Spou&s;e, as mo&s;t carefull in the educa|tion
<PB N="210" REF="122">of Chri&s;t our Sauiour; and defireth much that he be beloued, and honoured by tho&s;e who &s;erue her. There is extant a litle de|uout Office vnto this holy Saint Io&s;eph, as al&s;o many other deuotions, which do require a longer di&s;cour&s;e. After him, by order of good con&s;equence, do fol|low <HI>S. Ioachim,</HI> &amp; <HI>S. Anne,</HI> our B. Ladyes Father and Mother; to whom there are many goodly prayers v&s;ed by holy Church, vs witne&s;|&s;es of the affection &amp; reue|rence our Aunce&s;tors did beare vnto them.</P>
<P>To conclude, all other
<PB N="211" REF="122">Saints, who for their &s;in|gular deuotion haue beene deare vnto our Ble&s;. Lady, ought al&s;o to be deare vn|to vs; and all who loue and honour her, ought likewi&s;e to be beloued and honou|red of vs&punc; Of the honour which we are to giue to the friends of our B. Lady, the&s;e &s;hall be the &s;ignes, &amp; arguments.</P>
<P N="1">1. Among the other prai|&s;es of the Saints, to place this as mo&s;t &s;ingular and excellent, that they haue beene great louers of our B. Lady.</P>
<P N="2">2. To honour the&s;e Saints with great affection,
<PB N="212" REF="123">be&s;eeching them, that they out of the fornace of their loue to our B. Lady, would &s;end one onely &s;parke the|reof into our hearts.</P>
<P N="3">3. To make great e&s;teeme, and to loue, &amp; imitate the piety towards our B. Lady of &s;uch as we liue withall, and willingly to conuer&s;e with them, chiefly &amp; prin|cipally for this cau&s;e.</P>
<P N="4">4. To pray often for the deuout Clients of the B. Virgin, and with a great readines of mind to be wil|ling to help them, as far as lieth in our power, when they &s;tand in need of vs.</P>
<P>To the&s;e kind of chari|table
<PB N="213" REF="123">Offices, we are incited by the example of the An|gels them&s;elues, who loue mo&s;t intierely the friends of our Ble&s;. Lady, indeauo|ring to cheri&s;h them with their pre&s;ence, helpe, and con&s;olation: whereof let this example of <HI>S. Catharine</HI> of <HI>Siena</HI> giue vs te&s;timony, who euen about the fifth yeare of her age, as often as &s;he eyther went vp, or came downe the &s;tairs of her Fa|thers hou&s;e, did kneele at Euery &s;tep, and recited an <HI>Aue Maria;</HI> in which de|uotion &s;he was often lifted vp aboue the ground by the hands of Angells. <HI>[B.
<PB N="214" REF="124">Ant. 3. p. Hist. tit. 25. c. 14.</HI>]</P>
<P>Neither is this a wonder: for that Virginity is a ver|tue, which clay meth affi|nity with the cele&s;tiall Spi|rits, who do admire, loue, pray&s;e, vphold, &amp; promote the beautifull &s;teps of the Virgins daughter (that is, of the Soule, tending to Perfection) in ornaments of reuerence, and loue to|wards the B. Virgin. And who can con&s;ider this affe|ction of the Ble&s;&s;ed Spirits? Who can behold the&s;e du|tiful offices without ho|nouring the Virgin Mary, and louing her followers?</P>
<P>Let vs adde vnto the&s;e,
<PB N="215" REF="124">another faire &s;pectacle, no le&s;&s;e plea&s;ant then pious. <HI>S. Mary</HI> of <HI>Oegnta</HI> was accu|&s;tomed euery yeare to goe in pilgrimage vnto our La|dyes Church at <HI>Oegnia,</HI> &s;i|tuated about &s;ome two mi|les from her how&s;e, and al|though it was in the very depth of cold winter, yet neuer was &s;he in any ca&s;e &s;lack to performe that ex|cellent worke, euen on her bare feete. For the inter|nall feruour, and heate of her deuotio~ towards Chri&s;t and his B. Mother, ea&s;ily bani&s;hed all the externall cold. Through the &s;weet feeling of deuotion, the
<PB N="216" REF="125">v&s;ed to &s;hed teares of com|fort, wherewith her face &amp; garments were largly be|dewed. She breathed forth hoat flames of feruent a&s;|pirations, crying out for flowers, to vnderproppe her, euen langui&s;hing with loue. The Angells came &s;traight to ayde her; &s;ome of them holding her vp by the hands as &s;he we~t; others that &s;he might not go a&s;|tray in a blind, crooked, &amp; vnknowne way, carryed before her a heaue~ly light: others when it was need|full, were ready to couer her head, &amp; to defend her from the &s;now and rayne;
<PB N="217" REF="125">yea, and brought her home &s;afe againe from the iniury of ayre, wind, &amp; tempe&s;ts. <HI>[Sur. in eius vita.]</HI> O what a &s;pectacle was this to be|hold! How is the feruour of a louing Soule, euen in this life, recompen&s;ed with the &s;eruices of &s;o many An|gels! O hart! O tongue! O affection! O wordes! Goe &s;igh, runne, fly, vnto our &s;weete&s;t Loues of IESVS and MARY.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="part">
<PB N="218" REF="126">
<HEAD>OVR B. LADIES LITLE GARDEN.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">THE THIRD BED, flori&s;hing with Lillyes.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Wherin are contained Exerci&s;es proper for tho&s;e, who like vnto Lillies, shining in purity of life, and &s;incerity of affection, doe after a peculiar manner con&s;ecrate them&s;elues vnto our B. Lady.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I.
<PB N="219" REF="126"><HI>How profitable a thing it is, to commit our &s;elues in a &s;pe|ciall &amp; peculiar manner vnto the protection of our B Lady.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_MANY things are wont to be offe|red vp vnto the Mother of God, &amp; committed vnto herpe|culiar protection and cu|&s;tody, either by way of co~|&s;ecration, oblation, deuo|tion, or the like. And to &s;peake of &s;ome in particu|lar, how many Kingdomes, Prouinces, Citties, &amp; other &s;uch like places doe we &s;ee in the&s;e our dayes, to be &s;ollemnly deuoted &amp; con|&s;ecrated
<PB N="220" REF="127">vnto the protectio~ of the B. Virgin? And how many al&s;o haue we both heard, and read off in for|mer ages to haue beene of|fered &amp; dedicated vnto her, with no le&s;&s;e good &s;ucce&s;&s;e then cleare te&s;timony of that ancient piety?</P>
<P>But to omit others, <HI>Ru|pertus</HI> fir&s;t Bi&s;hop of <HI>Wor|mes</HI> in Germany prouiding for the eternall Weale of his Country, dedicated all the Dukedome of <HI>Bauaria</HI> vnto the Mother of God: the fruits of which oblatio~ (to &s;ay nothing of times pa&s;t) the pre&s;ent e&s;tate the|reof now &s;o much flori|&s;hing,
<PB N="221" REF="127">to the great good of the whole Chri&s;tian Com|monwelth, doth &s;ufficient|ly te&s;tifie.</P>
<P>Con&s;tantinople, who&s;e fir&s;t fou~dation was laid vn|der the protection of the B. Virgin, was in former ti|mes &s;o famous for the mul|titude of Churches built in her honour, and celebrated whith &s;o feruent deuotion, that it was commonly cal|led <HI>The Parthenian Citty,</HI> that is, dedicated vnto the Virgin. Whiles this title re|mayned, it neuer left ri&s;ing vntill it arriued to that height of pro&s;perity, that riches, chiualry, honours,
<PB N="222" REF="128">victory, peace, and aboun|dance of all things might &s;eeme to haue fixed their feate with the B. Virgin in her Virginall Citty. But af|ter that the impiety of I|mage-breakers, &amp; the fury of Sci&s;matikes had extin|gui&s;hed that ancient reue|rence of the Mother of God, all the glory of that Name, and Empire &s;oone vani&s;hed away. And the Moone, &s;o often there tri|umphant, fled from <HI>Con|stantinoples</HI> Banners, to the <HI>Mahometan</HI> flagges, e|clip&s;ed of her ancient beau|ty, depriued of her former glory.</P>
<PB N="223" REF="128">
<P>It is al&s;o an ordinary de|uotion of Mothers, e&s;pe|cially in childbirth, to giue and dedicate vnto the Vir|gin Mother, the fruite of their wombe, for the obtai|ning of a pro&s;perous deli|uery; of which piety <HI>Mar|garet</HI> of <HI>Austria</HI> late Queen of <HI>Spaine,</HI> wife to Philip the third, left vnto po&s;terity a very &s;ingular example. For when &s;he was neer the time of her trauaile, both &s;he her &s;elfe did with peculiar de|uotio~ pray vnto the B. Vir|gin, and al&s;o cau&s;ed her whole Family to implore her a&s;&s;i&s;tance, &amp; powerfull hand in time of her labour.</P>
<PB N="224" REF="129">
<P>Among&s;t other particu|lers &s;he commaunded nine dayes prayer with generall proce&s;&s;ions to be made vn|to diuers Churches of our B. La. Which nine Ma&s;&s;es were &s;olemnly &s;ong in her honour. The Fir&s;t of the Immaculate Conception of our B. Lady: the &s;econd of her Natiuity: the third of her Pre&s;entation: the the fourth of her Annu~cia|tion: the fifth of her Vi&s;i|tation: the &s;ixth of the Ex|pectatio~ of her Childbirth: the &s;eauenth of her Purifi|cation: the eight of her A&s;|&s;umption: and the ninth of the fea&s;t of our B. Lady
<PB N="225" REF="129"><HI>ad Niues.</HI> And in time of her Labour, was &s;ong the office of the Childbirth of the B. Virgin, and Natiui|ty of Chri&s;t our Lord.</P>
<P>The Queene hauing thus prepared her &s;elfe, was very happily deliuered of a Son|ne, and not long after ha|uing cau&s;ed the infant to be carried with a &s;olemne Proce&s;&s;ion to a Church of our B. Lady, named, of <HI>S. Florentius,</HI> there &s;tanding before her miraculous I|mage, &s;he deuoutly pre&s;en|ted him vnto the B. Virgin and gained a copious ble&s;|&s;ing both for her &s;elfe and her po&s;terity, as experience
<PB N="226" REF="130">at this pre&s;ent doth, and &s;hall in future ages witne&s;&s;e to po&s;tetity both at home and abroad, to the ioy of the whole Church. <HI>[In hist. vitae &amp; mortis eius p. 2. c. 10. &amp; 11.]</HI></P>
<P>But let vs pa&s;&s;e vnto that oblation, which in the en|&s;uing Chapters we are to treate of. It is euident, that tho&s;e who in peculiar man|ner do oblige them&s;elues to be the Clients of our B. Lady, are al&s;o in a peculiar manner beloued of her, and do experience her pre&s;ent &s;uccour in all troubles &amp; difficulties. Witnes hereof is <HI>S. Hermanus</HI> who&s;e mo&s;t
<PB N="227" REF="130">ardent affectio~ towards the Mother of God, was car|ryed away with &s;o violent a &s;treame of diuine loue, that he had no mind either to thinke or &s;peake of any other thing, then of God and his B. Mother. And his Loue at length came to &s;o high a pitch, that one night as he was in prayer, being pre&s;ented by the hands of Angels before the face of the Mother of God, by their adui&s;e he gaue him|&s;elfe to be her Spou&s;e (after which affiance he tooke the name of <HI>Io&s;eph</HI>) and &s;hortly after experienced what wonderfull care his
<PB N="228" REF="131">mo&s;t beloued E&s;pou&s;e the V. Mary had of him, not only in matters of great moment, but al&s;o in euery occa&s;ion, were it neuer &s;o little. As for example: Once whe~ in his &s;ickne&s;&s;e he had beene let bloud, he was di|rected by our B. Lady how he was to lye in his Bed the next night, &s;o that the veine which had been new|ly clo&s;ed vp, might not a|gaine be opened. Another time as he was going to vi|fit a Cloy&s;ter of Nuns, the B. Virgin a little before he arriued there, gaue them warning to entertayne him with all courte&s;y and kind
<PB N="229" REF="131">ne&s;&s;e. Many more &s;uch like examples there be of the loue and care that the Mo|ther of God &s;hewed to|wards him, which may be read more at large in the hi&s;tory of his life, <HI>in Surius the</HI> 5. <HI>April.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. <HI>The fir&s;t way how to con&s;ecrate our &s;elues with peculiar re|uerence to our B. Lady, com|mon to all &s;orts of people.</HI></HEAD>
<P>EAuing fir&s;t made your Confe~&s;&s;ion, &amp; receiued the holy Communion vpo~ &s;ome &s;olemne Fea&s;t day, &amp; if it may be, on &s;ome Fea&s;t
<PB N="230" REF="132">of the B. Virgin, you &s;hall place her Image in your Oratory, or in &s;ome other decent place of your cham|ber, and with a full &amp; true intention, co~&s;ecrating your &s;elfe, and all that you haue for euer, vnto the Mother of God, you &s;hall &s;ay this prayer on your knees.</P>
<P>O mo&s;t B. Virgin Mary, Mother of God, I N. N. a poore &amp; wretched &s;inner, though in all re&s;pects mo&s;t vnworthy to be numbred among&s;te the meane&s;t of your &s;eruants, yet tru&s;ting in your exceeding great piety and mercy, and mo|ued with a great de&s;ire of
<PB N="231" REF="132">&s;eruing and honoring you, do heere in pre&s;ence of the whole Court of Heauen, choo&s;e you this day for my peculiar Lady, Patrone&s;&s;e, and Mother: and I doe mo&s;t firmely purpo&s;e, and pro|mi&s;e henceforth to obey and &s;erue you faythfully, and al&s;o to procure with my whole power, that o|thers may do the like. I do therfore mo&s;t humbly be&s;eech you, O mo&s;t mer|cifull Mother, by the mo&s;t pretious bloud which your &s;weet Son IESVS hath &s;hed for our &s;ake that you wold vouch&s;afe to admit me in|to the number of your
<PB N="232" REF="133">Clients, and to receyue me for your perpetuall &s;erua~t, to be pre&s;ent with me in all my affaires, and obtaine for me grace of your mo&s;t dea|rely beloued Sonne, that I may &s;o behaue my &s;elfe in all my thoughts, words, &amp; works, as neuer to do any thing that may be di&s;plea|&s;ing to his eyes, or yours, and la&s;tly to be mindfull of me, in the houre of my death. Amen.</P>
<P>From henceforth you &s;hall imagine your Cham|ber to be a Chappell of the B. Virgin, whome you &s;hall reuerence in her Image as if &s;he were pre&s;ent with you,
<PB N="233" REF="133">not &s;uffering any thing to remaine therein which may offend her &s;acred eyes.</P>
<P>In the morning as &s;oone as you are ri&s;en, as al&s;o at night before you lye downe to &s;leepe, with low and humble reuerence you &s;hall aske her ble&s;&s;ing, like as good childre~ in our cou~|trey are wont carefully to do their Pare~ts euery mor|ning &amp; night, &s;aying, The Virgin Mary, with her be|nigne Sonne, ble&s;&s;e vs.</P>
<P>After that you be appa|relled kneeling downe be|fore the &s;ayd Image, then &s;hall you &s;ay this prayer following. O Ble&s;&s;ed Mary,
<PB N="234" REF="134">my good Lady, I recom|mend my &s;elfe vnto your Ble&s;&s;ed protection, &amp; &s;in|gular cu&s;tody, ca&s;ting my &s;elfe into the bo&s;ome of your mercy, both this day, and euery day, and in the houre of my death. I com|mend al&s;o vnto you my Soule and Body. In you do I place all my hope, and con&s;olation. To you do I commend all my di&s;tre&s;&s;es and mi&s;eries, my life &amp; the finall conclu&s;ion thereof: that by your mo&s;t holy in|terce&s;&s;ion and merits, all my workes may be dire|cted &amp; di&s;po&s;ed, according to your will, and the will of
<PB N="235" REF="134">your mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Sonne. Amen.</P>
<P>Alwayes at your going out, and co~ming into your chamber, &s;ee you &s;alute the &s;aid Image, imitating heerin the Courtiers who in their pa&s;&s;ing to and fro, do neuer omit to make reuerence vnto their Prince.</P>
<P>You ought not to vn|dertake any thing of mo|ment, hauing not fir&s;t ac|quainted the B Virgin Mo|ther therwich. You &s;hall &s;e|riou&s;ly al&s;o comme~d vnto her, both your priuate and publique affaires; &amp; if any thing do occurre of greater importance; wryte the &s;ame
<PB N="236" REF="135">briefly in a paper, and lay it at the feete of the Image. Finally in all your tempta|tions and difficulties you &s;hall haue recour&s;e vnto her, as to a mercifull, and tender-harted Mother.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Examples in Confirmation of &s;uch things, as haue beene &s;ayd.</HEAD>
<P>THe holy Mother <HI>S. Te|re&s;a</HI> doth approue, and much commend this pra|cti&s;e and deuotion, who being made Priore&s;&s;e of a certayne Mona&s;tery, at her very fir&s;t entrance into her Office, &s;he co~&s;ecrated both
<PB N="237" REF="135">her &s;elfe, &amp; the whole mo|na&s;tery to our B. Lady, pla|cing a fayre Image in the Chaire where the Priore&s;&s;e was to &s;it, and offering her the keys of the Mona&s;tery togeather with the go~uer|ment thereof as Superiour, who&s;e place &s;he was only to &s;upply. Which oblatio the Mother of God, not long afterwards &s;hewed to be mo&s;t gratefull vnto her, For vpon the Eue of <HI>S. Se|bastian,</HI> our B. Lady put her &s;elfe vi&s;ibly in place of the picture, and declared that &s;he tooke indeed vpon her the gouerme~t of the hou&s;e. [<HI>In eius vita lib.</HI> 3. <HI>c. 1.</HI>]</P>
<PB N="238" REF="136">
<P>It is al&s;o recounted by tho&s;e who haue beene con|uer&s;ant with <HI>Father Francis Suarez,</HI> a man famous for holynes and learning, that he was accu&s;tomed to con|fer with the B. Virgin con|cerning all doubts, which occurred in his &s;tudies, fro~ whome he receyued often the &s;olution of many hard and difficile Que&s;tions; and he hath beene al&s;o &s;eene to kneele downe, and giue her thankes for the &s;ame vpon his knees.</P>
<P>To the&s;e I adde a &s;tory which <HI>Boniface</HI> relateth out of <HI>Alanus</HI> and <HI>Albertus. [l. 4. c. 9. hist. &V;irginalis.]</HI>
<PB N="239" REF="136">A certayne Religious Vir|gin, named <HI>Ioane,</HI> liuing in a Mona&s;tery &s;omwhat di&s;&s;o|lute and di&s;ordered, vpon a time (according to her ac|cu&s;tomed manner) being very attentiue in &s;aying of her beads, &s;he &s;aw a letter fal downe from heauen be|fore her, with this &s;uper|&s;cription: Mary Mother of God, to her daughter <HI>Ioane</HI> health. The contents of the letter were the&s;e. My mo&s;t deare Daughter, Per&s;euere con&s;ta~tly in &s;aying my Ro|&s;ary allwayes as thou ha&s;t begun; fly from men, and &s;hun all conuer&s;ation with them which may not profit
<PB N="240" REF="137">thee to the attaining true vertue &amp; good of thy con|&s;cience: Beware of &s;loth, di&s;&s;olutenes, &amp; idlenes; re|moue far from thee dainty meates, and curio&s;ity of ap|parell, and purge thy Cell of &s;ome things which are not decent for a Religious woman, and in place therof put the Images of thy Sa|uiour Chri&s;t, &amp; his Saints, &amp; other holy things, who&s;e protection &amp; defence &s;hall pre&s;erue thee from all dan|gers. If thou giue eare vnto me, and performe with due obedience tho&s;e things which I &s;hal pre&s;cribe vnto thee, thou &s;halt obtaine fa|uour
<PB N="241" REF="137">of my beloued So~ne, &amp; I will make interce&s;&s;ion to him for thee in al thy ne|ce&s;&s;ities.</P>
<P>The hand mayd of Chri&s;t hauing reade his Letter, was very much encouraged to &s;et forward the honour of our B. Lady with all po&s;|&s;ible deuotion, and with all diligence put in execution what was co~maunded her. Not long after a certaine holy Abbot comming thi|ther to reforme the &s;aid Mona&s;tery, according to their former di&s;cipline and religious In&s;titute, as he was praying deuoutly for that end, he &s;aw the cell of
<PB N="242" REF="138">the before named Virgin, &s;hining and &s;ending forth radiant beames with an in|credible lu&s;tre, and in the middle of that light, the Queene of heauen enuiro|ned with a troupe of glo|rious Angels in who&s;e co~|pany <HI>Ioane</HI> the Virgin was deuoutly praying. In the meane time, at the Cell doore without a great mul|titude of diuels &s;tood ra|ging, and to make them|&s;elues more terrible put on the &s;hape of diuers kind of vgly and mon&s;trous bea&s;ts: but being all &s;hamefully put to flight by the power|full commaund of the B.
<PB N="243" REF="138">Virgin, they retyred backe to the chambers of the o|ther fooli&s;h Virgins, di&s;|per&s;ing the~&s;elues through the whole Mona&s;tery, &s;ome to one Cell, &s;ome to ano|ther. The holy Abbot was much a&s;tonis&s;hed at this vi&s;ion: but afterward when he had vnder&s;tood of the &s;ingular zeale, and deuo|tion which <HI>Ioane</HI> the Vir|gin had towards our B. La|dy, he cau&s;ed immediately beades to be prouided and di&s;tributed to the other Nunnes, exhorting them con&s;tantly to the pious v&s;e therof. Which deuotion whe~ they had &s;eriou&s;ly im|braced,
<PB N="244" REF="139">not long after they all voluntarily &s;ubmitted them&s;elues to the Rule of their Order.</P>
<P>From hence you may learne, what the Mother of God doth expect of tho&s;e (euery one according to their profe&s;&s;ion) who haue con&s;ecrated them&s;elues vn|to her, according to the a|for&s;ayd manner; and how great accoumpt &s;he maketh of that deuotion, and with what a bountifull hand &s;he rewardeth it. Therfore not without cau&s;e <HI>S. Bonauen|ture</HI> &s;o much commended this kind of deuotion to|wards the Mother of God
<PB N="245" REF="139">in an Epi&s;tle of his which is intituled, <HI>Of 25. Memo|rials,</HI> where among&s;t other deuotions, how to lead a good like, in the 13. <HI>Memo|riall</HI> he hath the&s;e words: Alwais haue great reuere~ce and tendernes of affection vnto the glorious Queene Mother of our Lord, and haue recour&s;e vnto her as vnto a mo&s;t &s;afe refuge, in all your nece&s;&s;ities, dangers &amp; troubles crauing the de|fence of her perfection; &amp; taking her for your Aduo|cate: make knowne your petition &amp; &s;ui<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">e vnto her, with all deuotion and con|fidence; becau&s;e &s;he is the
<PB N="246" REF="140">Mother of mercy, &amp; ther|fore you mu&s;t endeauour to &s;hew &s;ingular and &s;pecial reuerence towards her.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. III. <HI>The &s;econd way of dedicating our &s;elues vnto the B. Virgin, by entring into her Sodality.</HI></HEAD>
<P>TO be one of the Sodali|ty of our B. Lady is no|thing els, but ope~ly to pro|fe&s;&s;e our &s;elues in peculiar maner to be her &s;eruant, &amp; before witnes to commit our &s;elues, and all that we haue vnto her protection. How great the merit, and profit of this kind of de|uotion is, as al&s;o the duties
<PB N="247" REF="140">and exerci&s;es towards our B. Lady therto belonging, remayne &s;ufficiently decla|red by that which diuers haue put out in print about the &s;ame. Heere will I only commend three things ve|ry nece&s;&s;ary for the con&s;er|uation, and increa&s;e of that deuotion which all ought to haue at their fir&s;t en|trance into the Sodality.</P>
<P N="1">1. That euery morning as &s;oone as they are vp and ready, or if they plea&s;e whe~ they are ready to heare ma&s;&s;e, they &s;ay the prayer of the Sodality, endeauou|ring to pronounce it with the &s;ame intention, de&s;ire,
<PB N="248" REF="141">and purpo&s;e to &s;erue our B. Lady, and to keepe the rules pre&s;cribed of the So|dality, as they did, when fir&s;t they were admitted into that Congreation.</P>
<P N="2">2. Al&s;o, that in the mor|ning they make choyce of &s;ome one fault or imperfe|ction which them&s;elues are &s;ubiect vnto, and make a firme purpo&s;e to ab&s;tayne from the &s;ame that day: and to offer vp &s;ome good worke in honour of the Mother of God.</P>
<P N="3">3. That at night they examen them&s;elues concer|ning the&s;e two points: fir&s;t about the Prayer which
<PB N="249" REF="141">they recited in the mor|ning, e&s;pecially the&s;e wor|des <HI>[J do fully determine, and purpo&s;e, that I will ne|uer leaue thee, nor permit any thinge to be done a|gainst thy Honour by any of tho&s;e, who are vnder my charge.]</HI> whether, I &s;ay, they haue fulfilled the&s;e words of their deuout and propen&s;e affection towards the honour of the B. Vir|gin. Secondly, whether they gaue ab&s;tayned from that fault or imperfection afore&s;aid, &amp; performed that good worke which in the morning they purpo&s;ed to doe.</P>
<PB N="250" REF="142">
<P>Who&s;oeuer doth earne|&s;tly endeauour to put the&s;e things in executio~, he &s;hall infallibly find that tender affection of the B. Virgin towards him, which &s;he &s;hewed vnto a certayn di&s;|&s;olute, &amp; negligent youth, being for this one re&s;pect only worthy of commen|dation, that he had alwayes great care of his Cha&s;tity. This yong man after that he had prodigally &s;pent his patrimony, at length by per&s;ua&s;ion of an Vncle of his who had heretofore v|&s;ed all meanes in vaine to bring him to better life, did determine for a remedy, &amp;
<PB N="251" REF="142">redre&s;&s;e of all his mi&s;eryes to recite euery day for the &s;pace of one yeare, a paire of beades, or the third part of the Ro&s;ary of our Lady. Neither was this done wi|thout profit: For now he had already &s;haken of mo&s;t of the ill company he was wont to keep, and he al&s;o ab&s;tained from co~mitting any grieuous &s;innes. Wher|fore at the beginning of the 2. yeare he doubled his deuotions, and dayly &s;ayd two paire of beads; and be|cau&s;e the good &s;ucce&s;&s;e which he had therin ray&s;ed vp his hart to a more firme and &s;tedfa&s;t hope of obtai|ning
<PB N="252" REF="143">greater matters, there|fore the third yeare he &s;ayd euery day a whole Ro&s;ary, with no le&s;&s;e co~&s;tancy then true deuotion. To con|clude, hauing performed his third yeares taske, and now become another man, of graue, mode&s;t, and ma|ture conuer&s;ation, hedid &s;o winne the harts of all, but e&s;pecially of his Vncle, that he procured him an hone&s;t &amp; &s;ufficient marriage. But &s;ee what happened vpo~ the very wedding day, in the mid&s;t of the Fea&s;t. The yo~g man on the &s;udaine calling to mind, how that being hindered by other affaires
<PB N="253" REF="143">he had not yet offered vp that day his accu&s;tomed prayers to the B. Virgin, faining &s;ome other excu&s;e, ro&s;e from the table, and &s;hutting him&s;elfe vp in his chamber, fell on his knees, &amp; recyted his Ro&s;ary with no le&s;&s;e feeling then fruit of his deuotion. For he had no &s;ooner ended, but the B. Virgin far brighter then the &s;unne, vouch&s;afed him avi&s;ible &s;ight of her glory, and &s;hewed him 3. garments which &s;he carried fa&s;tened to her owne robe; one be|fore her, and one vpon ey|ther &s;ide, and then &s;ayd vn|to him: Behould thy &s;alu|tations
<PB N="254" REF="144">here written in gol|den letters, with which thou ha&s;t diligently ho|noured me by recyting my Ro&s;ary. Thou &s;halt receiue a reward for the &s;ame e&s;pe|cially for keeping thy Cha|&s;tity entire, by being made partaker of the mariage of the lambe, and that within the &s;pace of 3. days. Neither did his deuotion, nor the mercifull promi&s;&s;e of the B. Virgin faile him, for af|ter 3. days he dyed to the world, and began to liue in heauen. <HI>[Cantip. l. 2. Apum. c. 29.]</HI></P>
<P>It much importeth vs the~ to offer daily to the B. Vir|gin,
<PB N="255" REF="144">with a firme and con|&s;tant re&s;olution, &s;ome par|ticular &amp; determinate de|uotion, and likewi&s;e to call our &s;elues to an account therof euery day, but e&s;pe|cially at night, that if we find we haue deferred it vntill then, yet may we at lea&s;t correct &amp; recompence our negligence by pen|nance, and if it may po&s;&s;i|bly be done, euen then to performe our promi&s;e.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="256" REF="145">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV. <HI>The third way to deuote our &s;el|ues vnto the B. Virgin, by entring into Religion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>FOr as much as euery Re|ligious Order may iu&s;tly be called, the Family of our B. Lady, be cau&s;e they are in a &s;pecial manner fou|ded vnder her protection and defence; it is euident that wh&s;oeuer imbraceth a Religious life, doth in the very &s;ame act, peculiarly deuote him&s;elfe to the B. Virgin, &amp; is e&s;pou&s;ed vnto her with the ring of his Vowes, e&s;pecially the vow
<PB N="257" REF="145">of Cha&s;tity. And this is made manife&s;t by the exa~|ple of <HI>S. Robert,</HI> Founder of the Order of <HI>Ci&s;tercians,</HI> to who&s;e mother, named <HI>En|gardis,</HI> being great with child of him, the B. Virgin appeared, with a goulden ring in her hand, and &s;ayd thus vnto her: <HI>Engardis,</HI> I will haue thy Sonne which thou beare&s;t e&s;pou&s;ed vnto me with this ring. <HI>Engardis</HI> when &s;he awaked, with great ioy tooke notice of what &s;he had &s;eene. Ney|ther was the euent of the thing any other wayes ap|prooued, then by the en|trance of her Sonne <HI>Robert</HI>
<PB N="258" REF="146">into Religion, which vnder the name of e&s;pou&s;ing was foretould by the Mother of God, euen as &s;he &s;igni|fyed the Vow of Cha&s;tity by the ring of gold. <HI>[Plat. de bono stat. Relig. lib. 1. cap. 34.</HI></P>
<P>I omit innumerable o|ther examples, wherby it is euident, that all Religious Families be vnder the pro|tection of our Ble&s;. Lady. There is iu&s;t cau&s;e [&s;ayth <HI>Platus ibid.</HI>] that all Reli|gious per&s;ons &s;hould extra|ordinarily reioice and con|gratulate among&s;t them|&s;elues, that they haue for their Queene and Patro|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="259" REF="146">vpo~ earth her, whome all the Saints in Heauen do adore. For what ca~ be wan|ting vnto him who is &s;u|&s;tayned by &s;uch a Virgin, &s;eeing that no euill is to be feared which may not ea&s;i|ly be auerted by her power, no good to be de&s;yred, which cannot ea&s;ily by her fauour and interce&s;&s;ion be obtayned. Therfore all Re|ligious men and women, ought to apply them&s;elues wholy to the &s;eruice of the Mother of God, in who&s;e Family they liue, as her hou&s;ehould &s;erua~ts, or ra|ther as her children.</P>
<P>Let them haue certayne
<PB N="260" REF="147">peculiar Exerci&s;es, confor|mable to their Rule &amp; In|&s;titute, by the daily pra|cti&s;e wherof they may ho|nour our B. Lady.</P>
<P>Let them endeauour to increa&s;e, and aduance the loue and reuerence of the B. Virgin, and exhort them to the pious v&s;e of reciting her Ro&s;ary, and deuout ce|lebration of her Fe&s;tiuall dayes, by frequenting the holy Sacraments, &amp; other &s;uch deuout Exerci&s;es.</P>
<P>Finally, and e&s;pecially, let them be mindefull daily to giue harty thankes, and be very gratefull vnto the B. Virgin-Mother, for the
<PB N="261" REF="147">&s;ingular benefit of their vo|cation to Religion.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>An Exerci&s;e proper to Religious Per&s;ons, by which they giue thanks to the B. Virgin for the benefits receiued fro~ her, and most e&s;pecially for the be|nefit of their Vocation to Re|ligion.</HEAD>
<P>HAuing by way of pre|amble demaunded ayde of the holy Gho&s;t, you &s;hal place your &s;elfe in pre&s;ence of the B. Virgin, as if you did behould her enuironed with the Quiers of Angels and all the Saints of your owne Order, looking vpon you with a mild and merci|full
<PB N="262" REF="148">countenance:</P>
<P>And, 1. Con&s;ider, &amp; call to mind how many benefits you haue hitherto receiued of the Mother of God; &amp; then deuide them into two parts, wherof one may co~|taine the benefits be&s;towed vpon you before your Vo|cation; the other, of your Vocation, and other bene|fits which you haue recey|ued after your entrance in|to Religion. And this Mo|therly mercy of the B. Vir|gin towards you was figu|red by <HI>Rebecca, Iacobs</HI> Mo|ther, who &s;hewed two prin|cipall fauours to her Sonne from which as from two
<PB N="263" REF="148">fountaynes, all his felicity did flow. For fir&s;t with great &s;olicitude &s;he procu|red for him the benedictio~ of his Father <HI>J&s;aac.</HI> Second|ly &s;he &s;ecretly co~ueyed him out of his owne Country into <HI>Me&s;opotamia</HI> to declin the rage of his brother <HI>E|&s;au,</HI> where he marryed a wife, and &s;o became very rich. Euen &s;o the B. Virgin like another <HI>Rebecca,</HI> a mo&s;t louing Mother, hath ob|tayned for you of the Eter|nall Father a benediction, and other &s;ingular fauours, and aboue all the grace of your Vocation. She hath procured al&s;o that you de|parting
<PB N="264" REF="149">out of your Coun|try, and for&s;aking all your friends, &s;hould enter into Religion as into the land of Promi&s;&s;e, flowing with milke, and hony of con&s;o|lation, and merits.</P>
<P N="2">2. You &s;hall ponder and weigh all the&s;e benefits both according to their multitude, being indeed in|numerable, and according to their greatnes. And a|mong&s;t the re&s;t, con&s;ider how great that is, that by this your vocation into Re|ligion, procured by the Virgin Mother, you are made a me~ber of that Con|gregation, in which &s;he is
<PB N="265" REF="149">&s;erued with &s;o much Ho|nour and Reuerence. Out of which it proceedeth, that all the wor&s;hip &amp; de|uotion which is performed towards the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin throughout your whole Order, eyther by them&s;el|ues or by their meanes, is as much attributed vnto you as if you performed it your &s;elfe. Therfore you may truly &s;ay, I am partaker (O Lady) of the merits of all tho&s;e who do feare, loue &amp; honour you, eyther in this Religions Order, or out of it, by their labour and in|du&s;try.</P>
<P N="3">3. By the&s;e Con&s;idera|tions
<PB N="266" REF="150">you &s;hall &s;tirre vp in your &s;elf the affections fol|lowing. You &s;hall humble and ca&s;t your &s;elfe downe at the feete of the B. Virgin MARY, houlding your &s;elf mo&s;t vnworthy of &s;o great loue, and fauour. You &s;hal giue her thankes with as great feruour of deuotion as po&s;&s;ible you can, for her Motherly care ouer you, &amp; you &s;hall inuite all creatu|res to accompany you in thankesgiuing; imitating yong infants who do mo&s;t willingly acknowledg the~|&s;elues beholding to their Mother or Nur&s;e, for all they haue receiued. But
<PB N="267" REF="150">how may you reco~pence &s;o great a Benefactre&s;&s;e? A&s;&s;u|redly you mu&s;t purpo&s;e to requite her with a filiall af|fection, and for euer to do her &s;uch &s;eruice, as the &s;ame requireth. To this <HI>S. Ber|uard</HI> exhorteth vs, &s;aying <HI>[&s;ermone de Natiuitate B. Mariae.]</HI> Let vs adore the B. Virgin from the very bottome of our hart, with the mo&s;t inward affections and de&s;irs as we can po&s;&s;i|bly. For &s;uch is the will of him, who will haue vs to receyue all, by the meanes of the B. Virgin Mary; &s;he in all things, &amp; by all mea|nes prouiding for the mi&s;e|rable:
<PB N="268" REF="151">She &s;trengtheneth our hope; &s;he putteth diffi|dence to flight; &s;he erecteth our pu&s;illanimity.</P>
<P>It will he al&s;o very profi|table to the increa&s;ing of this gratitude and loue to|wards the B. V. to e&s;&s;ay, &amp; take as it were a ta&s;t by way of meditatio~, of tho&s;e mo&s;t tender affections which di|uers Religious Orders haue had towards that &s;acred Queene, and in particuler the Order of <HI>S. Dominicke,</HI> who, hauing vnder&s;toode that they were &s;eene by their owne Founder <HI>S. Do|minicke,</HI> and by a certayne holy Woman, couered vn|der
<PB N="269" REF="151">the mantle of the Ble&s;. Virgin, and imbraced with the Virginall armes of her loue &amp; peculiar affections, &s;o great was their deuotio~ towards her euer after, &s;o enflamed their de&s;ire to loue and &s;erue her, &s;o de|uout and feruent were the prayers they co~tinually &s;o~|ge vnto her, &s;o exceeding the confide~ce &amp; tru&s;t they allwayes had in her prote|ction, &s;o greedy and in&s;a|tiable the contemplation of her Vertues and Excel|lencyes, that no humane tongue would be able to expre&s;&s;e. <HI>[Jn vita S. Domi|nick. l. 2. c. 12. and l. 5. c. 6.]</HI></P>
<PB N="270" REF="152">
<P>The like vi&s;ion happe|ned vnto Father <HI>Martinus Gutterus</HI> a Spanyard, and a very holy Religious man of the Society of IESVS, who as he was in feruent prayer, &s;aw the B. Virgin &s;hining with vn&s;peakable beauty, hauing her Robe &s;pread all abroad, &amp; vnder the &s;ame the whole Socie|ty contayned, which &s;he imbraced with a motherly affection, &amp; &s;hrowded vn|der the winges of her mo&s;t tender loue &amp; protection. <HI>[Hier. Platus l. 1. de bon. stat. Relig.]</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="part">
<PB N="271" REF="152">
<HEAD>OVR B. LADIES LITLE GARDEN.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">THE FOVRTH BED, adorned with Iacynths.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Wherein are contayned certayne Seruices and Dutyes towards the B. Virgin, as if they were &s;o many exerci&s;es of a heaue~|ly life and conuer&s;ation: of which the Iacynth is a token.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I. <HI>Of the</HI> AVE MARIA <HI>or An|gelicall Salutation.</HI></HEAD>
<PB N="272" REF="153">
<P>_BEFORE all other, this Salutation is mo&s;t gratefull to the <HI>B. &V;irgin,</HI> as her &s;elfe declared to <HI>Saint Maude,</HI> who being in &s;ome anxiety of mynd, what kind of &s;eruice &s;he might exhibit as mo&s;t acceptable vnto her, &s;he beheld our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady bearing in her brea&s;t the &s;alutation of the Angell Gabriell, written in golden letters, and withall heard the&s;e words: Higher then this Salutation none can euer arriue; nor ca~ any one more &s;weetly &s;alute me, then with that accent of [HAYLE] with which
<PB N="273" REF="153">God the Father was plea|&s;ed to &s;alute me, freeing me by his Omnipotency from all tre&s;pa&s;&s;e, and cur&s;e of &s;inne. The Sonne of God with his diuine Wi&s;edome hath al&s;o &s;o throughly en|lightned me, that with the Name of [MARY] as with a mo&s;t bright &amp; glittering Starre, both heaue~ &amp; earth do &s;hine. The Holy Gho&s;t by penetrating me with his diuine &s;weetnes, hath filled me &s;o [FVLL OF GRACE] that euery one who &s;eeketh grace, may by my meanes &s;oone obtaine the &s;ame. By the&s;e wordes [OVR LORD IS VVITH THEE] are de+clared
<PB N="274" REF="154">that vn&s;peakeable v|nion and operation, which the Ble&s;&s;ed Trinity did per|fect in me, when he conioy|ned the Sub&s;tance of my fle&s;h to the diuine Nature in one per&s;on; &s;o as God became Man, &amp; man God; I being in that houre made worthy to ta&s;t the ioy and &s;weetnes which no other Creature could experience. And by the wordes [BLES|SED ART THOV AMONGST VVOMEN] euery Creature with admiration doth ac|knowledge &amp; profe&s;&s;e me to be Ble&s;&s;ed, and exalted aboue all. By the wordes [BLESSED IS THE FRVITE
<PB N="275" REF="154">OF THY VVOMBE] the mo&s;t excellent fruite of my wombe which hath &s;ancti|fyed euery Creature, is ble&s;|&s;ed and extolled, for all e|ternity. <HI>[In vita S. Mech|tildis.]</HI> This holy Virgin of Chri&s;t afterwards in &s;aying her Beades, was alwayes ac|cu&s;tomed to adde three <HI>A|ue Maries,</HI> for the obtay|ning of a happy death, of which we haue &s;poken be|fore in the fir&s;t Bed, and 5. Chapter.</P>
<P>It wilbe al&s;o very profi|table at all houres of the day and night, when the Clocke &s;trikes to &s;ay once the Angelicall Salutation:
<PB N="276" REF="155">to which deuotion certaine Indulgences are granted by the holy Sea Apo&s;tolicke, as we haue &s;ayd before in the &s;econd Bed &amp; V. Cha|ter. The cu&s;tome likewi&s;e is deuoutly to be kept, to recite thrice a day, mor|ning, noone, &amp; night three <HI>Aue Maries,</HI> according to &s;o many tolles of the bell, adding the&s;e v&s;uall Ver&s;i|cles before euery <HI>Aue [The Angell of our Lord. Behold the Handmayd. And the Word became flesh.]</HI> in ho|nour of the principall My|&s;teries, to wit, The Re|&s;urrection, the Pa&s;&s;ion, and Incarnation of our Lord.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="277" REF="155">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. <HI>Of the Crowne, or Ro&s;ary of the B. Virgin, and of the first manner of &s;aying the &s;ame.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THat manner of &s;aluting the B. Virgin is very an|cient and famous, which con&s;i&s;teth of an hundred &amp; fifty <HI>Aue Maries,</HI> and one <HI>Pater Noster</HI> before euery decade. Neither is that le&s;&s;e in v&s;e, which con&s;i&s;teth of 63. <HI>Aue Maries,</HI> according to the number of yeares, which our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady is thought to haue liued on earth, adioyning to euery Decade, one <HI>Pater Noster.</HI>
<PB N="278" REF="156">The fir&s;t of the&s;e manners, is called the Ro&s;ary, both becau&s;e it is knit together with my&s;ticall Ro&s;es, as <HI>S. Dominicke</HI> the Author ther|of, is recounted to haue &s;o receiued the &s;ame. The lat|ter is tearmed, the Crown, wherewith, as with a gar|land, the B. Virgin &s;hewed her &s;elfe adorned, as after|wards we &s;hal declare Chap. 4. And the Religious Or|der of the <HI>Minimes</HI> hath greatly propagated the &s;a|me: although the Crowne it &s;elfe is v&s;ually euery where called by the name of Ro|&s;ary, in regard whereof we wil v&s;e the&s;e Names confu|&s;edly,
<PB N="279" REF="156">without any regard of di&s;tinction.</P>
<P>But the thing of grea|te&s;t profit and con&s;olation is, to recite daily, and offer vnto our B. Lady the Ro|&s;ary or Crowne; the which oblation, that it may be done with more fruit and gu&s;t, it is expedie~t to &s;ea&s;on the &s;ame with diuers con&s;i|derations, which are found euery where, in deuout bookes: and heere we will propound three only, as it were fountaines of the re&s;t.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t manner of &s;ay|ing the Ro&s;ary, is that, wherin chiefe&s;t regard is had of attentio~ to the wor|des,
<PB N="280" REF="157">with &s;ome application of the &s;en&s;e to the &s;ame; which is very ea&s;y, if with di&s;cretion the Rules fol|lowing be ob&s;erued.</P>
<P N="1">1. Before you begin, recollect your &s;elfe a little, marking with attention how Noble and Angelicall an Office you are about to performe, and for what in|tent.</P>
<P N="2">2. Ble&s;&s;ing your &s;elfe with the &s;igne of the cro&s;&s;e, begin, with &s;aying one of the&s;e Ver&s;icles, or the like.
<LIST>
<ITEM>Now let my lippes &s;ing, &amp; di&s;play.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Ble&s;&s;ed Virgins prai&s;e, this day.</ITEM>
<PB N="281" REF="157">
<ITEM>Grant me, O Virgin, thee to pray&s;e:</ITEM>
<ITEM>Again&s;ts thy foes, giue &s;trenght allwayes.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Then recite the fir&s;t De|cade or Ten, pondering the Con&s;ideration next en|&s;uyng. This being duely performed, &s;ay: O mother of God, and Virgin Mary, let all the holy Angells ten thou&s;and tymes, ex|toll and ble&s;&s;e you. The &s;econd decade with the Con&s;ideration being al&s;o ended, &s;ay: Let all holy Pa|triarches &amp; Prophets twen|ty thou&s;and tymes extoll and ble&s;&s;e you. After the third &s;ay: Let all holy A|po&s;tles
<PB N="282" REF="158">thirty thou&s;and ty|mes &amp;c. After the fourth: Let all holy Martyrs four|ty thou&s;and tymes &amp;c. Af|ter the fifth: Let all holy Confe&s;&s;ours fifty thou&s;and tymes &amp;c. After the &s;ixth: Let all holy Virgins, wid|dowes, and others, ble&s;&s;e and extoll you a hundred thou&s;and tymes.</P>
<P>Then reciting the three la&s;t <HI>Aue Maries;</HI> in the fir&s;t you &s;hall &s;alute the B. Vir|gin Mary, daughter of the Eternall Father, demaun|ding the vertue of Fayth, &amp; offering your body to her perpetuall &s;eruice. In the &s;e|cond you &s;hall &s;alute the B.
<PB N="283" REF="158">Virgin Mary, Mother of the Sonne of God, asking the vertue of Hope, &amp; offering your &s;oule vnto her. In the third you &s;hall &s;alute the Virgin Mary, Spou&s;e of the Holy Gho&s;t, crauing the vertue of Charity, and offe|ring vnto her what&s;oeuer you haue, or by any iu&s;t title can lay claime vnto: &amp; after this conclude by &s;ay|ing the Creed deuoutly.</P>
<P>When you haue thus en|ded the Ro&s;ary, you may recite the Hymne <HI>Aue Ma|ris stella,</HI> with the ver&s;icle, and Prayer. Diuers do ad|de the P&s;alme <HI>De profundis</HI> for the dead; Or, <HI>Laudate
<PB N="284" REF="159">Dominum omnes gentes &amp;c.</HI> The&s;e aduerti&s;emens may be common to all the man|ners of &s;aying the beades; but that with followeth is mo&s;t proper for our pur|po&s;e.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>In &s;aying the first Decade, or Ten.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall imagine all the <HI>Aues</HI> thereof to be as &s;o many pretious &s;tones, or other ornamets mo&s;t beau|tifull to the &s;ight, which are offered to the Mother of God by the handes of your Angel Guardian, for compo&s;ing a Garland, or
<PB N="285" REF="159">Crowne to adorn her head. Neither doth this conceit want good warrant, as &s;halbe manife&s;t by the fol|lowing hi&s;tory, taken out of <HI>Diony&s;ius Carthu&s;ianus</HI> in his fir&s;t Sermon of the A&s;&s;umption of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady and 13. ver&s;e.</P>
<P>A certaine Monke of the Religious Order of <HI>Cister|cians,</HI> who had accu&s;tomed daily with great deuotion to &s;alute the B. Virgin by reciting the Ro&s;ary, when vpon a certaine day all al|one in his chamber he was paying on his knees his ac|cu&s;tomed taske, the mo&s;t deuout Virgin appeared vn+to
<PB N="286" REF="160">him, &s;hewing him a mo&s;t beautifull Robe, &s;hining with admirable &s;plendour (except only a little part thereof) being all ouer en|grauen with Golden <HI>Aue Maries,</HI> and &s;aying: See&s;t thou (quoth &s;hee) in what e&s;teem I haue the <HI>Aue Ma|ries,</HI> which hitherto thou ha&s;t offred vp vnto me? And when this part of the Robe that is vnfini&s;hed, &s;hall be adorned al&s;o with the like <HI>Aue Maries,</HI> I will cau&s;e thee to enter into the king|dome of my Sonne, ador|ned al&s;o with comelines, and glory.</P>
<P>After the &s;ame manner
<PB N="287" REF="160">do you behold the B. Vir|gin pre&s;ent, whiles you are &s;aying the fir&s;t Decade, of|fering tho&s;e &s;alutations vn|to her, as if they were &s;o many pretious &s;tones, and rich iewells mo&s;t plea&s;ing and gratefull to hereyes, &amp; to all the heauenly Court; and you &s;hall mo&s;t humbly intreate her, that &s;he will vouch&s;afe to pre&s;ent vnto her&s;elfe, and her beloued So~ne your Soule, fir&s;t made beautifull with the orna|ments of graces &amp; vertues.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>In reciting the &s;econd Decade.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall imagine all the &s;alutations to be a mo&s;t
<PB N="288" REF="161">&s;weet and gratefull harmo|ny, like vnto that, which the Angells did &s;ing in the Natiuity of our Lord, and at other tymes when they &s;alute the B. Virgin. To tho&s;e heauenly Quires con|ioyne your &s;elfe, and offer vnto her the&s;e your &s;alu|tations, which although thereby rudely vttered and pronounced with a har&s;h and vnplea&s;ant voice, ne|uertheles they are of them|&s;elues mo&s;t gratefull to the eares of the B. Virgin. De|maund withall that &s;he will vouch &s;afe, to giue you a more <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">killful voyce in hea|uen, wherby to &s;ou~d forth
<PB N="289" REF="161" MS="y">her mercies and pray&s;es for euer.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>In &s;aying the third Decade.</HEAD>
<P>IMAGINE, that the&s;e Sa|lutations of the Angell, are as &s;o many mo&s;t fragra~t Ro&s;es, fit for the &s;ight and &s;mell of &s;ome great Prin|ce&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>A certayne religious ma~ of the Order of the <HI>Mini|mes,</HI> out of a pious cu&s;tome did neuer ta&s;t meat before he had recited the crown of our B. Lady. But as by na|ture we are often forget|full, and do fayle &s;omety|mes in tho&s;e things, which he haue before determined
<PB N="290" REF="162">to do; this good religious Man, one day being &s;et downe all the table, as yet fa&s;ting, he reme~bred him|&s;elfe of his intermitted cu|&s;tome. Being much per|plexed and &s;ad, at la&s;t he asked, &amp; obtained leaue of the Suepriour to ri&s;e, and without further delay, he went into the Church to &s;ay his crowne. He had now wel neere fini&s;hed the &s;ame, when as one of the Reli|gious was &s;ent to call him away by order of the Su|periour, who comming in|to the Church &s;aw the Mo|ther of God vpon the Al|tar in a bright &s;hining ma|ner,
<PB N="291" REF="162" MS="y">accompanied with two Angels, who receaued from the mouth of the holy man as he prayed, mo&s;t beauti|full Ro&s;es, and put them vpon the head of their La|dy and Queene. Moreouer he ob&s;erued, that as often as the other pronounced the mo&s;t Holy Name of IESVS, at the end of the Angelicall &s;alutation, the B. Virgin and the Angells did reuerently bow downe their heads. <HI>[Chron. Minim. p. 3. l. 1. c. 36. &amp; 37.]</HI></P>
<P>What contentment of mynd, what mea&s;ure of ioy and heauenly delight, how great affection of loue to|wards
<PB N="292" REF="163">the B. Virgin, did both the&s;e Religious men ta&s;t at this &s;pectacle, can|not be declared: Neyther &s;hall it need, &s;ince that who&s;oeuer &s;hall read the&s;e things, wilbe able &s;uffi|ciently to gather the &s;ame of him&s;elfe; and he much more, who moued by this example, &s;hall dayly recite the &s;ayd Crowne of the B. Virgin.</P>
<P>Another &s;tory not vn|like to this is recounted in the &s;ame place of a certaine Religious Nouice who had receiued from his &s;pirituall Father this document as a mo&s;t pre&s;et remedy again&s;t
<PB N="293" REF="163" MS="y">what&s;oeuer te~ptations, to wit, that euery day befor he tooke any corporall food he &s;hould recyte the Co|rone of our B. Lady. On a tyme &s;undry imployme~ts impo&s;ed vpon him by holy Obedience, did &s;o di&s;tract his mynd, as he became vn|mindfull of his accu&s;tomed deuotion. Being &s;et downe at table, and his Superiour aduerti&s;ed of his errour, commanded him to ri&s;e, &amp; go to the Church to per|forme his deuotio~s. While be obeyed, and was now deuoutly &s;aying the Crow|ne, an Angell was &s;eene to &s;ta~d by him, who knitting
<PB N="294" REF="164">togeather vpon a golden thrid ten Ro&s;es, and there|in al&s;o in&s;erting a golden Lilly, made a mo&s;t fayre Crowne, &amp; put it vpon the head of the &s;ayd Nouice, and for te&s;timony of this miracle, from the place, where this deuout &amp; obe|dient Bead&s;ma~ did kneele, for a lo~g tyme after a mo&s;t &s;weet &amp; fragrant odour of Ro&s;es and Lillyes did con|tinue.</P>
<P>Thou therfore, as if thou wert moued with the like &s;pectacle, &s;halt offer to the B. Virgin the&s;e Angelicall Salutations, as &s;o many Ro&s;es, giuing a mo&s;t fra|grant
<PB N="295" REF="164" MS="y">&s;mel both to her, the Angells, and thy &s;elfe: and being an humble &s;uppliant vnto her, thou &s;halt be&s;eech her to vouch&s;afe, to ob|tayne for thee the grace to &s;end forth according to the the quality of thy &s;tate and condition, the &s;weet odour of good example, and pre|tious oyntement of her holy Name.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>In reciting the fourth Decade.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall heere imagine, that the Angelicall &s;alu|tations which you recite, are as mo&s;t &s;weet hony in your mouth: as a deuout &amp; graue Matrone of Cullen
<PB N="296" REF="165">did experience, who as of|ten as &s;he &s;ayd the Ro&s;ary, felt her mouth &s;ea&s;oned with &s;o gratefull a reli&s;h, as that &s;he thought her &s;pittle to be co~uerted into hony. Which thing a certaine An|choret named <HI>Mar&s;ilius,</HI> li|uing a Reclu&s;e neere to the Church of <HI>S. Seuerinus</HI> vn|der&s;tanding, did after her example daily &s;ay the Ro|&s;ary, and after &s;ix weekes &s;pace that he had &s;o conti|dued, he felt al&s;o that &s;wet|nes in his mouth whil&s;t he pronounced the &s;ayd Salu|tations, which did far ex|ceed all deliciou&s;nes of ho|ny. [<HI>Cae&s;ar. lib. 7. c.</HI> 50.]</P>
<PB N="297" REF="165" MS="y">
<P>Do you in like manner, ta&s;tyng the&s;e Salutations, with &s;pirituall gu&s;t, declare vnto the Ble&s;. Virgin how &s;weet her pray&s;es are vnto your thoate, humbly be|&s;eeching her al&s;o, that &s;he will vouch&s;afe to accept of your praiers, although pre|&s;ented her in a di&s;h neyther very cleane nor precious, &amp; that &s;he will al&s;o be plea&s;ed to obtayne for you, the &s;weetnes of heauenly con|&s;olations, in re&s;pect of which, all earthly things may &s;eeme vnto you vn&s;a|uoury.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<PB N="298" REF="166">
<HEAD>In &s;aying the fifth Decade.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall thinke with your &s;elfe, that the&s;e Angelicall Salutations are as mo&s;t holy and &s;acred things, which ought to be touched with reuerence; or as ve&s;&s;els full of precious trea&s;ures; or finally as im|bracings &amp; holy ki&s;&s;es, of|fered vnto the feet both of the B. Virgin her&s;elfe, &amp; of her little IESVS. That the&s;e &s;alutations are mo&s;t holy appeareth &s;ufficiently &s;ince they were annoynted with the oyle of the Ho|ly Gho&s;t from who&s;e &s;a|cred Mouth they were dic|tated;
<PB N="299" REF="166" MS="y">&amp; pronounced by the Archangell <HI>Gabriel, S. Eli|zabeth,</HI> and the Church his holy &s;pou&s;e.</P>
<P>That al&s;o they are ve&s;|&s;els of pretious Trea&s;ures, may be gathered by the vi|&s;ion axhibited to <HI>S. Ger|trude,</HI> who in &s;aying the Ro&s;ary, beheld all the An|gelicall Salutations that &s;he vttered, or rather eue|ry word thereof, to be as &s;o many golden Crownes, offred vnto the Mother of God out of the trea&s;ure of her heart, which &s;he with great co~tent did handle, &amp; made much more e&s;teeme of, then couetous men are
<PB N="300" REF="167">wont of their money. <HI>[lib. 4. Reuel. c. 55.]</HI></P>
<P>And la&s;tly as the B. Vir|gin, gaue her little IESVS to be imbraced, by the three Kings, by the &s;heep|hearps, by old <HI>Simeon,</HI> and by many of her deuout Seruants, in &s;undry appari|tions as they haue byn &s;ay|ing the Ro&s;ary; &s;o do you imagine the &s;ame benefit to be now inui&s;ibly giuen vnto you; and te&s;tify to the B. Virgin, that among&s;t all earthly things, nothing is more holy &amp; pretious vn|to you, then with humility and deuotion to ki&s;&s;e the prints of her feet, &amp; of her
<PB N="301" REF="167" MS="y">little IESVS, with &s;o many ki&s;&s;es of loue as you vtter wordes in &s;aying the Ro|&s;ary. You &s;hal al&s;o humbly demau~d, that the B. Virgin her &s;elfe would accept of your &s;alutations, as things pretious and worthy of her &s;elfe; and that &s;he would imbrace you, in the armes of her mercy, &amp; make you worthy of the holy ki&s;&s;e of her motherly loue, and fauour.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>In reciting the &s;ixth Decade.</HEAD>
<P>YOu &s;hall imagine, that the acts of your vnder|&s;tanding &amp; will, which you produce in &s;aying the Ro|&s;ary,
<PB N="302" REF="168">to be as &s;o many fla|mes mo&s;t bright, or rather dartes throwen from your hart tran&s;pierced with her loue, into the heart of the B. Virgin. Surely it was re|uealed to <HI>S. Gertrude,</HI> that the Archa~gell Gabriel is &s;o often enlightened with a new brightnes of the holy Gho&s;t, as often as the &s;alu|tation pronounced by him to the B. Virgin, is renewed &amp; recited. <HI>[vbi &s;upra c. 12.]</HI> Why then may we not &s;ay that the&s;e Salutations be Flames, why not Darts, when as we read al&s;o, that the holy Mother <HI>Tere&s;a,</HI> one mo&s;t addicted to the
<PB N="303" REF="168">&s;eruice of the Ble&s;&s;ed Vir|gin, was by an Angell pier|ced through with a golden dart of diuine loue?</P>
<P>Therefore in &s;aying the &s;ixt Decade of the Ro&s;ary, you &s;hall declare vnto the B. Virgin, that the&s;e &s;aluta|tions, as are &s;o many Suns wherwith you de&s;ire to be enlightned; as &s;o many fla|mes of loue wherewith you may burne; as &s;o many Darts, with which your hart being pierced, you may melt away &amp; co~&s;ume. You may al&s;o piou&s;ly de|maund, that being drawne on by the&s;e your &s;eruices although litle and far vne|quall
<PB N="304" REF="169">to her de&s;erts; &s;he by the plentifull influence of her mercies, will not cea&s;e in like manner to exhibite her loue vnto you; e&s;pecial|ly that &s;he wilbe plea&s;ed to illuminate your mind with the knowledge of her per|fections &amp; vertues, &amp; wou~d your hart, with her loue, that you may remayne faythfull vntill death. In the&s;e con&s;iderations you may ob&s;erue another me|thode, to wit, that euery one thereof, a&s;&s;igned to euery Decade, may &s;uffice for euery Ro&s;ary, and &s;o in this Chapter you haue &s;ix diuers manners of &s;aying the Ro&s;ary.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="305" REF="169" MS="y">
<HEAD>CHAP. III. <HI>The &s;econd manner of &s;aying the Ro&s;ary.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe &s;econd ma~ner is that, wherin atte~tion chiefly is giuen to the &s;en&s;e of the words of the Angelicall Sa|lutation, and of the <HI>Pater Noster.</HI> And that this atten|tion may be the ea&s;ier, let vs cal to mynd that famous miracle, which happened at Rome in the yeare 590. in a &s;olemne proce&s;&s;ion which was ordayned for auerting the plague, greatly annoy|ing all Italy. In this proce&s;|&s;ion was carryed a mo&s;t de|uout
<PB N="306" REF="170">and ancient picture of the Mother of God, payn|ted by <HI>Saint Luke,</HI> and with &s;uch happy &s;ucce&s;&s;e, that foorthwith in all places, health was obteyned. The Angels were heard &s;inging by all that were there pre|&s;e~t (whether with greater amazement, or plea&s;ure it is doubtfull) &amp; co~gratula|ting with the B. Virgin in the&s;e words: O Queene of heauen reioyce (Alleluia) becau&s;e whome you haue merited to beare, (Alle|luia) hath ri&s;en as he &s;ayd (A leluia) whereto <HI>S. Gre|gory</HI> being taught by di|uine in&s;tinct, in the name
<PB N="307" REF="170" MS="y">of all the people, added, Pray vnto God for vs (Al|leluia.) And &s;hortly after an Angell, who &s;tanding vpon the top of Adrians Tower, and &s;hewing him|&s;elfe to be a iu&s;t Reuenger of &s;innes committed, ha|uing allready drawne the &s;word of Iu&s;tice for pu|ni&s;hment therof, was &s;eene to put the &s;ame againe into the &s;cabbard, in &s;igne that mercy was obtayned, and gotten for them. <HI>[Baron. tom. 8. ann. 590.]</HI></P>
<P>Now after you haue fra|med to your &s;elfe the like imagination; fir&s;t, con&s;ider on the one &s;ide, that you
<PB N="308" REF="171">pronou~ce the words of the Archangell Gabriell, enui|roned with a troupe of An|gels, &s;aluting the B. Virgin now triu~phant in heauen, as before he had done in Na|zareth. Then do you en|deauour to &s;tirre vp, &amp; ex|pre&s;&s;e in your &s;elfe the &s;ame effects of reuerence, gratu|lation, prai&s;e, ioy, and &s;uch other like, as the words require.</P>
<P>On the other &s;ide, you &s;hall imagine <HI>S. Elizabeth</HI> with all the holy and Ble&s;|&s;ed men, leading a di&s;tinct Quire, and congratulating the B. Virgin with the &s;ame applau&s;e, loue, ioy, &amp; other
<PB N="309" REF="171">affections wherwith in ty|mes pa&s;t together with her holy infant <HI>S. Iohn Baptist,</HI> whome &s;he carryed in her wombe, &s;he had &s;aluted her in the&s;e words: [Ble&s;|&s;ed art thou among&s;t wo|men &amp;c.] and do you imi|tate her with the &s;ame fee|ling and affection, in pro|nouncyng the &s;elfe &s;ame wordes.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, you &s;hall with the eye of contemplation behold the whole pre&s;ent militant Church, vexed &amp; afflicted with many mi&s;e|ryes &amp; per&s;ecutions in this vale of teares, lying pro|&s;trate at the feet of the B.
<PB N="310" REF="172">Virgin, and imploring her mercy, in like manner as the former Hi&s;tory did re|pre&s;ent vnto you: &amp; in the per&s;on of this Church you &s;hall recite the la&s;t part of the Saluta~tion (Holy Ma|ry, &amp;c.) asking with all humility, comfort &amp; ayde again&s;t &s;o many euills, and crauing her whol&s;ome and efficacious interce&s;&s;ion for the atcheyuement of all good things; &amp; withall you may pre&s;ent vnto her your owne particular intention.</P>
<P>The&s;e co~&s;iderations may for your commodity be &s;o parted and deuided, that in the fir&s;t two Decades you
<PB N="311" REF="172">may atte~d chiefly vnto the &s;en&s;e of the Angels words; In the other two, vnto the wordes of <HI>S. Elizabeth:</HI> In the la&s;t two, to the wordes of the holy Church. And you may begin &amp; conclude this manner, as the former.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV. <HI>The third manner of &s;aying the Ro&s;ary.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis manner al&s;o of &s;ay|ing the Ro&s;ary is very ea&s;ie, wherin chiefly Atten|tion is v&s;ed about the my|&s;teries of the life of our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t, &amp; his B. Mo|ther, interlacing withall,
<PB N="312" REF="173">the &s;ame after &s;ome &s;ort with the former two At|tentions &s;poken of before. The&s;e my&s;teries alwayes a&s;&s;igned are fifteene, which you &s;hall deuide in this manner.</P>
<P>The my&s;teries of Ioy (which are the Annuncia|tion, the Vi&s;itatio~, the Na|tiuity of Chri&s;t our Lord, his Pre&s;entation, &amp; his fin|ding among&s;t the Doctors in the Temple) you may re|cite on Mu~day, Tue&s;day &amp; Wen&s;day, a&s;&s;igning to eue|ry decade a &s;eueral mi&s;tery. As you recite the &s;ame, you &s;hall imagine your &s;elfe to declare vnto the B. Virgin
<PB N="313" REF="173">that mi&s;tery which you do contemplate, and to relate the vertues expre&s;&s;ed the|rein, and benefits be&s;towed vpon vs by the &s;ame, by re|ioycing, thanks giuing, of|fering your &s;elfe, and what|&s;oeuer is yours, asking things conformable to the my&s;tery, and commending your particuler intention vnto her.</P>
<P>The dolorous my&s;teries (which are, The prayer of Chri&s;t in the Garden, His whipping at the Pillar, His Crowning with thornes, His carrying of his Cro&s;&s;e, and Crucifying) you &s;hall renew euery Friday and Sa|turday,
<PB N="314" REF="174">after the &s;ame man|ner as you did the Ioyfull, adding therto chiefly af|fections of Compa&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>The Glorious my&s;teryes (which are the Re&s;urrectio~ of our Lord, his A&s;cen&s;ion, the comming downe of the holy Gho&s;t, the A&s;&s;um|ption of the B. Virgin and her Coronation in heauen) you &s;hall recite vpon Sun|dayes and Thur&s;dayes, as you did the former, exer|ci&s;ing chiefly affections of Congratulation, and de&s;ire of the Glory of Heauen.</P>
<P>Some deuide the whole life of Chri&s;t, and of our B. Lady into two weekes, af|ter
<PB N="315" REF="174">this manner. On Mun|day they call to mynd, 1. The Expectation of the birth of the B. Virgin from the very beginning of the world, by how many Ora|cles the &s;ame was promi|&s;ed; by how many figures repre&s;ented; and by how many &s;upplications &s;ought for. 2. Her immaculate Co~|ception. 3. Her holy Nati|uity. 4. Her Pre&s;entation in the Te~ple. 5. The yeares of her Childhood, and her vow of Virginity made in her tender age. 6. Her be|troathing to <HI>S. Jo&s;eph.</HI></P>
<P>On Twe&s;day they con&s;i|der, 1. The Annunciation
<PB N="316" REF="175">of the Angell. 2. The vi&s;i|tation of <HI>Saint Elizabeth.</HI> 3. The Natiuity of Chri&s;t. 4. The adoration of the Sheepheardes. 5. The Cir|cumci&s;ion. 6. The Adora|tion of the three kinges.</P>
<P>On Wedne&s;day they beare in mind, 1. The Pu|rification of the B. Virgin, and Pre&s;entation of Chri&s;t in the Temple. 2. Their flight into Aegypt, and &s;ea|uen yeares abode there. 3. The remayning of Ie&s;us in the Temple, &amp; his finding there. 4. His childhood, &amp; life vntill thirty yeares of age. 5. His departure from the company of his Mo|ther,
<PB N="317" REF="175">his Bapti&s;me and fa|&s;ting. 6. His preaching and miracles.</P>
<P>On Thur&s;day, they medi|tate, 1. The &s;ole~ne entrance of Chri&s;t into Ieru&s;alem. 2. His wa&s;hing of the Apo|les feet. 3. The in&s;titution of the mo&s;t B. Sacrament. 4. His prayer in the Gar|den. 5. His apprehending. 6. That which he &s;uffered in the hou&s;e of <HI>Annas</HI> and <HI>Cayphas,</HI> and <HI>S. Peters</HI> de|nyall of him.</P>
<P>On Friday they contem|plate, 1. Chri&s;t our Lord led vnto <HI>Pilate</HI> and Herod. 2. His whipping at the pil|lar. 3. His crowning with
<PB N="318" REF="176">thornes. 4. His &s;hewing to the people, and the wordes <HI>[Ecce homo.]</HI> 5. His con|demnation and carrying of his Cro&s;&s;e. 6. His crucify|ing.</P>
<P>On Saturday they pon|der, 1. The words of Chri&s;t our Lord vttered vpon the Cro&s;&s;e, and chiefly the&s;e, (Behold thy Mother, and, Behold thy Sonne.) 2. His death. 3. The great griefe &amp; &s;orrow of our Ble&s;. Lady. 4. The taking downe of Chri&s;ts body from the Cro&s;&s;e. 5. His Buryall. 6. The de&s;ceding of his &s;oule into Hell.</P>
<P>On Sunday, they call to
<PB N="319" REF="176">mynd, 1. The Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t our Lord. 2. His A&s;cen&s;ion. 3. The &s;ending downe of the holy Gho&s;t. 4. The re&s;t of our B. La|dyes life vntill her death. 5. Her triumphall A&s;&s;umptio~. 6. Her Coronation, and the patronage of all men giuen vnto her.</P>
<P>This exerci&s;e of medita|ting the my&s;teries of Chri&s;t our Lord and of the B. Vir|gin in &s;aying the Ro&s;ary, hath beene had in great e&s;teeme, and was con&s;tant|ld practy&s;ed by <HI>Saint Char|les Borromeus,</HI> that famous Contemplant of our B. La|dy. <HI>[in eius vita l. 8. c. 2.] S.
<PB N="320" REF="177">Bernardinus</HI> al&s;o of <HI>Sienna</HI> hath left te&s;tifyed, that what&s;oeuer Graces, or Spi|rituall gifts at any tyme he obtayned, came from the deuout remembrace of the Ioyes of our B. Lady, in the honour of which, he dayly recyted her Ro&s;ary. <HI>[Ineius vita.]</HI></P>
<P>But a &s;ingular te&s;timony of this deuotion, may be taken out of the Chroni|cles of <HI>S. Francis,</HI> where it is recounted, that a certayne Prie&s;t, who had accu&s;to|med dayly to adorne an I|mage of our B. Lady with a garland of flowers, entred into <HI>Saint Francis</HI> Order,
<PB N="321" REF="177">where, when as he could not dayly offer his wonted garland vnto the B. Virgin, he thought of retourning backe to the world againe. But the Mother of God full of Mercy, permitted not that her Client &s;hould long remaine in errour, but compa&s;&s;ed about with a heauenly light, &s;he appea|red vnto him, and with the beames of her benigni|ty did &s;he driue away the darke my&s;t of his mynd, comma~ding that he &s;hould not ra&s;hly ca&s;t from him &s;o great a Iewell of Religious vocation, which now he had vndertake~, lea&s;t other|wi&s;e
<PB N="322" REF="178">him&s;elfe al&s;o, might perhaps afterwards come to be reiected of God, and withall &s;he in&s;tructed him, how he &s;hould dayly offer to her another garla~d more odoriferous and gratefull, co~po&s;ed of the fixty three <HI>Aue Maries,</HI> &amp; &s;eauen <HI>Pa|ter Nosters,</HI> in memory of the &s;eauen Ioyes which &s;he tenderly and entirly felt. 1. In the Conception of her Ble&s;&s;ed Sonne. 2. When &s;he carryed him in her wombe, and vi&s;ited <HI>S. Elizabeth.</HI> 3. In his birth. 4. In the Ado|ration of the three Kings. 5. In her finding him in the Temple. 6. In his Re&s;urre|ction
<PB N="323" REF="178">7. When &s;he was a&s;|&s;umpted into heauen. So that euery ioy corre&s;pon|deth to euery Decade, and the &s;eauenth to the three la&s;t Salutations.</P>
<P>This good Religious ma~ obeyed the admonition &amp; whol&s;ome coun&s;ell of the B. Virgin, and from thence forth began to recite day|ly the Corone, after that methode and manner. A long tyme after (notwith|out a great miracle) the B. Virgin appeared agayne vnto him being in daunger of his life, no le&s;&s;e power|full &amp; benigne a Guardian, then before &s;he had beene a
<PB N="324" REF="179">prudent and wi&s;e Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e towardes her &s;eruant. For on a tyme, as he trauayled by Obedience with his co~|panion through a wood, which was much haunted with theeues, reciting the Ro&s;ary &amp; meditating vpon of the fore&s;ayd My&s;teries; the theeues e&s;pied him, to|geather with a mo&s;t beau|tiful Virgin, who at euery Angelicall Salutation, ga|thered from his mouth as he &s;pake a Ro&s;e, and with a threed of gold fa&s;tened the &s;ame to a circle, in manner of a Crowne. When he had ended his beades, and the B. Virgin departed, forth|with
<PB N="325" REF="179">the theeues came ru|&s;hing with great violence vpon the Religious ma~, in|quiring of him from whe~ce that Virgin came, and whi|ther &s;he was gone. He de|nyed to haue &s;eene any, as al&s;o his companion did the like: at which the theeues were enraged, and ready to kill them. In the meane &s;pace they both with very great earne&s;tnes &amp; inward feruour cryed vpon our B. Lady: O Mother of God, ayd and &s;uccour vs. And behold the B. Virgin pre|&s;ently appeared with a glo|rious company of Angels adornd with that &s;ame gar|land,
<PB N="326" REF="180">and fir&s;t rebuking the theeues, turned to the An|gels, and with a cheerfull countenance, &s;aid: Lo, with what a beautifull Crowne thi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> Brother hath adorned me, and foothwith vani|&s;hed away. Leauing the mynds of the beholders in great a&s;toni&s;hment at this incredible motiue and a&s;|pect, which &s;o moued the theeues to the true vnder|&s;tanding of them&s;elues, &amp; &s;erious conuer&s;ion of their liues, that they entred into religion, &amp; became deuout &s;eruants of the B. Virgin.</P>
<P>The &s;ame al&s;o, that this religious ma~ now &s;poke of
<PB N="327" REF="180">did accompli&s;h, was no le&s;&s;e deuoutly performed by <HI>S. Thomas of Canterbury,</HI> who was accu&s;tomed dayly to call to mynd the &s;eauen ioyes, wherwith our B. La|dy was repleni&s;hed lyuing vpon earth, &amp; in the pious remembrance whereof he tooke great contentement and &s;weetnes. Wherefore the Virgin Mother (hauing a de&s;ire to transfer his de|uotion to more &s;ublyme ioyes) appeared and &s;pake vnto him in this manner: Why, O my beloued <HI>Tho|mas,</HI> doe&s;t thou meditate only vpon tho&s;e ioyes that I had on earth? cal to mynd
<PB N="328" REF="181">al&s;o tho&s;e, which I now en|ioy in heauen, which are the&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. I reioyce, that aboue all pure Creatures I am pla|ced, next in honour, vnto the mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Trinity.</P>
<P N="2">2. I reioyce for the gar|land of my vn&s;potted Vir|ginity, whereby I far excell all the orders of Angells &amp; Saints.</P>
<P N="3">3. I reioyce, that euen as the Day is repleni&s;hed with light from the Sun, &s;o the whole Heaue~ly Court, more abundantly &s;hyning by my beatitude, is reple|ni&s;hed with ioy.</P>
<P N="4">4. I reioyce, that all the
<PB N="329" REF="181">Cittizens of that Court do obey and reuerence me, the Mother of their King.</P>
<P N="5">5. I recoice, becau&s;e myne and the diuine Maie&s;tyes highe&s;t Will is one, and the &s;elfe &s;ame; and what&s;oeuer &s;halbe plea&s;ing to me, my Sonne will a &s;lent thereunto with mo&s;t ready, and gra|cious fauour.</P>
<P N="6">6. I reioyce for the infi|nite grace, wherwith I was enriched on earth; and for that al&s;o, a reward in Hea|uen is giuen by my Sonne to all tho&s;e who &s;erue me heere on earth.</P>
<P N="7">7. I reioyce, that not only my glory &s;hall neuer
<PB N="330" REF="182">dimini&s;h, but &s;hall conti|nually be increa&s;ed, with|out euer cea&s;ing, to the worlds end, and &s;o conti|nue for all eternity. When the B. Virgin had vouch|&s;afed to lay al this open be|fore the eyes of her belo|ued &s;eruant, &s;he vani&s;hed away, bidding him farewel. And he by the&s;e diuine ad|monitio~s &amp; documents, be|came much more feruent and deuout towardes &s;o powerfull a Mother. That is al&s;o worthy of memory, which the &s;ame Author ad|deth, thereby to &s;tyr vp an a&s;&s;ured Confidence, to|wards our B. Lady, in the
<PB N="331" REF="182">harts of men.</P>
<P>Neyther is it, &s;ayth the Author, to be omitted, that often tymes the Mother of God appeared to this her faythfull &s;eruant, and with &s;o great bounty &s;hewed her &s;elfe familiar vnto him, that as often as he had any great affaire to manage, &s;o ofte~ would the mo&s;t pious Virgin offer vp the &s;ame to her Sonne Ie&s;us, vntill &s;he obtayned his petition; and finally brought vnto him the palme of a mo&s;t glori|ous Martirdome which he co~&s;tantly offered for the de|fe~ce of his church &amp; flocke, in the yeare of Chri&s;t 1171.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="332" REF="183">
<HEAD>CHAP. V. <HI>Of the Office of our B. Lady.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IF your bu&s;ines will per|mit, you may dayly, or at lea&s;t vpon Sundayes &amp; Ho|ly dayes, &s;ay the Office of the B. Virgin, and &s;o do|ing you &s;hall performe a thing mo&s;t gratefull vnto her. <HI>S. Charles Borromeus</HI> had the reuiewing thereof, &amp; brought it to that forme which is now approued, &amp; enriched with Indulgences by the Sea Apo&s;tolicke, the which he him&s;elfe was ac|cu&s;tomed daily to &s;ay vpon
<PB N="333" REF="183">knees. <HI>(In eius vita.)</HI></P>
<P>It is anciently recounted of the fir&s;t Fathers of the holy Order of Carthu&s;ia~s, who in ab&s;ence of <HI>S. Bruno</HI> &s;uffering great pre&s;&s;ures &amp; anxiety of mynd, were very much comforted &amp; encou|raged by <HI>S. Peter</HI> the Apo|&s;tle, who promi&s;ed vnto them the B. Virgins ayde &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;tance, if they would dayly recite her Office in her honour. By which vi|&s;ion being filled with great ioy and gladnes, they made choyce of our B. Lady for the Patrone&s;&s;e of their Or|der, reciting daily her Of|fice in her Honour, &amp; forth|with
<PB N="334" REF="184">by her a&s;&s;i&s;tance were freed from all trouble and griefe of mynd.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o a thing very fa|mous, which <HI>Cardinall Ba|ronius</HI> doth recou~t to haue happened in the yeare 1159. as touching the Mona&s;tery of <HI>Gamugi</HI> in <HI>Italy,</HI> the Re|ligious where of when they had intermitted their pious cu&s;tome of reciting the of|fice of our Lady, began to be &s;o afflicted with calami|ties and incur&s;ions of the Band its and Outlawes, that they were induced by <HI>Pe|trus Damianus</HI> a holy man &amp; great louer of the B. Vir|gin to re&s;ume agayne their
<PB N="335" REF="184">accu&s;tomed manner of re|citing her Office whereto when they had al agreed, &amp; did fulfull the &s;ame, they were by the Ble&s;. Virgins patronage deliuered from their troubles, and clearly vnder&s;tood, how powerfull the &s;ame Virgin is, &amp; ready to a&s;&s;i&s;t all that do implore her ayde.</P>
<P>And that you may recite the &s;ayd Office, with grea|ter deuotion and benefit, the&s;e few thinges you are carefully to practi&s;e. Fir&s;t, recollect your &s;elfe a little before the &s;aying of euery Houre, as hath beene &s;ayd touching the Ro&s;ary: next
<PB N="336" REF="185">in &s;aying thereof being myndfull of the threefold attention there al&s;o expli|cated, you mu&s;t atte~d vnto the di&s;tinct pronunciation of the words, &amp; &s;en&s;e ther|of, imbracing the &s;ame af|fections that the P&s;almes &amp; Hymnes the&s;elues con|taine. And you may a&s;&s;igne to euery Houre &s;ome My|&s;tery or other, which was done about that tyme, to contemplate on.</P>
<P>For example at the Mar|tins and Laudes (for which the night time is appointed by the Church) you may cal to mynd the Natiuity of Chri&s;t; or el&s;e his captiuity
<PB N="337" REF="185">and apprehen&s;ion, which was mo&s;t &s;harp vnto him all the whole night long, both in the hou&s;e of <HI>An|nas</HI> and <HI>Cayphas.</HI> At the Prime you may co~&s;ider his conuenting and accu&s;ation before Pilate and Herod, or his Re&s;urrection, &amp; Ap|parition to the B. Virgin his Mother. At the third, his Scourging and Crow|ning with thornes (which perchance the B. Virgin her&s;elfe beheld) or el&s;e the &s;ending downe of the Ho|ly Gho&s;t vpon the &s;ayd B. Virgin and the Apo&s;tles. At the &s;ixt, his carrying of his Cro&s;&s;e, &amp; crucifying vpon
<PB N="338" REF="186">Mo~t Caluary. At the ninth, his words vttered vpon the Cro&s;&s;e, and his death ther|on. At Euen&s;ong, his ta|king downe fro~ the Cro&s;&s;e. And at Compline, his bu|ryall, and the &s;orrowfull mourning of the B. Virgin.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI. <HI>Of the P&s;alter of our B. Lady, Letanyes, and Office of her Immaculate Conception.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe P&s;alter of our Lady, compo&s;ed by <HI>S. Bona|uenture,</HI> a mo&s;t deuout, and &s;ingular louer of the Ble&s;. Virgin, is all repleni&s;hed with allurements of deuo|tion
<PB N="339" REF="186">towards the &s;ame glo|rious Queene. Neyther is there any other manner of &s;aying the &s;ame, then hath bene &s;aid touching the for|mer office. <HI>Thomas Canti|praten&s;is</HI> recordeth, how a you~g maide of &s;eaue~ yeares old earne&s;tly demaunding of our Lady a booke of her P&s;alter, obtayned it, and withall the manner how to &s;ay the &s;ame. <HI>[lib. 1. Apum c. 23. p. 2. &amp; 3.]</HI></P>
<P>The Letanies of our B. Lady you may recite with a twofold &s;en&s;e and affe|ction. Fir&s;t, that by rehear|&s;ing &s;o many Epithetes, &amp; high Pray&s;es, you endea|uour
<PB N="340" REF="187">to declare the Excel|lency of the B. Virgin to be &s;o great, as that you cannot &s;ufficiently explycate the &s;ame by one or more titles only, nor yet euen by infi|nite. Secondly, that by re|peating tho&s;e Elogies, or pray&s;es, as though they were different and mo&s;t ef|ficacious motiues, you &s;hal induce the B. Virgin to giue you a fauourable hea|ring.</P>
<P>But as the&s;e Letanies do &s;tir vp great deuotion to|wards the B. Virgin, &s;o not without great profit &amp; co~|modity are they v&s;ed by Chri&s;tians, a&s;well in things
<PB N="341" REF="187">appertayning to the &s;oule, as the body. Wherefore that godly cu&s;tome, amo~g&s;t many familyes euen of &s;e|cular per&s;ons, is greatly to be commended, in calling togeather at night tho&s;e of the hou&s;hold, to heare the Letanyes daily read in honour of the B. Virgin.</P>
<P>Al&s;o, the renowned pie|ty of certaine per&s;ons to|wards our Ble&s;. Lady hath greatly appeared of late, who haue erected a Con|fraternity among them&s;el|ues, that for obtayning a happy death by our Ladies interce&s;&s;ion, euery one for him&s;elfe, and for his Com|panio~s
<PB N="342" REF="188">in this &s;pirituall ne|gotiation, do euery day re|cite her Letanyes, adding thereunto the Collect, or Prayer of <HI>S. Io&s;eph</HI> her holy Spou&s;e.</P>
<P>The little Office of her immaculate Conception is &s;hort, &amp; very fit to mooue mo&s;t &s;weet affections in the harts of tho&s;e that dayly &s;ay it. And truly how gra|tefull the recitall thereof is to our B. Lady, &s;he her&s;elfe did &s;ufficiently declare to <HI>Alphon&s;us Rodriquez</HI> Co|adiutor of the Society of IESVS, famous for mira|cles both aliue and dead, to whom &s;he appeared as he
<PB N="343" REF="188">was &s;aying this her Office, according to his cuu&s;tome, (as &s;he had very often done at other times) &amp; gaue him in charge, to cau&s;e the &s;ame to be diuulged in print. <HI>[Jn eius vita.]</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. <HI>How Saturday is to be ob&s;erued with reuerence, in honour of the B. Virgin.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BEcau&s;e this day is pecu|liarly con&s;ecrated to the reuerence of our B. Lady, you &s;hall likewi&s;e ob&s;erue the &s;ame in a peculiar man|ner, exerci&s;ing your &s;elfe in the things following, ha|uing
<PB N="344" REF="189">fir&s;t euery Satturday morning co~ceyued a firme purpo&s;e to fulfill them.</P>
<P N="1">1. You &s;hall that day, vndergoe &s;ome mortifica|tion, eyther by keeping it fa&s;t, or ob&s;eruing &s;ome pe|culiar ab&s;tinence; or by re|cyting one of our Ladyes Ant-hymnes with your ar|mes &s;tretched foorth at length, or on your bare knees; or &s;ome other like deuotion at your plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Saint <HI>Nicolas Tolentinus</HI> did v&s;e but onely once on the Saturday to refre&s;h his body with meat, after the imiration of the great <HI>S. Ni|colas. [Surius in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ius vita to~.</HI> 5.]</P>
<PB N="345" REF="189">
<P><HI>Saint Antonius</HI> doth re|count, how that the B. Vir|gin appeared to <HI>S. Thomas</HI> of <HI>Canterbury,</HI> and affoar|ded him her helping hand in mending his haire-&s;hirt, which in her honour he did weare, not onely on Sat|turdayes, but at other ty|mes al&s;o very often. <HI>[p. 5. t. 15. c. 2. &sect;. 2.]</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. You &s;hall on that day exerci&s;e for the Ble&s;&s;ed Vir|gins loue, &s;ome worke of Mercy, whether it be cor|porall, as giuing almes, vi&s;i|ting the &s;icke &amp;c. Or &s;piri|tuall, e&s;pecially by godly &amp; pious &s;peaches &amp; exhor|tatio~ to &s;tir vp your neigh|bours
<PB N="346" REF="190">to vertue, &amp; to more feruent honoring of our B. Lady.</P>
<P N="3">3. You may performe al&s;o that day &s;ome exerci&s;e of deuotion, by vi&s;iting &s;ome Chappell or Oratory of the B. Virgin; which pious cu&s;tome of many de|uout Chri&s;tians hath beene very often approued by mirales from heauen. <HI>[Na|uar Manual. de orat. c. 19. n. 189.]</HI></P>
<P>It is reported al&s;o, that in the valley of <HI>Ronca</HI> in Spaine, Angels are accu&s;to|med euery Satturday, to &s;ing the <HI>Salue Regina,</HI> at a Fountain there, which for
<PB N="347" REF="190">that cau&s;e is called the Fou~|taine of Angels.</P>
<P>This peculiar thing that I will now recount, is no le&s;&s;e gratefull to be heard, then in tymes pa&s;t, was admirable to be &s;eene. At Con&s;tantinople there was an Image of our B Lady, which was couered all the weeke with a veyle, exce|pting that vpon Friday af|ter Euen&s;onge, it was all|wayes miraculou&s;ly lifted vp, no man touching the &s;ame, &amp; was drawne backe from the picture, to the full view of all the Be houl|ders, &amp; &s;o remained vntil E|ue~&s;ong on Saturday: which
<PB N="348" REF="191">being ended it was drawne againe before the Image, &amp; couered the &s;ame as before. <HI>[Spinel. c. 29. n. 17.]</HI> Who vnder&s;tandeth not by this miracle, that euen from Heauen it &s;elfe, men were inuited to Honour the B. Virgin with peculiar deuo|tion, &s;pecially vpon Satur|dayes?</P>
<P N="4">4. With diligence, you &s;hall make your recolle|ction before the Image of the B. Virgin, and exactly examyne, what you haue done the whole week pa&s;t; whether you haue gone forward or backward, pro|fited much or little; adding
<PB N="349" REF="191">new de&s;ires and purpo&s;es again&s;t the next en&s;uing weeke, &s;till committing &amp; commending the &s;ame to the Virgin Mother with all confidence &amp; &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P N="5">5. The &s;ame day in the Euening you &s;hall examine your &s;elfe, whether you haue performed the thin|ges which you promi&s;ed to do that day, in honour of our B. Lady, or no.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII. <HI>Of honouring the Feastes of our B. Lady.</HI></HEAD>
<P>HOw ferue~t, &amp; euen pro|fu&s;e hath euer bene the
<PB N="350" REF="192">deuotion of the louers of our B. Lady, towards the celebrating of her Fea&s;tes with due piety and re&s;pect, appeareth many fe&s;tly out of almo&s;t innumerable hi|&s;tories. Let this one &s;erue in&s;teed of al the re&s;t, which is recorded of <HI>S. Margaret</HI> Virgin, Daughter to the King of <HI>Hungary.</HI> This de|uout Soule (as the Author of her life writeth) whil&s;t on the Vigils of the Nati|uity of our Sauiour, and the foure Fea&s;tes of the B. Virgin, the &s;olemnity of the fe&s;tiuall day following was denounced in the Cha|pter Hou&s;e, &s;he alwayes v|&s;ed
<PB N="351" REF="192">to &s;hew a wonderfull ioy and deuotion, pro&s;tra|ting her&s;elfe on the grou~d, and praying, with teares gaue thankes to God. On tho&s;e Vigills, bread alone was her meate, and water her drincke, ta&s;ting no|thing els all day. Moreouer in all the fe&s;tiuityes of the B. Virgin, and within their Octaues, &s;he offered vp vn|to her, a thou&s;and Angeli|call Salutations, &amp; at euery of them did pro&s;trate her|&s;elfe on the ground. <HI>[In cius vita.]</HI></P>
<P>To the end, that with greater deuotion you may pur&s;ue &amp; follow this holy
<PB N="352" REF="193">example, with hundreds of others, and obtayne al&s;o a more copious reward in heauen, you &s;hall well pon|der the adueri&s;ements fol|lowing, and endeauour to put them in practice.</P>
<P N="1">1. Fir&s;t of all, the day be|fore any Fea&s;t of our Ble&s;. Lady, you &s;hall performe the &s;ame that we haue co~|mended in the precedent Chapter to be ob&s;erued on Saturdayes. On the Fe&s;ti|uall day it &s;elfe, fir&s;t, you &s;hall recite the whole Ro|&s;ary, that is to &s;ay, three Crownes, after the manner aboue pre&s;cribed; &amp; as op|portunity doth &s;erue, you
<PB N="353" REF="193">&s;hall adioyne therto eyther the Office of the B. Virgin, or her P&s;alter, or at lea&s;t her Letanyes.</P>
<P N="2">2. You &s;hall vi&s;ite &s;ome Chappell, Oratory, or I|mage of hers, &amp; &s;hall put in practi&s;e the things which before we haue expre&s;&s;ed in the fir&s;t Bed of this Gar|den, <HI>Chap.</HI> 5</P>
<P N="3">3. You &s;hall receyue the holy Communion in the honour of the B. Virgin; and to the end you may more duely and deuoutly performe the &s;ame, the E|xerci&s;e &s;et downe in the 5. Bed <HI>Chap. 9.</HI> will direct and guide you as it were by the hand.</P>
<PB N="354" REF="194">
<P N="4">4. You &s;hall reade, or heare read, &s;omewhat of the pre&s;ent Fea&s;t, or &s;ome|what treating of the life &amp; pray&s;es of our B. Lady, or at lea&s;t &s;ome other &s;piritu|all matter in her honour; &amp; when you haue fit occa|&s;ion to frame any familiar &s;peach, or talke of her life, your good wil mu&s;t not be wanting. The&s;e are to be ob&s;erued generally vpo~ all her fea&s;tes; and the&s;e which follow &s;halbe proper, &amp; pe|culiar to euery one.</P>
<P>On the fea&s;t of the Con|ception of the mo&s;t B. Vir|gin, you &s;hal recite the Of|fice of her immaculate Co~|ception,
<PB N="355" REF="194">and for the eight dayes following continue to recite the &s;ame, &s;o a&s;&s;ig|ning to euery fea&s;t an Oc|taue to be particulerly kept by your &s;elfe, although the Church &s;hal not ob&s;erue it.</P>
<P>On the Fea&s;t of the Na|tiuity of our Lady, you &s;hall honour the B. Virgins Name, by reciting of the fiue P&s;almes, throughout the octaue, in her Honour, beginning with the letters of her Name, &s;poke~ of be|fore in the <HI>first Bed, and 3. Chap.</HI></P>
<P>On the Fea&s;t of the An|nunciation, you &s;hall fre|quent, throughout the O|ctaue,
<PB N="356" REF="195">the exerci&s;e of reue|rence, which we deliuered al&s;o in the fir&s;t <HI>Bed, &amp; ch.</HI> 7. by exhibiting, by way of many kneelings, the wor|&s;hippe of Hyperdulia, that is, mo&s;t high Seruice, or re|uerence to the B. Virgin.</P>
<P>On the Fea&s;t of the Vi&s;i|tation, and throughout the Octaue, you &s;hall ob&s;erue the Exerci&s;e of Reuerence which is mentioned before in the <HI>1. Bed c.</HI> 5. by making of &s;ome &s;tation, or vi&s;iting &s;ome Chappell or Oratory dedicated to the B. Virgin, after that manner and fa|&s;hion, which is there pre|&s;cribed.</P>
<PB N="357" REF="195">
<P>On the Fea&s;t of the Puri|fication, you &s;hall practi&s;e throughout the octaue, the Exerci&s;e, which you haue in the <HI>2. Bed, &amp; 5. Chap.</HI></P>
<P>Finally, on the Fea&s;t of her A&s;&s;umptio~, &amp; through|out the whole Octaue, you &s;hall make &s;ome meditatio~ or other of the B. Virgin; for which purpo&s;e tho&s;e may &s;erue you which are aboue &s;et downe in the &s;e|cond Bed, and 2.3. and 4. Chap. And you &s;hall be&s;i|des, euery day performe the Exerci&s;e of Reuerence, which is deliuered in the <HI>first Bed, and 8. Chapter.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="part">
<PB N="358" REF="196">
<HEAD>OVR B. LADIES LITLE GARDEN.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">THE FIFTH BED, be&s;et with Marygolds.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Conteyning the practice of imi|tating the B. Virgin, wherby tho&s;e who honour her, do dai|ly (like as the Marygold doth the Sunne) looke towards the bright beames of her Perfe|ctions, by a continuall regard of her Vertues.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="359" REF="196">
<HEAD>CHAP. I. <HI>The generall Practice of Imi|tating the B. Virgin.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WE are now come vnto the la&s;t Bed of this Vir|ginall Garden planted with Mary-golds, the nature of which Flower is, to looke alwayes towards the &s;unne following the motio~ therof by continuall turning, and di&s;playing it &s;elfe from the Ea&s;t to We&s;t. Such is the imitation of the B. Virgin, wherby her deuout louer becomes a follower of a more noble Sunne, I meane the glittering &amp; re&s;plende~t
<PB N="360" REF="197">beames of her Vertues, and Perfections.</P>
<P>This flower (if you will follow the adui&s;e of <HI>S. Ber|nard</HI>) you mu&s;t gather con|&s;tantly &amp; often, who co~clu|ding briefly in few words, all the former exerci&s;es al|ready treated of, &s;ayth: Thinke vpon Mary, inuo|cate Mary, let her not de|part from thy mouth, let her not depart from thy heart: And to the end that thou may&s;t obteyne the &s;uffrage of her prayer, fay|le not to follow her exam|ple. For &s;urely al thy other actes of reuerence, confi|dece, or loue, how &s;olide or
<PB N="361" REF="197">fect &s;oeuer they be, nay all which thou can&s;t do be|&s;ids, without this imitatio~, will neyther be plea&s;ing to her, nor profitable to thy &s;elfe. <HI>[hom. 2. &s;up. Mi&s;sus est.</HI></P>
<P>This did the B. Virgin once make known her&s;elfe to a certayne younge man, who though he were de|uout vnto her, yet was he of a life impure and di&s;&s;o|lute. To whome &s;he appea|ring (as he &s;trayed in a va&s;t wood, &amp; was very hungry) brought with her, and &s;et before him very whol&s;ome meate, but in &s;o &s;oule and loath&s;om a di&s;h, as he cho&s;e
<PB N="362" REF="198">rather to &s;tarue then touch a bit therof. Whereupon &s;he tooke occa&s;io~ to &s;peake vnto him in this manner: Euen &s;uch are thy Beades, Offices, and other Exerci|&s;es of Piety, which thou daily offere&s;t vnto me; and although in the&s;elues good and &s;auoury, yet come they from &s;o foule a di&s;h, from a con&s;cience &s;o impure and vncleane, as that their very &s;ight doth make me loath and abhor them. The yong ma~ in&s;tructed by this &s;ight, and &s;harp admonition, pre|&s;ently began to amend his life. <HI>[Albert. Castell. de Ro|&s;ario.]</HI></P>
<PB N="363" REF="198">
<P>On the contrary the B. Virgin hath at other times declared how much &s;he is plea&s;ed, and delighted with the purity, mode&s;ty, humi|lity and other actes of ver|tue, exerci&s;ed by tho&s;e who truly honour her: and how much al&s;o &s;he doth fauour &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;t them to the attay|ning of this perfect imita|tion of her vertues. For vpon a tyme, S. Gertrude of the order of S. Benedict, offering vp her owne pray|ers, together with the pray|ers of others who had co~|mended the~&s;elues vnto her deuotion, the B. Virgin ap|peared vnto her, apparelled
<PB N="364" REF="199">in a rich garment, all im|brodered ouer with gol|den three-leau'd flowers of an admirable fayrne&s;&s;e and beauty; the my&s;tery of which garment &s;he decla|red vnto her in thes words: The prayers of all tho&s;e (&s;ayd the Glorions Vir|gin) whome you offer vn|to me are as &s;o many flow|ers in my garment, which you &s;ee, are not all of one fayrnes, becau&s;e the purer their prayers be, which they offer vp vnto me, the more fayre and flouri&s;hing are the flowers which do &s;pring from them; and I in the meane time do adorne
<PB N="365" REF="199">the Soules of them, who pray vnto me and honour me, with as many flowers of vertu, as they do this my garme~t with tho&s;e of their prayers, and piety. <HI>[lib. 4. In&s;in. diuin. c. 49.]</HI> That you may therefore orderly and profitable go forwards in the imitation of the B. Virgin &s;o much de&s;ired of her, it will be nece&s;&s;ary to ob&s;erue this order follow|ing con&s;i&s;ting of foure ge|nerall heads, as &s;o many in&s;truments, or helps con|ducing thereunto.</P>
<P N="1">1. To know in what &s;he is to be imitated, and to frame in your mynd a cer|taine
<PB N="366" REF="200">fayre &amp; excellent pat|terne of her perfections, on which you may continual|ly reflect.</P>
<P N="2">2 To conceiue within your &s;elfe, an earne&s;t de&s;ire to imitate the&s;e her mo&s;t louely graces, and perfe|ctions; and al&s;o &s;eriou&s;ly to propo&s;e vnto your &s;elfe, a meanes how to arriue the better thereunto.</P>
<P N="3">3. Suppo&s;ing this your de&s;ire &amp; purpo&s;e, you &s;hall earne&s;tly lay ha~d vpon the practice it &s;elfe, &amp; v&s;e a par|ticuler Exame~, as the chiefe help, and furtherance to|wards the attayning of any vertue what&s;oeuer.</P>
<PB N="367" REF="200">
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, &s;eeing all we can do of our &s;elues, is of no force nor effect, vnles it be &s;trengthened by the di|uine help &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;tance, we mu&s;t therfore begge mo&s;t earne&s;tly of the B. Virgin, that &s;he would be plea&s;ed to obtaine for vs the imita|tion of her vertues.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II. <HI>The first help to the imitation of the B. Virgin, is to frame in our mynde a louely repre&s;en|tation of her Vertues.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THere be two wayes, by which we may arriue to no &s;mall knowledge of the
<PB N="368" REF="201">vertues of the Ble&s;. Virgin. Fir&s;t, by a particuler di&s;cu&s;|&s;ion, and meditation of the my&s;teries of our Sauiours life, and Hers, which may be done, by exactly co~&s;ide|ring how, and in what man|ner, &s;he led her life whil&s;t &s;he was a child; how after|wards when &s;he came to ri|per years; how &s;he liued be|fore &s;he was e&s;pou&s;ed to <HI>S. Io&s;eph;</HI> how after her Vir|ginall mariage with him; &amp; how in her widdowhood. Con&s;ider al&s;o both her life whil&s;t her B. Sonne was &s;til on earth, as al&s;o after be was departed to heauen; all that &s;he &s;aid, al that &s;he did,
<PB N="369" REF="201" MS="y">&amp; what examples of this or that vertue &s;he hath left vn|to vs.</P>
<P>Secondly, by a diligent informatio~ of the&s;e things out of the holy Scriptures, Ancient Fathers, and other latter Authors, who haue written in her pray&s;e: all which to omit, I will only &s;et downe one Sentence out of <HI>S. Ambro&s;e,</HI> which will pre&s;ent vnto vs a certayne liuely imagination of the perfections of Gods holy Mother. Set the Virgi|nity (&s;ayth he) and life of our B. Lady, as a gla&s;&s;e, be|fore your eyes, wherein do appeare the true formes &amp;
<PB N="370" REF="202">&s;hapes of Vertue and Cha|&s;tity; for from hence may you take exa~ples of good life, where, as in a patterne, the liuely Mai&s;ter-peece of Vertue, doth in&s;truct you what to amend, what to e&s;|chew, what to follow. She was a Virgin not only in body but in mynd, who&s;e cha&s;t affections were ne|uer taynted with the lea&s;t thought of euill. She was humble of heart, graue in words, prudent in mynd, &s;pare of &s;peach, &s;tudious of reading, not relying on the vncertainty of riches, but in the prayers of the poore, euer labourious, ba&s;hfull in
<PB N="371" REF="202" MS="y">&s;peach, making God, not man the true Iudge of her thoughts; hurtfull to none, well-willer to all, reueren|cing her Superiours, not enuying her equals, enemy to boa&s;ting, a follower of rea&s;o~ louer of vertue, mild in her a&s;pect, ba&s;hfull in her actions, mode&s;t in her gate, comely in her behauiour, &amp; of a mo&s;t plea&s;ant &amp; dele|ctable voyce: &s;o that euen the &s;hape of her body, was the Image of her mynd, &amp; the liuely figure of vertue and goodnes. <HI>[Ambro&s;. lib.</HI> 2. <HI>de &V;irgin.]</HI></P>
<P>The like &s;hall your find in diue<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">s of the Holy Fa|thers,
<PB N="372" REF="203">e&s;pecially S. An&s;elme Archbi&s;hop of Canterbu|ry, in his booke he wrote of her pray&s;es, to whom he was alway mo&s;t particuler|ly deuoted. We are to con|ceaue in our mynds (&s;ayth he) this perfection of the B. V. to be the mo&s;t fayre, &amp; loue lie&s;t thing that can po|&s;ibly be imagined, in the liknes of &s;ome externall &amp; corporal perfection, which may be &s;e&s;ibly vnder&s;tood by our imagination. As for example, to imagine that you &s;ee her Humility, Pa|tience, and Obedience like &s;o many bright &s;tarres &s;hi|ning in the mo&s;t Glorious
<PB N="373" REF="203" MS="y">Virgin. To conceyue inter|nally in your hearing her Loue, as a delicate voyce, &s;ounding mo&s;t &s;weetly in the eares of God. That you &s;mell the &s;weet perfume of her vertues, and ta&s;t the &s;weetnes of her &s;pirit, re|pleni&s;hed with all inward peace, &amp; heauenly delights. So <HI>S. An&s;elme.</HI> And truly he could find no more fit and conuenient manner to repre&s;ent vnto him&s;elfe the internall beauty of her gra|ces and vertues, &amp; to make them deare &amp; gracious vn|to vs. Yet hath <HI>S. Agnes</HI> otherwi&s;e expre&s;&s;ed them in the&s;e words: The Bloud
<PB N="374" REF="204">(&s;ayth &s;he) of my Spou&s;e Chri&s;t IESVS, hath beau|tifyed my cheekes, he hath adorned me as his beloued with a glorious Crowne, &amp; hath betroathed me with the Ring of his Fayth; he hath incircled my necke &amp; right hand with pretious &s;tones; he hath enriched myne eares with pearles of ine&s;timable value; he hath ve&s;ted we with a golden garme~t; he hath compa&s;&s;ed me about with &s;hining and re&s;plende~t iewels; his voyce doth &s;ound &s;weet mu&s;icke to my yeares, I haue ta&s;ted milke and hony from his mouth, and he hath &s;hewed
<PB N="375" REF="204" MS="y">me his incomparable trea|&s;ures. Thus far <HI>Saint Ag|nes.</HI> And if her cha&s;tity, her faith, her Hope, her Chari|ty, Humility, &amp; Fortitude was &s;o louely; how much more amiable may we ima|gine the vertues of the B. Virgin to haue byn?</P>
<P>Almo&s;t in the &s;ame ma~|ner, (accompanyed with <HI>S. Iohn Baptist</HI>) did &s;he ap|peare vnto <HI>S. Brigit,</HI> giuing her &s;elfe to be &s;eene, or ra|ther the fayrnes of her ver|tues to be contemplated, wearing vpon her head a Crowne of &s;eauen Lyllies and &s;eauen Pearles, vnder which her haire hung down
<PB N="376" REF="205">at full length, clothed in a golden garment, and ouer it a Robe of Azure colour. The my&s;tery of which or|naments were thus explica|ted vnto <HI>S. Brigit,</HI> by <HI>S. Iohn.</HI> The Crowne (&s;ayd he) doth &s;ignify the great|nes of her Empire, and her large Dominion ouer all liuing Creatures. The &s;ea|uen white Lillyes &s;ignify her Humilitaty, Feare, Pa|tience, Obedience, Con|&s;tancy, Mildnes, and Pitty. The &s;eauen Pearles, the Ex|cellency of her Vertues, her perfect Purity, her fayr Comlines, her per&s;picuous Wi&s;dome, her &s;trong For|titude,
<PB N="377" REF="205" MS="y">her re&s;plenda~t Cla|rity, and her mo&s;t cha&s;t Delight; her hayr hanging downe doth &s;ignify the pu|rity of her mynd. The Azure Robe, her perfect abnegation of all earthly things: &amp; la&s;tly the goul|den Garment, her buring Charity. <HI>[Reuelat. c. 31.]</HI></P>
<P>Wherfore as often, as you &s;hall ca&s;t your eyes vpon a|ny picture of our B. Lady, or meditate vpon any of her vertues, &s;o often you are to repre&s;ent her in this manner vnto your mind &amp; render her faire &amp; louely, by &s;aluting her frequently in your hart, turning to|wards
<PB N="378" REF="206">her, with &s;ome &s;en|tence taken out of holy Scripture that may expre&s;&s;e the beauty of her vertue. As for example: <HI>How faire are you my loue, how faire are you? your eyes are like the eyes of the Doue, and your cheekes to tho&s;e of the Turttle? You haue wounded my hart my &s;ister, with one of your eyes. I am the Mother of beautifull Loue, of Feare, of Knowledge, and of holy Hope &amp;c.</HI> Of which kind you &s;hall find &s;tore in holy Scripture.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="379" REF="206" MS="y">
<HEAD>CHAP. III. <HI>The &s;econd Help, is to conceaue an earnest de&s;ire &amp; purpo&s;e to imitate the B. Virgin.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis de&s;ire &amp; purpo&s;e is ea&s;ily conceaued from that which went before? for if the vertues which ar in the Mother of God do render her &s;o fayre and lo|uely, that with the fir&s;t &s;ight therof, &s;he euen raui|&s;heth our eyes, drawing our heart, and affections wholly vnto her; how gra|cious would the &s;ame ver|tues, if you were indued therewith, (although you
<PB N="380" REF="207">exerci&s;ed them in a far in|feriout manner) make you to the Bl. Virgin, and her Sonne, the fountayne of all &s;anctity and perfection?</P>
<P>Be you therfore not only an Admirer, but al&s;o a Louer; not only a Louer, but a diligent and con|&s;tant Imitator of the perfe|ctions of the B. Mother of God: which &s;he her&s;elfe doth aboue all other things de&s;ire of vs, &s;aying: Now therfore my Sonne hearken vnto me; They are Ble&s;&s;ed who keep my wayes: Giue eare vnto my di&s;cipline, &amp; be wi&s;e, &amp; ca&s;t it not away from you. Ble&s;&s;ed is the
<PB N="381" REF="207" MS="y">man who heareth me, and who watcheth daily before my doores, &amp; waiteth at the entrance of my gates. <HI>(Prou. 8.)</HI> And truly if you de&s;ire to be called her &s;on|ne, &amp; be &s;o e&s;teemed; if you would loue &amp; honour her with all &s;incere affection, hearken then vnto her, take her coun&s;ayle &amp; ad|ui&s;e, depart not from her wayes, but alwayes fol|low carefully the foot&s;teps of her vertues; with which imitation it is incredible, how much the B. V. is de|lighted, &amp; in what aboun|dant mea&s;ure, by her &s;elfe and her B. Sonne, &s;he doth
<PB N="382" REF="208">reward, &amp; ble&s;&s;e euery act of Vertue, euery act of Hu|mility, Confidence, chri|&s;tian Prudence, Patience, gratiou&s;ly behoulding eue~ the lea&s;t act of Deuotion done vnto her, mo&s;t carful|ly attending it, and aboun|dantly rewarding the &s;ame.</P>
<P>This did <HI>Saint Gertrude</HI> once experience, who lying very &s;icke in her bed, was much troubled, that &s;he could not &s;ay ouer her beads in honour of the B. Virgin, yet &s;he re&s;olued at lea&s;t, to pronounce, and ponder in her mynd, with all the affection &s;he could, the three fir&s;t clau&s;es only
<PB N="383" REF="208" MS="y">of the Angelicall Saluta|tion, to wit, Hayle Mary, full of grace, our Lord is with thee. Wherupon the B. Virgin pre&s;ently appea|red vnto her cloathed in a fayr green garment, which be&s;ides other flowers, was imbrodered with &s;ix-leau'd Ro&s;es, wherof 3. &s;eemed to be of gould, inriched with diuers pretious &s;tones, and the other three leaues were beautifyed with an vn&s;pea|kable variety of colour. By the fir&s;t three leaues were vnder&s;tood the three fir&s;t heads, or branches of the Angelicall Salutation that S. <HI>Brigit</HI> had pondred in her
<PB N="384" REF="209">mynd; &amp; the other three, adorned with that admira|ble variety of colour, were to reward, fir&s;t her &s;o pious affectio~, with which &s;he had &s;aluted his mo&s;t B. Mother, then her Wi&s;dome, who being vnable, by rea&s;on of her &s;icknes, to recite the whole, had &s;o wi&s;ely made choyce of tho&s;e 3. fir&s;t par|cells, on which the whole frame of Praying, did de|pend; and al&s;o her Hope &amp; confidence, in that &s;he did not doubt, but that little deuotion exerci&s;ed in her &s;icknes, would be gratefull to God, and his Holy Mo|ther. <HI>[lib. 4. In&s;in. diuin.
<PB N="385" REF="209" MS="y">c. 49.] S. Iohn Dama&s;cene</HI> that &s;ingular Honourer of the B. Virgin, promi&s;eth this reward to tho&s;e virgins who are deuout vnto her. If (&s;ayth he) with a prompt and cheerfull mynd we do e&s;chew all vice, and labour to the attayning of ver|tues withal our endeauours &amp; affections, making them familiar, and as it were our Companions; the B. Vir|gin will come frequently vnto vs, repleni&s;hed withal graces &amp; goodnes: And her Sonne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, the &s;o|ueraigne King and Lord of all, will take vp his habita|tion in our brea&s;t.]</P>
<PB N="386" REF="210">
<P>What the&s;e vices be, which e&s;pecially we &s;hould fly and dete&s;t, as al&s;o what be the vertues, which by i|mitation of the B. Virgin, we are to pla~t in our &s;oules, he &s;etteth downe in this manner.</P>
<P>Let vs indeauour (&s;aith he) to make our myndes and memories the Storehou&s;e of the B. Virgin, for that &s;he is a Virgin, and a louer of virgins, pure and a louer of Purity: &amp; if we be cha&s;t both in body and mynd, if we auoyd all vncleanes, if we expell all impure &amp; wic|ked thoughts, if we cha&s;e from vs all &s;currilous and
<PB N="387" REF="210" MS="y">ob&s;cene &s;peach, hate all rancour of heart, re&s;i&s;t all proud thoughts, and lay a&s;ide all enuy, debate &amp; ha|tred, we &s;hall with ea&s;e ob|teyne her grace &amp; fauour. For &s;he is highly delighted with virginall cha&s;tity and Purity, &s;he imbraceth peace and quietnes of mynd, che|ri&s;heth charity, mercy, &amp; humility in her owne bo|&s;ome, as her proper chil|dren, and in a word is mo&s;t highly offended with any the lea&s;t vice what&s;oeuer. <HI>(Orat. 2. de dormit. B. Vir|gin.</HI></P>
<P>Therfore as often, as at any tyme you &s;hall frame in
<PB N="388" REF="211">your mynd any re&s;emblan|ce of the beauty, &amp; exeel|lency of the Vertues of the mo&s;t &s;acred Virgin, do you pre&s;ently a&s;pire, with all your &s;oule extended, run with all your heart open to imbrace them, by a liuely imitation; and &s;ighing with de&s;ire of loue, &s;ay: O ad|mirable, O louely Mother, when &s;hall I be like vnto you, in &s;uch excellent and admirable perfection? Whe~ &s;hall I cheerfully followe your foot&s;teps, as innume|rable others of your Lo|uers haue done, running &amp; euen flying as it were, in the way of perfection, hauing
<PB N="389" REF="211" MS="y">you for their guide &amp; lea|der? I am a&s;hamed to haue thus de generated through my &s;loth. I haue &s;ayd, and firmly purpo&s;e, that I will keep your wayes; the which with more the accu&s;tomed feruour, by your holy help and gratious a&s;&s;i&s;tance, I wil now endeauour to per|forme.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV. <HI>The third Help, to the Imitation of the B. Virgin, is a &s;erious and particular Examine.</HI></HEAD>
<P>AFter you haue made v&s;e of the former two Hel|pes, you mu&s;t apply your &s;elfe to the practi&s;e, in
<PB N="390" REF="212">which do co~monly occurre the greate&s;t difficulties. For perfection is not &s;o ea&s;ily obteyned as de&s;ired, &amp; that for diuers cau&s;es, but chie|fly, and mo&s;t co~monly, be|cau&s;e the exerci&s;e of Vertue is begun confu&s;edly, and without method, or order; or els, becau&s;e we vnder|take more at once then we can well, and &s;olidely per|forme; wherby it ea&s;ily falleth from vs, &amp; we &s;oone loo&s;e it agayne. Which in|conuenience may be pre|uented by an orderly and diligent examine, which is the third Help to the imi|tation of the B. Virgin, and
<PB N="391" REF="212" MS="y">con&s;i&s;teth chiefly in the&s;e two things: Fir&s;t in the well compo&s;ing and orde|ring the matter was take in hand; &s;econdly in the con|&s;tant keeping of the time in which it is to be put in practi&s;e.</P>
<P>The matter of this exa|mine may be &s;ayd to be twofold. The fir&s;t may be about tho&s;e actio~s of ours in which we &s;triue to imi|tate the B. Virgin, exami|ning ech one particularly &amp; orderly, by them&s;elues; as for example: In &s;eeking to make our meditation in &s;ome &s;ort like vnto that of the V. Virgin; in &s;ome &s;ort
<PB N="392" REF="213">I &s;ay, for &s;o much perfe|ction as was in her, euen the Seraphims neuer attay|ned vnto. Or el&s;e, by in|deauouring to imitate her deuotion, in hearing of Ma&s;&s;e, Hand labour, or any other corporall Exerci&s;e; &amp; &s;o likewi&s;e in any other thing.</P>
<P>The other may be, con|cerning the vertues of the B. Virgin, which in their degrees we are to labour to attayne vnto. As for exam|ple, in making a particular examine of Humility, we are to begin with &s;ome one of her actions, &amp; &s;o go on by degrees vnto the re&s;t.
<PB N="393" REF="213">And whe~ we haue in &s;ome &s;ort profited our &s;elues in Humility, we may pa&s;&s;e, (ob&s;eruing the &s;ame me|thod) vnto other vertues, as fraternall Charity, Obe|dience, and &s;o vnto the re&s;t; in &s;uch ma~ner neuertheles, that we may chiefly in&s;i&s;t vpon tho&s;e which we find mo&s;t v&s;efull, and nece&s;&s;ary for our &s;elues.</P>
<P>To this Examine three &s;euerall tymes belong. The fir&s;t is the morning, when we mu&s;t ob&s;erue 3. things. 1. To make a re&s;olution &amp; conceiue an earne&s;t de&s;ire of imitating the B. Virgin in &s;uch or &s;uch an action or
<PB N="394" REF="214">vertue. 2. That we take &s;om &s;igne of remembrance, to put vs in mynd at certaine tymes to renew our good purpo&s;es. For example, &s;ome &s;hort &s;entence, or ia|culatory praiet, or the &s;ight of &s;ome Image, or as often as we hear the clock &s;trike, or els when&s;oeuer we &s;hall go out of our chamber, or the like. The 3. is to begge humbly of the diuin good|nes, we may keep this our our purpo&s;e &amp; re&s;olution.</P>
<P>The &s;econd tyme is at noone whe~ as we mu&s;t exa|mine, 1. Whether we haue performed our morning-purpo&s;e. 2. Whether we
<PB N="395" REF="214">haue made v&s;e of the &s;igne of remembrance, which we tooke; &amp; whether we haue noted our defects, or the profit we haue made, com|paring day by day, week by week, &amp; month by month. 3. We are to conceiue a new purpo&s;e for the tyme to come, in confidence of the help of God, and his mo&s;t B. Mother, who&s;e ayd we are agayne humbly to im|plore.</P>
<P>The 3. tyme is the Eue|ning when we are to make our Examine, in the &s;ame manner as we did before at Noone.</P>
<P>And becau&s;e it helpeth
<PB N="396" REF="215">very much towards the co~|&s;tant performing of our good purpo&s;es, to call the~ often to mynd, therfore di|uers haue v&s;ed &s;undry mea|nes &amp; &s;peciall helps therun|to. <HI>S. Hedwigis</HI> a <HI>Polonian</HI> Duche&s;&s;e, did v&s;e &s;till to weare about her necke an Image of the B. V. to the end that &s;he might be ther|by &s;tirred vp both to reue|rence and deuotio~ towards that &s;acred Queene, as al&s;o to a feruent de&s;ire of imita|ting her perfectio~s. Which her piety was afterwards made notable by a famous miracle. For at her depar|ture out of this life, &s;he held
<PB N="397" REF="215">the &s;ayd Image &s;o fa&s;t with three fingers of her left hand, that it could by no meanes, or force be taken thence, and &s;o was buryed with her. After 25. yeares her body being to be tran|&s;lated to another place, was found all co~&s;umed to du&s;t, except tho&s;e three fingers which held &s;till the Image of our B. Lady, &amp; her head, which was not only found, whole &amp; vncorrupted, but al&s;o full of a mo&s;t fragrant odour, which like oyle di|&s;tilled from thence, in great aboundance. <HI>[Sur. in eius vita. 15. Octob.]</HI></P>
<P><HI>S. Edmund</HI> Archbi&s;hop
<PB N="398" REF="216">of <HI>Canterbury</HI> did v&s;e an|other kind of &s;igne, or to|ken to put him alwayes in mynd of the vertues &amp; per|f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ctions of our B. Lady, and chiefly of her Cha&s;tity, which vertue aboue all o|thers be practi&s;ed, and had in mo&s;t high honour &amp; ve|neration. It was this. After he had, by the in&s;tinct of the Holy Gho&s;t, &s;olemnly e&s;pou&s;ed him&s;elfe to the B. Virgin, in memory of this his betrothed fayth he put a ring vpon the finger of a certayne Image of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, and made another mo&s;t like vnto it which him&s;elfe did conti|nually
<PB N="399" REF="216">weare; on which af|terwards, as often as he did look, he &s;eemed to &s;ee the mo&s;t amiable Virgin his &s;pou&s;e there pre&s;ent before his eyes, and in her a liuely &amp; excellent patterne of all vertue, and perfection. In this Ring was engrauen the Angelicall Salutation, and that miraculou&s;ly, as by the relatio~ of diuers of vn|doubted fayth &amp; &s;incerity was affirmed. <HI>[In eius vita 16. Nouemb.]</HI> Others haue inuented, and v&s;ed other &s;ignes, &amp; memorials to the &s;ame end.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="400" REF="217">
<HEAD>CHAP. V. <HI>The fourth Help to the Imitati|on of the B. Virgin, is to im|plore her ayd, and as&s;istance often.</HI></HEAD>
<P>ALl that indu&s;try which hath byn expre&s;&s;ed in the former Chapters, will produce but little, or no fruit at all, vnles it be wate|red with the ple~teous dew of the diuine Grace: ther|fore we mu&s;t humbly, and often implore, and begge the &s;ame with a great di|&s;tru&s;t of our &s;trength, and no le&s;&s;e confidence in our
<PB N="401" REF="217" MS="y">B. Sauiour, and his Holy Mother. To which end, &amp; in&s;teed of Iaculatory pray|ers, we may v&s;e certayne Ver&s;icles approued by the Holy Church, in crauing now this, now that vertue of the Ble&s;. Virgin. As for Example, in crauing of Cha&s;tity &amp; Meeknes, the&s;e words of the Hymne, <HI>Aue Maris stella,</HI> will be mo&s;t proper.</P>
<Q><L>O Virgin &s;ingular, in mild|nes pa&s;&s;ing all,</L>
<L>Make vs both meek &amp; cha&s;t deliuer'd from &s;ins thrall.</L></Q>
<P>As likewi&s;e, in crauing of &s;incere and ardent Charity,
<PB N="402" REF="218">out of the Hymne, <HI>Stabat Mater Doloro&s;a,</HI> the&s;e words thus.</P>
<Q><L>Mother, Fountaine of true louing,</L>
<L>Mee to feele thy Sorrow mouing,</L>
<L>Cau&s;e that I may mourne with thee.</L>
<L>Let my Hart with feruour burned,</L>
<L>Towards Chri&s;t with Loue be turned,</L>
<L>Which to him may plea|&s;ing bee.</L></Q>
<P>The B. Mother of God her&s;elf, gaue vnto S. Ioane Found re&s;&s;e of the Annun|tiates, three mo&s;t whol&s;om documents, wherby &s;he at|tayned
<PB N="403" REF="218">vnto great Perfe|ction. The fir&s;t was, that &s;he &s;hould &s;ay ten Aue Ma|ries in memory of tho&s;e ten Vertues wherin the Ble&s;. V. &s;o greatly excelled, to wit, Cha&s;tity, Prudence, Humi|lity, Fayth, Gratitude, O|bedience, Pouerty, Pati&euml;ce, Piety, and Con&s;tancy in af|fliction. The &s;econd was, that &s;he &s;hould &s;alute with 5. Pater No&s;ters, &amp; 5. Aue Maries, the 5. mo&s;t pretious wounds of our Sauiour IE|SVS-Chri&s;t, in imitation of that deuotion, with which the B. V. &s;aluted, and con|templated them while&s;t he hung vpon the Cro&s;&s;e. The
<PB N="404" REF="219">third was, that daily in ho|nour of the fruit of the B. Sacrament, &s;he &s;hould re|cite twelue Aue Maries. Vnto which threefold de|uotion the Popes of Rome haue graunted many par|dons and Indulgences. <HI>[In Chron. Annunciat.]</HI></P>
<P>That you may &s;tyr vp in your &s;elfe, and more and more enkindle in you, both a firme tru&s;t in the B. Vir|gin, as al&s;o feruour in de|maunding the gift of the imitation of her vertues, it wilbe nece&s;&s;ary, that you often practi&s;e the&s;e follow|ing Exerci&s;es and the man|ner of begging her help &amp; ayde.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="405" REF="219" MS="y">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI. <HI>The practice of begging of our Ble&s;sed Lady.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IN crauing of grace and ayde, you mu&s;t with as great feeling as may be, ac|knowledge your own wa~ts and the liberall graces, and fauour of the Mother of God.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t you &s;hall ima|gayne your &s;elfe to be in a threefold &s;tate. 1. As one &s;icke and wounded (for &s;o indeed &s;piritually you are, through your &s;innes, vn|bridled pa&s;&s;ions, and inor|dinate affections,) &s;o as
<PB N="406" REF="220">from head to foot there is no &s;ound part in you. 2. As one poore, and in ex|treeme want of all vertues, merits, and diuine graces. 3. As one hungry, longing and thir&s;ting after Iu&s;tice &amp; perfect vnion with God in this life, and Glory in the life to come, de&s;iring to be healed of your infirmities, and relieued in your wants, &amp; nakednes, &s;till looking about you if by cha~ce you can e&s;py any rich and mer|cifull per&s;on, who may be|&s;tow an Almes vpo~ a Soule, &s;o mi&s;erable, &s;o poore, &s;o di&s;ea&s;ed, &s;o hu~gry as yours.</P>
<P>Secondly, you &s;hall ima|gine,
<PB N="407" REF="220" MS="y">that you heare with|in you the B. Virgin calling of all mortal men vnto her, who want or &s;eeke for help offering them ayde and a&s;|&s;i&s;tance in the&s;e words: Ble&s;&s;ed is he who watcheth daily at my doores, &amp; wai|teth at the entrance of my gates. He that findeth me, &s;hall find life, and &s;aluation from our Lord. <HI>[Prou. 8.]</HI> Then thinke vpon the Mo|tiue which may per&s;wade you with humility &amp; con|fide~ce to haue recour&s;e vn|to this Lady and Queene: As fir&s;t, how that &s;he is re|pleni&s;hed with all tho&s;e graces, which you &s;o much
<PB N="408" REF="221">need. 2. That &s;he is &s;o pure, as neuer taynted with the lea&s;t blemi&s;h of Veniall or Originall &s;inne, 3. So holy that &s;he excelleth in all kind of vertue. [Many daughters haue gathered togeather ri|ches for the~&s;elues, but you haue &s;urpa&s;&s;ed them all.] 4. That &s;he is &s;o vnited with God, that there is no pure creature eyther in he|auen, or earth, who enioy|eth him in greater perfecti|on. La&s;tly co~fider both the meanes, &amp; the will &s;he hath to do you good. For &s;he is called the Queene of Mer|cy (&s;ayth <HI>S. Bernard</HI>) be|cau&s;e &s;he can when &s;he will,
<PB N="409" REF="221">how &s;he wil, and to whome &s;he will, open the Trea&s;ure of diuine Grace; in &s;o much as no wicked &s;inner can pe|ri&s;h, to whom the Saint of Saintes doth lend a helping hand. <HI>[Serm. 1. in Salue Reg.]</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, being now &s;tir|red vp with the&s;e cogitati|ons, re&s;olue to approach neere to the B. Virgin, like as a poore &amp; needly begar. And to the end you may the better obteyne what you de&s;ire, help your &s;elfe with the interce&s;&s;io~ of your Angell Guardian, &amp; of all the other Angels, al&s;o of the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apo|&s;tles, and the re&s;t of the
<PB N="410" REF="222">Saintes in Heauen, of all whome you mu&s;t earne&s;tly intreat, to begge an Almes for you of her. Then pre|&s;ent your &s;elfe before that &s;acred Queene and Lady, humbly &s;aluting, &amp; magni|fying her, laying open your owne mi&s;eries, &amp; begging redre&s;&s;e, with no le&s;&s;e ear|ne&s;tnes and affection, then beggars v&s;e to do whe~ they cry out for pitty in the &s;treets; la&s;tly make a firme purpo&s;e to be more feruent in honoring her heerafter, and humbly &s;ay, as follo|weth.</P>
<P>I &s;alute you humbly, O mo&s;t &s;acred Virgin, I pray&s;e
<PB N="411" REF="222">and glorify you, O mo&s;t Clement, mo&s;t Pure, mo&s;t Holy &amp; mo&s;t Happy Lady, mo&s;t powerfull Queene of Angells, mo&s;t glorious Queene of Patriarches, Prophets, and Apo&s;tles, mo&s;t pote~t Queene of Mar|tyrs, mo&s;t wi&s;e Queene of Co~fe&s;&s;ors, mo&s;t vn&s;potte~d Queene of Virgins, &amp; mo&s;t faithfull Queene of all Ho|ly Saints. O mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Mother of God, you know my mi&s;eries, my infirmities and wounds, my pouerty &amp; nakednes, behould heer my groans, and the langui&s;hing of my de&s;ire! Your brea&s;ts are &s;o filled with pitty, that
<PB N="412" REF="223">being but toucht with the knowledge of our wret|chednes, they in&s;ta~tly flow forth with the milke of mercy.</P>
<P>Behould me heere pro|&s;trate at your feet, O San|ctuary of the Mi&s;erable, hubly begging of you, by tho&s;e motherly brea&s;ts of yours, by that inflamed loue you bare vnto your Ble&s;&s;ed So~ne IESVS Chri&s;t, by that burning Charity, with which you haue acce|pted vs to be your &s;erua~ts, your votaryes, yea, &amp; which is more, your mo&s;t vnwor|thy childre, that you would be plea&s;ed to obteyne for
<PB N="413" REF="223">me a fullremi&s;&s;io~ of all my &s;innes, &amp; a true and harty dete&s;tatio~ therof, al&s;o wor|thy fruits of pennance and repentance in this life, per|fect mortification of all my &s;en&s;es, and victory ouer all my pa&s;&s;ions, and temptati|ons.</P>
<P>Obteyne likewi&s;e for me O &s;acred Virgin, a &s;trong Fayth, a firme Hope, &amp; per|fect Charity, a full re&s;igna|tion of my &s;elfe to the will of God, Purity of intentio~, and true Deuotio~ towards Chri&s;t IESVS Crucified, the B. Sacrament, and your mo&s;t Holy &s;elfe. Obteyne likwi&s;e for me, I humbly
<PB N="414" REF="224">be&s;eech you, Obedience towards my Superiors, Af|fability &amp; Mildnes towards all, profou~d Humility, For|titude, and Patience in all aduer&s;ityes, and la&s;tly the gift of Per&s;euerance, and a happy, and holy End.</P>
<P>Grant vnto me, O Ble&s;&s;ed Aduocate, at the houre of death, your mo&s;t glorious and delighfull pre&s;ence, and &s;hield me then, vnder your &s;haddow, again&s;t the fear|ful threats of diuine Iu&s;tice So &s;hall you alwayer be my mo&s;t honoured Lady, my mo&s;t reuerenced Queene, and my mo&s;t beloued Mo|ther. So &s;hall I with all the
<PB N="415" REF="224">force, and powers of my &s;oule, thus confirmed by your Grace and Fauour, alwayes endeauour to &s;et forth your wor&s;hip, ho|nour, and glory.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII. <HI>The Imitation of the B. Virgin, in the contemplation and me|ditation of heauenly things.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe help for imitatio~ of the B. Virgin which hi|therto we haue &s;et down in generall, are now to be re|duced to practi&s;e &amp; applyed to ech particular act &amp; ver|tue of hers. Wherfore two things are briefly to be no|ted.
<PB N="416" REF="225">1. How to frame vnto our &s;elues a patterne of tho&s;e actions principally, in the which the B. Virgin was mo&s;t conuer&s;ant. 2. How to make a Catalogue of &s;uch principal Vertues which &s;he chiefly exerci&s;ed.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t of her Actions, was prayer and meditation of heauenly things. For &s;o [<HI>in Med. vitae Christi c.</HI> 3.] &s;ayth <HI>S. Bonauenture,</HI> fol|lowing the opinion of <HI>S. Hierome,</HI> who writeth that the Ble&s;. Virgin continued from morning vntill the ninth hower of the day in meditation of diuine mat|ters. Euen &s;o in like man|ner,
<PB N="417" REF="225">as well in order as in e&s;teeme, with al care and af|fection, mu&s;t we make our meditation in the morning before all other things: and that we may do it well, we are to indeanour to imitat the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin in foure things. 1. In diligent prepa|ring our &s;elues thereunto. 2. In making prude~t choyce of the matter wheron we are to meditat. 3. In exerci|&s;ing offeruent acts and affe|ctions. 4. In recollecting di|ligently the fruite of our meditation. In all which, what cleere example the B. Virgin hath left vnto vs, we &s;hall heere briefly co~&s;ider.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<PB N="418" REF="226">
<HEAD>Of her preparation to Me|ditation.</HEAD>
<P>OF our B. Ladyes pre|paring her &s;elfe for Me|ditation, <HI>Dion. Carthu&s;ianus</HI> explicating the&s;e words of the Canticle (I &s;leepe, but my heart watcheth] &s;peaks of her in this manner: The mo&s;t holy Virgin could iu|&s;tly &s;ay this of her &s;elfe, (&s;ayth he) becau&s;e &s;he al|ways led a mo&s;t contempla|tiue life, &amp; (marke heer the things required in contem|plation) being wholly free from all externall trouble and inordinate noy&s;e, from
<PB N="419" REF="226">all &s;uperfluous care &amp; per|turbation of mynd, atten|ded onely to God, with a quiet and watchfull heart. She was of an ardent &amp; la|borious charity, of a re&s;|plendant and aboundant wi&s;dome, and of a daily and continuall recollection. [<HI>In Cant.</HI> 5.] To which may be added, how much &s;he was giuen to the reading of &s;pi|rituall books, wherein or|dinarily &s;he &s;pent a great part of the day.</P>
<P>Marke now diligently, this example, &amp; &s;ee that you follow it as neer as may be. Feed your &s;oule euery mor|ning, of which you ought
<PB N="420" REF="227">to haue more regard then of your body. Srengthen it, I &s;ay, and cheri&s;h it with that Angelicall bread, and mo&s;t &s;weet Manna of con|te~plation: &amp; that you may the &s;ooner a riue vnto per|fection, prepare, your &s;elfe before hand thereunto (as did the B. Virgin) with pu|rity of life, internall repo&s;e of mynd, frequent a&s;pira|tions vnto God, &amp; by a true de&s;ire of meditation, and the reading of &s;pirituall books. Take al&s;o the Ble&s;|&s;ed Virgin for your Guide &amp; Patrone&s;&s;e in this &s;o e&s;|peciall a worke, &amp; de&s;ire of her in mo&s;t humble ma~ner
<PB N="421" REF="227">that &s;he would obtayne for you, diuine light, feruent &amp; pious affections.</P>
<P><HI>S. Eleazarus</HI> the Earle, being demaunded of a Re|ligious man, what order &amp; method he ob&s;erued in his prayers, &amp; what patrons he cho&s;e among all the Saints for his guide &amp; direction therin, an&s;wered thus: Tru|ly I haue cho&s;en the B. Vir|gin to be my Guide &amp; Pa|trone&s;&s;e, &amp; when I &s;et my &s;elf to prayer, I put before my eyes, fir&s;t myne owne vnworthynes, and &s;o reco|mending my &s;elfe vnto the Mother of Mercy, I hum|bly be&s;eech her to put that
<PB N="422" REF="228">into my mouth and heart, which may be mo&s;t gratful to her, and to her Ble&s;&s;ed Sonne IESVS, and withall I offer vp vnto her, with as much feruour and deuotio~ as I can, the Angelicall Sa|lutatio~, which hauing once recited, I neuer wa~t matter to meditate on. [<HI>Sur. in cius vitac.</HI> 5.]</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Whereon the B. Virgin did meditate.</HEAD>
<P>THE matter on which our B. Lady meditated, was the law of God, his holy Wll and plea&s;ure, al|&s;o vpon tho&s;e Prophecies
<PB N="423" REF="228">which chiefly fortold the co~ming of the Me&s;&s;ias. For (as Origen &s;ayth) &s;he had the knowledge of the Law and Prophets, &amp; did daily meditate theron. <HI>[Homil. 6. in Luc.]</HI> Next &s;he pon|dered, the benefits of God, wherwith (as <HI>Bernardinus Senen&s;is</HI> &s;ayth) her mynd was continually exerci&s;ed, in the heat of Charity, [<HI>&s;erm.</HI> 51. <HI>c.</HI> 2.] After the birth of Chri&s;t, &s;he medi|tated vpon the my&s;teries that did daily occurre be|fore her eyes, and con&s;er|ued the memory therof in her heart by meditation, as witne&s;&s;eth <HI>S. Luke.</HI> After
<PB N="424" REF="229">the a&s;cen&s;io~ of her B. &s;onne (as Saint <HI>Hierome</HI> and o|thers do wryte) &s;he did co~|template in her &s;ecret bo|&s;ome, his Life &amp; Doctrine, his Cro&s;&s;e, Death, and Glory, and to that end did ofte~times a&s;ce~d to the top of mount Caluary, where our Lord was Crucifyed, that &s;he might fill that place with tears, which was once &s;tained with the bloud of her deare &s;onne, flowing from the cro&s;&s;e, to wa&s;h a|way our &s;innes. Fro~ thence would &s;he go into the caue to wor&s;hip the &s;epulcher of our Sauiour, and adore the glory of her Sonne in his
<PB N="425" REF="229">Re&s;urrection. She would al&s;o go to the Mount Oli|uet, and ther ki&s;&s;e the print of his holy feet a&s;cending into heauen And when &s;he went to Bethleem and vi&s;i|ted that mo&s;t happy place, where &s;he fir&s;t had brought forth her &s;weet &s;onne, who can imagine the inward ioy &s;he felt, and the teares of &s;orrow &s;he &s;hed in vie|wing this and other places, whil&s;t in the mean time &s;he mo&s;t &s;tudiou&s;ly meditated vpon my&s;teryes which had there byn wrought. <HI>[Ca|ni&s;ius de B. Virgin. E 5. c. 1.]</HI></P>
<P>Take you now the &s;ame matter, and argume~t for
<PB N="426" REF="230">your daily meditation: thinke diligently &amp; often on the life of Chri&s;t, and of his Holy Mother, and be a&s;&s;ured it will be mo&s;t ple|a&s;ing and gratfull vnto the~ both. <HI>F. Lewes dela Puente</HI> doth relate in the life of <HI>F. Baltazar Aluarez,</HI> that, to a certaine deuout woman, repleni&s;hed with the &s;pirit of God, and adorned with the gift of high Contem|plation, an Angell did one morning appeare, when as making the &s;pirituall Ex|erci&s;es of <HI>S. Ignatius,</HI> &s;he was meditating on the life of Chri&s;t his Ble&s;&s;ed Mo|ther; telling her that he
<PB N="427" REF="230">came of a me&s;&s;age from the B. Virgin, to let her vnder|&s;tand, that tho&s;e deuotions and &s;pirituall Exerci&s;es which &s;he v&s;ed, were mo&s;t gratefull and plea&s;ing vnto her, e&s;pecially tho&s;e of the diuine My&s;teries of her Ble&s;&s;ed Sonne IESVS, as being mo&s;t apt to &s;tyr vp the affection vnto heaue~ly things. Willing her al&s;o to go forwards daily as &s;he had begon; for that her &s;elfe was both the Patro|ne&s;&s;e and Inuentre&s;&s;e of tho&s;e kind of Exerci&s;es, &amp; did fir&s;t in&s;truct <HI>S. Ignatius</HI> in the making therof, and di&s;po&s;ing the~ into method,
<PB N="428" REF="231">And that al&s;o they were the &s;ame, which her&s;elfe had daily v&s;ed, whiles &s;he liued vpon earth. <HI>[P. Bur|ghe&s;ius in libello, quod Socie|tas fit &V;irgini &s;acrat. c. 12.]</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the &s;olide purpo&s;es made by our B. Lady in meditation.</HEAD>
<P>THat our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady did exerci&s;e mo&s;t &s;olid acts and affections in her meditations, <HI>S. Brigit</HI> will witne&s;&s;e, who treating of her continuall meditation in the Temple from her te~|der years &s;ayth thus: Whe~ B. Mary being yet but an
<PB N="429" REF="231">Infant, began to conceyue a knowledge of God, &s;he did not childi&s;hly, but ma|turely con&s;ider, with feare and care to di&s;charge her duty, how much &s;he was to honour and reuerence &s;o high a Maie&s;ty. And when afterwards &s;he came to vnder&s;ta~d how God the Creatour of all things, did behould &amp; iudge the liues &amp; actions of euery one, &s;he firmely purpo&s;ed with her &s;elfe to adore him in the humble&s;t manner, and to co~mit nothing that might be di&s;plea&s;ing to &s;o great a Maie&s;ty. Againe, comming to know that this God
<PB N="430" REF="232">was the peculiar Iudge of I&s;raell, who had byn al|ways &s;o good and gratious vnto that People, &s;he re&s;o|lued to loue, and honour him alone, with all her hart &amp; mynd. But when &s;he came at la&s;t to vnder|&s;tand, that he was to come into the world as a Rede|mer, and to be borne of a Virgin, &s;he began &s;o to burne with charity &amp; loue towards him, that &s;he thought of nothing, nor de&s;ired nothing but him. <HI>[lib. 1. Reuel. ca. 10. &amp; l. 3. c. 8.]</HI></P>
<P>And <HI>Cani&s;ius</HI> &s;peaking of her affections in meditatio~
<PB N="431" REF="232">eue~ in her childhood &s;aith: That fayre Virgin who was mo&s;t deare to God, began euen the~ to be wou~|ded with the darts of the diuine Loue, &amp; to be cho|&s;en out among thou&s;ands to be the only Beloued of God. O what heate, what fyre of loue, did the~ burne within her? What &s;cope, or end had &s;he of louing, when the mo&s;t &s;weet and pretious &s;pirit of God did mooue her to &s;hed pious &amp; louing teares, and to &s;end forth innumerable &s;ighes? Who&s;e &s;en&s;es were &s;o who|ly ab&s;orpt therewith, and &s;uffered &s;uch diuine viole~ce
<PB N="432" REF="233">that her mind would in a manner be raui&s;hed, &amp; eue~ langui&s;h in the mo&s;t &s;weet contemplation of the only Good <HI>[Cani&s;. l. 1. c. 13.]</HI></P>
<P>The Doctours of holy Church are of opinio~, that what&s;oeuer rapts, illu&s;tra|tions, diuine Contempla|tions, &amp; Exta&s;ies were euer granted vnto any Saint, or holy per&s;on, the &s;ame were communicated to our Bl. Lady in a farre more per|fect and excellent manner, by her Ble&s;&s;ed Sonne.</P>
<P>Imagine therfore, that when you contemplate S. Paul burning with mo&s;t ardent charity, and crying
<PB N="433" REF="233">out, Who &s;hall &s;eparate me from the charity of Chri&s;t? Or when you &s;ee <HI>S. Mary Magdalen</HI> like &s;now, mel|ting away in a mo&s;t tender pa&s;&s;ion of loue, before the pre&s;ence of her Lord Chri&s;t IESVS: or Saint <HI>Augustin</HI> wounded to the hart with the Dart of Loue, wholly langui&s;hing in the mid&s;t of his ki&s;&s;es be&s;towed vpon the wounds of Chri&s;t, and dying to him&s;elfe, as vnto him he liued: or <HI>S. Francis</HI> vttering of the&s;e word, My God, and my All, whil&s;t he imbraced the Cro&s;&s;e of his Loue, with his Seraphicall armes: or els <HI>S. Thomas</HI> of
<PB N="434" REF="234"><HI>Aquin</HI> &s;ighing vnto IESVS, from his pure and feruent flames of loue; I de&s;ire thee thy &s;elf, &amp; nothing els but thee: Or <HI>S. Ignatius</HI> with this motto of his Contem|plation, O how vile doth the Earth &s;eeme, when I looke vp to heauen? And that other, O God of my heart o that the world did but know thee? Or that Earthly Angell <HI>B. Stani|laus Kostka</HI> while&s;t he was eleuated from the earth, al wet, with the teares of a te|der deuotion, and wholy rapt with cere&s;tiall delight, yea &s;o burning with diuine loue during the tyme of
<PB N="435" REF="234">his meditation, as it was ne|ce&s;&s;ary, often to apply a wet cloth, to coole his burning bo&s;ome: Imagine (I &s;ay) when you ponder the&s;e, &amp; a thou&s;and like rapts, and exta&s;ies, as the true &amp; liuely effects of Contemplation, and compare them to that diuine &amp; mo&s;t ardent flame which burned in the B. Vir|gins brea&s;t, they will all ap|peare but as litle &s;parks on|ly in regard of hers. Oh that we could but warme our frozen hearts &s;omety|mes while&s;t we meditate, at the fornace of her mo&s;t ar|cent loue! If thou woulde&s;t when thou art dul &amp; drow|&s;y
<PB N="436" REF="235">propo&s;e Her, vnto thy &s;elfe, as a patterne to be imi|tated: If thou woulde&s;t &s;ay vnto thy &s;elfe while&s;t thou meditate&s;t; how much more ferue~tly would the B. Virg. handle this matter in which I &s;o dully &amp; &s;lothfully me|ditate! with what zeale and affection! with what higher de&s;ires and firmer purpo&s;es would &s;he be vnited vnto God the only good!</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the the Recollection of the Ble&s;&s;ed &V;irgin.</HEAD>
<P>IN the recollection, which the Bl. Virgin v&s;ed after her Meditation, &s;he was al|wayes mo&s;t carefull to keep
<PB N="437" REF="235">in memory the illu&s;trations which were diuinly reuea|led vnto her during the ty|me of her meditation, as al|&s;o all the good de&s;ires and purpo&s;es which &s;he concey|ued from thence. All which &s;he fir&s;t pre&s;erued for her owne help, &amp; then for ours as &s;ayth <HI>Eu&s;ebius Emi&s;&s;enus [Homil. 5. in festo A&s;sump.]</HI> And betwixt her tymes of meditation, &s;he did &s;o feed and &s;tir vp the flame which was kindled in her hart, by that which &s;he had medita|ted, that her whole life was no other then a perpetuall burning heate, and an ex|treme exce&s;&s;e of loue, as
<PB N="438" REF="236">&s;aith <HI>Rupert. [&s;erm. de A&s;&s;ump.</HI></P>
<P>Neyther is it to be doub|ted, but the &s;ame B. Virgin who in&s;tructed <HI>S. Jgnatius</HI> in the making that admirable Booke of his Spirituall E|xerci&s;es (as we haue former|ly declared) did teach him al&s;o that Addition, where|in is pre&s;cribed, that when we haue ended any medita|tion, we &s;hould alway<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">s &s;pend a quarter of an houre in examining the fruit and &s;ucce&s;&s;e therof, which both he him&s;elfe did mo&s;t dili|gently ob&s;erue, by putting downe in writing all the conceyts and affections of his mynd euery day. And
<PB N="439" REF="236">the like did that holy man <HI>Fa Peter Faber,</HI> of whome are extant a few, but very pious Commentaries which he wrote of his daily actio~s in Meditations, to the end that no benefit which he receaued of God might e&s;|cape his knowledge, &amp; that he might be &s;tirred vp to thanksgiuing for the &s;ame, and to a greater loue of &s;o bountifull a Father, from whom he did acknowledge to haue receaued all his progre&s;&s;e in vertue, all his heauenly con&s;olations and delightes, all the diuine re|uelations and inward lights of his mynd, and la&s;tly all
<PB N="440" REF="237">tho&s;e graces and ble&s;&s;ings which had byn any way be&s;towed vpon him. And he acknowledged, that he was fir&s;t moued heerunto, when as he deuoutly cele|brated the Fea&s;t of our La|dy <HI>De Portiuncula,</HI> or; <HI>Of the Angells.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII. <HI>Of the Deuotion and Reuerence of the B. Virgin towards the Sacrifice of the Ma&s;se.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>SVarez</HI> and other Doctors are of opinion, that the B. Virgin after her &s;onnes Glorious A&s;cen&s;ion into Heauen, did heare Ma&s;&s;e e|uery day celebrated by <HI>S.
<PB N="441" REF="237">Iohn,</HI> or &s;ome other of the Apo&s;tles. Nor can it be iu|&s;tly doubted that the Ble&s;. Virgin whil&s;t &s;he liued in this mortall life, did heare Ma&s;&s;e daily, &s;ince that &s;he, now triumphing in heauen, hath byn often &s;eene, to come downe from thence, and be pre&s;ent while&s;t the Holy Ma&s;&s;e was celebrated.</P>
<P>It is recorded that <HI>S. Bo|nitus</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Auuerne</HI> in France, praying on a time all alone in the Church of <HI>S. Michael,</HI> our Ble&s;. Lady de&s;cended from heauen ac|co~panyed with a glorious troupe of Angels &amp; Saints, &amp; commaunded him to &s;ay
<PB N="442" REF="238">Ma&s;&s;e; which he forthwith performing, the Angels &s;er|ued him with all reuerence, the Mother of God with all her heauenly Co~pany hea|ring the &s;ame, with great Deuotion, &amp; vn&s;peakable &s;ignes of ioy. Ma&s;&s;e being ended, &s;he gaue vnto him, in te&s;timony of her pre|&s;ence, &amp; of her deuotion to holy things, a Ve&s;tement made of a &s;trang, and vn|knowne, and of a wonder|full white, &amp; vnu&s;uall light &s;tuffe. <HI>[Sur. in eius vita.]</HI></P>
<P>Al&s;o the Ble&s;. Virgin did another tyme honour with her pre&s;ence, &amp; multitude Angels, <HI>S. Andrew</HI> &s;urnamed
<PB N="443" REF="238"><HI>Carmelitanus,</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Fe|&s;uli;</HI> whil&s;t he was &s;aying Ma&s;&s;e, &s;aluting him with this no le&s;&s;e honourable, then friendly greting <HI>Thou art my &s;eruant whome I haue cho&s;en, and in whome I will be glorified. [Sur. in eius vita.]</HI></P>
<P>But that which hapned vnto <HI>Henry</HI> the Emperour, the great imitator of the B. virgins purity, was yet more miraculous. For co~ming on a tyme to Rome, and wat|ching all the fir&s;t night, as his cu&s;tome was, in the Church of <HI>S. Maria Maior,</HI> he found our Sauiour there ready to &s;ay ma&s;&s;e, hauing for his Deacon and &s;ubdea|con
<PB N="444" REF="239"><HI>S. Laurence</HI> and S. <HI>Vin|cent,</HI> the whole Church be|ing full on euery &s;ide of ce|le&s;tiall Company, among whom, and aboue them all the B. Virgin did appeare. The Angels did &s;ing the In|troit, which was <HI>[Su&s;cepi|mus Deus mi&s;ericordiam tuam &amp;c.]</HI> &amp; in &s;inging tho&s;e words <HI>[Iustitia plenaest dex|tera tua]</HI> all the glorious Audience, imitating IESVS &amp; his B. Mother, did poynt with their hands towards the Emperour. When the Gho&s;pell was &s;ong our Sa|uiour, his B. Mother &amp; all the other Saints and An|gels in their order, did ki&s;&s;e
<PB N="445" REF="239">the book. After which the B. Virgin made &s;igne vnto the Angell who then held the Booke, that he &s;hould likewi&s;e carry it to the Em|perour to ki&s;&s;e, with who&s;e Virginity &s;he was &s;o much delighted. All which whil&s;t the Emperour beheld with exceeding ioy, an Angell &s;troke him, like another <HI>Iacob,</HI> in the &s;inewes of his legge, &s;aying: This &s;halbe a &s;igne of diuine loue, and fauour vnto thee, for thy Iu&s;tice and Cha&s;tity: after which tyme he halted to his dying day. <HI>[Surin eius vita 19. Junii.</HI></P>
<P>The holy Virgin hath not
<PB N="446" REF="240">only manife&s;ted her Religi|ous honour and reuerence to the holy Sacrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e, but al&s;o to all other things that do any pertaine vnto the &s;ame, as to churchs Altars, &amp; their ornaments; al&s;o to the Prie&s;tly ve&s;te|ments &s;ome of which &s;he is &s;aid to haue made, &amp; ador|ned with her owne hands; the which, both whil&s;t &s;he liued heere on earth, and whil&s;t &s;he now triumpheth in heauen, &s;he hath often manife&s;ted to haue in e&s;pe|ciall regard and reuerence. She once admoni&s;hed <HI>Iohn</HI> a Senatour of <HI>Rome,</HI> togea|ther with his wife, in their
<PB N="447" REF="240">&s;leepe, that, in that place which they &s;hould the next morning find couered with &s;now, they &s;hould build a Church in her honour; and that it was very plea&s;ing vn|to her, that they had made her heyre of their wealth.</P>
<P>No le&s;&s;e memorable is that apparition of the Ble&s;|&s;ed Virgin vnto <HI>S. Ildephon|&s;us</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Toledo,</HI> who pre&s;ented him with a &s;acred Ve&s;tment as he was ready to celebrate Ma&s;&s;e, &s;aying: Receaue from my ha~ds, this &s;mall guift, which I haue brought vnto thee out of the Trea&s;ury of my Sonne, as a reward of thy Cha&s;tity
<PB N="448" REF="241">and Purity, and for that thou ha&s;t al&s;o defended my Virginity. And while&s;t &s;he &s;pake the&s;e words, with her owne handes &s;he put the Ve&s;tement vpon him, bid|ding him to celebrate ma&s;&s;e therein vpon all the Fea&s;ts of her B. Sonne, and Hers throughout the yeare. <HI>[Sur. in eius vita.]</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of our B. Ladies behauiour du|ring tyme of Ma&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>THe Honour, and more the~ Angelical Reuere~ce, which the B. Virgin &s;hewed vnto this mo&s;t dreadfull Sacrifice, by ob&s;eruiug and marking euery Ceremony
<PB N="449" REF="241">therof, with a mo&s;t &s;weet ta&s;t of piety and denotion, may ea&s;ily appeare. For if (as hath byn &s;ayd before) &s;he were &s;o affected to all Holy places, becau&s;e by them &s;he fou~d her &s;elfe &s;tir|red vp to the memory and contemplation of the di|uine my&s;teries and actions of her B. Sonne IESVS, &amp; perceaued in her &s;elfe a &s;en|&s;ible increa&s;e of &s;undry pi|ous affections; with how much more plea&s;ure, deuo|tion and loue may we ima|gine, her to be pre&s;ent at this mo&s;t Holy &s;acrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e, in which the my|&s;teries of the life &amp; death of
<PB N="450" REF="242">her B. Sonne (who is there corporally &amp; really prese~t) are by the holy Ceremonies of the Church expre&s;&s;ed &amp; called to mynd,</P>
<P>Do you therfore imitate the B. Vir. in hearing ma&s;&s;e daily, with reuerence and deuotion, &s;etting often be|fore your eyes the example of her internall &amp; externall reuerence, her admirable Charity in contemplating the &s;euerall my&s;teryes of that dreadful &s;acrifice: &amp; la|&s;tly be you wholy inflamed with the fyer of deuotion, e&s;pecially at the tyme of E|leuation of the B. Sacra|ment, &s;uppo&s;ing that then
<PB N="451" REF="242">you euen &s;ee the B. Virgin offering vp her dearly belo|ued Sonne into the hands of his Eternall Father: As S. Mary of Oegnia did v&s;e to &s;ee vpo~ euery Ca~dlemas day, our B. Lady offering her little IESVS in the Te~|ple, &amp; old Symeon imbra|cing him in his armes, with admirable gu&s;t, and con|tent <HI>[&V;itriac. in eius vita.]</HI></P>
<P>Imagine likewi&s;e the B. Virgin to be pre&s;ent at the Holy Sacrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e, expounding the my&s;teries thereof vnto you, as once &s;he did to a certayne de|uout Prie&s;t, who being of|ten tempted to doubt of
<PB N="452" REF="243">the Reall Pre&s;ence of the Body of our Lord in the Sacrame~t of the Altar, one Saturday as he was &s;aying Ma&s;&s;e, perceaued the &s;acred Ho&s;t to be &s;uddainly vani|&s;hed away; whereat being much amazed, while&s;t he looked about the Altar to find it, he beheld our Ble&s;|&s;ed Lady &s;tanding neere him, holding her little I E|SVS in her armes, who &s;pake thus vnto him; Be|hould him, who~ I brought forth of my cha&s;t wombe, whom thou ha&s;t con&s;ecra|ted, handled, and eleuated; I deliuer this my &s;onne vn|to thee, take him, &amp; fini&s;h
<PB N="453" REF="243">thy Ma&s;&s;e. The prie&s;t recea|ued the heauenly Infant, lay|ing him downe vpon the Corporall, &amp; when he came to that place of the Ma&s;&s;e where he was to deuide the holy Ho&s;t, the child &s;odain|ly vani&s;hed away, and the Ho&s;t remayned in place therof as before. Wherupo~ the cloudes of his misbe|liefe being wholy di&s;per&s;ed he euer after inioyed great peace, and tranquility of mynd. <HI>[Pelbart. in pomer. B. &V;igin. lib. 12. p. vlt. &sect;. 1.]</HI></P>
<P>Oh that you could, in hearing of Ma&s;&s;e, but once heare the B. Virgin &s;aying vnto you, Behold this, or
<PB N="454" REF="244">that is now pre&s;ented, or &s;i|gnified! Or that at the ele|uation &s;he would &s;ay, Be|hould now my B. Sonne, whome I bare in my mo&s;t cha&s;t wombe, heere offered vp in this vnbloudly &s;acri|fice! Or in tyme of Com|munion, you did imagine her, putting her mo&s;t belo|ued &s;onne into your armes, as &s;he did once to old Si|meon, to the Sheephards, to the three Kings, and o|thers!</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="455" REF="244">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX. <HI>Of the Imitation of the B. Vir|gin, in receauing the Ble&s;sed Sacrament.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe mo&s;t feruent Piety of the B. Virgin and her vn&s;peakable propen&s;io~ vn|to things diuine, together with the deuout cu&s;tome of Chri&s;tians in tho&s;e pri|mitiue times, do manife|&s;tly proue, that whiles &s;he remayned on Earth after the A&s;cen&s;io~ of our Sauiour &s;he did dayly receaue the Ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament of the Aultar. Who&s;oeuer therfor de&s;yreth to imitae our B.
<PB N="456" REF="245">Ladyes mo&s;t holy Example in often frequenting the Holy Communion (yet by the &s;peciall direction of his Gho&s;tly Father) let him haue a &s;peciall care of that due preparation, purity, hu|mility, charity, and other Vertues, which &s;he dayly practi&s;ed, &amp; diligently ob|&s;erued.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t of all, let it be your chiefe&s;t care to make that con&s;ideration very fa|miliar vnto you (e&s;pecially the day before you are to communicate, or els the &s;ame morning) which F. <HI>Robert Southwell</HI> of the So|ciety of Ieus (famous for
<PB N="457" REF="245">his con&s;tant &s;uffering for the Catholique Cau&s;e in England) did dayly v&s;e with great gu&s;t of mynd, and no le&s;&s;e fruite of Spirit, and which he hath left written with his owne ha~d, in the&s;e words. If (&s;ayth he) the B. Virgin were to beare Chri&s;t agayne in her wo~be, (or receaue him in the ho|ly Communion) and knew the houre and moment in which he were to come, with what preparatio~ wold &s;he di&s;po&s;e her&s;elfe? What continuall actes of loue, do you thinke, would &s;he make? How carefully wold &s;he prepare the chamber of
<PB N="458" REF="246">her heart to receaue him? with how many tears, with what &s;ighs with what arde~t prayers would &s;he expect that day and houre? And when &s;he knew the tyme to be at ha~d, how humbly, how deuoutly, how reue|rently, would &s;he prepare her&s;elfe for the entertay|ning of him? She would no doubt &s;pe~d that tyme who|ly in the contemplation of God, and con&s;ideration his infinite Goodnes, Loue, Mercy and Maie&s;ty; in &s;uch manner, that euen enflamed with the fire of Charity, &s;he would now become more diuine then humane; &amp; for
<PB N="459" REF="246">getting all earthly things, would euen be raui&s;hed a|mo~g&s;t the Cele&s;tiall Quires of Angels, togeather with him, whome &s;he prepareth to receaue. So wryteth Fa. <HI>Southwell,</HI> concerning a more remote preparation.</P>
<P>But now in the tyme of that Ma&s;&s;e wherat you are to receaue, you mu&s;t di&s;|po&s;e your &s;elfe in another manner; by &s;tyrring vp in your &s;elfe actes of Fayth, Humility, Confu&s;ion, and Sorrow for your &s;innes, with the&s;e, or the like &s;hort A&s;pirations; O how fer|ue~t, how intent were tho&s;e actes of Fayth which the B,
<PB N="460" REF="247">Virgin &s;tirred vp in her &s;elf, when &s;he was to commu|nicate! They were euen as great as that which &s;he exerci&s;ed, in belieuing the Angell Gabriell; announ|cing the &s;o admirable, and incomprehen&s;ible Natiui|ty and Conception of the Sonne of God! Or as that, wherewith &s;he belieued, and adored him as true God, mo&s;t wi&s;e, mo&s;t Powerfull, mo&s;t Holy, of an infinite Maie&s;ty, Perfection, and Glory, euen when &s;he &s;aw him hanging naked on the Cro&s;&s;e, expo&s;ed to iniuries and &s;cornes of men, and la&s;t of all dying an infamous
<PB N="461" REF="247">death! With this light of Fayth how profundly did &s;he enter into her&s;elfe, and how lowly did &s;he humble her&s;elfe before the diuine Maie&s;ty! &s;he I &s;ay, who be|ing elected the Mother of God, yet reputed, and cal|led her&s;elfe his Handmayd? and who among the Apo|&s;tles, and di&s;ciples when they were gathered togea|ther expecting the co~ming of the Holy Gho&s;t, had pla|ced her&s;elfe in the lowe&s;t ranke among them? Do you &s;triue to imitate as neer as you can this humility &amp; fayth of the B. Virgin, and falling downe before the
<PB N="462" REF="248">mo&s;t B. Sacrament acknow ledge your owne vnworthi|ne&s;&s;e, confe&s;&s;ing your &s;ins, &amp; dete&s;ting them from the bottome of your hart; beg|ging earne&s;tly of the mo&s;t pure Virgin who prepared a mo&s;t decent place to recea|ue our Sauiour comming into the world, that &s;he would offer you vp vnto her Bl. &s;onne, clean&s;ed, and purged from all &s;inne, and render you gracious in his &s;ight.</P>
<P>You mu&s;t al&s;o exerci&s;e acts of Hope, and Confi|dence in the mercy of God and &s;tir vp in your &s;elfe an carne&s;t de&s;ire of receauing
<PB N="463" REF="248">Chri&s;t in the &s;ame manner, in imitation of the B. Vir|gin. Who can imagine how &s;he did erect her &s;elfe vp to|wards God, that &s;o &s;he might be made a mo&s;t wor|thy habitation to receaue his B. &s;onne, hauing fir&s;t ta&s;ted of the diuine Mercy, &amp; perceaued her &s;elfe to be inuited vnto this mo&s;t ho|ly Sacrament, and di&s;po&s;ed therto by cele&s;tiall guifts and vertues? Or who can once conceyue her earne&s;t and fixed de&s;ire of recea|uing Chri&s;t, which was with out doubt no le&s;&s;e, then that with which, more ear|ne&s;tly then any of the Pa|triarkes,
<PB N="464" REF="249">&s;he expected his comming into the world? Or that, wherewith &s;he &s;ought him with &s;o great &s;olicitude the three dayes he was lo&s;t in the Temple: Or els that, wherewith for the <HI>3.</HI> dayes after his death like the mourning Turtle, &s;he &s;ighed after his Re&s;ur|rection. Imitate the mo&s;t B. Virgin in exerci&s;ing the like acts of Hope, Confidence, and De&s;ire of receauing &s;o bountiful a gue&s;t, by whom &s;o many benefits do accrew vnto thee. De&s;ire of her, that &s;he would intreat thou mai&s;t be drawne after him by the odour of tho&s;e cele|&s;tiall
<PB N="465" REF="249">perfumes of his, and that he would adorne thy &s;oule with all decent orna|ments of vertue.</P>
<P><HI>S. Gertrude</HI> doth recount of her &s;elfe, how that &s;he was admoni&s;hed by the B. Virgin, to repeat three ty|mes ouer the 116. P&s;alme, <HI>[Laudate Dominum omnes gentes]</HI> in her honour, as often as &s;he did communi|cate, therby to prepare her&s;elfe more worthily to receaue that holy Sacra|ment: Fir&s;t, to be&s;eech our B. Lady, by that mo&s;t im|maculate Purity, wherby &s;he was made a plea&s;ing Ta|bernacle for the Sonne of
<PB N="466" REF="250">God, to free her from the &s;tayne of her &s;innes, by her interce&s;&s;io~. Seco~dly, by that mo&s;t profound Humility, wherby &s;he de&s;erued to be exalted aboue the Quires of Angells, that &s;he would be plea&s;ed to &s;upply, and make ame~ds for all her ne|gligences. Thirdly, by that ine&s;timable Loue, wherby &s;he was in&s;eparably vnited vnto God, that &s;he would obtayne for her, &s;tore and abundance of merits.</P>
<P>And the &s;ame <HI>S. Gertrud</HI> addeth, that once vpon a tyme whil&s;t the Religious drew neer to the Commu|nion, &s;he did perceaue the
<PB N="467" REF="250">Queene of Glory on the right hand of one who was amonge the re&s;t, clothing her with a Robe adorned and beautifyed with the flowers of prayer and deuo|tion, &amp; de&s;iring her &s;weet Sonne for her &s;ake to haue this Virgin in particular re|gard: Who at the petition of his B. Mother pre&s;ently &s;hewed great &s;ignes of grace and fauour vnto them all. <HI>[E. 4. In&s;in. diuin. cap. 49.]</HI></P>
<P>You mu&s;t likwi&s;e &s;tir vp in your &s;elfe frequent actes of Loue, following therein the Example of Gods mo&s;t Holy Mother. For who ca~ comprehe~d the fire of that
<PB N="468" REF="251">loue, which alwayes bur|ned in the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgins brea&s;t, when &s;he was ready to communicate, being as it were, euen changed into a Holocau&s;t, e&s;pecially whe~ &s;he con&s;idered that he was now wholy to be giuen vn|to her, who had before wholly giuen him&s;elfe for all mankind, as a bloudy Sacrifice vpon the Cro&s;&s;e? Who had giuen tho&s;e ha~ds and feet, to be cruelly boa|red through? That brea&s;t to be pierced with a lance, which was yet more deeply wounded with loue? And la&s;tly, who had giuen all his whole body, to be moul|ded,
<PB N="469" REF="251">and (as we may &s;ay) ba|ked with &s;o many wounds, that it might become ther|by bread more delicious to our ta&s;t? Labour to beget in thy &s;elfe the like loue, &amp; vnion with Chri&s;t, by cal|ling to mynd euery tyme thou do&s;t communicate, &s;ome one pa&s;&s;age or other, of his pa&s;&s;ion: &s;o &s;halt thou do a thing mo&s;t gratefull &amp; plea&s;ing both to God, and his B. Mother.</P>
<P><HI>S. Lydwine</HI> the holy Vir|gin, on a tyme lying &s;icke in her bed, was very de&s;irous to communicate, but not hauing the commodity at that pre&s;ent, &s;he was com|forted
<PB N="470" REF="252">by her Angell Guar|dian, who told her, that ve|ry &s;hortly Chri&s;t her Lord, whome &s;he &s;o much de&s;ired would come and vi&s;it her. Wherupon conuerting her &s;elfe wholy to her prayers, being wrapt in contempla|tion, &s;he perceaued diuers Angels comming towards bed her, one carrying the Cro&s;&s;e, another the Lance, &s;ome the whippes, others the reed, the nayles, crowne of thornes, with all the In|&s;truments of the pa&s;&s;ion. In the mid&s;t of the troupe we~t the B. Virgin, and la&s;t of all our B. Sauiour. Being come into her Chamber, they
<PB N="471" REF="252">compa&s;&s;ed her Bed round. And then our Sauiour fir&s;t turning towards her, with a &s;miling countenance, in the likene&s;&s;e of a beautifull child, pre&s;ently appeared vnder the forme of an Ho&s;t, which &s;he receaued with &s;uch aboundance of &s;olide ioy, that it was wonderfull how &s;o narrow a bre&s;t, could conteyne &s;uch an O|cean of diuine delightes. <HI>[In eiu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> vita men&s;. April.]</HI></P>
<P>Oh that thou could&s;t ob|tayne but one only drop, out of this Ocea~ of diuine, Mercy, by the interce&s;&s;ion of the B. Virgin, when thou art about to communicate?
<PB N="472" REF="253">Or at lea&s;t, that thou coul|de&s;t, with a &s;incere, &amp; &s;im|ple heart, &s;ay with <HI>Thomas a Kempis:</HI> O Lord my God, my Creator, and my Re|deemer, I do de&s;ire to re|ceaue thee this day, with the &s;ame affection, reue|rence, pray&s;e and honour, with the &s;ame gratitude, dignity and loue, with the &s;ame Fayth, Hope, and pu|rity, that thy Mo&s;t Holy Mother the Glorious Vir|gin Mary did receaue thee, when mo&s;t deuoutly and humbly &s;he an&s;wered vnto the Angel Gabriel announ|cing vnto her the my&s;tery of thy wonderfull Incarna|tion:
<PB N="473" REF="253">Behould the hand|mayde of my Lord, be it do~e vnto me according to thy word. <HI>[lib. 4. cap. 17.]</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>What we are to do after Com|munion, in imitation of the B. Virgin.</HEAD>
<P>WHen you haue com|municated, you are principally to ob&s;erue three things. 1. To giue tha~ks vnto &s;o great a gue&s;t whom you haue receaued. 2. To de&s;ire to be perpe|tually vnited vnto God. 3. To demaund of him, what may be nece&s;ary for your &s;elfe and others, in this, or the like manner.</P>
<PB N="474" REF="254">
<P>O with what great ioy and exultation, with what cele&s;tial delight was the B. Virgin filled, when &s;he had receaued the B. Sacramet? What infinite thanks did &s;he render vnto the Diuine Maie&s;ty for the &s;ame? She did, no doubt, euer and a|none repeate&punc; that Ca~ticle with Iubilation: My &s;oule doth magnify our Lord. With how great &s;incerity and &s;implicity of heart, did &s;he offer her &s;elfe, &amp; al &s;he had vnto him, whome &s;he the~ lodged within her bre&s;t Chri&s;t IESVS, her So~ne &amp; her God? Do you offer vp your &s;elfe in the
<PB N="475" REF="254">&s;ame manner, and ima|gine that your Angel Guardian doth &s;alute you with words of congratu|lation and ioy, as did her Co&s;en S. Elizabeth our B. Lady: Ble&s;&s;ed art thou, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t belie|ued, and receaned God in the &s;acred Communion. And do you an&s;were ioy|fully againe: My &s;oule doth magnify our Lord &amp;c. pondering particu|lerly euery worde of that Canticle, the better to be|get in your &s;elfe affections like vnto tho&s;e which the Ble&s;. Virgin had when &s;he &s;ong the &s;ame.</P>
<PB N="476" REF="255">
<P>Ponder al&s;o, with what de&s;ire the holy mother of God did burne of &s;eing her Sonne, not hidden vnder the Sacramentall forme of bread, but with his face di&s;|couered, &s;hining with glo|ry in heauen? And that you may the better conceyue the &s;ame, heare the B. Vir|gin her&s;elfe declaring this her de&s;ire, out of <HI>Ruper|tus</HI> in the&s;e wordes: I did weepe (&s;ayth &s;he) &amp; could not &s;peake a word for the aboundance of &s;ighes that vehemently bur&s;t forth. For how could I &s;peake of him without weeping? Yet tho&s;e teares were my
<PB N="477" REF="255">only con&s;olation, and my &s;ole delight: euen as any one may co~ceaue by tho&s;e which the~&s;elues &s;hal &s;weet|ly &s;hed, in memory of them whome they loue be&s;t and deere&s;t. And if Dauid could &s;ay; My teares were my bread both day and night, whil&s;t it was &s;aid vnto him dayly, Where is thy God: how much more rea&s;on had I to &s;ay the &s;ame of my &s;elfe, when it was &s;ayd vnto me dayly, Where, is thy God, where is thy Son? Or when I my &s;elfe &s;hould &s;ay, My God, &amp; my &s;onne hath &s;ent me hither into this bani&s;hment <HI>[Rupert. l.
<PB N="478" REF="256">5. in Cant.]</HI></P>
<P>And la&s;tly, ponder with what feruor the B. Virgin did demau~d of Chri&s;t now her Gue&s;t, new cele&s;tiall guifts, both nece&s;&s;ary for her&s;elfe and others. With what affectio~ did &s;he com|mend the vniuer&s;al Church vnto him, with al the faith|full, both aliue and dead? Do you &s;eeke to imitate her heerein and conclude this Exerci&s;e of the holy Communion. with the like petitions, &s;trengthned and &s;econded by the help and interce&s;&s;ion of Gods mo&s;t holy Mother.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="479" REF="256">
<HEAD>CHAP. X. <HI>Of the Imitation of the B. Vir|gin, in labouring with our hands, or corporall Exerci&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P>SAint <HI>Bonauenture, Eu|thymius, Sophronius,</HI> and others do wryte of our B. Lady, that after &s;he had &s;pent the time from the morning to the 9. Houre in her deuotions, fro~ that time vntil Midday, &s;he v&s;ed to imploy her&s;elfe in &s;ome work or other. Before our Sauiours Incarnation, &s;he was wo~t during her liuing in the Temple, dilige~tly to &s;pe~d her time, working in linnen, wollen, &amp; &s;ilke, &amp;
<PB N="480" REF="257">in adorning the holy Ve&s;t|ments of the Prie&s;ts. After the Conception and birth of Chri&s;t, &s;he carfully ex|erci&s;ed the office of a <HI>Mar|tha</HI> in his education, and be&s;towed her tyme and la|bout in the actiue life, by procuring things nece&s;&s;ary for her hou&s;e.</P>
<P>There is an Orchard of Bal&s;amum, betweene <HI>He|liopolis</HI> and <HI>Babylon</HI> abun|dantly made fruitfull and watered by a Fountayne, which &s;prings vp therin. In this (as it recounted) the B. Virg. did v&s;e often to bath her little IESVS, and wa&s;h his Clothes, whil&s;t for fear
<PB N="481" REF="257">of Herod they liued bani|&s;hed in Egipt. There is lik|wi&s;e therby a Stone, on which it is &s;aid &s;he did v&s;e to dry tho&s;e cloths which &s;he had wa&s;hed. <HI>[Baron. in Annal. an. 7.]</HI> Others do affirmethat with her owne hands &s;he wrought that &s;eamles Garmet which our Sauiour wore at his pa&s;&s;io~.</P>
<P>Who&s;oeuer therfore wil imitate the B. Virgin, let him be &s;ure to flye idlenes. As &s;he admoni&s;hed <HI>Ruper|tus</HI> a &s;ingular honourer of hers to do, to whome be|ing of a very dull wit be|fore, &s;he opened many &s;e|crets of holy Scripture, &amp;
<PB N="482" REF="258">filled him with hidden knowledge, but with this charge, that he &s;hould flye idlenes, or els he &s;hould a|gaine be depriued of that &s;ingular knowledg, which &s;he had be&s;towed on him.</P>
<P>How grateful the exer|ci&s;e of labouring with the hands is vnto our B. Lady, doth well appeare, be it done eyther by obedie~ce of Superiours, or of chari|ty, or with any pious inte~|tion &amp; end. For it is writ|ten in the Chronicles of the <HI>Cistercians,</HI> that when the Religious of that Or|der one day had much la|boured &amp; &s;weat with rea|ping
<PB N="483" REF="258">of Corne, the V. Vir|gin appeared to one of the~ a very Holy &amp; wi&s;e man, hauing a viol-Gla&s;&s;e in her had which &s;he put often to their no&s;es, that they might &s;mell the &s;weet &s;a|uour which was within; &s;aying the&s;e words: To day I haue &s;eene my Reli|gious labouring in the field, and I haue gathered their &s;weat into this viol, which doth &s;end forth a mo&s;t gratefull odour vn|to my B. Sonne, &amp; me. All that you do, I take to be done to me, I accept it, &amp; in due tyme I will reward you for it. <HI>[Spec. exempl. l. 9. exem. 102.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<PB N="484" REF="259">
<HEAD>Of the internall deuotion of our B. Lady.</HEAD>
<P>NOw with what inter|nall deuotion &amp; recol|lectio~ of mynd, did the B. Virgin exerci&s;e corporall labour, is euident by that which <HI>Petrus Damanus</HI> wri|teth in the&s;e words: The actiue and contemplatiue life (&s;ayth he) were &s;o apt|ly myxt, and conioyned in the Ble&s;. Virgin, that ney|ther her Action did hinder her Co~templatio~, nor was her Contemplation wan|ting in her Actions. <HI>[&s;erm de nat. Dom,</HI></P>
<PB N="485" REF="259">
<P>The &s;ame is al&s;o te&s;tifi|ed by <HI>Guarinus [&s;erm. de a&s;su~pt B. Mariae]</HI> who &s;aith, That the Virgin Mary did &s;o performe the part of <HI>Martha</HI> in the care of wel bringing vp her &s;onne, as &s;he is belieued to haue had no le&s;&s;e part with <HI>Mary,</HI> in the contemplation of the Eternall word. And al tho&s;e, who haue gloryed in the Title of being the Seruants of the B. Virgin, haue carefully imitated her example in that kind, manteyning alwayes their internal recollection euen the mid&s;t of their external labours.</P>
<PB N="486" REF="260">
<P><HI>S. Catharine</HI> of <HI>Siena,</HI> while&s;t her Parents did of|ten &s;eeke to di&s;tracte her mynd, and diuert her from holy purpo&s;es, by putting her to do the ordinary of|fices of the hou&s;e, was di|uinely in&s;tructed to build her &s;elfe an Oratory in her brea&s;t, more la&s;ting the~ a|ny could be made by ha~ds fro~ whence &s;he &s;hould ne|uer haue occa&s;ion to be re|moued. The holy Saint did &s;o, &amp; imagined her Fa|ther to be Chri&s;t IESVS her Mother our B. Lady, the re&s;t of the hou&s;e hould to be the Apo&s;tles, and di&s;ciples of our Lord: by
<PB N="487" REF="260">which pious imagination, &s;he &s;erued the~ all, to their great ad miratio~, with wo~|derfull care and diligence, being neuertheles no ways di&s;tracted fro~ the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t her true &s;pou&s;e, for whom, &amp; vnto whome &s;he intended all that &s;he did. <HI>[in eius vita.]</HI></P>
<P><HI>B. Aloy&s;ius Gonzaga</HI> of the Soc. of IESVS was wont in like manner, whil&s;t he made ready the Refectory (that he might keepe his Soule more attent vnto God) to imagine euery place to belong vnto &s;ome one in heauen; as the Re|ctors place vnto Chri&s;t
<PB N="488" REF="261">our Lord, the next to it, vnto our B. Lady, the re&s;t which followed, vnto the Apo&s;tles, Martyrs, Con|fe&s;&s;ors, and Virgins. So as when &s;oeuer he helped the Refectorian to make rea|dy the tables he wold &s;ay; Come now, let vs lay our Sauiours Napkin, or his B. Mothers, and &s;o in the &s;ame manner would he cal the re&s;t by their &s;euerall names, labouring in this manner with a heart no le&s;&s;e inflamed, with a will &amp; affection no le&s;&s;e ready and feruent towards God then if indeed he had bin then to do the very &s;ame
<PB N="489" REF="261">offices, to the aboue na|med Saints in heauen. <HI>[In eius vita l. 2. c. 25.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XI. <HI>The imitation of the B. Virgin, in her Eating, or Corporall refection.</HI></HEAD>
<P>OF the admirable &s;o|briety &amp; ab&s;tinence of our Ble&s;&s;ed Lady, S. Bo|nauenture following the di&s;tribution of the tyme ob&s;erued by the B. Virgin before the Incarnation of Chri&s;t, hath the&s;e wordes: From the ninth Houre &s;he left not of her Exerci&s;e be|fore mentioned, vntill the
<PB N="490" REF="262">Angell came vnto her, fro~ who&s;e hands &s;he was wont to receaue her &s;u&s;tenance. S. Ambro&s;e &s;peaking of her ab&s;tinence &s;ayth, what &s;hold I &s;peake of the fru|gality of her dyet, and the aboundance of her deuo|tion? the one being wan|ting to nature, the other a|boue nature? the one ad|ding day to day in fa&s;ting, the other letting pa&s;&s;e no time nor occa&s;ion? and when&s;oeuer &s;he had de&s;ire to eate, &s;he made choyce of what was next at hand, and &s;uch as &s;ufficed to maintayne her life, not to plea&s;e her appetite. <HI>[c. 6. de &V;irgin.]</HI></P>
<PB N="491" REF="262">
<P>Neyther did the B. Vir|gin her&s;elfe v&s;e ab&s;tinence only, but hath comme~ded the &s;ame al&s;o the others, who de&s;ire to honour her. We read of a certaine Car|thu&s;i an Brother who was &s;o wholly deuoted vnto the loue of God, and to the memory of his B. Mo|ther, as it was iudged by tho&s;e who knew well his I fe, that he knew nothing but IESVS Chri&s;t Cruci|fied, and his Holy Mother. One might being in his cell, he &s;eemed &s;uddainly to be compa&s;&s;ed about with a great troupe of di|uells in the &s;harpe of wild
<PB N="492" REF="263">&s;wine gaping all-fearefully on him, with very long &amp; &s;harpe teeth. Then entred al&s;o into his Cell, one in humane &s;hape, of a huge bignes, reprehending the for&s;ayd Mon&s;ters for their &s;lothfull coward lines; and hauing a terrible iro~ book ful of lo~g &amp; crooked teeth threatned to teare the holy ma~ in pieces: but the Mo|her of God in&s;ta~tly appea|red vnto him, hauing in her hand a litle wand, &s;aying: How dare you, yee vile mon&s;ters, come neere vnto him, he is none of yours, neyther can you preuayle again&s;t him. At which wor|des
<PB N="493" REF="263">the wicked crew, &s;wif|ter the~ thought, did vani&s;h away. Then &s;he turning to the Religious man &s;ayd: thou &s;halt vnder&s;tand that thy deuotion is very gra|tefull and acceptable both to God and me, therefore per&s;euere as how ha&s;t be|gun, &amp; &s;triue dayly to pro+fit therein. And that I may al&s;o giue thee &s;ome dire|ctions in particuler, be &s;ure to eate the wor&s;t meate thou can&s;t find: Exerci&s;e thy &s;elfe deuoutly in the labour of thy hands, and choo&s;e the wor&s;t &amp; cour|&s;e&s;t cloathes. And hauing thus &s;poken vnto him, &s;he
<PB N="494" REF="264">&s;ently departed. <HI>[&V;incent, Bellou. l. 7. &s;pec. hist. c. 117.]</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>How the Bl. Virgin did ioyne the Refection of her mynd with that of her Body.</HEAD>
<P>NEyther may we make doubt, but that the B. Virgin while&s;t &s;he fed her body, did al&s;o nouri&s;h her &s;oule, &s;ince that &s;he had the Angells alwayes to &s;erue her, and Chri&s;t our Lord &s;itting at the Table with her.</P>
<P>If you de&s;yre to imitate this recollection of the B. Virgin, and nouri&s;h your &s;oule with &s;ome pious me|ditation
<PB N="495" REF="264">whil&s;t you are fee|ding your body; on Sun|day you may imagine, that you &s;ee the heauenly ban|quet, wherwith the Angels and Ble&s;&s;ed &s;oules in hea|uen, together with IESVS-Chri&s;t &amp; his B. Mother are &s;weetly repleni&s;hed with the Glory of God. On munday, you may imagine Chri&s;t our Lord in his Ho|ly Mothers armes when he was a child, feeding, &amp; &s;uc|king at her brea&s;tes. On Tue&s;day, thinke you &s;ee him now more grown, &s;it|ting at the Table with the Bl. Virgin, &amp; <HI>S. Jo&s;eph.</HI> On Wedne&s;day, that you &s;ee
<PB N="496" REF="265">him &s;eeding in the de&s;art, after he had fa&s;ted fourty daies, receauing food from the hands of Angels. On thur&s;day, that you &s;ee him eating his la&s;t Supper with his di&s;ciples. On Friday drinking gal on the cro&s;&s;e. On Saturday, that you &s;ee the Bl. Virgin, as before &s;ayd, feeding with the An|gells who admini&s;ter vnto her; or els, &s;aying grace at your table, giuing a &s;weet ta&s;t &amp; reli&s;h to your meate with the hony of her di|uine Goodnes and Mercy. Which benefit &s;he hath of|ten be&s;towed on many, e&s;|pecially Religious per&s;ons:
<PB N="497" REF="265">as &s;he was once &s;eene to go about the Table of the Ci|&s;tercia~ monks, &amp; with her owne handes di&s;tribute a certayn Electuary, or &s;weet confection to all of them, one only excepted who re|fu&s;ed to eat as the re&s;t did, but was of a particular diet <HI>[Cae&s;ar. l. 7. c. 48.]</HI></P>
<P>It is recorded al&s;o of one <HI>Fulbertus,</HI> a &s;ingular Ho|nourer of the Ble&s;. Virgin, that being once very &s;icke, and loathing all kind of meate, the B. Virgin apea|red to him, &amp; gaue him her virginall brea&s;ts to &s;ucke, wherby he pre&s;ently reco|uered his health. O that
<PB N="498" REF="266">the Ble&s;. Virgin would be|&s;tow vpon vs &s;ome of that cele&s;tiall &s;weetnes, out of her motherly brea&s;ts! how then &s;hould we de&s;pi&s;e and contemne all the&s;e corpo|rall delicacies, and &s;en&s;ual plea&s;ures, which are as wel common euen vnto bruite bea&s;ts, as to vs.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>With what di&s;cour&s;e did the B. Virgin recreate her mynd, after her Refection.</HEAD>
<P>AFTER her &s;paring and temperate repa&s;t, we may piou&s;ly imagine what recreation the B. Virgin v|&s;ed, being &s;o neerly con|ioyned
<PB N="499" REF="266">to God, that daily &s;he conuer&s;ed with him, or with Angels, or els with S. <HI>Io&s;eph,</HI> or &s;om of the &s;acred Virgins who had dedicated their &s;eruice to the honour of God in the Temple. It was reuealed to <HI>S. Brigit</HI> that Chri&s;t IESVS when he was yet a Child (in pri|uate and dome&s;ticall di&s;|cour&s;e with his Mother &amp; S. Io&s;eph) did reueale vnto them diuers hidden &amp; di|uine things; and that the &s;weetnes of his words cau|&s;ed in the~ both &s;ingularde|light, kindling a great fia|me of the diuine loue in their brea&s;ts. <HI>[lib. 6. de re|uel.
<PB N="500" REF="267">cap. 58.]</HI></P>
<P>And it hath byn &s;aid be|fore, that tho&s;e who are truly louers &amp; honourers of the B. Virgin, are very much addicted to &s;piritual colloquies and di&s;cour&s;es; therefore there is no need to &s;ay any more thereof in this place.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XII. <HI>How the Ble&s;. Virgin i to be imitated in Sleeping.</HI></HEAD>
<P>YOu may learne out of S. Ambro&s;e, what the repo&s;e of our B. Lady was. The B. Virgin (&s;ayth he l. 2. <HI>de &V;irg.</HI>) had &s;ooner
<PB N="501" REF="267">nece&s;&s;ity the~ de&s;ire to &s;leep and yet, while&s;t her body did re&s;t, her &s;oule was &s;till watchfull, often repeating in her &s;leepe what &s;he had read; or interrupted of her re&s;t, &s;he continued &s;till the &s;ame. To which may ad|ded out of <HI>S. Bernard,</HI> that whil&s;t the B. Virgin &s;lept, by a meritorious act, &s;he did wholy a&s;pire vnto God &amp; was euen then a perfect co~templant. <HI>[&s;erm. 51. c. 2.]</HI></P>
<P>The which &s;anctity of hers euen in &s;leeping you are to imitate, as neere as you can. To the attaining wherof a continuall deuo|tion and exerci&s;e of vertue
<PB N="502" REF="268">wil wo~derfully help. Be&s;i|the B. Virgin doth v&s;e to be&s;tow her benediction v|pon tho&s;e who take their re&s;t in decent &amp; holy man|ner, as <HI>S. Dominicke</HI> did &s;ee her once &s;prinkle with ho|ly water, and ble&s;&s;e all his Religious being a &s;leepe, excepting one, who lay vn|decently in his bed, al|though he were ignorant thereof.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="503" REF="268">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIII. <HI>Of the Imitation of the princi|cipall Vertues of the B. Vir|gin: &amp; first of her Purity.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THat the B. Virgins Puri|ty was neuer &s;o much as blemi&s;hed, with the lea&s;t &s;pot of &s;in, S. Ba&s;il in one word doth &s;ufficiently de|clare when he &s;ayth: That among all Creatures liuing there was not any greater nor the like Purity to be found then that of the Bl. Virgin. <HI>[in orat. de hum. Christi gener.]</HI> And S. An&s;elme &s;ayth: The pure Sanctity, and mo&s;t &s;aintly
<PB N="504" REF="269">Purity of her pious brea&s;t, did infinitly &s;urpa&s;&s;e the purity of all other creatu|res what&s;oeuer. <HI>(de Excell. B. &V;irgin. c. 9.)</HI></P>
<P>And the better to pre|&s;erue this purity the B. Vir|gin did accompany it with two other Vertues, to wit, the continuall Pre&s;ence of God, and as carefull Cu|&s;tody of her &s;elfe. Of the pre&s;ence of God, Cani&s;ius doth thus di&s;cour&s;e. What is more happy then the B. Virgin, who whither&s;oeuer &s;he went, did alwayes con|template the Euerla&s;ting Diuinity of God adoring inwardly &s;o great a Maie|&s;ty
<PB N="505" REF="269">in &s;pirit and truth, con|ceyuing nothing in that her &s;o pure and holy brea&s;t but what was al&s;o mo&s;t di|uine and pure. <HI>(lib. 1. c. 13.)</HI> Of her euer watchful care to keep this Purity, the B. Virgin her&s;elfe &s;ayd thus vnto S. Brigit. Euen from that tyme (&s;ayd &s;he) that I fir&s;t vnder&s;tood there was a God, I was alwayes fear|full and &s;olicitous of my &s;elfe, &amp; of my ob&s;eruance towards him, inwardly lo|uing him, and euery houre fearing lea&s;t by word, or deed, I might any wayes offend him. <HI>[lib. de reuel. cap. 10.]</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<PB N="506" REF="270">
<HEAD>Of the loue and de&s;ire of the like Purity.</HEAD>
<P>NOw that you may not only know this Purity but that knowing it, may al&s;o loue it, &amp; that louing it, may likewi&s;e de&s;yre and imbrace it, you mu&s;t of|ten repre&s;ent vnto your &s;elfe the mo&s;t admirable purity of the B. Virgin as mo&s;t re&s;plendant, fayre, louely and gratefull both to God, Angels, and Men. She appeared once to <HI>S. Ger+trude,</HI> like to a mo&s;t white &amp; &s;hining Lilly, &s;preading it &s;elf before the mo&s;t Ho|ly and Indiuidual Trinity:
<PB N="507" REF="270">at what tyme the B. Virgin likewi&s;e taught her the fol|lowing Salutation, as mo&s;t gratful vnto her&s;elf. Hayle O white Lilly of the euer re&s;plendant, and peaceable Trinity. Haile o faire Ro&s;e of the cele&s;tiall Delights, of who&s;e Roote, the king of heauen vouch&s;afed to be borne, &amp; of who&s;e milk he would be fed, therby to nouri&s;h our &s;oules with di|uine Influence. <HI>[lib. 3. in|&s;in. diuin. c. 19.]</HI> Euen &s;o when you &s;hall behold any Image of our B. Lady, as if you perceaued &s;ome liue|ly purity therein &s;ay; O B. Mary, more fayre then the
<PB N="508" REF="271">&s;un by thy purity, &amp; in &s;ple~|dour &s;urpa&s;&s;ing the &s;tarrs, I haue Ioued you eue~ from my youth, &amp; I am become a louer of your Beauty.</P>
<P>Another tyme the Ble&s;|&s;ed Virgin appeared to <HI>S. Clare</HI> of <HI>Monte Falco</HI> (who though, &s;he were then but &s;ix yeares old, did labour to obtaine this purity, by de&s;|pi&s;ing althings for the mo&s;t pure loue of Chri&s;t) bearing in her armes her litle IESVS, and &s;o &s;oone as the holy Child beheld <HI>S. Clare,</HI> he de|&s;yred to go downe on the grou~d, to imbrace her as his beloued &s;pou&s;e. Wherupon <HI>S. Clare</HI> comming to imbra|ce
<PB N="509" REF="271">him, he againe as in play &amp; &s;port ran from her, and hid him&s;elfe vnder his Mothers garme~ts, leauing notwith&s;tanding in the heart of the little Saint, a meruaylous &s;weetnes of his loue.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>A particuler examen touching the practice of imitating the &s;aid Pu~rity.</HEAD>
<P>TO the practi&s;e of this Purity, a particuler Ex|amine is very nece&s;&s;ary to be made, at a certaine tyme and place, as neere as may be, ob&s;eruing the&s;e two &s;peciall points. 1. To Exa|mine your greater &s;innes,
<PB N="510" REF="272">if by chante you haue fal|len into any, making a firme purpo&s;e by the grace of God vtterly to for&s;ake them. 2. You mu&s;t conce|aue a great and mo&s;t vehe|ment de&s;ire to root out all &s;inne wholy. For the fir&s;t, thinke often with your &s;elfe, how di&s;plea&s;ing &s;uch offe~ces are vnto the B. Vir|gin, being &s;o pure, &amp; thir|&s;ting &s;o greatly after the diuine Honour and Glory and &s;o extremely auerted from all &s;innes, e&s;pecially mortall. Of which her a|uer&s;ion, we haue an exam|ple of one, who comming vnto her Hou&s;e of <HI>Loreto</HI>
<PB N="511" REF="272">on Pilgrimage, burdened with a number of &s;innes, and of a life mo&s;t impure was twice frighted fro~ en|tring into the &s;acred Hou&s;e by certayne terrible vi&s;io~s which the &s;aw before him at the dore; nor was he able by any means to enter be|fore he had byn at confe&s;|&s;ion, and receaued ab&s;olu|tion of his &s;innes. <HI>[Tur&s;ell. in hist. Laur. l. 5 c. 27.]</HI></P>
<P>The like happened vnto <HI>S. Mary</HI> of Aegypt &s;ome|times a grieuous &s;inner, who was hindred by a ce|le&s;tiall force from entring into the Holy Sepulcher of our Lord at <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI>
<PB N="512" REF="273">vntil by help of the Mercy and pitty of the B. Virgin, &s;he began &s;eriou&s;ly to a|mend her life.</P>
<P>Secondly whe~ you haue purged your &s;elf fro~ grea|ter &s;innes by the interce&s;|&s;ion of the B Virgin, &amp; by the help of diuine Grace, you are to proceed vnto the rooting out of veniall &s;innes; and fir&s;t, &amp; chiefly, tho&s;e, which may incline you to commit greater &amp; more dagerous Crimes, &amp; into which you do more ordinarily fall; per&s;wading your &s;elf for certayne that not only mortall, but euen the lea&s;t Veniall finne is
<PB N="513" REF="273">greatly di&s;plea&s;ing to the B. Virgin.</P>
<P>S. Catharine of Siena contemplating on a tyme a diuine Vi&s;io~, for only ca|&s;ting a&s;ide her eyes, out of curio&s;ity, was for that &s;o litle di&s;traction &s;harply re|prehe~ded by the B. Virgin in &s;uch &s;ort, that it cau&s;ed her to &s;hed aboundance of bitter teares. <HI>[in eius vita.]</HI> As al&s;o a certaine Monke of the ci&s;tercians Order of an innocent life, by cha~ce falling a &s;leepe one night after Mattins before an Al|tar in the Church, was pre|&s;ently awaked by the Ble&s;-Virgin, telling him, that
<PB N="514" REF="274">was no place of &s;leeping, but of praying.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>How to begge the gift of Purity of the B. Virgin.</HEAD>
<P>YOv mu&s;t al&s;o begge often, &amp; hu~bly the guift of Purity of the B. Virgin: to which end you may re|peate the&s;e words of Holy Church, in the Hymne of <HI>Aue Maris stella.</HI></P>
<P>Grant vs pure life we pray, And make our way &s;ecure: That &s;o behoulding Chri&s;t our ioy may alwayes dure. And &s;ince that the fir&s;t de|gree of Purity, is the true knowledg of our &s;elfe and of our owne defects, you
<PB N="515" REF="274">mu&s;t frequently de&s;ire the &s;ame of the B. Virgin, and that &s;he would giue you &s;o much light whereby to &s;ee and di&s;couer all your &s;in|nes and imperfections, that &s;o you may dete&s;t them, &amp; make a ful confe&s;&s;ion ther|of, at your fir&s;t opportu|nity.</P>
<P>This fauour &s;he once im|parted to a youth of her Sodality in <HI>Germany,</HI> who vpon a tymevery carefully examining his con&s;cience of all thoughts, words, &amp; deedes, &amp; humbly de&s;iring of the Queene of heauen, that he might leaue none of his &s;innes vnconfe&s;&s;ed;
<PB N="516" REF="275">behould &s;uddainly, there fell downe from aboue, a paper of wonderfull whit|nes, iu&s;t before his face as he was praying, wherein all his &s;innes, in a very &s;mall, but curious character were written, with this additio~, that if he co~fe&s;&s;ed all which was in that paper contay|ned, and did but deuoutly &s;ay ouer his Ro&s;ary in the honour of the B. Virgin, he &s;hould be in a very good &s;tate. And that which incre|&s;ed the miracle was that an other youth of the &s;ame Sodality, as al&s;o his Father, the Pa&s;tour of the pari&s;h, &amp; many others endeauoring
<PB N="517" REF="275">to read the &s;ame paper, could neuer vnder&s;ta~d one letter therof. <HI>[Annuae Soc. Ie&s;u. an. 1588. Coll. Monast.]</HI></P>
<P>Moreouer you are to co~|ecyue a mo&s;t vehement de|te&s;tation of all your &s;innes, as well of tho&s;e you know as of tho&s;e you know not, or may haue forgotte~, &s;uch as <HI>S. An&s;elme</HI> conceaued, when he &s;aid: If (quoth he) on the one &s;ide I &s;hould &s;ee hel, and on the other &s;ide a Mortal &s;inne, &amp; mu&s;t needs choo&s;e one of them; I had rather go into Hell a thou|&s;and tymes, then commit but that one Mortall &s;inne. And he addeth: That he
<PB N="518" REF="276">had rather go to Hell, free &amp; pure from &s;inne, then to Heauen, defiled with the filth, and ordure of &s;inne.</P>
<P>La&s;tly you mu&s;t mo&s;t hu~|bly, &amp; often begge pardon of your &s;innes, and amend|ment of your life, euen fro~ the bottome of your heart through the mercy &amp; pitty of Gods Holy Mother who doth louingly receyue all tho&s;e which fly vnto her for help; like vnto that Cloud which God did on|ce &s;pread ouer the children of I&s;rael to protect them in their flight out of Egypt, and in their iorney in the De&s;art, couering and &s;ha|ding
<PB N="519" REF="276">them like a Canopy, from the intollerable heate of the Sunne. O how often had the ardor of diuine Iu|&s;tice euen con&s;umed al hu|mane kind, had not the B. Virgin interpo&s;ed her prai|ers betwixt vs and the &s;ame like to another cloud, and defended vs from the fury of his offended Maie&s;ty? In vayne &s;hould we &s;eeke re|fuge again&s;t the reuenge|full hand of God, who with &s;word, &s;ulphure, thunder, &amp; mo&s;t direfull flames dai|ly menaceth the world, ha|uing euery where &s;o great &amp; enormous &s;innes to pu|ni&s;h: for who could be
<PB N="520" REF="277">able to per&s;uade, or miti|gate his mo&s;t iu&s;t wrath &amp; fury, but only the pious Mother of our Lord, by extending the bo&s;ome of her pitty &amp; commi&s;eration to &s;aue vs mi&s;erable &s;in|ners, and by interpo&s;ing her interce&s;&s;ions to keepe vs from the deadly &s;troke? wherof the world is full of examples, as once <HI>S. Ger|trud</HI> did &s;ee her, as it were protecting all kind of wild bea&s;tes vnder her garment, by which was &s;ignified &s;in|ners flying vnto her for re|fuge and &s;uccour. A nota|ble example whereof we will here recount.</P>
<PB N="521" REF="277">
<P>A certayne wicked &s;ol|diar hauing no hope of his &s;aluation, by rea&s;on of the multitude and hey nou&s;nes of his &s;innes, co~ming once into a Church, fell downe on his knees pro&s;trate be|fore an Image of the B. Vir|gin, de&s;yring helpe of her with many teares: whe~ be|hould the Child IESVS in the armes of his B. Mother &s;eemed al&s;o to weepe with him, and a fountayne of water to i&s;&s;ue out of the B. Virgins hand, which moy|&s;tened all the Altar whereo~ it fell: thereby to giue the Soldier to vnder&s;ta~d, how great tru&s;t and confidence
<PB N="522" REF="278">he was to haue in her who was the fountayne of all Mercy, and how ea&s;ily the Sonne would be wonne by his Mothers prayers, who did with teares receaue a lo&s;t man returning vnto him. His Companions vn|der&s;ta~ding of the miracle, came running thither, to the end theyr eyes might be witnes, &amp; more credit giuen to the wonder; who in te&s;timony thereof did deuide amo~g the~ as a pre|tious relique, a Ha~dkercher wet in the &s;ayd water. The &s;oldiar hauing made con|fe&s;&s;ion of al the wickednes of his former life, vowed to
<PB N="523" REF="278">enter into Reigion. <HI>[Bo|nif. &amp; Orland. E. 4. c. 5.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIV. <HI>Of the Imitation of the Cha|&s;tity of the B Virgin.</HI></HEAD>
<P>HOw excellent the Cha|&s;tity of the Ble&s;. Virgin was, S. Antoninus well de|clares when he &s;ayth: That it did not only exceed the Purity of all earthly Crea|tures, but eue~ of the Angels them&s;elues. And truly the Epithete, or addition of the world VIRGIN, is &s;o proper to the Mother of God, that <HI>Epiphanius</HI> ex|clayming out, &s;ayth: Who dur&s;t euer yet pronounce
<PB N="524" REF="279">the Name of Ble&s;&s;ed Mary, &amp; being demau~ded whome he meant, did not pre&s;etly reply the VIRGIN Mary? Abraha~ had giuen him the Title, of Friend of God, nor &s;hal it be take~ fro~ him: Iacob had the Name of I&s;|rael, and it &s;hall not be al|tered: &amp; B. Mary the Syr|name of VIRGIN, nor &s;hall it be euer changed for &s;he alwaies remayned mo&s;t cha&s;t and pure. <HI>[Haere&s; 78.]</HI></P>
<P>And although God him|&s;elfe had particuler care of this her Trea&s;ure of Virgi|nity, yet did &s;he al&s;o v&s;e all po&s;&s;&s;ible diligence for pre|&s;eruation therof, as in &s;hu~|ning
<PB N="525" REF="279">the &s;ight and conuer|&s;ation of men, &amp; therfore is called. ALMA by the Pro|phet I &s;ay, which is as much as to &s;ay, a Virgin, hidden or retyred from the &s;ight of men, and of a mo&s;t ap|proued Cha&s;tity. And Ga|latinus &s;ayth; that the eyes of the B. Virgin did neuer behold any vnlawful thing and that among other her many perfections, &s;he was indewed with the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;y, in &s;uch manner, as if at any time &s;he might chance to heare, or &s;ee any vndecent thing her eares &amp; eyes &s;hould pre&s;ently be &s;hut, &amp; wholy re&s;erued to
<PB N="526" REF="280">fulfill the diuine plea&s;ure, (<HI>lib. de Arcan. cap. 5.)</HI></P>
<P>Nor did the Bl. Virgin only, loue and pre&s;erue her owne Virginity, but al&s;o did beget the &s;ame in o|thers. For although (as &s;ayth S. Bonauenture) &s;he were of a mo&s;t fayre &amp; ad|mirable a&s;pect, yet did &s;he mooue all men therby vn|to greater purity of life. And now in heaue~ (&s;aith <HI>S. Ambro&s;e</HI>) &s;he hath hu~g out her banner of Purity, and &s;acred Virginity, and by her protection &s;ecureth all to follow and imbrace the &s;ame. <HI>(l. de instit. Virg. c. 5.)</HI></P>
<P>Let this her Angelicall
<PB N="527" REF="280">vertue therfore mooue &amp; incite vs to her imitation. O how fayre is a cha&s;t ge|neration with noblene&s;&s;e? And let vt co~ceaue a mo&s;t earne&s;t de&s;yre of obtay|ning the &s;ame by often re|pre&s;enting to our &s;elues the B. Virgin, calling vpon vs in the&s;e words of <HI>Eccle&s;ia|sticus:</HI> Come vnto me all you who &s;eeke after me, and you &s;hall be filled with my generations. For my &s;pirit it &s;weeter the~ hony, and the hony combe. I haue fructifyed like the vine, &amp; brought forth the &s;weetnes of odour; and my flowers are fruites of ho|nour
<PB N="528" REF="281">and hone&s;ty.</P>
<P>Now that you may the better obteine this vertue, you mu&s;t often cal to mind this ver&s;icle of the Church.
<Q><L>O Virgin &s;ingular, in mild|nes pa&s;&s;ing all,</L>
<L>Make vs both meek &amp; cha&s;t deliuered from &s;ins thral,</L></Q> As al&s;o this other: By thy immaculate Conception, o mo&s;t glorious Virgin, we be&s;eech thee deliuer vs. Which &s;hort prayer, <HI>Do|ctour Auila</HI> a mo&s;t famous Preacher in Spayne, doth affirme to be of great force again&s;t all impure, and vn|cleane thoughts.</P>
<P>La&s;tly in what e&s;teeme
<PB N="528" REF="281">the pure louers of Cha&s;tity are with God &amp; his B. Mother, may appeare by the following hi&s;tory. One <HI>Iu|lianus</HI> a Noble yongman, who intended to liue cha&s;t, was contrary to his pious de&s;ire inforced by his pa|rents to mary a like Noble virgin called <HI>Ba&s;ili&s;&s;a.</HI> Now when night drew on, and they retyred to their Bri|dal Cha~ber, there was &s;uch a &s;ent of Lillyes &amp; Ro&s;es (although it were then winter) that the Bride <HI>Ba|&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;&s;a</HI> thought her&s;elf to be in &s;ome plea&s;ant Garden in the moneth of May. Wher|vpon her husband toke oc|ca&s;ion
<PB N="530" REF="282">to tell her of his de|&s;ire and purpo&s;e, and &s;o far preuayled with her, that &s;he likewi&s;e there vowed Virginity vnto IESVS the mo&s;t pure &s;pou&s;e of al cha&s;t harts. She had no &s;ooner done, but they perceaued the Chamber to &s;hine with a wonderfull light, and &s;aw Chri&s;t Ie&s;us in the midde&s;t of a multitude of Cele&s;tiall wights, all cloathed in white garments, &amp; the B. Virgin inuironed with vir|gins one euery &s;ide to ap|proach vnto that holy Ma|riage fea&s;t; togeather with mo&s;t melodious mu&s;icke, fit for &s;o great a &s;olemnity
<PB N="531" REF="282">&s;ounding forth the&s;e wor|des, <HI>Julia~</HI> how ha&s;t co~que|red: And, Ble&s;&s;ed be thou, O <HI>Ba&s;ili&s;&s;a,</HI> who ha&s;t obey|ed the whol&s;om coun&s;ayle of thy &s;pou&s;e. Then was there giuen vnto <HI>Iulian</HI> a fayre booke to reade, in which was written this: Tho&s;e who for the loue &amp; de&s;ire of me, haue de&s;pi&s;ed the world, &s;hall haue their place among the~, that ne|uer knew any woman. <HI>Ba&s;i|li&s;&s;a</HI> &s;hall remayne among the Order of virgins, wher|of MARY the Mother of IE|SVS is Queene &amp; Prince&s;&s;e, After <HI>Iulian</HI> had read this, he &s;hut the Booke, and all
<PB N="532" REF="283">the holy Quires of Saintes there pre&s;e~t an&s;wered with one voyce, Amen. O with what &s;olid &amp; pure delight was this mo&s;t cha&s;t Payre of pure Soules filled? where are yee, O yee vanityes of the deceytfull fading im|pure, wretched world? how poore and mi&s;erable will yee &s;eeme compared with the&s;e cele&s;tiall, &amp; mo&s;t &s;o|lide delights?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="533" REF="283">
<HEAD>CHAP. XV. <HI>The Imitation of the Pouerty of the B. Virgin.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. HOw poore the B. Vir|gin was in her proper choyce, and how much &s;he de&s;pi&s;ed and neglected all earthly riches, Saint <HI>Brigit</HI> doth declare in the&s;e wor|des: That high-&s;oaring Soule, (&s;ayth &s;he) which did co~templat the rewards prepared for the iu&s;t in hea+uen, did prefer them be|fore all other temporall ri|ches, yea in regard of them &s;he did &s;o contemne all o|ther external goods and fa|culties,
<PB N="534" REF="284">that &s;he was alone co~tent with that which did only &s;eeme inough vnto her, to the only nece&s;&s;ary &s;u&s;tenance of her life. <HI>(.10 Reuel. cap. 10. and 3. cap. 8.)</HI> And <HI>Richelius</HI> (cited by <HI>Ca|ni&s;ius lib. 1. cap. 10.)</HI> te&s;tifi|eth the &s;ame, when he &s;aith that the B. virgin after her Sonne was glorifyed and a&s;cended into heauen, did &s;o conforme her &s;elfe with his new glory, that the world grew daily more and more vile in her &s;ight and e&s;teeme, &s;he thir&s;ting in&s;atiably after cele&s;tiall things.</P>
<P N="2">2. How truly poore
<PB N="535" REF="284">&s;he was in her temporall e&s;tate the &s;ame <HI>S. Brigit</HI> de|clareth thus from the B. Virgins owne mouth. Fro~ the beginning (&s;ayth &s;he) I made a vow in my hart, if &s;o it might be acceptable to God, neuer to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e any thing in the world. The which our Sauiours poore Natiuity in the &s;ta|ble, and the handicraft of <HI>Saint Jo&s;eph,</HI> as al&s;o her owne hand-labour do &s;uf|ficiently witne&s;&s;e, yea af|ter the A&s;cen&s;ion of Chri&s;t into heauen, &s;he liued amo~g the poore and Euangelicall widowes of the Iewes, with whome &s;he receaued her
<PB N="536" REF="285">almes, out of the common Charity of others, with great &s;implicity, and ioy of hart. And although it be not improbable, that the B Virgin whe &s;he fled with her little &s;onne IESVS into Aegipt did liue by the cha|rity of others, and did aske almes from place to place: Neuerthele&s;&s;e diuers graue Authors are of opinion, that afterwards &s;he liued not &s;o, it being an vnde|cent thing that &s;o mo&s;t ho|ly and cha&s;t a Matrone &s;hould &s;o offer frequent the hou&s;es and conuer&s;ati|on of others, or that &s;o great a louer of priuacy,
<PB N="537" REF="285">&s;hould &s;o often appeare in publicke.</P>
<P N="3">3. Thirdly, that this Pouerty of our ble&s;&s;ed La|dy was free, of her owne accord, &amp; not con&s;tray|ned therto through wa~t or nece&s;&s;ity, appeareth as wel by the quality of her pa|rents, who&s;e only daughter and inheritre&s;&s;e &s;he was, as al&s;o by the many rich, and pretious guifts of the three Kings, and of others, who would neuer haue &s;uffered her to haue wanted any thing had &s;he but de&s;yred the &s;ame.</P>
<P N="4">4. Fourthly, &s;he was mo&s;t ob&s;eruant of neatnes
<PB N="518" REF="286">and be&s;eeming decency in ber habit, &amp; clothes, as ha|uing them alwayes very neat and hand&s;ome, and of a mo&s;t graue and mode&s;t colour. And the like al&s;o in her Chamber, of which the Archangel <HI>Gabriell</HI> had the charge, as te&s;tifieth <HI>Guarinus</HI> and many others.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, how much the B. Virgin de&s;ireth, this her Pouerty, (which was our Sauiours perpetuall co~pa|nion on Earth) &s;hould be e&s;teemed off by men, all good Religious per&s;ons do abounda~tly te&s;tify by their ob&s;erua~ce of the Holy Po|uerty which they profe&s;&s;e
<PB N="539" REF="286">&amp; vow. And Saint Francis, famous for his pouerty, throughout the Chri&s;tian world, receaued that &s;pirit in no other place the~ in the church of our B. Lady, na|med <HI>Portiuncula,</HI> or, Of the Angells; vnto which Place, as witne&s;&s;eth S. Bo|nauenture, he bare a more &s;pecial reuerence, then vn|to any other place in the world, as hauing there hu~|bly begun, vertuou&s;ly pro|ceeded, &amp; mo&s;t happily en|ded; and at his death com|mended the &s;ame vnto his Friars as a place mo&s;t plea|&s;ing to the B. Virgin. <HI>[In cius vita c. 2.]</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="540" REF="287">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVI. <HI>The Imitation of the B. Virgin, in humility, Modesty, Pa|tience, and Obedience.</HI></HEAD>
<P>HOw great the vertue of Humility, as the foun|dation of al other vertues, was in the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin S. <HI>Mechtild</HI> declareth thus: The fir&s;t vertue wherin &s;he exerci&s;ed her &s;elfe was Hu|mility, thinking alwayes &s;o hu~bly of her &s;elfe, that al|though &s;he were adorned which &s;o many graces, and priuiledges yet did &s;he ne|uer preferre her &s;elf before any other per&s;o~, but hum|bled
<PB N="141" REF="287">her &s;elfe euen vnto al, con&s;eruing &s;ilently in her bre&s;t the many vertues, &amp; prai&s;es due vnto her; as may appeare by her ca~ticle of <HI>Magnificat;</HI> the which S. Mary of Oegnia did &s;ing forth, as &s;he lay a dying, therby to declare the ho|nour which &s;he bare vnto the Ble&s;. Virgin, as hauing burned all her life tyme with a mo&s;t arde~t de&s;ire of imitating her humility. In recompence wherof the B. V. willed her to cal for the la&s;t Sacrament of Extreme Vnction, &amp; was pre&s;ent at her death, with all the ho~ly Apo&s;tles, and Chri&s;t him|&s;elfe,
<PB N="500" REF="288">who at the feet of the dying Saint fixed his triu~|phant banner of the Cro&s;&s;e as a token of her Victory, whereby &s;he triumphed by the Humility of the Cro&s;&s;e ouer all her enemies. <HI>(Ine|ius vita cap. 3.)</HI></P>
<P>Nor can we heere pa&s;&s;e ouer in &s;ilence that rare &amp; &s;ingular feruour of imita|ting the Humility of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, which was ob&s;erued in S. Lewis King of France, who&s;e cu&s;tome was euery Saturday throgh out the yeare, in honour of the B. Virgin to wa&s;h, wipe, and ki&s;&s;e priuately in his chamber, the feet of cer|tayne
<PB N="443" REF="288">poor people; leauing to po&s;terity a rare, &amp; new example of kingly &s;ubmi&s;|&s;ion. <HI>(In eius vita.</HI>
<Q><HI>of the Modesty of the B. Virgin.</HI></Q></P>
<P>VNto Humility, did the B. virgin ioyne Mode|&s;ty, as an in&s;eparable com|panion: Wherof S. Ber|nard &s;peaking, thus write|th. When as (&s;ayth he) the B. Virgin did heare her Sonne eyther &s;peaking to the people in parables, or reuealing vnto his di&s;ciples the my&s;teries of the king|dome of heauen; or when &s;he &s;aw him worke mira|cles, yea hanging on the
<PB N="544" REF="289">Cro&s;&s;e &amp; breathing out his &s;oule, ri&s;ing agayne in glo|ry, or la&s;tly a&s;cending into heauen; yet at any of the&s;e times do we neuer read that the voice of this mo&s;t ba&s;hful Virgin, of this mo&s;t cha&s;t Turtle hath bin heard to &s;peake. <HI>(&s;erm. Signum magnu~.)</HI> And if at any time &s;he had occa&s;ion to &s;peake, with what mode&s;ty, and humility did &s;he vtter her words? She &s;pake, &s;ayth <HI>Nicephorus (l.</HI> 2. <HI>hist.</HI>) vnto al without pride, without laughter, without pertur|bation, as deuoyd of all haughtines, &s;imple, ob&s;er|uant, and of mo&s;t excelle~t humility.</P>
<PB N="545" REF="289">
<P>And this Vertue, &s;o high|ly e&s;teemed by the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, &s;he much com|me~ds to tho&s;e who honour her. For, as witne&s;&s;eth S. Gregory <HI>[l. 4. dial. cap. 17.]</HI> on a ty me &s;he admoni&s;hed one <HI>Mu&s;a</HI> a yong Virgin, much deuoted vnto her, to ab&s;taine from idle play, ie&s;ting, laughter, and all other childi&s;h leuity, if &s;he de&s;ired to raygne with her. And truly, if the B. Virgin liuing heere on earth were &s;o carefull, as &s;ayth S. Bo|nauenture <HI>(in medit. vitae Christi c. 3.)</HI> that none with whom &s;he co~uer&s;ed &s;hould offend by any &s;peach of
<PB N="546" REF="290">theirs, nor that they &s;hold be heard at any time to laugh, or vtter any iniuri|ous words of others: how much more &s;olicitous may we now thinke her to be in heauen, that we &s;hould ob|&s;erue this Vertue of hers?</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the Patience of the Bl. Virgin.</HEAD>
<P>THe vertue of Patience &s;pringeth al&s;o out of Humility, the which &s;hined mo&s;t cleerly throghout the life of the B. Virgin. For that &s;he was mo&s;t cheerfull in al her per&s;ecu|tions and afflictions, ne|uer complayning in her
<PB N="547" REF="290">want or nece&s;&s;ity, yea al|ways mo&s;t ob&s;eruant and officious euen towards her enemies. And S. Ambro&s;e treating of her Con&s;tancy, and Fortitude whil&s;t &s;he &s;tood at the foot of the Cro&s;&s;e, &s;ayth; The mother &s;tood by the Cro&s;&s;e of her Sonne, as not fearing the daunger of her owne life. The Sonne hunge vpo~ the Cro&s;&s;e, and the Mother of fred her&s;elfe vnto the per|&s;ecutors, wherby &s;he be|came more then a Martyr, and is therfore commonly called the Queen of Mar|tyrs. <HI>(l. de in&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">t. virg.)</HI></P>
<P>But how many, &amp; how
<PB N="548" REF="291">&s;olide arguments of patie~|ce did the B. Virgin &s;ugge&s;t vnto S. Lidwyne a mo&s;t deuout &s;eruant of hers, whil&s;t &s;he lay grieuou&s;ly &s;icke for many yeares, may ea&s;ily appeare, in that &s;he often &s;ent vnto her an Angell to recreate and co~|fort her with his pre&s;ence in the mid&s;t of her dolours &amp; afflictions. This Angell would often carry <HI>S. Li|dwyne</HI> to an Image of the B. Virgin to &s;alute the &s;ame: often al&s;o to a mo&s;t plea&s;ant Garde~ of flowers, and into a mo&s;t &s;weet and temperate ayre, where &s;he &s;uffered neyther heate nor
<PB N="549" REF="291">cold. Somtimes al&s;o would he carry her to &s;ee the pay|nes in Purgatory, that &s;he might learne to &s;et light by what &s;he &s;uffered heere on earth. At other times would he ray&s;e her vp to behold the Ble&s;&s;ed Soules in heauen, fro~ whence &s;he receaued &s;uch aboundant plea&s;ure &amp; delight, that &s;he was euen raui&s;hed with the &s;ight therof. And the Ble&s;|&s;ed Saintes did call vnto her, &amp; animate her in the&s;e words: Suffer con&s;tantly, <HI>Lidwyne,</HI> that which yet remayneth for thee to &s;uf|fer; for we all haue pa&s;&s;ed through fyer, and water,
<PB N="550" REF="292">before we came to inioy this re&s;t &amp; happines as you &s;ee. <HI>(Jn eius vita.)</HI> Do you likwi&s;e imagine, that you heare the B. Virgin ani|mating you with like wor|des, to &s;uffer couragiou&s;ly when&s;oeuer occa&s;ion is of|fered.</P>
<P>To this may be added the example of Hermanus &s;urnamed <HI>Co~tractus,</HI> or the Cripple (borne of a noble Family in Sueueland) &s;o called for that all his mem|bers were from his youth &s;hrunke vp, &amp; contracted. This man led a Religious life famous for learning, in the holy Order of <HI>S. Bene|dict,</HI>
<PB N="551" REF="292">about the yeare of Chri&s;t 1060. And praying once vnto the Ble&s;. Virgin mo&s;t earne&s;tly to graunt him the v&s;e of all his lym|mes, &s;he appeared vnto him and gaue him his choyce of thes two things, eyther to remayne as he was, &amp; haue the guift of al humayne &amp; diuine &s;cience &amp; learning, or els to be made whole, &amp; altogether ignorant &amp; vn|learned. But he con&s;idering well the matter, cho&s;e to remaine a cripple as he was <HI>(Tritem. de viris illustr. lib. 2. c. 84.)</HI></P>
<P>No doubt but the Ble&s;|&s;ed Virgin per&s;uaded this
<PB N="552" REF="293">&s;ingular exa~ple of patience vnto <HI>Hermanus,</HI> to giue vs to vnder&s;tand, that who|&s;oeuer will plea&s;e the Ble&s;|&s;ed Virgin, according to her example, mu&s;t patient|ly imbrace all troubles and afflictions. But to returne vnto our &s;tory. From that time forwards <HI>Hermanus</HI> did &s;o excell in all kind of Learing both in the Latin, Greeke, &amp; Arabicke tou~ge as he was inferior to none of his age. And among ma|ny other things he &s;et forth the Ant-hymne of Salue Regina, v&s;ually &s;unge by the~ Church in her Office, and often celebrated by
<PB N="553" REF="293">Angelicall mu&s;icke, and many miracles.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the Obedience of the B. Virgin.</HEAD>
<P>LA&s;tly, Obedience, the Daughter of Humility, was mo&s;t excellent &amp; rare in the B. Virgin the which Ger&s;on doth co~firme whe~ he &s;ayth: That &s;he &s;tanding by the Cro&s;&s;e, exerci&s;ed a mo&s;t highe Act of Obedi|ence, in offering her Sonne vnto God, and in confor|ming her will, in his mo&s;t bitter death, vnto the will of God. She was mo&s;t o|bedient vnto all, but e&s;pe|cially vnto her Parents, as
<PB N="554" REF="294">&s;aith <HI>S. Metchtild</HI> of whom &s;he was &s;o ob&s;eruant, that &s;he neuer offended them in any the lea&s;t thing. The Vertue of her imitation in this &s;o excellent ma~ner &s;he commended vnto <HI>S. Catha|rine</HI> daughter to <HI>S. Brigit,</HI> who liuing at Rome with her Mother, did &s;o greatly de&s;ire to returne to her Country of <HI>Sueuia</HI> againe, that her Mother could by no means per&s;wade her fro~ the &s;ame. Wherupo~ the B. Virgin appearing, did &s;har|ply reprehend her, &s;aying: Shall I help, or fauour thee in any thing, when thou neyther obeye&s;t God, nor
<PB N="555" REF="294">me, nor thy Mother, nor thy Confe&s;&s;or? After this admonition, <HI>S. Catherine</HI> began to de&s;i&s;t, &amp; was euer after of a mo&s;t ready, and prompt obedience. <HI>(Sur. in eius vita.)</HI></P>
<P>The great propen&s;ion &amp; readines of <HI>Fa. Peter Cani|&s;ius</HI> of the Society of IESVS, &amp; late Apo&s;tle of <HI>Germany,</HI> to honour the B. Virgin, is well knowne vnto all; and him&s;elfe hath declared in the end of his fifth Booke writte~ of her pray&s;es. The which our B. Lady did as greatly &amp; abundantly re|ward, by be&s;towing on him the Vertue of Obedience
<PB N="556" REF="295">to his Superiours, with &s;uch true feeling and im|pre&s;&s;ion of hart, as he was ready to vndergo any Of|fice, or mini&s;tery of the Society, though neuer &s;o meane, or humble without re&s;pect or care of him&s;elfe, but repo&s;ing all his com|fort &amp; confidence in God and his B. Mother. The&s;e be his owne words.</P>
<P>I de&s;ire you earne&s;tly, O mo&s;t glorious Queene, whome none do call vpon without pious fruite, that you would fauourably ac|cept this poore te&s;timony of my deuotion towards you. I confe&s;&s;e I am not <HI>E|phrem,</HI>
<PB N="557" REF="295">that I would dare to &s;ay with him; Make me worthy to prai&s;e you, o holy Virgin. Neither am I <HI>Dama&s;cen,</HI> that I &s;hould make new hymnes vnto your honour? Nor am I <HI>Hildephon&s;us,</HI> that I &s;hould be honoured with a pecu|liar reward for vnderta|king your defence: But I &s;hall thinke my &s;elfe fully and highly rewarded, if you would be plea&s;ed to enrole me, not in the num|ber of your friends, or children, but of your &s;er|uants and va&s;&s;als.</P>
<P>Thus he of his deuotion towards the B. Virgin. He|are
<PB N="558" REF="296">now what a true feeling of Obedience &s;he there|fore, in recompence be&s;to|wed vpon him. For he thus an&s;wered <HI>S. Jgnatius</HI> com|mending Obedience vnto all tho&s;e of his Society, &amp; to him in particuler.</P>
<P>I do &s;imply profe&s;&s;e, that it will be mo&s;t gratefull vnto me, what&s;oeuer office or mini&s;tery &s;hal be inioy|ned me by holy Obedie~ce be it of Cooke, Gardener, Porter, or any other office, in which I am ignorant &amp; wholy to learne. And fro~ this day forwards, I do make a holy vow, &s;etting a&s;ide all re&s;pect what&s;oe|uer,
<PB N="559" REF="296">that I will haue no care heerafter either of the di&s;po&s;all of my &s;elfe for Mi&s;&s;ion or habitation, or any other commodity what&s;oeuer, but remit all vnto the Care and di&s;po&s;i|tion of our Reuerend Fa|ther Generall; to whome I offer vp, &amp; faithfully com|mend in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord, the gouernement both of my body &amp; &s;oule my vnder&s;ta~ding, my wil, and all that I haue. <HI>(Orla~d, hist. l. 8. n. 4.)</HI></P>
<P>Do you by the&s;e exam|ples implore the ayde of the B. Virgin, that you may be obedient in &s;o excellent
<PB N="560" REF="297">a degree, imagining you heare her often &s;ay vnto you as &s;he did to tho&s;e &s;er|uants of the wedding fea&s;t in Cana of Galiley: What|&s;oeuer he &s;hall &s;ay vnto you, that do.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVII. <HI>The Imitation of the B. Virgin in Charity towards our Neighbours.</HI></HEAD>
<P>SAint Bonauenture &s;pea|king of the Almes which the B. Virgin was wont to be&s;tow vpon the poore when &s;he was yet a Child, &s;ayth: She refre&s;hed her body with the foode &s;he
<PB N="561" REF="297">receaued from the hand of her Angell &amp; gaue all that was allowed her by the Prie&s;ts of the Temple, vnto the poore. <HI>(medit. c. 13.)</HI> Saint Ignatius al&s;o &s;ayth: &s;he was very pittifull to|wards the poore and af|flicted; being always ready to help theyr nece&s;&s;ityes. <HI>in Cani&s;. l. 1. c. 13.</HI>) From he~ce may we imagine, that &s;he di&s;tributed all the of|ferings of the three Kings vnto the poore, as al&s;o a&s;|&s;i&s;ted towards the poore wedding in Cana of Gali|ley.</P>
<P>And how plea&s;ing the giuing of Almes is vnto
<PB N="562" REF="298">the B. Virgin, may appeare out the life of S. <HI>Lydwyne</HI> before mentioned, who by order of the B. Virgin was once conducted by an Angel into Paradi&s;e, where &s;he &s;aw as it were an army of Saints, in the mide&s;t of whom was the B. Virgin her&s;elfe, &s;itting at a Table richly couered with &s;ilke feeding vpon the Almes which <HI>S. Lidwyne</HI> had gi|uen vnto the poore in Ear|then ve&s;&s;els, but now &s;et forth in di&s;hes of gold and chri&s;tall, with admirable ioy and content. Vpon whome her&s;elfe al&s;o did &s;eeme ioifully to wayte, &amp;
<PB N="563" REF="298">admini&s;ter all things fit|ting. After this vi&s;ion &s;he alwayes increa&s;ed her libe|rality and almes vnto the poore. <HI>(Jn eius vita.)</HI></P>
<P>What &s;hould I &s;ay of the zeale of &s;oules, wherewith the B. Virgin did &s;o burne whil&s;t &s;he liued on Earth? She became all, vnto all, that &s;he might gayne all, perfectly knowing the end of the Law &amp; con&s;umatio~ therof, to be only charity. Wherfore as witne&s;&s;eth <HI>S. Brigit,</HI> &s;he was the Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e of the Apo&s;tles, Example of Martyrs, Doctre&s;&s;e of Confe&s;&s;ours, Mirrour of Virgins, Comfortre&s;&s;e of
<PB N="564" REF="299">Widdowes, whol&s;ome ad|mon&s;hier of the marryed, perfect &s;trengthner of al in the Catholike faith, by who&s;e words, works, ex|amples, &s;tudies and hone&s;t labours many Iewes &amp; E|thnicks haue byn conuer|ted to the faith of Chri&s;t. Neyther doth &s;he now, &s;ince her a&s;&s;umption into heauen, cea&s;e continually to &s;eeke the &s;aluation of &s;oules by all meanes po&s;&s;i|ble. She it is, who &s;e~t ayde vnto <HI>S. Bernard, S. Domi|nicke,</HI> and <HI>S. Francis,</HI> and to tho&s;e of their Orders la|bouring in the world for the conuer&s;ion of &s;oules.
<PB N="565" REF="299">She it is who hath led forth <HI>Ignatius, Xauerius, Barzeus</HI> and others, into the li&s;ts, &amp; field to fight the combats of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us. Who&s;oe|uer therfore thou art, that laboure&s;t in the conuer&s;io~ of &s;oules, remember that thou offer vp, &amp; &s;eriou&s;ly commend thy functio~ vn|to this Glorious Virgin, &amp; giue her thanks for all the fruite which thou already ha&s;t, or &s;halt reap, eyther by thy owne, or by others labour, in the Vineyard of our Lord.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="18" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="567" REF="300">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVIII. <HI>The Imitation of the B. Virgin in the Loue of God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHat&s;oeuer hath bin hi|therto &s;aid of the Ex|cellency of the B. Virgins Sanctity, is to be a&s;cribed vnto her Loue of God, wherof &s;he was full, and by which &s;he was led vnto all the re&s;t at the fir&s;t Motion thereof. Of this &s;o great flame of her loue <HI>Sophro|nius</HI> thus writeth. The loue of Chri&s;t (&s;aith he) did be|get the de&s;ire of his Mother &amp; the de&s;ire &s;o increa&s;ed &amp; enkindled within her, be|ing
<PB N="566" REF="300">&s;till repayred, and aug|mented with fre&s;h fewell, that I belieue, as at al times &s;he &s;urpa&s;&s;ed all others, &s;o at &s;ometymes &s;he euen ex|ceeded her&s;elfe. For who ca~ euer imagine with what vnquenchable flames of pious loue &s;he burned, who was &s;o full of grace, infu|&s;ed by the holy Gho&s;t, that there was nothing in her to violate her affection, but a continual ardour &amp; raui&s;h|ment of loue? <HI>[&s;ermone de A&s;&s;umpt.</HI></P>
<P>Who&s;oeuer thou art that &s;eeke&s;t after this mo&s;t faire and odoriferous flower of Diuine Loue; who&s;eouer
<PB N="568" REF="301">thou art, that with S. Au|gu&s;tin, or <HI>S. Bonauenture,</HI> de&s;ire&s;t to haue the iner|mo&s;t bowells of thy &s;oule pierced through with the mo&s;t &s;weet, and healthfull wound of the diuine loue, or with <HI>S. Francis</HI> to haue thy mynd wholy ab&s;orpt, and con&s;umed in the for|nace of the loue of God, that thou might&s;t eue~ dye for him, who for thy loue was plea&s;ed to giue vp his life vpon the Cro&s;&s;e; ap|proach neere vnto the B. Virgin, &amp; fir&s;t contemplate her vertues and perfections fro~ which, after thou &s;halt haue admired them as in|comprehen&s;ible
<PB N="569" REF="301">and innu|merable, thou may&s;t pa&s;&s;e to the con&s;ideration of the fountaine of al the&s;e guifts &amp; graces, to wit, God him|&s;elf; in co~pari&s;on of whom, all the excellencyes &amp; per|fections of the Bl. Virgin, all her beauty, &s;anctity, yea and the whole ma&s;&s;e of all her graces, heaped togea|ther, will &s;eeme but as a droppe, deriued from that Ocean of Goodnes &amp; Loue which is in him. Who with this con&s;ideratio~ doth not burne &amp; wholly con&s;ume with the Loue of God? Who now will not cry out with <HI>S. Augustin,</HI> Oh what
<PB N="570" REF="302">is it that I loue, louing my God! This contemplation you mu&s;t accompany with feruent praiers vnto the B. Virgin, that &s;he wil imprint in your heart, the inuiola|ble affection of this Chari|ty. O how readily, how ea&s;ily will &s;he heare your petition, comming from a heart &s;incere and pure? To which end, &s;he gaue once vnto a certaine Virgin who had long de&s;ired that high fauour of her, her litle Ble&s;|&s;ed &s;o~ne into her armes of whome Ie&s;us demaunding whether &s;he loued him or no? She an&s;wered him, yea euen more then her owne
<PB N="571" REF="302">body. He asked her, how much more? &s;he &s;ayd more then her heart. He asked her agayne, how much more the~ her heart? Wher|unto the Virgin an&s;wered, Let my heart an&s;were for it &s;elfe, for I haue no more to &s;ay; at which words it pre&s;ently bur&s;t a&s;u~der with the vehemency of Loue, wherin were written the&s;e words in golden letters: I loue thee more then my &s;elfe, &s;ince thou ha&s;t crea|ted, redeemed and e&s;pou&s;ed me. <HI>[Spec. exemp. d. 9. ex. 74]</HI></P>
<P>O &s;weet Eclyp&s;e of a lo|uing &s;oule! O liuely Loue of God, which by taking
<PB N="572" REF="303">away this mortal, doth lead vs vnto an immortal life! O profitable Loue, &amp; &s;er|uice of the Bl. Virg. which doth beget in our &s;oules the Loue &amp; honour of Al|mighty God, by &s;o happy and ble&s;&s;ed a death! For &s;o &s;hall the louers of the B. Virgin dye: who ready to depart out of this life, &amp; drawing towards their la&s;t end, la~gui&s;hing more with the loue of God, then the force of &s;icknes, &s;hal a&s;py|re vnto the cele&s;tiall king|dome, de&s;ire to be di&s;&s;o|lued, and be with Chri&s;t: and turning vnto the B. Virgin, &s;hall in mo&s;t hum|ble
<PB N="573" REF="303">manner implore her ayde &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;tance, &s;aying: O B. Mary, help me, and protect me from myne e|nemyes, and receaue me now in the houre of my death.</P>
<P>There needs no more to be &s;aid; for one only &s;igh, one only teare of &s;uch as are truly deuoted vnto the B. Virgin, in their nece&s;&s;ity &amp; affliction, doth beyond all imagination &s;o &s;tir vp her motherly pitty &amp; co~|mi&s;eratio~, that &s;he pre&s;e~tly is ready to a&s;&s;i&s;t them, &s;ay|ing: [I am heere ready to help you, be confident. A worldly Mother may ne|glect
<PB N="574" REF="304">her owne child a dy|ing; &s;he may be ab&s;ent, or not care for his la&s;t imbra|cement: but I cannot be vnmindful of you, neyther will I euer for&s;ake you.] And this is certayne. For whil&s;t they be prepared with their Viaticum for their la&s;t iourny, &amp; armed with the &s;hield of Extreme Vnction, this mo&s;t louing Mother &s;its by the~, com|forts them, &s;trengthens them, and euen warmes the~ in her owne mo&s;t &s;acred bo&s;ome, intreating her Ble&s;&s;ed &s;onne to be propi|tious vnto them, and im|brace the~, and &s;o ioyneth
<PB N="575" REF="304">their harts vnto the hart of Ie&s;us, while the Angels &s;ing and triu~ph, &amp; them|&s;elues intone that heauen|ly Canticle of Loue and Iubilation with old Sime|on: Let thy &s;eruant now, O Lord, depart in peace, according to thy word &amp;c. and in the midd&s;t of the&s;e cele&s;tiall ioyes, do they &s;e|curely giue vp their &s;oules into the hands of God, &amp; the B. Virgin, to be crow|ned for all Eternity.</P>
<P>And as the Patriarch <HI>Noe</HI> did pa&s;&s;e out of his Arke, to wit, out of the pri&s;on, &amp; captiuity of his bodyly man&s;ion, &s;o &s;oone as the
<PB N="576" REF="305">Doue did bring him an Oliue-branch: &s;o the B. Virgin bringing that &s;a|cred Oliue-branch her de|are Sonne Ie&s;us for their co~fort, &amp; con&s;olation to this their la&s;t pa&s;&s;age; they &s;end forth their &s;oules with all alacrity, ioy, and Iubilation.</P>
<P>O death, how bitter art thou to one in loue with the deceyt of the world? O death how &s;weet art thou to one in loue with B. Ma|ry the Mother of Mercy? O death, how fearfull and terrible art thou to one a dying, agayn&s;t whome Hell it &s;elfe doth fight? O
<PB N="577" REF="305">death, how &s;ecure, and quiet art thou to one a dy|ing, whome the B. Virgin doth defend?</P>
<P>What horrour, what de&s;|peration &s;hal we then con|ceaue, from the remem|brance of our &s;innes, and chiefl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">y of our neglect of not honouring God, and his Ble&s;&s;ed Mother? What ioy on the other &s;ide, what hope &s;hall we haue, when we find that we haue &s;er|ued her all our life? Oh how terrible will it &s;eeme to be when we come to dye among &s;o many ene|myes? Oh how happy, how &s;ecure to dye in the
<PB N="578" REF="306">armes of the B. Virgin? Wherein, without doubt, all &s;hall dye that liue truly deuoted to her. And this Flower (to conclude) of eternall Saluatio~ doth this Garden of the B. Virgin offer vnto vs; not to be gathered heere in this life, but afterward in the King|dome of Heauen.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="306" MS="y">
<PB REF="307" MS="y">
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
