But in this life no soul the truth can know An higher place must make her mount thereto. Again, How can she but immortal be, When with the motions of both will and wit, She still aspireth to eternity, And never rests, till she attains to it? Water in conduit-pipes can rise no higher Than the well-head from whence it first doth spring: Then since to eternal God she doth aspire, All moving things to other things do move, And as the moisture, which the thirsty earth And runs a nymph along the grassy plains; Long doth she stay, as loath to leave the land, From whose soft side she first did issue make: She tastes all places, turns to ev'ry hand, Her flow'ry banks unwilling to forsake; Yet nature so her streams doth lead and carry, Ev'n so the soul, which in this earthly mould The Spirit of God doth secretly infuse, Because at first she doth the earth behold, And only this material world she views,— At first her mother-earth she holdeth dear, And doth embrace the world and worldly things; She flies close by the ground, and hovers here, And mounts not up with her celestial wings: Yet under heaven she cannot light on aught, For who did ever yet, in honour, wealth, Then as a bee, which among weeds doth fall, Which seem sweet flow'rs, with lustre fresh and gay; She lights on that, and this, and tasteth all, But pleas'd with none, doth rise and soar away; So, when the soul finds here no true content, And, like Noah's dove, can no sure footing take, She doth return from whence she first was sent, And flies to him that first her wings did make. Wit, seeing truth, from cause to cause ascends, But never stays, till it the last do gain. Now God the truth, and first of causes is; Sith then her heav'nly kind she doth display, And yet this first true cause, and last good end, As a king's daughter, being in person sought Yet can she love a foreign emperor, Whom of great worth and pow'r she hears to be, If she be woo'd but by ambassador, Or but his letters, or his picture, see; For well she knows, that when she shall be brought Into the kingdom where her spouse doth reign; Her eyes shall see what she conceiv'd in thought, Himself, his state, his glory, and his train : So while the virgin soul on earth doth stay, She woo'd and tempted is ten thousand ways By these great pow'rs, which on the earth bear sway, The wisdom of the world, wealth, pleasure, praise With these sometime she doth her time beguile, But if upon the world's almighty King She once doth fix her humble loving thought, Who by his picture drawn in ev'ry thing, And sacred messages, her love hath sought; Of him she thinks she cannot think too much; But when in heav'n she shall his essence see, This is her sov'reign good, and perfect bliss; Her longings, wishings, hopes, all finish'd be, Her joys are full, her motions rest in this : There is she crown'd with garlands of content; For this, the better souls do oft despise The body's death, and do it oft desire;. But if the body's death the soul should kill, For all things else, which nature makes to be, Their being to preserve, are chiefly taught; And though some things desire a change to see, Yet never thing did long to turn to nought. If then by death the soul were quenched quite, Nor could the world's best spirits so much err, For what is praise to things that nothing be? Again, if by the body's prop she stand; As Meleager's on the fatal brand, The body's good she only would intend: We should not find her half so brave and bold, ease. Doubtless, all souls have a surviving thought, And as the better spirit, when she doth bear |