THE MYSTICAL MEANING OF THE CREATION

IN the first day there is earth, water, and wind, over which and through which there is nothing but disconsolate darkness and tumultuous agitation; the winds ruffling up the waters into mighty waves, the waves washing up the mire and dirt into the water; all becoming but a rude heap of confusion and desolation. This is the state of the vous Xons, or Earthly Adam, as Philo calls him, till God command the light to shine out of darkness, offering him a guide to a better condition.

In the second day is the firmament created, dividing the upper and the lower waters, that it may feel the strong impulses or taste the different relishes of either. Thus is the will of man touched from above and beneath, and this is the day wherein is set before him life and death, good and evil, and he may put out his hand and take his choice.

In the third day is the earth uncovered of the waters, for the planting of fruit-bearing trees. By their fruits you shall know them, saith our Saviour, that is, by their works. In the fourth day there appears a more full accession of Divine light, and the Sun of Righteousness warms the soul with a sincere love both of God and man.

In the fifth day, that this light of righteousness, and bright eye of Divine reason may not brandish its rays in the empty field, where there is nothing either to subdue or guide and order, God sends out whole shoals of fishes in the waters, and numerous flights of fowls in the air, besides part of the sixth day's work, wherein all kinds of beasts are created.

In these are deciphered the sundry suggestions and cogitations of the mind, sprung from these lower elements of the human nature, viz. earth and water, flesh and blood; all these man beholds in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, discovers what they are, knows what to call them, can rule over them, and is not wrought to be over-ruled by them. This is Adam, the masterpiece of God's creation, and lord of all the creatures, framed after the image of God, Christ according to the Spirit, under whose feet is subdued the whole animal life, with its sundry motions, forms, and shapes. He will call everything by its proper name, and set every creature in its proper place: The vile

person shall be no longer called liberal, nor the churl bountiful. Woe be unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that call the light darkness, and the darkness light. He will not call bitter passion, holy zeal; nor plausible meretricious courtesy, friendship; nor a false soft abhorrency from punishing the ill-deserving, pity; nor cruelty, justice; nor revenge, magnanimity; nor unfaithfulness, policy; nor verbosity, either wisdom or piety. But I have run myself into the second chapter before I am aware.

In this first, Adam is said only to have dominion over all the living creatures, and to feed upon the fruit of the plants. And what is pride but a mighty mountainous whale; lust, a goat; the lion, eagle and bear, wilful dominion; craft, a fox; and worldly toil, an ox? Over these and a thousand more is the rule of man, I mean of Adam, the image of God. But his meat and drink is to do the will of his Maker; this is the fruit he feeds upon.

Behold therefore, O man, what thou art, and whereunto thou art called, even to be a mighty prince amongst the creatures of God, and to bear rule in that province he has assigned thee, to discern the motions of thine own heart, and to be Lord over the suggestions of thine own natural spirit. Not to listen to the counsel of the flesh, nor conspire with the serpent against thy Creator, but to keep thy heart free and faithful to thy God: so mayest thou with innocency and unblamableness see all the motions of life, and bear rule with God over the whole creation committed to thee. This shall be thy paradise and harmless sport on earth, till God shall transplant thee to an higher condition of happiness in heaven.

HENRY MORE.-Conjectura Cabbalistica.

THE MERITS OF A MERRY TALE

VINCENT. And first, good Uncle, ere we proceed further, I will be bold to move you one thing more of that we talked when I was here before. For when I revolved in my mind again the things that were concluded here by you, methought ye would in no wise that in any tribulation men should seek for comfort, either in worldly thing or fleshly, which mind, Uncle, of yours, seemeth somewhat hard. For a

merry tale with a friend refresheth a man much, and without any harm lighteth his mind and amendeth his courage and stomach: so that it seemeth but well done, to take such recreation. And Solomon saith, I trow, that men should in heaviness give the sorry man wine to make him forget his sorrow. And Saint Thomas saith, that proper pleasant talking, which is called evrpaeλía, is a good virtue, serving to refresh the mind and make it quick and lusty to labour and study again, where continual fatigation would make it dull and deadly.

Anthony-Cousin, I forgat not that point, but I longed not much to touch it. For neither might I well utterly forbid it, where the case might hap to fall that it should not hurt, and on the other side, if the case so should fall, methought yet I should little need to give any man counsel to it; folk are prone enough to such fantasies of their own mind. You may see this by ourself, which coming now together, to talk of as earnest sad matter as men can devise, were fallen yet even at the first into wanton idle tales. And of truth, Cousin, as you know very well, myself am of nature even half a giglot and more. I would I could as easily mend my fault as I can well know it, but scant can I refrain it, as old a fool as I am.

Howbeit so partial will I not be to my fault as to praise it; but for that you require my mind in the matter, whether men in tribulation may not lawfully seek recreation and comfort themselves, with some honest mirth, first agreed that our chief comfort must be in God, and that with Him we must begin, and with Him continue, and with Him end also: a man to take now and then some honest worldly mirth, I dare not be so sore as utterly to forbid it, sith good men and well learned have in some case allowed it, specially for the diversity of divers men's minds: for else if we were all such, as would God we were, and such as natural wisdom would we should be, and is not all clean excusable that we be not in deed: I would then put no doubt, but that unto any man the most comfortable talking that could be, were to hear of heaven. Whereas now, God help us, our wretchedness is such that in talking a while thereof, men wax almost weary, and as though to hear of heaven were an heavy burden, they must refresh themselves with a foolish tale. Our affection toward

heavenly joys waxeth wonderful cold. If dread of hell were as far gone, very few would fear God, but that yet a little sticketh in our stomachs. Mark me, Cousin, at the sermon, and commonly towards the end, somewhat the preacher speaketh of hell and heaven: now while he preacheth of the pains of hell, still they stand and yet give him the hearing. But as soon as he cometh to the joys of heaven, they be busking them backward and flock-meal fall away. It is in the soul somewhat as it is in the body. Some are there of nature or of evil custom come to that point, that a worse thing sometime steadeth them more than a better. Some man, if he be sick, can away with no wholesome meat, nor no medicine can go down with him, but if it be tempered with some such thing for his fantasy as maketh the meat or the medicine less wholesome than it should be. And yet while it will be no better, we must let him have it so. Cassianus, that very virtuous man, rehearseth in a certain collation of his, that a certain holy father in making of a sermon, spake of heaven and heavenly things so celestially, that much of his audience with the sweet sound thereof began to forget all the world and fall asleep which when the father beheld, he dissembled their sleeping and suddenly said unto them, 'I shall tell you a merry tale.' At which word they lifted up their heads and hearkened unto that and after the sleep therewith broken, heard him tell on of heaven again. In what wise that good father rebuked then their untoward minds so dull unto the thing that all our life we labour for, and so quick and lusty toward other trifles, I neither bear in mind, nor shall here need to rehearse. But thus much of that matter sufficeth for our purpose, that whereas you demand me whether in tribulation men may not sometimes refresh themselves with worldly mirth and recreation, I can no more say, but he that cannot long endure to hold up his head and hear talking of heaven, except he be now and then between (as though to hear of heaven were heaviness) refreshed with a merry foolish tale, there is none other remedy but you must let him have it better would I wish it, but I cannot help it.

SIR T. MORE.-A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation.

A PROVIDENTIAL INTERPOSITION

Now

To the intent that ye may somewhat see what good Christian faith Sir Thomas Hytton was of, this new saint of Tyndale's canonization, in whose burning Tyndale so gaily glorieth, and which hath his holiday so now appointed to him, that St. Polycarpus must give him place in the Calendar, I shall somewhat show you what wholesome heresies this holy martyr held. First ye shall understand that he was a priest, and falling to Luther's sect, and after that to the sect of Friar Huskin and Zwinglius, cast off matins and mass, and all divine service, and so became an apostle, sent to and fro, between our English heretics beyond the sea, and such as were here at home. happed it so, that after he had visited here his holy congregations in divers corners and luskes [lush] lanes, and comforted them in the Lord to stand stiff with the devil in their errors and heresies, as he was going back again at Gravesend, God considering the great labour that he had taken already, and determining to bring his business to his well-deserved end, gave him suddenly such a favour and so great a grace in the visage, that every man that beheld him took him for a thief. For whereas there had been certain linen clothes pilfered away that were hanging on an hedge, and Sir Thomas Hytton was walking not far off suspiciously in the meditation of his heresies: the people doubting that the beggarly knave had stolen the clouts, fell in question with him and searched him, and so found they certain letters secretly conveyed in his coat, written from evangelical brethren here unto the evangelical heretics beyond the sea. And upon those letters founden, he was with his letters brought before the most Rev. Father in God the Archbishop of Canterbury, and afterward as well by his Lordship as by the Rev. Father the Bishop of Rochester examined, and after for his abominable heresies delivered to the secular hands and burned.

SIR T. MORE.-Confutation of Tyndale's Answer.

WHEN KNIGHTS WERE BOLD

WITH Some trouble I got the chest out; she gave me a key, I unlocked the chest, and took out another wrapped in lead, which also I unlocked with a silver key that my