S. AUGUST. Consider, O man, what thou wert before thy birth, aud what thou art from thy birth to thy death, and what thou shalt be after death: thou wert made of an impure substance, cloathed and nourished in thy mother's blood, EPIG. 1. Forbear, fond taper: what thou seek'st, is fire: GEN. GEN. i. 3. And God said, Let there be light; and there was tight TH 1. HIS flame-expecting taper hath at length Received fire, and now begins to burn : It hath no vigour yet, it hath no strength; Apt to be puff'd and quench'd at ev'ry turn : It was a gracious hand that thus endow'd [shroud This snuff with flame: but mark, this hand doth Itself from mortal eyes, and folds it in a cloud. 2. Thus man begins to live. An unknown flame But how, and when infus'd, ask not my pen; 3. Was it a parcel of celestial fire, Infus'd by heav'n into this fleshly mould ? If 4. If it be part of that celestial flame, It must be ev'n as pure, as free from spot, As that eternal fountain whence it came : If pure and spotless, then whence came the blot * ? Itself being pure, could not itself defile; Her Nor hath unactive matter pow'r to soil pure and active form, as jars corrupt their oil. 5. Or if it were created tell me when : If in the first six days, where kept till now? All kinds, ev'n from the greatest to the least, 6. But why should man, the lord of creatures, want Shall fowls and fishes, beasts and plants convey 7. Must human souls be generated, then? My water ebbs; behold a rock is nigh: What shall we then conclude? what sunshine will My vainly-striving thoughts; lie down, my puzzled * Blet? i. e. original depravity. [quill. ISIDOR. |