BEloved, they say, yea the Heathen say, that Round­heads will not Steal, but they will Lye abominably. I on fesse my self to be a Round-head, and the Son of a Round-head (of else what should I do here) and yet contrary [Page 4] to the reproaches of the ungodly, I believe I have now spoken a truth, which neither you will, nor they dare de­ny.

The words consist of seaven letters W: e: e: M: u: s: t, and a certain thing called an Hieroglyphic. What that is, I shall tell yee by and by, if I can, though beloved I must needs say unto yee, 'tis a very hard word. But let us begin first with the Letters, for give me leave to tell yee, there be many mysteries hid under other Letters and Figures, as well as under S, p, q, R, or 666, as, give me but a little leave, and Ile show you: as for example W: e: e: M: u: s: t. Here W; is as it were a discovery of the natures of a right Congregational Man; as if I should speak to any of yee all here present who have been famous in your Generations, and say W. S:— W. V:—, W. N:—; what were this, but as if I should say, You Double or double hearted S:—, You Double or dou­blehearted V:—, You Double or double hearted N:—. Then in the second place, being such, and lyable also to death, it denotes unto you, and me, and all of us (for I see never a Barrel better Herring) that as the stroaks of the W: will never meet at the top, but are easily joyned at the bot­tom: so none of us here congregated together are likely to meet above, that is to say, in Heaven, but must be joyned and riveted together in the lower Parts of the Earth. Benlowes sacred Fancies, c. 2. v. 5. The same learned Author affirms that, and resembles a man who being very melancholy, hangs down his Head in his Breast, which is now our con­dition; for though we have no reason to be sad for the Rings we have got, yet have we great cause to hang down our Heads and Mourn for the losse of our Brother. Now there is not one e: but two ee's: Mark how pat this falls out, as much as to say, Wee are in little ease. Judge yee now if this be not just to a Cow's Thumb, for who among us can say now he is at ease? No! for Wee are all in little ease; Partly for the losse of our Friend here, partly for the losse of our Honours and Gospel enjoyments which I fear is nigh at hand, for that our Foes do multiply, and there is none to save us. Dr. H—, Beloved, a Brother of ours, hath spoken and made publick in his Fancies upon the Revelation and Daniel, [Page 5] many pretty Knick-knacks and Whimsies of his own, and tru­ly very applicable to the words, but if he could fetch such a mystery as this out of two ee's, Ile give him my Mother for a Maid. The subsequent Letters are M: u: s: t, which be­ing put together composeth or compileth the word Must; some say this word is a royal word, because of the Proverb that saith, Must is for the King. Truly Beloved I could wish it were only for the King, but here's the mischief on't; and indeed the Devil ought u [...] a spite, for he made us little Kings and Princes also every one in his turn, on purpose to put his Must upon us too. But this word Must hath several significations, Firstly and first of all, it signifies a term of force or violence, as you shall find it in the second Chapter of the English Proverbs, v. 3. Needs Must he goe whom the De­vil drives. But our Brother Cook at the Bridge foot, who drest many a good Dinner for the upright, took it in another sense: And so I can assure you, that Rhenish Wine upon the Must is very sweet, but Death upon the Must is very sowre. The next thing that I shall explain to you, is the Hieroglyphic, by which we have exprest the two Monosylla­bles Dye all. To do this I shall tell you negatively first what it is not, and secondly affirmatively what it is. Give me leave then in the first place to tell yee that a Hieroglyphic is no Sturgeon; for though a Sturgeon be good meat, yet it is not Hieroglyphically so. I will not deny but that a Sturgeon may be a Hieroglyphic; yet this on the other side I dare af­firm, that though every Sturgeon may be a Hieroglyphic, yet every Hieroglyphic is not a Sturgeon. 'Tis true many of our Antient and Modern Prophets, have hid the mysteries of their mystical sayings, under the shapes of several Beasts; but this argues not that a Sturgeon should in this place be counted an Hieroglyphic. For though they make many of their Monsters to come out of the Sea, yet they give unto none of them the shape of Fish; and indeed it is thought, that ever since Jonas was in the fishes belly, none of those kind of people cared that Fish should come into their bellies. Yet I could wish our deceased President were now in a Fishes belly, because of the report of Men, who say, that he is in a place where there is so much want of water. But [Page 6] some will object and say, what think yee of Mermaids? To which I answer, that Virgil and Homer were in their Liquor, when they found out that watery and fluid invention; So that a Mermaid can be no Hieroglyphic neither. 'Tis true, a Maid joyned with a Man, or with a Mastiff, may be a Hieroglyphic, as our Brother Benlowes observes in his com­ment upon Alciates Emblems; but I hope Maids have more wit, when there are such Creatures upon Land, than to run into the Sea to look after Tritons. Neither can a Bag Pudding be in this place counted an Hieroglyphic; for that a Pudding hath two ends, but all those that dye have but one end; and some say, when they are dead they have no end; but as to that I shall say little at present; Abel best knows it, who was the first man that ever dy'd in this World. But now to let yee know what this thing is we have so much talk'd off, an Hieroglyphic, being truly defin'd, is an Egyptian Trimtram; But some will say, what? doe you make use of Fool's Baubles, and Trimtrams, to expresse the death of so worthy a Patriot as here lyes before us? To this I an­swer, that I wonder at yee my beloved; for would you have me Preach any other sort of Sermon at his Funeral, than he was wont to hear while he liv'd? where was there such a Poltron as our Brother Foxley, who spoke Bulls more reverently in the Pulpit? or was more gravely impertinent in his Homilies? Yet was he Chaplain to our deceased Pa­triot, and he fed him with Mony, and fat Venison. But why have we made use of a Sundyall? why? because it is the only thing which discovers the Thieveries of that Arch Pilferer old Time: You'l say, I might as well have made use of those things, with which the young Striplings play for Sawcers in Bartholomew Fair: but I deny that; for though they serve to passe the time away, yet they are no Sundyals. Now this Time my Beloved, was one of the arrantest Thieves in the World; He was Great grandfather to Robin-Hood, that Robb'd in Yorkshire, and his Mother was Sister to Wood of Kent, For he was as great a Glutton, as a Thief; and he Robb'd to Eat, and Eat that he might Rob. And therefore our Auncestors knowing how great a Thief he was, translated the Latin word Tempus, and called it Time, place­ing [Page 7] him upon the Beams of Sundyals, with a great Si [...]h in his hand; judge yee what great gobbets he puts in his mouth, and what a Stomach he hath, by the weapon with which he uses to cut his meat. Now this Time being made a Demon or Semigod, even as our fore Fathers deifyed Wine, and call'd it Bacchus, by reason of its great power over Mor­tals, will not yet leave his Theiving, but steals our Years, our Days, Months, and Minutes, nay our very Lives from us: And more than this, if the Sexton be not too nimble for him, makes no Conscience to steal our winding Sheets from us, as we lye helplesse and succourlesse in our Graves. In Law Offices, the Rats and He feed together upon old Parchments; so that the Lawyers are fain to make their Deeds, and Leases, of no use after so many years, lest he should eat away the Evidences of Mens Inheritances. Ecce venio ut Fur, saith the Dyal of Cannon Street Church. Sure­ly he was a VVise Man, that made that Dyall, and under­stood Latin; for never was a better Character given of Time than this. But let him go like a Thief as he is, and let us see what we have next to insist upon.

You find by what we have said already, a true explana­tion of the Letters, and Hieroglyphic of this Text. Now the Letters and Hieroglyphic being put together, do immediatly spawn or procreate this sense or meaning, We Must Dye all. Here we are to note the action, and universality of the acti­on; The action is Dying, the universality of the action, Wee Must Dye all. VVell then, Wee Must Dye all; But what? must we Dye all after one fashion? In other things there is variety; as of VVomen, there are the Black, the Brown, the Fair. Of Drink there is variety, as Ale, Beer, Cider, Sack, Claret, &c. There are also several sorts of Meat, as Flesh, Fowl; And of these also, there are various kinds, whereby the Palat need not to be nauseated alwayes with one and the same thing. And is there but one way of Dy­ing? Beloved yee need not fear: There are as many wayes of Dying, as of Eating and Drinking. Some Men Dye for Love, as you may read in the first Book of Claudian Gruget, or the Cronicles of Queen Marget. Beloved, I shall read unto you the Text it self; where you shall find the Story of a [Page 8] certain young man who this way lost his Life; It is said o him,

V. 1. c. 10. There was a certain young man who loved a certain Lady, and his Love was grounded on no other end, but to Love her with all his power as perfectly as he could.

V. 2. But this Lady, he being not a match sufficient for her, was by the urgency of her Friends, caus'd and forc'd to marry another Gentleman.

V. 3. Therefore he fell Sick, and his strength failed him, so that he was forc'd to keep his bed.

V. 4. Neverthelesse the Daughter and the Mother, have­ing some compassion on him, came to visit the Gentleman, whom they found near his end;

V. 5. But then being ready to descend unto the sleep of Death, and beholding her whom his Heart loved, he found himself so fortified, that he did arise up in his bed,

V. 6. And said unto the Mother of the young Lady, I be­seech you to give her into my Arms, and command her to Embrace and Kisse me.

V. 7. Then Embracing the cause of his death, and Kissing her with his pale and cold Lips, he held her with so much vehemence, that his weak Heart could not endure the strength of his Love.

V. 8. Therefore the faculties of Life abandoining him, the seat of his Soul failed, and she fled to her Disposer.

Thus you see the Example of one way of Dying; But what says the Learned Hircan in his Comment upon this place. This, saith he, was the veryest Fool that ever I heard speak; for is it likely or reasonable that we should Dye for Women who are made for us, and be afraid to ask them what they are enjoyn'd to give us?

Now I speak not this for my self, nor for any man here that is married, for I have enough of a VVoman; or rather more than will serve my turn; but to shew you that there are more ways to the Wood than one. Truly Beloved, our dear and worthy Brother here lying before us, was not a little guilty of this vanity, which made him in hisyounger days quaff a health to his Mistriss in his own blood. I should have blam'd him for it, but that it made him known, and shew'd him fit for [Page 9] the trust reposed in him, for he that was so lavish of his own blood, could never be chary of another mans. But there are other ways of leaving the World, and I believe as many postures there are of dying, as our Brother Aretine hath delivered postures of Copulation. Let us reckon; One I have told yee already.

The second is, when a man going to bed takes a good Dose of Opium, and sleeps away his life: and this is called the Syndercomb.

The third is, the Turks way of strangling, and borrows its name from a stuff in Pater-noster-ro: and is called Lute­string.

The fourth is, that posture which Derick most common­ly uses: and is called Noosing.

The fifth is, burning to death: and is called the Witches Farewell.

The sixth is, breaking on the wheel: and is called St. Ka­therines Legacy.

The seventh is, when a man wasted with a Disease lyes upon his back, and gives up the Ghost: and is called the Custome of Women.

The eighth differs little from the seventh, only that the man lyes on one side: and this is called King Arthurs way of dying.

The ninth is, broyling to death: and is called St. Lawren­ces March.

The tenth is, drowning: and this is called Neptunes Ex­cise.

The eleventh is, beheading: and is called Bradshaws De­light.

The twelfth and last which I shall now number up, re­ferring you for the rest to the Pictures of the ten Persecuti­ons, and Sennertus's work, is our deceased Brorhers way of dying: and is called the Agues Triumph. Whereby you may see that a Souls House, and a Mans House are not alike; for they say of Building, that a trembling House stands fastest; but a Soul loves not that her Mansion should shake.

The Physicians say, because they are not able to cure this Disease, that it is a certain Devil which possesses a man. If [Page 10] this be so, then certainly it was Belzebub himself possessed our dear President; For he shook him worse than he shook the Protectors Trees, and never left shaking him, till he had shaken him into his Grave. Truly Beloved, 'tis a sad thing when the Devil comes to Winnow a mans Soul out of his Bo­dy. But to say truth, what had he to do, to live any longer, he had done his great work, neither was there any likely­hood that he should have any more, by reason that the Na­tion was so generally inclin'd for a Common-Wealth; He knew, for ordinary Delinquents, and a Common High Court of Justice, the Lord Lisle could serve as well as he; He saw that the Rump stunk in the Nostrils of the Nation, and it grieved him to see them so despis'd by the people. He had had his reward in this World; and therefore thought 'twas time to get his reward in the other. What that is, we cannot tell: his Friends hope the best; his Enemies hope the worst. However, to give yee some satisfaction, we shall a little dive into the Actions of his life, and see if they de­serve that punishment, which his Enemies would inflict up­on him. I confesse we have a difficult task to undergoe, to Cloth Virtue in the Habit of Vice, and to trick up Vice in the Habit of Virtue. Neverthelesse wee must doe something in the discharge of a good Conscience; for else how can I be said to have merited my Ring, and my Five pieces; perhaps it may be Ten, which is a Sum considerable. Truly wee Ministers love Mony, 'tis the main thing we Ball for; and I think he's a Fool that does not. You know 'tis Mony that makes the Mare to goe: 'tis Mony that makes the Pot boyl. Now good victuals my Beloved, are highly reverenc'd and esteem'd among us Parsons; 'tis that which encloses our Kidneys, and lines our Midriffs with fat. They talk of the Food of the Soul; but I beleive that if there were no other Food, we might starve for all that. Therefore saith the fa­mous father Binet, c. 31. v. 130. By Hook or by Crook it mat­ters not whether, so we can but gain Riches, which are indeed the Nerves and Sinews of a Mans life. Thus much by way of pickeering from our Text, a thing usual among us modern Divines. Now let us begin to justifie our deceased President. You must know then, that once upon a time Escobar and [Page 11] Lopez meeting together, they fell into a dispute con­cerning the Actions of a Mans life; But me thinks I hear Somebody, pulling me by the sleeve, say unto me, who is that Escobar and Lopez you talk o [...]? why my Beloved this Escobar was great Grand-child to the Pin [...]r of Wakefield, who comming of the race of the Valiant, became a very strong man at an argument; Now Lopez was an East-Indian Divine, and he wore a Jerkin made of Ostrich Feathers; his Shooes were made of an Elephants Hoof, and upon his Head he wore a Fools Cap. Then said Lopez unto Escobar, May a Man doe Evil, that Good may come thereof? and Escobar answered and said, Follow the Prestdent that lives in our days; Don Juan de S [...], the Portugal Embassadors Brother, proves this most ex­actly from the Doctrine of Probability. For saith he, [...]. 7. v. 3. A Man may doe that, which he conceives lawful accor­ding to a probable opinion, though the contrary be in reality the more honest. And Vasques saith, in his book of Sanctifi'd Experiences, that in cases of Mo­rality, a man ought not to be guided by the antient Divines, but by the modern Casuists; Of this opinion also, was our dear Brother Julian the Apostate. Now you will say that our deceased President was Ambitious: I grant it; but what then? but hear what the famous Escobar saith; Ambition, which is an immoderate desire of greatnesse and dignity, is of it self a venial Sin; [...] when a man covets that greatnesse to prejudice the State, the external circumstances are that which make it Mortal; But our President exercis'd his Ambition for the good of the State. He prerended Religion, the destructi­on of Tyranny, and at last the setting up of the Good Old Cause: And therefore yee may read, in our de [...] Brother Catilines Remains, how that he disturbed [...] Country, for that he was greatly in Debt, and had no other way to get mony to be honest to his C [...]. But me thinks I hear the Cavaleers crying out with o­pen [Page 12] mouth, how he killed the King. VVhy what if he did? did not our dear Brother Ravillac kill Harry the Fourth? would not our Brother Faux have blown up the King and all his Peers? did not our Sister Tomyris cut off King Cyru's Head? did not our An­cestors run a hot spit into the Fundament of King Ed­ward. Therefore saith our Brother Syndercomb, It is as lawful for to kill a Tyrant, as it is to drink Coffee. And the antient Greeks and Romans, gave rewards to those that were most swift in the execution of such an enterprise. Machiavel in his Comment upon the works of Heliogabalus, saith, that it is lawful to kill a Man for six or seven Duckets; and our holy Bro­ther Molina the Jesuite assures us, that regularly a Man may kill another lawfully for the value of a Crown; and in this opinion consents with him Domitian the Fly-killer and the holy Nero: Also further saith, that it is lawful for one Man to kill another for an Ap­ple. Now if this be true, that a Man may be killed for six or seven Duckets, or for such a slight thing as an Apple; then certainly might our President judge a Man to Death for my Lord Cottingtons Estate. Our President was like Necessity, for he had no Law; If then he had no Law, could yee blame him for not doing that which was agreeable to Law? Thus my beloved you see it prov'd out of the Labours of the most authentick Divines, that he was not so bad as the World took him to be; But he is gone, and we stay here behind to wear Rings for his sake. Truly I would wish, if I might reap the same bene­fit, that such a President might dye every day: For Ile warrant yee our Rings are worth eight and twenty shillings a peice, now twenty eight shil­lings a day, is five hundred and eleven pounds per annum; Ile promise yee a good younger Brothers Estate, and I believe the time has been, when the best [Page 13] of yee all here present, hath been contented with farr lesse. I am sure the time was when our Be­loved President had not so much; but thanks be to God, and his own impudent face, his conditi­on was well amended before he departed this transitory World. Now they say that Mr. Ty­burn mourned also for him, and was himself at the charges of a black Cloak. Truly I wonder I do not see him here; I know no reason why he might not have come along, having three Leggs, as well as we go along that have but two. But me thinks I hear you enquiring of me whither he is gone; why truly for my part, I cannot tell. Now What are you the better for asking? His Friends say he is in Heaven, but his Foes say he is in Hell; now of these two opinions choose you which you will believe. If he be in Hea­ven, 'tis well, and if he be in Hell, 'tis well too I think, especially if he had the wit to car­ry his Ague along with him; for Agues love warmth. Had he but had the French Disease, it might then serve him instead of a hot-House; I hope in God he is by this time turn'd into a Sala­lamander; for then I am sure the Fire can do him no hurt. Truly I think 'tis the best place he could goe to; for they say there are three Judges or Lords Commissioners there. Now if there should happen to come a change there, as perhaps Noll and he may bring it to passe, if they will lay their Noddles together, why then 'tis but putting out them, and there's a place for him, which he may keep to himself till Lisle and Keeble can come to as­sist him. Doubtlesse this was his design when he dy'd, which was the reason he would have carried the Great Seal along with him. I know not why [Page 14] such a thing may not be doue, for the Devil has been dealt withall before now. St. Dunstan you know led him up and down by the Nose with a pair of Tongues; and Cook Ruffian scalded him in his Feathers, and wee see dayly as great alterati­ons here among us and as unlikely: therefore let us wonder at nothing, but wait with patience. This I will say for him, that he was a good House­keeper, and liberal of his dyet, as our Brother N—well can tell, and our Brother Foxley also had dayly experience thereof; For he fed him till his Ears dript again, and taught him to live in another mans House and pay no rent, just as he himself did.

As for his Conscience, they say it was as large as one of my Lord Desboroughs Sacks; and tru­ly if it were so, it was as large as any reasona­ble Man need desire.

As for his Religion, some say he was a Turk, but I hardly believe it, because that Religion is solely composed for a Monarchical Government. Neither was he a Jew, for they cry'd out for a King. Therefore doubtlesse he was a Christian, but what sort of Christian we know not; Some say he was a Disciple of Caesar Borgia, which is very pro­bable. Truly 'tis well he was of any Religion, for there are abundance of Atheists in these times.

But he is gone; farewell Hee: for I cannot help it, nor all the Physicians in England could not help it. Thus you see Protectors dye, Presidents dye, yea and the great Whale is dead, though 'tis no miracle, for according to the words of my Text, We must dye all.

[Page 15] Is it so then that Wee must Dye all, then let us live as long as we can, and enjoy the Creature while we may: and when our time is come, let us, because we cannot help it, bequeath our bodies to the Earth, and our Souls to him that gave them: I know no other remedy; 'tis Hobsons choice; And so much for this time.