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MEDITATION V.

UPON THE GATHERING OF CHOICE FRUIT FROM A SCRUbbed, UNPROMISING TREE.

WOULD any man think to find such rare, delicious fruit upon such an unworthy tree to appearance as this is? I should rather have expected the most delicious fruit from the most handsome and flourishing trees; but I see, I must neither judge the worth of trees or men by their external form and appearance. This is not the first time I have been deceived in judging by that rule; under fair and promising outsides, I have found nothing of wort! ; and in many deformed despicable bodies, I have found precious and richly furnished souls. The sap and juice of this scrubbed tree is concocted into rare and excellent fruits, whilst the juice and sap of some other fair, but barren trees, serve only to keep them from rotting, which is all the use that many souls, which dwell in beautiful bodies, serve for; they have, as one saith, animam pro sale; their souls are but salt to their bodies: Or thus,

The only use to which their souls do serve,

Is but like salt, their bodies to preserve.

If God have given me a sound soul in a sound body, I have a double mercy to bless him for; but whether my body be vigorous and beautiful, or not, yet let my soul be so for as the esteem of this tree, so the esteem and true honor of every man rises rather from his fruitfulness and usefulness, than from his shape and form.

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MEDITATION VI.

UPON AN EXCELLENT, BUT IRREGULAR TREE.

SEEING a tree grow somewhat irregular in a very neat orchard, I told the owner it was pity that tree should stand there; and that if it were mine, I would root it up, and thereby reduce the orchard to an exact uniformity. It was replied to this purpose-"That he rather regarded the fruit than the form ;" and that this slight inconvenience was abundantly preponderated by a more considerable advantage. This tree, said he, which you would root up, hath yielded me more fruit than many of those trees which have nothing else to commend them but their regular situation. I could not but yield to the reason of this answer, and could wish it had been spoken so loud, that all our uniformity-men had heard it, who will not stick to root up many hundreds of the best bearers in the Lord's orchard, because they stand not in an exact order with other more conformable, but less beneficial trees, who perdunt substantiam propter accidentia, destroy the fruit to preserve the form.

Not much unlike such foolish men, are those

That strive for shadows, and the substance lose.

MEDITATIONS ON A GARDEN.

MEDITATION I.

UPON THE NEW-MODELLING OF A GARDEN.

A GENTLEWOMAN who had lately seen a neat and curious garden, returns to her own with a greater dislike of

it than ever; resolves to new-model the whole pl t, and reduce it to a better form;" is now become so curious and neat, that not a weed or stone is suffered in it, but all must lie in exquisite order; and whatever ornament she had observed in her neighbor's, she is now restless till she sees it in her own.

Happy were it, thought I, if, in an holy emulation, every one would thus endeavor to rectify the disorders of their own conversation, by the excellent graces they behold in the more heavenly and regular lives of others. Some Christians there are, I wish their number were greater, whose actions lie in such a comely and beautiful order, that few of their neighbors can look upon their examples without self-conviction and shame; but few are so happy to be provoked into self-reformation by such rare patterns. I see it is much easier to pull up many weeds out of a garden, than one corruption out of the heart ; and to procure an hundred flowers to adorn a knot, than one grace to beautify the soul. It is more natural to corrupt man to envy, than to imitate the spiritual excellencies of others.

MEDITATION II.

UPON A HEEDLESS TREAD IN A CURIOUS GARDEN.

PASSING through the small divisions of a curious knot, which was richly adorned with rare tulips and other beautiful flowers; I was very careful to shun those flowers, which indeed had no other worth to commend them but their exquisite color, and unadvisedly trode upon and spoiled an excellent choice herb, which, though it grew obscurely, yet had rare physical virtues in it.

When I was made sensible of the involuntary trespass I had committed, I thought I could scarcely make the owner a better compensation, than by telling him that herein, though against my will, I did but tread in the footsteps of the greatest part of the world, who are very careful, as I was, to keep their due distance from splendid, though worthless gallants, meanwhile trampling upon and crushing under foot the obscure, but most precious servants of God in the world. As little do they heed these most excellent persons, as I did this precious herb. Summa ingenia in occulto sæpe latent, saith Plautus.

Rare wits and herbs sometimes do sculk and shrink
In such blind holes, as one would little think.

For mine own part, I desire to tread upon no man with the foot of contempt and pride, much less upon any good man; and that I may not, it concerns me to look before I step; I mean to consider before I censure: Had I done

so by this rare herb, I had never hurt it.

MEDITATION III.

UPON THE WITHERED POSY TAKEN UP IN THE WAY.

FINDING, in my walk, a posy of once sweet and fra grant, but now dry and withered flowers, which I suppose to be thrown away by one that had formerly worn it; thus, said I, doth the unfaithful world use its friends when Providence hath blasted and withered them; whilst they are rich and honorable they will put them into their bosoms, as the owner of this posy did, whilst it was fresh and fragrant, and as easily throw them away as useless

and worthless things, when thus they come to be withSuch usage as this Petronius long since com

ered. plained of.

"Are they in honor? Then we smile like friends;

"And with their fortunes all our friendship ends."

But this loose and deceitful friend stinks so odiously in the very nostrils of nature, that a heathen poet severely taxes and condemns it as most unworthy of a man. "Tis base to change with fortune, and deny

"A faithful friend because in poverty."

And is this indeed the friendship of the world? Doth it thus use them whom once it honored? Then, Lord! let me never seek its friendship. O let me esteem the smiles and honors of men less, and thy love and favor more! Thy love is indeed unchangeable, being pure, free, and built upon nothing that is mutable: thou never servest thy friends as the world doth its darlings.

MEDITATION IV.

UPON THE SUDDEN WITHERING OF A ROSE.

BEING with my friend in a garden, we gathered each of us a rose he handled his tenderly, smelled it but seldom and sparingly; I always kept mine to my nose, or squeezed it in my hand, whereby in a very short time it lost both color and sweetness, but his still remained as sweet and fragrant as if it had been growing upon its own root. These roses, said I, are the true emblems of the best and sweetest creature-enjoyments in the world, which being moderately and cautiously used and enjoyed, may, for a long time, yield sweetness to the possessor of

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