The Prologue and Argument of This Book

PRAIER,¹ (to define it properlie) is a petitiō we make vnto almightie God, for such thinges as are apperteining to our saluation. Howbeit praier is also taken in an other more large sence;² to wit: for euerie lifting vp of our hart vnto god. And according to this definition, both meditation and contemplation, and euerie other good thowght maie be also called a praier. And in this sence we do now vse this vorde becaus the principal matter of this booke, is of meditation, and consideration of thinges apperteyning to almightie God, and of the principall misteries of the Catholike faith.

The verie thinge that moued me to treat of this matter was, for that I vnderstode,³ that one of the principall cawses of all the euilles, that be in the world, is the want of consideration: According as the Prophett Ieremie signified when he said. All the earth is destroied with desolation, becawse there is none that thinketh with attention vpon the thinges apperteyning vnto God. whereby it appeareth, that the verie cawse or our euills is not somuch the want of faith, as the want of due consideration of the misteries of our faith. For trewlie if there were no want in this behalfe the misteries of our faithe be of so great vertue,⁴ and efficacie, that if the verie least misterie of them, were considered with attention, and deuotion, euen the same would be a great brydle and redresse of our liffe. For who would euer goe about to committ anie sinne, if he considered that almightie God died for sinne? and that he punyshethe sinne, with perpetuall bannishement out of the kingdome of heauen, and with euerlasting paines and tormentes in the horrible fyer of hell?

Whereby ye maie see, that although the misteries of our faith, be of verie great force, to encline our hartes vnto goodnes: yet because there be verie manie Christians that haue no due consideration of the thinges they beleue, therefore they worke not such effecte in there hartes, as such misteries being well weied and considered were able to worke. For like as the phisitions affirme that if we will haue a medecine to helpe a sicke man, it is necessarie, it be first wrowght and digested in the stomak with naturall heat, (because otherwise it shall not be anie profitt to him at all:) euen so also, if we will haue the misteries of our faith to be profitable and healthfull vnto our soules, it is requisite they be first wrought, and digested in our hartes with the heate of deuotion and meditation: because otherwise they shall profit vs verie littell. And for want hereof, we see that manie Christians, which are verie whole and sownd in matters of faith, be yet in there liues verie licentious and dissolute.⁵ And the reason is, because they do not consider, and weigh the holie misteries which they beleue: and so they keepe there faith, as it were fast locked in a corner of a chest, or as a sword in the scabarde, or as a medecine in the potticaries shoppe, and vse not the benefitt thereof, for such purposes, as it serueth. They beleue generallie, and as it were in a fardel or grosse sōme, all such thinges as the Catholike Church beleueth. They beleue that there shalbe a iudgment, that there shalbe paines for the wicked, and glorie for the good:⁶ but how manie Christians shall ye finde, that do consider after what sort this iudgment, these paines, and this glorie shalbe, with other the like circumstances?

Now this is the cawse, why the holie scripture so earnestlie commendeth vnto vs, the continuall consideration, and meditation of the lawe of God, and of the misteries thereof: which is indeede the studie of true wisedome. Consider I pray you, how instantlie Moses that great prophett and frynde of God commendeth this vnto vs: saying:⁷ Prynte these my wordes in your hartes and carie them bound as it were for a signe in your handes, and teach them to your children, that they may thinke vpon them. When thou shalt be sitting in thy howse, or trauaylinge in the waie, when thou shalt lie doune to slepe, or rise vp in the morning, thinke and meditate vpon them, and write them on the thresholdes and gates of thy howse, that thou maist alwaies haue them before thine eies. with what more effectuall wordes could he commend vnto vs, the continuall meditation, and consideration of heauenlie thinges, then with these?⁸ And no lesse doth Salomon commend the same holie exercise vnto vs in his Prouerbes: where he exhorteth vs, to carie the lawe of God alwaies, as it were a chayne of gold about our neckes, and at night to goe to bed with it, and in the morninge so sone as we awake, to beginne immediatlie to exercise our selues in the same: Blessed is that man, that is so occupied. And so doth Ecclesiasticus tearme him,⁹ when he saieth: Blessed is the man, that dwelleth in the house of wisedome, and meditateth vpon the lawe and commandementes of God, and exerciseth him selfe in iustice, and reasoneth of holie thinges by his vnderstanding. Blessed is he that considereth her waies in his hart, and vnderstandeth her secretes. He shall looke in at her windowes, and hearkē at her doores. He shall abide beside her howse, and fasten a stake in her walles. He shall pytch his tent besides her.

Now what other thinge maie we inferre of all this, but that the holie Ghost intended, by all these metaphors, to expresse vnto vs the cōtinuall exercise, and cōsideration, wherewith the iust man is alwaies occupied, in searchinge the worckes and wonders of almightie God. And for this verie cause,¹⁰ emonge the praises of the iust mā, this is put for one of the most principall: that his exercise is to meditate vpon the lawe of our lord, daie and night; and that he is alwaies cōuersāt in the secrecie of parables: geuing vs hereby to vnderstand, that all his trade and cōuersatiō must be, in searching, and meditating vpō the secretes and wōderfull worckes of almightie God. And euen for this verie cawse also,¹¹ were those misticall beastes of Ezechiel represented vnto vs with so manie eies; to signifie vnto vs, that the iust man stādeth in greater neede of the continuall consideration, and sight of spirituall thinges, then of a nomber of other exercises.

By this therefore we see plainlie, what great neede we haue of this holie exercise, and consequentlie how blyndelie and fowlie they are deceaued, that either despise or make little accompt of the holie exercise of praier, and meditation: not considering that this is openlie to gaynesaie and contemne that thing, which the holie Ghost hath with so great instancie commended vnto vs. I wishe that such persons would reade those fiue bookes of cōsideration, which S. Barnard wrote vnto EVGENIVS the Pope. And there shall they perceaue, of how great importance this holie exercise is, towardes the obteyning of all vertues.

Now for this cause manie Catholike and religeous persons, vnderstanding what great and inestimable fruit ensueth of this godlie meditation, haue gone abowt to exercise them selues ordinarilie therein, and haue appointed euerie daie certein speciall times and howeres for the same. Howbeit oftentymes they waxe colde, and geue ouer this holie exercise, by reason of two difficulties they finde in it.¹² The one is the want of matter, and of consideratiōs wherein they maie occupie there cogitation at that time. And th'other is the want of feruencie and deuotion, which is verie requisite to accompanie this holie exercise, in case we mind to haue anie fruit and commoditie thereby. In steed whereof, they find manie times great drynes of hart, and withall a great combate of diuers and sondrie thowghtes.¹³ For remedie of which two inconueniences, I haue ordeined this present booke, which is deuided into two principall partes.

The first part, for remedie of the first inconuenience, treateth of the matter of praier,¹⁴ or meditation: wherein are conteined fowertience meditations, seruing for all the seuen daies of the weike, both in the morninge and euening. And these meditations do conteine the principall places and misteries of our faith, and especially the consideration of those misteries, that are of most force, and power, to brydle our hartes, and to incline them to the loue, and feare of God, and to the abhorring of sinne. In like maner there are sett out, the fiue partes of this exercise, which be Preparation: readinge: meditation: thankes geuing: and petition: which is done to this end, that a man maie haue great varietie of matters, wherein to occupie his hart: wherewith to procure and stirre vp the tast of deuotion, and withall wherewith to illuminat and instruct his vnderstanding, with diuers cō siderations, and instructions. Besides this, there is also treated therein, of six kindes of thinges that are to be considered in euerie one of the pointes of the Passiō of our Sauiour: that both they, and all the rest, maie minister vnto vs more plentifull matter for meditation. These three thinges are sett forthe in the first part of this worcke, for remedie of the first inconuenience.

¹⁵ The second part, for remedie of the seconde inconuenience, treateth of those thinges, that do helpe vs vnto deuotion, and likewise of those, that doe hinder vs from the same. It treateth also of the most common temptations, that are wont to molest deuout persons. Moreouer there are geuen certein aduices to be a direction vnto vs that we erre not in this waie. These fowre articles are sett out in the seconde part of this booke.

¹⁶ After these I haue added the third parte, in which is treated of the vertue of praier, and of her two companions, fasting, and almes deedes: to the intent, that when a man seeth, that in all the booke there is treated of praier, and of the paines he ow[…]ht to take for the same: he maie vnderstand, how well his labour is employed, which is bestowed in obteining of a thinge, of so great and wonderfull profitt.

Peraduenture the Christian reader wilbe offended with the length of the meditations, which we haue here sett fourth for the seuen daies of the weike. Howbeit for this I haue manie answeres. The first is, considering that in these meditations, is treated of the principall places, and misteries of our faith, (the consideration whereof is of so great importance, for the due orderinge and reforming of our liffe) it behoueth me therefore to enlarge my style (in these matters espetiallie) by reason of the great fruit, and commodetie that maie ensue vnto vs by the same. For in this booke our meaning is, not onelie to geue matter of meditation, but much more to showe the ende of meditation, which is the feare of God, and amendment of our liffe.¹⁷ For the procuring whereof, one of the thinges that most helpeth vs, is the profound and long consideration of the misteries, that are treated in these meditations. For certeinlie these fourtene meditatiōs, be as it were so manie sermons, in which is laide, as it were a certein batterie to mans hart, to cawse it to yeald, (so much as is possible) and to surrender it selfe vp into the handes of his rightefull and true souereine Lorde.

This was the cheifest cause that moued me to make the meditations so longe. Besides this, I see not, why the ghest that is inuited, should complaine that the table is to full furnished with manie dishes, sith we bynd him not (as by waie of constraint) to make an ende of them all, but onely emonge so manie sundrie thinges to make his choice of that, which serueth best for his purpose. Moreouer (that there might be the lesse occasion of complaint) I haue putt the somme of each meditation at the beginninge thereof, to the intent that such as minde not to passe anie further, might there haue such thinges breiflie abridged, as be necessarie for the time, they intend to bestowe in this holie exercise.

THE ENDE OF THE PROLOGE.

Footnotes

1. what payer is. ↩

2. An other definition of prayer. ↩

3. The want of consideratiō is one of the principall cawses of all the euilles in the world. Ieremie 12. ↩

4. The consideratiō of the misteries of our fayth is a greate bridle to with hold vs from synne. ↩

5. The cawse whie manie Christianes, that are sounde in matters of faythe; be yet verie dissolute in theire liues. ↩

6. Verye few Christians doe set thē selues to cōsider the misteries of our faithe. ↩

7. Deuteron. 5. ↩

8. Prouerb. 1.3. ↩

9. Ecclesiast. 14. ↩

10. Psalm. 1. Eccles 31. ↩

11. Ezech. 1. ↩

12. Two difficulties in the exercise of praier and meditation. ↩

13. The ordre and diuisiō of the contentes of this booke. ↩

14. The firste parte of this booke. ↩

15. The seconde parte of this booke. ↩

16. The thirde parte of this booke. ↩

17. The ende of meditation is the feare of God, and amendemente of our life. ↩