A Discourse of Life and Death
The Right Use of Life and Death
We should neither hate life nor love it, but use it to serve God, and we should neither flee nor seek death, but wait for it, for only God knows the hour.
Finally, we should neither hate this life because of its hardships—that would be laziness and cowardice—nor love it for its pleasures, which is foolishness and vanity, but instead use it to serve God in this life, for He will after this life give us true rest and fill us with pleasures that will never perish.✦1 Neither should we flee death, for it's childish to fear it—and in fleeing from it, we meet it. Much less should we seek it, for that is rashness—nor can everyone who wants to die actually die.2 There is as much despair in the one approach as there is cowardice in the other: neither shows any greatness of soul.3 It is enough that we steadfastly and continually wait for its coming, so that it may never find us unprepared.45 For just as there is nothing more certain than death, there is nothing more uncertain than its hour, which is known only to God, the sole Author of life and death, and to Him we should all strive both to live and to die.✦ Die to live; live to die.
Colophon: Date and Place
The chapter concludes with the date and place of writing.
The 13th. of May 1590. At Wilton.
Read the original English
To ende, we ought neither to hate this life for the toiles therein, for it is slouth and cowardise: nor loue it for the delights, which is follie and vanitie: but serue vs of it, to serue God in it, who after it shall place vs in true quietnesse, and replenish vs with pleasures whiche shall neuer more perish. Neyther ought we to flye death, for it is childish to feare it: and in flieng from it, wee meete it. Much lesse to seeke it, for that is temeritie: nor euery one that would die, can die. As much despaire in the one, as cowardise in the other: in neither any kinde of magnanimitie. It is enough that we constantly and continually waite for her comming, that shee may neuer finde vs vnprouided. For as there is nothing more certaine then death, so is there nothing more vncertaine then the houre of death, knowen onlie to God, the onlie Author of life and death, to whom wee all ought endeuour both to liue and die.
Die to liue, Liue to die.
The 13. of May 1590. At Wilton.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.16.11 — You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
- ↩Rom.14.7-Rom.14.8 — For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. Rom.14.8 — For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we belong to the Lord.
Notes
- 1 ↩Early modern "serue vs of it" (from French se servir de) rendered as "make use of it."
- 2 ↩"temeritie" rendered as "rashness" (reckless presumption), not mere boldness.
- 3 ↩"magnanimitie" rendered as "greatness of soul," the classical/Christian sense of noble courage, not mere generosity.
- 4 ↩Death remains personified as feminine ("her"/"she"), as in the source.
- 5 ↩Early modern "constantly" often means steadfastly/with constancy, not merely "all the time"; rendered "steadfastly" to preserve the doublet with "continually."
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