Wee Cannot Bid the Fruits

[All this while the

Physitians

themselves have beene

patients

, patiently attending when they should see any

land

in this

Sea

, any

earth

, any

cloud,

any

indication

of

concoction

in these waters. Any

disorder

of mine, any

pretermission

of theirs, exalts

the disease, accelerates the rages of it; no

diligence

accelerates the

concoction

, the

maturitie

of the

disease

; they must stay till the

season

of the sicknesse

come, and till it be ripened of it selfe, and then they may put to

their hand, to

gather

it before it

fall

off, but they

cannot hasten the

ripening

. Why should wee looke for it in a

disease

, which is the

disorder

, the

discord

, the

irregularities

the

commotion

, and

rebellion

of

the

body?

It were scarce a

disease

, if it could bee

ordered

, and made obedient to our

times

. Why should wee

looke for that in

disorder

, in a

disease

, when we cannot

have it in

Nature

, who is so

regular

, and so

pregnant

, so forward to bring her worke to perfection, and to

light? Yet we cannot awake the

July-flowers

in

January,

nor retard the

flowers

of the

spring

to

autumne

.] We cannot bid the

fruits

come in

May,

nor the

leaves

to sticke on in

December

. [A

woman

that is weake cannot put off her

ninth moneth

to a

tenth

for her

deliveries

and say shee will stay till shee bee

stronger

; nor a

Queene

cannot hasten it to a

seventh

, that shee may bee ready for some other

pleasure.

Nature

(if we looke for

durable

and

vigorous

effects) will not admit

preventions

, nor

anticipations

, nor

obligations

upon her; for they are

precontracts

, and she will bee left to her

libertie.

Nature

would not be spurred, nor forced to

mend her pace; nor

power

, the

power of man; greatnesse

loves not that kinde of

violence

neither.] There are of

them

that will

give

, that will

do justice

, that

will

pardon

, but they have their owne

seasons

for al

these, and he that knowes not

them

, shall

starve

before

that gift come, [and

ruine

, before the justice, and

dye

before the pardon save him: some

tree

beares no fruit, except

much

dung

be laid about it; and

Justice

comes not from

some, till they bee richly manured: some

trees

require much

visiting

, much

watring

, much

labour

; and some men

give not their

fruits

but upon

importunitie

; some trees

require

incision

, and

pruning

, and

lopping

; some

men must bee

intimidated

and

syndicated

with

Commissions

, before they will deliver the fruits of

Justice

; some

trees

require the

early

and the

often

accesse of the

Sunne

; some men

open

not,

but upon the

favours

and

letters

of

Court

mediation

; some

trees

must bee

housd

and kept within

doore; some men locke up, not onely their liberalitie, but their

Justice

, and their

compassion

, till the sollicitatiorn

of a

wife

, or a

sonne

, or a

friend

, or a

servant

turne the

key

Reward

is the

season

of one man, and

importunitie

of another;

feare

the

season

of one man, and

favour

of

another;

friendship

the

season

of one man, and

naturall affection

of another; and hee that knowes not their

seasons

, nor cannot

stay

them, must lose the

fruits

;] [As

Nature

will not, so

power

and

greatnesse

will not bee put to change their

seasons

; and

shall wee looke for this

Indulgence

in a

disease

, or

thinke to shake it off before it bee

ripe?

All this while,

therefore, we are but upon a

defensive warre

, and that is but a

doubtfull state

; especially where they who are

besieged

doe know the

best

of their

defences

, and doe not know

the

worst

of their

enemies power

; when they cannot mend

their

works within

, and the

enemie

can increase his

numbers without

. O how many farre more miserable, and farre

more worthy to be lesse miserable than I, are besieged with this

sicknesse

, and lacke their

Sentinels

, their

Physitians

to

watch

, and lacke their

munition,

their

cordials

to

defend

, and perish before the

enemies

weaknesse might invite them to

sally

, before the

disease

shew any

declination

, or admit any way of

working

upon it selfe! In me the siege is so farre slackned, as

that we may come to

fight

, and so die in the

field

, if I

die

, and not in a

prison