, 3 o THE CONCLVSION. 



loofe my power of fpeaking> becaufe I have too much to fpeake of-; 

 I muft become filent and dumbe, becaufe all the words and language 

 I can ufe, expreifc not the thouiandeth, nor the millioneth part, of 

 what I evidently fee to be true. All I can fay is s that whatfoever I 

 thinke or imagine, it is not that : and that it is not like any of thole 

 things; unto fome of which unltfie it belike, itisimpoffiblefor 

 me to make any proportion or fimilitude unto it. What then mall 

 I doe, but lay my felfedowneinmine owncihadow, and there re- 

 joyce that thou art a light fo great , as I am not able to endure the 

 dazeling fpendour of thy rayes : that thy pleafure is fo exceffive, as 

 no part of it can enter into my circumfcribed heart, without dila- 

 ting itfo wide, that it muft breake in funder : and that thy happi- 

 nefle is fo infinite, as the higheft pitch I can hope for to glut my 

 (elfe withall, during this darke night of my tedious pilgrimage here 

 on earth, is to fee evidently, that it is impoffible for me in this life, 

 to frame any fcantling of it j muchkfle, to know how great it is. 

 Shall I then once againe prefume to breake out into impatience, at 

 my delay of fo great bliflfe, and cry out that I am content with the 

 meaneft (hare of this exuberant felicity?! care not for the exaggera- 

 tions which a longer life may heape up unto it. I am fure here is fuf- 

 ficient to fwell my heart beyond ic felfe, to famfie my thirfty foule, 

 to diffblve and melt all my powers > and to transforme me totally 

 into a felfe bleffed creature. Away, away all tedious hopes , not 

 only of this life, but even of all increafein the next. I will leape 

 boldly into tbat fountaine of blifie 3 and caft my (elfe headlong into 

 that fea of felicity 5 where I can neither apprehend (hallow waters, 

 nor feare 1 (hall be fo little immerfed and drowned^s to meete with 

 any (helfe or dry ground, to moderate and ftint my happinefle. A 

 felfe a&ivity , and unbounded extent , and efience free from time 

 and place, aUure me fufficiently , that I neede dcfirc no more. Which 

 way foever I looke, I loo(e my fight, in feeing an infinity round a- 

 bout me. Length without points: Bteadth without Lines: Depth 

 without any furface. All content, all pleafure, all reftlefle reft, all 

 an unquiet nefie and transport of delight , all an cxtaiie of frui- 

 tion. 



Happie forgetfulne(!e,how dcepely am I obliged to thee,for ma- 

 king roome for this foule raviftiing contemplation, by removing 

 this whiles all other images of things farrefromme? I would to 

 God thqu mighteft endure, whiles I endure ; that fo 1 might bee 



drowned 



