Garden — Meditation 6

HOw fresh and orient did these Flowers lately appear, when being dash'd over with the morning dew, they stood in all their pride and glory, breathing out their delicious odours, which perfumed the air round about them, but now are daver'd and shrivelled up, and have neither any desirable beauty, of savour in them.

So vain a thing is the admired beauty of creatures, which so captivates the hearts, and exercises a pleasing tyranny over the affections of vain man, yet is as suddenly blasted as the beauty of flower.

Form[•] bonum fragile est quantumque a[•••]dit ad annos,

Fit minor & spacio carpitur ipsa suo.

Nec semper violae, nec semper lilia florent

Et riget amissa spina relicta rosa

Tempus erit quo vos speculum vidisse pigebit,

I am veniunt rugae quae tibi corpus arent, &c.

How frail is beauty? in how short a time

It fades! like Roses which have past their prime.

So wrinckled age the fairest face will plow,

And cast deep [•]urrows on the smoothest brow.

Then where's that lovely tempting face? alas!

Your selves would blush to view it in a glass,

If then you delightest in beauty (O my soul!) chuse that which is lasting, There is a beauty which never fades, even the beauty of holiness upon the inner man; this abides fresh and orient for ever, and sparkles gloriously when your face (the seat of natural beauty) is become an abhorrent and loathsome spectacle. Holiness enammels and sprinkles over the face of the soul with a beauty upon which Christ himself is enammour'd, even imperfect holiness on earth is a Rose that breaths sweetly in the bud; in heaven it will be full blown, and abide in its prime to all eternity.