A COPY of Archbishop TILLOTSON's LETTER to His FRIEND.  
SIR,  
I Am sorry to understand by Mr. Janeways Letter to my Son, that your Distemper grows upon you, and that you seem to decline so fast. I am very sensible how much eaiser it is to give Advice against trouble in the case of another, then to take it in our own. It hath pleased God to Exercise me of late with a very sore Trial in the loss of my Dear and Only Child, in which I do perfectly submit to his good Pleasure, firmly believing that he does always what is best; and yet tho' Reason be satisfied, our Passion is not so soon Appeased; and when Nature hath received a Wound, time must be allowed for the Healing of it. Since that God hath thought fit to give me a nearer Summons and a closer of my Mortality in the danger of an Apoplexy, which yet I thank God hath occasioned no very Melancholy Reflections, but this perhaps is more owing to natural Temper than to Philosophy and wise Considerations; Your Case I know is very different, who are of a Temper naturally Melancholy, and under a Distemper apt to increase it; for both which, great Allowances are to be made. And yet methinks both Reason and Religion do offer to us Considerations of that Solidity and Strength, as may very well support our Spirits under all the Infirmities and Frailties of the Flesh, such as these; that God is perfect Love and Goodness, that we are not only his Creatures, but his Children, and as dear to him, as to ourselves, that he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the Children of Men; and that all Evils and Afflictions which shall befall us, are intended for the Cure and Preventions of greater Evils, of Sin and Punishment: And therefore we ought not only to submit to them with Patience, as being deserved by us, but to receive them with thankfulness, as being designed by him, to do us that good, and to bring us to that sense of him, and ourselves, which perhaps nothing else would have done; that the Sufferings of this present time are but short and slight, with that extreme and endless Misery which we have deserved; and with that exceeding and eternal weight of Glory which we hope for in the other World: That if we be careful to make the best Preparation we can for Death and Eternity, whatever brings us nearer to our End, brings us nearer to Happiness; and how rugged soever the Way be, the Comfort is that it leads to our Father's House, where we shall want nothing that we can wish. When we labour under a Distemper, that threatens our Life, what would we not be content to bear in order to a perfect Recovery? could we but be assured of it: And should we not be willing to endure much more, in order to Happiness, and that Eternal Life which God that cannot Lie hath promised. Nature I know is fond of Life, and apt to be still Linger after a longer Continuance here; and yet a long Life with the usual Burdens and Infirmities of it, is seldom desirable; it is but the same thing over again or worse. So many more Days and Nights, Summers and Winters, a repetition of the same Pleasure, but with less Pleasure and Relish, every day a return of the same, or greater Painsor Trouble, but with less Patience and Strength to bear them.  
These and the like Considerations I use to Entertain myself withal, not only with Contentment, but with Comfort, though with great inequality of Temper at several times, and with much mixture of Humane Frailty, which will always stick to us while we are in this World. However by these kind of Thoughts, Death becomes more familiar with us, and we shall be able by Degrees to bring our minds close up to it, without starting at it. The greatest tenderness I find with myself, is with regard to some near Relations, especially the dear and constant Companions of my Life, which I must confess doth very sensibly touch me, but then I consider, and so I hope will they also, that this Separation will be but for a little while, and that though I leave them in a bad World, yet under the care of a good God. who can be more and better to them then all other Relations, and will certainly be so to those that Love him, and Hope in his Mercy. I shall not need to advise you what to do, and what use to make of this time of your Visitation, I have reason to believe that you have been careful in the time of your Health to prepare for this Evil Day, and have been conversant in those Books, which give the best Directions to this purpose, and have not, as too many do, put of the great Work of your Life to the End of it: And then you have nothing now to do, but as well as you can under your present Weakness and Pains, to renew your Repentance for all the Errors and Miscarriages of your Life, and●ses of God, and the Hope of tha● Happiness which you are ready to enter into, and in the mean time to Exercise Faith and Patience for a little while, be of good Courage since you see Land the Storm you are in will quickly be over, and then it will be as if it had never been, or rather the Remembrance of it will be a Pleasure. I do not use to write such long Letters, but I do heartily Compassionate your Case, and should be glad if I could suggest any thing that might help to mitigate your Troubles, and make that sharp and rough Way, through which you are to pass into a better World, more smooth and easy. I Pray God, fit us both for that great Change which we must once undergo, and if we be but in any good Measure fit for it, sooner or later makes no great difference. I commend you to the Father of Mercies, and the God of all Consolation, beseeching him to increase your Faith and Patience, and to stand by you in the last and great Conflict, that when you walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, you may fear no Evil, and when your Heart fails, and Strength fails, you may find him the Strength of your Heart and your Portion for ever. Farewell my good Friend, and while we are here let us Pray for one another, that We may have a Joyful meeting in another World. I rest  
Your truly Affectionate Friend and Servant, JOHN TlLLOTSON.