their minde which to become great by being accounted good Preachers preach not aboue twice or thrice a yeare and then lay all their strength on their Sermon my resolution is otherwise I will read much write somewhat and preach often Loe how hee condemneth others and prayseth himselfe yea hee doth not sticke in his Epistle to the Reader to snarle against his Superiours in the Church because they doe not stop his mouth with a good Benefice or Church-liuing considering his great deserts yea and seeme to calumniate them and lay Simony vnto their charges his words are these Shall any man for my boldnesse thinke to sit vpon my skirts Let those know I esteeme my selfe infra inuidiam I cannot haue lesse in the Church vnlesse nothing and if they shall endeauour to keepe me still low let them know I looke for no good from them that enuy at my endâ—…auours to doe good if I sit panting on the ground I will not refuse to be fed with Rauens to keepe me aliue with Elias but I looke not to be lifted vp by any but by Eagles Heroicke spirits Men fearing God and hating Simoniacall couetoustnesse He scorneth to be raysed by his Superiours in the Church and expects onely to bee raysed by Eagles Heroicke Spirits namely by such as his noble Patron is in whom is no Simoniacall couetousnesse as who should say that in others there is Simonia-call couetousnesse c. What therefore can I expect from his outragious pen bnt slanders of witch-craft Magicke and such like abominations What lesse can I appeare in his sight than an anathema one I say abandoned and accursed vnto the Deuill His scandalous texts are these Doctor Fludd hath had the same censure passed on him and hath beene writ against for a Magitian and I suppose this to be one cause why hee hath printed his Booke beyond the Seas Our Vniuersitie and Bishops are more cautelous God bee thanked than to allow the printing of Magicall Bookes here Surely D. Fludds very defence of the Weapon-Salue is enough to make it suspected himselfe being accused for a Magitian by Marinus Mersennus with a wonder that King IAMES of blessed memory would suffer such a man to liue and write in his Kingdome But if to bee accused were to bee guiltie who could bee innocent Master Doctor hath excused himsâ—…lfe in his Booke entituled Sophiae cum Moria certamen cuius contrarium verum est saith Lanouius c. Heere Gentle Reader you may see him pull off his hood of simplicitie or feined veile of sanctitie which hee professed in his Epistles and discouer â—…he malice and enuy of his heart against me In the first place therefore for the better satisfaction of my Country-men and friends I will expresse the cause why I touched the superstitious Magia or Magicke of the ancient Ethnickes My scope was and haâ—…h beene to write aswell the naturall discourse of the great world and little world which wee call Man as also to touch by way of an Encyclophy or Epitome all Arts aswell lawfull which I did commend as those which are esteemed vnlawfull which I did vtterly condemne as superstitious and of little or no probabilitie at all among the rest where I came to speake of the Arts which belong vnto the little world or Man I mention the Science of Genethlialogie which treateth of the Iudgement of Natiuities wherin I produce the great dispute which did arise betweene the two famous Philosophers Porphyrie and Iamblicus whereof the first did hold that a man might come to the knowledge of his owne Genius or good Angell by the Art of Astrologie namely by finding out the Planet and Nature of his spirit that was Lord of the eleuenth house the which by the Astrologians was for that cause called Bonus Daemon or the good Angell But Iamblicus his opinion was that a man had neede of the Assistance and Knowledge of a higher Spirit than was any of those which were Gouernours of Fatalitie namely of such Intelligences as were ascribed to the rule and direction of the seuen Planets wherefore I did thereupon expresse the superstition of the Ancients with the Impossibilitie thereof that thereby I might the better descry it make it the more ridiculous to wise men I then suspecting the captious Natures of some enuious persons did there make an Apologie to excuse my selfe and to shew the vanitie of the thing and how full of idle superstition it was and to shew it to bee onely Imaginarie But I seemed there to consent with Iamblicus auerring with him that without the Reuelation of that high and heauenly Spirit which was granted vnto the Elect none could come to the familiaritie or knowledge of his good Angell I proue it out of many places of Scripture Loe this is all Now iudge all yee that are vnpartiall and truely learned what an offence was here to decide according vnto my power that great Controuersie of these two notable and eminent Philosophers which hath stucke and beene vndecided euen vnto this day being that I in the conclusion ascribed the whole Glorie vnto that sole and onely Spirit which is the Prince and Lord of Angels and Spirits I professed to write generally of all but as I went along I distinguished the good from the euill that men might the better beware of and refuse the one and make choyce of the other Now therefore that I haue expressed vnto you the ground why this our Criticke and his CynickeMaster the Fryer Mersennus haue slandered me with the Title of a Magitian I will proceed to the answer of euery member of his friuolous obiections Doctor Fludds defence of the Weapon-salue is enough to make it suspected And why I pray you Marry because he himselfe is accused for a magitian by Marinus Mersennus The conclusion is much like the capacitie of the concluder Doctor Fludd is suspected for a Magitian Ergo the purge of Rubarbe which he prescribeth or rather any point in Philosophie or Physicke by him maintained in writings is Magicall Non sequitur argumentum So Roger Bacon is accused for a Conjurer and a Magitian Ergo the Perspectiue or Opticke Science hee writeth of is deuilish and Magicall or at least wise to be suspected I but this Salue hath a Caco-magicall propertie in it for it healeth a farre off and not per contactum So doth Bacons Opticke make vs to see the Images of liue men to walke in the Ayre and it is said that by his Art he made an Apparition of a man to walke from the top of Alhollows steeple in Oxford to the top of S. Maries Surely these Opticall conclusions must be Magicall and not by naturall reflection of glasses because these are vtterly vnknowne to M. Foster and his adherents and consequently are to bee condemned as diabolicall But to come to the purpose M. Foster if his eies had beene so fauourable and his will so charitable as to haue looked on
and as the Creatour did send out his Spirit which moued vpon the waters and did informe animate and viuifie them so that as St. Peter saith of them and by them were the heauens and the earth framed and by this spirituall Word established vnto this day euen so mans heauen and his earth are fashioned out by the same eternall spirit of life on which it relyeth and continueth in his specificall succession euen vnto this very day And therfore is it said Ye are carued out of one and the same Spirituall Rocke and that In him wee line wee moue and haue our Being and that we are the Temples of the Holy Ghost and the Members of Christ and that We are in God the Father and by our Lord Iesus Christ as it is rehearsed before and that Regnum Dei sit intra nos The Kingdome of God is within vs Neither let vs ascribe this Gods goodnesse to our selues alone since that it extendeth it selfe to euery Creature besides though not so abundantly For in Verbo erat vita in the Word was life and Iudith saith in her prayer Seruiat Dcâ—…omnis omnis Creatura quia dixisti factae sunt misisti Spiritum tuum creatae sunt Let euery Creature serâ—…e thee O Lord because thou spakest the Word and they were made thou didst send forth thy spirit and they were created And the Prophet saith Haec dicit Deus creans coelos extendens eos firmans terram quae germinant in ea dans flatum populâ—… qui est supraeam spiritum calcantibus eam Thus saith the Lord who hath created the heauens and extended them and fastned the earth and all things that grow out of it who giueth breath vnto the people that is vpon it and spirit to those Creatures that tread vpon it And King Dauid Deo dante Creaturis colliguâ—… abscondente faciemsuam perturbantur recipiente spiritum eorum exspirant emittente spiritum suum receantur God giuing to the Creatures they receiue it hiding his face from them they are troubled taking back againe from them their spirit they dye and sending forth his spirit they are recreated or reuiued And Iob hominâ—…m constituit Deus super terram apponens ad â—…am animam suam si spiritum seu flatum eius adse reciperet deficeret exspiraret omnis caâ—… simul â—…omo in cinerem reverteretur God made man vpon earth giuing vnto him his soule or life If he should receiue or draw vnto himselfe his spirit or breath of life all flesh would dye and also man would returne to ashes By all these authorities we are taught that the life forme and nature of euery Creature doth essentially spring and proceed from God and therefore what gift of healing is found to proceed either from compounded or simple medicines be they Angelicall Celestiall Elementall or of an Animall Vegetable or minerall composition it proceedeth from their Creatour as being either bestowed vpon them in their Creation for that wholesome purpose or else miraculously and beyond the common course of Nature imparted vnto some Creatures to effect And therefore man ought not rashly to condemne a medicine because it worketh after an other manner then the vulgar doth For God hath allotted vnto some medicines occult hidden properties and therefore worke they not by an externall and euident elementarie qualitie And this occult vertue is called by some wise men Angelicus actus qui est tanquam inter Deum Naturam virtus media à quâ fiunt operationes in rebus quâ—…s natura earum vel non faceret vel sic faceret quas alij dicuut prouenire a proprietate occulta alij quia tales An Angelicall act which is as it were a middle vertue betweene God and nature whereby operations are effected in things which the elementarie Nature of them could not performe or would so bring to passe as they which are said by some to proceed of an occult quality and others quia sunt tales And such was the effect in curing by the water of the poole of Bethesdas not that the manifest elementary quality of the water did it But the Act of the Angell which mooued it In like manner can no man expresse any naturall reason that is manifest for the attraction of the Iron by the Loadstone or of straw by Amber or why the Loadstone looketh towards the North or why the Laurell or Baytree preserueth from the harmes of lightning and thunder and likewise how directly this cure is effected c. The causes of these things are occult and hidden vnto the common philosopher but to come a little neerer to the point It is apparant then that the incorruptible Spirit is in all things but most abundantly next vnto the great world in the little world called man For as in the great world God is said rightly by Ierome his translations leauing the corruption of others to haue put his Tabernacle in the Sunne from whence by a perpetuall and neuer dying motion hee sendeth forth life and multiplication to euery member and creature of the great world and by the agility of his Spirit for Salomon saith It is omni re mobilior the most moueable of all things hee moueth and giueth life vnto the whole Spirit of the world which also the same wise man doth iustifie in these words Sol gyrans à meridie flectitur ad Aquilonem lustrans vniuersain circuitu pergit spiritus The Sunne mouing from the South bendeth toward the North illuminating the whole world the spirit or ayre of it doth moue circularly Whereby hee argueth that the spirit in the Sunne animateth and giueth motion life and spirit vnto the ayrall spirit of the whole world for without his assiduall motion and act as Aristotle and all other Philosophers confesse the ayre would soone be corrupt and be as it were dead and of no validity for the reason heereof the holy Text concludeth that the Holy spirit of discipline filleth the whole world So also and in the very like manner the same incorruptible spirit filleth the little world est enim Templum Spiritus Sancti it is the Temple of the Holy Ghost and hath put his Tabernacle in the heart of man in which it moueth as in this proper macrocosmicall Sunne in Systole and Diastole namely by contraction and dilatation without ceasing and sendeth his beames of life ouer all the whole frame of man to illuminate giue life and circular motion vnto his spirit And thereupon the Apostle reciprocally saith of this little world as in another place of the great one In Deo viuimus mouemur sumus In God we liue moue and haue our being also as this abstruse spirit doth giue heate by his actiuity and essentiall motion vnto the great world the very same it doth effect in the little world and all things else when it doth not quiescere or in se delitescere that is not rest or withdraw
into potentiam act into puissence positio into priuationem position into priuation But contrariwise when he meanes to reuiuifie and as it were cause the dead spirit of the world to rise or reuiue againe he sendeth out a Southerne spirit or blast of a cleane contrary property namely a wind whose nature is hot and moyst and therefore in the consequence of the foresaid Text it is said he sendeth out his word and melteth all these so soone as hee bloweth forth his wind the waters and spirits which were made dead spisse fixe congealed and opack are beocme aliue moueable fluent subtill and diaphanous or transparent If Mr. Foster like none of these testimonies I will yet goe a little further and make an ocular demonstration to proue it thereby the better to perswade him if hee will be pliable vnto her who is the mother of fooles namely experience Let him but looke therefore vpon the Kalander glasse an Instrument commonly knowne amongst vs here in England called by others the weather glasse and hee shall see that the ayre contained in it will be contracted and thickned by cold and to proue thus much hee shall finde the water to be drawne vp by so many degrees in the neck of the glasse as the externall cold hath dominion in the ayre which proueth euidently that cold doth contract the dilated ayre in the glasse from a larger roome into a straighter and consequently that the ayre is thicker and neerer to congelation fixation and rest then it was before Contrariwise hee shall finde that the ayre included feeling the heate of the externall ayre by little and little to get dominion ouer the cold will dilate it selfe and by dilatation is made more mobill subtill and liuely and therefore requireth a larger capacity as is ocularly proued thus namely because the water is strucke down by so many degrees lower by how many the externall heate doth vanquish the cold in the ayre But perchance my aduersary will say What haue we to doe with this These are naturall conclusions and not belonging to Gods act or property And how proue you that the other winds are the essentiall acts of God To this I say That if God operateth all and in all then this operation in the glasse much more that in the winds is the act of God and as wee finde that the incorruptible spirit doth moue and operate two manner of contrary wayes namely from the center to the circumference by â—…manation and dilatation by the which meanes it stirreth of it selfe who is the center of all things whose circumference is no where but comprehendeth all circumferences or bodies and maketh them to exist and liue so also this vniuersal centre contracting it selfe in it selfe maketh ' all things in act potentiall of a liuing creature a dead carcasse of an agill and mobill thing a stupid and vnmoueable one Lastly of an actuall positiue something a potentiall priuatiue nothing Wee see it plainely persormed according vnto the precedent Text of Dauid in the spirit of the world for as much as it is altered from one forme to his opposite according vnto the variety of the property or wil of him which is the internall agent of all the world The incorruptible spirit of the Lord saith Salomon is in all things If in al things then as it is the most worthy and of the highest digty and the most mobill and operatiue spirit of all spirits it worketh centrally and moueth all the externall wheeles of the whole machine of the creature in which it is and consequently operateth à centro ad circumferentiam If it doe quiescere in centro rest in the center all the externall wheeles haue lost their life For it is in him it liueth in him it mooueth and in him it existeth And therefore without he act all is stupid and dead like a senselesse stone as Dauid and Iob haue taught vs. Now to proue that it is this spirit of God which doth agitate and animate the winds we haue many other expresse Texts of Scripture to confirme it The whirle wind saith Iob commeth out of the South and the cold from the North wind at the breath of God the frost is giuen and the breadth of the waters is contracted Againe Ventus profectus a Iehoua abreptas coturnices à mari disseuit ad castra c. A wind proceeding from Iehona did scatter the Quailes which it brought from the sea in the camp Againe Vento tuo flauisti operuit eos mara Thou didst blow with thy breath or wind and the sea couered them Againe flatunarium tuarum coaceruatae sunt aquae The waters are accumulated and heaped together by the blast of thy nostrills And againe Iehoua adduxit ventum Eurum seâ—… Orientalem and God brought an Easterly wind Againe ventum Occidentalem vehementem immisit c. he sent out a vehement Westerly wind Againe ventus procellosus efficiens Verbum Dei the stormy wind doth effect the Word of God Wee doe not say that the wind is the reall breath of God but a created spirit or ayre animated by the increated spirit of the Lord who according vnto the will of him that sent it fooâ—…th doth sometimes contract his vertue in himselfe from the circumference of the creatures spirit and then the creature is dead and vnmoueable and starke cold for want of the warme and comfortable act of this spirits emanation from the centre to the circumference according to the words of Daâ—…ids former Text Deo abscondente faciem suam à creaturis conturbantur recipiente spiritum coruâ—… expirant God hiding his face from the creatures they are troubled and resuming his spirit againe they dye that is if in part he contracts himselfe or hides the viuifying beâ—…s of his countenance they are sicke and troubled but if hee withdraw the spirit of life wholly from the circumference of the the creatures spirit into it selfe who is in the centre and euery where vnto the circumference they dye or expire Master Foster may reply what is all this to the purpose of man who is the maine subiect wee haue in hand or what haue wee to doe though God by his Spirit worketh a priuatiue property in the spirit of the world by congealation or contracting it from the spirits circumference vnto the centre leauing the spirit cold destitute of heate congealed immobile and as it were dead and without life and that in his Northerne nature what doth this concerne our matter or what is this to the nature in man or how can it touch the act of curing in our Weapon-Salue I answere that as the selfe-same spirit is the cause of a foure-fold nature in the spirit of the great world and as it causeth death and priuation by his Northerne and congealing blasts and contrariwise life and position by the opposite or the relenting nature of his Southerne property euen the selfe-same operation it affecteth in the created
my answer to Mersennus in the defence of that point before hee had iudged he would without doubt aswell as hundreds of other men whereof some are Church-men of no meane ranke and many Doctors of Physicke of excellent learning haue auerred that D. Flud had answered Mersennus so fully aswell in that accusation as all other points layd by him vnto his charge that he could not bee able any way to reply against it And it is well knowne heere in England to such as haue beene conuersant beyond the Seas that the sufficiencie of my answer hath so satisfied the learned aswell in Germany as in France that hee hath beene by them much condemned for his slanderous writing and esteemed of but meanely for his small learning and indiscretion Now the ground of his malice vnto me was for that hee hauing written of the Harmony of the World and finding that a Booke of that subiect set out by mee was verie acceptable to his Countrey-men hee inuented this slander against me and my Harmonie that thereby hee might bring his owne into the better reputation But what did I say That hee was accused and condemned for that his slander by some in France yea verily his dearest companion who by reason of his insufficiencie was easily perswaded to take his cause in hand and to answer for him I meane Peter Gassendus his friend and Champion chideth his Mersennus for such his vncivill and scandalous reports against me in these verie words Ac Zelus quidem quo tu Mersenne euectus es commendari cum debeat attamen telatere non potest quin admodum durum sit viuenti in Christiano orbe appellari Cacomagum Haeretico-magum foetidae horrendae Magiae Doctorem propagatorem audire non esse ferendum huiusmodi Doctorem impunè prouocato Principe vti de illo poenas sumat minisque etiam adhibitis eundem propterea breui submergendum fluctibus aeternis c. vt nihil dicam de Atheismo atque haeresi quam tu quoqne obijcis Fluddo Haec nempe sunt quae Rufini aut D. Hieronymi irritare patientiam potuissent Alter enim cum patientiam requirat in caeteris qui vel tamen vnius Haereseos crimen ferat aut dissimulet hunc clamitat non esse Christianum Alter verò nolo inquit nolo in suspitione Haeresios quenquam esse patientem Quid fecissent in crimine seu suspitione aut Atheismi aut Cacomagiae These are the very words of Mersennus his chiefe friend which I interpret thus And although my Mersennus the zeale wherewith you are moued against Fludd is to bee commended neuerthelesse you cannot bee ignorant how grieuous and intolerable a thing it is vnto any man that liueth in the Christian world to be called a Witch or euill Magitian a Hereticke-Magitian or a teacher or divulger of foule and horrible Magicke and that such a teacher is not to bee suffered vnpunished also to prouoke the King or Prince to punish him and besides all this to threaten him saying that for that cause hee should bee drowned or drenched in the eternall Lake and so forth Besides the Atheisme and Heresie which also you obiect and lay to Fludds charge Verily these are things which would stirre vp the patience of Ruffinus or S. â—…erome whereof the one when hee requireth patience in other things yet hee concludeth that hee which can beare or dissemble with the offence of one heresie he crieth that such a man is no Christian The other saith I will not that any man should bee patient in the suspition of Heresie much lesse to be accused or suspected of Atheisme or naughty magicke In which words our English world may discerne first how this my honest dealing and morall forren Aduersarie doth checke his vnciuill friend whose part hee vndergoeth for his immodestie and small discretion and next doth teach my home-bred Aduersarie a great deale of manners or behauiour in writing against an Aduersarie namely not to contend with foule and scandalous language but with acute arguments and those to the purpose armed with the truest reasons of Philosophie Doth not Master Foster blush now to see his mightie and magnanimous Author Marinus Mersennus checked by his judicious friend whom hee himselfe hath elected aswell for Vmpeere as Stickler in his cause Yea and a chiefe Champion to defend it for calling me vniustly a Magitian and other misbeseeming names Yea is hee not ashamed if hee hath any to choose out a lying and false Author for the propagating of his Brothers slander If this be not so aske Gassendus But hee will no doubt reply that this speech of Gassendus to Mersennus doth not take away for all that the suspition of Magicke from Doctor Fludd though hee reproueth his friend for vsing him with so rough tearmes To which for his better satisfaction I produce this other place out of Gassendus his Reply against me in his friend Mersennus his behalfe This is the Title of his Chapter being the 20. Adlibri tertij Caput primum Depulsa Fluddo Atheismi Haeresios praesertim Cacomagiae suspicio that is To the first Chapter of the third Booke wherein Fludd is cleared from the suspition of Atheisme Heresie and especially of Deuillish Magicke He speaketh thus by way of Counsell to Mersennus Restat suspicio Cacomagiae de qua praesertim quaestio haec est veruntamen non vti ipsum Diabolicis illis artibus argumento mihi est quod Diabolos esse non credit aut non videatur credere quales nos vulgo intelligimus à Cacomagis vsurpari that is There resteth now the suspition of Euill-magicke of which especially the question is made but this is an euident argument vnto mee that hee is no such Magitian because hee doth not beleeue or at least wise maketh semblance not to beleeue that there are such Deuils as wee imagine to bee familiar with Witches Let Master Foster therefore see vpon what ficke foundation hee hath layd the false and malignant slander of an Euill-Magitian on mee But alas I smell a Rat for I will vse his owne wittie phrase he careth not how he may disgrace any one so that he might thereby the better serue his owne turne Because I haue produced in my Mysticall Anatomy a naturall reason for the Weapon-Salue which hee neyther can nor for all his poore reasons expressed in his Booke shall be able to refell therefore forsooth I must be numbred amongst the Magitians And wherefore Marry because Mersennus hath giuen the same censure on me And who is Mersennus A rayling Satyricall Babler not able to make a reply in his owne defence and therefore being put to a Non plus hee went like a second Iob in his greatest vexation to aske Counsell of the learnedst Doctors in Paris And at last for all that he fearing his cause and finding himselfe insufficient procured by much Intreatie his friend Peter Gassendus to helpe him and called another of his friends vnto his assistance
reducis manum tuam nihil potest effugere Thou hatst the power of life and death in thine hand thou bringest into the mouth of the graue and deliuerest or bringest backe againe Whereby it is manifest that it is onely God who eyther miraculously or by vertue of his creatures which he hath instituted for this or that wholesome purpose that cureth and againe woundeth by the meanes of his organicall ministers be they angelicall or humane As for example hee causeth his Angell Raphiel to make vse of the fish his Liuer and Gall for the chasing away of the destroying Fiend and to heale the blind Tobias Also the Angel did giue the vertue of healing vnto the Lake Bethesdas And againe the Psalmist saith Plag a non appropinquabit tentorium tuum nam Angelis suis praecipiet de te but that by any authority of Text hee made vse of Satan or any of his darke angels to accomplish any such deed of light or to employ any of Gods creatures as are the Fat Blood or Flesh to cure a wounded or vlcerous creature when I can finde it in Scripture I will in some sort beleeue it but because that will proue too long a search for Master Foster and againe I finde the precedent places of Scripture to be generally against it therefore I conclude that the mysticall curing by the Weapon-Salue is the mercifull gift of God only Wherefore vnto him wholly and vnto no diuell in hell be ascribed all vertue power and glory for his mercies in generall and for this vertue and property of healing by the weapon-salue in particular for euer Amen Blessed I say with the Prophet Dauid be the Lord God of Israel who onely worketh all wonders and therefore effecteth this wonderfull manner of curing which passeth mans vnderstanding To him therefore be ascribed for it all praise and honour for euermore CHAP. III. How by an abstruse inquisition made into the mystery of Sacred Philosophy the question proposed concerning the lawfulnesse or vnlawfulnesse of the Weapon-salues vsage is resolued and Mr. Fosters Sponge well squeesed IN this precedent Chapter I haue proued Thelogically and that by pure examples out of Scripture that the diuell was the spirituall Organ ordained by God in the creation for an vse cleane opposite vnto that of curing and healing and therefore it is vnlikely that now in his latter dayes after so many destructions committed by him in his former age hee can become a sauer and healer of diseases Now wil I proue in a more euident manner and that by Sacred Philosophy that Gods viuifying Spirit mouing in the ayry Organ of the World doth by his vertuous application or aspect to the weapon-salue effect the cure of such as are wounded And I call this manner of prouing Theo-philosophicall or belonging vnto Sacred Philosophy because it respecteth the nature of this manner of curing as it receiueth his essentiall act and being from God mouing and acting in and by his created Spiriâ—…uall Organs in and ouer all Of this manner of Philosophy St. Paul speaketh thus Videte ne quis vos decipiat per philosophiam inanem fallaciam secunduÌ„ traditionem hâ—…minum secundum element a mundi non secundum Christum quia in ipso habitat omnis plenitudo diuinitatis corporaliter estis in illo repleti qui est Caput omnis principatus potestatis Beware lest there be any man that deceiue you through philosophy and vaine deceit according to the traditions of men according to the rudiments of the world and not after Christ for in him dwelleth the fulnesse of the God-head bodily and 〈◊〉 are complete in him who is the head of Principalities and Powers By which words hee seemeth to terme the Ethnick philosophy vaine and deceitfull forasmuch as it is framed out according to the rudiments of this world which doe ordaine many essentiall subalternate Agents acting and operating absolutely and simply of themselues without any consideration had vnto the Catholicke and supreme Power of God the Father of all things from whom radically all essentiall actions proceed which are afteward effected by our Lord Iesus Christ by whom all things haue their being and not from any subalternat agent or efficient creature For though they ferue as organicall ministers yet they are but dead except God apeareth and opperateth in them by his Spirit and therefore is all act and operation attributed vnto God as it is proued before by the Apostle saying One God operateth all in all And againe he saith Though there be that are called Gods in heauen and in earth yet vnto vs there is but one God who is the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things and wee by him For this cause is God called Alpha and Omeâ—…a the beginning and the end namely as in himselfe he decreeth all and by his Word he essentially operateth and effecteth all and that immediately Now that his very Spirit is in all things the wise Salomon doth intimate expressely saying that the incorruptible Spirit of the Lord is in all things and that from the Spirit of Gods mouth proceedeth the vertues of all things as the Prophet Dauid telleth vs which being so it must consequently follow that the essentiall forme or life of euery Creature in this world must depend on this Spirit and haue his centrall seate of Actiuity in proportion more or lesse from this Agent of Agents who as it acteth in the Center of all things so is it euen continuat vnto the circumference that is from Alpha or the Center vnto Omega or the Circumference for else would there bee a diuision of the diuine Essence which is impossible And for this cause is God said to fill all and to operate all in all wherefore the Apostle concludeth as before that the Ethnick Philosophy framed out by the tradition and inuention of mans wisdome is false and deceitfull but that which is founded onely vpon Christ is to bee embraced because that in him dwelleth the fullnes of Diuinity which operateth all in all according vnto the will and decree of his Father who is the head of all Potestates and principalities and consequently of all Angels And therefore Angels can effect nothing but as he acteth in them and by them as his spirituall Organs Loe this is therefore that Theosophicall subiect whereby I make my strickt Inquisition into the mystery of this manner of healing by the Weapon-Salue And thus much for a preamble to the discourse Now to the purpose Wee must obserue in the cure done by this Weapon-Salue three principall things namely the partie wounded the Oyntment curing and lastly the occulte actiuity which raigneth in the blood and issueth from the blood vnto the Oyntment The party wounded may rightly be compared to the world and therefore is called a little world he is composed of heauen and earth namely of spirit and body
learned who at the first scoffed at this kind of cure as a thing impossible And after that he perceiued that it was true indeed he was terrified by such scare-crowes as Mr. Foster is to put it in practice forasmuch as he was made beleeue that there was a prestigious deceit or cacomagical vertue and operation in it For which cause he did abstaine from the vse and practice thereof although he did acknowledge the act of it to be wonderfull And yet neuerthelesse beause his curiosity did incite him to diue a little further into the truth of this mystery hee did at the last desire to speake with one Captaine Stiles a man well knowne by his acquaintance to be both wise religious as also aduerse vnto all superstitious actions or ceremonies because hee was noted to be a great practitioner in this manner of cure His earnest desire of him was first to see with his owne eyes for his better satisfaction euery particular ingredient apart which went into the composition of this salue and afterwards to obserue each ingredients preparation and lastly to behold their mixtion or vnion in composition that thereby hee might the better discerne whether any vnlawfull act or diabolicall superstition did concurre with the making thereof the Captaine consenteth whereupon this Noble man to be the better informed in this matter called vnto this composition a learned Diuine and a well esteemed Doctor of Physicke who with one consent after the complement of the businesse did affirme that there was neither any damnable superstition in the making of this oyntment as was falsely suggested nor yet any Cacomagicall disposition in the ingredients as was vainely surmised by some precise persons And for that reason they did ioyntly conclude that both the medicine in it selfe and the practice of this cure were naturall and consequently lawfull for any good Christian to vse Hereupon this Honourable Personage did for a twelue moneths space with happy and fortunate successe practise this manner of cure on many that were wounded and yet for all this it should appeare that some busie Buzzards or rather buzzing flies of this nature did put into his head new suspicions insinuating vnto him that the Captaine might vse some secret superstitious meanes or vnknowne charmes in the collecting or preparing of the principall ingredients which he could not discerne and that without this those mysticall effects could not be wrought whereupon one twelue moneth being past he vndertooke for his more assurance to make the composition himselfe and to haue the ingredients gotten and prepared by his owne direction namely the mosse of mans bones c. And for this cause hee maketh Mr. Cooke the Apothecary to beat into fine powder such of the ingrediences as were to be powdred and afterwards to compound it and to make it vp which when he had effected he found that this his owne composition had the selfe-same healing vertue and prosperous successe in curing that the other had by reason whereof hee rests euer since so confident in the safety and lawfulnesse of this cure that not one of these phantasticall Butterflies by their painted shewes without any solide substance can alter his minde from this practice which when our valiant Sponge-carrier perceiueth and seeing that all the vayne perswasions of his too too scrupulous and suspicious faction could not effect hee as a Praeco or crying Orator for the rest vttereth forth these fragments of his outward and counterfeit zeale for asmuch as it is stuffed internally with an hypocriticall and politike intent as shall be more at large expressed hereafter His words in his dedicatory Epistle are these That which moued me to write this booke was a commiseration of the case of some Persons of quality reputed religious which vse the weapon-salue I pitty these I presume they imagine no harme in it I pray for them in our Sauiour Christ his owne words Father forgiue them for they know not what they doe Is not this a pretty hood of zeale and religion besmeared ouer with the fard of dissimulation a smooth faced vaile I say of hypocrisie to couer and conceale the nakednesse of a priuate worldly policy namely to apply vniustly and make a wrong vse of the righteous words of our blessed Sauiour lesus Christ for the decrying and abolishing of that good gift of healing which by his viuifying spirit is effected vpon his wounded and infirm creatures ' and that which is worse by attributing it falsly vnto the diuel an enemy both to God man and thereby to defraud the Creator and actor in all things of his right and that before the face of all his reasonable creatures whom he created after his owne Image perswading them to beleeue that all mysticall and occult healing in these latter dayes is the vertuous operation of the Father of lies and enemy of goodnesse And that chiefely for the company of Chirurgions cause as shall forth-with be more plainely expressed As who should say that God had in this last age of the world lost all his operatiue vertue and power in mysticall and hidden workings as wel in his creatures as by miracles that good God I say the Creator both of heauen and earth and therefore hee that worketh wonders euerlastingly as well occultly as manifestly hath lost his operatiue vertue or assigned it as it were by succession ouer vnto the diuell May not that Noble man and many other religious persons at which Master Foster in the precedent Text aymeth with a better conscience retort his foresaid speach vpon him and say I am moued with a commiseration of the cause of this person or Parson reputed by reason of his profession religious who condemneth attempteth with his Sponge to wipe away the weapon-salue to abolish the reputation of that vertue which God hath bestowed on it for mans good and for the reliefe of distressed wounded creatures I pitty him if he doe it of ignorance for then I presume he imagineth no harme and therefore I will pray for him in our Sauiour Christ his owne words Father forgiue him for he knoweth not what he doth But if he doth it wittingly and maketh vse of these holy words of Christ for policies sake or to procure the worldly gaine of others I must speake vnto him in these very words which Christ spake vnto Peter Get thee behind mee Satan for thou vnderstandst not the things that are of God but the things that are of men Now verily I will make it appeare that hee hideth his worldly craft vnder the cloke of sanctity and consequently hee walloweth the deeper in the puddle of sinne wherefore his reward must needes correspond with his desert For God who searcheth the heart and reynes of euery man is iust and righteous I would haue each obseruant Reader therefore to note that there is a double reason in this Mr. Fosters endeauour to wipe away the weapon-salue whereof the first is the weakest namely a witting ignorance or an
did not sympathise but Antipathise the nature of the one would abhorre the nature of the other which experience proueth false Againe that there is a Balsamick nature in a Horse sympathising with that in a man the effect proueth For the effect of a Balsamick nature is to agglutinate wounds and to incarnate and breed flesh and that by a secret vertue of vegetation But the flesh of a Horse doth render his Balsamick suck or iuyce vnto the liuer of a man where it so sympathiseth with the nature thereof that it condenseth it selfe by a homogeneall transmutation into blood and becommeth as fibrous and well compacted as the other humane blood and in conclusion is made all one with it and after that by apposition vnion and assimulation that I may vse Galen his owne words it becommeth mans flesh An infallible argument that the Balsamick nature of these two creatures do consent and sympathise for else they could not make one vnion Thus our sharp-witted Remembrancer may see that I doe not onely say after his fashion but also proue and demonstrate my case so palpably that euery simple person may feelingly perceiue it I come now to such priuate experiments as the Noble Earle aboue-mentioned hath made vpon Horses whereof some haue beene pricked and some wounded or hurt otherwise He was pleased to tell me of many of his Cures as well on his own Horses as on others which by the vertue of this Oyntment hee had performed Now would I faine know whether any person of worth or discretion would rather beleeue that which this Nobleman affirmeth and auowed vpon his owne knowledge and manifold experience or else the threed-bare assertion of M. Foster who would perswade the world and that by his meere asseueration onely without any other proofe or practice that Castles may be builded in the Ayre What shall wee say then shall we call a conuocation of these turbulent incredulous and all-iudging persons to haue it decided whether the Deuill did this Cure to gaine the Horses soule or no Alas their demure worships wil after the due pleading and scanning of the cause finde that his blacke Lordship would not bestow the paines for a soule which is so fading transitory and not immortall as is that of a man after which he so eagerly thirsteth and gapeth But if they reply that he doth it to delude the credulous Mediciner and by that couert meanes to gaine his soule I answer that Frustrà fit per plurâ—… quod fieri potest per pauciora The Mediciner cured many reasonable persons before and would not that suffice the Deuils turne to gaine him but hee must assist him also in curing vnreasonable creatures to make the Obligation for the Practitioners soule the surer I would perchance giue more credit to these bold and high thundering Iudges or condemners and vilifiers of Iehouah's power by attributing that vnto the Deuill which appertaineth vnto him if one man had many soules to lose but who is so foolish to cast the Dice twice for that he hath surely wonne at once By this therefore each wise and iudicious Reader may plainely discerne that M. Fosters Sponge is herein also squeesed for as much as it is most certaine that the naturall Balsam of one Animal doth sympathise with his like in the other by reason that they haue both but one and the same acting vertue and one generall Balsamick spirit in nature and condition which is common vnto euery specifick CHAP. II. Wherein is proued contrary vnto the Sponge-carriers Tenent that mans Bones proceed originally from Blood The naked Assertion of D. Fludds text The Blood is mingled with the Mummy or Flesh the Fat or the Vsnaea or Mosse of the Bones which Blood was the beginning and food of them all M. Fosters Collection These ingredients haue their beginning and aliment from the Blood The act of his mundifying Sponge Secondly I deny that Mans Bones haue their beginning and aliment from Blood For Physicians and Philosophers sâ—…y that they haue their beginning from the grosser seminaryparts and their aliment from Blood or Marrow or both Here the Sponge is squeesed I wonder that my Confuter like the Comediant parasiâ—… sometimes denieth and againe with the same breath affirmeth For first hee denieth that Bones haue their aliment from Blood and then he concludes that they haue Well wee will passe this staggering error and come to the point Mans Bones saith he haue their beginning of the grosser seminary parts ergo not of Blood The consequence is erroneous For if he will â—…ucly looke into the nature of the Sperme he shall finde it to bee nothing else originally but the purest part of Blood strained from a double kinde of vessell whereof the purer or internall part issueth from the arteriall vessell the grosser and externall from the venall vessell What needs M. Foster to looke on Bauhines Notes or Galens Opinions and those of many other differing from them and so make Ipse dixit his whole strength when his eyes will teach him if he euer knew Anatomy as perchance his Father did that the fountaine of sperme is the Blood of two natures namely Arteriall and venall for the preparing seminary vessels that alter it purifie it haue their issues and heads out of the great artery and vena Caua Which being so I would faine know of M. Foster whether hee thinketh that the spearme doth not proceed from the Blood as original thereof for as much as the vessels from which it floweth be full of nothing else but Blood I care not for ipse dixit when in euery mans ocular experience it appeareth the contrary For some men will haue the substance of the seed to come from the braine and other some from the subtile parts of the whole body and some will haue it spring from the purest part of the foure humours which is all one to say that it proceedeth from the Blood which is composed of the foure humors though the element of ayre hath the dominion But most sure it is that the Blood is his fountaine and appeareth by ocular demonstration Which being so I pray you good M. Foster what error is it in me to say that Blood is the beginner of Bones when your selfe doth confesse that their immediate being is of sperme whose immediate existence is of Blood Againe we are taught that the â—…eat of life is in the Blood if therefore sperme doth bring forth life it receiueth that gift of life from the Blood To conclude it is euident by this that the viuifying Spirit of the Lord which is the animater of the foure Windes from whence the Prophet Ezechiel called it to animate the slaine moueth and operateth radically in the spirituall Blood and that the sperme is animated and moued by this spirituall Blood which is the spermes internum which Philosophers call semen in whose Centre the viuifying Spirit of the Lord acteth and then this Spirit in the seed framed Skin Flesh