what reasonable man doth not seee that in that greatest likenesse and most numerous multitude of one worke of nature the face of man there is such an admirable quality that were they not all of one forme they should not distinguish man from beast and yet were they all of one forme one man should not bee knowne from another Thus likenesse and difference are both in one obiect But the difference is most admirable nature it selfe seeming to exact an vniformity in the proportion thereof and yet because it is rarieties which wee admire wee doe wonder farre more when wee see two c so like that one may bee easily and is often-times deceiued in taking the one for the other But it may bee they beleeue not the relation of Varro though hee bee one of their most learned Historians or doe not respect it because this starre did not remaine long in this new forme but soone resumed the former shape and course againe Let vs therefore giue them another example which together with this of his I thinke may suffice to conuince that God is not to bee bound to any conditions in the allotting of particuler being to any thing as though he could not make an absolute alteration thereof into an vnknowne quality of essence The country of Sodome was whilom otherwise then it is now it was once like the rest of the land as fertile and as faire if not more then the rest in so much that the Scripture compareth it to Paradise But being smitten from lieauen as the Paynim stories themselues record and all trauellers couâ—… me it now is as a field of foote and ashes and the apples of the soyle being faire without are naught but dust within Behold it was not such and yet such it is at this day Behold a terible change of nature wrought by natures Creator and that it remaineth in that foule estate now which it was a long time ere it fell into So then as God can create what hee will so can hee change the nature of what he hath created at his good pleasure And hence is the multitude of monsters visions pertents and prodigies for the particular relation whereof here is no place They are called d monsters of Monstro to shew because they betoken somewhat And portents and prodiges of portendo and porrò dico to presage and fore-tell some-what to enshew But whether they or the deuills whose care it is to inueigle and intangle the minds of the vnperfect and such as deseâ—…ve it do delude the world either by true predictions or by stumbling on the truth by chance let their obseruers interpreters looke to that But we ought to gather this from all those monsters prodigies that happen or are said to happen against nature as the Apostle implied when he spake of the e engraffing of the wild Oliue into the Garden Oliue whereby the wild one was made partaker of the roote and fatnesse of the other that they all do tell vs this that God will do with the bodies of the dead according to his promise no difficulty no law of nature can or shall prohibit him And what hee hath promised the last booked declared out of both the Testaments not in very great measure but sufficient I thinke for the purpose and volume L. VIVES VEnus a with Here of already Some call this starre Uenus some Iuno Arist. De mundo Some Lucifier some Hesperus Higin lib. 2. It seemeth the biggest starre in the firmament Some say it was the daughter of Cephalus and â—…rocris who was so faire that she contended with Uenus and therefore was called Uenus Eratasthen It got the name of Lucifer and Hesperus from rising and setting before and after the Sunne Higinus placeth it aboue the Sunne the Moone and Mercury following Plato Aristotle the Egiptians and all the Old Astronomers b Hesperus So doth Cynna in his Smirna Te matutinis flentem conspexit Eous Et flentem paulo vidit post Hesperus idem The day-starre saw thy cheekes with teares bewet So did it in the euening when it set That this was both the day-starre and the Euening-â—…arre Pythagoras or as some say Parmenides was the first that obserued Plm. lib. 2. Suidas c Two so like Such two twins had Seruilius Cie Acad. Quaest 4. Such were the Menechmi in Pluatus supposed to be whome their very mother could not distinguish such also were the Twins that Quintilian declameth of And at Mechlin at this day Petrus Apostotius a Burguer of the towne mine host hath two toward and gratious children so like that not onely strangers but euen their owne mother hath mistooke them and so doth the father like-wise to this day calling Peter by his brother Iohns name and Iohn by Peters d Monsters Thus doth Tully expound these words De diuinat e Engraffing The wild oliue is but a bastard frute and worse then the other but it is not the vse to engraffe bad slips in a better stocke to marre the whole but good ones in a bad slocke to better the fruit So that the Apostles words seeme to imply a deed against nature Of Hell and the qualities of the eternall paines therein CHAP. 9. AS God therfore by his Prophet spake of the paines of the damned such shall they be Their worme shall not die neither shall their fire be quenshed Our Sauiour to coÌ„mend this vnto vs putting the parts that scandalize a maÌ„ for mans right members and bidding him cut them of addeth this better it is for thee to enter into life maimed then hauing two hands to go into Hell into the fire that neuer shal be quenshed where their worme dieth not and their fire neuer goeth out and likewise of the foote Better for thee to goe halting into life then hauing two feete to bee cast into Hell c. And so saith he of the eye also adding the Prophets words three seuerall times O whom would not this thunder from the mouth of God strike a chill terror into sounding so often Now as for this worme and this fire they that make them only mental paines do say that the fire implieth the burning of the soule in griefe and anguish that now repenteth to late for being seuered from the sight of God after the maner that the Apostle saith who is offended and I burne not And this anguish may be meant also by the worme say they as it is written As the moth is to the garment and the worme to the wood So doth sorrow eate the heart of a man Now such as hold them both mentall and reall say that the fire is a bodily plague to the body and the worme a plague of conscience in the soule This seemeth more likely in that it is absurd to say that either the soule or body shal be cleare of paine yet had I rather take part with them that say they are both bodily then with those that say that neither of them is so and therefore
likewise in artificiall things as a table a booke or so euery leafe is not a booke nor euery part of the table a table These parts are called Heterogenea or Of diuers kindes multigenae Agricola calles them The Symilar partes Anaxagoras held to bee in all things infinite either different as of wood bloud ayre fire bone and such or congruent as of water infinite parcells all of one nature and so of fire c for though bodies bee generate by this separation yet cannot these parts bee so distinguished but infinite will still remaine that euermore is best meanes for one thing to bee progenerate of another and nourished so that this communication continueth euerlastingly of nature place and nutriment But of the Heterogeneall parts hee did not put infinite in nature for hee did not hold that there were infinite men in the fire nor infinite bones in a man t Diogenes There were many of this name one of Synope called the Cynike one of Sicyon an Historiographer one a stoike fellow Embassador to Rome which Carneades borne at Seleucia but called the Babilonian or Tharsian one that writ of poeticall questions and Diogenes Laertius from whom wee haue this our Philosophy elder then them all one also called Apolloniata mentioned here by Augustine Our commentator like a good plaisterer daubed the Cynike and this into one as hee made one Thomas of Thomas Valois and Thomas Aquinas in his Commentaries vpon Boethius u Ayre Cic. de nat de What is that ayre that Diogenes Apolloniata calles God He affirmed also inumerable worlds in infinite spaces and that the ayre thickning it selfe into a globous body produceth a world x Archelaus Some say of Myletus some of Athens He first brought Physiologie from Ionia to Athens and therefore was called Physicus also because his scholler Socrates brought in the Morality y He also Plutarch saith he put the infinite ayre for the worlds generall principle and that the r◅ity and density thereof made fire and water z Consonance Eternity say the manuscripts a Socrates This is hee that none can sufficiently commend the wisest Pagan that euer was An Athenian begot by Sophroniscus a stone-cutter and Phanareta a mid-wife A man temperare chaste iust modest pacient scorning wealth pleasure and glory for he neuer wrote any thing he was the first that when others said he knew all affirmed himselfe hee knew nothing Of the Socratical◅ discipline CHAP. 3. SOcrates therefore was a the first that reduced Philosophy to the refor◅tion of manres for al before him aymed at naturall speculation rather then practise morality I cannot surely tel whether the tediousnesse b of these obscurities moued Socrates to apply his minde vnto some more set and certaine inuention for an assistance vnto beatitude which was the scope of all the other Phylosophers intents and labours or as some doe fauorably surmise hee c was vnwilling that mens mindes being suppressed with corrupt and earthly affects should ofter to crowd vnto the height of these Physicall causes whose totall and whose originall relyed soly as he held vpon the will of God omnipotent only and true wherefore he held that d no mind but a purified one could comprehend them and therfore first vrged a reformed course of life which effected the mind vnladen of terrestriall distractions might towre vp to eternity with the owne intelectuall purity sticke firme in contemplation of the nature of that incorporeal vnchanged and incomprehensible light which e conteyneth the causes of all creation Yet sure it is that in his morall disputations f he did with most elegant and acute vrbanity taxe and detect the ignorance of these ouer-weening fellowes that build Castles on their owne knowledge eyther in this confessing his owne ignorance or dissembling his vnderstanding g wher-vpon enuy taking hold he was wrackt by a h callumnious accusation and so put to death i Yet did Athens that condemned him afterward publikely lament for him and the wrath of the commonty fell so sore vpō his two accusers that one of them was troden to death by the multitude and another forced to auoid the like by a voluntary banishment This Socrates so famous in his life and death left many of his schollers behind him whose l study and emulation was about moralyty euer and that summum bonum that greatest good which no man wanting can attain beatitude m VVhich being not euident in Socrates his controuersiall questions each man followed his own opiniō and made that the finall good n The finall good is that which attained maketh man happy But Socrates his schollers were so diuided strange hauing all onemaister that some o Aristippus made pleasure this finall good others p Antisthenes vertue So q each of the rest had his choice too long to particularize L. VIVES WAs the a first Cicero Acad. Quest. I thinke and so do all that Socrates first called Phylosophy out of the mists of naturall speculations wherein all the Phylosophers before had beene busied and apllyed it to the institution of life and manners making it y◠meane to inquire out vertue and vice good and euill holding things celestiall too abstruse for natural powers to investigate far seperate from things natural which if they could be known were not vsefull in the reformation of life b Tediousnesse Xenophon Comment rer Socratic 1. writeth that Socrates was wont to wonder that these dayly and nightly inuestigators could neuer finde that their labour was stil rewarded with vncertainties and this he explaneth at large c Was vnwilling Lactantius his wordes in his first booke are these I deny not but that Socrates hath more witte then the rest that thought they could comprehend all natures courses wherein I thinke them not onely vnwise but impious also to dare to aduance their curious eyes to view the altitude of the diuine prouidence And after Much guiltter are they that lay their impious disputation vpon quest of the worlds secrets prophaning the celestial temple therby then either they that enter the Temples of Ceres Bona Dea Vesta d No minde Socrates disputeth this at large in Plato's P◅adon at his death Shewing that none can bee a true Phylosopher that is not abstracted in spirit from all the affects of the body which then is affected when in this life the soule is looseed from all perturbations and so truly contemplated the true good that is the true God And therefore Phylosophy is defined a meditation of death that is there is a seperation or diuorce betweene soule and body the soule auoyding the bodies impurities and so becomming pure of it selfe For it is sin for any impure thought to be present at the speculation of that most pure essence and therefore hee thought men attoned unto God haue far more knowledge then the impure that know him not In Plato's Cratylus hee saith good men are onely wise and that none can be skilfull in matters celestiall without Gods assistance In Epinomede There may
such heate that it will ripen greene apples who gaue the fire that wonderfull power to make althings that it burneth blacke it selfe beeing so bright and to turne a shining brand into a black coale Neither doth it alwaies thus For it will burne stones vntill they bee white and though it bee redde and they whitish yet doth this their e white agree with the light as well as blacke doth with darkenesse Thus the fire burning the wood to bake the stone worketh contrary effects vpon obiects which are f not contrary For stone and wood are different but not opposite whereas white and blacke are the one of which collours the fire effecteth vpon the stone and the other vpon the wood enlighting the first and darkening the later though it could not perfect the first but by the helpe of the later And what strange things there are in a cole it is so brittle that a little blow turnes it to powder and yet so durable that no moysture corrupteth it no time wasteth it so that they are wont to g lay coales vnder bounders and marke-stones for lands to conuince any one that should come hereafter and say this is no bound-stone What is it that maketh them endure so long in the earth where wood would easily rot but that same fire that corrupteth althings And then for lyme besides that it is whitened by the fire it carieth fire in it selfe as taken from the fire and keepeth it so secret that it is not discouerable in it by any of our sences nor knowne to bee in it but by our experience And therefore wee call it quick lyme the inuisible fire beeing as the soule of that visible body But the wonder is that when it is killed it is quickned For to fetch out the fire from it wee cast water vpon it and beeing could before that enflameth it that cooleth all other things beeing neuer so hot So that the lumpe dying as it were giueth vppe the fire that was in it and afterward remaineth cold if you water it neuer so and then for quicke-lyme wee call it quenshed lyme What thing can bee more strange yes If you power oyle vpon it in stead of water though oyle bee rather the feeder of fire yet will it neuer alter but remaine cold still If wee should haue heard thus much of some Indian stone that wee had not nor could not get to proue it wee should surely imagine it either to bee a starke lie or a strange wonder But things occurrent vnto dailie experience are debased by their frequency in so much that wee haue left to wonder at some-things that onely India the farthest continent of the world hath presented to our viewe The diamond is common amongst vs chiefly our Iewellers and Lapidaries and this is i so hard that neither fire stone nor steele can once dint it but onely the bloud of a goate But doe you thinke this hardnesse so much admired now as it was by him that first of all descried it Such as know it not may peraduenture not beleeue it or beleeuing it one seeing it may admire it as a rare worke of nature but dayly triall euer taketh off the edge of admiration Wee know that k the loade-stone draweth Iron strangely and surely when I obserued it at the first it made mee much agast For I beheld the stone draw vppe an Iron ringe and then as if it had giuen the owne power to the ring the ring drew vppe an other and made it hang fast by it as it hung by the stone So did a third by that and a fourth by the third and so vntill there was hung as it were a chaine of rings onelie by touch of one another without any inter-linking Who would not admire the power in this stone not onely inherent in it but also extending it selfe through so many circles and such a distance Yet stranger was that experiment of this stone which my brother and fellow Bishoppe Seuerus Bishoppe of Mileuita shewed me Hee told mee that hee had seene Bathanarius some-times a Count of Affrica when hee feasted him once at his owne house take the sayd stone and hold it vnder a siluer plate vpon which hee layd a peece of Iron and still as hee mooued the stone vnder the plate so did the Iron mooue aboue the plate not moouing at all and iust in the same motion that his hand mooued the stone did the stone mooue the Iron This I saw and this did I heare him report whom I will beleeue as well as if I had seene it my selfe I haue read further-more of this stone that l lay but a diamond neare it and it will not draw Iron at all but putteth it from it as soone as euer the diamond comes to touch it These stones are to bee found in India But if the strangenesse of them bee now no more admired of vs how much lesse doe they admire them where they are as common as our lyme whose strange burning in water which vseth to quensh the fire and not in oyle which feedeth it we doe now cease to wonder at because it is so frequent L. VIVES THe a Salamander Of this creature you may read in Aristotle and Pliny I haue written of it else-where It quensheth fire with the touch and is in shape like a Lizart b In Sicily As Aetna and Hiera commonly called Volcania as also in Theon Ochema in Aethiope Vesuuius in Campania Chimaera in Lycia and in certaine places about Hercules pillers besides Hecla in Island c. c Admirable qualities Truely admirable for they are easie to bee wondered at but most intricate to bee searched out d A dead peacock Many of these examples here are beyond reason and at the most but explanable by weake coniectures which wee will omit least wee should seeme rather to oppose Saint Augustine then expound him e White agree It is a light collour and offends the eye as much as the light black is the darkest and strengthens the power visuall like the darkenesse f Not contrary Contraries are two opposites of one kinde as blacke and white both collours moist and drie both qualities c. but Substances haue no contraries in themselues g To lay coales As Ctesiphon did vnder the foundations of Diana's temple in Ephesus Plin. lib. 36. I thinke it should be Chersiphron and not Clesiphon For so say all the Greekes and Strabo lib. 14. h Quick lyme Sen. Nat. quaest li. 3. i So hard that neither Plin. lib. vlt. cap. 4. Notwithstanding Bernard Ualdaura shewed me diamonds the last yeare that his father broake with a hammer But I thinke they were not Indian nor Arabian diamonds but Cyprians or Syderites for there are many sorts k The Load-stone Hereof reade Pliny lib. 36. cap. 16. Sotacus maketh fiue sorts of it the Aethiopian the Macedonian the Baeotian the Alexandrian and the Androlitian This last is much like siluer and doth not draw Iron There is a stone saith Pliny called the Theamedes
them in these wordes b Gens inimica mihi Tyrrhenum nauigat aequor Ilium in Italiam portans victosque penates The nation that I hate in peace sayles by with Troy and Troyes falne Gods to Italy c Yea would any wise-man haue commended the defence of Rome vnto Gods already proued vnable to defend them-selues but suppose d Iuno spoke this as a woman in anger not knowing what shee said what saies the so often surnamed e godly Aeneas him-selfe does he not say plainly f Panthus Otriades arcis Phoebique sacerdos Sacra manu Victosque deos parvumque nepotem Ipse trahit cursuque amens ad limina tendit Panthus a Priest of Phaebus and the Tower Burdned with his falne gods and in his hand His poore young nephew flyes vnto the strand Doth he not hold these Gods which he dares call falne rather commended vnto him then he to them it being said to him g Sacra suosque tibi commendat Troia penates To thee doth Troy commend her Gods her all If Virgill then call them fallen Gods and conquered Gods needing mans helpe for their escape after their ouerthrow and fall how mad are men to thinke that there was any witte shewen in committing Rome to their keeping or that it could not be lost if first it lost not them To worship conquered and cast Gods as guardians and defenders what is it but to put by good deityes and adore wicked i diuells Were there not more wisdome shewen in beleeuing not that Rome had not come to this calamitie vnlesse it had first lost them but that they had long since come to nothing had not Rome beene as the especially carefull keeper of them Who sees not that will see any thing what an idle presumption it is to build any impossibility of beeing conquered vpon defenders that haue bene conquered and to thinke that Rome therefore perished because it had lost the Gods k guardians when possibly the onely cause why it perished was because it would set the rest vpon such soone perishing guardians Nor listed the Poets to lye when they sung thus of these subuerted Gods it was truth that inforced their vigorous spirits to confesse it But of this more fitly in another place hereafter At this time as I resolued at first I wil haue a little bout as wel as I can with those vngrateful persons whose blasphemous tongues throw those calamities vpon Christ which are onely the guerdons of their owne peruersnesse But wheras Christs name alone was of power to procure them their vndeserued safety that they do scorne to acknowledge and being madde with sacrilegious petulancy they practise their foule tearmes vppon his name which like false wretches they were before glad to take vppon them to saue their liues by and those filthy tongues which when they were in Christes houses feare kept silent to remaine there with more safety where euen for his sake they found mercy those selfe-same getting forth againe shoot at his deity with al their envenomed shafts of mallice and curses of hostility L. VIVES QVo a semel Horace Epist. 2. Commonly cited to proue the power of custome in young and tender mindes such is this too Neque amissos Colores Lana refert madefacta fuco Wooll dyde in graine will not change hew nor staine b Gens inimica Aeneads the 1. Iuno was foe to Troy first because they came from Dardanus sonne of Ioue and Electra one of his whores Secondly because Ganymede Trois son being taken vp to heauen was made Ioues cup-bearer and Hebe Iunos daughter put by Thirdly because Antigone Laomedons daughter scorned Iunos beauty being therfore turned into a storke Lastly because shee was cast in the contention of beauty by the iudgement of Paris Priams sonne c Yea would any wise man The discourse of these Penates houshould or peculiar Gods is much more intricate then that of the Palladium I thinke they are called Penates quasi Penites because they were their penitissimi their most inward proper Gods Macrobius holdes with them that say they are our Penates by which we do penitùs spirare by whom we breath and haue our body by whom we possesse our soules reason So the Penates are the keepers or Gods Guardians of particular estates The Penates of all mankind were held to be Pallas the highest Aether Ioue the middle Aether and Iuno the lowest Heauen also hath the Penates as Martianus Capella saith in his Nuptiae And on earth euery Citty and euery house hath the peculiar Gods Guardians For euery house is a little Citty or rather euery Citty a great house And as these haue the Gods so hath the fire also Dionysius Halicarnasseus writeth that Romulus ordained perticular Vesta's for euery Court ouer all which his successor Numa set vp a common Vesta which was the fire of the Citty as Cicero saith in his 2. De legibus But what Penates Aeneas brought into Italie is vncertaine Some say Neptune and Apollo who as we read built the wals of Troy Other say Vesta For Virgill hauing said Sacra suosque c. To thee doth Troy commend her Gods c. Addes presently Sic ait manibus vittas Vestamque potentem Aeternumque adytis effert penetr alibus ignem This said he fetcheth forth th' eternall fire Almighty Vesta and her pure attire Now I thinke Vesta was none of the Penates but the fire added to them and therefore the Dictator and the rest of the Romaine Magistrates on the day of their instalment sacrificed to Vesta and the Gods guardians Of this Vesta and these Gods thus saith Tully in his twentith booke de natura deorū Nam vestae nomen c. The name of Vesta we haue from the Greekes it is that which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And her power is ouer fires and altars Therefore in the worship of that Godesse which is the guardian to the most inward and internall things all the praiers and sacrifices offered are externall Nor are the Penates far different from the power aforesaid being either deriued from Penu which is whatsoeuer man eateth or of penitūs in that they are placed within and therefore called of the Poets Penetrales chamber or closetary gods Thus far Tully But here is no time for further dispute of this matter Dionysius in his first booke saith he saw in a certaine blinde obscure temple not far from the Forum two Images of the Troian gods like two young men sitting and hauing Iauelins in their hands two very old peeces of worke and vpon them inscribed D. Penates and that in most of the temples were Images in fashion and habit like these old ones I make no question these were Castor and Pollux for in other places they are called the Romanes Penates which Prudentius testifies vnto Symmachus in these wordes Gemini quoque fratres Corruptâ de matre nothi Ledeia Proles Nocturnique equites celsae duo numina Romae Impendent c. And the two
fellow enemy to Nicias Demosthenes and almost vnto all honest men yet no euill souldior if wee may trust Thucidides and Plutarch against him did Aristophanes make a comedy and hee called it Equites the Knights and when the Poet would haue presented this view of Cleons extortion and tyrranous rapine to the people the workeman durst not make a visar like Cleons face for feare of his power So the Poet was faine to dawbe the actors faces with wine lees and yet they being afraid to enter vpon the Stage Aristophanes himselfe came forth alone and acted Cleon so great was his rancour against him For which afterwards hee was accused of Cleon and fined at fiue talents as himselfe complaineth in his comedy called Acharnenses that is hee cast vp as much as hee had taken in for perhaps Demosthenes and Nicias had hired him to write it as Melitus Anitus Socrates his enemies gotte him with money to pen that comedie called Nephelis He was a man that wrote much when he was drunke This Cleon Plutarch mentioneth in his Politickes also e Cleophon This fellow saith Plutarch was such another as Cleon. f Hyperbolus Thucidides and Plutarch and Lucian also in his Misanthropus do mention this fellow with the additions of a wicked Cittizen and affirme that he was banished the Citty by the law of Ostracisme a kinde of suffrage-giuing not for any feare of his power dignitie as others were but as the common shame and scandall of the whole towne Cicero in his Brutus speaking of Glaucias saith He was a man most like Hyperbolus of Athens whose vile conditions the olde Athenian Comedies gaue such bitter notes of That he was taxed by Eupolis Quintilian intimaâ—…es in his first booke of his Institutions speaking of Musick And Caelius Rhodoginus hath a whole Chapter of him Lection Antiquâ—…r lib. 9. g Of the Censor Euery fift yeare the Romaines elected two to ouer-see the Census that is to estimate and Iudge of the wealth manners and esteeme of euery particular citizen And herevpon they were called Censors for as Festus saith euery one held himselfe worth so much as they rated him at and the Maisters of the manners So saith Cicero vnto Appius Pulcher. h Pericles This man by his eloquence and other ciuill institutions did so winne the hearts of the Athenians to him that he was made the gouernor of that common-weale for many yeares together being euer both wise and fortunate in warres abroad and in peace at home Eupolis an old Comedian saith that On his lips sat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the Goddesse of perswasion whom fully de oratore lib. 3 calleth Lepor Eanius Suada and Horace by the diminutiue Suadela of the matter of those verses Cicero and Quintilian make very often vse in Greeke fragments for the whole Comedies of Eupolis and many more are now lost These verses are extant in the first Booke of Plinius â—…ecilius his Epistles and part of them also in Suidas I much maruell that Politian mentions neither of them in his Chapter of his Centaures where hee speaketh of this The verses hee hath out of one of Aristides his interpretours whom he nameth not Indeed I deny not but that there are more of his verses then are either in Suidas or Plinie Aristophanes also the ancient Comedian said that Pericles cast lightning and thunder from his lippes and confounded all Greece And this both Eupolis and hee spake in the powring out of their callumnies against him as Tully de orat lib. 3. de perfecto oratore and Quintilian liber 12. doe both affirme The Comedian scoffed also at his long shaped head and therefore hee was alwayes pictured in his Helmitte i For our Plautus Liuie was the first Latine Poet as I haue sayd before and next after him Naeuius who serued as a souldiar in the first warre of Affricke Then Plautus almost of the same time with Naeuius hee left many comedies the most part whereof wee haue and there was no part of all that or the following age that pleased better then hee Scipio calleth him Our Plautus not that he euer knew him but because he was a latine Poet and he had spoken of the Greekes before k P. or C. Scipio These were brethren and as Seruius saith twinnes Publius was father to the Greater Scipio Affrican Cneius vnto Nasica that good man of whom wee spake before They were both slaine in Spaine by the Africanes in the second Carthaginian warre which began in the Consulship of Publius Tully in his Oration for Cornelius Gallus calles these two brethren the two Thunderbolts of the Empire and some say that that verse of Virgill is meant of them Geminos duo fulmina belli Scipiadas Aenaed 6. Scipiades belli â—…ulmen Carthaginis horror c. two thunderbolts of warre The Scipios taking it out of Lucretius Warres thunder Scipio Carthages dread feare c. So that these Poets liued in their times l Or Caecilius Caecilius Statius liued in the Macedonian and Asian warre and was chamber-fellow with Ennius Volcatius Sedigitus giues him the pricke and praise for Commedy and Horace approoues his grauity We haue nothing of his now extant Tully seemes not to like of his phrase m Marcus Cato The Elder hee that first made the Portian family honorable hee was borne at Tusculum and attained the honor of Consul Triumph and Censor Beeing but of meane discent the nobility enuied him wholy but his authority with the Commonalty was very great he liued in the times of Ennius and Caecilius n Few things vpon paine of death There were very few crimes with the old Romanes punished with death and farre fewer in the times that followed for the Portian lawe forbad the death of any condemned Citizen allowing onely his banishment So that it being held death-worthy to depraue any man by writing proues that the Romanes were extreamely afraid of infamy But here let the Reader obserue the meaning of this law out of Festus who speaking of this Capitis Diminutio this Capitall Punishment writeth thus He is said to be capite diminutus capitally punished that is banished that of a free man is made a bondslaue to another that is forbidden fire and water and this the Lawiers call Maxima capitis diminutio the most capitall punishment of all For there are three kindes of it the greatest the meane and the smallest This I thought good to set downe not out of mine owne iudgement Horace writeth thus vnto Augustus Quin etiam lex Paenaque dicta malo quae nollet carmine quenquam Describi vertêre modum formidine fustis c. besides a penall law Frobidding all such verse as shame prouokes So changed they their notes for feare of stroakes c. Porphiry vpon this place saith he that wrote infamous verses vpon any man was iudged to be beaten with clubs But Acron maketh Horace to speake metaphorically o Acte The
Abraham was then but seauentie two yeares of age and his father begetting him when he was seauentie yeares old must needs bee a hundred fortie fiue yeares old and no more at his departure Therefore hee went not after his fathers death who liued two hundred and fiue yeares but before at the seauenty two yeares of his owne age and consequently the hundred forty fiue of his fathers And thus the Scripture in an vsuall course returneth to the time which the former relation had gone beyond as it did before saying That the sonnes of Noahs sonnes were diuided into nations and languages c. and yet afterwards adioyneth Then the vvhole earth vvas of one language c. as though this had really followed How then had euery man his nation and his tongue but that the Scriptures returne back againe vnto the times ouer-passed Euen so here whereas it is said the daies of Thara were two hundred fiue yeares and he died in Charra then the scriptures returning to that which ouer-passed to finish the discourse of Thara first then the Lord said vnto AbrahaÌ„ get thee out of thy country c. after which is added So Abraham departed as the Lord spake vnto him and Lot went with him and Abraham was seauenty yeares old when he went from Charra This therefore was when his 〈◊〉 was a hundred forty and fiue yeares of age for then was Abraham seauenty fiue This doubt is also otherwise dissolued by counting Abrahams seauenty 〈◊〉 when he went to Charra from the time when he was freed from the fire of 〈◊〉 Chaldaaens and not from his birth as if he had rather beene borne then 〈◊〉 Saint Stephen in the Actes discoursing hereof saith thus The God of glory apâ—… to our father Abraham in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charra and said 〈◊〉 him get thee out of thy country from thy kindred and come into the land which 〈◊〉 giue thee According to these words of Stephen it was not after Tharas death 〈◊〉 â—…od spake to Abraham for Thara died in Charra but it was before he dwelt 〈◊〉 â—…rra yet was in Mesopotamia But he was gone out of Chaldaea first And â—…eas Stephen saith Then came hee out of the land of the Chaldaeans and dwelt in 〈◊〉 this is relation of a thing done after those words of God for hee went 〈◊〉 Chaldaea after God had spoken to him for hee saith God spake to him in Mesopotamia but that word Then compriseth all the time from Abrahams departure vntill the Lord spake to him And that which followeth After that his father 〈◊〉 dead God placed him in this land wherein he now dwelleth The meaning of the place is And God brought him from thence wher his father dyed afterwards and placed 〈◊〉 â—…ere So then we iust vnderstand that God spake vnto Abraham being in Mesoâ—…tamia yet not as yet dwelling in Charra but that he came in to Charra with â—…er holding Gods commandement fast and in the seauenty fiue yeare of 〈◊〉 departed thence which was in his fathers a hundred forty fiue yere Now 〈◊〉 that he was placed in Chanaan not he came out of Charra after his 〈◊〉 death for when hee was dead he began to buy land there and became 〈◊〉 possessions But whereas God spake thus to him after hee came from 〈◊〉 and was in Mesopotamia Get thee out of thy country from thy kindred 〈◊〉 thy fathers house this concerned not his bodily remouall for that hee 〈◊〉 before but the seperation of his soule from them for his mind was 〈◊〉 â—…arted from them if he euer had any hope to returne or desired it this â—…d desire by Gods command was to bee cut of It is not incredible 〈◊〉 â—…erwards when as Nachor followed his father Abraham then fulfilled the â—…nd of God and tooke Sara his wife and Lot his brothers sonne and so 〈◊〉 out of Charra L. VIVES 〈◊〉 a inextricable doubt So Hierome calles it and dissolueth it some-what â—…sly from Augustine although hee vse three coniectures dissolâ—…â—…us â—…us Hierome dissolueth it out of an Hebrew history for that which we read the 〈◊〉 of Chaldaea the Hebrew hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ur Shadim that is the fire of the Caldaeâ—…â—…pon the Hebrewes haue the story Abraham was taken by the Chaldaeans and 〈◊〉 he would not worshippe their Idols namely their fire he was put into it from whence 〈◊〉 â—…ed him by miracle and the like story they haue of Thara also his father that hee 〈◊〉 he would not adore their images was so serued and so escaped also as whereas it is 〈◊〉 Aram dyed before his father in the land where hee was borne in the country of 〈◊〉 they say it is in his fathers presence in the fire of the Chaldaeans wherein beâ—…â—…ould not worship it he was burned to death And likewise in other places of yâ— text 〈◊〉 â—…hen he comes to this point saith the Hebrew tradition is true that saith that Thara 〈◊〉 came out of the fire of the Chaldaees that Abraham being hedged round about in 〈◊〉 with the fire which he would not worshippe was by Gods power deliuered from thence are the number of his yeares accounted because then hee first confessed the Lord God and contemned the Chaldee Idols Thus farre Hierome without whose relation this place of Augustine is not to bee vnderstood Iosephus writeth that Thara hating Chaldaea departed thence for the greefe of his sonne Arams death and came to dwell in Charra and that Arams tombe was to bee seene in Vr of the Chaldees The order and quality of Gods promises made vnto Abraham CHAP. 16. NOw must we examine the promises made vnto Abraham for in them began the oracles presaging our Lord Iesus Christ the true God to appeare who was to come of that godly people that the prophesies promised The first of them is this The Lord said vnto Abraham get thee out of thy countrey and from thy kinred and from thy fathers house vnto the land that I will shew thee And I will make of thee a great nation and will blesse thee make thy name great and thou shalt be blessed I will also blesse them that blesse thee and curse them that curse thee and in them shall all the families of the earth bee blessed Here wee must obserue a double promise made vnto Abraham the first that his seede should possesse the land of Canaan in these words Goe vnto the land that I will shew thee and I will make thee a great nation the second of farre more worth and moment concerning his spirituall seede whereby hee is not onely the father of Israel but of all the nations that follow his faith and that is in these words And in thee shall all the families of the earth bee blessed This promise was made in Abrahams seauentie fiue yeare as Eusebius a thinketh as if that Abraham did presently there vpon depart out of Charra because the Scripture may not be controuled that giueth
and this he relateth by way of recapitulation as it was reuealed vnto him I saw saith he a great white throne and one that sate on it from whose face flew away both the earth and heauen and their place was no more found He saith not and heauen and earth flew away from his face as importing their present flight for that befell not vntill after the iudgement but from whose face flew away both heauen and earth namely afterwards when the iudgment shall be finished then this heauen and this earth shall cease and a new world shall begin But the old one shall not be vtterly consumed it shall onely passe through an vniuersall change and therefore the Apostle saith The fashion of this world goeth away and I would haue you with-out care The fashion goeth away not the nature Well let vs follow Saint Iohn who after the sight of this throne c. proceedeth thus And I sawe the dead both great and small stand before God and the bookes were opened and another booke was opened which is the booke a of life and the dead were iudged of those things which were written in the bookes according to their workes Behold the opening of bookes and of one booke This what it was hee sheweth which is the booke of life The other are the holy ones of the Old and New-Testament that therein might be shewed what God had commanded but in the booke b of life were the commissions and omissions of euery man on â—…th particularly recorded If we should imagine this to be an earthly booke 〈◊〉 as ours are who is he that could imagine how huge a volume it were or how long the contents of it all would be a reading Shall there be as many Angells as men and each one recite his deeds that were commited to his guard then shall there not bee one booke for all but each one shall haue one I but the Scripture here mentions but one in this kind It is therefore some diuine power â—…ed into the consciences of each peculiar calling all their workes wonderfully strangely vnto memory and so making each mans knowledge accuse or excuse his owne conscience these are all and singular iudged in themselues This power diuine is called a booke and fitly for therein is read all the facts that the doer hath committed by the working of this hee remembreth all But the Apostle to explaine the iudgement of the dead more fully and to shâ—…w how it compriseth greate and small he makes at it were a returne to what he had omitted or rather deferred saying And the sea gaue vp her dead which were within 〈◊〉 and death and Hell deliuered vp the dead which were in them This was before that they were iudged yet was the iudgment mentioned before so that as I said he returnes to his intermission hauing said thus much The sea gaue vp her dead c. As afore he now proceedeth in the true order saying And they were iudged euery 〈◊〉 according to his workes This hee repeateth againe here to shew the order 〈◊〉 was to manage the iudgment whereof hee had spoken before in these words And the dead were iudged of those things which were written in the bookes acâ—…g to their workes L. VIVES OF a life So readeth Hierome and so readeth the vulgar wee finde not any that readeth it Of the life of euery one as it is in some copies of Augustine The Greeke is iust as wee â—…d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of life without addition Of the dead whom the Sea and death and hell shall giue vp to Iudgement CHAP. 15. BVt what dead are they that the Sea shall giue vp for all that die in the sea are not kept from hell neither are their bodyes kept in the sea Shall we say that the sea keepeth the death that were good and hell those that were euill horrible â—…dity Who is so sottish as to beleeue this no the sea here is fitly vnderstood to imply the whole world Christ therefore intending to shew that those whome he found on earth at the time appointed should be iudged with those that were to rise againe calleth them dead men and yet good men vnto whom it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God But them he calleth euill of whome hee sayd Let the dead bury their dead Besides they may bee called dead in that their bodies are deaths obiects wherefore the Apostle saith The 〈◊〉 is dead because of sinne but the spirit is life for righteousnesse sake shew that in a mortall man there is both a dead body and a liuing spirit yet said hee not the body is mortall but dead although according to his manner of speach hee had called bodies mortall but alittle before Thus then the sea gaue vppe her dead the world waue vppe all mankinde that as yet had not approached the graue And death and hell quoth hee gaue vp the dead which were in them The sea gaue vp his for as they were then so were they found but death and hell had theirs first called to the life which they had left then gaue them vp Perhaps it were not sufficient to say death onely or hell onely but hee saith both death and hell death for such as might onely die and not enter hell and hell for such as did both for if it bee not absurd to beleeue that the ancient fathers beleeuing in Christ to come were all at rest a in a place farre from all torments and yet within hell vntill Christs passion and descension thether set them at liberty then surely the faithfull that are already redeemed by that passion neuer know what hell meaneth from their death vntill they arise and receiue their rewards And they iudged euery one according to their deedes a briefe declaration of the iudgement And death and hell saith he were cast into the lake of fire this is the second death Death and Hell are but the diuell and his angells the onely authors of death and hells torments This hee did but recite before when he said And the Diuell that deceiued them was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone But his mistical addition Where the beast and the false Prophet shall be tormented c. That he sheweth plainly here Whosoeuer was not found written in the booke of life was cast into the lake of fire Now as for the booke of life it is not meant to put God in remembrance of any thing least hee should forget but it sheweth who are predestinate vnto saluation for God is not ignorant of their number neither readeth hee this booke to finde it his prescience is rather the booke it selfe wherein all are written that is fore-knowen L. VIVES IN a a place They call this place Abrahams bosome wherein were no paines felt as Christ sheweth plainely of Lazarus Luc. 16. and that this place was farre from the dungeon of the wicked but where it is or what is
not the lesser and lower doe so too If Ioue doe not like this whose oracle as Porphyry saith hath condemned the Christians credulity why doth hee not condemne the Hebrewes also for leauing this doctrine especially recorded in their holyest writings But if this Iewish wisdome which he doth so commend affirme that the heauens shall perish how vaine a thing is it to detest the Christian faith for auouching that the world shall perish which if it perish not then cannot the heauens perish Now our owne scriptures with which the Iewes haue nothing to doe our Ghospels and Apostolike writings do all affirme this The fashion of this world goeth away The world passeth away Heauen and earth shall passe away But I thinke that passeth away doth not imply so much as perisheth But in Saint Peters Epistle where hee saith how the world perished being ouer-flowed with water is plainly set downe both what he meant by the world how farre it perished and what was reserued for fire and the perdition of the wicked And by and by after The day of the Lord will come as a thiefe in the night in the which the Heauens shall passe away with a noyse the elements shall melt vvith heate and the earth vvith the rockes that are therein shall bee burnt vp and so concludeth that seeing all these perish what manner persons ought yee to be Now we may vnderstand that those heauens shall perish which he said were reserued for fire and those elements shall melt which are here below in this mole of discordant natures wherein also he saith those heauens are reserued not meaning the vpper spheres that are the seats of the stars for whereas it is written that the starres shall fall from heauen it is a good proofe that the heauens shall remaine vntouched if these words bee not figuratiue but that the starres shall fall indeed or some such wonderous apparitions fill this lower ayre as Virgil speaketh of Stella a facem ducens multa cum luce cucurrit A tailed Starre flew on with glistring light And so hid it selfe in the woods of Ida. But this place of the Psalme seemes to exempt none of all the heauens from perishing The heauens are the workes of thine hands they shall perish thus as hee made all so all shall bee destroyed The Pagans scorne I am sure to call Saint Peter to defend that Hebrew doctrine which their gods doe so approoue by alledging the figuratiue speaking hereof pars pro toto all shall perrish meaning onely all the lower parts as the Apostle saith there that the world perished in the deluge when it was onely the earth and some part of the ayre This shift they will not make least they should eyther yeeld to Saint Peter or allow this position that the fire at the last iudgement may doe as much as wee say the deluge did before their assertion that all man-kinde can neuer perish will allow them neither of these euasions Then they must needes say that when their gods commended the Hebrews wisdom they had not read this Psalme but there is another Psalme as plaine as this Our God shall come and shall not keepe silence a fire shall deuoure before him and a mightie tempest shall bee mooued round about him Hee shall call the heauen aboue and the earth to iudge his people Gather my Saints together vnto mee those that make a couenant with mee with sacrifice This is spoken of Christ whome wee beleeue shall come from heauen to iudge both the quick and the dead Hee shall come openly to iudge all most iustly who when hee came in secret was iudged himselfe most vniustly Hee shall come and shall not bee silent his voyce now shall confound the iudge before whome hee was silent when hee was lead like a sheepe to the slaughter and as a lambe before the shearer is dumbe as the Prophet saith of him and as it was fulfilled in the Ghospell Of this fire and tempest wee spake before in our discourse of Isaias prophecie touching this point But his calling the heauens aboue that is the Saints this is that which Saint Paul saith Then shall wee bee caught vp also in the clouds to meete the Lord in the â—…yre For if it meant not this how could the Heauens bee called aboue as though they could bee any where but aboue The words following And the earth if you adde not Aboue heere also may bee taken for those that are to bee iudged and the heauens for those that shall iudge with Christ. And then the calling of the heauens aboue implyeth the placing of the Saints in seates of iudgments not their raptures into the ayre Wee may further vnderstand it to bee his calling of the Angels from their high places to discend with him to iudgement and by the earth those that are to bee iudged But if wee doe vnderstand Aboue at both clauses it intimateth the Saints raptures directly putting the heauens for their soules and the earth for their bodyes to iudge or discerne his people that is to seperate the sheepe from the goates the good from the bad Then speaketh he to his Angels Gather my Saints together vnto mee this is done by the Angels ministery And whome gather they Those that make a couenant with mee with sacrifice and this is the duty of all iust men to doe For either they must offer their workes of mercy which is aboue sacrifice as the Lord saith I will haue mercy and not sacrifice or else their workes of mercy is the sacrifice it selfe that appeaseth Gods wrath as I prooued in the ninth booke of this present volume In such workes doe the iust make couenants with God in that they performe them for the promises made them in the New Testament So then Christ hauing gotten his righteous on his right hand will giue them this well-come Come yee blessed of my Father inherite yee the kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world for I was an hungred and you gaue me to eate and so forth of the good workes and their eternall rewards which shall be returned for them in the last iudgment L. VIVES SStella a facem ducens Virg. Aeneid 2. Anchises beeing vnwilling to leaue Troy and Aeneas being desperate and resoluing to dye Iupiter sent them a token for their flight namely this tailed starre all of which nature saith Aristotle are produced by vapours enflamed in the ayres mid region If their formes be only lineall they call them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is lampes or torches Such an one saith Plynie glided amongst the people at noone day when Germanicus Caesar presented his Sword-players prize others of them are called Bolidae and such an one was seene at Mutina The first sort of these flye burning onely at one end the latter burneth all ouer Thus Pliny lib. 2. Malachies Prophecy of the iudgement and of such as are to be purged by fire CHAP. 25. THe Prophet a Malachiel or Malachi
Iudgement shal be but the meanes whereby the soules shal be purified 14. The temporall paines of this life afflicting al man-kinde 15. That the scope of Gods redeeming vs is wholy pertinent to the world to come 16. The lawes of Grace that all the â—…regenerate are blessed in 17. Of some christians that held that hells paines should not be eternal 18. Of those that hold that the Intercession of the Saints shal saue all men from damnation 19. Of such as hold that heretiques shal be saued in that they haue pertaken of the body of Christ. 20. Of such as allow this deliuerance onely to wicked and reuolted Catholikes 21. Of such as affirme that al that abide in the Catholike faith shal be saued for that faith 22. Of such as affirme that the sinnes committed amongst the workes of mercy shal not be called into Iudgement 23. Against those that exclude both men deuils from paines eternal 24. Against those that would proue al damnation frustrate by the praiers of the Saints 25. Whether that such as beeing baptized by heretiques become wicked in life or amongst Catholiques and then fal away into heresies schismes or contynuing amongst Catholiques be of vicious conuersation can haue any hope of escaping damnation by the priuiledge of the Sacraments 26. What it is to haue Christ for the foundation where they are that shal be saued as it were by fire 27. Against those that thinke those sinnes shall not be laid to their charge wherewith they mixed some workes of mercy FINIS THE ONE AND TVVENTITH BOOKE OF THE CITTIE OF GOD Written by Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo vnto Marcellinus Why the punishment of the damned is here disputed of before the happinesse of the Saints CHAP. 1. SEEing that by the assistance of Our LORD and SAVIOVR IESVS CHRIST the Iudge of the quick and the dead we haue brought both the Citties the one whereof is GODS and the other the deuills vnto their intended consummation wee are now to proceed by the helpe of GOD in this booke with the declaration of the punishment due vnto the deuill and all his confederacy And this I choose to doe before I handle the glories of the blessed because both these the wicked are to vndergo their sentences in body and soule and it may seeme more incredible for an earthly body to endure vndissolued in eternall paines then without all paine in euerlasting happinesse So that when I haue shewne the possibility of the first it may bee a great motiue vnto the confirmation of the later Nor doth this Methode want a president from the Scriptures themselues which some-times relate the beatitude of the Saints fore-most as here They that haue done good vnto the resurrection of life but they that haue done euill vnto the resurrection of condemnation and some times afterward as here The Sonne of man shall send forth his Angells and they shall gather out of his Kingdome al things that offend and them which doe iniquitie and shall cast them into a furnace of fire there shal be wayling and gnashing of teeth Then shall the iust shine like the Sunne in the Kingdome of the Father and againe And these shall goe into euerlasting paine and the righteous into life eternall Besides hee that will looke into the Prophets shall finde this ordeâ—… often obserued it were too much for me to recite all my reason why I obserue it heere I haue set downe already Whether an earthly bodie may possibly be incorruptible by fire CHAP. 2. WHat then shall I say vnto the vn-beleeuers to prooue that a body carnall and liuing may endure vndissolued both against death and the force of eternall fire They will not allowe vs to ascribe this vnto the power of God but vrge vs to prooue it to them by some example If wee shall answere them that there are some creatures that are indeed corruptible because mortall yet doe liue vntouched in the middest of the fire and likewise that there are a kinde a of Wormes that liue without being hurt in the feruent springs of the hot bathes whose heare some-times is such as none can endure and yet those wormes doe so loue 〈◊〉 liue in it that they cannot liue without it this either they will not beleeue vnlesse they see it or if they doe see it or heare it affirmed by sufficient authority then they cauill at it as an insufficient proofe for the proposed question for that these creatures are not eternall howsoeuer and liuing thus in this heate nature hath made it the meane of their growth and nutriment not of their torment As though it were not more incredible that fire should nourish any thing rather then not consume it It is strange for any thing to be tormented by the fire and yet to liue but it is stranger to liue in the fire and not to bee tormented If then this later be credible why is not the first so also L. VIVES A Kinde a of wormes There are some springs that are hot in their eruptions by reason of their passages by vaines of sulphurous matter vnder ground Empedocles holds that the fire which is included in diuers places of the earth giueth them this heate Senec. Quaest. nat lib. 3. Their waters are good for many diseases Many of those naturall bathes there are in Italy and likewise in Germany whereof those of Aquisgrane are the best Of these bathes read Pliny lib. 1. 32. In these waters doe the wormes liue that he speaketh of Whether a fleshly body may possibly endure eternall paine CHAP. 3. YEa but say they a there is no body that can suffer eternally but it must perish aâ—… length How can we tell that Who can tell whether the b deuills doe suffer in their bodies when as the confesse they are extreamely tormented If they answere that there is no earthly soule and visible body or to speake all in one no flesh that can suffer alwaies and neuer die what is this but to ground an assertion vpon meere sence and apparance for these men know no flesh but mortall and what they haue not knowne and seene that they hold impossible And what an argument it this to make paine the proofe of death when it is rather the testimony of life for though our question bee whether any thing liuing may endure eternall paine and yet liue still yet are wee sure it cannot feele any paine at all vnlesse it liue paine beeing inseperably adherent vnto life if it be in any thing at all Needs then must that liue that is pained yet is there no necessity that this or that paine should kill it for all paine doth not kill all the bodies that perish Some paine indeed must by reason that the soule and the body are so conioyned that they cannot part without great torment which the soule giueth place vnto and the mortall frame of man beeing so weake that it cannot withstand this c violence thereupon are they seuered But afterwards
the causes of those arch-heretiques deliuery For an Apostata 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the faith hee hath once professed is worse then hee that opâ—…â—…hat hee did neuer professe Secondly in that the Apostle himselfe 〈◊〉 them concluding of the workes of the flesh that They which 〈◊〉 â—…ll 〈◊〉 the Kingdome of GOD. 〈◊〉 therefore and wicked men secure themselues by their continuance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is written He thâ—… endureth to the end hee shal be saued nor by 〈◊〉 â—…quity renounce Christ their iustice in committing fornication and either 〈◊〉 any part of those fleshly workes which the Apostle reâ—… counteth or such vncleanesses as hee would not name for of all such hee â—…aith expressely they shall not inherite the Kingdome of GOD. Wherefore the doers of such deeds cannot but bee in eternall paines in that they are excluded from the euerlasting ioyes For this kinde of perseuerance of theirs is no perseuerance in CHRIST because it is not a true perseuerance in his faith which the Apostle defineth to bee such as worketh by loue And loue as hee sayth elsewhere worketh not euill So then these are no true receiuers of CHRISTS bodie in that they are none of his true members For to omit other allegations they cannot bee both the members of CHRIST and the members of an harlot And CHRIST himselfe saying hee that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me I in him sheweth what it is to receiue Christ not onely sacramentally but truely for this is to dwell in Christ and Christ in â—…m For thus hee spoke as if hee had sayd Hee that dwelleth not in mee nor I in him cannot say hee eateth my flesh or drinketh my bloud They therefore that are not members of CHRIST are not in him they that make themselues the members of an harlot are no members of CHRIST vnlesse they purge away their badnesse by repentance and returne to his goodnesse by a true reconciliation L. VIVES EXpressed a in this sacrament For all pertake of one bread which is a great bond of 〈◊〉 Againe this mysticall bread is made of many graines of corne loosing their proper formes to bee all incorporated into one masse or body So many are receiued into the church and at thâ—… entrance they put off their owne proper enormities and being linked to the rest 〈◊〉 loue and charity seeme now no more what they were before but are incorporate into one body the church Baptisme maketh vs both bretheren and one also and mutuall charity giueth forme collour taste and perfection to the whole body So that there could not haue bin giuen a more fit type of the Church then that which CHRIST gaue in his institution What it is to haue CHRIST for the foundation who they are that shal be saued as it were by fire CHAP. 26. I But christian Catholiques say they haue CHRIST for their foundation from whom they fell not though they built badly vpon it in resemblance of timber straw and stubble So that faith is true which holds CHRIST the foundation and though it beare some losse in that the things which are built vpon it burne away yet hath it power to saue him that holdeth it after some time of suffrance But let Saint Iames answere these men in a word If a man say hee â—…th faith and haue no workes can the faith saue him Who then is that say they of whom Saint Paul sayth Hee shal be safe himselfe neuerthelesse as it were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 well wee will see who that is but surely it is no such as these would haue 〈◊〉 for else the Apostles condradict one another For if one saith though a man haue liued wickedly yet shall hee bee saued by faith through fire and the other If hee haue no workes can his fayth saue him Then shall we soone find who it is that shal be saued by fire if first of all wee finde what it is to haue Christ for the foundation Togather which first from the nature of the simyly there is no worke in building before the fâ—…dation Now euery one hath CHRIST in his heart thus farre that 〈◊〉 â—…ct of temporall things and some-times of things vnlawfull still â—…eth Christ for the foundation thereof But if hee preferre these things 〈◊〉 CHRIST though hee seeme to hold his fayth yet CHRIST is no foundation vnto him in that hee preferres those vanities before him And if â—…ee both contemne good instructions and prosecute badde actions how much the sooner shall hee bee conuinced to set Christ at nothing to esteeme him at no value in vainer respects by neglicting his command and allowance and in preuarication of both following his owne lustfull exorbitances wherefore if any christian loue an hâ—…r lot and become one body with her by coupling with her hee hath not Christ fâ—… his foundation And if a man loue his wife according to Christ who can denie but that hee hath Christ for his foundation Admit his loue bee 〈◊〉 worldly concupiscentiall as the Gentiles loued that knew not Christ all this the Apostle doth beare with and therefore still may Christ bee such a mans foundation For if hee preferre not these carnall affects before Christ though hee build straw and stubble vpon his foundation yet Christ is that still and therefore such a man shal be saued by fire For the fire of tribulation shall purge away those carnall and worldly affections which the bond of marriage doth acquit from beeing damnable and vnto this fire all the calamities accident in this kinde as barrennesse losse of children c. haue reference And in this case hee that buildeth thus shall loose because his building shall not last and these losses shall grieue him in that their fruition did delight him Yet shall the worth of his foundation saue him in that if the persecuâ—… should put it to his choice whether hee would haue Christ or these his 〈◊〉 hee would choose Christ and leaue all the rest Now shall you heare 〈◊〉 describe a builder vpon this foundation with gold siluer and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The vnmaried saith hee careth for the things of the LORD 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the LORD And now for him that buildeth with wood straw and 〈◊〉 Hee that is married caretb for the things of the world how hee may please his wife Euery mans worke shal bee made manifest for the day of the LORD shall declare it that is the daie of tribulation for it shal be reuealed by the fire This tribulation hee calleth fire as wee reade also in another place The furâ—… proueth the potters vessell and so doth the temptation of tribulation trie mans thoughts So then the fire shall trie euery mans worke and if any worke 〈◊〉 as his will that careth for the things of the LORD and how to â—…ase him hee shall receiue wages that is hee shall receiue him of whome 〈◊〉 thought and for whome hee cared But if any 〈◊〉 worke burne hee shall 〈◊〉 because hee shall not haue his
delights that hee loued yet shall hee bee 〈◊〉 in that hee held his foundation maugre all tribulation but as it were by 〈◊〉 for that which hee possessed in alluring loue hee shall forge with 〈◊〉 sorrowe This thinke I is the fire that shall enritch the one and â—…ge the other trying both yet condemning neither If wee say thâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of heere is that whereof CHRIST spake to those on his left 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from mee yee cursed into euerlasting fire and that all such 〈◊〉 builded 〈◊〉 strawe and stubble vpon their foundation are part of the sayd cursed who notwithstanding after a time of torment are to bee dedeliuered by the merit of their foundation then can wee not thinke that those on the right hand to whome hee shall say Come you blessed c. Are any other sauing those that built gold siluer and precious stones vppon the said foundation But this fire of which the Apostle speaketh shall bee as a tryall both to the good and the bad both shall passe through it for the word sayth Euery mans worke shal bee made manifest for the day of the Lord shall declare it because it shal bee reuealed by the fyre and the fire shall try euery mans worke of what sort it is If the fire trye both and he that hath an abiding worke be rewarded and hee whose worke shal burne shall bee indamaged then cannot this be that euerlasting fire For into that shall none enter but the cursed on the left hand in the last iudgement whereas the blessed shall passe through this wherein some of them shal be so tryed that their building shall abide vnconsumed and other-some shall haue their worke burned and yet shal bee saued them-selues in that their loue vnto Christ exceeded al their carnall imperfections And if they bee saued then shall they stand on Christes right hand and shall bee part of those to whome it shall bee said Come you blessed of my father inherite the kingdome c. and not on the left hand amongst the cursed to whome it shall bee sayd Depart from me c. For none of these shall be saued by fire but all of them shall be bound for euer in that place where the worme neuer dyeth there shall they burne world without end But as for the time betweene the bodily death and the last iudgement if any one say that the spirits of the dead are all that while tryed in such fire as neuer moueth those that haue not built wood straw or stubble afflicting onely such as haue wrought such workes eyther here or there or both or that mans worldly affects beeing veniall shall â—…e the purging fire of tribulation onely in this world and not in the other if any hold thus I contradict him not perhaps he may hold the truth To this tribuâ—… also may belong the death of body drawne from our first parents sinne and inflicted vppon each man sooner or later according to his building So may also the Churches persecutions wherein the Martyrs were crowned and all the rest afflicted For these calamities like fire tryed both sorts of the buildings consuming both workes and worke men where they found not Christe for the foundation and consuming the workes onely and sauing the worke-men by this losse where they did finde him and stubble c. built vppon him but where they found workes remayning to eternall life there they consumed nothing at all Now in the last dayes in the time of Antichriste shall be such a persecution as neuer was before And many buildings both of gold and stubble being all founded vppon Christe shall then bee tryed by this fire which will returne ioy to some and losse to others and yet destroy none of them by reason of their firme foundation But whosoeuer hee bee that loueth I do not say his wife with carnall affection but euen such shewes of pyety as are vtter alliens from this sensuality with such a blinde desire that hee preferreth them before Christ this man hath not Christ for his foundation and therefore shall neither bee saued by 〈◊〉 noâ—… otherwise because hee cannot bee conioyned with Christ who faith playnely of such men Hee that loueth father or mother more then me is vnworthy of me And he that loueth sonne or daughter more then me is not worthy of mee But hee that loueth them carnaliy yet preferreth Christ for his foundation and had rather loose them all then Christ if hee were driuen to the losse of one such a man shall bee saued but as it were by fire that is his griefe in the loosing of them must needes bee as great as his delight was in enioying them But hee that loues father mother c. according to Christ to bring them vnto his Kingdome or bee delighted in thâ—… because they are the members of Christ this loue shall neuer burne away liâ—…â—…ood straw stubble but shall stand as a building of gold siluer and preâ—… 〈◊〉 for how can a man loue that more then Christ which he loueth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sake onely L. VIVES 〈◊〉 day of a the Lord Where-vnto all secrets are referred to be reuealed and therefore they are worthy of reprehension that dare presume to censure acts that are doubtfull 〈◊〉 â—…rable onely by coniectures seeme they neuer so bad 〈◊〉 thâ—…se that thinke those sinnes shall not be laid to their 〈◊〉 where-with they mixed some workes of mercy CHAP. 27. NOw a word with those that hold none damned but such as neglect to doe workes of mercy worthy of their sinnes because S. Iames saith There shall be 〈◊〉 mercylesse to him that sheweth no mercy he therfore that doth shew merâ—… say they be his life neuer so burdened with sin and corruption shal not withstanding haue a mercyful iudgement which wil either acquit him from al paines 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deliâ—… 〈◊〉 after a time of sufferance And this made Christ distinguish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…om 〈◊〉 â—…obate only by their performance and not performance of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the one wherof is rewarded with euerlasting ioy and the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as for their daily sins that they may bâ—… pardoned through 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 the Lords praier say they doth sufficiently proue for as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 christian â—…aith not this praier so likewise is ther no daily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when we say And forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we perform this later clause accordingly for Christ saie they 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 forgiue men their trespasses your heauenly father will forgiue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but he said generally hee will forgiue you yours Bee they 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so 〈◊〉 neuer so ordinary neuer so continual yet works of mercy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them al away wel they do wel in giuing their aduice to perform works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worthy of their â—…ns for if they should haue said that any works of mercâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the greatest and most customary sins they should bee 〈◊〉
both on the earth and in the earth the mountaine tops giue it vp in aboundance nay more wee see that fire is produced out of earthâ—… namely of wood and stones and what are these but earthly bodyes yea but the elementary fire say they is pure hurtlesse quiet and eternall and this of ours turbulent smoakie corrupting and corruptible Yet doth it not corrupt nor hurt the hills where-in it burneth perpetually nor the hollowes within ground where it worketh most powerfully It is not like the other indeed but adapted vnto the conuenient vse of man But why then may we not beleeue that the nature of a corruptible body may bee made incorruptible and fitte for heauen as well as we see the elementary fire made corruptible and fitte for vs So that these arguments drawne from the sight and qualities of the elements can no way diminish the power that Almighty God hath to make mans body of a quality fitte and able to inhabite the heauens L. VIVES A Fifth a body But Aristotle frees the soule from all corporeall beeing as you may read De anima lib. 1. disputing against Democritus Empedocles Alcmâ—…on Plato and Xenocrates But indeed Plato teaching that the soule was composed of celestiall fire taken from the starres and with-all that the starres were composed of the elementary bodies made Aristotle thinke else-where that it was of an elementary nature as well as the starres whence it was taken But in this hee mistooke him-selfe and miss-vnderstood his maister But indeed Saint Augustine in this place taketh the opinion of Aristotle from Tully for Aristotles bookes were rare and vntranslated as then who saith that hee held their soule to bee quintam naturam which Saint Augustine calleth quintum corpus a fifth body seuerall from the elementary compounds But indeede it is a question whether Aristotle hold the soule to bee corporeall or no hee is obscure on both sides though his followers â—…old that it is absolutely incorporeall as wee hold generally at this day And Tullyes words were cause both of Saint Augustines miss-prision and like-wise set almost all the Grecians both of this age and the last against him-selfe for calling the soule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereas they say Aristotle calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is habitio perfecta and not motio pereâ—…nis as Tullyes word implieth But alas why should Tully be so baited for so small an error O let vs bee ashamed to vpbraide the father of Latine eloquence with any misprision for his errors are generally more learned then our labours Against the Infidels calumnies cast out in scorne of the Christians beleefe of the resurrection CHAP. 12. BVt in their scrupulous inquiries touching this point they come against vs with such scoffes as these Whether shall the Ab-ortiue births haue any part in the resurrection And seeing the LORD saith there shall noâ—… one haire of your headperish whether shall all men bee of one stature and bignesse or no If they bee how shall the Ab-ortiues if they rise againe haue that at the resurrection which they wanted at the first Or if they doe not rise againe because they were neuer borne but cast out wee may make the same doubt of infants where shall they haue that bignesse of body which they wanted when they died for they you know are capable of regeneration and therefore must haue their part in the resurrection And then these Pagans aske vs of what height and quantity shall mens bodies be then If they bee as tall as euer was any man then both little and many great ones shall want that which they wanted here on earth and whence shall they haue it But if it bee true that Saint Paul saith thâ—…t wee shall meete vnto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of CHRIST and againe if that place Hee predestinated them to bee made like to the Image of his Sonne imply that all the members of Christs Kingdome shal be like him in shape and stature then must many men say they forgoe part of the stature which they had vpon earth And then where is that great protection of euery haire if there bee such a diminution made of the stature and body Besides wee make a question say they whether man shall arise withall the haire that euer the Barber cut from his head If hee doe who will not loath such an ougly sight for so likewise must it follow that hee haue on all the parings of his nayles And where is then that comelinesse which ought in that immortality to bee so farre exceeding that of this world while man is in corruption But if hee doe not rise with all his haire then it is lost and where is your scriptures then Thus they proceed vnto fatnesse and leannesse If all bee a like say they then one shall bee fatte and another leane So that some must loose flesh and some must gaine some must haue what they wanted and some must leaue what they had Besides as touching the putrefaction and dissolution of mens bodies part going into dust part into ayre part into fire part into the guttes of beasts and birds part are drowned and dissolued into water these accidents trouble them much and make them thinke that such bodies can neuer gather to flesh againe Then passe they to deformities as monstrous births misse-shapen members scarres and such like inquiring with scoffes what formes these shall haue in the resurrection For if wee say they shall bee all taken away then they come vpon vs with our doctrine that CHRIST arose with his woundes vpon him still But their most difficult question of all is whose flesh shall that mans bee in the resurrection which is eaten by another man through compulsion of hunger for it is turned into his flesh that eateth it and filleth the parts that famine had made hollow and leane Whether therefore shall hee haue it againe that ought it at first or hee that eate it and so ought it afterwards These doubts are put vnto our resolutions by the scorners of our faith in the resurrection and they themselues doe either estate mens soules for euer in a state neuer certaine but now wretched and now blessed as Plato doth or else with Porphyry they affirme that these reuolutions doe tosse the soule along time but notwithstanding haue a finall end at last leauing the spirit at rest but beeing vtterly separated from the body for euer Whether Ab-ortiues belong not to the resurrection if they belong to the dead CHAP. 13. TO all which obiections of theirs I meane by GODS helpe to answere and first as touching Ab-ortiues which die after they are quick in the mothers wombe that such shall rise againe I dare neither affirme nor deny Yet if they bee reckned amongst the dead I see no reason to exclude them from the resurrection For either all the dead shall not rise againe and the soules that had no bodies sauing in the mothers wombe shall continue
other-wise called the Angel and held by some as Hierome saith and namely by the Hebrews b to bee Esdras the Priest that wrote some other parts in the Canon prophecied of the last iudgment in these words Behold hee shall come saith the Lord of Hoastes but who may abide the day of his comming and who shall endure when hee appeareth for hee is like a purging fire and like Fullers Sope and hee shall sit downe to trye and fine the siluer hee shall euen fine the sonnes of Leui and purifie them as golde and siluer that they may bring offrings to the Lord in righteousnesse Then shall the offerings of Iudah and Hierusalem bee acceptable vnto the Lord as in old time and in the yeares afore And I will come neere vnto you to iudgement and I will bee a swift witnesse against the Sooth-sayers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that wrong fully keepe back the hirelings wages and vexe the vviddow and the fatherlesse and feare not mee saith the Lord of Hoastes for I am the Lord I change not These words doe seeme euidently to imply a purification of some in the last iudgement For what other thing can bee meant by this Hee is like a purging fire and like Fullers sope and hee shall sitte downe to trye and fine the siluer hee shall fine the sonnes of Leui and purifie them as golde or siluer So saith Esayas The Lord shall wash the filthinesse of the daughters of Zion and purge the bloud of Hierusalem on t of the middest thereof by the spirit of iudgement and by the spirit of burning Perhaps this burning may bee vnderstood of that seperation of the polluted from the pure in that paenall iudgement the good beeing to liue euer after with-out any commerce with the bad But these words Hee shall euen fine the sonnes of Leui and purifie them as gold and siluer that they may bring offrings to the Lord in righteousnesse doe intimate a purgation euen of the good who shall now be cleansed from that in-iustice wherein they displeased the Lord being cleansed and in their perfection of righteousnesse they shall bee pure offerings themselues vnto him their Lord. For what better or more acceptable oblation for him then them selues But let vs leaue this theame of paenall purgation vnto a more fitt oportunity By the sonnes of Leui Iudah and Hierusalem is meant the Church of God both of Hebrews and others but not in that state that it standeth now in for as we are now if wee say wee haue no sinne wee deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs but as it shall be then like a threshing-flore cleansed by the fan of the last iudgement all being penally purged that needed such a purification so that now there shall need no more sacrifice for sinne for all that offer such are in sinne for the remission of which they offer to bee freed from it by Gods gracious acceptance of their offring L. VIVES MAlachiel or a Malachi I neuer read that Malachi was euer called Malachiel Malachi is in Hebrew his Angel and therefore he was called Malachi for if it were Malachiel it should be interpreted the Angell of the Lord I thinke therefore it should be read here Malachi b To be Esdras Of this lib. 18. Of the Saints offerings which God shall accept of as in the old time and the yeares afore CHAP. 26. To shew that the Citty of God should haue no more such custome it is said that the sonnes of Leui shall bring offrings to the Lord in righteousnesse therefore not in sinne and consequently not for sinne wee may therefore gather by the words following viz. Then shall the offrings of Iudah and Ierusalem be acceptable vnto the Lord as in old time and in the yeares afore that the Iewes are deceiued in beleeuing the. restaurations of their old legall ceremonies for all the sacrifices of the old Instrument were offered in sinne and for sinne the priest him-selfe who wee must thinke was the holiest was expresly commanded by the Lord to offer first for his owne sinnes and then for the people wee must therefore shew how these words As in old time and in the yeares afore are to bee taken They may perhaps imply the time of our first parents being in paradice for they were then pure and offred them-selues as vnspotted oblations to the Lord. But they transgressing and being therefore thrust out and all mankind being depraued and condemned in them since their fall no a man but the worlds redeemer and little baptized infants were euer pure from sinne no not the infant of one daies age If it be answered that they are worthily said to offer in righteousnesse that offer in faith in that the iust liueth by faith though if he say hee hath no sinne hee deceiues him-selfe and therefore hee saith it not because he liueth by faith I say againe is any one so farre deceiued as to pararell these times of faith with those of the last iudgment wherein those that are to offer those oblations in righteousnesse are to bee purged and refined Nay seeing that after that purgation there shal be no place for the least imperfection of sin assuredly the time wherein there shal be no sinne is not to bee compared with any sauing with the time before our first parents fall in Paradise wherein they liued in spotlesse felicity So that this it is which is ment by the old time and the yeares afore for such another passage is there in Esaias After the promise of a new Heauen and a new Earth amongst the other allegoricall promises of beatitudes to the Saints which study of breuity enforced vs to let passe vnexpounded this is one As the daies of the of tree life shall the dayes of my people be This tree who is it that hath read the Scriptures and knowes not yâ— God planted it and where and how our first parents by sinne were debarred from eating of the fruit thereof and a terrible guard set vpon it for euer after some may say the Prophet by that meant the daies of Christ his Church that now is and that Christ is that tree according to that of Salomon concerning wisdome She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her and againe that our first parents liued but a smal while in Paradise seeing that they had no children during that space and therefore when we speake of the time that they were there we can not speake of any yeares as this place doth In old time and in the yeares bofore well this question is too intricate to discusse at this time and therefore let it passe There is another meaning of these words also besides this which doth also exclude the interpretation of this place by the legall and carnall sacrifices as though the restoring of them were such a benefit for those offrings of the old law being made all of vnpolluted beasts