Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	body_n	earth_n	spirit_n	6,743	5	5.1226	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B10083	Tracts theological. I. Asceticks, or, the heroick piety and vertue of the ancient Christian anchorets and coenobites. II. The life of St. Antony out of the Greek of Sr. Athanasius. III. The antiquity and tradition of mystical divinity among the Gentiles. IV. Of the guidance of the spirit of God, upon a discourse of Sir Matthew Hale's concerning it. V. An invitation to the Quakers, to rectifie some errors, which through the scandals given they have fallen into.	Stephens, Edward, d. 1706.; Stephens, Edward, d. 1706. Asceticks, or, the heroick piety and virtue of the ancient Christian anchorets and coenobites.; Stephens, Edward, d. 1706. Life of St. Antony.; Stephens, Edward, d. 1706. Antiquity, tradition, and succession of mystical divinity among the Gentiles.; Stephens, Edward, d. 1706. Enthusiasmus divinus: the guidance of the spirit of God.; Stephens, Edward, d. 1706. Apology for, and an invitation to, the people call'd Quakers, to rectifie some errors, which through the scandals given they have fallen into.	1697 (1697)	Wing S5444E; Wing S5444E; ESTC R184630	221,170	486

our Saviour in his Subjection to Joseph and his Mother Which though Self-denial be a Precept is a voluntary Act of the nature of a Reasonable Free-will Offering and a doing it daily as is expressed Luk. 9.23 a Living in it and a continual Reasonable Sacrifice of the prime Faculties of the Soul for the Service of God And the whole Business of an abstracted Ascetick Life What is it but a reasonable religious and devout Exercise of our Saviour's Doctrin in his Admonition to Martha Luk. 10.41 42. against being careful and troubled about many things when it was only for a short Entertainment of Himself and that One thing is needful and that Mary's Choice was of the better part In his Sermon upon the Mount of taking no thought for our Life Mat. 6.25 34. In his Parable of the Sower concerning the Cares and Riches and Pleasures of this Life the Thorns which choak the Seed of the Word that it bringeth no Fruit to Perfection Luk. 8.14 and concerning Watching that we be not surprized Mat. 24.42 25.13 Mar. 13.35 Luk. 21.36 And now if any one please as many have done to make any question concerning the meaning of our Saviour or the Interpretation of any part of this what more Authentick Evidence of that can be reasonably desired than what the wisest of Men have always approved and had recourse to in such Cases Usage and Practice afterward which daily Experience in the Construction of Laws and ancient Records and Deeds doth sufficiently confirm The APOSTLES certainly practised all this as far as was consistent with their Circumstances and Business they were imployed in and Preached it and recommended it by their Doctrin too as far as the Circumstances of the People and the Times would bear They forsook all not one of them Married any Wife afterward though they might have done it and were so far abstracted from all Diversions and Distractions of the World that they ordered Deacons for other necessary Works that they might give themselves continually to Prayer and to the Ministery of the Word or to Preaching And the effect of their Preaching and of the powerful Operation of the Holy Spirit upon the People was that they continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrin in Communion in breaking Bread and in Prayers And all that believed were together and had all things Common and sold their Possessions and Goods and parted them as every Man had need c. Act. 2.42 And again Act. 4.32 The Multitude of them that believed were of one Heart and of one Soul neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own but they had all things Common For as many as were Possessors of Lands or Houses sold them and brought the Prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the Apostles Feet What is here briefly said of the first Converts and Primitive Christians at Jerusalem agrees so well all things considered with what Philo more largely relates concerning those about Alexandria whom he calls THERAPEUTS who were never heard of before nor after under any Denomination unless of that of Christians which began early at Antioch and was soon spread over the World where any Disciples of Christ were and took place of all others that as the Ancients do affirm we also have great reason to rest satisfied that they were indeed such notwithstanding all the Cavils of some of the last Age which have since been sufficiently refuted It is true they did not long appear in that form of Communities for they were dissolved at Jerusalem and dispersed into divers Regions by that great Persecution after the Death of Stephen and doubtless by like Occasions in other Places But the Example and Doctrin of our Saviour and his Apostles could not but provoke many especially among the Jews before well-disposed for it to forsake the World and betake themselves to a retired abstracted Contemplative Life The Natural Inclination in them was excited and fortified by the various Examples which were common among them before and then receiving such further Encouragement from our Saviour and his Apostles both directly and indirectly from several Doctrines of the Gospel concerning Self-denyal Mortification Contempt of the World Heavenly-mindedness c. this could not but mightily affect them generally with an Heroick Contempt of the World and of the Body and all Earthly things The very Doctrin Promises and Miracles with which they were confirmed were apt of their own Nature to produce all this but much more being accompanied with such a Spirit and Power as the Preaching of the Apostles and the Primitive Christians then was And certainly they wanted nothing but Opportunity even then in the Apostles times to have settled in Coenobitical Societies which as soon as the commom obstacle the Persecutions was removed by the Providence of God in raising Constantine to the Throne of the Empire they presently began to do first in Egypt where 't is probable were many descended from the Recabites and Esseans and in no long time after in most other Parts Concerning those in Egypt in his time St. John Chrysostome gives us this Account Should any one come now to the Deserts of Egypt he would see all the Wilderness altogether more excellent than a Paradice and innumerable Companies of Angels shining in Mortal Bodies For there is to be seen spread over all that Region the Camp of Christ and the admirable Royal Flock and the Conversation of the Heavenly Powers illustriously shining upon Earth And this you may see most splendid not in MEN only but also in WOMEN Heaven it self doth not so shine with various Constellations of Stars as Egypt is beset and illustrated with innumerable Convents of Monks and Virgins But of this more hereafter These things being well considered it will be very plain 1. That they who have derived these Religious Institutions from our Saviour and his Apostles by their Example and Doctrin and the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit had a good Foundation of Truth to maintain their Assertion 2. That they who have raised such Prejudice in the Minds of the People against such Holy Religious Societies in general as to beget in them an Odium against all if they did it in simplicity and meerly through the Prejudice they themselves had conceived from the Scandals of those of their time yet did they very rashly and inconsiderately in so doing but if they did it to temporize and ingratiate themselves with Princes and Great Men who had inriched themselves with the Spoils of the Monasteries and the Revenues of the Church they did very wickedly and impiously We must not deny or question the Justice of the Judgment of God upon them but Who are they by whom the Righteous God doth usually execute such Judgments And at this time we have great reason to take that for a Warning to our Selves Were they cast out for their Laziness and Corruptions What then have we to expect Suppose ye that

concluded they were Devils and being afraid they call'd to St. Antony but he heeded the Devils more than them and whereas they expected to have seen him dead they heard him saying Let God arise and his Enemies be scattered Let them vanish as the Smoak vanisheth As the Wax melteth before the Fire so Sinners shall perish from the Presence of God And again All Nations compassed me round about but in the Name of the Lord I stav'd them off 13. Thus did he lead Twenty Years in private Exercise never stirring out or seen by any one But at last many others desiring to imitate his Ascetick Life and other Acquaintance coming to him and breaking open the Door by force Antony came out of the Castle as out of an inaccessible Sanctuary being matriculated a Member of the Heavenly Jerusalem and become full of God The Spectators when he came out were in an Amaze to see his Body that had been so belabour'd by Devils in the same shape in which it was before his Retirement The Temper of his Soul was very pure neither clouded by Sadness nor shattered by Voluptuousness Neither Laughter nor Melancholy held him in their Chains The sight of the Multitude did not disturb him nor their Praises make him vain But he was intirely smooth and regular steered by Reason and Revelation and fixed in the primitive State of Nature Our Lord healed many Sick Persons by him He also cleansed many that were possessed comforted many that were grieved and reconciled many that were fallen out charging them all to prefer none of the Things of this World before the Love of Christ discoursing and exhorting them to be mindful of future Goods and of the great Philanthropy of God who spared not his own Son but gave Him up for us all He perswaded many to chuse a solitary Life and by this means there came to be many Monasteries in the Mountains So that now the Desarts were turned into a City by Monks that left their Estates and Houses and entred themselves Members of the Heavenly City 14. Once he had an Occasion to pass over the Trench of the Arsenoites to see some of his Brethren Monks which Trench was very full of Crocodiles but St. Antony and all that were with him by the pure Vertue of Prayer went over unhurt When he returned to his Monastery he obliged himself to very severe and youth-like Enterprizes By his Conferences he would be continually encreasing the Fervour of other Monks and exciting many others to the Love of Exercise and by the magnetism of his Discourses many more Monasteries were erected all looking upon him as their Father 15. One Day among the rest as he was walking out he told the other of his Brethren Monks who came to him with a desire to hear him in the Egyptian Language that the Holy Scriptures are sufficient for Instruction But nevertheless 't is decent for us to confirm one another in the Faith by Exhortation and to chear and anoint each other's Spirits by mutual Discourses Wherefore do ye my Sons bring your Father what ye know and I who am your Elder will communicate to you what I know by Experience But besure in a peculiar manner to take care to be communicative and unanimous and that now ye have begun ye don't grow slack nor faint in your Warsare nor say with your selves We have laid out so much item so much Time upon Exercise But rather as beginning every day let us inlarge our Resolution for the Life of Man altogether is very short if we compare it with future Ages All our Time is nothing to Eternal Life Every thing else is Sold for its Value and like is Exchanged for like But the Promise we have of Eternal Life is a cheap Purchase For 't is writ The Days of our Life are Seventy Years and if by great Strength we reach Fourscore or more they are but Labour and Sorrow Now if we spend Eighty Years in Exercise we shall not reign an Hundred Years for it but instead of an Hundred we shall reign for ever and ever Again After we have contended on Earth our Inheritance will not be upon Earth but we hold Promises of Heaven Again After we have laid aside a Mortal Body we are cloathed with an Immortal One Wherefore Children let us not faint neither let us think we lay out much Time for God or do any great Matters for the Sufferings of this present Life are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed Neither let us think that we have parted with great Possessions for the whole Earth is very small with respect to Heaven For just as one who parts with a Mite for an Hundred Broad Pieces So were any one Lord of all the Earth and parted with it for Heaven he parts with a Mite and receives an Hundred-fold But if all the Earth is not worth Heaven then certainly he who leaves a few Acres for it does in a manner leave nothing at all If therefore any of us parts with a Mansion or with Gold he should neither vaunt nor despond But we should rather consider that if we don't leave them for the Sake of Vertue yet afterwards when we Die we often leave them to whom we would not as the Preacher has minded us Shall we not therefore leave it for the sake of Vertue to inherit a Kingdom Let us have a Thirst after true Possessions for What does it signifie to possess those things which we cannot carry away with us Let us rather acquire those Goods which will follow us into the other World such as are Wisdom Justice Sobriety Fortitude Spiritual Prudence Charity Love of Wordly Poverty Faith in Christ Freedom from Anger Delight in Hospitality if we possess these we shall find they will procure us a Mansion in the Land of the Meek These things duly considered no Person can be Negligent especially if he consider that he is the Lord's Servant and ought to serve Him Since therefore every one is his Servant no one should dare to say I do not work to day for I wrought yesterday or by measuring the time past to be idle for the time to come But every day a true Disciple of Christ will shew the same Readiness of Mind that as 't is written he may please his Lord and not run a risque in the Concerns of his Soul So also let us every day persevere in Exercise knowing that if we are Negligent one day we shall not be pardoned for it because we did well the day before No God is offended with such Negligence as we read in Ezekiel So also Judas by one Night's Impiety lost the Fruits of his time past Let us therefore Children adhere to Exercise and not suffer our Spirits to be bejaded for herein the Lord is our Fellow-Labourer as 't is written The Lord co-operates for Good with every one that wills and works Good Now in order to our not being Negligent there is a

are manifest After the President seems to have made a sufficient Discourse so as that his Applications successfully hit what he aim'd at and the Attention of the Auditours perceive his meaning they all give an Humm thereby signifying that they are pleased and choose for the future to put his Advice in Execution After this he rises up and sings an Hymn in Praise of God which is either of his own or some ancient Poets composure for their Poets have left them Measures and Songs of all sorts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Trimetres 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Introits or Processional 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Laudatory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sacrifical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Altar-Songs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Stationary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Choiral with Stanza's of various Measures some of which are us'd with their Faces turn'd from and others with their Faces turn'd towards the Altar After whom the others according to their Orders in a very decent manner do also sing the rest hearing with deep Silence except when the last Lines or the short after-Hymns are to be sung for then they all sing out both Men and Women When every Precentor has finish'd his Hymn the Juniors bring in the Table as was just above-mentioned upon which they have all their Holy Loaf of Bread leavened with Salt and Hyssop mingled together They have Hyssop in the Hall-Loaf out of Reverence to their Holy Table in the Church-Porch for on this Table they have Loaves and Salt without Sauces the Loaves unleaven'd and the Salt unmix'd For 't was fitting that the simplest and purest things should be allotted to the Principal part of the Sacra as the Reward of the Ministration and that others should imitate the same and abstain from those Loaves that their betters may have them as their Prerogative After Supper they keep a Holy Vigil all Night They keep the Vigil thus They all rise together and in the middle of the Hall make two Choirs one of Men and the other of Women each choosing their Eminentest person for Musick for a Precentor and then they sing some Hymns made in the Praise of God with variety of Measures and Stanza's sometimes singing all together and sometimes alternately with peculiar Gestures and dancing about as those who are struck with a Divine Fury Sometimes they sing Processional sometimes Stational Hymns altering their Postures with respect to the Altar as they see occasion Then when each of them has been separately and by themselves entertain'd just as though they had been drinking some Divine Wine they both mingle together and make one Choir in imitation of the Choir at the Red-Sea upon the account of the Miracles wrought there which exceeded the Thought and Hope of the Israelites and made them all in one Company exult as though they were beside themselves and sing Eucharistical Hymns to God their Deliverer the Prophet Moses being the Mens Precentor and Miram the Prophetess Precentress to the Women The Choir of the Therapeuts and Therapeutesses is just like it singing with different Notes for the treeble Voice of the Women mingled with the Base of the Men makes a lovely and truly Musical Harmony Their Thoughts are truly fine their Words are fine and their Choiristers are comely in short the Thoughts the Expressions and Choiristers are all pious and devout After they have continu'd their Holy Transport till the Morning they do 〈◊〉 feel their Heads disorder'd or their Eyes heavy but they are more wakeful than they came and as soon as they see the Sun rise with their Eyes and their whole Body towards the East and their Hands lifted up towards Heaven they pray for Lightsomness of Mind and Truth and Rational Quick-sightedness After these Prayers every one of them retreat to their own Oratories to cultivate and traffick in their usual Philosophy Since therefore the Therapeuts have embrac'd the Theory of Nature and liv'd together with one Soul and were Citizens both of Heaven and Earth and were truly commended and conformed to the Father and Maker of all things by Vertue which procur'd them that Friendship which is the truest Honour do thou by applying thy Mind to a Prosecution of Vertue which is better than all Prosperity reach the Top and Perfection of Felicity The Judgment and Observations of Eusebius Bishop of Caesarea in his Eccl. Hist l. 2. c. 16. and other Ancient Writers concerning Philo's Book of the Therapeuts and that they were Christians MARK the Evangelift going into Egypt is reported to have been the first Publisher there of the Gospel he had written and to have settled Churches in the very City of Alexandria And furthermore that so great a Multitude both of Men and Women who there embraced the Faith of Christ professed from the very beginning so severe and so Philosophical a Course of Live that Philo vouchsafed in his Writings to relate their Converse their Assemblies their Eating and Drinking together and their whole manner of Living It is reported that this Philo in the times of Claudius came to be familiarly acquainted with Peter at Rome who then Preached the Word of God there neither is this unlikely For that Work of his of which we speak being by him elaborated a long time after does manifestly contain all the Ecclesiastical Rules which are to this present observed among us And seeing he describes evidently the Lives of the Ascetae amongst us he does make it sufficiently perspicuous that he did not only see but also very much approve of and admire the Apostolical Men of his time who being as it is probable originally Jews upon that account did then observe in a great measure the Judaical Rites and Customs First of all therefore in that Book which he intituled Of Contemplative Life or Of Suppliants having professed that he would insert nothing disagreeable to Truth or of his own Head into that Account which he was about to give he says That the Men were called Therapeutae and the Women that were conversant among them Therapeutriae And he adjoyns the reason of that Appellation either because like Physicians they healed the Minds of those that resorted to them curing them of their vitious Affections or because they worshipped the Deity with a pure and sincere Service and Adoration Further whether Philo himself gave them this Name devising an Appellation agreeable to the Manners and Dispositions of Men or whether they were really so called from the beginning the Name of Christians not being every where spread and diffused it is not necessary positively to affirm or contend about it But he attests that in the first place they part with their Goods saying That as soon as they betake themselves to this course of Philosophizing they put over their Wealth and Possessions to their Relations Then casting away all Care of Wordly matters they leave the Cities and make their Abode in Gardens and solitary Places well knowing the Conversing with Men of a different and disagreeing

Noble saying of the Apostle on which we should oft meditate 1 Cor. 15.31 I die daily for if we so live as those who consider they may die every day we shall not sin Whence we learn every Day when we rise not to reckon upon our stay till the Evening and again when we lye down to sleep to suppose we shall not rise because our Life is uncertain by Nature which Providence daily measures out to us By being thus dispos'd and living so every day we shall not offend nor lust after any forbidden Object or be angry with any one or lay up treasure on Earth But thus dying every day we shall be possessing nothing and forgive all Offences being freed from all desire of filthy Pleasure reputing it as transeunt always striving and having the Day of Judgment in our Eye for a great fear of Eternal Torments takes off the Appetite from excess of Pleasure and rears up the Soul when it begins to stoop Wherefore having set foot in the path of Vertue let us advance faster and faster and that we may be Masters of all Opportunities before us let none of us look back as did Lot's Wife for our Lord hath positively said that No one that puts his hand to the Plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven Now by the Expression look back is meant nothing else but to change our Thoughts and to relish the Things of this World Be not startled when ye hear any thing of Vertue neither think strange of the Name for 't is not far from us nor without us but the work is in our Power and an easie matter if we have but an hearty Resolution The Greeks travel and cross the Seas to learn Letters but we need not travel for the Kingdom of Heaven or to cross the Seas for Vertue for our Lord has told us before hand Luk. 17.21 The Kingdom of Heaven is within you Wherefore Vertue stands only in need of the Will since 't is within us and built up out of us For Vertue consists of a Soul which has a primitive Natural Temper Now the Mind is so when it has that Temper wherein it was created 'T was created very beautiful and upright for which reason Jesus the Son of Nave bid the People Joshua 24.23 Incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel as John also Make strait your paths for the Soul 's being strait or upright does consist in its having its intellectual Faculty in that posture in which it was created Again When the Soul bends or is crooked from Nature's posture then the Soul has Evil imputed to it Wherefore the Business is not so difficult as some make it for if we continue as we were made we are in a State of Vertue But if we purpose things that are wicked we are arraigned before God for wicked Persons If this Accomplishment were such as that it must necessarily be procur'd from without us it would be difficult But since 't is within us let us keep our selves from evil filthy Purposes and having received so great a Trust from God let us keep our selves for God that he may own his Work when he sees it such as he made it Let us contend earnestly lest Wrath tyrannize or Lust domineer over it for 't is written The Wrath of Man worketh not the Righteousness of God But Lust when it hath conceived brings forth Sin and Sin when it is finished brings forth Death But since the Case is so with us let us be sincerely sober and as 't is written Keep our Hearts with all Diligence for we have shrewd and subtile Enemies even wicked Devils To which I add with the Apostle We wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities and Powers against the Rulers of this World against Spiritual Wickednesses in high places for there is a vast rout of them in the Air against us Nor are they far from us But there is a great difference in Devils But to speak of their Nature and Diversity would take up too much time A Narrative of that kind must be the work of greater Abilities That which lies upon us as necessary to be known is their various Subtilties against us And here be it known that the Devils were not by Nature what they are by Name For God made nothing Evil But they were created Fair and Good But having fall'n from an Heavenly Prudence and now wheeling about the Earth they deceived the Gentiles with their Phantasies And now that they envy us Christians they leave no stone unturn'd to hinder us from Entring into the Kingdom of Heaven lest we should get thither whence they fell Wherefore we stand in need of much Prayer and Exercise till we obtain the Gift of discerning of Spirits for when once a Man has obtain'd that he may be able to know which of them is more and which less Wicked and whither their different Endeavours mostly tend and by what Means every one of them may be conquered and cast out For they have several Wiles and Stratagems Hence came that Saying of the Apostle and his Followers For we are not ignorant of his Devices 2 Cor. 2.11 Since therefore we are tempted by them we should be setting one another's Souls to rights Wherefore I having partly experienced their Wiles do now but as a Child speak something to you about them Well then If they observe any Christians especially Monks labouring hard to make a considerable Progress in Vertue they assault and tempt them by laying continual obstacles in their way viz. evil Thoughts But however we should not be afraid of their Threats for by Prayer and Fasting and Faith in God they quickly fall But after they have been thrown they don't desist but presently come again subtlely and deceitfully for if they cann't cheat our Hearts by gross Pleasures they will assault us another way striving to terrifie us by false Appearances and transforming themselves into the Shapes of Women Beasts Serpents Bulky Bodies and Armies of Souldiers Even then our Hearts should not mis-give us for they are nothing and presently dis-appear especially if the Christian immures and fortifies himself with the Faith and the Sign of the Cross But still they are very bold and impudent for when they have been thus vanquished they set upon us another way and pretend to Prophecy and foretell things to come Also to scare us they will represent themselves so Tall as to touch the Cieling and proportionably Broad that they may steal those away by such Delusions whom they could not deceive by their Sophistry But if they find a Soul so secur'd with Faith and that Hope which attends true Repentance as to resist them still at last they bring the Prince of the Devils 16. He said also that the Devil often appeared just as he is described in Job 41.18 19 20. His Eyes are like the Eye-lids of the Morning Out of his Mouth go burning Lamps and sparks of Fire

Fool thereby however the Lord knows the Purity of my Conscience and that I do not do it for my own sake but out of Love to you and to encourage you I will further acquaint you with some of them As oft as they applauded me when I in the Name of the Lord cursed them when they would be fore-telling the Overflow of the River and I ask'd them What need you concern your selves about that when once they came threatning and surrounding me like Souldiers accoutred and hors'd and another while fill'd the House with Wild Beasts and creeping Creatures and I sung Psal 19.8 These in Chariots and they on Horses but we will rejoyce in the Name of the Lord our God they were presently routed by the Mercy of Christ Another time when they came and made an Appearance of Light in the Dark and said We are come Antony to lend thee our Light but I prayed shutting my Eyes because I disdained to behold their Light presently the Light of the Ungodly was put out A few Months after they came singing and talking out of the Holy Scriptures but I as though Deaf hearkened not to them but prayed that I might abide unshaken in my Mind After this they came and made a Noise and hiss'd and danc'd but as soon as I prayed and lay along singing by my self they presently began to wail and weep as though they were spent But I glorified God who pluck'd down their Boldness and expos'd their Fury Once there came a Devil very tall in Appearance that dar'd to say I am the Power of God and I am Providence What would'st thou have me bestow upon thee But I spit upon him and having nam'd the Name of Christ endeavoured to beat him nay and I seem'd to beat him and he immediately at the Naming of Christ as great as he was disappear'd with the rest of the Devils And when he came as I was fasting in a Monk's Habit with Loaves in his Arms and said Eat and take some Refreshment you toyl more than you need otherwise you will grow weak for you are a Man But I observ'd his Stratagem and rose up to Pray which he not enduring to see presently fail'd and going out of Doors disappear'd like Smoak As oft as he laid Gold before me to touch it and see it I fell to Psalmody and then he would pine As oft as they beat me with Stripes I said Nothing shall separate me from the Love of Christ and after that they beat one another However it was not I that vanquish'd them but the Lord who said Luke 10.18 I saw Satan falling like Lightning from Heaven Now I my Children being mindful of the Apostle's Saying apply'd this to my self that ye may learn not to faint nor be afraid of the Devil and his Agents And since I have been a Fool in telling this receive from what I have said a Spirit of Fear and believe me for I don't lye Once one of them knock'd at the Door of my Cell and when I opened it I saw a tall Figure and when I asked him Who art thou He answered I am Satan said I What makes you be here He answered Why do all the Monks and other Christians blame me undeservedly Why do they hourly curse me said I Why dost thou trouble them said he I don't disturb them But they trouble themselves for I am weak Surely they have not read Psal 9.7 O thou Enemy Destructions are come to a perpetual End and thou hast destroyed Cities I have no longer a Place an Arrow or a City There are now Christians every where and at last the Desart is fill'd with Monks Let them preserve themselves and not curse me to no purpose Then I admiring the Grace of the Lord said unto him Thou art always a Lyar and never speakest Truth Thou hast spoke the Truth to me now against thy Will for Christ being come has made thee weak and bare After he had heard the Name of our Saviour which scorch'd him so that he could not endure it he disappear'd If therefore the Devil himself owns that he is weak 't is our Duty always to despise him and his Agents Thus ye see how many Wiles the Enemy with his Hounds has against us But I having learnt his Weaknesses have shew'd my Contempt of him those several ways which I have mentioned to you Don't let us sink in our Minds or form or entertain Fears within our selves saying Lest the Devil come and overthrow us and of a sudden take us up and throw us down and put us out of Order Let us have none of these Thoughts nor be Sorrowful as though we were perishing But rather let us rejoyce and be glad as being in the Number of those who shall be sav'd and consider with our selves that the Lord is with us who have triumph'd over Devils and put them to flight and let us always think that the Lord being with us our Enemies can do us no harm for they deal with us differently according as they find us differently dispos'd and according to the Thoughts which they find within us Thus if they find us dastardly and disturb'd they form strange Fancies within us just like Cut-throats and Robbers they presently seize upon the place which they find unguarded Whatever we think of our selves to that they will be sure to add If we are dejected they encrease our Timerousness by injecting Fancies and Threats and so the miserable Soul is tortured by them But if they find us rejoycing in the Lord and discoursing of Matters that do relate to Him seeing the Soul fenc'd with such Thoughts they are confounded and turn aside because all things are in the Lord's Hand and a Devil prevails not against a Christian When the Enemy saw Job immur'd thus he run away from him But when he found Judas destitute of these he took him Captive So that if we would despise the Enemy we should always think of the things that relate to the Lord and our Souls would be always rejoycing in Hope and we should see all the Devil 's ludicrous Tricks be like Smoak and they themselves rather flying than pursuing For as I told you before they themselves are very fearful always expecting the Fire prepared for them Take this therefore for a Sign not to be afraid of them When any Spirit appears faint not for Fear But be the Vision what it will first boldly ask Who art thou and Whence and if it be the Appearance of a Good Spirit thou wilt presently be strengthen'd with Plerophory and turn thy Surprize of Fear into Joy But if it be a Diabolical Appearance it presently fails when it sees thy Mind strong for thy asking Who and whence art thou is a Sign of the Ataxy of thy Mind Thus Joshua the Son of Nave Josh 5.13 learnt by asking and the Enemy was not conceal'd when Daniel ask'd Antony having discours'd after this manner they all rejoyced insomuch that their Love of Vertue was

encreas'd and the Negligence of some was shook off and the Opinionativeness or Self-Conceit and Vain-glory of others ceas'd and all were perswaded to despise the Devil's Treachery admiring the Grace that was given to St. Antony by our Lord for his Exercise 21. The MONASTERIES now were like so many Sacred Tabernacles full of Divine Choirs singing and delighting in Holy Conferences and Fasting and Praying and exulting in the Hope of future Goods and working to give Alms and Exercising mutual Love and unanimous Symphony among themselves So that you might see there of a Truth a Land of Piety and Righteousness by it self For there was neither an Injurious nor an injured Person neither any Complaint of the Oppressour But a Multitude of Asceticks having one and the same Ardour for Vertue insomuch that one amongst the rest of the Spectatours seeing such Monasteries and regular Discipline could not forbear crying out as we read Numb 24.5 6. How goodly are thy Dwellings O Jacob and thy Tabernacles O Israel As the shady Vales are they spread forth and as the Parks beside the Rivers and as the Tents which the Lord hath fix'd and as the Cedars by the Waters side 22. St. Antony therefore oft retiring himself into his Monastry daily grew Vigorous in Exercise and groan'd longing for Mansions in Heaven because he long'd for them and observ'd the frail Life of Man When-ever he was about to eat or drink or sleep or serve any other Bodily Necessities he blush'd for he thought upon the Dignity of his Intellectual part So that oftentimes when he was going to eat with other Monks and call'd to Remembrance his Spiritual Food he refus'd and retir'd to eat alone thinking he should blush if he was seen Eating by them When he eat alone 't was purely out of Necessity Sometimes though very seldom he eat with his Brethren But though 't were with Blushing he took the Liberty to acquaint his Brethren for their Benefit that they should lay out their Leisure rather on their Soul than their Body lest it be weigh'd down by the Pleasures of the Body which ought to be in Subjection to it For our Saviour has said Take no thought for your Life what you shall eat nor for your Body what ye shall put on Do not seek what ye may eat nor what ye may drink neither aim at high things For all these things the Nations of the World seek for your Father knows that ye need them and all these things shall be added unto you 23. Not long after the Emperour Maximinus Persecuted the Church and some Holy Martyrs being carried to Alexandria he left his Monastry and followed them saying to his Friends Let us also go and combat or see those who do for he was Ambitious of Martyrdom But not being willing to deliver up himself he ministred to the Confessors in the Mines and Prisons and shew'd great Diligence in the Court of Judicature comforting and spurring on those that were call'd to it and attending them till they were Crowned Martyrs Wherefore the Judge observing the Fearlesness and Assiduity of Antony and of those that were with him ordered that no Monk should appear in the Court nor so much as live in the City so that all the rest seemed to abscond that Day But St. Antony took this so much to thought that he wash'd his Scapulary the cleaner the Day after and stood foremost on an high place before the Judge's Face And though all Persons admir'd at it and the Governour as he pass'd by with his Train took Notice of it yet he stood unmov'd shewing the Readiness of the Christians to die For as I said before he wish'd to die a Martyr and appear'd very much griev'd because he did not But the Lord preserv'd and reserv'd him for our Benefit and the Advantage of many more that he might be a Teacher to many by the Exercise which he learnt out of the Holy Scriptures for the bare sight of his Discipline inflam'd many others to imitate his Life Wherefore he again visited the Confessors as he us'd and as it were bound up together with them he labour'd to serve them But after that Persecution in which the Blessed Bishop Peter suffered Martyrdom ceas'd he pilgrimag'd and retir'd again to the Monastry where he was daily a Martyr in Conscience and fought the Combats of Faith For there he us'd himself to much and stricter Exercise for he always fasted His inner Garment was Hair-cloth his upper of Leather which was the Habit he wore to his dying Day neither washing the dirt off his Body no nor so much as his Feet unless they were wet by chance when he waded thorow Water on a Journey 24. Now when he had thus retir'd and resolv'd to continue in that State some time without ever going abroad or entertaining any Company There came to him one Martinian a Colonel who had a Daughter troubled with a Devil and was very troublesome to him and after he had stood a long while knocking at the Door and entreating him to come and pray to God for his Daughter Antony would not suffer him to break open his Door but leaning out of the top said Man Why dost thou stand crying thus I am a Man as well as thou If thou believest pray to God and 't is done presently The Colonel therefore pray'd to God with Faith and went his way and his Daughter was cleans'd from the Devil Many other things did our Lord by him Wherefore we do not read in vain Matt. 7.7 Ask and it shall be given you For many that were Sick and only sat without the Monastry by Faith and Prayer were Cur'd But as soon as he saw himself thus disturb'd by a great many People and not permitted to retire according to his Purpose and Desire and fearing lest from what the Lord did by him he should be lifted up or any one else upon that account should think of him beyond what he ought he thought and was resolved to go to the upper Thebais where no body knew him and having took some Loaves of his Brethren he sat down by the River Banks watching for a Vessel to get over In the mean while came a Voice from Heaven saying Antony Whither goest thou and wherefore Antony without any Commotion or Disorder of Mind for he was us'd to such extraordinary Occurrences said Since the Multitude will not let me be at rest here I have a mind to retire in the upper Thebais and so much the rather because they require things above my Strength Then reply'd the Voice Should'st thou go thither thou would'st have double the Trouble to undergo But if thou would'st be quiet indeed go into the inner Wilderness But Who said Antony shall shew me the way for I don't know it And the Voice presently directed him to some Sarazens that were travelling that way Whereupon Antony made up to them and requested to walk with them to the Wilderness They as it were by the

Prince of the Power of the Air for here 't is that the Enemy exerts his Power in Fighting and attempting to stop those who pass thorow for this Reason he the more earnestly exhorts Christians Eph. 6.13 Take ye the whole Armour of God that the Enemy having no Evil thing to say of you he may be ashamed But we when we had been inform'd of this remembred the Apostle Whether in the Body I know not or out of the Body I know not God knows St. Paul was wrapt up as far as the Third Heaven and heard unutterable Words But Antony saw himself going up into the Air and contended till he was free 38. He had also another particular Favour for as he was sitting on the Mount in a Praying posture of Soul and perhaps gravelled with some doubt relating to himself for not long before he had been conferring with some who had been conversant with him about the State of his Soul and what place it should have after this Life in the Night-time so that we may truly say he was one of those Blessed Men who are taught of God one call'd to him from on high and said Antony Rise go forth and look So he went out for he knew whom he ought to obey and saw a certain terrible tall deformed Personage standing and reaching up to the Clouds and as it were winged Creatures ascending and him stretching out his Hands and some of them he saw stop'd by him and others flying beyond and above him and those that pass'd them carried higher still without the least Solicitude upon these the Tall Person gnash'd his Teeth but over those that fell he rejoyc'd And the Voice said unto Antony Consider on what thou hast seen And his Understanding being open'd he perceiv'd that 't was the Enemy of Souls who envies the Faithful and seizes on and hinders the Passage of those who are accountable to him but that he is not able to seize on those who were not perswaded by him for they get out of his reach Being minded by such a Sight again he strove the more to make a Proficiency in his Holy Purposes 39. But I must do him Justice by acquainting you that he did not tell of these things willingly But being he was long at his Prayers and admiring with himself those that were with him would be importunately asking him so that he was forc'd as a Father who could not hide them from his Children to tell them Besides too he knew the Purity of his own Conscience and that the Declaration of them would be profitable for them for hereby he shewed the Blessed Fruit of Perseverance in Exercise and that in great Difficulties God condescends to tender Consolation to his Servants even by Visions I might also tell you how Patient he was under Afflictions and how Humble of Soul and how that Frame of Spirit made him revere the Canons of the Church with a peculiar Tenderness of Disposition and how willing he was that every Clergy-Man should be preserr'd before him for he was not asham'd to bow the Head before Bishops and Priests And when-ever a Deacon came to him to be benefitted by him he discours'd usefully to him But he would resign the Exercise of the Ministry by Prayer to him not being asham'd to learn himself for oft-times he propos'd Questions and condescended to give Ear to all that convers'd with him and own'd himself benefitted if any one spoke any thing that was useful 40. There was much and wonderful Comeliness in his Face If he was present with a great many Monks and any one seem'd uneasie that he might have a full View of him though he did not know them before yet passing by the rest he would run to him as though he were drew by the Person 's Eyes He did not excell others in the heighth or breadth of his Body but in the Constitution of his Morals and the Purity of his Soul for his Soul being free from tumult he always had his outward Senses free from Disorders so that his Countenance derived Chearfulness from his Soul and the Temper of it was discernable from the Motions of his Body as 't is written Prov. 15.13 A glad Heart makes a cheerful Countenance But a sorrowful one makes it sad Thus Jacob discerned Laban to have some treacherous Design in his Mind and said unto the Women Gen. 31. Is not the Face of your Father toward me as yesterday and the day before Thus Samuel knew David For he had cheering Eyes and Teeth white as Milk Thus also Antony was known for he never look'd disturb'd because his Soul was always at Peace His Mind was constantly in a rejoycing Posture and therefore he never had a louring Look He was also very admirable and strict as to his Faith and Piety 41. He would never hold Correspondence with the Meletian Schismaticks because he knew their Wickedness and Apostacy from the Faith nor with the Manichees nor with any other Hereticks in a Friendly manner any otherwise than to advise them to turn to Piety for he judg'd their Friendship and Conversation to tend to the Mischief and Destruction of the Soul He abominated the Heresie of the Arians and charg'd all not to go near them or to hold with their wicked Tenets Some of the Areiomanites having once came to see him as soon as he perceiv'd what they were he chas'd them out of the Mount alledging their Discourses to be worse than Poyson And when the Arians told a Lye as though he were of the same Judgment with them he express'd great Indignation against Arius and being sent for by the Bishops and all the Brethren he declar'd against them in Alexandria telling them that this was the last Heresie and the fore-runner of Anti-Christ and he added That the Son of God was not a Creature made of the things that are not but the invisible Word and Wisdom of the Father's Essence Wherefore 't is impious to say there was a time when he was not for He was always the Word co-existent with the Father Wherefore have ye no communication with the Arians for Light hath no fellowship with the Darkness For ye who are pious are Christians but they who impiously say that the Son and Word of God who is of the Father is a Creature differ not at all from Heathens who serve the Creature more than God who created them But do ye believe that all the Creation groans against them because they reckon the Lord and Creatour of all things by whom all things that were made were made a Creature 42. So publickly did all the People see that Heresie which so opposes Christ anathematis'd by this great Man and therefore abominated them And all of the City ran together to see Antony The Greeks also and those that were called their Priests came to the Temple saying We desire to see the Man of God for all call'd him so Also the Lord cleans'd many that were Possess'd by him and

the Creature when God hath thus as it were dismissed and cast it off But resigning it self and loving its Misery for his Sake and because it is his Will that it should be so An Exercise wherein our Lord himself was pleased to be tried that he might become a merciful High Priest before God and experimentally that he might compassionate our Infirmities in the great Desolation he underwent in the Garden the Night before his Passion Heb. 4.15 2.17 Where caepit pavere taedere saith the Evangelist Matt. 26.37 38. And that sad Expression came from him Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem Tarry here and watch with me Mark 14.34 Yet these Desolations also in a Soul thus far advanced in Grace are not void of a mixture of Joy and Satisfaction that it hath always in God's Will being performed in them which Will of God now in whatever happens is a constant Consolation to it and the Apostles Precept 1 Thess 5.16 17. of Semper gaudete is thus accomplished in such a Soul as well as his orate sine intermissione and go together For there cannot want Content where the Mind hath its Desire nor doth such a Mind want this that is unanimous with the Divine Will the want of which Conformity is only from the loving of something that is against his Will Worldly Sorrows saith St. Gregory affligentes cruciant but these Spiritual reficiunt dum affligunt In the one is In afflictione maeror but in the other In merore laetitia Moral l. 23. c. 13. Nay more true Sweetness in these Sorrows than in the other Joys And the abstaining in such a sharp Tryal from all Sin against God or seeking Comfort from any thing besides Him or giving over her accustomed Exercises of Piety argues also then a close Vnion of the Soul with God though not so sensible and that when it thinks it self farthest from him it is in some sort nearest to him Lastly by and upon these Spiritual Desolations ordinarily it is that the Soul afterward receives higher sensible Visits and Caresses from God then any former were for which the Soul seems best prepared by this her extream Poverty and Lowness and then it is if ever the Soul receives them with more Gratitude and both highlier values them and villifies its self And it is God's ordinary way to exalt us in proportion to our Humility and to be Adjutor in tribulationibus as in opportunitatibus when also the Soul is more endeared unto him by her Sufferings All this I have said to shew that these Spiritual Desolations of which this Author Ironically saith Then when one would least expect them follow c. are a necessary part of the Way to Perfection and that the resistance of such Pressures when they come or a non-compliance with them in shewing much Irresignation and Impatience in seeking to relieve such Spiritual Desertions with some secular Contents in relaxing former Holy Practices and the like disappoints the Soul of those following Consolations which are the proper Reward of these Sufferings and disturbs God's Work in her and good Intentions toward her and hinders her Growth in Vertue by her retaining still those Imperfections and that Self-love which these rightly received would have purged and mortified This of the fourth Step to Perfection Desolation 5. The Fifth is a State more settled constant and tranquil where neither these Desolations are so fequent or necessary nor those Coelestial Visits so violent or so short § 65. To these I shall add two or three of his Answers to Objections and Cavils such as I think most pertinent for Common use and first whereas upon the first Step his Adversary descants thus A sad Case to end our days as Christ and his Apostles did who used this low dispensation of Praying to the last But alas they never understood these Vnions with God in the Fund of the Spirit they taught Men a plain and intelligible way of Serving God and bid them look for Perfection in another World To this he replies I ask Did our Lord and his Apostles end their days only or chiefly in the first Step here that of Meditation and Discursive or Vocal Prayer and never ascend to the second Step exercising more therein the Will and Affections in Aspirations and Elevations of the Soul to God What think we of the most exalted Disciple St. John every where discoursing so much of Love and of our dwelling by Love in God and God in us 1 John 4.16 What of those Precepts Pray without ceasing 1 Thess 5.17 Watch and pray always Luk. 21.36 And with all Perseverance therein Eph. 6.18 Are these to be understood only of Vocal and discursive Prayer the first Step or not rather of Effective Prayer the second according to that Qui semper desiderat semper orat which latter is also much easier to be continued Again What think we of our Lord 's spending so long time in Prayer often mentioned in the Gospels Rising up a great while before day for this purpose Mar. 1.35 Again retiring into the Wilderness for a great vacancy to it Luk. 5.16 Before the day of the Election of his twelve Apostles the twelve Foundations of his Church ascending into a solitary Mountain and there spending the whole Night in Prayer Luk. 6.13 His ascending again into another Mountain before he took his last Journey to Jerusalem for the accomplishing of his Passion taking three of his Disciples with him where all the Night again was spent in Prayer for it is said he descended not from the Hill till the next day and that there the three Disciples were surprised with Sleep Luk. 9.37 32. In which Prayer they saw his Countenance changed and an anticipated appearance of his Glory such as he shall have when he comes to Judgment 2 Pet. 1.16 and an Apparition also of Moses and Elias they by a supernatural Illumination knowing also who the Persons were Matt. 16.28 and his Disciple Peter in such an Extatick Joy as that he cryed out Bonum est esse hic c. Luk. 9.33 not knowing saith the Evangelist what he said So in our Lord 's being in Prayer presently after John's Baptizing him happened the Vision of the Heavens opened the Holy Ghost descending upon him in a Bodily shape like a Dove seen by the Baptist Luk. 3.21 22. and a Voice from Heaven speaking to him as here Thou art my beloved Son Luk. 9.35 And then a Rapt of the same Spirit that carried him into the Desart where also we may rationally imagin his time to have been wholly spent in Prayer and Devotion and this in such a degree as to suspend and supercede the ordinary Functions of Nature as to Eating and Drinking and in these his Prayers the Tempter to have assaulted him What think we again of our Lord's Infremuit Spiritu once and again in his Prayer to his Father for the Resurrection of Lazarus Joh. 11.33 38. of the ravishing Expressions of his Love

offered to the natural Motion of the Water which in all those Motions is kept entirely suitable to its Nature And with the same and much greater facility the God of Heaven can and often doth infallibly Guide the Hearts of Men yea of Kings and yet without Force or Violation of its natural Liberty There was never any Age nor People in the World that was wholly destitute of this Divine Efflux upon their Understandings and Wills it is as Vniversal and Common as the Light and Influence of the Heavens only upon some in all Ages it was more special and effectual than upon others even in the Gentile World I have always esteemed those excellent Men among the Heathen famous for Wisdom Justice Piety and Knowledge as Men illuminated and guided by this Divine Influence though possibly communicated to them in a more signal manner than to other Men Such were Socrates Plato Zeno Citticus Solon Lycurgus Pythagoras Tully Seneca Aristotle and divers other excellent Philosophers Moralists and Law-givers among the Gentiles who were by the Influence of the Divine Spirit excited illuminated and instructed for the Benefit of themselves and the rest of Mankind and to prepare the Heathen World for the Reception of greater Light When it pleased God to select unto himself and his special Government the Family of Abraham and his Descendants the Jewish Nation he sets them in the middle of the Habitable World like a Beacon upon a Hill to be a kind of Common Instruction to the rest of Mankind and for that purpose made them signal to all the World by his special Government over them by Miracles Signs and Wonders by giving them Laws from Heaven in great Majesty and Terrour by committing to them the Divine Oracles by raising up Prophets and Men specially inspired by an Extraordinary Spirit and by effusing among them a greater Measure of the Influence of his Sacred Spirit For that I may say it once for all it hath been always the Method of the Divine Wisdom and Goodness when he sends out the greater Measure of this Influx whereof I speak the Divine Providence accompanies that Efflux with suitable external Means to render it the more effectual and the more agreeable to the manner of the Reception of the humane Understanding But when the Messias came into the World with the Message of the Glorious Gospel the Sun was as it were in its Meridian and as the means of Illumination and Conversion of the World unto God was more effectual and universal so was also the Efflux and Irradiation of the Divine Influence upon the Souls of Men more vigorous diffusive and universal And as the miraculous Gifts of the Spirit of God appeared in the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles the Gifts of Tongues of Healing Diseases of Prophecy and the like to confirm and establish Mens Minds in the Faith Belief and Obedience of the Gospel so neither was this all but the secret and effectual Influence of the same Blessed Spirit appeared in Illumination of the Minds of Men in persuading and mightily subduing their Wills to the Belief and Obedience of the Truth in converting Mens Minds unto God and placing them in thei just and due Habitude to Almighty God And this according to the various Workings thereof is sometimes called the Spirit of Regeneration the Spirit of Renovation the Spirit of Sanctification the Spirit of Holiness the Spirit of Adoption the Spirit of Prayer and Supplication the Spirit of Life c. according to the various Energies that this great Effusion of the Influences of the Blessed Spirit had upon the Minds of Men. And this great and more diffusive and effectual Effusion of this Influence under the Gospel was no other than what was prophesied of by the ancient Prophets Isa 25.7 I will destroy in this Mountain the covering cast upon the Face of all People Isa 11.9 The Earth shall be filled with the Knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea Isa 54.13 All thy Children shall be taught of the Lord. Isa 59.20 This is my Covenant that I will make with them my Spirit that is upon thee and the Words which I have put in thy Mouth shall not depart from thee nor from thy Seed nor from thy Seeds Seed Ezek. 36.27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and keep my Judgments and do them Isa 44.3 I will pour out my Spirit upon thy Seed Joel 2.28 I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh And this Energy of the Divine Influence appears 1. By a secret Irradiation and Illumination of the Understanding 2. By a powerful Persuasion and Inclining of the Will both which as they were with a more vigorous and effectual Dispensation under the first breaking out of the Light of the Gospel so they do accompany the Publication of it unto this day and shall unto the end of the World though by reason of the Corruption of the Lives and Manners of Mankind not with equal Success in all Ages We have here the Judgment and Belief of this Great and Good Man of a Divine Efflux upon the Understandings and Wills of Men and that even among the Heathen those so famed for Wisdom Justice Piety and Knowledge were Illuminated and Guided by a Divine Influence And we have here also the Ground of this his Judgment 1. Observations in Nature 2. The Sentiments of Learned and Understanding Men Philosophers in all Ages 3. The Authority of the Sacred Scriptures to which he elsewhere adds his own Experience And whereas he had in some things changed his Opinion as he saw cause from what it was in his younger time this he received early as appears by some of his First Writings and retain'd constantly to the last as appears by his Treatise of Humility which he wrote upon my Motion not long before his last Sickness In his Treatise of Wisdom and the Fear of God after other particulars of the Wisdom of the Fear of God he adds in the 10th place But besides all this there is yet a Secret but a most Certain Truth that highly improveth that Wisdom which the Fear of the Lord bringeth and that is this That those that truly fear God have a Secret Guidance from a higher Wisdom than what is barely Humane namely by the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom that doth really and truly but secretly prevent and direct them And let no Man think that this is a piece of Fanaticism Any Man that sincerely and truly fears Almighty God relies upon Him calls upon Him for his Guidance and Direction hath it as really as the Son hath the Counsel and Direction of his Father and though the Voice be not audible nor the Direction always perceptible to Sense yet it is equally as real as if a Man heard the Voice saying This is the Way walk in it And this Secret Direction of Almighty God is principally seen in Matters relating to the Good of the Soul