a general Proposition of all things created in these two words Heaven and Earth and that in the following verses he specifies the Creatures as God created them every day Against that I say That the true sense of the words of Moses is that in the beginning of the first Day which was the beginning of the first Evening and the beginning of Time God created the Imperial Heaven which should be the Mansion and Dwelling Place of God and the Blessed the Earth which should be the residence of Men during this momentary life and the Waters which did then cover the whole face of the Earth The chief reasons of my Assertions are these First It is certain that the first day of the Creation as well as the five others is divided in Evening and Morning and that the Evening is put before the Morning For Moses saith And the Evening and the Morning were the first Day and from thence it is that the Jews ever began their Natural Day with the Evening From which Consideration I frame these two Arguments That which is part of the part is also part of the whole For Example The Finger which it part of the Hand is also part of the Arm and of the whole Body but the Evening is part of the Day which is also part of Time Therefore the Evening is also part of Time and so when the Evening was Time was also or began to be From this Argument I frame another thus Time never was without some Corporal Creatures seeing that Time is the duration of Corporal Things or of their Motion but in the Evening of the first Day Time was or began to be for the Evening being part of the Natural Day is also part of Time Therefore in the Evening of the first Day there were some Corporal Creatures Now what other Corporal Creatures were in the Evening of the first Day but the Heaven the Earth and the Waters whereof mention is made in these two first verses of the first Chapter of Genesis Wherefore it appears evidently that in these words In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth these two words in the Beginning are to be explained thus In the beginning of Time in the beginning of the first Day in the beginning of the Evening of the first Day God Created the Heaven and the Earth Secondly After that Moses hath said In the beginning God Created Heaven and Earth he adds immediately and the Earth was without form and void that is to say the Earth that God created with the Heavens was then without an external form or appearance of Earth because then it was all covered with Water and was void of the Ornaments which now inrich and adorn it for then the Earth had neither Flowers nor Fruits nor Herbs nor Corn nor Trees nor Living Creatures c. Now when was it that the Earth was covered with Water without appearance of Earth without Beauty and without Ornaments but onely during the two first Days unto the third exclusively in which God separated the Waters from the Earth and beautified it with all sorts of Plants Thirdly I say that in all the History of the Creation described by Moses no mention at all is made of the Creation of the Imperial Heaven of the Earth and of the Waters but in the two first verses alleadged For though the Firmament which was Created the second Day be called Heaven v. 8. yet it must not be understood of the Imperial Heaven which is the Throne of God and the Dwelling place of the Blessed because it is said of this Firmament v. 7. That God divided the Waters which were under the Firmament from the Waters which were above the Firmament that is to say this Firmament divides the Earthly and the Heavenly Waters and at verse the 14. that in this Firmament God placed the Sun the Moon and the Stars and at v. 20. that Fowls were appointed to flie towards it all which cannot be understood of the Imperial Heaven which is above all other Corporal Creatures but onely of the Element of the Air. Moreover Though in the work of the third day mention is made of the Separation of the Earth and of the Sea yet there is no mention made of their Creation an evident proof that they had been Created before And indeed Moses describing the work of the second Day speaks in this manner And God said Let there be a Firmament in the midst of the Waters and let divide the Waters from the Waters and God made the Firmament and divided the Waters which were under the Firmament from the Waters which were above the Firmament Now how would God have divided the Waters if they had not been before and how would he have created a Firmament between the Waters if there had been no Water be-before Therefore let us conclude that in these two first verses and no where else mention is made of the Creation of the Imperial Heaven of the Earth and of the Water that God made before the Light whereof it is spoken in the third verse Fourthly Immediately after these words In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth and the Earth was without form and void it is added And Darkness was upon the face of the Deep as if he should have said when God created the Heaven and the Earth and the Earth was covered with Water without Beauty or Ornaments then the vast and spacious Waters or the spaces between Heaven and Earth were covered with Darkness because there was yet no Light as appears by the Text and God had not yet created that great body of Light which he created afterwards to wit in the Morning of the same first Day and whereof probably in the fourth Day he made the Sun the Moon and the Stars which may be very well thought to be the Element of Fire seeing it hath all the effects and properties of it and that in the whole History of the Creation mention is made no where else of the Element of Fire but when God said Let there be Light Moreover It is certain that Darkness is nothing else but the privation of Light now privation differs from a meer negation in that privation supposes a subject capable to receive that whereof it is privation and a meer negation supposes none For Example Blindness is the privation of Sight which supposes a Creature capable to receive Sight Death is a privation of Life that supposes a Body susceptible of Life c. Now seeing that Darkness which was before Light as appears by the Text is nothing else but a privation of Light it is evident that Darkness supposes some Bodies susceptible of Light which as well as Darkness have been before the Light but these Bodies can be no others but those mentioned in the two first verses to wit the Heaven the Earth and the Waters which were created the Evening of the first Day But I suppose it will be objected that the form
the favourable Acceptance and the noble Receiver To such Eminent persons as your Lordship is both by Birth Dignity and Vertue men do not so much give the Thing it self which they present as in it make tender of their hearts love duty and dearest regards All which I here humbly present to your ships goodness Commending you to the goodness of Him that so highly hath honoured you and besceeching Him to heap up more and more all his Blessings upon your Person Place and Relations to the glory of his Name the good of our Church and the encouragement of Learning and Piety the Joy and Comfort of your heart in this life which I earnestly pray may be long and happy and to the Eternal peace and joy of your Soul in the day of the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls Thus prays Your Lordships Most humble Most obedient Most obliged Servant Joshua Bonhome TO THE Christian READER BEfore I proceed to the main Matter of this Treatise I hold it necessary to disabuse some Pious and Religious Persons who having never met nor medled with the prophane and ungodly Men confuted and convinced in this Book do verily think and imagine that there is never a Man so desperately Wicked at to deny and dis-affirm a Godhead Inorder to that let these godly Persons know that there are in the World three sorts of Athiests viz. 1. The subtle and wilely 2. The lewd and debauched and 3. The ignorant The first of these are they who having gotten a way of discoursing cunningly with the help of their empty knowledge of natural Philosophy do undertake to frame Arguments against the God-head endeavour to answer the Reasons which prove its Existency and Being and conversing with good and honest men convey subtilly into their minds the Vennom themselves were insected and corrupted withal I have spoken with one that had written a Dialogue against all Religions who objected to me the first and sixth Reason or Answer confuted in this Book but soon after he grew Frantick and dyed in a sad and lamentable condition I met once with another who urged very fiercely the second Reason they use to justifie their Impiety which reason is propounded and fully answered in this Treatise and disdainfully scoffed at my reply this also a while after fought a Duel and died upon the place I have disputed against another who made use of the first and fifth Arguments of theirs in this Tract propounded and overthrown This on a day of fearful Thunder and Lightnings made it his Bravado to speak Execrable Blasphemies against the Divinity but in a short time he died fearfully mad with the Plague I have seen several others that would Alledge all the pretended Reasons which in this Book will appear to be full of Absurdities and they for the most part have died very strangely and the rest have suffered violent Death It will not be amiss to Associate with these Monsters a certain other dangerous sort of Men who protest themselves to be Scepticks and hold it lawful to doubt of all things that they may also speak dubiously of the Divinity against such Men it were well if an Inquisition of Spain were set up all the World over The Lewd and Debauched Atheists are for the most part young Men of great and Rich Families who having had a bad Education are easily drawn away both by the frequenting and keeping company with the subtle and cunning Atheists and by giving place to all the Charms of Sport and Play Drunkenness and Women do insensibly abandon themselves to the most abominable Vices that Hell and the Devil can Devise These are in greater number than theresined Athiests as some call them seeing they swarm in great number in the Courts of most Princes and the greatest Cities in Europe The ignorant Athiests which exceed in number the two former sorts are they who professing indeed that there is a God have notwithstanding but a light Opinion of the same grounded only either upon the Hear-say of their Parents or the General Consent of them that are daily conversant withal Neither are they perswaded of this truth by the Creation of the World nor by the admirable and wonderful Disposition and Symmetry of the parts of it nor by any of the Reasons and Arguments which are to be seen in this Book These are of the vulgar and common sort of People who being loath to give themselves the trouble to be instructed in the wayes of Salvation never believe that there is a God but because they are born and bred among those that believe it Such are they also who being drawn away of their own Lusts and Entised fall into grievous and horrible sins without the least sorrow or reluctancy For I cannot be perswaded that a man who believes that there is a God Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth and who is within him without him and about him and every where and who can cast him for ever into the bottomless Pit of Hell for his sins I cannot be perswaded I say that such a man will sin willingly and wittingly against a God so great and so puissant without horrour and resistance For if the presence of a King a Lord or a Judge will keep back the most wicked from Committing their Villanies much more if one were perswaded there is a God Almighty King of Kings Lord of Lords and Judge of all the Earth his presence would keep Man back from Committing Adulterses Robberies Murthers Buggeries and all other abominable Crimes which are so frequent in the World Therefore let the Devout and Religious Persons who think well of all Men never find fault with me if my zeal to the glory of God hath caused me to present the World with the Arguments here contained against this prophane and ungodly Brood the Athiests And I heartily wish that all young People may so Arme and Fortifie themselves with these my Reasons that they may keep themselves from being seduced by such Devils A TABLE of the Principal Matters contained in this BOOK CHAP. I. 1. THat the World not being from all Eternity one must necessarily conclude there is a God that Created it 2. That the Sun hath not been from all Eternity 3. That the Earth hath not been from all Eternity 4. That the Day hath not been from all Eternity 5. That neither Day nor Night have been from all Eternity 6. That the Moon hath not been from all Eternity 7. That the Sea hath not been from all Eternity 8. That Men have not been from all Eternity 9. The First Confirmation 10. The Second Confirmation 11. The Third Confirmation 12. That Alteration Generation and Corruption are not from all Eternity 13. That neither Movable Things nor Time have been from all Eternity 14. A General Proof that the Bodies have nor been from all Eternity nor consequently the World CHAP. II. 1 THE first Answer of Athiests that Successive Things may have been from all Eternity collectively
all his other Attributes The Answer of Julius Scaliger in his Exercitations against Cardanus to Algazel his Argument and which the Affrican maintained to be most sound and solid hath been sufficiently refuted when I have proved that an infinite is not greater than another neither materially nor formally CHAP. V. 1. The fourth Answer of Atheists saying that from all Eternity there was a Chaos 2. That the Heavens and the Elements did not by degrees disintangle and resolve themselves from all Eternity 3. That they did not remain a finite time to resolve or clear themselves 4. That they did not remain an infinite time to clear and resolve themselves A Digression wherein the two first Verses of the first Chapter of Genesis are explained and is shewed that there is no mention made of a Chaos and that they do not contain a proposition of all those things God created in six days and that Light was not the first Creature 1. The fourth Answer of Atheists is That the World hath not been from all Eternity in the state it is now but that from all Eternity there was a Chaos that is to say that the Heavens the Stars the Elements and all other things have been from all Eternity pell-melled and confused together and that having resolved themselves they have framed and disposed the World in the state it is now that it was the opinion of Euripides and divers Ancient Philosophers as of Drodorus in the First Book of his History The Reply 2. Against this Objection or Answer I say that if the Chaos that is to say the Heavens the Stars and the Elements pell-melled and confused together had been from all Eternity it would follow that either by degrees they had resolved themselves from all Eternity or that a time finite or infinite would have passed before they had resolved themselves But they did not resolve themselves by degrees from all Eternity and a time finite or infinite did not pass before they did resolve themselves Therefore they have not been confused from all Eternity and consequently the Chaos was not from all Eternity The Minor or second Proposition which is the onely one that may be questioned is verified thus First That the Heavens the Stars and the Elements pell-melled togethar did not by degrees resolve and separate themselves from all Eternity appears because the separation of corporal things mixed together is not made without the local motion of some of them But nothing did move locally from all Eternity as I have shewed in the first Chapter where I have proved that time and motion have not been from all Eternity Secondly Those things which did by degrees separate themselves from others from all Eternity by local motion they have remained either a finite time to separate themselves or an infinite time if a finite time it will follow that betwixt the mixture and the perfect separation the difference and interval will be but a finite and limited time and consequently that betwixt that which is from all Eternity to wit the mixture and that which is not from all Eternity to wit the perfect separation the difference will be but a finite and limited time which is impossible And moreover It would follow that a finite time such as the duration of those things since their perfect separation added to a finite such as is the time that passed in their separation would make up an infinite time such as is the pretended Eternity of the mixture all which is against this true Maxime that one finite added to another finite does not make up an infinite If they have remained an infinite time to separate themselves it will follow that they will have run through an infinite space in their separation seeing that a finite space may be run through in a finite time and truly since time is the measure or duration of motion it will follow that if time be infinite the motion will be also infinite and if the motion is infinite the place or space wherein things did move will be infinite either really or equivalently But they have not run through an infinite space either really or equivalently else they would have run through a space an hundred thousand millions of thousands of times and a space a thousand millions of times greater than this World really or equivalently which is absurd And besides It would follow that an infinite would be greater than another seeing the space that they would have run through until their perfect separation and that which they would have run through since their perfect separation should be greater than the sole space they should have run through until their separation For a farther confirmation look back upon the first Chapter wherein I have proved that time and motion cannot be infinite 3. Secondly That the Heavens the Stars and the Elements have not remained a finite time before they have resolved and separated themselves appears because it would follow that betwixt the mixture and the beginning of their separation the difference would be but of a finite time and consequently that betwixt that which is from all Eternity as their pretended mixture and that which is not from all Eternity as their separation or the beginning thereof the difference would be but of some limited time and there would be wanting but a finite and limited time lest that their separation which had a Beginning should be Eternal and that one finite added to the other finite should make up an infinite which is impossible 4. Thirdly That the Heavens the Stars and the Elements have not remained an infinite time before they have resolved and separated themselves appears because it is a Maxime received of all that Idem qua Idem semper facit Idem at least when 't is not a free and intellectual Agent Therefore If the Heavens the Stars and the Elements have been confused and pell-melled together during an infinite time or during Eternity how came it to pass that they have resolved and disintricated themselves at last certainly it cannot be of themselves having remained in the same case and condition above an hundred thousand millions of thousands of years and if another has thus separated them as it is most true it cannot be ought else but God 5. It will not be out of purpose to add to this Reply The true sense of the two first verses of the first Chapter of Genesis which are conceived in these words In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth and the Earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the Deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the Waters Because out of these words some Christians have imagined a Chaos saying That God created first a Chaos that is to say the Heavens and the Elements mixed confusedly together and afterwards in six days did draw all Creatures out of the same and others in greater number say that in the two alleadged verses Moses makes
ought always to be before the privation For Example The Sight before Blindness Life before Death and that consequently the Light was before Darkness But I answer first That all Philosophers agree that all Physical Privations are before the Forms whereof they are privations because they are privations of future forms as logical privations are privations of forms past And thus the seminal matter hath the privation of the Soul before it hath the Soul it self and every physical matter hath the privation of the essential form before it hath such a form and in the Example alleadged above it may happen that Blindness is before the Sight Deafness before Hearing and the privation of Life before Life So the Born Blind and Deaf Man that Jesus Christ healed were Blind and Deaf before they received either Sight or Hearing And the Embryo that is to say the Infant in the Mothers Womb before it hath got perfect shape hath the privation of rational Life before ever he receives the said rational Life Secondly It is must true that when a Subject is equally susceptible of the Form and the privation of it if the Agent may produce the Subject and the Form it is then in the power of the Agent if it be a free Agent to produce the Subject with the Form or with the Privation thereof But the Earth and the Waters are Bodies equally susceptible of Light and Darkness Therefore God who is a most free Agent and who hath created the Earth the Waters and the Light may have produced the Earth and the Waters with or without Light So then seeing that by the Text it appears that Darkness was before Light we must conclude that the Earth and the Waters were produced tenebrous Finally It is most true that the Light God created is a most bright and shining Body and not an accident as I might make it appear were not the Digression too long already Now who seeth not that God may have created the Earth and the Waters before this bright and shining Body seeing he can create one Body before another By the consideration of these things it is clear that in the two alleadged verses Moses doth not set down a general Proposition of all those things God was to create afterwards but that he describes particularly the creation of Heaven of the Earth and of the Waters which were produced the Evening of the first Day Moreover It is evident that in the said verses Moses speaks not one word of a Chaos containing all Creatures pell-melled and confused together seeing there is no mention made of the Firmament nor of the Element of Fire nor of the Stars nor Plants nor Living Creatures but onely of the Imperial Heaven of the Earth and of the Waters and yet there is never a word of the Heaven and the Earth being mixed together and in the whole History of the Creation there is no mention made of the separation of Heaven from the Earth as there is of the separation of the Earth from the Waters that covered it But enough of this matter it is time to come to the Consutation of other Objections and Answers of Atheists CHAP. VI. 1. The Fifth Answer of Atheists saying That there has been from all Eternity a Matter without Form 2. The proof that there hath not been from all Eternity a Matter without Form and that the Matter could not produce the Forms 3. That the Eternal Atomes by a casual concourse have not made and disposed the World 4. That the Forms cannot have been produced but by God 1. THe Fifth Answer of Atheists is That indeed the World has not been from all Eternity in the case and state it is now and that from all Eternity there hath been no Chaos but that there hath been from all Eternity a Matter without Form and that afterwards out of this Matter all Forms have been produced which being joyned with the Matter have framed all Corporal Creatures and made the World in the case and state it is now The Epicures following the Opinion of their Masters Democritus and Epicurus have specified and determined what that Matter was to wit the Atomes which in time by a casual and accidental concourse have made up the World in the state it is now The Reply 2. Against this Answer I say That if there had been from all Eternity a Matter without Form it would follow that the pretended Forms of Heaven the Stars and the Elements as well as the Forms of Plants and Living Creatures should have been after the Matter and consequently would have had a beginning and having not had beginning of themselves seeing that nothing produces it self they would have been necessarily produced in time by another and that other would be necessarily either the the Matter or some other thing differing from the Matter Now these Forms cannot have been produced in time neither by the Matter nor by any other thing differing from the Matter unless it be by God himself which I prove thus If any Eternal Matter had produced these Forms in time it would follow necessarily that before the productâ—â— of the same a time either finite or inâ—â—nite should have passed not a 〈◊〉 time because betwixt that which is from all Eternity as the Matter is supposed by them to be and that which is not from all Eternity as these Forms or the Productions of the same the difference is greater than of a finite time And Moreover It would follow that a finite time such as that which should have passed since the productions of these Forms added to a finite time such as that which should have passed before the production of these Forms would make up an infinite time or an infinite duration such as the Eternity of the Matter would be which is impossible Neither did an infinite time pass before the production of these Forms for how should it come to pass that the Matter having been an infinite time all alone without acting would produce them afterwards Is it not a constant and true Maxime that Idem qua Idem semper facit Idem when it is not a free and intellectual Agent when there is no impedement and the subjects which it works about are not different Now Matter being not a free and intellectual Agent and finding no impediment nor different subjects seeing it is supposed to be all alone before the productions of these Forms it follows necessarily it hath always done the same thing and consequently that it hath not remained a time either finite or infinite to produce these Forms if it may have produced them Moreover All Men know that Causa naturaliis agit a dextremum suae potentiae that is to say Natural Causes act and work as much as they can For Example The Sun shines as much as it can the Fire heats with all its strength and 't is most true that Causa necessaria positis omnibus requisitis ad agendum sublatis impedimentis necessario agit That
there is no difference and we are to judge alike of things that do not differ Therefore if the meer nothing that is between two Bodies touching one another is capable of nothing and neither Body nor Space can be created there neither the meer nothing that these Men say is beyond the World and the meer nothing that they say was where the World is before the Creation of the same will be capable of nothing and one cannotcreate there neither Body nor Space Moreover God is not in a meer nothing and one cannot say that God is where there is nothing at all for Example God is not between two Bodies touching one the other totally because between such Bodies there is nothing at all But God is beyond the World and before the World he was where the World is Therefore one cannot say that beyond the World there is nothing at all and that where the World is before the Creation of the same there was nothing at all so that there was something which can be no other than the space That God is beyond the World and that before the Creation he was where the World is appears because nothing can act where it is not neither by it self nor by its virtue and power But God did act where the world is in creating the same there and God can act beyond the World creating there other Bodies and other Worlds Therefore God is beyond the World and before the World was where the World is both by himself and by his power Seeing the Power of God is nothing else but God himself For God being most simple all that is in God or can be conceived to be in God ought necessarily to be God himself And certainly if God were only in the World he should be finite as well as the World and so should not be God for by the word GOD Men have always understood an infinite Being Finally To speak absolutely and without any respect to God's will to create but one world I think God may create another World distant from this in which case there would be an interval or space between the two Worlds in which space God should be else he would be divided from himself seeing that he should exist in the two Worlds without existing between both Having proved that place or space is not an Accident it is easie to shew that it is not the Superficies or Surface of such a Body as compasses another First Because according to the common opinion of Philosophers the Superficies is an Accident But we have sufficiently proved that place or space is not an Accident therefore it is not a Superficies Secondly The higher Heaven occupies a place and a space and the World is necessarily in one place and occupies and fills necessarily some space and yet the World and the higher Heavens are compassed with no Superficies nor any other Body Thirdly The Superficies or Surface of that Body that compasses another is immoveable as it may be seen in a Tower agitated with great Winds in a Tree in the midst of a River c. But place or space is wholly immoveable as I have proved already which may be confirmed thus If place were an external Superficies it would follow that a Body that stirs not yet should move and that a Body that moves should not stir from its place That it would follow that a Body that stirs not yet should move locally appears because a Tower a Castle that stirs not changes its external Superficies when it is agitated with great winds and a Tree that is in the midst of a River without budging changes its external Superficies and therefore if place is an external Superficies to wit the Surface of a Body that compasses another It is evident that a Body that budges not receiving any change or alteration of Surface or Superficies will also change its place and move it self locally which is altogether absurd That it would follow also that a Body which should move it self locally should not budge out of its place appears because a Body which moves it self locally may retain the Superficies of the Body that compasseth it and consequently may retain its very place but that which is in one and the same place do's not budge at all out of it Fourthly It is certain that by local motion one leaves one place and passes unto another since a local motion is nothing else but a motion towards another place now by the local motion a Body do's not necessarily leave a Superficies and necessarily acquire another for Example If God should move a Body beyond the World in the inanity or in an empty place that he should have made that Body should not be compassed with any Superficies Therefore the Superficies of a Body that compasses another is not a true place to speak Finally The Superficies of a Body is a kind of quantity and quantity is a property of the Body or the Body it self and therefore since a Body is in a place the quantity and consequently the Superficies also must be in a place and not place it self else place should be in another place and this other place in another place in infinitum which is absurd They being not able to obtund the edge and force of these Arguments their refuge is to say that place is not simply the Superficies of a Body that compasses another but that it is such a Superficies as is joyned with order and relation to certain fixed Points of the World as are the Center of the World and the Four Cardinal Points of it to wit the East and the West the North and the South for the Superficies retaining the said order and relation to these fixed Points is said to be immoveable and by this means they pretend to explain the manner in the which a Body changes place to wit whether it draws near to or leaves that is to say departs from these fixed Points of the World For Example If a Body ascends they say it moves because it departs from the Center of the World if it descends it moves because it draws near to the Center of the World which is the Center of the Earth if it goes towards the Pole Artick it moves because it draws near to the North and departs from the South Against this Answer I say first That a thing which should not move nor stir from its place would nevertheless change place for if God should move the Heavens with a direct Motion the Earth remaining immoveable it would follow that the Earth which should not move would change the Order and Relation according to these Mens Doctrine it hath to those fixed Points of the World and should be either nearer or farther from them Seeing these fixed Points being in the Heavens should move with the Heavens and therefore if place should consist and reside in such a relation to the fixed Points of the World the Earth having no more the said relation should have
created it in one day yea in a moment Nevertheless it is most true That the World if we have a regard to the first Creatures which are the chiefest parts of the same to wit the Heavens and the Earth could not be made sooner than it hath been made and could not be created before the time it hath been created because before the time that the World hath been created there was no other continuance than Eternity but the World cannot have been from all Eternity as I have demonstrated Therefore the World cannot have been before the time it hath been created And indeed these words of Before and After Sooner and Later cannot belong but to time that hath Parts whereof some are Sooner some Later some Before and some After But Eternity being indivisible and without Parts as I have proved can have neither Before nor After and consequently though Eternity may have been before the World and before Time nevertheless there was in it neither Before nor After Therefore one cannot say That the World may have been Before and Before again and always Before to the infinite because where there is a Before and again another Before and always a Before to infinite there are many Befores if I may so speak whereof one is Before and the other After but in the Eternity before the World and before Time there have been neither Before nor After And if any one objects That the Heaven and the Earth which have been the first Creatures may have been created later and consequently may have been created sooner I Answer That Heaven and Earth may be considered either as Creatures or as the first Creatures If they be considered as Creatures I say that they might have been created later seeing that God who created them the first day might have created them the second day and some others the first day But if they be considered as the first Creatures I say they could not be created later because they could not be created later but in creating them after some others Now if they had been created after others they should not have been the first Creatures Moreover Though the Heaven and the Earth which have been the first Creatures might have been created later in the manner aforesaid yet it doth not follow that they may have been sooner than they have been because that before the Time or before the first Creatures there have not been nor could have been any continuance but Eternity Now the first Creatures and so consequently the World cannot have been from all Eternity as I have sufficiently proved Therefore the World or the Creatures cannot have been before the time they have been and consequently cannot have been sooner than they have been Finally According to the common Opinion one might say That though the World might have been created before and before again and always before to the infinite yet it would not follow that the World might have been from all Eternity For though a Body may be supposed greater than another to the infinite yet it does not follow that there is a Body actually infinite seeing that this progression to the infinite doth not reach farther than to an infinite in power i.e. Potentia as they speak in the School which is always actually finite So though the World might have been before and always before to the infinite it does not follow that the World may have been from all Eternity seeing that this progression to the infinite does not reach further than to all infinite in power which is also actually finite and comprehended and included in the temporal continuance And now Courteous Reader I shall end this Chapter together with this long but I hope solid Disputation against the most prophane and ungrateful Men that ever were I mean the Atheists with this advice That if ever thou chancest to dispute with them to make use of the Reasons set down in this Chapter especially the first in the Reply as being the chief that proves demonstratively that there is a GOD and so forcibly convinces Atheists that they are not onely without Answer but even without Evasion CHAP. XI Other Reasons proving that there is a God 1. The First Reason is drawn from the Order of the Vniverse 2. The Second From the general Consent of all People and Nations who ever acknowledged a God-head 3. The Third From the fear of the Judgments of God because of Sin 4. The Fourth From the existence of Devils 5. The Fifth Is drawn from the first Mover and the first Cause 6. The Sixth From the Novelty of Histories 7. And the Seventh From the Consideration that the Sea hath not submerged the Earth First Reason THe First Reason that proves a Godhead Is drawn from the Disposition and admirable Order of the Universal World thus Order admits and presupposes Intelligence and Wisdom for Order being a convenient Disposition of Things according to the dignity of each that they may be conveniently disposed they ought to be first compared among themselves and one must know their Dignity which is proper to Intelligence And Secondly They must be placed and disposed according to their Rank and Dignity which is proper to Wisdom Therefore seeing that Order presupposes Intelligence and Wisdom a most excellent and most perfect Order presupposes a Sovereign and most perfect Intelligence and Wisdom but the Order and Disposition of all the parts of the World is most perfect and most excellent Therefore there must needs be a most Sovereign Intelligence and a most perfect Wisdom that may have given this admirable Order and Disposition Now this sovereign Intelligence and this perfect Wisdom we call Divinity Now that the Order and Disposition of the Universe is most perfect and most excellent appears if one takes a view of all the Parts thereof In the Heavens you see the Stars of the Firmament twinkling and sparkling as so many petty Suns and always keeping the same distance among themselves The Sun that never goes beyond the Tropikes and other Stars having their Motion so excellently regulated that they were never seen out of their ordinary course but by a Miracle Now from whence may come this uniformity of Motion but from the first Mover who always remaining firm and immoveable moves all things according to his will From whence comes it to pass That the Motions of the Sun is so moderate that it rules and directs all other Motions here below Why does it rather move from East to West rather than from the North to the South And why being come to a certain Point it never goes any farther but because there is a Sovereign Moderator of this Universe who hath assigned to all Things Bounds and Limits beyond which they cannot go Descend from the Heavens to the Elements and you shall see that though they be totally contrary one to the other yet they all enter in the composition of all Bodies and as sometimes a sweet Harmony is caused by different Sounds so from the
again That all Things are possible to God but that the Eternity of the World is not a Thing because it is impossible and that which is impossible is nothing and consequently may not be called a Thing To the Second Reason to wit That God hath never been without Power to create the World and that having been from all Eternity he may have created the World from all Eternity I Answer That God hath never been without Power to create the World when it may have been created but the World cannot have been created from all Eternity but onely in time Therefore God hath never been without Power to create the World in time but he hath been from all Eternity without having power to create the World from all Eternity It is most true that God hath never been without his Omnipotency and consequently hath never been without the Power to create the World but he could not exercise and execute from all Eternity the Act of his Omnipotency to wit the Creation but onely in time Not that this proceeds from any Defect or any Impotency in God but because the Creature cannot concurre and agree with Eternity because of the contradictions that would follow and which I have set down already in this Tract And as the Soul of an Infant which is still in the Mothers Womb hath the power to reason in that he hath the principle of ratiocination that is the understanding but cannot exercise the act of that power to wit ratiocination but onely after his Birth and Childhood not that such a thing proceeds from any defect in the Soul but because the Organ whereby ratiocination is exercised is not yet disposed as it ought So God hath had indeed from all Eternity the Power whereby he hath created the World but he could not exercise from all Eternity the act of this Power that is the Creation of the World Not that it proceeds from any Defect in God but because the World cannot be Eternal as I have already sufficiently demonstrated To the Third Reason drawn from this Example That if the Sun had been from all Eternity it would have acted that is Enlightened from all Eternity and likewise that God being from all Eternity hath acted or may have acted from all Eternity and consequently hath created or may have created the World from all Eternity I Answer That to suppose the Sun-Eternal is to suppose a thing impossible Now one must not wonder if supposing a thing impossible to wit the Sun Eternal one supposes another impossible also viz. the Eternal illumination For if one Creature be Eternal the other must also be the same But in supposing God Eternal one supposes a thing not onely possible but which is so actually and from thence they infer and conclude without ground or reason that he may create the World from all Eternity seeing that Eternity of this World is impossible as I hope I have sufficiently proved Therefore as God though he be infinite cannot produce an infinite effect and though he be immutable cannot produce an immutable effect so though God be Eternal he cannot produce an Eternal effect because Eternity as well as infinity and immutability are attributes incommunicable to the Creature To the Fourth Reason That if the World hath been sometimes impossible to wit from all Eternity it will have been alwâ—â—â—â—â—possible and consequently will not have been created I Answer That in the same manner it hath been impossible it will always be impossible now it hath been impossible from all Eternity therefore it will be impossible to all Eternity And as it is not absolutely impossible that Man should be but it is impossible that Man should be a Beast So it is not absolutely impossible that the World should be but it is impossible that the World should be Eternal and as Man never was nor never will be a Beast so the World never was nor never will be Eternal To the Fifth Reason That if the World hath been impossible from all Eternity it hath been impossible during a finite time or during an infinite time which is absurd c. I answer That Time and the World are always necessarily together seeing that Time is nothing else but the continuance of Corporal Things whereof the VVorld is made or the continuance of their Motion And therefore Since that Eternity is before Time it is evident that that which is from all Eternity is before whatsoever Time be it finite or infinite Now it is ridiculous to ask whether that which hath been before Time whilst it hath been before time hath continued and lasted a finite or infinite Time Moreover I Answer as before viz. That the VVorld hath not been absolutely impossible seeing it hath been possible in time but that it hath been impossible from all Eternity and that this impossibility of the VVorld from all Eternity hath been is and shall be to all Eternity To the Sixth Reason That the World may be Eternal of the After-Eternity and consequently that it may have been Eternal of the Fore-Eternity and so from all Eternity I Answer That Eternity being an attribute of the Godhead incommunicable to the Creature is not different from the God-head and therefore as the God-head is always the same indivisible and without parts though its immensity which is not different from it be without Limits and cannot be measured by any greatness all Bodies being but a point of this Immensity So Eternity hath been is and always shall be the same indivisible and without parts though it cannot be measured by Ages which always will be no more than a point of this Eternity From whence it follows That those Men which divide it in the Fore and After-Eternity do not at all understand the nature of Eternity seeing that these words Before and After belong onely to such things as are subject to Time Motion and Succession and whereof the Parts perish one after another and not to Eternity which is before Time and without Parts and whereof nothing can perish Besides There is a vast difference betwixt these two pretended Eternities as I have amply demonstrated in my Reply to their second Answer chiefly in that the Fore-Eternity is all past and that the After-Eternity shall never pass nor end And if one should suppose of the After-Eternity that which is most true of the Fore-Eternity to wit that it is all past it is evident it should be finite and limited on all sides viz. By this Day and by the last time of this Eternity which should pass and end And if it be finite it cannot be a true Eternity for a true Eternity is an infinite continuance To the Seventh Reason That God might create the World before the time he created it and before again and always before to the infinite and consequently from all Eternity I Answer That though the World in its total may have been created in less time seeing that God who created it in six days might have