forme manner of handling which S. Gregorie affirmeth of the holy Scripture that it is Qâ—asi Fluuius planus altus in quo Agnus ambuler Elephas natet That though there be some subiects so deepe and profound that the Elephant may swim in them yet be there 〈◊〉 againe so obuious and shallow that euen the Lambe may wade ouer them And therefore the worke as I hope will not be without his fruite neither towards the Infidels nor yet towards Christians neither towards the Learned nor towards the Vnlearned which was the doubt of some men themselues not vnlearned as concerning the Subiect and Argument of this Booke It therefore now remayneth that hauing giuen satisfaction vnto such as haue obiected against the matter of my writing I should now likewise indeauour to remoue those Exceptions which some haply may take against the Manner of it As first it may be that some Man will except that there is in this Booke so much Philosophie and so little Diuinitie Whereunto I breifely answer that with those Aduersaries against whom I am cheifly to deale in this Booke the Diuinity of Christians hath much lesse authoritie then the Philosophie of Heathens naturall Reason a much higher place then supernaturall Religion and the writings of Philosophers much greater credit then the holy Scriptures So that in respect of the nature of those Aduersaries there is more cause of exception that here is so much Diuinity then that there is so little And yet euen for this also there is a iust Apologie That this is done ex abundante rather to confirme those that beleeue then to informe those that beleeue not that so the Booke may not be without his profit whether it light into the hands of Christians or of Pagans Some againe it may be will except That such a multitude of Testimonies are congested to one purpose But that hath many vses to the profit of the Readers For first The Matter questioned is by multitude of Testimonies more substantially proued Secondly though those Testimonies alledged be by me often applyed but to mine owne present purpose yet may the learned Reader make manifold vse of them vnto diuers other purposes and so in their varietie haue choise and election to take or to leaue as will best serue his turne So that the writers store ought not to be accompted the Readers sore if but in this respect But thirdly though many be alledged to one and the same purpose yet may it be obserued by the indicious Reader that they doe not all proceed by one and the same tenor but that for the most part euery one bringeth some thing that the other had not which may serue the attentiue Reader either for the better confirmation or the clearer illustration of the point then in quaestion Finally if they will needs haue this to bee the writers error yet may I defend my selfe with that same excuse wherewith Quintilian defendeth Stesicorus that Id si est reprehendendum est tamen nisi Copiae vitium Which though it hath made the Booke some what bigger yet hath it also I hope made it better So that I am the lesse fearefull of Callimachus his censure that Magnus Liber est magno malo par A great Booke is little better then a great euill Yea and so much the rather because in those sentences I haue made choise of mine Authors not corrading out of all promiscue and sine delectu but taking only such as are both ancient and Classicall as well Seculars as Diuines In citing of whose Testimonies I haue not alledged them all pariter as they stand in their Author but leauing out all exorbitant and heterogeneall Clauses which â—itted not my purpose I haue taken onely so much as was properly incident vnto mine owne ends and hindered not the context and roundnesse of the speech yet alwayes with this care neither to wrest nor wrong the sense of the Author Some againe may except against the citing of mine Authors so particularly Booke Chapter and Page as carrying with it some touch or at least some shew of Vanitie But vnto that I answer that it was not to ostentate and make shew of mine owne reading which it greatly repenteth me to be so little but to helpe my Reader with it such as it is not envying his profit but seeking with all my best endeauour to promote it And indeed I haue alwayes esteemed it a great ouersight yea and a kinde of vnkindenesse in any writer in the citing of his Authors to send his Reader to seeke in an indefinite compasse when as he himselfe can direct him vnto the definite place by that meanes also defeating the very end and purpose of his owne paines in writing which is onely to increase his Reader in all knowledg and vnderstanding Besides Whereas in the citing of those Authors I doe oftentimes allude but in a word or two vnto many great Matters which in the Authors themselues are set downe more prolixly this directing of my Reader vnto the placâ— so particularly will oftentimes serue him in stead of a Commentarie storing him to euery purpose with a great deale of more matter then I haue extracted out of the Author And yet no man is hereby tyed vnto the same edition of the Authors that by my selfe is vsed I doe but only direct them which haue the same editions how to make more ready vse of them As for those that haue them not I haue noted not onely the Author but the Booke also and the Chapter and so come as neere them as I could possibly imagine Another Exception may perhaps be also taken That Verses bee sometimes cited and yet not as verses But this may be defended with that excuse of Laberius that Versorum non numerorum numero studuimus I therein followed rather the power of the sense then the number of the syllables And with another like of Seneca's that Animis ista scripsi non auribus Some againe may except that Greeke writers are not cited in their owne proper language Whereunto I answer First that the weight of those Testimonies which I haue taken out of them doth seldome or neuer rest vpon the proprietie of the Greeke word or phrase but mostly vpon the matter and the sense Secondly that if it did yet the credit of the Translator hath no lesse authoritie then any Nomenclator or Dictionarie maker but rather much greater Because hee is led vnto his translation by exactly perpending the true weight of euery word as it is in that place vsed rendring it most properly out of the congruitie of those circumstances that he hath before considered both in the anteceding and succeeding passages which are the best directions and cannot be considered by the bare reciter of the words in their seuerall significations But thirdly and lastly which stoppeth all reply I haue cited those Authors as I had them contenting my selfe with the vse of those Booke which
sense in the same hight of words Nimirùm Spiritus Sanctus quum natura sua sanctus sit Deus nos homines sanctificat ac Deos reddit The Holy Ghost being by nature both holy God by sanctifying vs men maketh vs become Gods So likewise Dionysius Salus non aliter existere potest nisi ij qui salutem consequuntur Dij fiant A man cannot otherwise attaine vnto saluation then if he first be made a God Which exaggerations of those fathers and Scriptures must not be expounded according to the letter as thogh men could be made to be Gods indeed for that is a thing vnpossible But the true meaning of them is that by our imitation of Gods vertue and goodnesse we are made so like vnto him and so neerely ioyned with him that we may bee sayd in some sense to be made partakers of his diuine nature because all those vertues in him are nature And therefore we may obserue in al the forenamed places that there is a mollification vsed to reduce the fore-named Apotheosis and Deification within the compasse of this sense Dionysius Areopagita where hee saith that All they which shall attaine the saluation of God must first be made Gods addeth for explication Dei porrò effectio est Dei quoad fieri potest imitatio cum eodem coniunctio atque vt ita dicam vnio The being made a God is nothing else but the imitation of God and a coniunction with him and that I may so speake a very vnion Elias Cretensis where hee saith that the Holy Ghost doth make men Gods addeth that it is per adoptionem gratiam that this making of them Gods is but onely Gods adopting them by grace to be his Sonne So Nazianzen expoundeth His being made a God to be nothing but onely His coniunction with God Quo pacto me Deum reddit vel quo pacto me coniungit Deo Which coniunction with God as Trismegistus teacheth is onely effected by religion and godlinesse Propè Deos accedit qui mente qua Dijs iunctas est diuina religione Dijs iunxerit That man commeth neere vnto God indeed that ioyneth his soule vnto him by piety and religion So likewise Boetius where hee saith that Beatus omnis Deus Thâ—t euery one which is blessed is thereby made a God hee addeth for the qualification of that speech Sed nâ—tura quidem vnus participatione verò nihil prohibet esse quamplurimos Yet there is but one God by nature but there may be many Gods by participation Not by the true participation of his naturall deitie but of his vertue and of his felicitie Yea and euen the Apostle Peter himselfe doth vse a further modification euen of this participation For where hee telleth vs that there be great and precious promises giuen vnto vs That we should be partakers of the Godly nature lest wee should misconstrue this participation to be intended of Gods true nature or deitie hee expoundeth himselfe plainely that this participation of the diuine nature must bee gotten by flying of corruption by ioyning vertue with our faith and with vertue knowledge and with knowledge temperance and with temperance patience and with patience goodlines and with godlines brotherly kindenes and with brotherly kindnes loue Which is the bond of perfection and tyeth a man strictly vnto God And this is the first degree of our felicitie with God which is affoorded vnto vs in this present life There be two degrees more which come not vnto men before the life to come The first that vertue brings vs vp to Heauen which is the place of Gods owne dwelling and there maketh vs to liue aeternally with him A thing plainely confessed euen by the very Heathen Pythagoras affirmeth in his verses that Si relicto corpore ad purum aethera perveneris Eris immortalis Deus incorruptibilis nec ampliùs mortalis When as our Soules our Bodies shall forsake And to the Heauens they shall themselues betake Then shall we be as Gods immortall beene All incorrupt no longer mortall men For we shall then enioy God who is our very life as the Prophet Moses testifieth yea the life of our life our vita vitalis as the Orator speaketh whereas this our present life is but vita mortalis a transitory and a mortall life But this saith the Apostle Paul we know that if our earthly Tabernacle be dissolued we haue a building giuen vs of God which is an house not made with hands but aeternall in the heauens And therefore saith Musonius that Vir bonus est civis vrbis Iovis quae constat ex hominibus Dijs That he which is a good man shall bee a Citizen of the Citie of God which is a Citie common vnto Gods with men Which is a probable ayming at the Heauenly Iâ—rusâ—lem which in the Booke of the Apocalypse is described vnto vs. I saw the Holy Citie new Ierusalem come downe from God out of heauen praepared as a Bryde trimmed for her husband And I heard a great voyce out of Heauen saying Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and hee will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himselfe will be their God with them Vpon which our cohabitation with God Tullie saith that we are Deorum quasi Gentiles the Countrymen of the Gods Nay generis divini the Kinsmen of the Gods as he addeth in that place of their owne generation as Aratus speaketh And therfore Tullie in another place speaking of the state of God and vertuous men after this present life he saith that they shall liue among the Gods Qui in corporibus humanis vitam sunt imitati Deorum his ad eos a quibus sunt profecti facilis reditus patet Such as haue liued the life of a God in the body of a man shall finde an easie passage vnto God because from him they haue descended So that God calleth those men to liue with him in heauen with whom he himselfe hath liued vpon earth Now the way whereby they ascend vp into Heauen there to liue with God is by instructing themselues in the knowledge of God As some euen of the Heathens themselues haue taught vs. Trismegistus saith expresly that Vnica salus homini est cognitio Dei haec ad Olympum ascensio The happines of man is the knowledg of God and this is our way of ascending into heauen Agreeing well with that of our Sauiour Christ This is life aeternal to know thee to be the onely true God and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ. For as Bernard truly noteth Summum bonum hominis est plena perfecta agnitio Creatoris The happines of the Creature is the knowledg of his Creator Not a naked or an idle knowledg but a knowledg which is ioyned with the practise of vertues As the Apostle Peter teacheth vs. Ioynes with vertue knowledge For if they be
Chapter 4 For if these secondarie and lower motions doe leade vs vp vnto a higher and those vnto an higher vntill at last wee ascend vnto some highest Mouer which is the Cause of motion vnto all the lower then what can this highest Mouer be else which moueth all other things but onely God himselfe This Tullie in plaine and expresse termes affirmeth where he putteth both those properties which before I haue named into the very definition of God that he is both Omnia mouens and Ipse praeditus motu sempiterno Hee is both the Author of motion vnto all other things and the Cause of motion in himselfe Both these hee affirmeth to be the properties of God And so Aristotle affirmeth that Locall motion in what body soeuer doth onely proceed from some diuine Power Si namque Latio Lationis Causa erit illam quoque oportebit aliorum gratia esse Quare cùm non â—it processus in infinitum finis omnis Lationis erit diuinorum corporum aliquod quae in Coelo feruntur If one Local motion should be the cause of another then it also should be caused and be from others and for others sake Wherefore seeing there is no infinite progresse in things moueable the end of all Lation or Local motion must be some one of those heauenly Bodies which are carried about Yea and that wee should not thinke that by those Diuine Bodies he meaneth any of the Starres in another place he affirmeth that this first and supreme Mouer is a thing aboue all sense whereas all the Sarres are sensible For si non erunt alia praeter sensibilia saith he non erit principium nec ordo nec generatio sed semper principij principium If there should be no other then sensible things then should there be no beginning nor order nor generation of things but alwayes a Principle to euery Principle Whereby hee infinuateth that the first and supreme Mouer is not of a sensible but of a diuine and a spirituall Nature Yea and Tully expresly affirmeth that it is God which giueth motion euen vnto the very Heauens Dedit autem Diuinis duo genera motus c. He hath giuen to the Heauenly bodies two kinds of Motions c. Yea and Aristotle againe in another place compareth God vnto those Players with Puppets that by the pulling of one string can set the whole Engine and euery part of it on mouing Which Anaxagoras plainely acknowledgeth when hee maketh his Mens to be Principium motus by which word hee meaneth nothing else but God Mens enÃm est Deus saith Trismegistus God which is Mens is the beginning of 〈◊〉 motion And as Zeno likewise expresly affirmeth this title of Mens is but the Philosophers name and appellation of God Deum vnum esse ipsúmque Mentem appellari There is but one God and he is called Mens So that when Anaxagoras called this first Mouer Mens his meaning by Mens is nothing else but Deus And that wee impose not a forced sense vpon that word by other mens expositions the same may bee gathered euen out of his owne writings and that by two substantiall reasons First by those titles and appellations which hee bestoweth vpon it and then by those workes which hee ascribeth vnto it Both which are peculiar and proper vnto God The titles which hee bestoweth vpon his mens be these Mentem esse Principium omnium solámque rerum omnium ipsam esse simplicem non mistam puram esse sinceramque Atque eidem Principio haec vtraque conuenire Cognitionem motum Vniuersumque mentem hanc mouisse This mens saith hee was the first Beginning of all things being it selfe most simple and without any mixture most pure and most sincere And hauing in it selfe the true and reall possession not onely of knowledge but also of motion yea and that all the whole world is moued by this minde and by this Spirit Now these bee the peculiar properties of God in whom as the Apostle testifieth are all the treasures both of knowledge and Wisedome Yea and of motion too for in him we both liue and moue and haue our being So that by this description his mens must needes be God Yea and so is it likewise by his ascription too For hee ascribeth vnto this mens the very making of the world which is the worke of none other but onely of God Cùm omnia simul essent atque infinito tempore quiscerent mens mouit ac segregauit When as all things had lyen quiet for an infinite space together it was mens that first moued and ordered them asunder alluding vnto that confused Chaos wherein as the Poet speaketh there were Non benè iunctarum discordia semina rerum There disagreeing seeds were clearely seene Of things which had not well conioyned bene Now this was the proper worke of God Yea and this was the proper Spirit of God that did it as euen Plutarch in plaine and expresse words recordeth it Anaxagoras dixit initio constitisse corpora Dei autem mentem ea digessisse atque omnium rerum ortus effecisse Anaxagoras sayd that there were bodies in the first beginning but that the minde and hand of God digested and ordered them and effected the originall of all things Marke Dei mentem This mâ—ns the Primus motor which first gaue things their being and reduced them into order was nothing else but Dei mens The wisdome and the Spirit of God who as it is also testified in the holy Scripture when hee prepared the heauens was therâ— and when he set the compasse vpon the deepâ— Yea and this was not the singular opinion of onely Anaxagoras but the common opinion of the most of the Philosophers Yea and of the Poets too Virgil sayth in expresse termes that the first mouer of the world was onely this Mens Mens agitat molem magno se corpore miscet Yea and that wee should vnderstand that vnder the name of mens hee vnderstandeth nothing but the Creator of the world hee addeth in the next words Indè homìnum pecudúmque genus vitaeque volantum That massy Chaos bodies huge was moued by this Mens And men Beasts Birds and Creatures all forthwith proceeded thence All which workes in another place hee expresly attributeth vnto God vnder his owne expresse name He is the mouer of the World he is the maker both of men and beasts and birds Deum namque ire per omnes Terrâ—sque tractúsque maris calúmque profundum Hìnâ— pâ—cudes armenta viros genus omne ferarum c. God walketh through the World in euery Coast And goes the winding Seas Tract vttermost Yea and the most high Heau'ns From him all liuing Both men and Beasts receiue their life and being Thus that which before hee shadowed vnder the name of mens hee plainely now expresseth vnder the name of God making him the first mouer and
is indeed nothing else but the practice of reason Disputare is nothing else but Ratione vti It is nothing else but Oratio ratione conclusa as Tully speaketh A speech concluded with Reason Therefore not onely Grammer and Rhetoricke which is nothing else but a dilated kinde of Logicke Dialectica dilatata as Tully calleth it and as Zeno exemplified it by his fist and his hand Quòd latiùs loquerentur Rhetores Dialectiei autem compressiùs but also all other Arts were both at the first inuented and after perfected and euer practised yea and now both taught and learned by the helpe of Logicke As S. Augustine expresly affirmeth of it Haec docet docere Haec docet discere Haec sola scientes potest facere This is the Art which onely teacheth men how to teach and which onely learneth men how to learne and which onely is able to make a man vnderstand And therefore hee calleth Logicke Disciplinam Disciplinarum The Art of all Arts The Art whereby all Arts are both taught and learned For as Tully also noteth Haec vna continet omnem perspiciend quid in quavis re sit scientiam iudicandi quale quidque sit ac ratione via disputandi Insomuch that as Iamblicus hath truely obserued Nulla Philosophiae pars absque Dialectica ratione comparatur There can no part of Philosophy bee perfectly attained without the helpe and assistance of Logicke As Aristotle sheweth in his Topickes where hee reckoneth vp the principall vses of it Yea and it hath also as great an vse in Diuinity as it hath in Philosophie Logicke teacheth the Preacher to Analize and diuide his Text. It teacheth to collect true and proper Doctrines from it And it teacheth him to discouer those false or idle Doctrines which are wrongly built vpon it Nam hanc de finiendo distribuendo â—olligendo non solùm digerit atque ordinat sed etiam ab omni falsitatis irreptione defendit saith S. Augustine comprehending in one sentence all those three forenamed vses The Art of Logick by Dâ—finitions Divisions and Collections doth not onely digest things and bring them into Order but also defendeth them from those captious falsities which otherwise would oftentimes creepe into them For as the Orator also obserueth Habet Dialectica rationem nè cui falso assentiamur neuè vnquà m captios â— probabilitate fallaâ—nur For it is Ars vera falsa iudicandi as hee againe noteth in another place It is an Art of discerning truth from falsehoold Againe another vse it assisteth the Preacher both in confuting of Haeresies and in resoluing of all doubts and questions as S. Augustine againe in another place obserueth Disput atiâ—nis disciplina ad omnia genera quaestionum quae in literâ—◠〈…〉 dissoluenda plurimum valet The Art of Disputing 〈◊〉 of a speâ—â—â—◠〈◊〉 for discerning and deciding of all manner of Quâ—stionâ— which any where wise through the whole Scriptures For it doth 〈…〉 intelligention as the Orator noteth It yeeldeth a certaine knowledge of things doubtfull Yea and the vse of it is so generall in all the parts of Diuinity that Iamblicus affirmeth of it very resolutely that Omnia quae considerantur de Dâ—â—s Dialectica ratione astruuntur That euery thing which any way belongeth to God or Religion is grounded vpon and confirmed by some Logical Reason Whence Plato himselfe as Ficinus obserueth vseth the word Dialectica promiscuously for Theologia in many places of his writings as being aequivalent and all one in sense And therefore Iamblicus affirmeth of Logick that it is Deorum munus A gift and token of God vnto Men. Yea and so it is indeed and that a very great one Yea and in the same place affirmeth expresly Reuerà Deus quispiam fuit qui Hominibus Dialecticam monstravit coelitùs demisit Certainly it was some God which shewed Logick vnto men and sent it downe from Heauen Which some ascribe to Mercurie some to Calliope and some to Apollo who as there he reporteth did purposely deliuer all his Oracles in obscure and aenygmatical termes to excite men thereby vnto the study of Logicke which is the only Arte whereby they can be opened Cuius opera quicquid ambiguum aequivocum est dijudicatur By the helpe of which Arte of Logick whatsoeuer is ambiguous and doubtfull is cleared and distinguished 3 And that which the Heathen haue confessed both of Grammer and Logick they confesse likewise of Rhetoricks That it is also a speciall gift of God For if Grammer which is but the Arte of speaking be so then must Rhetorick which is the Arte of Pleading much more be so It is a farre higher gift to pleade then to speake To speake is euery mans gift but to plead the gift of few And therefore as Plato collecteth in another like Case If God be the Giuer of the lesser blessings then much more of the greater Ipsum bonorum omnium Authorem cur non maximi etiam boni causam arbitramur And therefore Dionysius Areopagita expresly affirmeth That both these Arts of Speaking are Gods speciall gifts Deus dicendi benè dicendi munus concessit It is God that hath giuen hoth the Arte of Speaking and the Arte of Well speaking Tullie that great Orator speaking of the Arte Oratorie affirmeth it not to be a gift of Nature but to descend from God as from the first Author Primus eius Artis Antistes esse Deus putatur The first Author of that Arte is beleeued to be God And though in the same place hee be driuen to confesse that the benignitie of Nature hath no little sway in it yet there he further addeth that euen Idipsum quod est hominis proprium non sit partum per nos sed divinitùs ad nos delatum That euen that naturall habilitie which any man hath vnto it is not gotten by himselfe but is giuen him by God It is God that giueth the Tongue of the learned as the Prophet Isay testifieth And therefore the same Orator in another place affirmeth not following any other mans opinion but deliuering his owne That it is onely God that is indeed the Maker of euery good Oration by his diuine infusion Mihi quidem nè haec notiora atque illustriora carere vi divina videntur vt Ego aut Poetam grave plenúmque carmen sine coelesti aliquo mentis instinctu putem fudere aut eloquentiam sinc maiori aliqua vi fluere abundantem sonantibus verbis vberibúsque sententijs He professeth that he is perswaded that neither any Poet can make a good Poëm nor yet any Orator a good Oration if he be not infused with a divine inspiration For as Pindarus also confesseth vnto the same purpose Et sapientes eloquentes Dei benignitate fiunt It is onely Gods blessing that giueth vnto men both eloquence and wisedome So Origen Quòd verba quis
were onely mine owne and in mine owne possession not affecting to be curious either in this or in any thing else which tendeth not directly vnto the profit of my Readers Againe it may be obiected that the Sentences alleadged are not exactly translated Whereunto againe I answer that to the sense they be alwayes though to the words not alwayes For that needs not in the opinion of an excellent Criticke And the Poet telleth vs that hee may be a faithfull Translator that doth it not Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus Interpres It 's not his part that is the best Translator To render word for word vnto his Author But the Orator telleth vs that hee cannot be a delightfull Translator that doth it Verbume verbo exprimere interpretis est indiserti Againe yet an other That I haue not alwayes cited them to the meaning of the Author To which I likewise answer That whensoeuer I produce them as Testimonies for the confirmation of the point then in question I cite them exactly vnto the Authors meaning But that is not alwayes my end in alledging them but sometimes to 〈◊〉 their words by way of 〈◊〉 rather then of allegation for the more commodious expressing of mine owne sense and meaning A thing very vsuall and familiar with Plutarch whose character and forme of stile I haue in that point propounded to imitate Finally it may be that some men will except against the publishing of this first part alone before the rest be ready in putting vnto me the incurious error of Curio the Orator Qui aliquoties tria cum proposuisset aut quarum adderet aut tertium quaereret Who often times propounding to speake but of three things commonly either added to them a fourth or else forgat to speak of the third But for this course of proceeding I am not without my reason as namely First the example of very many learned men whom wee dayly obserue to practice the same and to propine vnto their Readers an assay of their works to take a tast of them how themselues are tasted by them Secondly because this first part of the worke hath growne exceeding great and beyond mine expectation beeing now come vnto the measure and bignes of a Volume And thirdly it had no little moment with me that diuers of my learnedest and best affected Friends haue often importuned mee vnto the publishing of it hastening in their loue this vnperfect worke vnto the edition peraduenture as an vntimely fruit vnto his abortion but without peraduenture vnto that common condition which is obserued by Isocrates to be fatal to many Booke Vt dum adhuc in mentibus Authorum inclusi teâ—eantur magnam sui expectationem concitent sed perfecti tandem alijs oftensi longe tenuiorem quam pro concepta spe gloriam consequantur They stirre vp a greater expecâ—ation whilst they are in doing then they are able to maintaine when as they be done But yet the principall ende and intent of my writing being onely the good and profit of my Readers I should greatly wrong both their curtesie and equitie to make any doubt of their fauourable acceptance Which if they should not afforde they themselues should wrong them both For what can be more contrarie both to curtesie and equitie then either to speake or but to thinke euill of those that haue spent so much paynes onely to doe them good This were the reward of worse then a Pagan which I hope to be farre from euery good Christian. Quare habe tibi quic quid hoe Libelli est Such as it is I doe willingly permit it vnto thine equall censure desiring nothing more then that the same minde towards thine owne good may possesse thee in reading it that did me in writing it and then I shall not neede to doubt of thy profit by it Which I will accompt mine owne exceeding great Reward And therefore I conclude this preface with that prayer of Irenaeus Da Deus omni legenti hanc scripturam cognoscere te quia solus Deus es confirmari in t te absistere ab omni haeretica quae est sine Deo impia sententia Grant O Lord vnto all that shall be readers of this Booke to know thee to be the onely true God and in thee more and more to be strengthned and confirmed and to eschew all the impious opinions of Heretiks and Atheists Amen Thine in the Lord Martin Sarum The first part of this worke Proueth There is a God And is contained in eight seuerall Bookes inforcing the probation by eight seuerall Arguments The First Booke proueth it from the simple and Categorical affirmation of Nature which cryeth out in all men that There is a God The Second from certaine grounds and consequents in all manner of Arts and Sciences The Third from the structure of Mans Body The Fourth from the Nature of his Soule The Fift from the generall view of the visible world The Sixt from a particular surueigh of the most principall part 's of it viz. The Heauen The Earth The Sea The Seauenth from certaine speciall works of Prouidence obserued by Cleanthes The Eight from the Confutation of the Atheists Obiections A Table of the Chapters contained in this Booke CHAP. 1. TO beleeue there is a God is the ground of all Religion 2. The end and purpose of this booke is to prooue that Position 3. This cannot be beleeued but by the helpe of prayer 4. It cannot be proued A Priorj 5. Yet may it be shewed A Posteriorj pag. 1. CHAP. 2. What manner of Authorities be the weightiest in this case 2. That they may not here be vsed 3. How yet they bee heere vsed 4. What be the most proper in respect of the Aduersaries 5. Why they be more proper then any other pag. 8. CHAP. 3. That there is an inbred perswasion in the hearts of all men That there is a God 2. That this hath beene obserued by many learned men among the Heathens 3. That it hath also bin obserued by diuers learned Christians 4. Two notable testimonies out of Tullie asserting this perswasion both vnto all Nations and vnto al Conditions vnto all persons among men p. 15 CHAP. 4. That there is not any Nation but it hath his Religion 1. Ancient histories insinuate it 2. New histories affirme it 3. Trauellers confirme it 4. A generall surueigh of their gods declareth it 5. A particular surueigh of their tutelar gods proueth it p. 19. 20. CHAâ— 5. That all sorts of men of all degrees and orders doe beleeue There is a God is particularly declared by instance of Poets 2. Of Law-giuers 3. Of philosophers 4. And of all other seuerall Arts and professions pag. 29. CHAP. 6. That there is no particular person in the world but that in some degree he beleeueth There is a God 2. No Swearer 3. No Blasphemer 4. No Idolater p. 39. CHAP. 7. That a great discord may bee
that the nature of all things is ruled by some God I verily saith he will grant it if you will but desire it 5. But here it may be obiected Why then should I take vpon me to proue it if it be in nature such as cannot be proued This must needs proue all my labour to be clearely lost especially the Aduersarie being so hard and refractarie and so vtterly obfirmed to denie it as it must needs be with the Atheist who cannot yeeld vnto this our position without betraying the very fortresse of his owne Irreligion But vnto this Obiection I answere out of the Philosopher That there be two kindes of Demonstrations or proofes The one is a demonstrating of Causes by their effects which is a proofe drawne a posteriori and is called by Aristotle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Only a declaring that such a thing is thus and thus without rendring any reason or alledging any cause The other is a demonstrating of the Effects by their Causes Which is a proofe A priori and is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a declaring why such a thing is thus and thus and thus rendring for it a good reason and alledging a true cause By this latter kind of Demonstration which sheweth Propter quid sit the Principles cannot be proued they cannot be demonstrated A causa and A Priori because they haue no prior or superior cause being the prime causes themselues But by the former Demonstration which sheweth onely Quòd sit they may well enough be proued they may be proued Ab Effectu and Aposteriori which is better knowne to sense though the other be to Reason better knowne to vs though the other be to Nature To make this plaine by a familiar example for the better information of the simple That the Fire is hot is a Physical Principle Of which though no man can giue a true cause or good reason Why it should be so yet may euery man demonstrate and make it plaine that it is so Though no man can tell the cause Why the Fire is hot yet may euery man shew by the effects that surely it is hot because it warmeth heateth burneth And so it is likewise in this our present instance Though no man can proue A causâ— why there should be a God yet may euery man collect Ab Effectu That there is a God by that Wisedome which we see to haue beene in the Making that Order in the Gouerning and that Goodnes in the preseruing and maintayning of the World All which argue as effectually That there needs must be a God as either Warming or Burning That the Fire must needs be hot Now these posterior Arguments though they be not so strongly concludent as the former yet are they sufficient to carry the matter For as Aristotle himselfe noteth Mathematica certitudo non est in omnibus quaerenda Mathematical certitudes are not required in all matters And he practiseth according to his rule in his Ethicks holding it sufficent in matter of Moralitie to giue Rules which holde not alwayes vpon necessitie but for the most part or more commonly Then much lesse is it needfull in matter of Diuinitie to bring such inuincible demonstrations as reiect all haesitations Especially not in this case which hath layd his foundation neither in sense nor in science but meerely in beleef Which as Clemens Alexandrinus noteth being founded but vpon the bare authoritie of Gods word yet begetteth in this point a farre more cleare vnderstanâ—ing then can be wrought in vs by any demonstration Neque scientia accipitur demonstratiua ea enim ex prioribus constat et ex notioribus Nihil autem est ante ingenitum Restat itaque vt diuina gratia et solo quod ab eo proficiscitur verbo id quod est ignotum intelligamus There is here no demonstratiue knowledge to be had for that ariseth from those things which are both before and better knowne then that which we demonstrate But before that which is it selfe without all generation there cannot possibly be any thing It therefore remayneth that by the virtue of Gods heauenly grace and of his diuine word we come to know euery thing which before was vnknowne So that Demonstrations are here vnproper and vnprofitable And therefore I desire that aequanimitie of my Readers which Tullie out of Plato doth of his euen in this very case that Si forâ—è de Deorum natura ortúque mundi disserentes minùs id quod hâ—beâ—â—us animo consâ—quâ—mur vt tota dilucidè planè exâ—rnata oratio sibi constet et ex â—mniparâ—e secum consentiat haud sanè erit mirum contentique esse dâ—bebitis si probabilia dicentur Aequum est enim meminisse et me qui disseram hominem esse eâ— vâ—s qui iudicetis vt si probablilta diceniur â—e quid vltra requiratis If haply in speaking of the nature of God and of the original of the world I cannot attaine that which I propounded and desired that my whole discourse be both familiar and eloquent and cohaerent it is no great meruaile and you ought to be content if I write but what is probable For it is fit you should remember that I which write am but a man and that you who reade are but men yourselues And therefore if I bring you but probable reasons you ought not to exacte any more at my hands For in this case it is sufficient to obtaine the cause if those Arguments which we bring to proue There is a God be of greater certaintie strength and consequence then those which the Atheist bringeth to proue There is no God Which I hope shall be made euident in the eight and last Booke CHAP. 2. 1. What manner of Authorities be the weightiest in this case 2. That they may not here be vsed 3. How yet they be here vsed 4. What be the most proper in respect of the Aduersaries 5. Why they be more proper then any other IT is good in all causes for euery man to vnderstand not only his aduantages but also his disuantages lest expecting greater matters then the cause will affoord he be needlesly offended when his expectation is destituted The Cause here in quaestion betweene Atheists and Christians hath two great disuantages The first of them is this that by the clearenes of the Position now called into quaestion Whether there be a God we are cut off from the strongest kinde of our Arguments which containe the causes of their owne Conclusions as I haue already shewed in the former Chapter The second that by the infidelitie of the Aduersarie we are likewise cut off from our weightiest Testimonies as I purpose to shew in this The weightiest Testimonie that can be brought in this cause to proue There is a God is to produce for the proofe of it the Testimonie of God speaking in his owne word This is proper this is naturall
tanquam in carcere a Deo contineri That all things are shut vp by the appointment of God within their bounds and limits as it were into their prisons And this worke of thus bounding and limiting of all things doe the Greeks acknowledg to be the worke of God in calling their great God Iupiter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Limiferum or Rerum terminos afferentem as Homers Translator renders him that is The appointer of limits vnto all things And the Romanes likewise doe seeme to acknowledge the very same in calling the same God Iovem terminalem that is Iupiter the Limiter or the Bounder of all things Thus the bounding and limiting of all naturall bodies doth leade vs by the hand vnto the knowledge of a God 4 And so doth likewise the bounding of their naturall powers and faculties For in these inferior parts of the world wee may obserue a fiue-fold difference among the Creatures euery one of them hauing their proper and peculiar faculties so defined and circumscribed that none of them can exceede the bounds of his owne nature nor exalt it selfe to the state of his superior but abideth in his owne and can goe no further By which Hierarchie of the Creatures we may easily ascend and climbe vp vnto God as it were by an Ascendent consisting of fiue steppes For as the Orator truly affirmeth Si a primis inchoatÃsque naturis ad vltimas perfectâsque volumus procedere ad Deorum naturam perveniamus necesse est If wee will first beginne with the vnperfect works of Nature and by degrees ascend vnto those that are perfecter they will leade vs by the hand to know the nature of God And therefore this Argument is much insisted on both by Tullie the Orator in the forealledged place and by Plotinus the Philosopher as Theodoret recordeth and by the learned Fathers S. Augustine and S. Gregorie and yet most fully by Raymundus de Sabunde Wherein I haue obserued that euery one of them though they handle the same matter yet haue put vpon it a seuerall forme And therefore I wil not tie my selfe vnto any one of them but imitating their example will cast the Argument into a mold of mine owne Now those fiue degrees of Creatures bee these That some things haue bare essence and being allotted vnto them and yet not either life or sense as in siâ—ple bodies the Heauens and the Elements in compound bodies Stones and Metals and such like Some other things haue both Being and Liuing and yet not either sense or motion as Trees and Plants Some other things â—aue both Being and Liuing and Feeling and yet haue no proper or animal-motion as Oysters and Muscles and such other like conchylia which haue no naturall motion of their owne but are onely carried as the water driueth them And therefore Aristotle very wittily calleth them Aquatiles plantas A kind of Waterplants as he calleth earthly plants Ostreaterrena A kind of Land-Oysters because they haue no more selfe-motion then these I meane Lation or local-motion from one place to another Some things againe haue both Being and Liuing and Feeling and Mouing and yet haue no Reason nor Vnderstanding as Birds and Beasts and Fishes and such like And some things againe haue all these powers and faculties vnited in one both Essence and Life and Sense and Motion and Reason too as we see they be in Men. And these distinctions of Creatures are so obuious to all men that he which notes them not is more worthy to be numbred among beasts then among men Now if it should be demanded Why a Stone hath not life as well as a Tree or a Tree not sense as well as a Beast or a Beast not reason as well as a Man whaâ— other reason can be giuen of all this but onely that those powers are not in their owne power to take so many of them as they themselues thinke good but that they be limited and assigned vnto them by a nature farre aboue them euen the same nature that made them And that they therefore haue them not because that Nature gaue them not From whence there follow these two Conclusions First that all those forenamâ—d faculties and powers though they be in those things that haue them yet they be not of those things that haue them They haue them in themselues but they haue them not of themselues For then all would haue all of them and none would content themselues with any part were it neuer so great Would a Tree thinke you be content to sticke fast in the earth as a dead and rotten stake if it could giue it selfe motion Surely no. The blinde man in the Gospell that thought he saw men walking like vnto Trees should surely see Trees walking like vnto men if they could take vnto themselues the facultie of mouing Againe would a Beast be content to be so subiect vnto man if it could giue it selfe Reason Or would a Man be content to liue here vpon the earth if he could flee vp into heauen and make himselfe a God Surely he neuer would That which Tertullian affirmeth of the Romane Emperours is true also in all others that Si ipsi se Deos facere potuissâ—nt certè quidem homines nunquà m fuissent If they could haue made themselues Gods they would neuer haue continued Men. And so in all other things as well as in these they would all haue all those faculties if they could giue them to themselues Therefore seeing that which hath onely Being cannot giue it selfe Life and that which hath onely Life cannot giue it selfe Sense and that which hath onely Sense cannot giue it selfe Reason this euidently sheweth vnto all that haue any Reason that the ampliating or restrayning of those naturall indowments is not in their owne free disposition or election but in his onely power who freely bestoweth them This is the first conclusion The second That seeing those fore-named faculties are not in the power of the things themselues that haue them therefore they must needes proceede from some other power that gaue them and that hath in it selfe the whole power of dispensing them And that can be none other but a diuine and heauenly power For that nature must needes be supernaturall and diuine which is the fountaine and wel-spring both of Being and Liuing and Mouing and Sense and Reason and which hath the power to deriue the streames of those diuine graces vnto all other creatures in such differing degrees limiting and proportioning vnto euery seueral creature that power and faculty which standeth best with his pleasure To some of them dispensing but only one faculty to some two to some three to some foure to some fiue as the housholder in the Gospell distributed his Talents vnto his seruants This inestimable treasure of so many pretious Talents and this admirable wisedome which is vsed in dispensing them cannot in reason be ascribed but onely
aduenas in hospitium ductos ferunt cum inimicis quoque benignè comiter sermones habitos iurgijs litibus temperatum Vinctis quoque dempta in eos dies vincula religioni deinde fuisse quibus eam opem Dij â—uliâ—â—at vinciri There followed after an heauy winter a most contagious Sommer Whether it grew from the vnwholsomnesse of the Ayre occasioned by many sodaine alterations or from some other cause but pernicious it was vnto all liuing things Of which incurable euill whenas they could neither finde out any cause nor perceiue any end the Senators decreed that the bookes of Sibylla shold be searched that two officers should be appointed to looke to the performance of their holy seruice their holy feasting in their Temples which they call their Lectisternium being at that time first ordayned in the Citie of Rome for eight whole dayes together they appeased the anger both of their God Apollo and of his mother Latona and of his sister Diana and of Hercules Mercurius and Neptunus the Feast being held as sumptuously as in those dayes could be possibly in three seuerall places Yea and the same Feast was kept holy as well priuately as publikely All the dores in the Cittie were then set wide open All things for the time were vsed in common all men both knowne and vnknowne yea and euen the very Strangers were â—alled into their houses Louing conferences were vsed euen with their very enemies and an vtter cessation of all suites debates and quarells Yea the Prison dores were opened during all those high feast-dayes And those that by the benefit of their gods were then released were neuer after that vpon meere Religion imprisoned Thus â—arre proceedeth Livie Out of which his narration we may obserue these two things First that though this great plague might in part be attributed vnto the often and sodaine alteration of the ayre as vnto an immediate and inferior Cause yet that they looked higher vnto the first Cause and ascribed it to God from whom it came indeed Secondly that as they acknowledged the disease to come from God so they sought for their remedie no where else but of God So confessing him directly to be both the sender of sicknesse and the Restorer of health As we may euidently see in the very same Author by diuers other instances in diuers other places as namely Lib. 7. p. 121. 129. Lib. 10. p. 187. Lib. 27. p. 308. Lib. 38. p 482. Lib. 41. p. 528. In all which places he reporting of very greiuous plagues sheweth still that they sought for their remedie at God by appeasing of his wrath with their Sacrifices and prayers This sense hath God ingraâ—ted both into Christians and Heathens Neither doth Religion onely teach them to seeke their remedie at God in such publique calamities but also euen in their priuate sicknesses King Dauid being afflicted with a dangerous sicknesse maketh this request to God Heale me ô Lord I haue sinned against thee Thereby plainely insinuating these three things vnto vs. First that onely sinne is the cause of all sicknesse Secondly that onely God is the restorer vnto health And Thirdly that only Prayer is the meanes of obtayning that grace And though it may seeme a very strange request to desire God to heale him because hee had sinned against him which was the very cause for which God had smitten him yet it is not so indeed if the words be well resolued For his meaning is no more but this that God who had stricken him for committing of his sinne should now againe heale him for confessing of his sinne As if he should say as it is in the Orator Sit erranti medicina confessio Let my confession be my Medicine Or as in other words He expresseth it but to the same effect Let my prayer ascend vp before thee as incense and the lifting vp of my hands be as an euening Sacrifice Thus in his priuate sicknesse as well as in the publike he sought for all his helpe at the onely hand of God And the same disposition is also ingrafted into the mindes of the Heathen Who as Iuuenal obserueth if they chance but to feele the least touch of a feuer they straightway interpret it the effect of Gods Anger and therefore they doe presently betake them to their vowes and seeke to appease him by the promise of some sacrifice They doe Pecudem spondere sacello Balantem Laribus cristam promittere Galli They vow vnto the Shrine a bleating sheepe And to the Gods that doe their Houses keepe They vow their Cocks heads c. Thus haue they beene taught euen by the light of Reason that if the disease haue proceeded from God the ease must also be sought for at his hand For as Aquinas hath very well obserued The Remedie must alwayes be proportionated vnto the Meladie else will it doâ— no good Medicus saith he non tanto magìs sanat quanto maiorem dat medicinam sed quanto medicina est morbo magìs proportionata The Physitian doth not alwayes then heale the most strongly when he giueth the strongest medicines but when the medicine which he ministreth is best tempered and proportioned vnto the qualitie of the sicknesse And therefore if the sicknesse haue proceeded from God it is but Medicina proportionata that is to say a Medicine made in his due proportion that the Remedie should also be fetched from him And that in thus doing they haue not beene deceiued neither in their practice nor in their opinion God himselfe hath declared by euident demonstration by sending a present release from euery sicknesse whensoeuer they entreated it by their prayers and supplications as all the fore-named Authors in all the fore-named places haue left testified vnto vs which is the third ranke of our testimonies For in all the selfe same places where there is mention made both of the diseases to be sent from God and of helpe to haue beene entreated of him there is also mention made that at their supplications it hath beene sent vnto them As the Reader may plainly see in all the fore-alledged places both of the holy Scriptures and of the secular writers Vnto whom for breuities sake I refere him By all which Examples and Testimonies it appeareth that the most soueraigne Medicine for the cure of any sicknesse is vti Serapi medicina quotidie precari as Varro aduiseth to vse the medicine of Serapus and to powre out vnto God our continuall and dayly prayers And therefore the wise King Salomon in that solemne and excellent prayer which he made when he dedicated his new built Temple vnto God hee made this request for one that if either Famine or Pestilence or Blasting or Mildew or Grashopper or Caterpiller should at any time afflict them if they came into that house and there should powreout their supplications vnto God that their prayer might be accepted and their punishment released Thereby