agreement might soone bee made if the word of God onely might be the iudge of true false religion For all that feare God and are carefull to doe nothing contrary to their duety that accompt the holy scriptures to be the true doctrine of the spirite of God and are assuredly perswaded that there is another life after this and a iudge before whome they must appeare they I say are not so hardly induced to peace and concord but that a man may hope well of them But they that feare nothing that call all things into question that esteeme all religion to be opinions only tormenting mens braynes they likewise that stifly resist euen the trueth it selfe whereof their owne consciences conuince them labouring as much as lyeth in them to extinguish not onely the light of God within them but that also which they learne in his word such monsters I say will trouble all Christendome more then the contentions about religion vnles the goodnes of God prouide some conuenient remedy for the same For they must be taught to beleeue one God one Iesus Christ the immortalitie of the soule the resurrection of the body a second euerlasting life full of ioy and happinesse for good iust men but full of griefe and paine for the wicked and vniust generally they must be taught to beleeue whatsoeuer we learne in the holy scriptures concerning the creation and end of euery nature These things being spirituall and heauenly cannot be seene nor comprehended without a celestiall and supernaturall light nor without spirituall eyes ioyned with the vertue and power of the spirite of God who onely is able to clarifie our eyes and to giue them sight For albeit God gaue spirituall eyes to man when hee endued him with a reasonable and vnderstanding soule yet they are euen blind through sinne if they alwayes haue not God that great and euerlasting Sunne to illuminate them with his diuine light as the eyes of the body remaine in darkenesse when bodily light is taken from them Hereupon they are called blind in holy scripture that haue not the true knowledge of God by the light of his word For although they that are most ignorant haue some little knowledge and sence of the diuinitie by that small remnant of naturall light which man receiued at his first creation neuerthelesse because this sparkle is so small in regard of that darkenesse which filleth the mind of man it is not sufficient to leade them to God and to the right way of saluation Therefore they soone goe astray and wander hither and thither and for the most part followe superstition in place of religion and lies in stead of trueth because it is an easie matter for the deuill to disguise his inuentions vnder a false shew of piety that they may not discerne betweene trueth and falsehood betweene that which God liketh and which he disliketh For seeing the sparke of naturall light in mans vnderstanding is so small there needeth no great troubling of the spirite neyther any great impediments to bee cast in his way to confound and amaze him and to take away or vtterly to ouerturne his iudgement whereby to makâ— him as vnable to iudge of the trueth as a blind man is to iudge of colours But they are in farre worse case that voluntarily separate themselues from all truth both naturall and supernaturall For they easily beleeue that which the Epicures long since taught against the immortalitie of soules and against the prouidence of God towards men insomuch that they hold this for most certaine that the soule perisheth as the body doth and that there is no God that intermedleth in the gouernment of humane affaires but that they are guided eyther by fortune or by prudence or by the folly of men according as matters fall out I quake to thinke that such monsters are to be found amongst them that berare the name of Christians and haue in former times receiued the markes and seales of Christianitie in the Church of Iesus Christ But my quaking is doubled when I consider that many of them that professe learning and humane philosophie and that are thought to haue most skilfull sharpe and subtill wits are not onely infected with this execrable Atheisme but professe it open a schoole thereof and know how to poyson many with it For as there was neuer yet opinion error or heresie so strange or monstrous in the world that hath not alwayes found men ynowe to receiue it so long as there were Authors and masters to set it abroach so these professours of Atheisme are neuer without great store of disciples because after this maner God punisheth the curiosity ingratitude and peruersenesse of men the contempt of his word and hatred of the trueth which is commonly in them as also the pleasure they take in vanitie and lies Therefore God by his iust iudgement giueth them ouer into a reprobate sense so that they cannot but alwayes reiect the trueth and imbrace error and lying as he often threatneth them by the mouth of his Prophets and Apostles Examples hereof wee see dayly in such as thinke themselues the wisest men who haue this in their cogitation if they dare not speake it openly that it belongeth not to men of wit to beleeue in God and his word but to such as are simple and foolish not to these great and noble spirits that flie aboue the clouds who in trueth know more then they should to bring them to that place of weeping and gnashing of teeth We are to liue my companions amongst such kind of men and I suppose that ye as well as my selfe haue heard some of them speake especially since of late times the seruice of Princes hath longer retayned vs neere vnto them then we were wont in our yong yeers when the study of good letters did wholy possesse vs. Therefore we ought to be very desirous to fortifie our selues dayly with strong and powerfull reasons against whatsoeuer wee may heare vttered by these scorners of all pietie not for feare that wee shall at any time bee deceiued by them for I am most assured of the graces and gifts which we haue receiued from God but that we may haue abundantly wherewith to resist the vaine and weake arguments of these deceiuers when wee light among them especially in the company of ignorant folks whom they may easily draw to their side if we should be silent Besides although we should not be able to confound them by reason of their obstinacy yet we shall at the least giue them occasion to thinke more seriously of their error I know well what small accompt they make of the testimonies of holy scriptures and how they esteeme of them but as of fables and dreames made by some doters and idle persons for so they call the Patriarks Prophets and Apostles As for the writings of Philosophers they will beleeue Epieurus Pliny Lucretius Lucian and others of their sect who deny all diuinitie and
and what agreement is betweene them touching the soule of brute beasts and the nature and substance of it of their opinion that deriue the soule of man and the soule of beasts from one fountaine of them that ascend higher and of their reasons Chap. 82. AMANA That which wee read of Iesus Christ his saying to Nicodemus in these woordes If when I tell you earthly things yee beleeue not howe shoulde yee beleeue if I shall tell you of heauenly things may giue vs occasion to say in like maner that if wee can not knowe the earth neither the body and soule of man nor the nature and vertue thereof howe shoulde wee attaine to the knowledge of Heauen and of those spirituall natures of God and of his workes And if wee can not comprehend in our selues the woorkes of our soule howe shall wee vnderstand the woorkes of GOD in the whole world And if wee be not able to conceiue them doeth it followe therefore that hee doeth them not and yet there are many that conclude after that manner For they beleeue no more then they are able to knowe and comprehend by their naturall reason according as they deale also with their soule For because they vnderstand not what is the proper essence of it neither can see it after it is entred into the body and ioyned therewith nor yet when it departeth away therefore they conclude that it is no other thing but as it were a fire that lasteth so long as there is matter agreeable to the nature of it and is quenched when that faileth But for that which you deliuered to vs ASER of the sayings of certaine touching the diuerse kindes of soules and the powers of euery one of them it seemeth to mee that vnderstanding them as you say these men doe one of these three things will followe of their opinion For they must of necessitie yeelde to this either that the soule of man is partly immortall and partly mortall or that a man hath three soules one immortall and two mortall or lastly that the powers of the reasonable soule which wee call Sensitiue and Vegetatiue are not of the proper essence and substance thereof but onely of the body and that they are instruments of the reasonable soule as members thereof For I doubt not but they will readily confesse this that the soule is immortall and if that part of the soule which they call Vegetatiue and Sensitiue be of the selfe same essence and substance in that respect it shall be mortall Nowe if wee so distinguish all these three sortes of soules in man that wee make three kindes of them the first and principall shall be immortall and the other two mortall And if they will say that they take not the vegetatiue and sensitiue soule in man for two diuerse kindes of soules but onely for two sundry powers of the reasonable soule I demaund of them whether these two powers are so ioyned vnto it that it may be a soule as it is both without them and with them euen as before we said that it might be with the body and without the body I doubt not but euery one will answere mee to this question according to that opinion hee hath conceiued of the nature of mans soule If the question be made touching the soule of beastes the Philosophers agree well amongst themselues heerein that it is of the same matter of which their bodies are compounded whether it bee deriued and taken from the same or whether it bee the proprietie of the matter Therefore they meane that it is the Vitall spirite onely therein that giueth life vnto them which is of a corporall matter and substaunce or else that it is the temperature or temperament of the whole bodie generally which is the proprietie of that matter And so the soule in beastes shal be the life it selfe of which the Vitall spirites or the temperament are the instrumentes Which seemeth to agree well with that which Moses saieth That the soule of the flesh in the blood thereof that is to say the life according as we shewed when we spake of the nature of blood and of those meanes by which it giueth life to the creatures For when Moses speaketh so a man might say that it is as much in effect as if he saide that the blood is as it were the pipe and instrument that conueyeth life to the bodie and that the Vitall spirites are the thing that giueth motion sense to the bodie which is the same that we call Soule neither is there any inconuenience to yeelde to this in regard of the soule of beastes And albeeit wee see not with the eye howe these Vitall spirites or the temperament of all the partes of the bodie doe giue vnto it that life which it hath yet a man may iudge and haue some knowledge heereof by the things wee see in nature which haue some agreement and resemblance with this For we conceiue well howe the flame is nourished by the oyle and match that is in a lampe or by the waxe and weeke that is in a candle In which we see two sortes of matter differing one from another ioyned both together Besides we see how that by meanes of this coniunction and of the temperature and agreement that these two matters haue eache with other the flame being kindled in them is nourished and preserued So likewise we propound the Vitall spirite in the bodies of liuing creatures as a thinne flame engendered of the blood by vertue of the heart and this flyeth as it were throughout all the partes of the bodie distributing vnto it Vitall heate which quickeneth it and endueth it with that vertue by which it hath motion and sense and exerciseth all her actions so that euery member doeth his office Nowe we see well in this comparison the matter that is in the lampe or in the candle and the temperature and agreement that is betweene the partes of it and howe the flame is fedde and mainteyned after it is lighted Wee may see also from whence this flame is brought to the lampe and how this matter is lighted and that neither the matter nor the agreement and temperature thereof breede this flame of themselues but that it is brought from elsewhere In like manner we may easily conceiue that which hath beene told vs of the vitall spirite and of the blood whereof it is bredde and of the vertue and power of the heart in the generation of it But one may say vnto mee that there is great difference betweene the comparison we made of a lampe or candle and of his flame and betweene that which we haue spoken of the generation of the vitall spirite because this flame which we cal the vitall spirit springeth of the self-same matter by which it is nourished preserued is kindled there And therfore it were requisite that we should further knowe what is the cause of this as also why the life
mainteineth that the vegetatiue and sensitiue soule is no other thing then the temperament of the liuer and of the heart which are assigned to be the seats and chiefe instruments of the nourishing and vitall power and vertue And as for the animall or reasonable power whose seat is commonly placed in the braine we haue alreadie shewed his opinion Now of this part there are many euen of them who greatly magnifie it that are not yet well resolued whether they ought to take it for the animal spirit or for the temperament or for an incorporeall nature that commeth elswhere then from the body Aristotle he calleth the soule by a new Greeke name that signifieth asmuch as a perpetuall motion and sayth that it proceedeth from a fift nature and beginning which he calleth Heauen But he speaketh not so plainly that a man may iudge by his words what he thinketh of the reasonable soule in man whether it be mortall or immortall Neuerthelesse he confesseth that there is great difference betweene that power of the soule which we call more specially by the name of spirite and betweene the other twaine which he calleth the Nutritiue and Sensitiue powers For he vseth this worde Powers and affirmeth that these two first proceede onely from the bodie and are bredde there and that the Vegetatiue soule and power is more in the seede and burden then the Sensitiue But as for the third hee saieth plainely that it onely commeth from without els-where and that this onely is diuine not communicating her action with any corporall action Thus we see sufficient agreement betweene the Philosophers and the Phisitions concerning the Vegetatiue and Sensitiue soule or power but there is not so good accord about the reasonable soule and power Yea many great Diuines Doctors agree with them in the two first points For this cause Occam saith plainly that there are two distinct soules in man the one reasonable the other sensuall the reason is because it is manifest that the Sensitiue soule hath no actions but instrumentall that is to say by meanes of those instruments whereby shee exerciseth her actions and from which she hath them Whereupon he concludeth that this sensuall soule seemeth to haue her originall and generation from the seede and that it is either the temperament or some facultie and power in the bodie He confirmeth this opinion by another argument taken from the contrarie appetites and desires of the reasonable and sensuall soule out of which he draweth this conclusion That it is very likely that these are two distinct substances because it seemeth inconuenient in one and the same nature not diuided or distinguished to place appetites so wholly contrary each to other Hee addeth farther that it is a thing very agreeable to nature that euery liuing creature shoulde beget his like therefore man begetteth man like himselfe at leastwise in respect of the Sensitiue soule if not of the reasonable soule Whereupon it followeth that the Vegetatiue and Sensitiue soule proceede from the nature of the seede The Platonicall Philosophers were of opinion that soules were bred in heauen and were taken out of the diuine nature as a portion thereof and that there they were instructed and adorned with sundry sciences with knowledge and vertue and that afterwarde beeing giuen of God they descended from thence into the bodies of men as into stinking filthy and contagious prisons Whereof it followed that through the infection of these prisons they were corrupted by euill affections as it were with the filthinesse of them So that they forgate all those gifts and celestial vertues where with they had been endued and adorned in their first birth and which they had brought with them And being thus detained as prisoners in this darke and filthy prison they could no more vse all those goodly gifts but onely so farre foorth as they were taught and instructed againe by doctrine which in respect of them may be compared to a light brought to prisoners kept in a darke dungeon to light refresh them For this cause those that were of this opinion affirmed that the knowledge of men is but a remembrance and calling againe to minde of that which their soules had learned and did know in heauen at their first birth before they entred into their bodies according as we heard euen now For being descended into this base and obscure prison and hauing forgotten that which they knew their memories are rubbed vp by doctrine and instruction bestowed vpon them which kindleth againe these celestiall sparkles of their mind and portions of the diuine fire by inflaming them and causing them to burne that were almost vtterly quenched Wherupon like Philosophers they conclude that soules so infected by descending and entring into their bodies cannot returne againe nor be receiued into heauen and into the place assigned for the blessed spirits vnlesse they returne pure and cleane decked with the selfe-same ornaments wherwith they were adorned at their first birth And this they say may bee wrought by good instruction by vertue by good workes or otherwise they say they haue sundry purgings being separated from their bodies Some diuines among the Grecians haue followed at least wise in some part the opinion of these philosophers by name Origen of whom S. August thus writeth But we may marueile much more that some beleeuing with vs that there is but one only beginning of all things that no nature which is not God can haue any being but from the Creator neuertheles would not beleue rightly and simply this point of the creation of the world that is so good and simple namely that God creating all those good thinges that were after him although they were not the same that God is notwithstanding they were al good But they say that the soules not being parts of God but made of God sinned in departing from the Lorde and so by sundrie degrees according to to the diuersitie of sinnes from the heauens vnto the earth haue merited sundry sortes of bodies to be as it were their chaines and fetters This say they is the world and this was the cause of making the worlde not to the ende that the good things might be created but that euill things might be stayed and repressed Of this opinion is Origen who is worthily to be blamed These are the very wordes of this great Doctor of the Church And by that which followeth in the same place hee plainely confuteth Origens errour who in his first booke of Beginnings writeth that things without bodies were first made of God and that amongst spirituall things our spirites or mindes were also created which declining from their estate and dignitie were made or named soules of which the Greeke worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth as it were to grow colde and to decline from a better and more diuine estate beeing so called because it seemeth that the spirite or mind is waxen cold fallen
from this natural and diuine heate Therfore the soule lieth now in this estate and condition but when it is repaired amended it shal returne againe to the condition of a spirite or mind Which being so it seemeth that the departing and declining of the soule is not alike in all but is turned either more or lesse in the soule and that some spirites or mindes doe yet retaine somewhat of their first vigour other some either nothing at all or very litle These soules by reason of many defects of the spirit stood in need of more grosse and solide bodies so that for their sakes this visible world was made created so great that it might containe all those soules which were appointed to bee exercised therein And forasmuch as all of them did not depart alike from goodnes the Creator of all things tooke vnto himselfe certaine seedes and causes of varietie to the ende that according to the diuersity of sinnes he might make the worlde variable and diuers This is Origens sentence concerning soules which self-same opinion we may reade also in Saint Hierome writing to Anitus whereby wee may see howe this opinion agreeth in part with that of the Platonists For the greatest disagreement betweene them consisteth heerein that these Philosophers attributed the cause of the infection of soules to the bodies into which they were sent frrom heauen And Origen with many that followed him supposed that the soules were sent into bodies as prisoners to bee punished for their offences committed in heauen From such fancies haue issued so many dreames about soules as are to be read in infinite writings But doe thou ACHITOB take occasion hereupon to continue our discourses Of the opinion of the Platonists and some others touching the substance of mens soules in what sence not onely the Poets and Heathen Philosophers but also S. Paul haue saide that men were the generation and Image of God of their errour that say that soules are of the very substance of God of the transmigration of soules according to the opinion of the same Philosophers Chap. 84. ACHITOB. It is woonderfull to consider howe harde a matter it is to finde out the trueth of such thinges as are commonly disputed of because notwithstanding any solution or answere that is made yet still some doubt may arise in our mindes insomuch as there is no poynt howe doubtfull soeuer it bee but that a man may alleage likelihood both with it and against it But this commeth to passe especially in matters of greatest reache the difficultie of which is so much the harder to be defined as the true knowledge thereof is more necessary for vs. Those men therefore are happie who are assured of that which they beleeue by certaine testimonies cut of the worde of trueth especially when the question is concerning the soule which is the instrument of God whereby he worketh in vs and lifteth vs vp to the contemplation of his diuinitie Nowe my companions by your three former discourses wee may gather both what agreement and what difference there is amongest those whome you haue mentioned touching their opinions as well in regarde of the birth of soules as of their distinction diuision and corruption For they agree herein that they are not engendred with the body neither of the same seede and matter at leastwise the reasonable soule but say that it is of a celestiall diuine and immortall nature But herein they disagree in respect of the nature of the matter and about the time creation and birth of the soule and also in regard of the meanes by which it is defiled and infected with sinne The Platonists affirme that the soule is so extracted out of the diuine nature that it is a part and portion thereof Which thing cannot agree with the nature of God because it would folow therupon that it were not one but might be diuided into diuers parts and that those partes of which the soules should be created might be subiect to the pollution of sinne a thing too contrary to the nature of God Or else they must say that there is but one soule in all and through all and that God is this soule And this were to fâ—l into their opinion who said that God was the soule of the world and that the worlde was his bodie which is farre from the trueth For if it were so then must God bee mortall and corruptible in respect of his body and that still one part or other should be corrupted as we see corporall things daily to corrupt On the other side God should not then be infinit and incomprehensible as he is neither is it the worlde that comprehendeth and containeth him but it is he who comprehendeth containeth the world Wherfore neither is the world God neither is God the world but the Creator thereof and he by whome it is and doeth consist So that forasmuch as all these opinions are very strange and vnwoorthie the diuine nature they deserue not that we should stay any longer in them as they that ouerthrowe themselues But I knowe well that some would haue that place alleged out of the Poet by Saint Paul to serue their fantasticall opinion where it is said that We are the linage and generation of God For Saint Paul doeth not alleage it onely as an opinion of an Heathen Poet but doeth also approoue and confirme the same taking his argument from thence that our soule beeing of a spirituall and diuine nature wee ought to make the same account of God whose linage and generation wee are Nowe albeeit the Apostle speaketh thus yet his meaning is not that the soules of men are of the verie substaunce and essence of God as wee say that the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost are one and the same essence and substance in the the vnitie of God beeing distinguished and not diuided into three persons Neither doeth he meane that the soules are engendred of the proper essence and substance of God or that they proceede from it as wee say that the sonne is begotten of the Father and that the holy spirite proceedeth from the Father and the Sonne according as it is testified vnto vs in the holy Scriptures But hee woulde haue vs learne that the soule of man is of another nature and substance not onely then the bodie of man is but also then the soule of beastes and that the nature and substance thereof is celestiall and diuine not because it is drawen from the very substance and essence of God but by reason of that difference which is betweene the soule of man and the bodies and soules of beastes and also in regard of that agreement which is betweene it and the diuine nature both because of the immortalitie of the soule as because it approcheth more neere to the nature of God then of any other creature except the Angels whome wee say also are of a diuine nature and celestiall for the like
God and men and were accompted and taken for demy-gods And these are those vertues which the philosophers by experience find to be in the reasonable soule which are no fained or imaginatiue but true vertues neither are they found in the soule of beasts as those are of which we spake in the first place Wherfore albeit man hath the vertue of desiring common with beasts yet he hath reason to moderate his desires which is wanting in beasts Nowe al this doctrine touching the vertues of the soule accordeth well with the doctrine of Christianitie so farre foorth as the soule agreeth with that nature in which it was first created of God But that which the Astrologians affirme of the influences and infusion of vertues into the soule by the planets as we heard I take it to be a bird of their owne braine whereby they attribute to the creatures that which belongeth to the Creator only For although he vseth the creatures according to that order which he hath placed in them neuertheles when the question is of the reasonable soule wee must ascend vp higher then the heauens vnto which it can not be subiect as the body is seeing it is of a farre more excellent nature For how should the heauens starres and planets giue that to the soule which themselues haue not I verely beleeue that when God created the soule of the first man placed it in his body that was before created of the nature and substance of the corruptible elemēts he took not those vertues with which he indued and adorned it either from the heauens or from the planets And seeing he created al mankind in this first mā after his image which he imprinted in his soule no doubt but that which yet remaineth in mans soule proceedeth from the same fountaine as also what euil soeuer is befallen since whereby this image abode not perfect it proceedeth from sinne and from the nature of man corrupted by sinne and not from the heauens or planets And as the Astrologians easily beleeue whatsoeuer they haue imagined touching this point and woulde haue the will of man subiect to their influences and constellations so the other Philosophers abuse themselues greatly in magnifying the vertues of the soule more then they ought to be esteemed in this corrupt estate of mans nature not iudging the corruption to be so great as it is Heereof it is also that they faile in regarde of vertue which they attribute altogether to the libertie of man as if he coulde by his owne vertue moderate his affections make himselfe iust and righteous Which fault proceedeth from hence in that they content themselues with a iustice that seemeth so to be before men and put no difference betweene diuine and humane iustice that is betwixt that which is able to stand approoue it selfe in the iudgement of God and that which men approoue For there is no iustice able to satisfie the iudgement of God but that of Iesus Christ which it pleaseth him to impute vnto his children and in regard thereof to accompt them iust But let vs returne to our matter We haue further to note that besides the forenamed vertues the Platonists attribute to the soule foure others which they cal contemplatiue vertues as those that belong to the contemplatiue life vnto which they are referred by them The first is named the purgation or second death of the soule for the first death of it say they is her descending into the body of man into which it is throwen as it were into a prison in a maner buried in vices Therefore they say that the soule standeth in neede of this second death whereby she being purged from her vices is as it were dead vnto them that shee may liue vnto vertue The second kind of these vertues is called pure or purified because the soule being purged from all her euill affections exerciseth good works by the same The third is called by them an exemplarie or patterne-vertue in the minde of God whereby they meane that as God conceiueth and knoweth the Idaeas kindes and images of all sensible intelligible things so he sendeth downe from heauen this vertue into the soule of man who is thereby purged and purified as we haue alreadie heard And for the last they adde a fourth vertue which they account greatest and chiefest aboue the other and therefore they call it Diuine because it bringeth to the soule a vertue to doe more then humane workes euen such as we call miraculous works Which foure kindes of vertues appeare euidently to haue beene drawen by them from christian doctrine but yet disguised after their fashion As touching the first it agreeth to that which the worde of God teacheth vs of regeneration and mortification of the flesh whereby wee die to sinne and to the deuill that we may liue to righteousnesse and to God The second agreeth to good woorkes proceeding of faith which being done in the same purifie the heart and to christian holinesse which accompanieth and followeth iustification by faith The third agreeth to giftes and graces inspited by the holy Ghost and to the infusion of them into the soules of Gods true seruants and the fourth agreeth to the giftes of prophecie and to that vertue of working miracles which hath beene heeretofore in the holie Prophets Apostles and Disciples of Iesus Christ But to conclude this whole point wee are to obserue this that what praise soeuer may bee giuen to the Platonicall Diuinitie yet it is in no respect to bee compared with Christian Philosophie because this is pure and true and endited by the Spirite of GOD but the other impure disguised and counterfaited by men who haue mingled with their Philosophie many things which they coulde eyther heare or learne out of the holie Scripture Moreouer as concerning the whole doctrine of the Philosophers touching the nature and vertues of the soule we may truely say that of it selfe it reacheth higher then those politicke vertues of which we made mention euen now For when a ciuil good and wise man hath attained to that politicke vertue and to the highest degree thereof he is able to goe no farther except hee be holpen elsewhere euen by the illumination of the holy Spirite And indeede all those other vertues of the soule propounded by the Platonists are but dreames and opinions in the ayre by which the Spirite of errour laboureth to disguise the doctrine of the holie Scriptures which leadeth vs to those true supernaturall vertues which the soule receiueth by the inspiration and infusion of the giftes and graces of the holie Spirite who is the true Doctour of whom wee must learne this Philosophie which is not naturall but supernaturall Nowe then being instructed and guided by him hauing discoursed of the creation and nature of the soule let vs enter into this goodly field of the immortalitie thereof in which we knowe there are many ranged battailes of enemies who waite to
ought to depart and the place where they are to be receiued according to the estate of euery one euen vntill they returne into their bodies at the resurrection If they be soules of the reprobate they are deteined in Hel in eternall fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth if they be the soules of Gods elect they shine as the sunne in the kingdome of heauen in a life accompanied with perpetual ioy and happinesse But wee must vrge them better that require testimonie for the immortalitie of soules by their returne into this world or of some that haue come from another world For it is an easie matter for vs to bring them as credible witnesses as any can bee to tell them most certaine newes if they will beleeue them according as they deserue it And for the first haue wee not Iesus Christ who first came downe from heauen and became man to bring vs newes and to declare the same vnto vs in his owne person not onely before his death but also after his resurrection Besides how many other witnesses haue we that haue testified most certainly of the same who saw with their eyes and touched with their hands euen to the number of moe then fiue hundred according as Saint Paul testifieth Moreouer they that were raised as wel by him as by Elias and Elizeus and by the Apostles and disciples may they not serue vs also for good withnesse to assure vs not onely that soules are immortall but also that their bodies shall rise againe and that God is of sufficient vertue power to doe it as he hath promised I omit here the testimonie which the Angels haue giuen both of the resurrection and ascension of Iesus Christ besides that of the holy spirite which is the chiefest of all with signes and giftes wherewith he came accompanied and those woorkes and effectes that followed them Wherefore seeing wee haue for this point the worde of God that is most certaine cleere which teacheth vs what we ought to beleeue and hold let vs rest our selues in the testimonie thereof and not desire to make further inquiry For it is he that said to Moses I am the God of Abraham of Isaac and of Iacob Whereupon Iesus Christ concludeth that Abraham Isaac and Iacob doe liue yet after their death seeing God is the God of the liuing and not of the dead that is to say of them that are yet in being and not of them that are nothing at all For otherwise if all men should so perish by death that nothing of them should remaine in life at leastwise in regard of the soule then should he be the God of nothing And although it seemeth that Iesus Christ alleaged this place against the Sadduces not onely to proue against them by the doctrine of Moses the immortality of soules but also the resurrection of bodies we may well gather that if it be fitte to proue that bodies arise it is much more strong to assure vs of the immortality of soules For when the Lord spake these words Abraham Isaac and Iacob were not aliue in regarde of their bodies but onely of their soules And yet Iesus Christ alleaged it to confirme also therby the resurrection of the dead although at the first sight it may seem not to be very fit firm to proue that so much as the immortality of soules But if it be narrowly looked into his argumēt shal be found to be very well deduced grounded vpon inuincible reason For Iesus Christ had respect to the promise which God made to those holy Patriarkes of whom he spake which was not made only to their soule but to the whole man together compounded of body soule Wherfore al they to whō it was made to whom it appertaineth should not haue the whole effect of it nor the ful fruition of that which it cōtaineth if they were not whole inheriters therof both in body soule For if it were otherwise the promise should be accomplished but in one part of man not in the whole man Wherupon it followeth that seeing the promise is not of a tēporal benefit but of an eternal therefore the whole man that must enioy the same must of necessitie liue an euerlasting life beeing of the same nature that the benefit is of which he must inherit Wherefore seeing the course of mans life is brokē off by death in regard of the body the body must necessarily rise again to liue again with his soule in a better longer life to the end that the whole man may possesse that inheritance which is promised him of God or els the promise made by God to his seruants is altogether vain or the testimony which the holy scripture beareth is wholly false so also the scripture that propoundeth the same vnto vs. But none may once think either of these two last points without great horror of blasphemy contained in thē So that the first point concludeth very strongly according to that groūd which it hath most certaine in the word of God Whereunto may be added further that seeing the soule of man is created not to liue alwaies without a body as the Angels do nor yet to wander from body to body but to be knit and ioyned to that body which is assigned to it of God it must needs be that being part therof as of her lodging she should once againe returne thither Besides seeing the body hath serued the soule either in obeying God or in disobeying of his wil the nature of Gods iusticerequireth that it should be rewarded also with the soule according to the qualitie of those workes whereof it hath bin an instrument Therefore according to that which we haue discoursed of this matter the resurrection of the body doth so depend of th'immortality of soules that it foloweth necessarily vpō this so that if we haue assurance of the one we ought to haue it of the other seeing both of them are certainely grounded vpō the iustice of God which cānot be iust vnlesse he iudge men both in body soule according to his word according as euery one liueth But seeing the matter of th'immortality of soules that of the resurrection of bodies are sundry questions and that wee are to handle but one of them we must returne to our first point of the soule touching th'immortality thereof which is easily beleeued of al that approue of the doctrine of holy Scriptures that giue credit to the word of God For they are throughly resolued therof Yea we may know by the writings of al antiquity that the common opinion of all people nations of what religion soeuer they haue bin hath bin this that mens soules were immortal Wherfore in regard of this point we are to fight only against Epicures Atheists And because they wil not beleeue the word of God but deride it as tales made vpō pleasure I am of opinion that now we
fallen into such execrable beastlinesse and such horrible blasphemies as in a manner to say that God or Nature had brought men into the worlde onely to make them more miserable and more wretched then all other creatures so that they can finde no better happinesse and felicitie for themselues then during their life to become like to beastes or plants or some other insensible creatures or else after their death to bee brought to nothing as they were before their conception and birth Is it possible for a man to thinke of a straunger thing more against GOD more vnwoorthie mankinde or more iniurious to all nature For the Atheists themselues that reiect God doe yet confesse if they be Philosophers that nature doeth nothing without cause or if they confesse it not they haue testimonies enow in nature to conuince them of it And yet if their doctrine were true God and Nature haue done woorse in the creation and production of men then to doe some thing without cause For this were a cause most vnwoorthie of God and of Nature to create and bring foorth men into the worde onely for this cause and to this ende that they shoulde bee more miserable and more wretched then all other creatures and to make mankinde onelie to beholde in him the perfection of all miserie and vnhappinesse as though God and Nature tooke pleasure in beholding such cruell pastime as is the viewe of mans miseries in such a cursed estate Wherefore seeing all the doctrine and Philosophie of these dogges bringeth with it so many so strange so beastlike and so horrible absurdities euen once to thinke of them being so vnbeseeming God all mankinde and whole nature and so contrary to al the testimonies which the whole world affordeth vnto vs in the behalfe of Gods eternal prouidence ouer al his creatures I thinke there is no body except hee be as brutish as the Authours and Teachers of such kinde of Philosophie and doctrine but hee can easily iudge that it is altogether impossible to bee true or to haue any foundation ground in reason seeing it confoundeth and ouerthroweth al reason al nature Which causeth me to be so much the more abashed that there are men found euen among Christians yea a great number who rather followe the false opinion of these masties and giue greater credite to these sottish and vain arguments which they propound both against God and all diuinitie and against all nature and trueth then to the true sentence of so many vertuous learned holy men as haue bin in the world from the beginning and to the common and publike testimony of all mankind and of al people and nations But if God hath not spared the very heathen who so shamefully abused that knowledge which he gaue them of his works in nature and of the testimonies of his diuine nature prouidence manifested vnto them therein but punished them with such a horrible iudgement as to deliuer them vp into are probate sense into a woorse estate then is that of brute beasts we are not to maruell if he deale so and more hardly at this day with them that deserue a great deale more then they did because he hath manifested him self more cleerly without all comparison to these men if they would see and know him yea we ought to thinke it more strange if he dealt otherwise For the moe means he affordeth vnto men to know him the greater iudgement they deserue when they abuse the same and labour to blind themselues by their own ingratitude peruerse malice As for vs we cannot God be thāked doubt in any sort of the immortalitie of the soule seeing wee see on our side the aduantage euery way in defence therof namely multitude authoritie nature reason and which is most of all the testimonie of God who alone is sufficient I doubt not but that some to whome God hath giuen more knowledge and greater graces then to vs are able to alleage other arguments and reasons for the confirmation of this matter which we haue omitted For truth is not vnprouided but hath great abundance of all sorts But wee haue alleaged the chiefest taken out of the writings of learned men that haue written best of this matter especially of them that in our time haue written most Christianly And although there are other reasons then those which wee haue set downe yet I thinke there are enow in our discourses to stoppe the mouthes of all Epicures and Atheists at leastwise to conuince them if we cannot confound them For what can they alleage against them that is of any great shew or strength It may easily bee iudged by their best arguments discoursed vpon by vs. What will they haue more Do they expect or desire of vs that we should point with the finger at soules when they depart out of bodies that dye Then they shoulde bee no soules and inuisible spirits but bodies that may be seene And yet vnles they may behold them comming forth as they do smoke from the fire they will not beleeue that they depart at all from the bodies or that they haue any beeing at all Surely I think that these men who would so faine haue soules to bee mortall and to bee extinguished by death with their bodies would not beleeue that they were departed and that they once liued their bodies being dead no not although they had seen them come foorth visibly but woulde perswade themselues that they were some illusions and that their eyes had some mist before them so strong is a lying perswasion in a man when he wil iudge of a thing not according to reason but according to his affection Now seeing we are come to the end of our purpose namely to lay before our eies as it were a naturall history of man by the consideration of the matter of his body of the diuersitie of that matter and of the forme that God hath giuen it together with the profite and vse both of the one and the other and also by a description of the partes powers vertues and faculties of his soule therby to be instructed at large in the nature and immortality thereof by causing the soule to behold her selfe in the glasse of her marueilous actions and all to this ende that wee should know our selues as it becommeth vs there remaineth nothing now but that wee shoulde draw out a generall instruction from these aduertisements and lessons which God giueth vs in the admirable composition of our nature to the end that hereafter we should become more fitte for the contemplation of this diuinitie by the consideration of the wonderfull works thereof in the heauens and in the earth of which we desire if God giue vs grace hereafter to discourse Therfore doe thou ACHITOB put an ende to the cause of our present assembly meeting by some goodly discourse vpon all these matters of which we haue intreated Of the image of God in the soule
of man and of the image of the worlde in mans body of the coniunction that is betweene God the Angels and men of the sundry degrees of Good that are therein of those lessons and instructions which we ought to receiue from the wonderfull composition and coniunction of the soule and body Chap. 100. ACHITOB. If we could diligently consider of the naturall historie of man which we haue prosecuted hitherto we should finde in it a goodly glasse wherein we might beholde God who is inuisible making him after a sort visible vnto vs and come to the knowledge of him by his woorkes euen as the soule is made as it were visible to vs shewing it selfe vnto vs by the body wherein it dwelleth and by those woorkes which it effecteth in the same Therefore first let vs set before our eyes the whole frame of the world as it were a great body then all the partes of it as the members thereof and lastly let vs consider God as the soule of this great body woorking in the same and doing all his works there according to that order which he hath set therein euen as the soule hath his operation in the body of man and in all the members thereof Thus doing as we know that there is a soule in the body and another nature besides that which is corporall which woorketh in the same as we perceiue by the effectes of it so by the woorkes done in this visible world we may iudge that there is another nature that doeth them which being inuisible is some other thē this whole frame which we behold and farre more excellent filling the same and being in al the parts of it as the soule is in the body But whilest we propound to our selues this glasse to looke vpon let vs beware we fal not into their fond dreames who both thought and affirmed that this world was the body of God and that he was the soule thereof dwelling in it as the soule of man doeth in his body For if it were so then should God bee mortall and corruptible in regarde of his body so that still some part or other of him should perish as we see that corporall things daily corrupt On the other side God should not bee infinite and incomprehensible as hee is for the world doeth not comprehend and containe him but hee comprehendeth and containeth the whole world Wherefore neither is the worlde God nor God the world but the Creator of it by whom it is and consisteth And albeit we behold him not with our eyes in his nature and diuine essence yet wee must not therefore conclude as Atheists doe that hee is not at all no more nay much lesse then the soule is because those woorkes whereby hee manifesteth himselfe in the worlde are farre greater without comparison then those which the soule woorketh in mans bodie Besides that all the woorkes of the soule are the woorkes of God seeing it receiueth from him that life and vertue that is in it Forasmuch then as the soule is the image of God in man as his bodie is the image of all this great worlde in which GOD woorketh as the soule doeth in mans bodie let vs consider diligently howe God hath distributed the powers vertues and offices of the soule in the bodie and in all the partes of it as he manifesteth his glorie vertue and power in this visible worlde in all the partes of the same For the first there is agreement heerein that as one onely soule is in one bodie and is sufficient for all the partes and members thereof so there is but one God in the worlde who is sufficient for all his creatures Againe if wee cannot conceiue howe the soule is lodged in the bodie howe it giueth life vnto it displaying all her vertues and doing all her woorkes therein but onely so farre foorth as shee giueth vs instructions and testimonies thereof by those diuers effects which wee see in euerie part and member of the bodie no maruaile then if wee cannot beholde with the eye nor comprehende howe GOD is euerie where filling heauen and earth and howe hee displayeth his power and vertue woorking in all his creatures guiding and gouerning them and preseruing them by his diuine prouidence and vertue For if wee cannot comprehende the creature or the nature thereof howe shall wee comprehende that of the Creator Iesus Christ saide to Nicodemus If when I tell you earthly things yee beleeue not howe shoulde yee beleeue if I tell you of heauenly things Wee may say the like heere that if it be impossible for vs throughly to know the earth or the bodie or soule of man or the nature and vertue thereof howe shall wee knowe the heauens and spirituall natures or God and his woorkes For if it bee beyonde our reach to discerne them in our selues no not the woorkes of our soule howe shall wee comprehende his woorkes in the whole worlde Notwithstanding if wee can well consider of that coniunction and agreement that is betweene God and his creatures with the the disposition of those sundry degrees which euerie one of them holdeth in this coniunction euen from the highest and most celestiall things that approch neerest to the nature of God vnto those thinges that are lowest and most terrestriall then shall we set God as it were present before the eyes of our spirite and by the contemplation of him woonderfully content all the partes of our soule Therefore to prosecute this poynt let vs note that GOD created and fashioned in his Angels images of himselfe that are altogether spirituall as indeede himselfe is all spirite and not inclosed or shut vp in any bodies that are of an earthly and corruptible matter Besides it pleased him to make another kinde of his image in the nature of man which should holde the second degree next to the Angelical nature in which hee represented himselfe more excellently then in any other visible nature and creature namely in a nature that came neerest to his owne next to that of Angels and in which the bodily and visible nature was ioyned vnto a spirituall and inuisible nature Now for the better vnderstanding hereof wee will set downe a coniunction of three kinds of good things which are in diuers degrees The first is God the creator who is the greatest of all and the soueraign good of all his creatures and is a nature without any qualitie or accident whatsoeuer For all that is in him is substantiall and essentiall This Good is such a nature as hath all his mouing of himselfe and receiueth it not from any other then from himselfe but giueth mouing to all creatures according to their nature and measure And yet all the motions in God are without any change either of time or place or howsoeuer so that hee abideth still immoueable and may alwayes say I am the Lorde I change not as it is in Malachie For he is euer one And seeing he
of soules Mark 6. 3. matt 13 55 56 iohn 6. 42. Mala. 4. 5. Iohn 1. 21. Matth. 11. 14. and 17. 12 13 Luke 1. 15 16 17. Numb 11. 25. 1. Cor. 12. 11. The fountaine of Gods graces diminisheth not 2. King 2. 9. Esay 29. 14. 2. tim 3. 2 3. 2. thes 2. 10 11. The Pythagoreans of our time Of the true transmigration of soules Of the creation and generation of soules How God rested the seuenth day Actes 17. 28. Another opinion of the creation of the soule Gen. 2. 7. The nature of the soule is not curiously to be searched after How the soule is stained with sinne Rom. 5. 12 15. Verse 19. Humane philosophie is blinde The causes of errours Three faculties vnder the vegetatiue vertue Two parts of the sensitiue vertue How the Astronomers referre the powers of the soule to the starres Powers proper to the â—easonable soule Of speech Of speech Of the speculatiue and actiue vertue Of the politike vertue The kindes of it Of the heroicall vertue Against the astronomicall influence of vertues Philosophers esteeme too highly of mans nature What iustice God approoueth Foure contemplatiue vertues according to the Platonists Howe those agree in some sort to foure christian vertues Why men encline to lies rather then to the trueth The diuelish infection of Atheisme Reasons to proue the immortalitie of the soule Why men beleeue not the immortalitie of the soule Wisd 2. 1 2 c. The sayings of Epicures Verse 21 c. Wisd 3. 1. The corrupt opinion of Atheists and Epicures Atheists may wel be compared to beasts Reasons to shew the soule of men to differ from that of beasts The image of God is to bee sought in the soule An answere to an obiection A reason of Atheists confuted by a similitude Luke 16. 26. marke 16. 14. Math. 28. 9. luke 24. 36. iohn 20. 19 20 act 1. 2 3 10. 1. Cor. 15 6. Exod. 3. 6. mat 22. 32 33. mar 12. 26. luk 20. 37 38. The resurrection of the dead proued 2. Thess 1. 6 7. How we know the hidden things in nature An argument taken from the knowledge of the soule to proue it immortall Eternitie considered diuerâ—ly A speciall difference betweene the soule of man and 〈◊〉 beasts A firme proofe of the soules immortalitie A fitte comparison Gen. 1. 26. Why man was saide to be a liuing soule How God dayly createth soules What a miracle is Buggery violateth the law of nature God is the onely father of our spirite Three things vnseperable The desire of perpetuitie an argument of the soules immortalitie Another desire which is to continue our memory for euer Another desire of perpetuitie appearing in funerals An obiection The answere to it Of the true immortalitie An argument taken from the apprehension of death to prooue the immortalitie of soules Of the ende of good and euill men The right Armes of Machâ—auâ—llian Nobilitie An argument of the pleasures of the soule to shew the immortalitie thereof Some more like to beasts then men How we must iudge of the nature of the soule Of the true pleasures of the soule An argument from insatiable pleasures for the immortalitie of the soule A corrupt spirite taketh the shadow of things for the things themselues An argument taken from vices for the immortalitie of the soule How God punisheth vicious deâ—ires Esay 38. 12. 2. Pet. 1. 13 14. 2. Cor. 5. 1 2. Hebr. 13. 14. An argument taken from the frame of mans body to prooue the immortalitie of his soule Another argument taken from the motion and rest of the soule Of a fish called Vranoscopos Except the soule be immortal man is created in vaine The immortalitie of the soule is linked to the religion prouidence of God An argument taken from the consent of all people Other reasons to the same end Actes 3. 21. What the endâ— of a thing is Of the multitude and qualitie of witnesses to prooue the immortalitie of the soule What kinde of Philosophers Atheists and Epicures were An argument taken from the desire of wisedometo prooue the immortalitie of the soule 1. Cor. 13. 12. An obiection made by some Philosophers The answere Aristoteles opinion touching the immortalitie of the soule How the vnderstanding commeth to the knowledge of outward things by the senses Howe the outward senses looke vpon things How the internal senses receiue the same things How the Spirite receiueth them from the internall senses Other reasons for the immortalitie of the soule The soule can not be diuided Other reasons for the immortality of the soule Prou. 10. 24. Euery one naturally desireth life Reasons taken from reward and praise to proue the immortality of the soule The dead haue no feeling of praise Death most lamentable to the best men if the soule were not immortal Cato beleeued the immortality of the soule What comfort it is to beleeue a place of rest after this life What store of testimonies stand for the immortality of the soule Of such as say it is good to keepe men in this opinion of the immortalitie of the soule and yet themselues beleeue it not How wee must iudge of a wise man Ioh. 12. 31. 2. cor 4. 4. Ephe. 6. 12. The inconueniences which follow the former opinion of perswading men to goodnesse by false meanes That which corrupteth the spirit is contrary to the nature of it The difference betwixt conuincing and conâ—ounding a man Internal testimonies of the immortality of the soule The cause of true ioy in the spirite Where God is said to be especially The true cause of grief torment How men cary about them the matter of two fires Deut. 4. 24. heb 12. 29. Esay 66. 24. matth 22. 13. 25. 30. A sure argument in the wicked of their future torment in another life Naturall reasons to proue the immortalitie of mens soules The naturall knowledge of good and euill an argument of our immortality The nature of loue and hatred The necessitie of another life after this Gen. 4. 6 7. A similitude Sorow euer followeth sinne What conscience is Why it is called Synteresis Of the Philosophers Anticipations Ephes 4. 19. Atheists compared to drunkards and madde folks A sit similitude The wicked alwaies condemne themselues Foure offices of the conscience The more wicked a maÌ„ is the greater is his feare The Deitie prooued by that feare which is naturally in men The greatest persons liue in most feare The Atheists prouerbe that feare made gods turned against themselues The difference betwixt the feare in men and in beasts Strong reasons against Atheists Feare is a natural testimonie of a diuine essence What this worde Animal signifieth Atheists are reasonable beasts Atheists sitly resembled to Spiders Plinies brutish opinion touching the immortality of the soule Plato his opinion of the creation of soules Plinies reasons against the immortalitie of the soule Plin. lib. 7. ca. 55. Pliny blasphemed God vnder the name of Nature Democritus beleeued the resurrection of bodies What Philosophers went into Egypt to learne wisedome The conclusion of Plinie touching this matter The iudgement of God in Plinies death Plin. Nep epist ad Oâ—â— Taâ— The absurd consequents of Plinies opinion Mat. 28. 12 13. Against them who say that the soule can not be knowen to bee immortall according to nature Of them that alleadge Salomon against the immortalitie of the soule Eccles. 3. 18 19 20 21. Eccles 12. 7. Chap. 12. 1. The iudgement of God vpon Lucian and Luâ—retius two Arch-Atheists Euseb Hier. Crin de Pâ—â—at The doctrine of Epicurus commended by Lâ—cretius Epicures thinke themselues kings and gods The blasphemie of Atheists The absurdities that follow the opinion of the Atheists Of the force of arguments alleaged before for the immortalitie of the soule The summe of this whole book The world compared to mans body and God to his soule Against such as say that God is the soule of the world The image of God in mans soule Iohn 3. 12. Of that coniunction which is betweene God and his creatures Of God the first greatest Good Mal. 3. 6. Of spirituall natures which are the second Good The spirit of a man moueth not in place Of the body which is the 〈◊〉 Good The right end of our creation Mans will must looke vp to the head not downe to the bellie Man is a middle creature between Angels beasts A spirite is not shut vp in a place It is inuisible The coniunction of our soule and body is a wonderful work of God
that his 〈◊〉 â—â—â—cheth ouer all that the soule of man is immortall and that after this lâ—se there is a place of happinesse for the good and of torments for the wicked is as I may terme it a supernaturall error or rather cleunâ— againsst 〈◊〉 religion nature and all The trueth whereof appeareth both by the common consent of all nations who haue generally approoâ—ed those points as inuiolable principles and maximes in nature and also by the iudgement of the sounder sort of Phylosophers and Lawmakers amongst the Heathâ—â— who knowing that all mens consciences did naturally acknowledge not onely a being of a diuine power but a subiection also thereunto pretâ—nded that their lawes and superstitions came from some one or other of their supposed gods goddesses as Minos King of the Cretensians made the people beleeue that he had receyued his lawes of Iupiter Lycurgus the Dâ—â—â—demonian lawmaker of Apollos oracle Numa Pompilius a Romanâ— king of Aegeria the Nimph and so the rest of others And in truâ—th they that deny the diuine essence what do they but deny themselues and the being of all things in the world besides For as Aratus the heathen Poet 〈…〉 is also confirmed vnto vs by the Apostle Paul In God we liue 〈…〉 haue our being so that without him it is impossible wee should haue any being one moment of an houre And it is strange to consider 〈◊〉 these reaonable beastes for men I dare not call them standing so 〈◊〉 vpon reason and sense as they would seeme to do cannot in reason 〈◊〉 that this great variety exquisite order which they behold and see in nature natural things must of necessity haue some superiour cause from which they receiued both their first beeing and their contiâ—â—al 〈◊〉 in the same When they looke vpon any excellent picture they presently iudge as the truth is that it was wrought by some cunning painter and euery 〈◊〉 building leadeth all men to the consideration of some exquisite master builder that framed it And shall not the view of the worlde and the knowledge of so many admirable things therein as are subiect to all our senses constraâ—â—â—â—s to acknowledge a superiour cause and creator of them all Doeth any shippe sayle his right course without a Pilot or is there any Citie well gouerned without a Magistrate And shall any surmize that the celestiall lights could obserue their right motions without the direction of him that made them or that the terrestriall globe of the earth coulde 〈◊〉 so well ordered by the course of nature were it not that all things are 〈◊〉 by him that 〈◊〉 them all But such is the blockishnesse of these 〈…〉 that they will beleeue nothing but that which they may see with their eyes and 〈◊〉 knowledge of by the light of their bodies As though if their eyes were plucked out of their heads there could be no sunne in the 〈…〉 nor light in the worlde because themselues were in darkenesse and coulde see nothing How many things are there in nature which 〈…〉 and yet no man maketh any question of their being no not they 〈◊〉 who notwithstanding deny that there is any diuine nature any 〈◊〉 soule Angell or spirite because they are not visible and subâ—ect to â—ight Can any of them see the winde looke vpon the voice of a man beholde the sweete harmony of musicke Nay can they take a viewe of the heartes in their bodies or of the braines in their heades Are they therefore without heart and brainelesse Surely it seemeth they are cleane voyde of brayne â—it and common sense that nayle all their beliefe so fast to the sight of their bâ—dily eyes And yet were it so that they would not most wilfully 〈…〉 the euidence of their owne hearts they should there behold with the eyes of their mind as it were in a christall glasse that which may bee knowen of God Nay the holy Ghost proceedeth further and telleth vs that euen our bodily eyes may and doe after a sort looke vpon the eternall poweâ— and Godhead which are seene by the creation of the worlde being viewed in the workes thereof And because it may so fall out by the 〈◊〉 iudgement of God that these beetle-eyed Atheists may aswell be depriued of their bodily eyes as they want the sight of their mindes the creator and Lorde of the whole worlde hath set such markes of his diety in his workes that such as haue onely the direction of nature may euen with their eyes closed vp touch and handle him if they will but grope after him in whom we all liue mooue and haue our being What should I presse them with the certayne testimony of their owne hearts and consciences which will they will they drawe them to a fearefull acknowledgement of the mighty power of God whensoeuer eyther by his terrible voyce of thunder he shaketh their heartes or by some irrecouerable disease as a messenger of death hee 〈◊〉 them to appeare before his tribunall seate and throne of iustiâ— But there needeth no other proofe to coâ—â—nce them then the wordes of their owne mouthes For doe not their horrible oathes whereby they blasphâ—â— the Maiesty of God and asmuch as lyeth in them teare him in pieces â—e aâ—e â—â—â—nesse against themselues that the Lorde whom they despite in that 〈…〉 hath a being howsoeuer otherwise they deny the same And if no reason will sinke into their braines yet mee thinks the waight of Gods iudgement which haue from time to time seased extraordinarily vpon these Atheists that haue sprung vp in the world should cause them more seriously to consider of their miserable estate It is reported of Protagoras who was one of the first of that stamp that being banished from Athens and his Books publikely burnt he was drowned in the sea as he sailed into Sicilia Diagoras was violently slaine by certain men whom the Athenians had hired with mony for that purpose Epicurus also who placed his felicitie in corporall pleasures died miserably in a vessell of hot water after that he hadbin foureteene daies together extremely tormented with the stone in the bladder Lucianus surnamed by his owne countrimen the Blasphemer as he behaued himselfe most currishly in barking both against the gods of the Heathen and against Christ Iesus the Sauiour of the worlde so his ende was thereafter by being torne in peeces and deuoured of dogges Plinie the elder denying the immortalitie of the soule of man and placing Nature a creature in the steade of God the Creatour whilest he was ouer-curious in searching out the cause of the burning of Aetna was choaked with the smoke that issued from it A iust punishment for him to ende his life by smoke who esteemed his soule to be no better then a little vapour Cassius being a professed Scholler of Epicurus Brutus most brutishly railing vpon the prouidence of God because his enterprises against Caesar succeeded not to his
French Academy as it is diuided into seuerall dayes workes and distinguished by Chapters The first dayes worke Pag. 15 OF the creation of the first man and of the matter whereof the body of man is made Chap. 1. 22 Of the creation of woman Chap. 2. 28 Of the simple or similarie parts of the body namely the bones ligaments gristles sinowes pannicles cords or filaments vaines arteries and flesh Chap. 3. 34 Of the compound parts of the body and first of the feete and legges and of the armes and hands Chap. 4. 41 Of the backbone of the marrow thereof of the ribs and of other bones of mans body Chap. 5. 47 Of the share bone and marrow of the bones of the bones in the head and of the flesh of the muscles and of their office Chap. 6. 52 Of the kernels in the body and of their sundry vses especially of the breasts of women of their beauty and profite in the nourishing of children and of the generation of milke Chap. 7. 57 Of the fatte and skins of mans body and of their vse of the haires thereof Chap. 8. The second dayes worke 62 Of the bodily and external sences especially of touching of their members instruments and offices Chap. 9. 67 Of the eyes and of their excellency profite and vse of the matter and humors whereof they are made Chap. 10. 73 Of the tunicles and skinnes of the eyes of their forme motions of their sundry coulors of the sinewes whereby they receiue sight and of other parts about the eyes Chap. 11. 79 Of the eares and of their composition office and vse Chap. 12. 85 Of the diuers vses of the tongue of the instrumēts necessary both for voyce and speach howe there is a double speach of the forme thereof how the spirite of man is represented thereby Chap. 13. 91 Of the agreement which the instruments of the voyce and speach haue with a payre of Organs what things are to be considered in placing of the lungs next the heart of the pipes and instruments of the voyce Chap. 14. 96 Of the tongue and of the nature and office thereof of the excellency profite of speach which is the art of the tongue what is to bee considered touching the situation thereof in the head and neare the braine Chap. 15. 103 Of the office of the tongue in tasting and in preparing meat for the nourishment of the body of the teeth and of their nature and office of the conduite or pipe that receiueth and swalloweth downe meates Chap. 16. The third dayes worke 108 OF the sence of tast giuen to the palal what tastes are good to nourish the body of the diuersitie of them of hunger and thirst and of their causes Chap. 17. 113 Of helps and creatures meete for the preseruation and nourishment of the body how God prepareth them to serue for that purpose of their vse Chap. 18. 119 Of the nose and of the sence of smelling and of their profit and vse of the composition matter and forme of the nose Chap. 19. 124 Of the vse briefly of all the outward sences of mans body namely in purging the superfluities and ordures of his nose of the diuersity that is in mens faces and of the image of the minde and heart in them Chap. 20. 130 Of the nature faculties and powers of mans soule of the knowledge which we may haue in this life and how excellent necessary it is into what kinds the life and soule are diuided Chap. 21. 136 Of the two natures of which man is compounded how the body is the lodge and instrument of the soule how the soule may be letted from doing her proper actions by the body and be separated from it and yet remaine in her perfection Chap. 22. 142 Of the braine and of the nature therof of the sundry kinds of knowledge that are in man of the similitude that is betweene the actions and workes of the naturall vertues of the soule and of the internall senses Chap. 23. 147 Of the composition of the braine with the members and parts thereof of their offices and that knowledge which ought to content vs touching the principall cause of the vertues and wonderfull powers of the soule Chap. 24. The fourth dayes worke 148 OF the seate of voluntary motion and sense of the office and nature of the common sense of imagination and of fantasie how light and dangerous fantasie is of the power which both good and bad spirits haue to mooue it Chap. 25. 158 Of reason and memorie and of their seate nature office of the agreement which all the senses both external and internall haue one with another and of their vertues Chap. 26. 164 That the internall senses are so distinguished that some of them may bee troubled and hindered and the rest bee safe and whole according as their places and instruments assigned vnto them in the body are sound or perished and of those that are possessed with deuils Chap. 27. 170 Of the reasonable soule and life and of vertue of the vnderstanding and will that are in the soule and of their dignity and excellency Chap. 28. 176 Of the variety and contrarietie that is found in the opinions deliberations counsayles discourses and iugdements of men with the cause thereof and of the good order and ende of all discourses Chap. 29. 182 Of iudgement and of his office after the discourse of reason and how beliefe opinion or doubting followe it of the difference that is betweene them Chap. 30. 187 Of the meanes whereby a man may haue certaine knowledge of those things which hee ought to beleeue and to take for true of the naturall and supernatural light that is in man and how they beare witnesse of the image of God in him Chap. 31. 192 How the vertues and powers of the soule shew themselues by litle and litle and by degrees of contemplation and of the good that is in it of that true and diuine contemplation which wee looke for after this life Chap. 32. The fift dayes worke 198 OF the appetites that are in all liuing creatures and namely in man and of their kinds and particularly of the naturall and sensitiue appetite Chap. 33. 203 Of will and of the diuers significations and vses of these words Reason and Will of the actions freedome and nature thereof of the power which reason may haue ouer her Chap. 34. 208 Of those good things which both men only guided by the light of nature are able to propound to themselues and to follow and they also that are guided by the spirit of God of the power and liberty of the will in her actions both externall and internall Chap. 35. 214 Of the distinction that ought to bee betweene the vnderstanding knowledge and the will and affections in the soule and betweene the scates and instruments which they haue in the body of the agreement that is betweene the heart and the braine Chap. 36. 219 Of the
and of the waters and cloudes contayned therein and in what perils men are 〈◊〉 why the soule and blood are put one for another of the temperature of the humors necessarie for the health and life of the body of the causes of health and of diseases and of life and death Chap. 65. 368 Of the vses and commodities of the humors ioyned with the blood and what vessels are assigned vnto them in the body and of their nature and offices and first of the cholericke humor and of the spleene then of the flegmaticke humor and of the kidneys and other vessels which it hath to purge by Chap. 66. 373 Of the names whereby the humors of the body are commonly called with the causes wherefore of the comparison betweene the corruption and temperature of the humors of the body and betweene the manners and the affections of the soule of the meanes whereby the humors corrupt and of the feauers and diseases engendred thereby of the sundry naturall temperatures in euery one Chap. 67. 379 Of the diuers temperatures and complexions of men according to the nature of humors that beare most sway in them of the disposition whereunto they are naturally mooued by them eyther to vertues or vices of the means to correct the vices and defects that may be in our naturall inclinations Chap. 68. 383 Of the restauration and reparation of all natures created by the generatiue power and vertue that is in them and namely in man what generation is and what the generatiue power of the soule is what the seede is and how generation proceedeth of strength and of infirmity Chap. 69. 388 Of the powers of the generatiue vertue and of their offices of the principall cause why God gaue to man the power of generation in what sence the reines are taken for the seate of generation how we ought rightly to consider of the generation of man Chap. 70. 393 Of the fashion of a childe in the wombe and how the members are framed one after another in the mothers belly of the time and daies within which a child is perfectly fashioned Chap. 71. 398 Of childbirth and the natural causes thereof of the great prouidence of God appearing therein of the image of our eternall natiuitic represented vnto vs in our mortall birth Chap. 72. The tenth dayes worke 404 WHy God created man naked and with lesse natural defence then he did all other liuing creatures how many wayes he recompenceth this nakednesse of the generall beauty of the whole body of man ioyned with profite and commodity Chap. 73. 409 Whether the life of the body can proceede eyter of the matter or of the composition forme and figure or of the qualities thereof or else of the harmony coniunction and agreement of all these whether any of these or al of them together can be the soule of the length and shortnes of the diuers degrees and ages and of the ende of mans life of death and of the causes both of life and death of the difference that is betweene naturall and supernaturall Philosophy in the consideration of things Chap. 74. 414 Of the causes generally of the length and shortnesse of bodily life of naturall and of violent death in what maner the life of man consisteth in his breath of the principall things required to life and without which it cannot be of the difference betwixt the life of men and the life of beastes of the image of the spirituall death in the corporall of the true comfort which wee ought to haue therein Chap. 75. 420 Of the chiefe consolations which the wisest among the Pagans and Infidels could draw from their humane reason and naturall Philosophy against death of the blaspemies vsed by Atheists and Epicures against God and nature what nature is and who they be that attribute vnto it that which they ought to attribute to God Chap. 76. 426 That there is but one soule in euery seuerall body that one and the some soule hath in it all those vertues and powers whose effects are dayly seene of the seate of the soule in the body and of the principall instrument thereof of the vnion of the body and soule of the diuers degrees of nature and of the excellency that is in it of the fountaines and bounds of all the powers and vertues of the soule Chap. 77. 432 Of the nature and varietie of the animal spirits how they are only instruments of the soule and not the soule it selfe of the nature of those bodies wherin the soule may dwell and worke of the difference that is not onely betweene the soule and the instrumente by which it worketh but also betweene the instruments themselues and their natures and offices and which of them are nearest or farthest off of the degrees that are in the vnion and coniunction of the soule with the body Chap. 78. 438 Of the diuisions of man made in the holy scriptures aswell in respect of the soule as of the body in what significations the names of soule spirit and heart are vsed therein and the causes why of the intier sanctification of man how the soule is taken for the life and for the members and instrumentes of nourishment and for nourishment it selfe Chap. 79. 444 What is meant by a liuing soule what by a sensuall and naturall body and what by a spirituall body how the name of soule is taken for all the desires of the flesh and for all things belonging to this life and not onely for the whole person aliue but also for the person being dead and for a dead 〈…〉 for the spirite sepâ—rate from the body Chap. 80. The Eleuenth dayes worke 490 WHether the soule of man is engendred with the body and of the same substance that the body is of or whether it be created by it selfe and of another substance whether it be needefull for vs to knowe what the soule is and what is the eâ—â—ence thereof or onely to knowe of what qualitie it is with the workes and effects thereof Chap. 81. 495 Whether there be any thing mortall in the soule of man of the distinction betweene the soule and the powers of it of the opinion of Philosophers and what agreement is betweene them touching the soule of brute beasts and the nature and substance of it of their opinion that deriue the soule of man and the soule of beasts from one souâ—taine of them that ascend higher and of their reasoâ—â— Chap. 82. 499 Of the opinion of Galen of Plato and of Aristotle touching the substance and nature of mans soule of the opinion of Occâ—m touching the vegetatiue and sensitue power thereof and of the distinction of soules he maketh in man of the sentence of the Platonists and of Origen touching the creation birth and nature of the soule of the coniunction of the soule with the body and the estate thereof in the same Chap. 83. 503 Of the opinion of the Platonists and some others touching the substance of mens
soules in what sence not only the Poets and heathen Philosophers but also Saint Paul haue sayd that men were the generation and linage of God of their error that say that soules are of the very substance of God of the transmigration of soules according to the opinion of the same Philosophers Chap. 84. 509 The chiefe causes as learned men thinke 〈…〉 Pythagoras and 〈…〉 transmigration of soules and transformation of bodies the ancient opinion of the Iewes touching the same thing Chap. 85. 515 Of the Pythagoreans of these dayes amongst the Christians and of their foolish opinions of the opinions of many Doctors and and Diuines touching the creation and ordinary generation of mens soules of the moderation that ought to be kept in that matter of the cause of the filthinesse and corruption of mans soule Chap. 86. 5â—â— Of those powers and properties which the soule of man hath common with the soule of beastâ—â— of those powers and vertues which are proper and peculiar to it selfe according to the Philosophers of the difference and agreement that is betweene humane philosophie and christian doctrine touching thâ—se things Chap. 87. 5â—6 How men can haue no certaine resolution of the immortality of the soule but by the word of God of the peruersnesse of Epicures and Atheistes in this 〈◊〉 of the chiefe causes that hinder 〈◊〉 from beleeuing the immortality of the soule and of their blockishnesse and euill iudgement therein how wee must seeke for the image of God after which man was created in his soule Chap. 88. The twelfth dayes worke 5â—â— OF those who desire the returne of soules departed to testifie their immortality what witnes hath binne sent vs of God out of another world to resolue vs therin Chap. 89. 53â— Of naturall reasons whereby the immortality of soules may be prooued against Epicures and Atheists and first of the argument taken from the faculty of knowledge which the soule hath and from that knowledge of eternity which 〈…〉 howe it appeareth that it is not begotten of this corruptible nature because it ascendeth vp vnto God and how by a speciall benefite of God it is dayly created and not by the vertue of nature Chap. 90. 541 Of the argument for the immortality of the soule that may bee taken from that natural desire therof of perpetuitie which is in it of another argument to the same purpose of the desire which men haue to continue their name and memory for euer an argument to the same end taken from the apprehension and terrour which men may haue both of the death of the body and also of the soule and spirite Chap. 91. 546 Of the agreement that may be taken from the delights and pleasures of the soule to prooue the immortality therof an argument to the same ende taken from the insatiable desires pleasures of men euen from such as are most carnall of the testimony which they may find euen in their vices to prooue the immortality of their soule Chap. 92. 551 Of the testimony that men haue of the immortall nature of the soule in their very body by the composition and frame thereof of that which is in the motion and rest of their soule how the creation of the whole world shoulde be vaine and how there should be no prouidence of God no religion no diuine iustice if the soule were mortall of the multitude and qualities of the witnesses that stand for the immortality thereof Chap. 93. 556 Of another argument for the immortality of the soule taken from that naturall desire which men haue of knowlege of Aristotles opinion touching the nature and immortality of the soule of other reasons of Philosophers to proue that the spirite cannot be a corruptible and mortall nature and how iust men should be more miserable and shoulde haue more occasion to feare and to eschew death then the vniust and wicked if the soule were mortall Chap. 94. 563 Of that prayse and reward which wisdome and vertue may receiue of man in this worlde how miserable it is â—f there bee no better prepared for them elsewhere how death would bee more grieuous and lamentable to the best learned and wisest men then to the ignorant and foolish if the soule were mortall how the best most certaine iudgement of men is for the immortality of the soule of them who not beleeuing the same say that it is good for men to bee in such an error Chap. 95. 569 Of those internall testimonies which all men cary within themselues to conuince them that doubt of the immortality of the soule and of the iudgement to come which shall be in eternall happinesse for the good and perpetuall torment for the euill howe the very heathen acknowledged asmuch by reasons taken from the testimonies of nature Chap. 96. The thirteenth dayes worke 575 OF the testimonies which euery one may take from his conscience of that feare vnto which all men are naturally subiect to prooue the immortality of the soule a iudgement of God vpon the iust and vniust how that which the Atheistes say that feare causeth gods amongest men serueth to ouerthrow their damnable opinion Chap. 97. 581 Whether Epicures and Atheists bee reasonable beasts yea or no and what reasons they bring to ouerthrow the immortality of the soule of the false opinion of Pliny touching the same and of his friuolous and brutish reasons to this purpose of the brutish conclusion vnbeseeming the whole race of mankind which hee maketh of this matter and of the iudgement of God vpon him Chap. 98. 588 Of them who say that wee cannot know by the light of nature but that the soule is mortall of them that alledge a place of Salomon against the immortality of the soule howe wee ought to consider of the iudgementes of God vpon Epicures and Atheistes how the absurdities which follow their doctrine declare plainly the grossenesse of it of the force of those argumentes that were produced before for the immortality of the soule Chap. 99. 594 Of the image of God in the soule of man and of the image of the worlde in mans body of the coniunction that is betweene God the Angels and men of the sundry degrees of Good that are therein of those lessons and instructions which wee ought to receiue from the wonderfull composition aud coniunction of the soule and body Chap. 100. FINIS THE FORESPEACH OF THE INTERSPEAKERS IN this Academy wherein is handled the cause of their future discourses touching the naturall historie of Man The names of the discoursers ASER which signifieth Felicitie AMANA Trueth ARAM Excellency ACHITOB Brother of goodnesse ASER My companions I greatly bewayle the misery of our age wherein so many Epicures and Atheists liue as are dayly discouered amongst vs in all estates and callings True it is that the disagreement in matters of religion amongst them that beare the name of Christians is very great and causeth much trouble in the Church neuerthelesse I doubt not but that
bodily senses whose nature approcheth nearer to the nature of the soule and spirit then any other by reason of the similitude and agreement that is betweene them Therefore by good right they beare rule among all the senses and all the other members of the body as being their guides For they are giuen to man chiefly to guide and leade him to the knowledge of God by the contemplation of his goodly works which appeare pâ—ncipally in the heauens and in al the order thereof and whereof wâ— can haue no true knowledge and instruction by any other sense but by the eies For without the who could euer haue noted the diuers course and motions of the celestiall bodies yea wee see by experience that the Mathematicall sciences among which Astronomy is one of the chiefest cannot be well and rightly shewed and taught as many others may without the helpe of the eyes because a man must make their demonstrations by figures which are their letters and images I passe ouer many other Sciences as that of the Anatomy of mans body and such like which are very hard yea impossible to bee learned and knowen certainly vnlesse they may be seene with the eie Wherefore seeing the bodily senses are the chiefest masters of man in whose house the spirite and vnderstanding is lodged and enclosed the greatest and first honour is by good right to be giuen to the eies and sight Likewise it is the first mistresse that prouoked men forward to the studie and searching out of science and wisedome For of sight is ingendred admiration and wondering at thinges that are seene and this admiration causeth men afterward to coÌ„sider more seriously of things and to marke them better and from thence it is that men fall to enquire of matters more carefully and to sound them deeper In the ende they come to the studie of science and wisedome which is the knowledge of supernaturall light namely of the light of the minde vnto which science and doctrine is as light is to the eye so that it contemplateth and museth by that as the eye seeth by right Therefore we haue to note that it hath pleased God the creator of al things to scatter his light throughout the whole world ouer all creatures as well spirituall and inuisible as corporall and visible His spirituall light hee hath infused into spirituall creatures and bodily light into bodily creatures to the ende that by this benefite the spirites might haue vnderstanding and the eyes sight So that Angelles and the spirites of men which are spirituall and inuisible creatures are illuminated by the meanes of vnderstanding with that spirituall and heauenly light whereof God hath made them partakers as the bodies of liuing creatures and chiefely of man are illuminated with the corporall light of the Sunne by meanes of the eyes For as bodies haue their bodily eyes so spirites haue their spirituall eyes For that vnderstanding wherewith God hath indued them is vnto them as the eyes are to the body Wherefore by that they see God who is their heauenly Sunne and the fountaine of all diuine and spirituall light as bodily eyes beholde the materiall sunne wherein as in a fountaine God hath placed corporall light which he would haue vs see and know by meanes of the eyes which wee ought to acknowledge as a great benefit For the light is a worke of God woorthy of great admiration which discouereth and sheweth to vs a great part of nature and is vnto vs in steade of an image of the best and most excellent natures which without doubt are lights shining natures Neither coulde any man possibly expresse in wordes or teach in any sorte what the light is which sheweth al other things what is the beautie excellencie thereof vnlesse the eyes did beholde and know it distinguish it from darkenes For by meanes of the eyes we may iudge what our life woulde be if it were buried in perpetuall darkenes or if man had no instrument to apprehend and to receiue the light when it shâ—neth Therefore as God hath created the light to discouer and shew all things by it so he hath giuen eyes to man whereby he may apprehend receiue it To this ende he hath made them of a matter that is partaker of light and meet to receiue it that by the agreement of nature that is betweene them the light they might enioy it and by â—he selfe same meanes they might be messengers to the minde to induce and leade it to the consideration of the diuine light whereof corporall light is a very small resemblance and hereby also the mind might knowe that God who dwelleth in a light that none can attaine vnto is a maruailous light as holy men knowe by experience when hee sheweth himselfe vnto them For as the eie is like to a glasse that receiueth the images of thinges offred vnto it so God imprinteth images of him selfe in our mind as in a glasse Wherefore as a glasse cannot receiue any image but of such things as are set before it so the image of God cannot shine not be imprinted in the mind of man vnlesse he alwayes set God before his eies that he may receiue his image And as the eie is illuminated by the beames that proceed from the sunne so the mind is illuminated by the brightnes of the diuine light in which we consider the Father in the vnitie of the godhead as the spring fountaine of al light the Sonne as the beames brightnes ingendred thereof the holy Ghost as a flame proceeding from it which causeth the eie of the mind to receiue it to be made partaker thereof We see then how our eyes together with the light admonish vs of great thinges of most excellent works of God and of great secrets of spirituall heauenly things whose images he hath imprinted in the light and in our cies to the ende that by these corporall and visible images wee may haue some knowledge of those things wherof they are images which cannot be seene perceiued with corporall senses but only with the spirituall senses of the soule Wherefore wee ought greatly to praise God for this goodly gift both of the light of the eies which cannot sufficiently be valewed For although it did vs no more seruice then it doth to brute beasts namely to guide and leade vs in this corporall life yet we ought seriously to acknowledge the excellencie of so great a gift of God how profitable and necessary it is for vs. But there is a great deale more in it by reason of the mind and vnderstanding which God hath giuen to the spirit and soule of man as it were spirituall eies to the end there might be an agreement proportion betweene theÌ„0 the eyes of the body For as the eies declare to the mind what they see that it might take knowledge therof so when the mind hath seene
the office of the eyes to the end they may see all things better and comprehend all sorts of shapes better then if they were flat or hollow or square or of some other fashion besides round as a man may iudge by the diuersitie of looking-glasses and of their figures and makings according to the variety of which they represent diuersly those things whose images they receiue Now because man as also all other creatures goe forward and not backward or sidewise therefore God hath not placed the eyes either in the hinder part of the head or on any side thereof but before And although the eyes be moueable and made to turne on euery side yet they neuer turne cleane backward but onely sidewise so farre as they can see and behold well For they haue nothing to looke vpon within the head but only without Therfore they haue this aduantage besides that being set in that place which is assigned vnto them in the head they may turne from one part to another and see not onely on the right hand and on the left but also behinde by that motion which the head hath from his sinewes by meanes of the necke which motion the head should not haue if it were seated vpon the shoulders without a necke and this is another commoditie of the necke whereof we spake not before Nowe before wee goe any further in the discourse of those partes that are about the eyes for their defence preseruation it shal be good for vs to consider here of the goodly painting and varietie of colours that are in them For first wee haue a white colour which couereth the greatest part of the eye next that goodly smal circle which is round about the eye then the apple of the eye which the Hebrews call the daughter of the eye being in the midst of it as it were a little glasse where in a man may alwayes see some image as it were in a glasse when one looketh into it This little circle is called by some a Crowne and by others a Rainebow because of the diuersitie of colours that are seene in it which are not all alike in all men For some haue this circle more black others more gray others more yealow or more redde Moreouer besides the sinewes of those muscles that are giuen to the eyes to moue them euery way eche of them hath one proper vnto it selfe wherby the life and vertue of seeing is communicated vnto it from the braine by meanes of the soule that giueth life to all the bodie Therefore these sinewes differ from all the rest in that they are not solide but hollow within like to little water pipes to carry vnto the eyes the spirites of sight which are as it were a little flame of light whereby they receiue from the brayne life and vertue of seeing Next we are to consider how God hath placed them neere the nose to the end they may purge also by that on eche side aswell as the other humours of the braine Therefore there are kernels hard by them in the head which serue both to moysten and to water them according as they haue neede by reason of their burning nature and perpetuall motion and also to retaine and soke in humours least they should descend and fall downe vpon them too fast and so hurt them Besides this commoditie the nose in his place is vnto both the eyes in steade of bulwarks and so also are the bones which close them in on euery side and the balles of the cheekes which are higher then the holes of the eyne that they also might serue to defend them Moreouer God hath further armed them with eyeliddes which serue them both for ornament and are also in stead of gates vnto them hauing muscles to open and to shut them eyther wholly or in part as neede shall require both for sight for sleeping and waking and for defence And besides the eyebrowes wherwith God hath couered them aboue the liddes there are little haires growing at their brimmes which God hath not giuen in vaine For first they serue to direct the beames of the sight that they may see more directly next they serue for defence against litle flyes against 〈◊〉 moâ—tes and other small things that might enter in and trouble them Moreouer they serue for ornament as it were some pretie border round about them And because the haires of the eyeliddes haue an other office then those of the eyebrowes therefore they are otherwise disposed for they are not so thicke nor mingled one within and about another as the hayres of the eyebrowes are but they are raunged and set all in ranke euen orderly one by another And as for the eyebrowes they doe not onely serue to set forth the eyes that their beautie may the better appeare but also to defend them against the raine against the sweate of the head and forehead and other things that might descend and fall vpon them if they had not this to stay theÌ„ And to this purpose we see the agreement which they haue with the nose on eche side and how the prouidence of God hath made them like to a halfe circle or a halfe moone or a little arche or els after the fashion of a little penthouse to the end that the sweat and raine might haue an easie course and descent on both sides and not runne into the eyes And because they should not hinder in steade of helping God hath created them of that nature that they growe not like the haire beard or nailes but continue alwayes at one stay What then wil those women say for themselues who take so great paines in twitching and plucking off the haire of their eyebrowes to the end they should not be so thick or great as nature hath made them For they thinke it greater beautie when they are shorter and thinner But in this as in all their paintings and prankings they doe not only lift vp themselues against nature as though they would worke her a spite but also be haue themselues as if of set purpose they meant to reproch God for creating theÌ„ as he did Now in speaking of the eyes let vs beware that we be not so blind as that we cannot see that thing by them which they teach vs or take no heede of that which they shew vnto vs. For the consideration of one of them alone or of one eyelid or browlidde onely ought to teach vs to open and to lift them on high that they may search out and contemplate him that created them and hath giuen them vnto vs euen to him who saith I that formed the eye shall I not see Therefore we ought to be afraide least our eyes be giuen vnto vs as Iudges to conuince vs of our ingratitude towards God their and our Creator and to condemne vs. For there are but too many miracles to be seene of his almightie power in their creation too many witnesses of
is in him But I speake not nowe of this diuersitie but of another which happeneth to men in all ages and at all times For there is great difference to be seene in a mans face according as hee is either merry or sad angry or pacified humble and modest or loftie and proude For if hee be quiet and modest hee will haue a sweete milde and gracious countenance if hee bee angry hee will haue a furious face as though hee were transfigured into a sauage beast hauing fierie eyes as if hee cast from them flames of fire hee will cast foorth smoake at his nosethrilles as if hee had a fornace kindled within him his whole countenance will be as redde as if fire came out of it Therefore it was not without reason saide of a Philosopher that angry and furious men shoulde beholde themselues in a glasse to the ende they might know thereby how such passions change their countenance and how they are transformed thereby and looke hideous and fearefull And if a man be lofty and arrogant his visage will testifie the same sufficiently especially his eyes and eie-lids which will be lifted vp as if pride and arrogancie had there placed their seate For if wee denie or graunt any thing that pleaseth or displeaseth vs wee declare it by them speaking by signes as the tongue doeth by woordes And although pride be conceiued and bredde in the heart yet it is seated on the eye-liddes where it sheweth and manifesteth it selfe For seeing it desireth alwayes to be aduaunced and to be lift vp aboue all yea to be alone without any companion that place is very fitte and conuenient for it being high emiuent and apparant But a proud person ought to consider that that place is very much declining to the ende hee may thinke of the danger of falling downe as they that are in some high and sleepe place where they can take no holde For it can not bee but that pride will haue a fall howsoeuer it may seeme long first For that sentence of Iesus Christ is alwayes true who sayeth that Whosoeuer will exalt himselfe shall be brought low and whosoeuer will humble himselfe shall be exalted The eyes also do speake and testifie of the heart within For if the heart bee humble modest chaste and well stayed the eyes will be so answerable thereunto that their very lookes will declare sufficiently howe it standeth affected Contrariwise if the heart bee proude vnchaste loose impudent and lasciuious the looke and countenaunce of the eyes will openly bewray the same Also wee say commonly of such as haue lost all shame that they haue brazen and shamelesse foreheads And it seemeth that the French worde Affronteur is deriued from thence because they that are of that occupation must haue good foreheads they must be bolde and shamelesse like to harlots and murtherers And as shame is seated and appeareth principally in the forehead and cheekes so is it a note of impudencie when shame is banished from thence as that which then possesseth the place assigned to shame and modestie Therefore the Scripture attributeth a brow of brasse and of yron a hard forehead and a strong face to them that are impudent and past grace to such as are vntractable and rebellious By these things then we know how the face is the image messenger and witnesse of all the affections of the heart insomuch that it is very hard for him do what he can to couer and conceale them Also it is the image and witnes of a good and euill conscience For as a good conscience causeth it to appeare ioyfull and open so contrariwise an euill conscience maketh it sadde and hidden as it were the visage of a condemned person We commonly call Physiognomy the Science whereby men iudge of the nature complexion and manners of euery one by the contemplation of all the members of the body and chiefely of the face and countenance But there is no Physiognomy so certaine as that which-wee haue nowe touched whereby men may bee easily conuinced of that which they thinke to hide in their heartes which notwithstanding is quickely descried in their countenances as if wee read it in a Booke Nowe it is time to enter into our edifice and building there to contemplate the internall and spirituall senses which the foule vseth in her woorkes and operations But first wee will make the way more easie to attaine to so high a matter by learning briefely what is the nature faculties and powers of mans soule and what are the sundry kindes of soules the burthen whereof I lay vpon thee ASER. Of the nature faculties and powers of mans soule of the knowledge which we may haue in this life and how excellent and necessary it is into what kindes the life and soule are diuided Chap. 21. ASER. If God hath shewed himselfe wonderfull in the creation composition nature and vse of the externall senses and members of mans body of which wee haue hitherto discoursed both in the matter whereof they are made and in the forme giuen vnto them and in all other things that belong vnto them no doubt but wee shall haue much more cause to maruaile at the excellent workemanshippe of his prouidence in the composition nature and vse of the internall senses and members which lie hidden within the bodie whereof the sequele of our speach requireth that wee shoulde intreate For these are the principall by meanes of which the other receiue life and are kept and preserued in life But forasmuch as the soule giueth life to the whole body and to all the members thereof wee are withall to consider of the nature thereof what faculties and vertues it hath and howe it worketh in all the partes of the bodie according to that knowledge which GOD hath giuen to men both by the testimonie of his worde and by the effectes of the soule For neither the bodie nor any member thereof shoulde haue any more motion or feeling then is in a blocke or stone if it had no soule to giue it life For this cause after Iob hath spoken of the creation and composition of his body hee addeth Thou hast giuen mee life and grace and thy visitation that is to say thy prouidence hath preserued my spirite This agreeth with that which we haue heard before of Moses where hee sayeth That the Lorde made man of the dust of the ground and breathed in his face breath of life and the man was a liuing soule First therefore wee must vnderstand that there are in man three kindes of faculties and vertues that worke continually within him and neuer cease the first is commonly called Animal the second Vital the third Natural Of these two latter wee will speake heereafter Concerning the Animal facultie it is diuided into three kinds the first is called Principall the second Sensitiue the third Motiue The Principall is diuided by some into three kindes by others into
alwaies intire and in their first forme not being subiect to any change in respect of their bodies neither do they weare or consume away as other creatures do that are vnderneath them Insomuch that none of the celestiall spheres are either wearied worne or spent more with all the labour they haue vndergone by the space of so many yeeres then they were the first day of their creation For we must not take it for a change of their natures and qualities that according to their diuerse course the sunne moone and other planets starres are sometimes further off sometimes neerer each to other that they haue their oppositions coniunctions diuerse and different aspects according to the diuersity and difference of their course and motion We may say as much of the Eclipses both of the sunne and moone For the change that is amongst them is not in their owne bodies substance qualities but onely in regarde of vs and of our sight Concerning the creatures that haue life they are for the most part diuided into three kindes but they that distinguish more subtilly make foure kindes And because life is giuen by the soule the Philosophers make as many sortes of soules as they doe of liues and call them by the same names They call the first the nourishing or vegetatiue soule or life the second the sensitine the third the cogitatiue the fourth the reasonable soule or the soule partaker of reason Touching the first there is a kinde of life that hath no other vertue in the creature to which it is giuen of God then to nourish and cause it to encrease and to keepe it in being vntil this life faile it The soule that giueth life with these effects is called nourishing or vegetatiue this is proper to al herbs trees plants that are maintained kept in their kinds by the seeds or by planting setting such like propagations The second kind of life named sensitiue is so called because it giueth not only nourishment and growth as the first but sense also and feeling They that will haue but three kinds make but one of this and of that which is called cogitatiue by them that make foure who attribute the sensitiue soule to the sea spunges to oysters cockles and to those creatures which the Graecians and Latins call by a name which in our language signifieth as much as plant-liuing creatures because they are of a middle nature betweene plants and liuing creatures hauing life and sense as if they were compounded of both these natures together so that they are more then simple plants and yet are not perfect liuing creatures as those are to whom is attributed the cogitatiue or knowing soule And this is a soule and life which not only giueth whatsoCuer the two former imparteth to the creatures in whome they are but also a certaine vertue and vigour as of cogitation of knowledge and of memorie that they may haue skil to preserue their life and know how to guide and gouerne themselues according to their naturall inclination This soule is proper to brute beastes whome some thinke to be partakers after a sorte of reason so farre foorth as it concerneth things belonging to their nature But wee will proceede no further at this time in this disputation onely let vs note that they which make but three kindes of soule or life doe giue to brute beastes that which wee called Sensitiue comprehending them vnder that kinde of life vnto which they attribute the same vertue and vigour whereof wee nowe spake and which is distinguished by others from that kinde of soule that giueth onely simple sense vnto the creature The fourth kinde of soule and life is that of men which hath all whatsoeuer is in the former kindes and ouer and besides that which is most excellent it is partaker of reason and vnderstanding wherein it agreeth with the life of Angelles as wee will declare more at large in place conuenient and shew also the difference that is betweene them For this cause the soule of man giuen vnto him is commonly called a reasonable soule as all the former are called by mans agreeing to their nature as wee haue declared Therefore seeing this kinde of soule and life comprehendeth all the vertues and properties of the rest it may bee called Uegetatiue Sensitiue Cogitatiue and reasonable altogether But wee must note here that there is great difference betweene the soules of men and those other of which wee spake before For beside that the soule of man is partaker of reason and vnderstanding with all properties that are in the rest it hath that common with the Angelles who are spirites created of GOD to liue a spirituall life without bodies that it is immortall also as well as they But of this immortalitie wee hope GOD willing to intreate at large heereafter as also of the creation and proper nature of the soule In these two pointes then of vnderstanding and of immortalitie the soule of man doeth much differre from that of beastes For although they haue a soule that gyueth vnto them life motion and sense with all other things touched by mee yet it is not partaker of vnderstanding nor of an immortall nature as the Angelles and soules of men are but it is of a mortall nature which endeth and dieth with the body Therefore albeit the soule of man hath in it whatsoeuer is in the rest beside that which is proper vnto it aboue the rest and that which it hath common with the Angelles neuerthelesse it is called onely by the name of that thing which is the principall chiefest and most excellent in it as also the like is done with all the other kindes of soule and life But mee thinkes we ought to consider more fully of that which man hath either common or diuers in his nature from the soule of beasts and what are the proper actions of the soule ioyned with the body and how it is hindered by the body without any change of nature For the consideration hereof will greatly further our knowledge of the internall and spirituall senses of which we are to discourse that wee may step by step ascend vp to the highest vnderstanding and knowledge which the minde of man can attaine vnto concerning the soule Let vs therefore heare AMANA of this matter Of the two natures of which man is compounded how the body is the lodge and instrument of the soule how the soule may be letted from doing her proper actions by the body and be separated from it and yet remaine in her perfection Chap. 22. AMANA Albeit the greatest excellencie of man which farre passeth that of all other liuing creatures ought to be valued according to the soule that God hath giuen him differing from the soule of all other liuing creatures his body being mortall corruptible as that of beasts is yet there are other points of excellencie in the matter forme and vse of all
the partes and members of which the body of man is made that are not found in any of the other as wee haue sufficiently shewed in our former discourses vpon this matter Whereby God would teach vs that hee hath prepared and built this lodging for an other manner of inhabitant then he built the bodies of beastes euen for a soule that differeth farre from theirs For seeing he maketh nothing without good reason or that is without his profit he sheweth by the instruments prepared for the workeman whom he will set on worke what maner of one he ought to be what workes he hath to make And because hee hath appointed workes and offices for the soule of man which he woulde not haue in the soule of brute beastes hee hath giuen to man such members and instruments as hee hath not giuen to other liuing creatures As for those instrumēts which he hath common with beasts God hath otherwise disposed and placed in his bodie according to the office euery one hath as wee may learne by their discourses It is very euident that man is not onely this masse and lumpe of skinne flesh sinewes bones and of such other matter gathered altogether in one bodie whereof we haue spoken alreadie but that there is yet in him another nature whose substance is inuisible ouer and aboue this bodily nature which we see For experience sheweth vs what difference there is betwixt one and the same body when it is aliue and when it is dead When there is no life in it none of all those faculties and vertues whereof the former discourse intreated appeare within it as we see they doe so long as life dwelleth therein And yet then the body is not depriued of those members which it had before death but keepeth them still vntill such time as they corrupt and waste away of themselues and finally faile altogether for want of the soule and life that shoulde preserue and keepe them sounde In the meane time we see that they are without force and as vnfit for vse as if they were not at all because they want soule and life which giueth them vigour and setteth thē a working It is very cleere then by death that the body hath no life of it selfe nor any of those faculties and vertues which life bringeth with it but that it receiueth them from another nature then from it owne And this nature is called Soule hauing sundry offices in man as we haue alreadie vnderstood and will hereafter handle them more particularly and in order But in the meane time we must note that although the soule be not bodily neuerthelesse it vseth a bodily nature and instruments which it receiueth from that for the performance of those workes that are assigned vnto it which the soule coulde not doe without such instruments as are necessary thereunto For as we heard in the former speech that among the creatures of God some are spirituall others corporall so we are to knowe also that among the spirituall creatures there are two sortes of spirits of which some namely the Angels were created to liue a spiritual life agreeable to their nature approching neerer to the nature and life that is in God then any other not being vnited or conioyned to any bodies that belong vnto them vnto which they should giue life as if they were creatures compounded of body and spirite Therefore we call them not by the name of soules as wee doe the spirites of men which God hath created to dwell in bodies to giue them life and to be ioyned with them in one person made of two natures to wit of a spirite and of a bodie These spirites which are also called humane soules can liue wel enough and preserue themselues in their substance hauing life alwayes in them euen after they are separated from their bodies But the like cannot bee saide of the bodies which cannot liue nor be preserued in their substance without their soules and spirites Therefore Iesus Christ sayde Feare not them that kill the bodie and cannot kill the soule but rather feare him that can destroy both bodie and soule in hell Wherefore albeit wee cannot see the soule neyther when it entreth into the bodie and is ioyned vnto it nor when it dwelleth there nor yet when it departeth yet it followeth not therevppon that it is not at all or that it commeth to nothing For the effectes thereof shewe vs the contrarie so long as that life which it giueth to the bodie continueth therein And albeit wee see no more effectes of it when it is seuered by death yet it followeth not therevpon that the same thing shoulde befall it that doeth to the bodie and so corrupt therewith For it is so farre from corrupting with the bodie that it keepeth the same from corruption so long as it is therein And being separated no maruaile if it effect no more that which it did in the bodie by those instruments which it had because it hath them no longer Wherefore in this respect it is like to an excellent Woorkeman who cannot labour in his occupation without such instrumentes as necessarily belong thereunto Yet in the meane season the Woorkeman continueth alwayes in the same estate and hath no lesse knowledge and arte in him without his instruments then when hee hath them albeit hee vse them not when they are away And although hee enioyeth both his instrumentes and his arte yet can hee not well vse them nor perfourme those woorkes which hee hath to make if they bee not founde but corrupted or spoyled as wee see in an instrument of musicke For if the chaunter or Musicion bee very expert in his arte and handle his instrument as hee ought to doe yet can hee neuer deliuer those soundes tunes and harmonie which otherwise hee woulde if his instrument were good And yet that shall not hinder the Musicion from beeing alwayes as skilfull and expert in his arte as if his instrument were very good and sounde Likewise if a man dwell in a darke lodging hee cannot see so well and cleerely as in another that is very lightsome and yet hee shall not haue sundrie eyes but the selfe same in both places So that it followeth that his dimnesse of sight in the one lodging rather then in the other proceedeth not of any defect in his eyes but of the house and habitation wherein hee is The like may bee saide of the soule lodged in the bodie whose actions and woorkes therein are much hindered if it bee badly lodged if any part of the lodging bee not good or if it want those instruments and tooles that are necessary for it For although it hath the vertue of sight in it selfe yet it cannot without eyes see those thinges which by meanes of them it beholdeth And although it hath in it selfe the vertue to cause the handes and feete to mooue and to set them on woorke according to their office yet
it cannot doe those woorkes by a maymed and lame hande which it will doe by him that hath both his handes nor cause a lame creeple wanting a foote or legge or hauing some defect in those partes to walke as well as an other that hath all these sounde and perfect And a man may iudge of my speech by that which happeneth not onely to them that fall into an Apoplexie but also to such as haue some quaume about their heart so that they faint and sowne and are for the time as it were dead and yet afterwarde plucke vp their spirites and come againe to their former estate But before they be reuiued they seeme as though they had no soule in their bodies because it is not perceiued by the woorkes thereof as it is when the bodie is well affected And this is chiefly to be seene in a strong Apoplexie or falling sicknesse in which the patient looseth all motion and sense Wherevpon it hath come to passe oftentimes that many haue bene buried for dead in that case who were notwithstanding aliue and some haue recouered and done well afterward as wee haue many examples both in common experience and in histories olde and newe Nowe whilest the soule is thus letted from performing her actions by such inconueniences who would not iudge that she were cleane extinguished with the body Neuerthelesse afterward when she can vse her instruments shee sheweth plainely that the fault commeth not of her but of the instruments that faile her Therefore when we speak of the soule and of the body we must put the same difference between them that is betwixt a Workman and his tooles considering the nature of both and what they can doe both ioyntly and seuerally For an instrument hath neither knowledge nor force nor vertue of it selfe being able to doe nothing alone but onely so farre foorth as it is set on woorke by some Woorkeman But there is another reason in the Woorkeman For although hee cannot vse his arte without those instruments that are necessary thereunto yet hee hath alwayes abiding within him that arte power force and dexteritie whereby he woorketh So that when wee speake of the soule wee are to consider what shee can doe of her selfe and of her owne nature without the bodie and what shee cannot doe without it For we learne in the holy Scriptures that when Angels appeared to men because they are spirits and haue no speech like to that of men as being bodilesse and wanting instruments necessary for the framing therof therefore they tooke mens bodies to appeare and speake to men in and by them No marueile then if the soule which is created to vse the members of the body as instruments speaketh not without a tongue as it doeth with one and with the other Organs of voyce and speech Now forasmuch as wee know that the soule giueth life motion and sence to all the body and that it hath sundry instruments in the body in which and by which it perfourmeth those workes for which they were created of God we are now to consider what facultie power and vertue it hath in euery part of the body For albeit that we cannot assigne to the soule especially to the spirite and vnderstanding which is the most excellent part therein any certaine place of lodging as if it were inclosed within any one part or within all the partes of the body neuerthelesse we may iudge of the nature thereof by those instruments whereby it worketh and by their nature and by the workes it produceth And in this consideration we haue a goodly glasse wherein wee may contemplate God that is inuisible making him visible and knowne vnto vs by his workes euen as the soule is become as it were visible and sheweth it selfe to vs by the bodie in which it dwelleth and by the workes which it doeth therein Therefore let vs propound vnto our selues this whole visible world as it were one great bodie then all the partes as members thereof next let vs consider how the soule of all this great body namely the vertue and power of God worketh therein and effecteth all the workes that are done therein according to that order he hath set therein as the soule worketh in the bodie of man and in euery member thereof Thus doing as we know that there is a soule in the bodie and another nature beside that which is bodily and which worketh therein and this we perceiue by the effects thereof so let vs marke withall by the works done in this visible world that there is another nature that effecteth them which being inuisible differeth from all this world wee see as that which is farre more excellent which filleth the whole and by vertue and power is in all the partes thereof as a soule in a bodie But in propounding this glasse before our eyes we must take heede that we fall not into their dotage who haue thought and affirmed that the worlde is the body of God and that himselfe is the soule thereof For therevpon it would follow that God is mortall and corruptible in regard of his body and that some part or other thereof would alwayes corrupt as we daily see corporall things doe Againe if it were so God should not be infinite and incomprehensible as he is for the worlde doeth not comprehend and containe him but he all the world whereof he is the Creator and by whom the world is and consisteth Seeing then the soule is the image of God in man as the body of man is the image of this great world in which God worketh as the soule doeth in the body of man let vs cōsider how God hath distributed the powers vertues and offices of the soule in the body and in euery part thereof as he manifesteth his glory and vertue in all this visible world in all the partes of it For first they agree herein that as there is but one soule in one body which is sufficient for all the partes and members thereof so there is but one God in the world sufficient for all the creatures Next if we cannot conceiue howe the soule is lodged in the body or how it giueth life vnto it neither yet howe it worketh displayeth therein the vertues which it hath but onely so farre foorth as it testifieth the same by those diuers effects which we see and perceiue in euery part and member thereof no marueile then if wee cannot with our eyes discerne or comprehend how God is throughout all filling heauen and earth how he displayeth his power and vertue howe he worketh in all his creatures and how hee guideth gouerneth and preserueth them by his heauenly prouidence For if wee cannot comprehend the creature nor the nature thereof how shall wee comprehend the nature of the Creator And if it be not in our power to know the workes of God wrought in vs neither the woorkes of our owne soule how shall we know his works done
in the whole world And if we be not able to vnderstand or comprehend them doeth it followe therefore that he doeth them not yet there are many that conclude after that sort For they beleeue nothing but that which they are able to cōceiue know comprehend by their natural reason And so because they cānot know how the soule being of a spirituall nature is ioyned with the bodie which is cleane of another nature nor conceiue howe it is lodged and worketh therein therefore they must conclude that they haue no soule which worketh that in them that is there done For they see not neither can they shewe howe it worketh by those instruments which it hath in the bodie but onely so farre foorth as they behold the worke But we shall haue occasion elsewhere to handle this more at large For this time let vs goe forward with our speech of the powers and faculties of the soule considering first of the braine which is the principall instrument thereof and the seate of the internall senses already mentioned by vs of which wee are to be instructed particularly Of the Braine and of the nature thereof of the sundry kinds of knowledge that are in man of the similitude that is betweene the actions and woorkes of the naturall vertues of the soule and of the internall senses Chap. 23. ARAM. The woorkemanship which God hath wrought in the whole course of nature as well in the nature of the heauens as of the elements of liuing things of plants mettals and other creatures doth vndoubtedly containe in it great miracles and very excellent and euident testimonies which shewe plainely vnto vs that the nature of all things yea of the whole worlde commeth not by fortune and at aduenture but that they were created and ordeyned by a more excellent nature then any can be found in al the world But there is not a more expresse and clearer image of the diuine nature then in that part of man wherein are to be found those great and marueilous vertues and properties which are commonly called Animales as namely the thought vnderstanding and knowledge of numbers and of order reason iudgement memory with the discerning of honest things from those that are dishonest of good things from bad together with the election or reiection of them Therefore the contemplation of these vertues and powers is very necessary for vs that by the knowledge of them wee may dayly learne to knowe GOD the better by that resemblaunce and similitude of his wisedome which hee hath vouchsafed to transferre and to imprint in mans nature and that wee might bee induced thereby to glorifie him and that wee shoulde labour to the vttermost of our power to haue this image shine in vs more and more and daily to encrease in likenesse vnto the paterne from whence it is taken Nowe let vs followe that diuision which wee haue alreadie made of the sundry faculties vertues properties and offices which the soule hath in the bodie namely the Animall Vitall and Naturall and that diuision also which wee made of mans bodie vnto which many attribute three seuerall partes and call them bellies the first and highest of which they place in the head for the Animall faculties and vertues the second which is the middlemost belly in the breast and stomacke for the Vitall vertues and the last from the Midriffe to the share-bone for the Naturall faculties They vnderstande by the first the whole brayne which they diuide also into sundrie partes and call them likewise Bellies and little Bellies Wee haue alreadie hearde of the excellencie of the head of the place and situation thereof of the goodly outward members wherewith it is beautified of the bones whereof it is made and of the couering wherewith they are couered that the braine might haue his conuenient lodging and such a one as is requisite for the nature and office it hath that it might be wel fortified and defended on euery side to preserue and keepe it well against all outward inconueniences that might come vnto it and to the end also it might haue neere about it all those seruaunts and senses which it guideth and gouerneth and all those instruments which it standeth most in neede of both in regard of the workes it is charged with as also for the purging thereof Forasmuch then as it is lodged in the head we are to know that as the head hath a certaine agreement with the heauens and the eyes with the celestiall lightes as wee haue already touched so is it likewise with the braine For it is of a more heauenly nature and approcheth neerer to the spirituall and diuine nature then any other part of the whole body as that wherein a man may finde all those excellent vertues and Animall powers of which I made mention in the beginning of my speech and which are no actions or workes of a brutish nature Whereof also it followeth very wel that the Woorkemaster and authour thereof cannot bee of a brutish nature without vnderstanding and knowledge of order of things honest and dishonest and of good and bad Which teacheth vs moreouer that hee greatly esteemeth of the preseruation of nature and of humane societie detesteth whatsoeuer is contrary therevnto seeing hee hath imprinted in man such an image of his diuine nature as hee would not willingly haue defaced blotted out Wherfore although we cannot throughly know either the nature of the braine or the actions thereof or of the soule which it serueth yet that which may come to our knowledge will greatly helpe to confirme more more this testimony of God and of his prouidence which is already imprinted in our hearts by the light and law of nature Therfore it were very good and profitable for vs to consider diligently of that resemblance of God which euery one of vs beareth in a very small image that wee may giue him thankes and referre to their proper ende all those giftes and excellent partes which he hath placed in our nature Wee are to note then for the first poynt that as GOD manifesteth more excellently his diuine nature and the glorie of his maiestie in the heauens and in the highest partes of this great visible worlde then he doeth in other partes more base and terrestriall as we may easily knowe by the contemplation of them so dealeth hee with the head and brayne of man which is as it were the lodging of the internall senses already named which are farre more excellent and noble then the outward senses For if liuing creatures and chiefly man should onely and barely apprehend those things that are before them without any imagination thought or consideration of them thereby to know how to chuse or reiect them as they may be eyther profitable or hurtfull it would not be greatly profitable to haue them presented to the outward senses For this cause God hath ioyned vnto them another facultie and vertue which is much more
word of God But forasmuch as the darkenesse which sinne hath brought with it keepeth man from hauing any sound and perfect knowledge of God or of heauenly things as he had in his first estate it is necessary therefore that hee should restore and kindle againe in him this diuine and perfect life which hee hath lost by the benefite of regeneration and spirituall renouation as if hee created him anew giuing him a minde to vnderstand his worde and a will to followe and to embrace it This is that which I thought we were to note and learne concerning the meanes that bring vs certaine knowledge of such things as we ought to iudge and accompt for true Let vs nowe consider howe the spirit of man being enriched in measure with heauenly gifts and graces doeth finally attaine to the ende of all inquisition and searching out of trueth which is contemplation that followeth iudgement as iudgement followeth reason and the discourse thereof Therefore doe thou ACHITOB take vpon thee to discourse of this matter subiect and so ende all speaches of this dayes worke concerning vnderstanding that afterward wee may looke particularly into the will which is the second part and vertue of the highest and most soueraigne power of the soule How the vertues and powers of the soule shew themselues by litle and litle and by degrees of contemplation and of the good that is in it of that true and diuine contemplation which we looke for after this life Chap. 32. ACHITOB. I was much troubled oftentimes about the vnderstanding of these two words Soule and Spirite in seeking to find what difference or agreement they haue one with another seeing that many times I sawe one of them taken for the other and also opposed as repugnant one to another In the ende I learned of skilful men that wee might vse the worde Soule to signifie man as hee is borne hauing onely the giftes of a humane soule namely the humane senses and those other powers and vertues both animall and naturall of which wee haue already spoken And as for the Spirite that wee must vnderstand thereby whatsoeuer heauenly grace and knowledge of the trueth is giuen to man by the spirite of God dwelling in him which guideth and leadeth him to the contemplation of the diuine nature wherein consisteth his good and felicitie Moreouer wee may see in sundrie places of the Scriptures according to the Hebrew phrase the worde Soule taken not onely for the life of man and for all things belonging thereto but also for the whole nature of man and thus also is the worde Flesh taken Therefore when the flesh is opposed and set against the spirite in man wee vnderstand thereby not the body only but also the soule of man I meane such a one as it was at the beginning when being left vnto it selfe it followed the corruption of it owne nature And likewise by the spirite wee meane that which is regenerated in euery part of man whereby hee being withdrawen from the peruerse desires and corrupt affections of his nature is lift vp to the contemplation of celestiall and eternall things But our God vseth in such sort to apply himselfe to the nature and abilitie of his creatures that by little and little and by degrees he dispenseth vnto them those things which hee will bestowe vpon them alwayes keeping that order which hee hath vsed and followed in the creation of the worde For as Moses testifieth hee first created it of nothing Then hauing created the matter of all natures hee brought it into a woorke and gaue vnto it a forme and so polishing it by degrees and day by day at length hee set it in that perfection which hee minded to bestowe vpon it Wee see likewise that in the continuation of his woorkes hee beginneth alwayes at the basest and least thing and so goeth on encreasing augmenting and ascending vp vntill hee hath placed them in their perfection whereof we haue daily experience principally in plants and liuing creatures For the generation of plants commeth of their seedes from which they take their beginning And when the seede which is the least part of the whole plant is put into the ground it taketh roote therein and then commeth foorth encreasing dayly vntill it come to those bounds that are alotted vnto it by the Creatour which it can not passe because it can not attaine to greater perfection being of that kinde but then daily falleth to decay vntill it be wholly consumed and returned to the elements from whence it was taken The like is done in the generation of all liuing creatures and namely in that of man For what is his beginning and what is his conception natiuitie childehoode adolescencie youth mans estate and then old-age Wee see howe small his beginning is and howe hee groweth steppe by steppe and from age to age vntill hee commeth to the flower of his age and to his full strength as plantes doe and from thence the neerer hee draweth to olde-age the more hee fadeth and decayeth vntill hee come to death whereby the body returneth to the Elements out of which it is taken For as God hath giuen him a beginning so hath hee appointed him limites vnto which hee may ascend vp vntill hee come to his highest and then hee is to descend as the ordinance of God shall leade him As for the soule the same can not befall it in regard of bignesse seeing it is not corporall as the body is neither yet in respect of death seeing it is immortall For it can not be resolued as the body may to returne into the elements out of which it is not taken but it abideth alwayes in that substance and nature which first it had because it is of a celestiall and diuine nature But if the question be of the faculties powers and vertues thereof the seedes of which it hath in it selfe wee see by experience howe they shewe themselues more and more perfect and howe the vse of them is greater in one age then in an other For as long as the infant is in his mothers wombe no man can perceiue that as yet hee vseth anie other vertue and facultie of the soule that is in him then that which heeretofore wee called the vegetatiue or nourishing facultie by which hee is nourished as plants are After when hee is borne hee continueth a long time like to other liuing creatures as though he had only a vegetatiue and sensitiue soule as they haue Then by little and little as hee groweth from one age to an other those vertues of the soule whereby hee differeth from beastes appeare euery day more and more And yet hee hath no other soule in substaunce nor any other senses and minde throughout his whole life then hee had when it first mooued as also hee hath no other body But a man may easily iudge that this cōmeth not of the nature of the soule but of the instruments it hath in
they stand doubtfull what he is whether he haue care of men or no and whether he heare and helpe them when they call vpon him And if they be in aduersity then they loue him much lesse For if they thinke that their miseries come from their owne nature or at all aduenture they suppose they are not bounde vnto him neither ought to loue him seeing hee hath prouided no better for their affayres And if they thinke that himselfe doeth sende them because of their sinnes they are so farre from louing him that contrariwise they hate him and storme against him as it is most manifest by infinite blasphemies contayned in the bookes of Heathen Poets Historiographers and Philosophers aswell against God as against his prouidence iudgements and all his woorkes when they fell not out to their lyking Nowe if their Vnderstanding was so blinded in the Knowledge of God their Will was much turned out of the way For it is alwayes like to a shippe carried hither and thither by diuers tempests which seeketh still some hauen to arriue at but can finde none So the Will seeking after the good which it desireth runneth and skippeth from one to another without order and can finde no rest except that heauenly light shine into the minde which may teach it the true good and frame it to the seeking and imbracing thereof Therefore when this light is in the spirite of man it first presenteth to the Will that infinite good namely God in whom alone shee may satisfie her selfe and then all other good thinges that depende of that all which shee desireth euery one in his order Thus shall God haue the first place and the next his creatures all which wee ought to loue so farre foorth as hee hath created them and so consequently are good And if wee place God in the highest degree of loue as the soueraigne good with whose loue we ought to be as it were wholly swallowed vp wee will loue nothing but in him and by him and for his sake and consequently we will desire nothing but according to his Will because wee can Will or desire nothing but that which wee shall loue and wee shall loue nothing but that which wee ought to loue neither with any other affection nor to any other ende Which is the proper effect of the spirite of God in them that are regenerated and guided by him And thus when the darkenesse of our minde is driuen out by light from heauen which is brought vnto it by Iesus Christ and the Will inflamed by the holy Ghost then doe our heartes reioyce in the goodnesse of God and our conscience resteth therein then doe we loue him and beginne to obey him not desiring any other thing Therefore we beseech him to guide gouern vs to reforme vs daily more more after his own image and similitude to the end we may be made conformable to him both in mind will become true temples for him to dwel in And whatsoeuer he sendeth vs whether it be prosperity or aduersity we take and receiue al as from his hād giuing him thanks in prosperity not abusing or extolling our selues against him and calling vpon him in aduersity without murmuring or despiting his maiesty which we adore alwaies whether we vnderstand comprehend his iudgements or no. Likewise we are led by him to loue all good things according to that order which is shewed vnto vs by his heauenly wisdome namely other men made after the image of God as we are those vertues life things that are agreeable vnto him desiring thē for the loue of God knowing that we serue him in the lawful vse of all these things yeelding praises and thanks vnto him as to the author creator of them Neuertheles it cōmeth to passe that we see oftentimes a very great confusion in the maners works euen of the holiest best men that may be but that is whē God withdraweth from them his spirite grace although it be neuer so litle a while or when he doth not manifest shew forth his vertue power in thē For without God we can doe nothing through him nothing is impossible vnto vs. It is very certain that there remaineth alwaies natural infirmity corruption in man and that the mind reason memory may be troubled by the affections of the heart which resēbleth a fiery surnce is like to a thick smoke ascending out of a great fire which would dim the eies make them as it were blind And whē the light of the mind is thus darkned reason cānot discourse so wel nor iudgement iudge so vprightly nor memory retaine so firmly or bring forth so readily that which it hath kept as if none of them were thus hindred with darknesse which compasseth about the light that ought to guide thē Now if there be such a let impedimēt in regard of the mind the Wil is much more troubled by this fire of affections that heateth kindleth it whereby it is made a great deale more vntoward to follow the counsel aduise of reason then reason is wel affected to admonish and counsel it in that which is to be followed or to be fled And when these two principal parts powers of the soule are thus troubled and moued it is no maruel if man forget God himself if with al his soule body he turn aside from that which he ought to follow after As cōtrariwise there is no doubt but that as long as the celestial eternal father disperseth his diuine light into our minds by his sonne who is his eternal word and wisedome preparing them by his holy spirit to receaue the same and by this meanes also kindeleth the heart and Will with the heate thereof disposing and framing them to follow this light no doubt I say but there will ensue a good agreement and great conformitie of the minde and heart of the Reason and Will and of all the affections yea of all the senses and members of man But let vs return to the sequele of our speech which hath an especiall respect vnto the Will we haue then to consider more narrowly of the power and freedome of the Will both in her internall and externall actions For the first if the question bee of deliberating about any thing it is in the choyce of the Will to propound the same to the minde to aduise and consult thereupon or otherwise not to propounde the same vnto it After whilest the matter is in deliberation she may command eyther to prosecute the same or to deferre it to some other time or to giue it ouer quite and to turne the minde to some other thing as it were a Prince among his councell And if the consultation bee finished and sentence giuen by iudgement yet may the will stay it selfe from desiring and following after that which is counselled and iudged to bee good by reason
so some of them are brideled and restrained by others For the first enuy hatâ—ed and anger spring of loue For they are motions of the heart that loueth against him that hateth or hurteth her who is deâ—re or beloued And desire riseth of reuenge and the ioy that commeth thereby proceede from anger and malice If a man loue any thing he wisheth it would come and hopeth also that he shall enioy it and contrariwise hee feareth that it will not come to passe If it come to passe hee reioyceth If it come not to passe when hee thinketh it will or when hee expecteth it he is grieued In like manner great ioy is lessened through greefe and enuy through mercy or through feare And one greefe altereth another when it is greater and feare maketh griefe to be forgotten and causeth the lame to runne To be short these sundry motions of affections are like to stormy waues and billowes which being driuen one of another doe either augment or diminish or wholy oppresse one another Wherefore the like happeneth in the motion of our affections that commeth to passe in a sedition and ciuill dissention in which no man considereth who is the worthier person to obey and folow him but who is the stronger and most mighty So in the fight of the affections there is no respect had to that which is most iust but only to that which is strongest and most violent and which hath gotten such power ouer the soule that it hath wholly subdued her to it selfe which thing wee ought to stand in great feare of But whatsoeuer affections are in vs there is alwayes some griefe or some ioy ioyned with them Therefore following our matter it shal be good for vs to consider particularly of the nature of these two contrary motions of which ioy serueth greatly for the preseruation of life but griefe drieth vp and consumeth the heart euen vnto the death of it as wee shall now learne of ACHITOB. That Ioy or Griefe are alwayes ioyned to the affections and what Ioy and Griefe are properly Chap. 44. ACHITOB. The knowledge of the Affections of the heart and soule is very necessary for euery one because they are very euill and dangerous diseases in the soule but yet being knowen they may be cured more easily This cause hath mooued vs after wee haue spoken of the heart and of the naturall motion thereof and of the vse it hath in this life of the body to enter into the consideration of a second motion it hath which serueth not onely for this corporall life but also for that spirituall life in regard of which it was chiefely giuen and of which we saide that there was as it were an image and representation thereof in the first motion Now we shall better vnderstand this by the subiect of this discourse propounded vnto vs being handled particularly as wee intend to doe For as by the first naturall motion of the heart it receiueth such refreshing as is necessary for the sending of life vnto the whole body and for the maintenance and preseruation of the same as also for the expelling and driuing out of all such things as might hurt and stifle it euen so is it in this second motion as farre as wee can conceiue of the nature of it For seeing God hath appointed ioy as a meanes to preserue life hee hath likewise put this affection in the heart whereby it is as it were enlarged to receiue within it selfe and to embrace all Good that is offered vnto it as also it restraineth and shutteth it selfe vp through griefe which is contrary thereunto Moreouer wee shall finde that there is no affection in vs which is not intermingled with some griefe or else with some ioy For seeing the heart is the proper seate and instrument of all the affections when it is as it were stricken and beaten with some vnpleasant thing that is offered vnto it then doeth it retire close vp it selfe and feele griefe as if it had receiued a wound then doeth it flie from the thing it liketh not Yea the heart doeth alwayes either enlarge or shut vp it selfe according to those affections that are within it the causes of which are in it owne nature God hauing so disposed and willed the same for the reasons which we haue already touched For if the heart be ioyfull the ioy that it hath doeth bring so great pleasure vnto it that thereby it is opened and enlarged as if it would receiue imbrace and lay holde vpon that thing which reioyceth it and bringeth vnto it that pleasure which it hath in this ioy Nowe because there is ioy in loue and hope the blood and spirites are gently and mildely dispersed by their moouings by reason of the reioycing at the Good that is present or that is expected as if it were already present And forasmuch as such motions are made by the enlarging of the heart whereby we embrace the thing offered vnto vs the face also appeareth smiling cheerefull and ruddy For a man may easily iudge that the obiect presented to the heart mooueth that power whereby it is stirred vp because that before the heart doth mooue it selfe it must know the thing that offereth occasion vnto it to be moued either with ioy or griefe or some such like affection For as wee haue learned already the outward senses do first perceiue the things that are offered vnto them and then they present them vnto the common sense which presently by a singular prouidence of God sendeth them to al the other senses and to al those powers that are in the sundry parts of the soule and body This done if there be matter of ioy the heart being striken with that which is acceptable vnto it enlargeth it selfe and being thus gently enlarged as it were to embrace the same it disperseth much naturall heate with the blood besides great quantitie of spirites of which it sendeth a good portion to the face if the ioy be so great that it mooueth a man to hearty laughter For the face it selfe is in some sort blowen vp and enlarged the forehead is made cleere and smoothe the eyes glister and shine the cheekes become ruddy and the lippes gather in themselues In a worde the heart doeth so enlarge it selfe that it is represented in the face as it were in a glasse or in an image framed to expresse the ioy and gladnes which it hath Moreouer experience teacheth vs sufficiently what difference there is between a cheerfull and a sad countenance Therfore when we loue one wee embrace him as if wee woulde ioyne him to our selues and put him into our bosome and heart as some deere and very pretious thing Which wee see chiefly in mothers when they holde their little infants betweene their armes and embrace them with great affection of heart For this cause Saint Paul being desirous to let the Corinthians vnderstand what good will hee bare them howe louing ready and
taste doth breede an other desire to continue therein and to preserue those meanes whereby they may alwayes enioy such pleasure Whereby wee may iudge howe the desire and coueting that is in man wandereth and goeth astray when as notwithstanding it is giuen him of God to the end he might wish for that which hee iudgeth to bee good for him and that hee might followe after it and hauing obtained the same might holde and keepe it fast Now Forasmuch as God is the true stedfast and firme good of man hee doeth naturally wish and desire him and because this good is infinite it falleth out thereupon that the largenesse length and depth of our coueting is infinite and can be filled with no other thing but with God Wherefore when it is come thither there it stayeth and resteth it selfe But whilest it wandreth hither and thither there wil be no end but one desire begetteth another insomuch that there are infinite kindes of them which take their particular names of those things which they couet For the vnmesurable coueting of honours is called ambition of golde and siluer couetousnesse of meates and drinkes gluttony and drunkennesse the vnlawfull and immoderate desire of coniunction betweene man and woman is called Whoredome which also hath diuers kindes vnder it according to the degrees of their filthinesse and enormities in whome it aboundeth The vertues opposite and contrary to these vicious desires are iustice liberalitie continencie chastitie and temperance of which vertues and vices and of others proceeding of them we haue discoursed at large in our fist morall institution Therefore to conclude that which hath beene hitherto spoken of Loue and of Desire I thinke wee ought to make two sortes of Loue the one in vertue the other in vice For that Loue proceeding of Desire and Coueting such as we see commonly in men is false and fained And because it counterfaiteth often the actions of true loue therefore wee ought to be very wary that it beguile vs not and that wee take not the one for the other Concerning the first wee must remember that all loue is begotten of Good that it bendeth and draweth towardes Good as wee haue already learned Now Good is of that nature that it breedeth in vs a desire to bee ioyned vnto it in regarde of that agreement which it hath with vs of which agreement and coniunction commeth delight and then blessednesse and felicitie So that the vtmost bounds and limites of Loue is to be knit together in vnitie as much as may be And the straighter and closer the bond of loue is tied and conioyned in one and the same essence so much the more truely and perfectly is loue come vnto his ende and consisteth in the perfection of his nature Therefore the desire of coniunction which is in Loue is giuen to man to the ende hee shoulde wish and couet to be vnited with God his true Good that being made as it were a little God like vnto him hee might be partaker of his eternall blessednesse This is the true firme and fruitfull coniunction of loue and the great and excellent reward thereof For all the rest are nothing in comparison of this but onely vaine and fruitlesse Nowe the Loue of the body desireth the coniunction of the body and the loue of soules desireth to be ioyned with soules that there may be as it were one soule in many bodies And this coniunction is the greatest truest and of longest continuance which causeth but one heart and one will among friends as if they were one onely body and one onely soule and as if hee that loueth were the same party that is beloued Therefore it is written of the first Christians that were in the Church of Ierusalem that the multitude of them that beleeued were of one heart and one soule neither any of them saide that any thing of that which he possessed was his owne but they had al things common Neither is it saide without reason in common Prouerb that all things are common among friendes which is the cause that a friend calleth and accompteth as his owne whatsoeuer belongeth to his friend whether it be in prosperitie or in aduersitie Therefore also it is commonly said that a stedfast friend is tried in doubtfull matters Wherevpon it commeth to passe in true loue that friends lift vp into great dignitie are more carefull of those whome they loue how base soeuer they be and of their affaires then of themselues and of their particular estate Moreouer we are to knowe that as it is the nature of Loue to ioyne together so doeth it also bring equalitie with it so farre foorth as the nature of those things that are conioyned will beare insomuch that the highest stoope downe to the lowest to lift them vp vnto themselues they that are equall associate themselues together Therefore as we haue often saide that the fountaine and patterne of all true loue is in God so in this point it doth chiefly shew it selfe vnto vs. For hee abaseth himselfe to our smallnesse as though he would reach vs his hand from heauen to drawe and lift vs vp vnto himselfe by the meane of Iesus Christ vnto whome and by whome wee are truely vnited with him But heere wee are to knowe that the desire lust or coueting which is bredde of Loue groweth to bee vicious through the corruption of our nature which otherwise being directed by good meanes and by reason according to the will of God and ayming at the right Good which is God woulde cause vs to loue God first for his owne sake and then his creatures in him and for the loue of him Neither shoulde wee euer couet worldly goods with an vnbrideled desire but woulde rather accompt all mortall things vnworthy to bee cared for by our immortall soules Whereunto wee shall be the rather perswaded if following that which wee haue begunne to speake of true and false loue and of the difference betweene them wee consider what good things are to be found in the one aboue the other what sundry rewards men propound vnto themselues in loue what knowledge is required therein and howe the one is encreased by the other This then shall be thy matter subiect ACHITOB which thou shalt take to make an end of our discoursing of the nature of Loue. Of the good things that are in true Loue of the diuerse valuations of Loue and of the benefits which it procureth what knowledge is requisite to allure Loue and howe one Loue groweth by another of the friendship that may be both betweene the good and the bad Chap. 52. ACHITOB. Good is loued so much as it is knowen and as wee are able to vnderstand what it is For things are first knowen to the end they may be loued Now there are three meanes of knowledge in our soule namely by sense by reason and by the mind From the sense springeth appetite which is common
heart and first of Reuenge Crueltie and Rage And because Reuenge is appointed to punish offences and euery vice findeth a Iudge within it selfe wee will speake also of the affection of Shame which commonly followeth euery vile acte It belongeth therefore to thee AMANA to intreate of this matter Of Reuenge Crueltie and Rage and what agreement there is among them what Shame and Blushing is and why God hath placed these affections in man and of the good and euill that is in them Chap. 58. AMANA If euery one might be a Iudge in his owne cause and execute his own decrees the malice of men doth declare sufficiently that there would be no iustice obserued in the world but robbery publikely put in practice insomuch as the strongest would alwayes carry away the spoile For that blind loue which euery one beareth towards himselfe causeth vs that we cannot see clearly either into our owne or or into other mens affaires so that wee are alwayes more ready to doe wrong to others then to depart from anie thing of our owne Euen so if wee might be suffered to reuenge those iniuries which oftentimes without cause wee suppose wee haue receiued it is certaine wee woulde obserue neither measure nor meane but suffering our selues to be guided by the passion of anger and wrath wee would fall into more then brutish crueltie and rage For as God hath reserued vengeance to himselfe and promised to recompense it so no man carrieth that minde to doe it iustly that is in him neither indeede can any because it is the spirite of a man that offereth iniury to an other whereas the body is but the instrument of the minde and as it were a sworde vnto it which the spirite manageth and causeth to cutte Whereupon it followeth that the party offended can not reuenge himselfe of his chiefest and greatest enemy For God onely is able to take vengeance of the soule and to throwe it together with the body into hell fire Moreouer when wee thinke to hurt the body of our enemy which is but the executioner of the euill disposition of his Spirite wee hurt our owne soule making it guiltie of the iudgement of God who forbiddeth vs all reuenge and commaundeth vs to possesse our soules in patience and neuer to requite euill for euill but to waite the Lordes leasure being assuredly perswaded that he will saue and deliuer vs. Nowe looke what the affection receiueth and embraceth the same doeth it desire to returne and send backe againe where it did receiue it whether it be good or euill Therefore as a good affection both wisheth and doeth well to him of whome it receiueth good will and beneficence so a naughty affection desireth to returne euill receiued vnto him of whome it hath receiued it For this cause when the heart is wounded with griefe by any one it desireth to returne the like to him that hath hurt it and to rebite him of whome it is bitten This affection is a desire of reuenge which being put in execution is reuenge accomplished namely when wee cause him that hath offended vs to suffer that punishment which in our iudgement he hath deserued This punishment is to damnifie him eyther in soule or in body or in his goodes yea sometimes by all the meanes that may bee And when power to reuenge is wanting there are some that fall into outrageous speeches into horrible and execrable cursings crying out for vengeance eyther at GODS hand or of some other that can perfourme it Euery offence therefore that ingendereth hatred anger enuy or indignation bringeth with it a desire of reuenge which is to render euill for euil and to requite griefe receiued with the like againe And when the offence is growen to that passe that nothing can asswage the extremitie thereof nor stay it from breaking foorth into reuenge and hurting by all the meanes that may bee then is this Reuenge turned into Rage For a man in such a case is not much vnlike to a madde dogge For because Reuenge can not take that effect which it woulde haue it vexeth and closeth vp as it were the hart bringing great griefe great torment to the whole body so that a man so affected is as if his heart body were ready to burst asunder Nowe when the heart is hardened with Reuenge it is turned into Crueltie which is a priuation of pitie and compassion For when Offence and Anger are set on fire they exclude all good thoughtes out of the minde and perswade to all kinde of Crueltie of which there are three degrees For there are some that procure it who neuerthelesse woulde not execute it themselues There are others that execute it Besides there is a third kinde of Crueltie when wee faile in perfourming our duetie towardes them that are in necessitie whome wee both ought and might helpe and succour whether this come of euill will or through negligence For thereby wee shewe that wee are without pitie and compassion Heereof followeth inhumanitie which is as if wee shoulde lay aside all humane affection and bee transfourmed into brute beasts Therefore wee may well conclude that all priuate Reuenge proceeding of enuy or of hatred or of anger is vicious and forbidden by God who commaundeth vs to render good for euill and not euill for euill For hee hath ordained the meanes whereby hee will haue vengeance execucuted among men Therefore hee hath appointed Magistrates to execute it according to his Lawe and following his ordinaunce not with any euill affection but with iust indignation proceeding from loue and from true zeale of iustice For to punish the wicked is a very acceptable sacrifice so that there be no intermingling of our own passions withall and that wee exercise not our enuies rancours and reuenges vnder the name and title of Iustice and of the glorie of God For if wee doe so wee cease to exercise the punishments and corrections of the Lorde and put our owne in practice Wee must therefore followe his example For hee suffereth not euill to goe vnpunished if men auoide not punishment by his grace and mercie and by those meanes which he hath appointed for the obtaining thereof Therefore it is often saide of the wicked in the Scripture that GOD will returne into their bosome the euill which they haue done and his children and seruantes desire him also to perfourme the same But when hee doeth it hee is not mooued with any euill affection but onely with the loue hee beareth to iustice and vertue and to his children and with pity and compassion towardes them in regarde of the iniuries done vnto them And as himselfe commeth in iudgement to take vengeance so hee woulde haue them that supplie his place among men vnto whome hee hath committed the sworde for the defence of the good and punishment of euill doers to followe his example But whether they doe so or no there is no sinne that can auoide
punishment and that findeth not a Iudge euen in him that committed it to take vengeance thereof by meanes of the affections which God hath placed in man to that ende Among which Shame occupieth a place which we ought well to consider of Concerning this affection there are some that are ashamed in regarde of some feare of dishonour of which there followeth no dammage or in respect of some griefe or perturbation of the soule arising of some thinges that seeme to bring some dishonour with them Forasmuch therefore as Shame is a feare of dishonour it is of great force in them that loue honour For the more they loue it the more doe they feare dishonour which is the contrary thereof as a very great euill And for this cause there is in Shame not onely a feare of villanie but indignation also after the committing of some fault For hee that is faulty chafeth and is angry with himselfe because of the dishonour hee receiueth through his offence And this kind of Shame is the simplest and lightest and may be called Blushing being very common especially in children and virgins Now for asmuch as herein the spirits withdraw themselues vnto the hart as vnto a center and presently as it were in the same instant returne backe againe the face is painted with a vermillion colour which is very pleasant and comely namely in that age and in those persons Therefore is this colour rightly called the colour of vertue For God hath placed this affection of shame in the nature of men to the end it should be vnto them as a bridle to stay them from committing vile things and as a Iudge and Reuenger to punish them after they haue done such things Therfore also there is yet another kind of shame more vehemēt which approcheth neare vnto the affection of anger and is mingled with wrath and feare For it is a motion of the heart in which he that feeleth himselfe guiltie of any dishonest crime or act is angry with himselfe for the same and punisheth and reuengeth himselfe vpon himselfe and withall feareth the iudgements of others and the rebuke and dishonour that may come vnto him for it For as we haue heard already God hath placed in the nature of man sundry affections of which some are sweete and pleasant to the end they should be vnto vs as it were spurres vnto vertue others are bitter and vnpleasaunt that they might bee vnto vs in steade of punishmentes and that the greefe which they bring might teach vs to knowe more cleerely what diuersitie there is betweene vertue and vice and what difference wee ought to put betweene good and euill deedes Therefore there is not a woorse thing in man nor any disease more dangerous to the soule then impudencie which is wholly contrarie to Shame and Blushing For whosoeuer is once past all Shame hee hath no care at all of his honour much lesse of the honour of GOD. Heereof it is that the holie Ghost by the Prophetes doeth greatly accuse the impudencie of the wicked saying vnto them by way of reproch that they had whoores foreheads and woulde not bee ashamed that they were impudent children and stiffe hearted and that they did glorie in their wickednesse after they had done euill in steade of being ashamed and amending their faults Nowe whereas wee sayde that Shame painteth the face with a vermilian colour wee are to knowe that the passions and affections of the soule breede great change in our bodies as they that mooue the spirits and the naturall heat by opening and shutting vp of the heart whereby the spirits are eyther inlarged or restrained Thus it commeth to passe that the colour of the face is changed it being a propertie of the heart to set in it certaine markes and signes of the affections that are in it as wee haue already heard Therefore doeth Shame paint the cheekes with rednesse because the danger that springeth of feare is of that nature that the heart standeth in neede of helpe to repell and driue it away namely of that heate that retireth backe vnto it Nowe forasmuch as there is perturbation in Shame by reason of the opinion and feare of dishonour and blame heate is drawen vp to the head and so from thence it is dispersed ouer the face And although Shame doeth not trouble the heart and minde so much as feare doeth yet doeth it confound the head and causeth it oftentimes to forget what it thought and was purposed to haue done As wee see it sometimes in very wise and skilfull men when they are to speake or to doe something before personages or companies whome they reuerence And this is incident for the most part to such as are most modest and to them that presume least of themselues who indeede can not heare their owne praises without shame and blushing such is their nature and modestie or else it is because their hearts are very litle which maketh them also fearefull Nowe although too much shamefastnesse when it is causelesse is woorthy of blame because it often keepeth them that are ouertaken therwith from doing many good things from imploying the giftes which they haue receiued of God as it becommeth them yet is it more praise-woorthy then impudency which as it maketh men altogether shameles brasenfaced so it vsually accompanieth proud arrogant persons For it is cleane contrary to modesty Seeing therfore we learn that shame is a feare of dishonour and blame and of doing that that might procure it we must take good heed that we iudge aright of that which is to bee accounted vile and dishonest and of that which may bring vnto vs honour or dishonour praise or dispraise For our nature being ful of darknes through sinne that raigneth in it our natural iudgment is not so intire and vpright as it ought to be to iudge well either of that which is truely honest and which bringeth with it honour and commendation or otherwise of the contrary vnto it Whereupon it commeth to passe that we oftentimes take one for another so light vpon that which we least sought for or desired Therfore let vs know and learne this that there is nothing honest but vertue nor any thing dishonest but vice and that as nothing is more beautifull and of greater renowme then vertue so nothing is more ilfauoured dishonourable and infamous then vice But forasmuch as there is great diuersitie of opinions what is to be accounted honest and dishonest what vertue what vice what praise what dispraise let vs learne to frame our iudgement out of the law and word of God which is the rule of all iustice and trueth Otherwise it will come to passe that we shal be oftener ashamed of well doing then of euill doing and of vertue then of vice which were a vile shame and such a one as that we ought to be greatly ashamed thereof For in well doing we must neuer
an aduantage aboue other liuing creatures namely his hands giuen him of God for the doing of any work that he will as we haue already declared Wherefore if he be to fight against beasts his hand will furnish him with moe weapons then all theirs are which they haue by nature although they bee put all together For he can not only make weapons of all sorts but handle them also manage them as pleaseth him in his own defence both against beasts as likewise against those of his owne kind And I would to God he vsed them but in his owne defence and did not abuse them as hee doth to his own hurt very vnnaturally But let vs proceed forward and come to the thirde cause why God hath thus created man all naked which is that he would admonish him thereby of his naturall infirmitie in regarde of those wants and necessities that hemme him in on euery side vnto which he is more subiect thē any other creature Which instruction ought to worke two things especially in him first it ought to induce and mooue him to that peaceable and sociable life with his kinde for the which God created him Secondly by this meanes he is the more bound to acknowledge the prouidence bountie liberality of God towards him whereby he bringeth to passe that the necessitie and want which seemeth to be greater in man then in any other liuing creature declareth him to be the richest and best prouided for yea to be Lord of all For all the garments of beastes of what quality soeuer they be and whatsoeuer els they possesse belong to him Whereas if men were not subiect to such necessities as are incident vnto them what vse should they haue of so many creatures as God hath created for them or what seruice should they haue of their hands For here again we see how that by them he prouideth for their garments by setting on work the skins wools hairs of al other liuing creatures besides the silkes of wormes and other matter which the fruits of the earth affoord vnto them as flaxe hempe such like And if necessitie did not teach them the vse of all these things howe woulde they consider the power wisedome goodnes and prouidence of God in his works in his creatures to praise him to giue him thankes For although they haue necessitie want for their schoolemistres to the end they might learne this science in their schoole yet doe they profit very litle thereby but rather become most ingratefull towards God their Creatour who is so bountiful and liberal a father towards them Whereupon we haue further to note that God hath not giuen to men many thinges belonging particularly to beasts because he hath inriched them with so many other things of which all other creatures are altogether destitute For besides the helpe he hath of the composition and placing of those members which he hath giuen to their bodies being so conuenient to performe that which beasts cannot doe with theirs he hath endued them with speech and reason whereby not onely all that is in other creatures which is not in them is more then recompenced but they haue more in them then all other liuing creatures haue being put together For albeit they haue no fethers wings to flye and mount aloft by as birds haue yet how many means haue they to ascend and to descend to goe to come whither they wil And as for swiftnes and nimblenes how many beasts are there with whose swiftnes they may help themselues And although they haue not finnes wherby to swim in the sea in waters like fishes yet they haue skil hands whereby they can make guide ships and so conuey themselues whither they wil. Now as for strength which they want to cary heauy burdens afarr off how many waies is it recompensed both by land by water and that by means aswel of beasts whose seruice they vse as of artes sciences wherin they are skilful When by we see that God hath put more within a man namely in the sense vnderstanding wherwith he hath indued him then he hath put without in al beasts Concerning the fourth point of which I haue to speak touching this matter it is this that as it pleased God to giue vnto man a farre more excellent body for beautie then he did to any other liuing creature so he would haue this beautie also to appeare in al the parts therof For first this body was not fashioned either to flye in the aire as birds do or to glide vpon the earth to draw it self vpon the belly as creeping things doe nor to march vpō al foure as fourefooted beasts do nor with the head bending downward as theirs is but to stand and goe vpright with the head lifted vpwards towards heauen to the end he might be admonished that his true beginning birth came higher thē from the earth frō other corruptible elements namely frō heauen He is also admonished hereby that he is not borne to serue his belly as brute beasts doe to follow after gluttonie drunkennes whoredome such other carnal more then brutish pleasures wherein licencious men commonly obserue lesse moderation then beasts that are altogether without reason and vnderstanding For although the matter whereof a mans body is compounded diffreth nothing from that whereof the bodies of brute beasts are made neuertheles seeing it pleased God to lodge within it a soule of a diuine and celestial nature that is farre more excellent then all natures and creatures with bodies he would it should haue a lodging agreeable to the nature of it whereby also man might bee admonished of his excellencie and that he was created not onely to looke downe vpon the earth as beastes doe but to lift vp his eyes vnto heauen and to beholde therein the high workes of God his Creator and to doe the like in the residue of the whole world For as we haue heard man is not properly this body which we see but chiefly the soule and spirit which we see not and which hath the body for his lodging So that if we consider both the house and the inhabitant wee shall see that the things giuen of God to beastes and denied to men doe bring great beautie both to beastes because they haue them and to men because they haue them not For if the beastes were depriued of their armour and naturall ornaments they should lose all their beautie and profite that redoundeth vnto them as likewise man should be deformed an vgly if in any sort hee were made partaker of that which is proper agreeable to other creatures But because God hath created man so that he might be eternal and immortall he hath armed him inwardly euen in that part that shal be the meanes vnto him of eternall life Neither would hee clothe him with naturall garments nor arme him with corporall
weapons both because that had bene superfluous hauing giuen vnto him that which is farre better as also because his beautie had bene thereby much diminished and his spirit should not haue bene so well knowen as now it is by meanes of that skill and of those artes of which God hath made it capable For what could he inuent and doe and wherein should he shew that naturall light and dexteritie that is in him if nature had furnished him with all those things wherewith his reason giuen vnto him is able to inrich him But to conclude our speech hauing spoken sufficiently of the creation generation and birth of man let vs looke into this beautie that is in the forme and figure of mans body by calling to remembrance our former discourses And let vs know that both for the matter also for the forme and composition thereof there is not the like worke in all the worlde none so goodly so proper nor so well vnited knit together none so wel proportioned polished in euery respect in euery part thereof So that when we consider thereof from one end of it vnto the other we shal find that the workemaster that made this body hath throughout the whole worke ioyned beautie and profit together But there is yet another excellencie worthy of great admiration in that hee hath not only beautified this body with so goodly a shape as we see it hath but hath also endued it with vertue and abilitie to make other bodies altogether like it selfe as we heard yesterday Wherefore men shewe indeede that they knowe nothing of the excellencie of their nature and that they haue altogether forgotten or at leastwise very ill considered of that instruction which God hath giuen them by the composition of their bodies but principally by the soule that is lodged therein if despising celestiall and eternal things for which they are created they affect and seeke after earthly and transitorie things preferring the earth before heauen as commonly they doe Which is all one as if they declared openly that they are displeased that God hath made them men and not beastes ramping on the earth or marching vpon all foure and turning their snoute alwayes downeward because they haue nothing in them that sauoureth of a diuine and celestiall nature as man hath and so they deale no otherwise then as if they would reproch God for that honour which hee hath bestowed vpon them by creating them differing from brute beastes vnto whome notwithstanding they had rather be like But enough is spoken of this matter And seeing wee may be sufficiently instructed by all our former discourses what are those principall partes powers and offices of the soule I meane the animall vitall and naturall vertues as also what instruments they haue in mans body let vs nowe looke into the life and death thereof and consider more narowly then hitherto we haue done what are the causes both of the one and the other Whether the life of the body can proceede either of the matter or of the composition forme and figure or of the qualities thereof or els of the harmony coniunction and agreement of all these whether any of these or all of them together can be the soule of the length and shortnes of the diuers degrees and ages and of the end of mans life of death and of the causes both of life and death of the difference that is betweene naturall and supernaturall Philosophie in the consideration of things Chap. 74. AMANA Iesus Christ purposing to teach vs that we cannot haue life but in him by him who is the life and who hath the words of eternal life compareth himselfe to a Vine his disciples vnto Branches For as the branch hath life vigor and beareth fruite so long as it remaineth in the vine receiueth nourishment from thence so if it receiueth no sap from thence or if it be cut off it withereth and dyeth We may say the same of the members of the body if the soule be not in euery one of them and if it giue not life vertue and vigor to them all for the performance of their offices For if it fall out so that it withdraweth it selfe altogether from any one part of the body that part is without life as we see by experience in a member dried vp or putrified or cut off from the body And so is it with the whole body when the soule is separated frō it But we are to handle this matter more at large By our former discourses wee may learne the nature both of the soule and of the body what is that vnion and coniunction which they haue together albeit their natures substances and essences are diuers and very different also we haue learned that the one of them namely the spirituall essence is a great deale more excellent then the other which is corporall Wherefore we may well conclude that the life in the body proceedeth not of the matter whereof it is made nor of the qualities ioyned vnto it nor yet of the composition forme and figure thereof For if the life and soule were in the matter of the body the larger and greater mens bodies were and the more matter they had in them the more life and soule the more wit spirit and vnderstanding should be in them But we see by experience that it is farre otherwise and that there is no more life soule in a great body then in a litle And if it were so that the life proceeded from the matter a dead body should bee as well a man as a liuing body We may say the same both of the qualities ioyned to the matter according to the nature of the elements as also of that conformation and agreement that is betweene all the members both within and without And as for the harmony coniunction and concord that floweth from the diuersitie of these qualities and from their temperature it may be increased and diminished Wherefore that cannot be the effect of nature which causeth a thing to be that which it is and giueth vnto the same thing his forme and kinde that continueth alwayes in his estate and naturall disposition For if it were otherwise the nature of kindes might bee changed which neuer any of the Philosophers did so much as imagine or thinke to affirme And as for the composition and figure of the body there is yet lesse reason to say it commeth from thence forasmuch as that continueth the same in a dead body which it was in a liuing Againe those liuing creatures that resemble most the nature and forme of the members of mans body and the matter thereof are oftentimes farther off from the nature of humane sense and vnderstanding then they that do lesse resemble thē Which we may easily know by considering the natures of a Hog and of an Elephant For they that through want and famine haue bene constrained to eate
mans flesh haue testified that no flesh or meate whatsoeuer approcheth neerer in taste or is more like it then the flesh of a Hog And if we consider the inward members and parts there is no beast if we will giue credite to them that haue had the experience thereof that hath them liker to those in man then the Hog hath both for substance disposition forme and figure Contrariwise wherein doeth the Elephant resemble man either for forme or composition of body or of the members both internal and external in comparison of a Hog And yet there is no beast more teachable then the Elephant or that approcheth neerer to the sense and vnderstanding of man as on the other side there is no beast further off in this respect nor more hard to be taught and more brutish then is the Hog And if any man thinke that the industry and docilitie of an Elephant proceedeth either from the greatnesse of the matter whereof it is made or from the abundance of the qualities ioyned vnto the matter or from the harmony coniunction and concorde that is betweene them or lastly from the composition forme figure of his body and of the members thereof wee will oppose vnto him the Ant which is one of the least among the creatures of the earth as the Elephant is the greatest of all as farre as we know The like may be said of the Bee For are there many creatures although greater in substance that yet haue such industrious ingenious natures as these litle beasts haue that are to be reckoned among the smallest of them And by this it appeareth plainly that the soule of beasts is of some other substance nature then their bodies notwithstanding there is great difference betwixt the soule of beasts the soule of mē But we haue further to note touching the soule of man that the spirit doth not only not folow the nature of the body but which is more gouerneth carieth recarieth it whither it pleaseth yea it withstandeth the affections which approch neerest to the corporal terrestrial nature And as for the facultie of sense of the senses it is a vertue that surpasseth all bodily power and vertue all things depending of the body so that there is no facultie of the body that is able to expresse the actions thereof What shall we say then of the vertue of vnderstanding which is the highest and most soueraigne facultie that is in man Which wee cannot say is a body compounded of matter and forme For that thing is the fountaine and original of life which first mooueth a liuing creature to the works belonging vnto life So that when wee inquire what this fountaine and spring is then doe we seeke to know what the soule is Nowe we may soone know by that which hath bene spoken what the soule is not but as yet we cannot perceiue what the proper substance and nature thereof is And in deede it is not that which wee haue to speake of at this time hereafter we may say somewhat of that matter Let it suffice for this present that we know that the true cause of the life of the body in regard of second causes is in the soule next vnto God who is the first and principall cause of all things Therefore it is hee that hath ordained and limitted to euery liuing creature his appointed time wherein to liue and to grow and next to decrease and to dye and as it pleaseth him either to prolong or to abridge their life so doeth he dispose of the second causes and meanes whereby hee will haue it brought to passe Wherefore although euery one hath his certaine bounds and terme of life set him yet none but God onely can attaine to the knowledge thereof For all come not to the last age which hee hath appointed to be the ordinarie end of euery ones life following those degrees into which it is diuided according to that diuision which we make of dayes and yeeres For the infancie of man may be resembled to the morning and to the spring time of the yeere mans age to midday and to the sommer olde-age to the Euening and to Autumne and death to night and to winter Therefore Iob sayth very well speaking of man the number of his moneths are with thee thou hast appointed his bounds which he cannot passe Nowe if it be demaunded what is the ordinarie terme of life appointed by God we are to know that nature by the ordinance of God appropriateth the matter being in the forme of members vnto the soule that is to giue life vnto the whole body Nowe when the soule is entred into it and hath taken possession thereof by little and little it prepareth and maketh fit the internall instruments vntil at length it hath brought them to that perfection which the qualitie constitution and composition of the matter is able to receiue and to beare And after these instruments are come to their greatest perfection by vsage they waste and consume away returning by little and little vnto their first nature so in the end wholy corrupt and dye Thus you see how the members are appropriated in the belly of the mother howe the spirits and humors are fitted in the time of infancie after which the flower of age in youth is as it were the vigor and vse of the perfection of the instruments and olde-age is the decreasing age wherein they decay continually become worse and worse euen vntill they come to their corruption which is death And this death we call naturall when following this course it attaineth without violence to these bounds Nowe although this bee no long course yet there are but very fewe that hold out to the vttermost end thereof in regard of them that stay by the way of whome some are cut off euen before they haue begunne their course others presently after they haue begun it and some in the midway and that through so many sortes of sicknesses with other inconueniences and accidents that a man cannot possibly comprehend or conceiue them all Therefore Moses sayd long since that the time of our life is threescore yeeres and ten and if they be of strength foure score yeeres yet their strength is but labour and sorowe for it is cut off quickly and we flee away And after hee hath compared man to a streame of water caried violently away to a Morning dreame to the grasse that florisheth and groweth in the Morning and in the Euening is cut downe withereth he giueth the reason of all this saying for we are consumed by thine anger and by thy wrath are we troubled Thou hast set our iniquities before thee and our secret sinnes in the light of thy countenance for all our dayes are past in thine anger we haue spent our yeeres as a thought Iob also agreeth well with Moses in this point when hee sayeth Man that is borne of a
enioy whatsoeuer GOD hath prepared for it euen that which is most agreeable and proper to the nature thereof Wherefore wee may say that the death of man is a separation or a departure of the soule from the body wherein GOD propoundeth vnto vs a perfect image of our separation and departure from him which commeth by the meanes of sinne For wee see what becommeth of the body when the soule is gone from it and what it is during the time that it is ioyned therewith The difference is very great Let vs then propound our soule as if it were in the place of the bodie and imagine that God were insteade of the soule in it as wee fee the soule is in the body Then let vs consider what might be the estate of the soule both when it is ioyned with GOD and when it is separated from him For there is greater difference betweene the soule separated from GOD then betweene a body separated from his soule Forasmuch as there is no bodie so stincking nor so infected when it is separated from the soule as the soule is when it is separated from GOD if wee will compare spirituall things with corporall things And contrariwise wee may iudge of the estate thereof when it is ioyned with God by the estate of a body ioyned with his soule and by that difference which is betweene a dead body and a quicke Nowe if wee woulde well consider these things and compare the corporall death of the bodie with the spirituall death of the soule wee woulde abhorre sinne in greater measure then wee doe and bee more afraid of it then of anie thing that may come vnto vs. For there is nothing either in heauen or earth that can hurt vs but sinne as in deede nothing can bring dammage to vs but that which can hurt the soule But it is sinne onely that is able to hurt the soule because by it those meanes are taken away from the soule whereby GOD bestoweth spirituall life vpon it Therefore wee ought not to thinke that bodily death can anie way hurt the soule vnlesse it be in regarde of the euill life past It is true that seeing GOD hath created man to bee of such a nature as to be compounded of a bodie and of a soule and that his true and perfect estate consisteth heerein that they shoulde liue vnited and ioyned together it is very like that there is some euil in the seuering of thē asunder especially if any of them corrupt and perish and the euill may seeme to be doubled if both of them should corrupt perish as many epicures and atheists would haue it For if it be euill to haue but halfe a beeing the euill and imperfection is much more not to be at all seeing there is nothing more goodly or more excellent then to haue a beeing And if it be an excellent thing to bee then to bee well is a farre more goodly and excellent thing For therein consisteth the perfection and absolute felicitie of man Nowe there is no sound or perfect estate of anie man but onely that in which and for which GOD created him And although man bee fallen from that estate yet it hath pleased GOD not onely to restore him againe thereunto by his Sonne Iesus Christ but also to make it vnto him more entire and more perfect yea much more sure and stedfast then it was in the beginning For this cause if besides the benefite of creation wee consider also that of regeneration and of the restauration and repairing of man wee shall finde therein ample matter of true and sound consolation against death For wee knowe that this tabernacle of our body which is infirme faulty corruptible fraile and tending to putrifaction shall bee destroyed and as it were pulled downe to the ende that afterwardes it may bee restored vnto a perfect firme incorruptible and celestiall glorie Wee see that by death wee are called backe againe from a miserable exile to the ende that wee may dwell in our countrie euen in our heauenly countrie In a worde wee are assured by death to enioy such a blessed and permanent estate as the like whereof appeareth no where vpon the earth And if the brute beastes euen the insensible creatures as Saint Paul teacheth vs as wood and stone hauing some sence of their vanitie and corruption doe waite for the day of iudgement that they may bee deliuered from the same shall not wee bee very miserable hauing both some light of nature and also boasting that wee are inspired with the spirite of GOD if wee doe not lift vp our eyes aboue this earthly corruption when the question is concerning our beeing Shall wee not contemne and disdaine the vanitie of the worlde to aspire after the good beeing of the immortalitie to come Let vs knowe then that wee can not finde any true and sound consolation without this consideration and hope which is most assured to them that beleeue in Christ Iesus Therefore they that went not beyond the boundes of naturall Philosophie coulde neuer enioy anie true consolation either against the miseries of mans life or against corporall death And although they beleeued that together with the body whatsoeuer is in man was extinguished or otherwise that after the death of the body the soule remained immortall yet notwithstanding some haue done nothing else but mourne and complaine in this life insomuch as they haue laid violent handes as it were vpon Nature reuiling her and calling her the stepmother rather then the mother of mankind others haue doubted of their future estate and condition not being able to learne and knowe whether their soules should liue either in ioy and rest or els in paine torment but only by opinion Of which if we would discourse at large and consider particularly of their reasons we should be confirmed more and more in that true consolation that ought to bee in the heart of euery Christian against the honour of death Therefore I greatly desire ACHITOB to heare thee discoursing vpon this matter Of the chiefe consolations which the wisest amongst the Pagans and Infidels coulde drawe from their humane reason and naturall Philosophie against death of the blasphemies vsed by Atheists and Epicures against God and Nature what Nature is and who they bee that attribute vnto it that which they ought to attribute vnto God Chap. 76. ACHITOB. Trees haue their seasons in which they beginne to budde and afterwards do blossome which blossome in conuenient time taketh the forme and fashion of the fruite and after that it continueth growing vntill it becommeth ripe and beeing come to the greatest maturitie and ripenesse that it can haue it falleth down of it selfe and still consumeth more and more The same may bee saide of leaues But this happeneth not to all nor yet altogether after the self same maner to all those vnto whō it doth happen For some fruits perish euen in the very bud or els
vnto others And if we take it so then God and Nature shal be taken to be all one Wherefore in this respect it were better to let the name of Nature alone and to speake of God onely to whom Nature is but a seruant and seeing that by him it was created and that all things were made before Nature had her being Otherwise we are like to fall into that errour of Galen and others his like in these dayes who albeit they be conuicted and rauished with admiration through the contemplation of those wonderfull workes which they beholde in all the partes and powers of mans body are notwithstanding so vngratefull that insteade of yeelding vnto God that honour that belongeth vnto him it seemeth they woulde despite him to his face and seeke all possible meanes to put out their owne eyes and wholly to blinde their vnderstandings to the end they might not be constrained to acknowledge that there is a God the Creator maker of this so excellent a piece of worke and so to glorifie him as becommeth them Nowe rather then they would giue him this honour they will make an idole of Nature thereby to cast a vaile before mens eyes that they should not see and acknowledge God in his workes They will rather put out their owne eyes then follow this Nature which they forge vnto themselues as a soueraigne Mistresse whereas she is but the meanes to leade them to God her and their Creator of whom shee is but a seruant and a verie small image Thus much I thought meete to bee knowen concerning Nature that wee might learne to speake better and more reuerently both of God and of his woorkes and that we might know that Nature is nothing els but the order and continuance of the woorkes of God Now that wee are instructed in the causes of life and death and what true comfort and consolation we may haue against the horrour therof and so haue finished our discourses concerning the frame of the body and of the powers and faculties of the soule therein we must enter into a particular contemplation of the nature of the soule and learne what is the creation and immortalitie thereof so farre foorth as the minde of man is able to comprehend and as the worde of trueth shall affoord vs sure and certaine doctrine thereof First then it is necessary and very profitable for vs to consider that there is but one soule in one bodie which hath all those powers and vertues of which the effects are daily seene also what place the soule hath in the bodie and what vnion there is betweene them Nowe ASER this shall bee that matter Subiect which thou shalt haue to continue our speech withall That there is but one Soule in euerie seuerall bodie that one and the same soule hath in it all those vertues and powers whose effectes are dayly seene of the seate of the Soule in the bodie and of the principall instrument thereof of the vnion of the bodie and Soule of the diuers degrees of nature and of the excellencie that is in it of the fountaines and bounds of all the powers and vertues of the Soule Chap. 77. A SER. Saint Paul maketh a prayer in the end of his first Epistle to the Thessalonians which agreeth very well both to that matter whereof wee haue alreadie intreated touching the nature as well of the soule as of the body and to that also which wee haue yet to handle concerning the nature creation and immortalitie of the soule Now the very God of peace saith he sanctifie you throughout and I pray God that your whole spirite and soule and bodie may be kept blamelesse vnto the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ Where first he sheweth vs that none but God who onely is holy sanctifieth vs through Iesus Christ his sonne the most Holy and that by the vertue of his holy spirite Moreouer hee teacheth vs that as we are to acknowledge all sanctification alreadie begunne in vs to proceede from God alone so wee must expect from him the accomplishment of that woorke which he hath begunne in vs. For as hee is the beginning so from him must proceede the perfection which comprehendeth all the partes of man Therefore the Apostle heere maketh a diuision of three members placing the spirite first in the second place the soule and in the third the bodie Then he teacheth vs that the entire and absolute sanctification of all these partes of man shall be in the comming of Iesus Christ in which it shall obtaine the last perfection Nowe we vnderstand already sufficiently by our former discourses that man is compounded of two diuers natures namely of a body and of a soule and yet heere wee see that Saint Paul setteth downe three partes and ioyneth the spirite vnto the soule as if they were two diuers and different thinges as well as the soule and the bodie are Therefore wee must searche out the cause of this diuision of man after this manner But before wee enter into this matter it shal be very profitable for vs to refresh our memorie with those things wee haue alreadie intreated of so farre forth as they may serue for the vnderstanding of this and that according to the matter subiect propounded to discourse vpon Wee hearde before howe the bodie is the lodging and instrument of the soule and howe the soule serueth it selfe with all the members thereof and setteth them on worke And as for the Soule albeit there be but one in each seuerall body neuerthelesse that one soule hath diuers faculties powers and vertues which wee also call partes and offices thereof Wherefore as wee saye not that there are so many bodies in one bodie of a man as there is diuersitie of partes members and offices therein but account them all ioyntly together as one and the same bodie euen so wee meane not that there are so manie soules as there are powers and offices in the Soule or according to that varietie of effectes that appeareth in euerie part and member thereof albeeit wee knowe verie well that they are distinguished one from another both in time and place For we perceiue by the effectes thereof that the sight is in the eyes hearing in the eares vnderstanding and cogitation in the braine and the like is to bee sayde of all the other partes and members of the bodie according to the nature and office of euerie one and according to the offices of the Soule in them as wee haue alreadie shewed when wee handeled all the powers thereof particularly Moreouer wee see howe the childe so long as it is in the Mothers wombe differeth almost nothing at all from plantes and after it is borne howe it differeth but a little from brute beastes as else-where it hath beene alreadie declared vnto vs. Neuerthelesse as in euerie bodie there is but one and the same kinde fashion and essentiall forme of nature whereby it commeth to bee that which
yea they haue some sense and perseuerance of the alteration of seasons according as they fall out by the course of the spheres but yet not by any such knowledge and vnderstanding as is in man Nowe sense and knowledge cannot proceede of the power of the elements but is deriued from some higher thing For it is by meanes of a more celestiall power that beastes are distinguished from plants holding more of the excellencie of their Creatour declaring it a great deale more But man hee mounteth vp much higher For hee ascendeth vp aboue all the heauens euen vnto God and to those spirituall natures by meanes of reason and vnderstanding which make his soule capable of heauenly light and wisedome and of diuine inspirations Whereupon it followeth that the originall and birth of the Soule is celestiall And therefore in this diuersitie of the faculties and powers of the soule and life of man wee must note this that the lower kindes of the soule and life are not the Well-springs and fountaines of the highest as if those powers and faculties did first set these latter awoorking or as if the highest did spring of the basest and receiued their vertues from them but they are onelie certaine aydes and degrees of helpe whereby the highest and chiefest descende and ascende So that the Vegetatiue and nourishing life and vertue is not the originall of the sences and sensitiue vertue but onelie a degree by which the facultie of sense is deriued to the bodie and by little and little ascendeth vp to her powers and offices The like may bee sayde of the vnderstanding and of reason in regarde of the sensitiue facultie For euerie sort and kinde of life and euerie power of the soule hath beginning of it selfe and certaine boundes within which it is conteined Wherein we haue to consider a marueilous woorke and prouidence of GOD in that hee hath ioyned and linked togethet in man things that are so diuers For wee take this as graunted that the soule of man is a spirituall nature and not corporall that it is immortall and created for the contemplation of celestiall and eternall things On the other side wee see howe this so excellent and diuine a nature is ioyned to that part and power that is called Vegetatiue and Nourishing which seemeth rather to bee corporall then spirituall to bee more terrestriall then celestiall and to bee as it were the Kitchen of the bodies of liuing creatures and the Store-house and Originall of their generation So that there is no man of any sounde minde who knowing this marueilous coniunction of nature in thinges so diuers and considering that it cannot come to passe by happe-hazard and at aduenture but hee must needes bee rauished with great admiration and acknowledge an admirable prouidence of God the Creator and Lord of nature But they that are instructed in the holie worde and in the doctrine of the Church haue yet a further consideration of these thinges For they knowe well that albeeit this Kitchin of mans bodie shall haue no necessarie vse in the life to come neuerthelesse God hath established this order and woulde haue it thus ioyned to the soule and spirite to the ende that those beginnings of eternall life and of that true and perpetuall wisedome which hee hath put into vs shoulde bee kindled and inflamed in this mortall life For they shall not shine foorth in anie there who haue not heere had some beginnings but haue suffered those to bee cleane extinguished which they haue receiued of GOD. For this cause doeth the voyce of God and of his heauenly doctrine sounde in mens eares and to these endes hath hee ordayned that gouernement which ought to bee amongest them and hath bounde and fortified it with manie bondes and rampires Wherefore wee stande in neede of doctrine of instruction and discipline vnto which things the consideration of mans nature may greatly helpe vs. For there is no science or humane wisedome howe great soeuer it bee that is able to rehearse and comprehende the great profite which this consideration can affoorde to men euen so farre foorth as they may verie well learne and knowe And of this wee may the better bee resolued if we consider well of that which hath alreadie bene handled yea we may the better iudge hereof if wee perfectly vnderstand that diuision of man made by S. Paul and mentioned by vs in this discourse Therefore AMANA proceede you in the residue of this matter giuing vs first to vnderstand what is the nature and offices of those pure animal cleare and bright spirits which we saide were seruiceable to the soule for all kinde of vnderstanding and knowledge Afterwardes you may more easily instruct vs at large and teach vs what difference there is not onely betweenethe soule and the instruments thereof whereby it worketh but also betweene the instruments themselues and their nature and offices and which of them are nearest or remoued farthest from the soule Of the nature and varietie of the animall spirites and how they are onely instruments of the soule and not the soule it selfe of the nature of those bodies wherein the soule may dwell and worke of the difference that is not onely betweene the soule and the instrumenes by which it woorketh but also betweene the instruments themselues and their natures and offices and which of them are neerest or farthest of of the degrees that are in the vnion and coniunction of the soule with the bodie Chap. 78. AMANA It is requisite that workmen should haue instruments answerable to those works which they are to make and if they haue taken in hand but one single and simple worke they neede but one toole fitte for that purpose as to sawe timber there needeth but a sawe But they that are to make many workes or one woorke that is full of varietie stand in need of many instruments as painters ioyners carpenters masons and such like The same may bee saide of the soule and therefore it hath many members in the body that are giuen vnto it as instruments to serue for those woorkes which it hath outwardly to perfourme Moreouer the soule hath humours to preserue and vphold the members and to keepe them alwayes ready for their worke by those meanes which we haue heard already besides it hath vital spirits of which the animall spirites are bred which serue in steade of a light to garde and conduct it in the actions both of the external and the internall senses And as there is great force in a toole or instrument to cause a good or euil worke so is there in the humors spirites and members of the bodie whereby we are made fitte to exercise and to execute all actions whether they concerne life and sense knowledge and vnderstanding or will and affections For it fareth in this matter as it doeth in the disposition of the aire which the thicker and more obscure it is the lesse cleare will the light
appeare vnto vs and contrariwise the more pure and thinne it is the brighter and more shining it will shew it selfe vnto vs. Nowe for this matter wee must call to minde what wee heard concerning the generation of spirites both Vitall and Animall in those discourses of the nature and office of the heart And as they are thinne vapours engendered of blood concocted and sette on fire through the vertue of the heart that they might bee as it were little flames hauing diuers actions in diuers members so according to the puritie and impuritie of the blood in the composition of the bodie wee are to iudge of the spirites that proceede from them And albeeit they haue all one and the same fountaine namely the heart in which they are bredde neuerthelesse they change according to those places and members wherein they woorke and being so changed they haue diuers and seuerall actions Wee vnderstand then by the Vitall spirite a little flame bredde and borne in the heart of the purest blood whose office is to carie naturall heate to the other members and to giue them vertue and strength to put in practise those actions and offices which they exercise by the same heat It hath beene tolde vs also before that the arteries serue to carie this vitall spirite to all the members But wee are farther to learne that when the vitall spirites bredde in the heart are in part transported to the braine others are engendered of them which are called Animall spirites in that sence in which wee called those Animall faculties and powers from whence the Soule deriueth her vessels and instrumentes in the brayne For after the spirites sent by the heart are come thither they are made more cleane and bright through the vertue of the braine and agreeable to the temperament thereof and then beeing infused into the brayne by meanes of the sinewes they are insteade of a light whereby the actions of the sences are incited and stirred vp as also those motions which are from place to place And as wee haue hearde that a good temperature of the blood and of other humours doeth much helpe forwarde and profite the manners and conditions of men the same may bee saide of the heart and of the spirites proceeding from the same For when the heart is in good temper so that it is not troubled either with anger or sadnesse or any other euill affection it is manifest that the spirites are a great deale the better in the braine Nowe let vs consider the woonderfull woorke of God wrought in man by meanes of the Vitall and Animall spirites For what are the chiefe actions effected in him Are they not the preseruation of life nourishment and generation and then sense and motion with cogitation and the affections of the heart And what were all these thinges without spirites Hence it commeth that in the holy Scriptures the heart is taken for the fountaine not onely of life but also of all the actions of men as it hath beene alreadie declared vnto vs. And for this cause also some haue sayde that these spirites and little Vitall and Animall flames were the soule it selfe or the immediate instrument thereof that is to say the verie next whereby it woorketh immediately so that there is none betwixt them twayne But the latter is more certaine and more agreeable to trueth then the former For if the soule were nothing else but the Vitall and Animall spirites it shoulde fayle and perish with them as the bodily life doeth and so it shoulde not bee immortall But seeing they are but the instruments thereof as the humours of the bodie are and namely the blood from which they proceede the soule can well bee without them albeeit they cannot bee without it and although it cannot without them perfourme the woorkes it doeth with and by them And forasmuch as God hath giuen them to bee as it were a light it is certaine that the light of these surmounteth the light of the Sunne Moone or starres and that all these lights haue great agreement one with another But it is yet a farre more woonderfull woorke of GOD when not onelie the soule vseth these instrumentes for the life of man but also when the celestiall spirite ioyneth it selfe vnto them vsing them in the elect and making them more cleere by his heauenly light that the knowledge of God might bee more euident that their assuraunce and trust in him might bee more firme and that all the motions of his children might bee kindeled the more towardes him So likewise the euill spirite knoweth well howe to take occasion by the badde temperature of the humors to abuse men as wee haue alreadie declared thereby to set forwarde their ruine when hee possesseth the heart troubleth and poysoneth the spirites in that and in the brayne Whereupon hee attempteth to hinder reason and iudgement to bring men to furie and madnesse and to thrust forwarde their heart and their other members to committe foule and execrable factes Whereof wee haue examples in the furie of Saul and in his death in the death of Achitophel of Iudas and of manie others whome hee hath brought to slaye themselues as likewise in manie other horrible factes dayly committed by men Therefore it is very requisite that wee shoulde diligently consider our nature and bee carefull to gouerne and guide it well Wee are to knowe that our spirites are the habitations of the holy spirite and therefore wee are to pray to God through his sonne Christ Iesus to repell and keepe backe euill spirites farre from vs and to inspire his diuine and celestiall spirite into our spirites heartes and mindes that it may guide and gouerne them And this agreeth verie fitly with that prayer which wee hearde alreadie vttered by Saint Paul touching the entire sanctification of the whole man whome hee diuided into spirite soule and bodie So that if wee haue throughly tasted of the former discourses as well concerning the nature of the bodie as of the soule wee may perceiue wherefore the Apostle hath thus diuided the whole man For first wee cannot doubt but that the soule beeing the principall Woorker is such a substaunce and nature as dwelleth in a bodie apt and meete to receiue life in I speake this purposely because all sortes of bodies are not capable of soule and life and they that are capable are not yet capable of euerie kinde of soule and life but onelie of such as are agreeable to their nature hauing those instrumentes in themselues which may bee vsed by them according to their nature Wherefore the soule of man must of necessitie haue another bodie with other instruments and of another nature then the soule of beastesmay haue and the soule of beastes another then the soule of plantes according as euerie one of them differeth from other both in nature and offices But of what nature soeuer eyther the soule or the bodie is the soule hath this
propertie like a busie woorkeman to bee in the bodie hauing all her instrumentes therein Nowe when a woorkeman woorketh with his tooles hee must haue within himselfe the vertue and skill to doe that which hee doeth because it is not in the instrumentes whereby he worketh For albeit they be appropriated and fitted to the woorke that is wrought yet of themselues they can doe nothing at all except they bee set on woorke by the woorkeman because they haue not in them any vertue to woorke But this power and facultie is onelie in the woorkeman to whome it belongeth to perfect his woorke So if the vertue of woorking were not in the soule it coulde woorke no more with instrumentes then without Therefore albeit it seemeth that the natural heate the humors and the spirits woorke in the body and effect something therein yet wee must knowe that they doe nothing there of themselues but that they receiue of the soule whatsoeuer they haue As when a Paynter draweth a picture his pensill and colours haue it not of themselues to doe that which is done by them but of the Painter The soule then is the Woorkeman that worketh receiuing her vertue and facultie of working not from without but euen in the selfe-same bodie in which it is Therefore to speake properly we may say that shee dwelleth in the bodie because shee abideth therein as in her house with all her implements and houshold instruments so that shee must needes haue the bodie appropriated and made fitte vnto her nature For euery soule cannot be indifferently ioyned to euery forme and figure of a bodie to exercise and execute therein the woorkes of life but it must woorke by that order of nature and according to those lawes which the Creator of all things hath ordained from the beginning of the world Whereupon wee may note that if wee had no other reason but the consideration heereof against the Pythagoricall transmigration of soules from one bodie to another it were sufficient to make knowne the greatnesse of this foppery and what error there is in that opinion For if it were so there would be no difference betwixt the soules of men of beastes and of plants neither shoulde there bee any proprietie and aptnesse of bodie and instruments more to one soule then to another Whereupon all nature touching this poynt and order appoynted by God heerein shoulde bee confounded and ouerthrowen But to returne to our matter forasmuch as the temperature of liquors humors and qualities vnder which I also comprehend the spirites is most inward and profound aswell in the body as in the workmanshippe of nature it is vndoubtedly the fittest instrument the soule hath and such a one as is neerest linked by agreement and coniunction with the workman that vseth the same Insomuch that if the soule want this instrument it departeth away and if the soule bee gone and so bee wanting to it then must it also necessarily fayle presently although the members abide yet after the departure of the soule For the confirmation and strengthening of the members both internall and externall is separated farther from the Soule but the mixture of the humours and spirite that is in the members is more neere and more inwarde True it is that the humours and qualities are instrumentes of the soule as well as the members but the humours are such instrumentes as set the rest on woorking I meane the members yea by meanes of them the soule vseth the members Wherefore if the humours fayle the members are verie vnprofitable as it appeareth in them that are drie or puffed vp or taken with the palsie or oppressed with any other maladie For the members are fitte instruments for outwarde vses and excercise but the temperature and mixture of the humours and spirites is ordained to preserue such instruments to the end they might alwayes bee apt and readie to doe their dueties Therefore the humours and qualities are in perpetuall motion but the members are not For the humours must alwayes keepe the members in a readinesse to woorke if neede require Nowe in the consideration of all these things wee see wonderful degrees in the vnion and coniunction that is betweene the bodie and the soule and the instruments which it vseth in the bodie For as all the elements haue their combinations and are linked together according to that agreement of nature which they haue one with another euery one in his degree from heauen downe to the earth and so likewise all the humors and qualities of all things euen so is it with the soule and bodie and with those instruments and meanes whereby they are ioyned and knitte together euery one in his degree according as their natures are more or lesse corporall or spirituall terrestriall or celestiall For as the vitall and animall spirites approch neerest to the nature of the soule secondly the humours come neerest to the nature of the spirites thirdly the members next to the humours so all of them keepe their ranke and order in their degrees and in that coniunction which the bodie and soule haue together as also the instruments whereby the soule woorketh in the bodie whether wee consider them either in ascending vpwarde from the lowest to the highest or els in descending from the highest to the lowest as wee consider the vnion and coniunction that is betwixt all the elements from the earth to the heauens and from the heauens to the earth Whereby wee dayly see more and more the great marueiles of God and by what meanes and arte hee ioyneth the heauens with the earth and bodily natures with spirituall This beeing thus wee are to learne that all the instruments of the soule are prepared for it in the bodie as it were for a Woorkeman that is to doe some woorke and that there is none but the soule that doeth vse them So that it is verie euident that the soule is the perfection of this aptnesse of the bodie and that there is great agreement betweene the soule and the bodie and betweene all the partes and faculties of both Forasmuch then as there is such a coniunction and that GOD hath created them both to bee glorified in them Saint Paul hath good cause to pray for sanctification in them both to the ende that God might be serued and honoured and that both of them might be glorified in the day of the Lorde But that our speech may yet bee better vnderstoode wee must consider in what signification the names of soule spirite and heart are commonly taken namely in the holy Scriptures and howe wee may and ought to vse them This will helpe vs greatly to attaine to the knowledge of the nature and immortalitie of the soule wherein wee are to bee instructed before wee dissolue our present assemblie Teach vs therefore ARAM what diuisions the scripture maketh of the whole man aswell in regarde of the soule as of the bodie and in what significations the names
of soule spirite and heart are taken with the causes wherefore Of the diuisions of man made in the holy Scriptures as well in respect of the soule as of the bodie in what significations the names of soule spirit and heart are vsed therein and the causes why of the intire sanctification of man howe the soule is taken for the life and for the members and instruments of nourishment and for nourishment it selfe Chap. 79. ARAM. Forasmuch as God so honoureth our bodies as to call them Temples of his holie spirite I thinke they cannot bee such in deede except they bee wholly dedicated and consecrated vnto him so that wee separate them from all filthinesse and pollution by giuing our selues to all kinde of sanctimonie and honestie of life For then is the body wholly sanctified when all the senses and members applie themselues onely to good and holy woorkes commaunded by God and when they abstaine from the contrarie Whereupon it commeth to passe that the eyes turne aside from beholding all vaine things and take pleasure onely in seeing that which may rauish man with admiration at the excellencie of the woorkes of God and induce him to well-doing The like may bee sayde of soundes of voyces of wordes in regarde of the eares And as for the tongue it is not polluted with vile speeches with lying slandering and blasphemie but prayseth God and rehearseth his works and woonders speaking alwayes with a grace to the edifying of all In like manner the mouth serueth man for the selfe-same vse as the stomacke also and the bellie with all the rest of the members that serue for the nourishing of the bodie are not defiled through gluttonie and drunkennesse So that the bodie liueth not to eate but eateth to liue and to make supplie to those necessities vnto which GOD hath made it subiect Therefore it obserueth sobrietie and is contented to minister to the naturall affections that God may bee serued in this life Neither doeth it abuse the members of generation to whoredome and villanie but conteineth them within their office and lawfull vse And as for the feete and hands with all the rest of the externall members it keepeth them also within the compasse of their duety But seeing the whole body all the members therof take from the soule all their actions and vses they cannot bee sanctified for the seruice of God and of holy things vnlesse the soule be first sanctified which giueth vnto them life motion and sense For this cause Saint Paul speaking of the sanctification which he wisheth to the Thessalonians before hee maketh any mention of that of the bodie hee beginneth with the Spirite and Soule as wee haue alreadie heard Now because the soule hath diuers powers he vseth two wordes the better to note them out especially the chiefest of them For as it hath beene alreadie declared vnto vs albeit the soule hath manie powers and offices in the bodie of man yet there are not so manie soules in the bodie as there are faculties and effectes thereof but one onely soule which doeth all that For this cause the name of soule is diuersly taken in the holy scriptures Sometime it is taken for that spirituall substaunce that is ioyned with the bodie to giue life vnto it and for all the powers thereof and sometime againe for one part of those faculties and powers The like may be sayd of the name of spirite and of heart and that for the same reason Thus doeth the Scripture sometimes diuide the whole man into two partes onelie namelie into bodie and soule as when Iesus Christ sayeth Feare yee not them which kill the bodie but are not able to kill the soule but rather feare him which is able to destroy both soule and bodie in Hell And often also the same holie worde taketh the one of these two partes for the whole euen in that signification wherein wee take the name Person in our tongue For this cause wee reade so often in the worde All flesh and euerie soule for euery person Also Giue mee the Soules for giue mee the persons And all the Soules of the house for all the persons thereof Nowe because the vnderstanding and the will are the principall faculties and powers of the soule when the Scripture meaneth to set them downe distinctly and to expresse them together with the nature and vertue of the soule it taketh the spirite for the one and the soule for the other namely the spirite for the reason and vnderstanding the soule for the wil affections For otherwise how should euery man be entire souÌ„d vnles his thoughts were pure holy all his affections rightly ruled finally his whole bodie made obedient and seruiceable to euerie good woorke For wee haue hearde alreadie what Lordship is attributed to the reason and to the vnderstanding then howe the will and affections are in the middest to commaund and lastly the bodie to serue and obey So that a man is then altogether pure and sounde when he thinketh nothing in his minde desireth nothing in his heart neither executeth any thing with his members but that which pleaseth God Wee haue a place in Esay which teacheth vs verie clearely that the spirite and soule are so taken and distinguished as wee say The desire of our soule saith he is to thy name and to the remembraunce of thee With my soule haue I desired thee in the night and with my spirite within me will I seeke thee in the morning We see how first he attributeth desire to the soule thereby to declare the affection of the people towardes the Lorde Then hee maketh mention of the remembrance and memorie that hee hath of God which is in the minde So that it seemeth hee comprehendeth the vnderstanding and will in the first verse vnder the name of Soule Afteward in the verse following he distinguisheth them more specialy attributing desire to the soule then watchfulnesse and diligent inquisition to the spirit which is not without thinking and discoursing that appertayne to the minde Wherefore the Prophet minding to signifie how he was wholly addicted to the Lordè with all his senses and vnderstanding and with all his heart and will and that all his affection was towardes him hee vseth this distinction betweene the soule and the spirite Likewise wee finde these two names Soule and Spirite ioyned together in this signification in the Psalmes and I am perswaded that for the same reason the blessed Virgine ioyned them together in her song when she sayd My soule magnifieth the Lord and my spirit reioyâ—eth in God my Sauiour Nowe as the Scripture vseth this distinction the better to expresse the faculties and powers of the soule so Saint Paul sometimes distinguisheth them into three that they may the better bee knowen as when hee writeth to the Ephesians in these woordes This I say therefore and testifie in the Lorde
that is preserued for the soule neither eateth nor drinketh But Ezechiel sheweth vs this yet more clearely saying They shall not satisfie their soules nor fill their bowelles For himselfe expoundeth that by the worde Bowelles which before hee called soules Moreouer wee haue further to note that forasmuch as the soule can no more giue life to the body without foode then without these members and instruments by which it distributeth and deliuereth the same it is likewise taken not onely for the foode of the bodie but also for those instruments and meanes whereby men get and obtaine foode Therefore it is written in the Lawe of the hired seruant that is poore and needy Thou shalt giue him his hire for his day that is the same day hee laboureth neither shall the sunne goe downe vpon it for hee is poore and therewith sustaineth his soule as if hee shoulde say it is his life and foode whereby hee must bee sustained So that hee which beguileth him of his hire taketh away his soule and life from him as much as in him lieth It is written also That no man shall take the neather nor the vpper milstone to pledge for this gage is his soule By which phrase of two milstones that serue to grinde the corne the Lorde comprehendeth all those instruments wherewith men get their liuing by their labour of what occupation and trade soeuer they be For as a man can not grinde without a milstone or without corne to haue meale for breade to maintaine life withall so poore Artificers and Handicraftsmen can not grinde nor consequently liue if those tooles and instruments bee taken from them whereby they must get both their owne liuing and the liuing of their wiues and children Therefore God sayeth that such a gage is the soule by which he vnderstandeth the life and by life the foode and nourishment that preserueth it and consequently the instrumentes by which poore men and Artificers get their liuing To conclude it seemeth that this kinde of phrase vsed by the Hebrewes agreeth well enough with our common speech in which we often take the life for foode and charges to maintaine life As when wee say that a man getteth and purchaseth his life or liuing with the sweate of his face We say likewise that we giue life to those whome wee feede and take life from them whom we depriue of foode and nourishment and of the means to get it But wee must learne some other significations of this worde soule taught vs in the holy Scriptures And first what is meant by a liuing soule and what by a naturall or sensuall body and what is a spirituall body and howe the name of soule is taken for the desires of the flesh and for all things belonging to this life Therefore it belongeth to thee ACHITOB to discourse vpon this matter What is meant by a liuing soule what by a sensuall and naturall body and what by a spirituall body howe the name of soule is taken for all the desires of the flesh and for all things belonging to this life and not onely for the whole person aliue but also for the person being dead and for a dead corps and lastly for the spirite separate from the bodie Chap. 80. ACHITOB. Men may well study in the schooles of the most skilfull and excellent Law-makers Philosophers Oratours and Doctors that are in the worlde yet they shall reape small profit thereby except they come to that schoole where the spirite of God is our master and teacher For this cause Iesus Christ after he heard the confession that Peter made of him saide thus vnto him Blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas for flesh and blood hath not reueiled it vnto thee but my Father which is in heauen Nowe in that hee opposeth flesh and blood to the Father in heauen hee declareth sufficiently that according to the manner of the Hebrew speach hee vnderstandeth by these two words whatsoeuer is in man that is of man As when Saint Iohn saieth that as many as receiued Christ to them hee gaue power to bee the sonnes of God euen to them that beleeue in his name which are borne not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God And to confirme this it is saide elsewhere What man knoweth the things of a man saue the spirite of a man which is in him euen so the things of God knoweth no man but the spirite of God Now we haue receiued not the spirite of the worlde but the spirite which is of God that wee might know the things that are giuen to vs of God To this purpose when Saint Paul opposeth a spirituall man to him whome he called before a naturall man and altogether vncapable of the spirite of God he saith that the spirituall man discerneth all things and is iudged of no man For being such a one he hath certaine knowledge of heauenly things to be able to discerne light from darkenesse and trueth from lies that hee be not deceiued by a false shewe of trueth Neither is hee iudged of any body because the trueth of God is not subiect to the iudgement of men how skilfull and conceited soeuer they be without the spirit of regeneration Nowe then as wee haue heard that the soule is taken in sundrie significations declared by vs wee may nowe knowe that it is taken oftentimes in the holy Scriptures for al the vertues for al naturall gifts and graces for all affections and desires for all pleasures and commodities and for other things appertaining to this life For this cause liuing soule signifieth in the Scriptures as much as creature hauing soule and naturall life and it is so taken for all liuing creatures of what nature and kinde soeuer they be And Saint Paul in the place alleadged and in the fifteenth of the same Epistle calleth a naturall man and a naturall body that man and that body which liueth with such a soule and such a life vnto whome hee opposeth diuersly a spirituall man and a spirituall body For by a naturall man hee vnderstandeth a man not regenerated by the Spirite of GOD and by a spirituall a man regenerated and by a naturall body hee meaneth a body that liueth by this corporall life such as it is in this worlde before the death and resurrection thereof By a spirituall bodie he vnderstandeth not only such a body as men haue that are already regenerated in this life but also such a one as it shall bee after the resurrection when it shall bee fully regenerated and made immortall and like to the glorious body of Iesus Christ For besides the humane soule wherewith it liueth heere and in regarde of which Saint Paul called it naturall it shall haue also a diuine vertue that shall wholly change in it all corruptible and mortall qualities and all humane infirmities vnto which it is subiect in this life into incorruptible
and immortall qualities And so doeth the Apostle expound it saying in the same place The bodie is sowen in corruption and riseth in incorruption it is sowen in dishonour it riseth in glorie it is sowen in weakenesse and is raised in power It is sowen a naturall bodie and is raised a spirituall bodie there is a naturall bodie and there is a spirituall bodie As it is also written The first man Adam was made a liuing soule and the last Adam was made a quickening spirite Whereupon wee haue to note that Saint Paul speaketh still of the selfe same bodie which remaineth alwayes one in substance But forasmuch as it altereth in qualities and kinde of life therefore as hee calleth it spirituall in regarde of the Spirite of Christ and of his spirituall and heauenly vertues by which hee changeth the first qualities of it as the Apostle teacheth vs by such as are opposed against them so it is also called an animall or naturall body of the soule which giueth vnto it onely that naturall life that it hath in this worlde and not that spirituall and immortall life which it shall haue after this For the soule which nowe can giue none but this mortall life by reason of sinne shall then haue another vertue when sinne shall bee wholly abolished to giue vnto the body an immortall and blessed life by meanes of that spirituall and diuine vertue of Iesus Christ whereby it shall bee quickened that it may quicken the body with the same life But because this worde Animal deriued from Anima that signifieth the soule is not very common in our English tongue wee finde in the vsuall translation of these places of Saint Paul alleadged by vs these wordes naturall and sensuall insteade of animal which the Greeke worde properly signifieth Therefore in expounding the sence of these kindes of speech vsed by the Apostle wee must vnderstand that hee doeth not call animal or sensuall and naturall the body of man onely or man by reason of his body onely but the whole man compounded of body and soule For hee is altogether animal that is naturall and sensuall both in body and soule without Christ Iesus but being in him so long as hee liueth in this worlde hee is both animal that is to say naturall and sensuall and also spirituall First hee is animal both because hee is not yet perfectly regenerated as also because hee is not yet immortall and glorified as hee shall bee after his resurrection On the other side hee beginneth euen nowe to bee spirituall because hee hath a beginning of regeneration wrought in him which being once made perfect hee shall bee regenerated much more absolutely and made wholly conformable to Iesus Christ both for immortallitie and eternall happinesse For then hee shall be no more animal naturall sensuall and spirituall altogether but onely spirituall according as I haue already declared Wherefore let vs knowe that euery one shall retaine still the selfe same body and soule which hee hath in this life but by reason of that change of euill qualities which being in both shall bee made in the other life Saint Paul calleth it spirituall and not for any conuersion that shall bee of the bodie into the spirite For as a man is called animal in regarde of the soule that is giuen him because the soule is the chiefest thing in him so hee is called spirituall in respect of the other life and of the excellencie that shall be added to the soule and by the soule to the body through the heauenly and spirituall vertue and power of Iesus Christ Nowe then seeing the soule is taken in the holie Scriptures for the naturall life which is not without affections wee may see it sometimes also put for them Therefore when the worde of God woulde expresse a great affection of loue it sayeth of the sonne of Sichem that his soule claue vnto Dinah and after it is added that hee loued her and spake to the heart of the maide that is to say kindely and as her heart coulde wish In like manner it is written of Iacob that his soule was bound to the soule of Beniamin his sonne to signifie that hee loued him tenderly as his owne soule and life And of Ionathan it is saide that his soule was knit with the soule of Dauid which phrase is afterward expounded by the Scripture where it is saide that Ionathan loued Dauid as his owne soule Wee are also commaunded to loue GOD with all our soule as also with all our heart and minde Therefore Iesus Christ sayeth that whosoeuer seeketh and saueth his soule shall lose it but hee that hateth and loseth it for his sake shall finde it and saue it vnto eternall life In which wordes the soule is not onely taken for the life but also for all the commodities thereof and for the desires of the flesh such as are glorie honours riches pleasures delights ease and all kinde of prosperitie for the obtaining of which things many turne aside from the way of saluation and take the path that leadeth to destruction Also we reade many places in the Scriptures in which the soule is taken not only for the whole person liuing but also for the person dead yea for the dead body and sometimes for the spirite separated from the body But wee must well consider in what sence there is mention made of the death of the soule Balaam wisheth that his soule might die the death of the iust but hee speaketh after the manner of the Hebrews who vse many times to say My soule and thy soule for my selfe and thy selfe or for my person and thy person according to that before mentioned that the name of soule and of flesh are often taken for the whole man and for that which wee call Person For this cause whereas Moses sayde that GOD sware by himselfe Ieremie and Amos say that hee sware by his soule in the same sence and signification Likewise the name of Soule is not onely taken for a liuing person but also for him that is dead as when it is written in the Law Let none of you be defiled by the dead among his people it is in the Hebrew ouer the soule of his people that is ouer the dead body of any of the people by touching it after it is dead And when Iob saieth that the soule of a man draweth to the graue and his life to the buryers and that God deliuereth his soule from going into the pit he taketh not the name of soule for that spirituall essence that giueth life vnto man but for the life it selfe or for the man and body it selfe which is laide in the graue after death So that his meaning is no other then to say that God deliuereth man from death whereby otherwise he should be brought into the pit And when Dauid saith Lord thou hast brought vp my soule out of
the graue hee sheweth after very euidently what he vnderstandeth by his soule when he saieth Thou hast reuiued me from them that goe downe into the pit Hee taketh this worde Soule in the same sense when he saieth that God deliuered his soule from death and from the midst of lions and when he prayeth him to deliuer his soule from the sword his desolate soule from the power of the dogge For it is easie to iudge by these wordes that he taketh not the soule in these places for the essence of the soule and proper substance thereof because the soule can not be smitten with the sword nor deuoured of lions nor carried away by dogges Therefore seeing the soule is so often put in the Scripture for corporall life which endeth with the body and which the soule giueth vnto it by meanes of those instruments which it hath in the body the name of Spirite is many times vsed therein to signifie more specially this essence and spirituall substance which wee call the soule and which may be separated both from the body and blood as that which liueth after the death of the body Therefore Dauid did so vse the word Spirite when he recommended his soule to God by the same wordes which Iesus Christ vsed vpon the crosse Afterward Saint Steuen tooke it in the same sense when he saide Lorde Iesus receiue my spirite For this is that spirite of which Salomon saieth that it returneth to God that gaue it after that the body is returned to the earth and to dust of which it consisteth And yet this difference is not alwayes obserued in the Scriptures For as wee haue already heard both the heart and soule and spirite are oftentimes generally and indifferently put for all the partes and powers of the soule and not onely for those of men but also of beastes as when the Wise man attributeth spirit vnto them hauing regard to this corporall life For when Salomon speaketh so it is in consideration of this life that consisteth in breath which is also called Spirit in the holy Scriptures which vse one the same word to signifie both wind and breathing and whatsoeuer we call spirit taking it both for the soule of man for the Angelicall natures and for the Diuine nature Therefore Iob speaking of this present life sayth So long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God in my nosethrilles my lippes surely shall speake no wickednesse and my tongue shall vtter no deceit But when Saint Paul saieth The same spirite beareth witnesse with our spirite that wee are the children of God hee taketh the worde Spirite in an other sence then Iob did in the place nowe alleadged For in the first place hee taketh the name of Spirite for the Spirite of GOD and in the second place for the Spirite of man which signifieth the humane soule It is true that in this place hee taketh it for the soule and for the spirit such as it is in regenerate men but when hee saieth elsewhere that the spirite of man knoweth the things of man hee taketh the spirite simply for a humane Spirite and for the vnderstanding part thereof Likewise the name of soule is put not onely for this naturall life and for the will and affections but also for the selfe same thing that is comprehended by this worde Spirite when one woulde signifie thereby the greatest excellencie of the soule As when Dauid sayeth Our soule waiteth for the Lord for hee is our helpe and our shield Surely our heart shall reioyce in him because wee trusted in his holie name And againe My soule reioyceth in the Lorde and is glad in his saluation And when Saint Peter sayeth Abstaine from fleshly lustes which fight against the soule and haue your conuersation honest among the Gentiles hee taketh the name of Soule for the spirituall man who hath his minde and all his affections well ruled according to the will of GOD. As then wee haue heard in what sort the soule may die in regarde of this corporall life according to the phrase of the Scriptures and of the Hebrewes so by this which Saint Peter saieth that fleshly lustes fight against the soule wee may learne after what manner the soule may be said to die and to be slaine For nothing can bring death vnto it but sinne Wherefore it is not said without good reason in the Booke of Wisedome that the mouth that telleth lies slayeth the soule Albeit then the soule is immortall in that it can neuer be without life no more then the Angelles who are spirites like to it neuerthelesse it is after a sort mortall so farre forth as being farre off separated from God through sinne it liueth no more that blessed life wherewith it shoulde liue if it were vnited and ioyned vnto him by true faith and sincere obedience For it shoulde enioy the selfe same life which the heauenly Angelles with the soules and spirites of the blessed doe enioy As contrariwise the soules of the wicked liue with the same life that the Diuelles doe which is called dead because it is a more accursed life then death it selfe and therefore called the second and eternall death Nowe wee may thinke our selues sufficiently taught touching the diuerse significations in which the name of Soule is taken It seemeth to mee that wee haue spoken enough of the Anatomy of the bodie and soule of which the most of our discourses hitherto were made which may suffice for the contentation of euery one that will keepe himselfe within the bounds and limits set downe vnto vs by the wisedome of GOD in his word But to finish this whole matter concerning the soule which we haue chiefly considered in her parts powers and effects we are further yet to be instructed in the creation generation nature and immortalitie thereof And because they are marueilous difficult matters and such as are not without great contrarieties of opinions euen amongest the learned I am of opinion that these things are to be discoursed of according to that manner of teaching of the ancient Academickes which wee followed in our first meeting namely vpon the theame propounded vnto vs to ballance the arguments on the one part with the reasons of the other side that so we may diligently search out the trueth Notwithstanding it shal be lawfull for vs to deliuer our opinion so long as wee ground it vpon the infallible testimonie of the worde of God leauing to euery one his libertie to iudge which is best and to embrace and follow the same For our entrance therefore into so goodly a matter thou shalt beginne ASER to morrowe to declare vnto vs what thou shalt thinke good concerning this proposition namely whether the soule is begotten with the body and of the seede thereof or whether it be created apart and of another substance and what is requisit for vs to know therein The end of the
tenth dayes worke THE ELEVENTH dayes worke Whether the soule of man is engendred with the body and of the same substance that the body is of or whether it be created by it selfe and of another substance whether it be needfull for vs to know what the soule is and what is the essence thereof or onely to know of what qualitie it is with the workes and effects thereof Chap. 81. ASER I am of opinion that in discoursing philosophically concerning the knowledge of the soule we ought to practise that which Socrates saide being tired with the consideration of the nature of things namely to bee very carefull lest it happen to vs as it doeth to them that are busie beholders of the Sunne eclipsed whose sight is dazeled thereby except they beholde the image thereof in water or in some such like thing For euen the Spirite that is wholly giuen to the vnderstanding of it selfe is often as it were amazed and carried farre out of the way of true contemplation vnlesse it knowe howe to consider it selfe in the glasse of all brightnesse layed open in the sacred worde of GOD and not stay altogether in the discourses of naturall Philosophie and humane reason which many times blinde euen the sharpest wittes of men True it is that wee haue many things in Nature that affoorde vs euident testimonies of the creation nature and immortalitie of the soule which haue greatly mooued not onely those Philosophers that haue borne greatest reuerence to GOD and acknowledged him to bee the Creatour of all things but euen those also that were most prophane and made the greatest Idole of Nature Neuerthelesse the knowledge of so high and difficult a matter coulde neuer bee perfectly comprehended but of them onely that haue heard the doctrine of the Spirite of GOD and haue receiued the testimonies of his worde as certaine demonstrations of those thinges which the sense of man is not able to conceiue For in deede wee can not pronounce anie thing certaine of so high a nature as is that of the soule except it bee by his testimonie who hath created it and who onelie knoweth it as the workeman knoweth his worke Yet wee ought not to contemne naturall reasons founde out by the learneder sorte which are as it were beames of that true light but rather diligently consider of them as helpes that may greatly further vs in the vnderstanding of that wee seeke and serue for the confounding of so many Atheists as impudently dare to deny the immortalitie of the soule and that iudgement of God which shall be to the euerlasting happinesse and ioy of the good and to the perpetuall griefe and torment of the wicked Nowe albeit the soule of man hath no partes nor members into which it may bee diuided as the body may neuerthelesse in the sequele of our discourses concerning the Anatomy of the body wee haue also made as it were an Anatomy of the soule in regarde of her faculties powers and offices whereby wee may attaine to some good measure of knowledge touching the nature thereof and of the difference that is betweene it and the soules of all other creatures that haue soule and life But there remaine yet very great difficulties concerning the creation and substance thereof vpon which points it shal be very profitable for vs to be well resolued Wee knowe well enough by that which wee heard before that the soule of man can not bee of any corporall nature or compounded of any corruptible nature as the body is For if it were so then must it necessarily bee mortall as the body is and be farre from doing that which it doeth Besides it woulde followe thereupon that the soule of man differed in nothing from the soule of beastes But wee knowe by the effectes of it that there is great difference betweene them yea greater then betweene heauen and earth which being so it followeth well that it is not engendered with the body of the same substance with it and that the substaunce of the soule is not deriued from the same seede Againe if the soule bee created of some other substance and not begotten with the body of any humane seede a man may aske from whence then commeth that pollution that is in it through sinne whereby the whole race of mankinde is corrupted and what power Originall sinne ought to haue ouer it For if GOD daylie createth soules for those humane bodies that come into the worlde continually as wee doe beleeue and that to place and lodge them in those bodies euen from the wombe surely hee createth them no otherwise then hee did all other creatures which hee created good Whereupon it followeth that hee created not soules corrupted and infected with sinne but pure and sound as those were of our first Parents before sinne entred into the worlde Neuerthelesse wee see that the chiefe corruption and infection in man through sinne is in the soule For if the soule were not infected the body shoulde not bee stained therewith as that which is but the lodging and instrument of the soule and as it were the seruant thereof Wherefore when the soule is cleane and pure the whole man both bodie and soule is altogether pure but when that is defiled all is defiled From whence then will some man say doeth the soule receiue this infection of sinne wherewith shee is polluted after her creation Hath she it of her selfe or of the body after shee is lodged therein and of the corruption of that seede of which the body is begotten These are very profound questions and woonderfull difficult about which many great Diuines haue troubled themselues a long time But the wiser sort enquire soberly into them so as they giue euident testimony of that modesty wherewith they seeke after the vnderstanding of the great secreats of God rather then make profession that they haue found them out Others there are who one while with coniectures according to their fancie an other while with reasons drawne from the nature of things set downe for a certaine trueth whatsoeuer commeth into their minde Nowe then being to heare what reasons can be alleadged wee will omit and passe ouer as well them that walke wholy in the darkenesse of ignorance as those that will not goe faire and softly and as it were feeling with the hand but runne on swiftly whither they please without feare of downefalles Wee wil take a middle course neither too high nor too lowe keeping our selues within the limites of the worde of trueth which teacheth vs that wee incurre originall sinne because wee are all the children of Adam to whome and to whose posteritie God gaue originall iustice which made man obedient to God and the body subiect to reason But it was giuen him with this condition that if he kept not the commandement of God both he and his posterie shoulde bee depriued of that gift and priuiledge euen as if some nobleman hauing committed treason shoulde
be disgraded from the title of Nobilitie both hee and his children This depriuation of gifts bestowed vpon man by God of which wee shoulde haue beene the Inheritours but for the sinne of our first Parents is called by the Diuines Originall sinne To proceede then with our former matter first I say that in my minde it is not so necessarily required of vs to knowe what the soule is or what is the essence and substance thereof as to knowe of what qualitie it is and what are the actions and woorkes of it And that this is so wee may iudge by that bountifulnesse which GOD the Lorde of nature vseth towardes vs and which hee manifesteth vnto vs on euery side by manifolde signes and testimonies For whatsoeuer is expedient for vs the same hee propoundeth vnto vs both very abundantly and with such facilitie that wee may easily finde it out and bring it into vse Wherefore wee can haue no more euident token that a thing is not profitable or not very necessary for vs then this that it is rare farre off and hidde from vs yea very hard to finde out and to attaine to the vse of it So that when wee are admonished to knowe our selues we must not referre this to the knowledge of the essence of the soule which wee are not able to knowe or comprehend but to the knowledge of the effectes and woorkes of it thereby to knowe howe to frame our manners and our whole life to the ende that chasing vice away we might followe after vertue And this by the grace of Christ Iesus will leade vs to that life in which wee shall bee perfectly wise and good and liue immortall and blessed with GOD for euermore Then as wee shall see the Creatour of all things face to face who otherwise is incomprehensible vnto vs so wee shall knowe our selues perfectly in him True it is if wee vnderstand well the principall cause that is taught vs in his worde why hee created man after his image and likenesse and gaue him an immortall soule partaker of vnderstanding and reason wee shall bee well instructed in that point wee desire to knowe touching the nature of the soule So that although wee can not throughly knowe or define what is the essence or substance thereof neuerthelesse seeing it was created of GOD that being ioyned vnto him it might haue eternall happinesse wee must needes say that it is a substance in some sort capable of the diuine nature and that may bee ioyned therewith For being indued with the knowledge of the diuinitie the loue of the same is bredde within it by which loue the soule is so ioyned vnto GOD that it is indued with perpetuall happinesse And thus wee may say that the soule of man is a spirit that giueth life to the body whereunto it is ioyned and which is capable of the knowledge of GOD to loue him as being meete to be vnited vnto him through loue to eternall felicitie But let vs consider the diuersitie of opinions of the best learned as well vpon this matter as vpon the doubts mentioned by vs in our speech For the first there are many who thinke that wee take our generation and birth of our fathers and mothers not onely in regard of our bodies but also of our soules and that soules are produced of soules as bodies are begotten of bodies being ledde by the reasons before spoken of For they can not conceiue howe originall sinne which is the pollution of our nature that before was good and pure by reason of the hereditary corruption of the first father of men can bee deriued from Adam to all his successours and from father to sonne if the soules of children take not their originall from the soules of their Parents as the bodies do of their bodies considering that the soule is the chiefe subiect of originall sinne and of all the rest that proceede from it as riuers issue from their fountaine Wherefore as wee set Adam before our eyes for the first stocke or roote of all mankinde in regarde of mens bodies that haue all their beginning from him so these men doe the like with his soule and the soules of all other men as if soules were deriued from soules and bodies from bodies And in deede at the first blush a man might thinke that Christ Iesus was of this minde when hee saide That which is borne of the flesh is flesh and that which is borne of the spirite is spirite if it bee so that the name of flesh in that place ought to be taken for the whole man comprehending vnder it the body soule and spirite and whatsoeuer excellent thing is in man being considered in his corrupt nature as the worde flesh is commonly taken in the holy Scriptures when it is opposed to the spirite or to God And for this cause many do not take this worde flesh so largely neither in this place nor in any other like to this as if the spirite of man and the chiefe power of his soule were comprehended therein but they restraine it to that part which they call sensuall vnder which they vnderstand not onely the body of man but also those powers of the soule which we haue common with beasts Therefore they doubt not to say that the soule which is called Vegetatiue and sensitiue like to that of plants and beasts is produced of the same seede that the body is and that it is aswel contained in the seede as the matter and nature of which the body is compounded Whereupon it would follow that in this respect there is no difference betwixt the soule of man and the soule of beasts and plants They say well that euery liuing creature hath but one onely soule albeit there be diuers powers thereof in certaine creatures in some more in some lesse Hereof it is that they call that of plants by a more speciall name Vegetatiue because it hath but this vertue and office only of which it taketh the name And albeit the soule of beasts hath the same vertue also yet they call it not by the same name but onely sensitiue vnder which they place the vegetatiue soule that is in plants as a power and propertie thereof So likewise although the soule of man hath both these together yet they call it not either vegetatiue or sensitiue but onely reasonable vnder which they place the vegetatiue and sensitiue soule that is in beasts for powers and properties thereof as before I said they placed the vegetatiue vnder the sensitiue But I woulde very gladly AMANA bee instructed in that which thou canst deliuer very well to this purpose following this excellent matter which will serue greatly to cause vs more specially to vnderstand the nature and immortalitie of the soule the chiefe obiect whereat we aime Whether there be any thing mortall in the soule of man of the distinction betweene the soule and the powers of it of the opinions of Philosophers
and motion that are therein are inflamed by this vital spirite and not by any other means whatsoeuer whether it be the blood or the flesh And yet this spirite is as well of a corporall and bodily matter as all the rest of which the body is compounded so that it hath his originall of the selfe-same elements from whence that matter is deriued out of which it springeth But of such inquisitours I woulde likewise demaund from whence the heauens the Sunne and Moone with the other planets and starres haue their motion their light and properties It is very certaine they can yeeld mee no other true cause but that God hath created them of that nature that hee hath so framed them and that hee alwayes preserueth them such by the diuine vertue and power of his prouidence So I say to them that wee ought not to searche for any other cause or reason of that we mentioned before or goe any further or mount higher in the inquisition thereof But forasmuch as that which wee haue nowe deliuered of the nature and matter of the Soule is proper to that Sensitiue and Sensuall soule which wee attribute to beastes we must come more particularly to that that is proper to men which wee call the reasonable soule This is that matter and poynt about which the greatest and most ingenious wittes haue most laboured and disputed from time to time For they that affirmed the soule of man to bee no other thing then the Vitall and Animall spirites by means of which the body receiueth life or the temperature and temperament of the humours and matter of which the bodie is compounded these men put no difference betweene the soule of beastes and the soule of men And as for them that take it to bee the breath or a fire of which the naturall heate proceedeth they iumpe in opinion with the former who place it in the Vitall spirites And they that say it is in the harmonie of the whole bodie are of the same minde with them that place it in the temperament So that according to the opinion of all these the soule of man is nothing els but naturall heate or els the Vitall spirite that is in the blood as the Physicions commonly take it whose consideration reacheth not farther then to that they can comprehend by their naturall reason following therein Hippocrates who agreeable to this opinion saieth that the soule is daily engendered after that manner which wee haue alreadie declared But they that more diligently looke into the properties and excellent giftes wherewith the reasonable soule is endued know assuredly by their naturall reason that these opinions are very vnworthy the noble excellencie thereof and that they are of no force in regarde thereof For they iudge very well that the vnderstanding and reason with the discourses thereof that the iudgement and such memory as it hath that the discerning of good and euill of thinges honest and dishonest of vertues and vices with the knowledge of humane and diuine thinges whereof it is partaker are woorkes and actions which cannot proceede from such matter as the elements are as we haue touched else-where Whereupon it followeth that it is some other thing then the Vitall spirite or the temperament of the bodie and that it is of a farre differing nature from that of beasts which consisteth in these thinges And by the same reason also they conclude that if the soule of man were of any such matter as to be the Vitall spirite or the temperament of the bodie it would follow that it were mortall like to the bodie and that nothing shoulde remaine of it after the death thereof Which thing they finde to be too much contrarie vnto that which a man may iudge of the nature and substance of the soule by those effectes of it that were euen nowe mentioned which effectes are such as cannot agree to a corruptible and mortall nature nor to any other then to a celestiall and immortall nature like to that of the Angels aud blessed spirits which are endued with such vertues But I desire to heare thee ARAM vpon the things now spoken of that thou maiest goe on with the matter of our discourses Of the opinion of Galen of Platâ— and of Aristotle touching the substance and nature of mans soule of the opinion of Occam touching the Vegetatine and Sensitiue power thereof and of the distinction of soules he maketh in man of the sentence of the Platonists and of Origen touching the creation birth and nature of the soule of the coniunction of the Soule with the bodie and the estate thereof in the same Chap. 83. ARAM. The Ancients speaking of man often call him a great miracle and indeede the more wee bend our mindes to consider of it the more marueilous weshal find it to be Insomuch as in the particular contemplation of the soule which is truely man I woulde gladly aske whether it were better either to discourse Philosophically of this matter hauing store of argument or by way of admiration to crie out with S. Paul O the deepenes of the riches both of the wisedom and knowledge of God! Neuerthelesse being drawen on with the same desire that hath hitherto pricked vs forward to search out and to be instructed in the trueth according to my knowledge I will goe forward ARAM with thy speech For the causes then alleged by thee out of them that consider more diligently the properties excellent gifts of the soule although Galen who otherwise was a prophane man in respect of the knowledge of God and an idolatrous worshipper of nature durst not boldly determine what the reasonable soule was yet as for that which is commonly called the vegetatiue or nourishing and the sensitiue or sensuall soule he feareth not boldly to affirme that it is no other thing then either the naturall and vitall spirits or the temperament But as for the reasonable soule he leaueth it in doubt whether it be of a bodilie nature or of some other that is not corporall and which subsisteth by it selfe being seperated from the bodie Neither doth he conclude any other thing but that it is either a shining substance and an ethereall body that is to say of a more pure and celestiall nature then any of the elements or els that it is of a nature that is not corporall but yet hath this body by which he meaneth the animal spirit to be as a chariot to carie it Plato before him sayd that soules were litle portions taken from the substance of the celestiall fires and hee maketh three parts of a mans soule diuiding them according to the principall parts of the body and those instruments which they haue in the same Which diuision is vnderstood of some as if he made so many sorts of soules as we haue shewed that there are principall powers and offices which haue their seuerall seats and places assigned vnto them in the body Therefore Galen
creatures forged by them but men through ignoraunce haue taken them in a wrong sence and so reaped small profite by them No marueile then if this hath happened both to Philosophers and Poets in their doctrine and manner of teaching seeing there are so manie that profite so little by the doctrine of the holie Scriptures themselues and by the studie thereof For were there euer any Heretikes that did not wrest the sence of manie places of Scripture to make them serue for their heresies And doe wee not dayly see the like in all seducers and false prophetes It is verie certayne that there were neuer anie so absurde and straunge heresies which the fauourers of them haue not laboured to mainteyne by the holy Scriptures themselues But to returne to our purpose what meaning soeuer the Authors and inuenters of such things had their doctrine was so vnderstood that manie helde this opinion that mens soules passed from bodie to bodie as we haue heard Insomuch that this errour howe grosse soeuer it were came not onelie to the Iewes but to the Christians also who boast of true religion and of the authoritie and knowledge of the holy Scriptures I speake not of the Manichees auncient Heretikes who were open mainteiners of this opinion But what shall wee say of them who not onely haue their braines infected with this follie but which is woorse imagine they can confirme and prooue it by testimonies out of the worde of God As where it is reported that when Herode hearde the fame of Christ Iesus spread throughout all Iudea hee sayde This is Iohn Baptist hee is risen againe from the dead and therefore great woorkes are wrought by him And Saint Luke sayeth expressely That Herode doubted because that it was sayde of some that Iohn was risen againe from the dead and of some that Elias had appeared and of some that one of the olde Prophets was risen againe We reade likewise that when Iesus Christ demaunded of his disciples saying Whome doe men say that I the Sonne of man am they answered Some say Iohn Baptist and some Elias others Ieremias or one of the Prophets and some that one of the olde Prophetsis risen againe A man my iudge by these speeches that not onelie Herode was tainted with this Pythagoricall and Platonicall opinion but also that it was very common among the Iewes with whome hee conuersed and whose religion hee followed at least in part and in outwarde shewe For Iesus Christ was knowen well enough in Iudea and in Galilee and amongst all the Iewes as it appeareth by the testimonie of the Euangelists They knewe his kinred according to the flesh and coulde tell that he was brought vp in Nazareth in the countrey of Galilee for which cause they called him him a Galilean a Nazarean a Carpenter the sonne of a Carpenter and the sonne of Ioseph and Marie They saide that they knewe his brethren and sisters whereby according to the Hebrewe manner of speaking they meant his cousins Neeces and his kinred taking occasion thereby to despise and reiect him But on the other side many seeing the woorkes and miracles which hee wrought were constrayned to passe farther euen Herode himselfe hearing onely the fame that went of him throughout the countrey so that some tooke him to bee that Christ others to be some great Prophet And of them that helde him for a Prophet it appeareth by those sundry opinions that were among the people that they did not thinke him to bee a Prophet borne at that time but that some one of the olde Prophets was risen againe in him not in bodie but in spirite For they knewe well whence hee issued in respect of his bodie as that which was commonly knowen throughout the countrey Therefore it is easie to iudge that they spake of resurrection in regarde of the soule as the skilfullest Interpreters expounde these places referring these speeches of Herode and of the people vnto that Pythagoricall opinion of the transmigration of soules from bodie to bodie For according thereunto those soules that had behaued themselues vertuously in their first bodies in which they dwelt were sent into other more honourable bodies endued with greater giftes of God according to their deseruing Nowe because Saint Iohn the Baptist had not the gift of miracles annexed to his Ministerie neyther did woorke anie all his life time it might bee thought that this gaue occasion to Herode to thinke thus of him that beeing risen againe from the dead after a Pythagoricall manner hee had this gift and vertue added vnto his former graces that so he might haue the greater authoritie Neither ought wee to thinke it verie strange if a great part of the Iewes were infected with manie foolish and naughtie opinions seeing they were not onely corruptly instructed by their teachers but also had sectes amongst them there which plainely denied the resurrection of the bodie the immortalitie of soules and that there was any Angel or spirite Therefore wee see their great brutishnesse who woulde ground their transmigration vpon that which is saide in the Scriptures touching the opinion of the Iewes in this point which notwithstanding is openly reprehended and condemned by the selfe-same worde of GOD. True it is that the ignorance of the true sense thereof gaue occasion to many to fall into such dreames For the Lorde speaking thus by Malachie Beholde I will sende you Elijah the Prophet before the comming of the great and fearefull day of the Lorde the Iewes vnderstood this place diuersly Some of them thought that the auncient Prophet Elias who was rapt vp into heauen shoulde be sent againe in proper person others vnderstoode it onely of the transmigration of his soule and spirite into an other body For this cause they asked of Iohn Baptist whether hee were Elias but Iesus Christ himselfe expounded those wordes of Malachy and declared vnto the Iewes that Iohn Baptist was that Elias which should come and that although hee were come yet they did not knowe him For when he spake so of him hee meant not that hee was the very person of Elias in body and soule or that the naturall soule and spirite of Elias was entred into his body but his meaning was according as the Angel spake to Zachary when he tolde him of the Natiuitie of Saint Iohn his sonne saying He shall be filled with the holy Ghost euen from his mothers wombe And many of the children of Israel shall he turne to their Lorde God For he shall go before him in the spirite and power of Elias A man may easily iudge by these words that he meant not to say that the naturall spirite of Elias shoulde enter into the body of Saint Iohn Baptist but that God would giue a spirite adourned with such giftes and spirituall graces and with such zeale and constancie as he gaue long before to Elias Therefore he addeth power vnto spirite thereby
to declare the better what is meant by Spirite And before he shewed the meanes whereby this spirite shoulde be giuen him when he said that hee should be filled with the holy Ghost from his mothers wombe that is with the gifts and graces thereof as the Scripture calleth them ordinarily Afterwardes also the Angell declareth more at large after what manner Saint Iohn came in the power and spirite of Elias signifying that hee ought to behaue himselfe and to doe as Elias had done in his time and as Malachy had foretolde of him Moreouer we haue in the Scripture other kindes of speaking that agree very fitly with this of the Angel so that the one may well serue to open the other For it is written of Moses that the Lorde did separate of the spirite that was vpon him and did put it vpon the seuentie ancient men whom he appointed vnder him to be an helpe and comfort vnto him in the gouernement of the people of Israel and when the spirite rested vpon them they prophecied continually Euery one knoweth that the spirite of Moses whereof the Lord speaketh is not his naturall spirite but that he meaneth by this spirite part of the gifts and graces which Moses had receiued of the Lord such as were necessary for their charge as likewise he gaue to Moses according to the charge committed to him Some also vnderstand this separation of the spirite of Moses to be onely a communication of the graces of the spirite of God like to those which Moses had receiued for his charge that was giuen to those who were ioyned vnto him for his helpe Nowe if wee take it in this sense we may say that God vseth this manner of speech the better to let vs vnderstand thereby the nature of his gifts and graces and the meanes hee obserueth in dispensing of them For hee doeth not onelie distribute so much as is needefull for them whome hee mindeth to employ in his woorke but giueth also vnto them such manner of graces as are requisite for the worke as Saint Paul testifieth Besides all this his purpose is also to teach vs what agreement there is betwixt all his giftes as likewise what vnitie proceedeth heereof betwixt them that are partakers of these gifts whereby wee may perceiue that they come all from one spirite which albeit God thereby powreth out his graces in so great abundance is yet a fountaine and sea that is not onely not dried vp but not so much as any way diminished Thus wee see howe one and the same Spirite of GOD gouerned Moses and the rest that were ioyned with him inspiring them all with his grace and distributing to euery one according to his measure as the winde is dispenced into many Organ-pipes all at once according to their seuerall capacitie and according to that sound which euery one is to yeelde for the making of a good harmony or as many Candles or Lampes are lighted by an other with the same fire wherewith that was first tined Also wee are to vnderstand in this sence the request that Eliseus made to Elias when hee demaunded a double portion of his Spirite because hee succeeded him in regarde whereof hee stoode in neede of such giftes and graces of Gods Spirite as Elias was guided by that hee might faithfully execute his charge as hee had done before Thus wee see howe places of Scripture expound one an other and howe little they help the Pythagoreans of whome I woulde not haue made so long a discourse if this foppery were driuen out of mens braines and namely among Christians For to this day there are too many fantasticall heades I say not amongest true Christians but amongest them that falsely beare that name who are as much or rather more infected heerewith then any Pythagoreans or Platonists in former times And for this cause AMANA I leaue you to goe on with this point that afterwardes wee may returne to our chiefe matter of the nature generation and immortalitie of the soule Of the Pythagoreans of these dayes amongst Christians and of their foolish opinions of the opinions of many doctors and diuines touching the creation and ordinary generation of mens soules of the moderation that ought to be kept in that matter of the cause of the filthinesse and corruption of mans soule Chap. 86. AMANA There was neuer yet any opinion errour or heresie so strange or monstrous in the world which hath not always found men enow to receiue it so that there were authours and masters to broach it abroad For God doeth thus punish the curiositie ingratitude malice and peruersenesse of men and that contempt of his word and trueth which is ordinarily in them together with the pleasure and delight they take in vanitie and lies Wherefore God through his iust iudgement deliuereth them vp into a reprobate sence insomuch as they can not but reiect the trueth continually and embrace that which is false according as he often threatned them and foretolde it by his Prophets and Apostles And this is the cause why the Pythagoreans do at this day find men voide of sense and vnderstanding who cleaue to their fantasticall opinions and why Epicures and Atheists are neuer without a great number of disciples Now albeit these men be in truth most blockish grosse beasts yet we cannot perswade them so nor many others also who imagin they know much For there are euen doctors and some that read lectures in Vniuersities who keepe not their opinion of the transmigration of soules so secret to themselues but they make some profession therof at lestwise amongst their schollers and familiar acquaintance There are some also who boasting of the knowlege of tongues of the turning ouer of many antiquities haue published this fancie of theirs in books written by them yea they themselues are perswaded and they would make others beleeue the same with them that their soules are the very soules of some famous personages that haue liued heretofore in the world that they haue alredy passed through many excellent bodies which haue done great things as likewise they promise to themselues that they shal bring to passe great matters seeing they haue their souls True it is that according to our maner of speaking we say sometimes of such as agree in manners with others who haue liued before them that their soules whom they resemble is entred into them that the others are raised vp in their persons For example sake if there be a cruel tyrant like to Nero we say that Neroes soule is entred into his body and that Nero is raised vp in him But yet euery one knoweth well enough that we vse to speake so by reason of the agreement of natures and of manners not because of any transmigration of soule And this may be spoken in respect of that Deuillish spirite which possesseth the wicked and ruleth in them as wee say of the Spirite of Gods
seruants in regarde of his vertue that it is giuen to such as resemble them and haue receiued the same graces from aboue For as the holy Spirite who wrought heeretofore in others worketh nowe also in them that haue receiued like grace euen so it is saide of that euill spirite in regarde of the wicked who are all led with the selfe-same spirite of Sathan Wherefore he doth such workes in them whome hee nowe possesseth as he wrought heeretofore in their predecessours So that in this sense it skilleth not though wee say that the spirite of one entreth into another who succeedeth him in the same wicked works But the Pythagoreans of whome I nowe speake take it not so but as hath bin already declared And to set the more colour vpon this so strange an opinion their prophanenesse is such that they dare to alleadge those places of Scripture which were spoken of in the former discourse whereby they labour to perswade themselues and others also with them that the worde of God confirmeth the same No doubt therefore but that they who haue yet such toyes in their head are not without others also yea there is no question but that there are wonderfull puddles of errours and of very strange heresies in their fantasticall braines so that they are ougly monsters among men and would be abhorred of euery one if that which they carry enclosed in their frantike heades might be seene with corporall eies But leauing this point wee are to returne to our principall matter into which we haue made some entrance namely the nature and originall the pollution purgation and immortalitie of the soule of man concerning which thing we haue heard the opinion of the Philosophers and of many that follow them Whereupon we haue to obserue this that notwithstanding any errour in opinion which they helde yet they alwayes came to this point that they concluded the immortalitie of the soule Nowe as touching the ancient Doctors of the Church and the late Diuines they haue written diuersly of the originall of mens soules and of their entrance into their bodies about which point there haue beene and are at this day great disputations and controuersies namely amongst the Physicions and the Diuines Some haue beene of that opinion touching the generation and beginning of the soule with the body whereof we haue already spoken But some restraine this to that soule which they call Vegetatiue and Sensitiue as hath bin shewed vnto vs others comprehend also the reasonable soule therewithall And besides that which wee haue spoken already touching originall sinne in the soule they ground themselues vpon that which is written in Genesis howe that after God had created man who was the last in the creation of all the creatures he rested the seuenth day from the worke which he had made after he had accomplished whatsoeuer it pleased him to doe Therefore they conclude that from that time forward God created not any newe creatures but hauing set such an order as it pleased him to appoint in the nature of things created he preserued the same afterwardes by his prouidence whereby he worketh alwaies in the guiding and conseruation of his creatures although not after that manner whereby he worketh in the creating of them And thus he rested in regarde of the worke of creation so as he created no more any creatures in such sort and maner as he did the first creatures in the beginning Neuerthelesse he rested not in respect of the worke of his prouidence which neuer ceaseth but daily createth all those creatures that come newly into the world by meanes of those seedes which he hath put into euery one of them according to their kindes and by other meanes which hee hath ordained to that purpose Hauing then laide this foundation they conclude that mens soules are not daily created of nothing nor in such maner as the soule of the first man was created but by that meanes which God then appointed for the preseruation of mankinde But because they knowe well enough that there is great difference betwixt the soules of men and of brute beasts they agree that God vseth other means in the procreation and producing of mens soules then in that of beasts by the concurring of his generall action whereby he sustaineth and preserueth the natures of all things according to that naturall disposition which he hath indued them with from the beginning agreeable to that which is written that In him we liue and mooue and haue our beeing Therefore as God vsed other meanes in the creation of the soule of man then he did in that of beastes and placed it also in the body of man after an other fashion that was speciall and peculiar vnto man euen so in the procreation and production of mens soules he hath his speciall order for them which differeth from the order vsed in the generation of the soules of beasts And indeede he sheweth very euidently that he ruleth after another fashion in the production of men and namely in regard of the soule then in that of beasts by the excellent gifts wherewith their soules are adorned not onely in that their soules doe farre exceede the soules of beasts but also in that one soule excelleth another in the nature of man as wee see it in many to whome God hath giuen heroicall spirites which are gifts that cannot proceede from the body And so much for the opinion of these men Others do not only deny the reasonable soule to be taken from any portion either of the diuine nature and essence or of the body of man but they say farther that God by his diuine power and vertue createth it of nothing after that the body of the infant is made perfect in the wombe of the mother hauing all the parts and members thereof And being thus created of God he presently placeth it within that body which he hath appointed for the lodging of it that it may dwel therein vntil after the death of the body it depart immortall out of it as it was created immortall and was so indeede when it entred thereinto These men ground themselues vpon that which we reade in Genesis where it is saide that after God had fashioned man of the dust of the earth he breathed into him the breath of life he was made a liuing soule For it appeareth plainely by this testimonie of Moses that the soule of the first man was not only not created together with the body as the soule of beasts was but also that it was giuen vnto him of some other nature and substance For if there were no more in it then in that of beasts and if it had no kinde of participation with the diuine nature why should God inspite it into the body of man after another fashion then he did that of beasts and what should that inspiration or breathing of God signifie and import Wee haue heard already what some answere vnto this For they
recouery neither was any knowen that hath returned from the graue For we were borne at all aduenture and wee shall be heereafter as though wee had neuer beene for the breath is a smoke in the nosethrilles and the woordes as a sparke raised out of our hearts Which being extinguished the body is turned into ashes and the spirite vanisheth as the soft ayre Our life shall passe away as the trace of a cloude and come to naught as the mist that is driuen away with the beames of the Sunne and cast downe with the heate thereof Our name also shall be forgotten in time and no man shall haue our woorkes in remembrance For our time is as a shadowe that passeth away and after our ende there is no returning for it is fast sealed so that no man commeth againe Come therefore let vs enioy the pleasures that are present and let vs cheerfully vse the creatures as in youth Let vs fill our selues with costly wine ointments and let not the floure of life passe by vs. I omit other speeches of a voluptuous wicked vniust life which they purpose to lead exercising al iniustice violence cruelty without al regard had to any right or iustice either to poore or rich yong or old but chiefly against the seruants of God who approue not their kind of life but reproue condemne it Therefore it is said after al the discourse that they imagined such things and went astray For their owne wickednes blinded them They do not vnderstand the mysteries of God neither hope for the reward of righteousnes nor can discerne the honor of the soules that are faultlesse For God created man without corruption and made him after the image of his owne likenesse Neuerthelesse through enuy of the deuill came death into the world and they that hold of his side proue it But the soules of the righteous are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them In the sight of the vnwise they appeared to die and their end was thought grieuous and their departing from vs destruction but they are in peace Wee see then that these men go no farther then they can see with their bodily senses and because they see that man liueth by breathing and cannot liue without and that hee dyeth when his breath faileth they thinke that the soule of man is but a litle winde and breath and so is scattered and vanisheth away as it were winde and breath or as a cloude in the ayre The same iudgement they are of in regard of the blood because life leaueth the body with the blood as if it had no other soule but the blood or breath And forasmuch as the eye discerneth no difference betweene men and beasts in death they iudge also that there is no difference betweene their soules But if they be resolued to giue credit to nothing but to their corporall senses and in death consider only what difference there is betweene men and beasts they wil not beleeue that either beasts or men haue any soule at all that giueth them life because they see nothing but the body onely And then by the like reason we must conclude that not onely the whole man is no other thing but this body which we see but also that there is nothing in all the world but that which may bee seene by the eyes and perceiued by the other senses and so all that which we haue not seene and knowen by them shal be nothing Which being so men shal differ nothing from beasts as indeed we can say no better of these men For beastes thinke of nothing but that which they beholde and perceiue by their senses and goe no further which is so farre from all science and discipline and from all iudgement of man as nothing can be more Therefore they that beleeue nothing but their corporall senses deserue to be compared not onely to little children or to fooles who when they see pictures or their face in a glasse suppose they are liuing men because they goe no farther then they see but euen to the brute beastes who haue lesse sense and vnderstanding then children It is woonderfull to consider howe men take such great pleasure paines to become brutish For if they doe but see a smoke come out of a place they will iudge that there is some fire within although they behold it not and if they smell any ill sauour their nose will tell them that there is some place infected or some carion lying not farre off albeit they see it not What is the cause then that when by their senses they perceiue somewhat more in men then in beastes they are not induced thereby to thinke that of necessitie there must be some what within them which causeth them to differ much from beasts Which is not by reason of the bodie but of the soule that is not seene but onely by her actions workes and effects Whereupon it followeth that if their actions differ from the actions of that soule whereby beastes liue the cause also from which they proceed must needes differ and so consequently that there is great difference betwixt the soule of men and the soule of beastes For let them consider onely the diuersitie of artes which man exerciseth with his hands and the varietie of so many wittie and woonderfull workes as are wrought by him which cannot proceede but from a great spirite and from a passing excellent nature the like whereof is not to bee seene in beastes or in anie thing they can doe Besides doe they not see how the spirite of man discourseth throughout all nature what reason is in him and howe his speech followeth reason which are such things as haue a certaine vertue and the image of a diuine spirite shining in them Wherefore albeeit wee shoulde make man wholly like to a beast by reason of his bodie both in regarde of his birth and death yet wee must needes confesse that hee is of a farre more excellent nature in respect of that great and manifest difference which wee see is in his soule If then the soule of man bee mortall as well as that of beastes to what purpose serue those graces which it hath aboue the other and from what fountaine shall wee say they flowe in it and to what ende were they giuen vnto it But for this time I will leaue these Atheists hoping that to morowe wee will not leaue any one naturall reason able to vrge them in their demnable opinion which shal not bee laide out at large And I demaund of them that haue anie taste of the holy Scriptures and yet seeme to doubt of the immortalitie of the soule or at leastwise are not fully resolued therein howe man is said to be created after the image of God if he shall be altogether dissolued and brought to nothing and where shall we then seeke for this image in him It is certaine that this is not in
the body seeing that God is a spirituall nature and substance and not corporall Then it followeth that this image is to be sought for in the soule and not in the body And if it be in the soule we must necessarily conclude that it differeth very much from the soule of beasts For indeed if they were both one why should it rather be written of man then of beastes that he was created after the image of God And if man bee the image of God especially in regard of the soule it must needs be then of a diuine and immortall nature otherwise there would be no good agreement betweene the image and the thing of which it is an image Therefore a corporall thing cannot bee the true image of a spirituall thing if there bee no resemblaunce or agreement of nature betwixt them For although a corporall image shoulde bee of another matter then the thing is of which it doeth represent neuerthelesse there is alwayes some resemblaunce when both the one and the other is of a corporall matter and when the image hath some agreement in forme with the thing represented Now if any bee desirous to seeke for the image of God in a corporall thing wee shall finde as many of them as there are creatures in the whole world And yet it is not said of any creature no not of the sunne it selfe nor of the moone or starres tâ—at haue no soule nor yet of the liuing creatures themselues which are endued with soule and life that God saide in their creation Let vs make them after our image and likenesse neither that hee created them after his image as it is writteÌ„ of man If then there be no immortalitie of the soule of man where shal we find the image of the immortalitie of God who is immortal And if there be no immortality in man but that his soule is ether the temperament of his bodie or his vitall spirite as in beasts God shall haue no image that shall more neerely resemble him in man then in beasts neither shal he haue any spiritual image agreeable to his nature in any creature vnder heauen Nowe if any reply and say that this image is to bee fought for not in the immortalitie of the soule but onely in reason and in the other vertues where with it is adorned aboue the soule of beasts I say that these things are in such sort linked together that they cannot bee separated Wherefore hee that taketh away the one taketh away the other because the soule of man shoulde not haue that which it hath more then the soule of beasts hath if it were not of another nature theÌ„ theirs is And we know well that whatsoeuer it hath more is not like to any creature vnder the heauens and that it cannot agree but to God or to natures that haue some participation with the diuine nature which cannot be mortall but immortall So that when wee see so many signes and tokens which testifie vnto vs that man hath a celestiall and diuine birth it followeth that hee hath in himselfe some greater thing that is more noble and excellent then can be seene or touched with hands It is true that they who stay onely in the corporal senses as we haue saide shall neuer pearce to the contemplation of these things but they delight rather for their confirmation in that beastly opinion to heare the common bye-worde vsed amongst the vulgar sort that no man knoweth what becommeth of the soules of men after the death of their bodies nor into what countrey they goe because no body as yet euer brought any newes from thence and therefore no marueile if no man either doe or can knowe what is done there Which speeches albeeit they be very friuolous yet are they heard many times from them that thinke themselues to be none of the meanest Therefore it will not be peraduenture without profite if we answere them more at large to morow going forward with our reasons arguments of the soules immortalitie against the Atheists of which matter ASER thou shalt begin to speake The end of the eleuenth dayes worke THE TVVELFTH dayes worke Of those who desire the returne of Soules departed to testifie their immortalitie what witnes haue beene sent vs of God out of another worlde to resolue vs therein Chap. 89. ASER We saide yesterstay that they who stay onely in their corporall senses as brute beastes doe propound commonly against the immortality of soules that which is vsually spoken of the common people namely that it is not known what becomes of mens soules after the death of the bodie or to what countrey they goe because none euer returned from thence to bring anie newes Wherefore say they no bodie can tell what is done there neither can any thing be knowen Nowe before wee make answere to so friuolous and false an argument I would gladly demaund of them whether there were nothing at all of those new-found Ilands which were lately found in our time before they were discouered by them who not onely were neuer there but did not so much as once heare of them before For no body went thither from hence neither did any come hither from thence so that there was no more intelligence betweene them and vs then betweene the liuing and the dead or betweene them that are altogether of another world therefore also their countrey is called the New world Nowe then shall it be thought that this people were not at all because they were not knowne of vs not their manners and kinde of life And yet now the time sheweth euidently that notwithstanding any distance of place that hath beene betweene them and vs there were meanes sufficient to communicate and trafficke together and those more easie then any is betweene the soules alreadie departed out of their bodies and vs who yet remaine in the world with our bodies For concerning the distance and difficultie of the places who doubteth but that it is farre greater betweene heauen and earth Paradise and Hell Therefore also Abraham speaking of the place and estate of the elect and reprobate in another life saith to the rich man There is a great gulfe set betweene you and vs so that they which would goe from hence to you cannot neither can they come from thence to vs. And this we may say in like manner of our selues and of those that are already departed into another life in regard of their returne vnto the liuing For it is ordained that they shall not returne againe into the worlde as also that they shall depart hence but once And they that goe from hence doe it not with soule and body ioyned together for it is not a voyage like to those which wee make in this world when we goe from one countrey to another Now as the Lord hath determined how long the soules shall abide in their bodies in this life so hee hath ordained and set the time in which they
are to search chiefly for those testimonies which God hath giuen vs in nature touching th'immortality of the soule euen the actions and effects therof by meanes of which we come to the knowledge of hidden and secret causes from whence they proceed Therefore consider Amana what you mind to speake vnto vs of this subiect Of naturall reasons whereby the immortalitie of soules may be proued against Epicures and Atheists and first of the argument taken frō the facultie of knowledge which the soule hath and from that knowledge of eternitie which is in it how it appeareth that it is not begottē of this corruptible nature because it ascendeth vp vnto God and how by a special benefit of God it is daily created not by the vertue of nature Cha. 90. AMANA Seeing Epicures Atheists giue credit to natural Philosophy in things whose causes it proueth by their effects they haue no reason to refuse it in the consideration of the nature of mens soules Now it is verie certaine that if we will take this course besides the testimonies of God in his word touching the immortalitie of the soule which way soeuer we turne our eyes whether aboue vs or beneath vs on the right hand or on the left we shall finde euery where arguments and reasons concluding the same For we haue nature and the necessitie of causes proportion and similitude life the excellent dignitie of man the goodnes of God and the profit of mankind proceeding from his bountifulnesse which with one common consent and as it were all with one voyce teach vs and crie out that the soule cannot bee mortall First then we obserue that the true naturall essences of all things are not knowne of vs by themselues but continue hidde in the secret closets of euery one of them vnto which our minde being burthened with this masse of the body and ouerwhelmed with the darkenesse of this life is not able to reach Therefore we must enquire by the accidents adhering vnto them and principally by their actions whereby our reason discourseth and concludeth of euery thing what it is and of what qualitie For euery thing hath his actions and workes according to it owne substance and nature and by them declareth and maketh it selfe knowne so that if wee consider the actions of the soule we shall by them know the nature and immortalitie thereof Let vs then consider her first and principall action which is to know and this importeth also to vnderstande to comprehende and to conceiue Whereupon we haue to note that there is no power of Knowing that can attaine to the knowledge of any thing but it hath some agreement and proportion with the nature of the same thing because knowledge is as it were the image of things which is imprinted in the soule as in a glasse Now it is certaine that a looking glasse cannot represent the image and similitude of a spirituall thing because it selfe is a corporall thing which hath no agreement in nature with that which is spirituall Likewise it cannot represent any thing belonging to the other senses but onely that which concerneth the sight and therfore it cannot represent either soundes smelles or tastes because the vse thereof is onely for the eyes neither doeth it agree with any of the other senses but onely with the sight And as for our externall senses they cannot perceiue those things that haue neither quantitie nor bodily substance because they themselues are corporal Neither yet can they perceiue things that are absent And the internall senses as the fantasie the imagination cannot perceiue spiritual things as namely either God or Angels but onely the spirite of a man doeth perceiue know and comprehend them which power and facultie no other creature vnder heauen hath For if it were otherwise it could not in any wise comprehend a thing that surmounteth it with an infinite greatnes and with which it hath no agreement at all For further confirmation of that which I say let vs consider of Eternitie as it is whole and entire in it selfe then let vs diuide it into that which was since the creation of the worlde and finally into that which followed the same and which shall be for euermore When our spirite entereth into the consideration of that which was before the creation our thought is not able to comprehend it so that it is ouerwhelmed with the greatnesse thereof but wee doe well vnderstand and comprehend that part of eternitie which shall followe vs heereafter throughout infinit ages Whereby it appeareth that this first consideration of it is too great for our soule as hauing no proportion therewith nor yet agreeing thereunto but it is otherwise with the soule in the consideration of that other eternitie for the fruition whereof it was created For the soule is not eternall as God is as though it had no more beginning then he had and therefore it hath no agreement with him in this respect The soule then entereth into a bottomlesse gulfe when it discourseth of an eternitie of which it is not partaker but it hath agreement with the eternitie of God as angels haue in that it is created immortall to liue an eternall life with him which appeareth in that it is able to comprehend the same Therfore Saint Iohn in the beginning of his Gospel leadeth vs euen to the gates of this first eternitie but forasmuch as it is a gulfe in which we shall be swallowed vp if we enter farther into it hee proceedeth not forward but stayeth vs there and calleth vs presently vnto the means whereby God manifested himselfe telling vs how he did this by his eternall worde and first by the creation of the worlde then by those other meanes which hee setteth downe afterwarde all which our soule comprehendeth well and so cannot the soule of beasts do Wherfore when we consider God in his essence and nature before the creation of the world the time that was before that wee are then ouerwhelmed therewithall see no whit at all into it But if we enter into the consideration of the times after the creation of the world into those which shal follow stil after vs vnto all eternity wee looke into it more cleerely and are not so much dazeled therwithall because our soule is more capable of this consideration then of the other which was before all creatures From hence wee may conclude that the soules of beasts and plants that haue not in them this cogitation or apprehension of eternitie are produced and taken out of the power and vertue of that matter of which they are engendered but the spirit of man is more specially bredde in the bodie by God aboue all the powers of the matter and nature of the same For nothing ariseth higher or passeth beyond that thing of which it receiueth essence and beeing and those powers and strength that it hath for if it did then should it not receiue being from thence
but of some other thing before and aboue that or else farther off vnto which it tendeth We see this in all the senses both externall and internall which are common to vs with beastes For they know nothing else beside that which is of this nature which we see neither doe they ascend higher but our spirite not content with the sight and knowledge of the heauens starres and Angels themselues mounteth vp to God and being come thither can go no further What other thing els doeth this signifie and declare vnto vs but that the soules of beasts are engendered of this corruptible and mortall nature beyonde which they cannot lift vp themselues but that ours are produced of God aboue the power of this nature And so that may bee saide of our soule which is spoken of a spring water namely that it ascendeth as much vpwarde as it descendeth downeward but can goe no higher For when a man woulde carie the water of a spring any whither and would haue it mount vpwarde it will be an easie matter to bring it as high as the spring-head from whence it floweth but no higher except it bee forced by some other meane then by it owne course and naturall vertue Notwithstanding it will easily descend lower And so fareth it with our spirite For as it came from God so it is able to mount againe to the knowledge of him and no higher but it descendeth a great deale lower And as for our senses they remaine lower then the woorkes of nature and pearce not to the depth of them but are alwayes busied about the externall face of them Neither is it to bee doubted but that Moses meant to teach vs these things by that which hee rehearseth of the meanes vsed by God in the creation of man which differed from that hee kept in the creation of all other creatures either liuing or without life For we haue heard what deliberation and counsaile he vsed before he put hand to the worke how he fashioned the body and how he placed the soule therein by and by after Therefore in that the Prophet describeth the creation of the bodie apart and then that of the soule he giueth vs to vnderstand that wee must seeke for something more high and excellent in that of man then in that of beastes whose soules were created with their bodies and of the selfe-same matter with them Moreouer he teacheth vs this very plainly when he saith that God created man after his owne image and similitude which hee did not say of beasts as we haue alreadie heard Therefore there must needes be in the soule of man some other power and vertue then that by which it giueth life to the bodie and which is common to it with those of brute beastes So that as God gaue to this dead bodie taken out of the earth a soule that endued it with life motion and sense so hee imprinted and ingraued his image into this soule vnto which immortalitie is annexed Therefore when Moses sayeth that man was made a liuing soule no doubt but by the name of soule he meaneth another nature and substance then that of the bodie And in that he calleth it liuing hee declareth plainly that the bodie hath not of it self and of it owne nature that life wherewith it is endued but from the power of this soule And although hee there maketh not any speciall mention of the other vertues thereof it is because hee considered the capacitie of the people with whome he liued vnto whom he would frame himselfe being content to speake openly of that power of the soule which appeared best without and which the externall senses might most easily know perceiue by the effects thereof But I thinke it will not be vnfit for this matter if wee returne to that question which before we touched concerning the creation of the soule namely whether since it was created by God in the first creation of man it be still created after the same sort as it were by a new miracle in them that are daily borne in the worlde or whether it bee naturally created but yet of God by a certaine order appointed for that ende by him Nowe albeeit it bee very requisite that we should bee sober and not rash in this matter for the causes alreadie set downe notwithstanding we will here propound the opinion of some learned men grounded vpon that order which God hath accustomed to obserue in his workes and in his creatures For seeing he hath set a law in nature for all other creatures according to which he createth produceth them not by any new miracle it is more likely that he createth soules naturally and that he hath ordained a stedfast law for mankind but differing from that of beasts so much as his creation differed from theirs For hauing once established an order he vseth not to change it into a diuers or contrarie order but keepeth still the same except it bee that sometimes he vseth extraordinarie meanes by way of a miracle For although all his woorkes bee great miracles and chiefely man neuerthelesse wee call none by that name but onely those which he woorketh by supernaturall meanes not against but beside the common order of nature But that which I say derogateth nothing from the nature immortalitie of mans soule For although it be placed in that matter which is alreadie prepared and appropriated for the fashioning of the body yet he doeth this aboue the vertue of the matter and of the worke of nature by a lawe which he hath established to that effect For this cause he doeth not onely giue a soule to them that are begotten by lawfull marriage but to those also who are brought foorth in whoredome whether it be adultery incest or any other such like For although that honestie which is enioyned mankind by God be not kept in such a birth and generation but contrarieth the same yet it is not contrary to the lawe of generation ordayned by God as that generation is which is by buggerie wherein not only the Law of honesty is violated but also the law of nature We will conclude then that it is not only true that our soule is not brought forth by the power of nature but by the benefit of God only but also that it is expedient and very behoofefull yea necessary for mankind that it should be true and because it is behoofefull and necessary it is true also without all question For God hath omitted nothing that is agreeable to his glory and profitable and expedient for mankinde For seeing the soule is placed within the bodie not by the vertue of nature but properly and peculiarly by a speciall benefite of God man oweth the chiefest and best part of himselfe not to nature but to God Which is the cause why he should acknowledge him as the onely father of his spirite consecrate the same wholly to him alone not yeelding
of all Atheists and Epicures who haue receiued their name of him For hee appointed therein that the day of his natiuitie shoulde be yeerely celebrated and that at certaine times assigned by him a banket should bee made for those of his sect in remembrance of his name Whereby wee see that this dogge himselfe who made no difference betweene the death of men and of beastes and who denied vtterly the immortalitie of the soule of man coulde not for all that plucke out of his owne soule the desire of immortalitie but doeth what lay in him to make himselfe immortall after his death by the perpetuitie of his name and memorie We may take the like argument from that which men vsually appoynt at their death touching their funerals sepulchres and tombes For why is it that they will haue sumptuous funeralles and stately and magnificent tombes Why haue manie caused Churches and chappels to bee erected themselues to bee engrauen and their escutchions to be hung vp where they haue laide themselues It is certaine that if they desired not to make their name as immortall as they coulde and their memorie eternall among men their death would not bee so ambitious neither would they leaue behinde them such markes of their ambition and of their desire of immortalitie And as great men affoorde this testimonie of their desire so the common people are not without some one or other for their part For a poore Artificer as a Tayler or Shoemaker or some such like if hee bee able hee will appoynt to haue a stone layde vpon his graue in which his name shall bee ingrauen and his marke or some such like thing to this ende that the Suruiuors and they that come after him should knowe that hee once liued and was in the worlde and that hee woulde still liue at leastwise in name and memorie And this is further confirmed by them who albeeit they cannot continue their name and memorie by any good deedes and valiant actes yet they striue to make themselues immortall by wicked and execrable dooings As among others wee haue the example of Herostratus who set on fire the Temple of that great Diana of Ephesus for no other cause but onelie that hee might bee spoken of and that the memorie of him might remaine and continue for euer amongest men as in deede it hath done notwithstanding the contrarie endeuour of the Ephesians who by a publicke Edict ordayned that his name shoulde neuer be written in any place But it may bee obiected vnto mee that this argument deriued from the desire of men to continue their name to proue the immortalitie of soules thereby is not very fit nor of great force because this desire is rather found in men that are most foolish vaine carnal and wicked then in the wiser sort of men and such as are more graue spirituall and vertuous For who couet more this immortalitie of name and memorie then they that are most vainglorious and ambitious vnto whose ambition death it selfe can bring no end but it reuiueth and liueth still therein We see also that they who least of all beleeue the immortalitie of soules and scoffe most at it are greatliest affected with this ambition and labor most to become immortall after that maner because they expect no other immortalitie All this I confesse is true yet mine argument continueth still firme For first we haue alwayes this testimonie from them that they know and acknowledge a certaine immortalitie and perpetuitie and desire to enioy the same as much as they may thinking to continue the same euen after their death which knowledge and desire is not to be found in brute beasts And whereas the vainest and worst men are more moued with this foolish desire then the wisest most vertuous men are the reason thereof is good and euident For the wisest men and such as are endewed with most vertue make least accompt of this temporary and fading immortalitie which is but as it were a winde that goeth from mouth to mouth or is but in paper parchment wood stone brasse or in some such corruptible matter because they expect a better perpetuitie that is more certaine more glorious and of longer continuance of which they are certainely perswaded Which perswasion can not be vaine in them seeing it is grounded vpon the testimony of Gods Spirit which saith that the iust shal be had in euerlasting remembrāce not onely before men but also before God and Angelles But the other sort of men busie themselues about an immortalitie which deserueth not to be accompted so much as a shadowe and image of true immortalitie because the desire thereof is infected and corrupted with that darkenesse of errour and of ignorance which sinne hath brought vpon the minde of man with those peruerse affections that proceede from the same and with their euil educcation and instruction who are not taught in the word of God By means whereof this natural desire of true immortalitie degenerateth into a foolish desire greedy of fame name amōg men euen as whē good seed falleth into bad groūd but stil it proceeds from a good beginning fountaine if it were not corrupted As we see also that it falleth out with the greater part of men in that natural desire they haue of skil knowledge which albeit it be in them by nature yet they turne it into a vaine and foolish curiositie that endeuoureth to knowe that which is not onely not profitable but very hurtfull and dangerous for them in stead of seeking to know that which is more profitable and necessary But besides that which wee haue already spoken our affections also tell vs plainely what the nature is as well of our spirite as of our senses both internall and externall and what difference there is betweene them For if the Spirite entreth into a cogitation of it owne death the internall senses with fancie and imagination are not greatly moued or troubled therewith but passe it ouer well enough as if they had no feeling thereof supposing that this corporall life will last a long time but the spirit is so confounded and troubled that it feareth and flieth nothing more then it And surely I doubt not but that they who being pressed and oppressed with great euilles desire death through a blind fury of their mind and wish to be wholly extinguished woulde change their purpose and abhorre that kinde of death and thinke it to be a greater mischiefe then all those which they suffer if they might haue leasure and means for some small time to come out of their dispaire and to returne to their right minde that so they might haue some rest from the troubles of their spirite and thinke seriously vpon the death thereof And as all the senses are presently troubled and as it were carried out of themselues through the cogitation of corporall death so the spirite contrariwise if it be found quiet and well setled abideth
which ought to admonish them of that that hath bin set downe to cause them to thinke more diligently therevpō We may say the same of their lust For although it be in the number of those pleasures that are most earthy brutish which the senses themselues both externall and internall ought to be soonest wearie of for the reasons before heard neuertheles they shew plainely how insatiable this appetite is in them in that no kinde of lust can content them insomuch as they are caried headlong there withall euē beyond the bounds of nature within which brute beasts containe themselues And truly all these things ought to driue vs into admiration and cause vs to consider the iust iudgement of God vpon men how he is reuēged of them for dishonoring him their own nature by suffring it to degenerate wax beastlike in forsaking spirituall heauenly diuine things for those are corporall earthly and brutish Therefore God depriueth them of that vnderstanding which he had giuē them that they shoulde torment themselues after such things as vexe their spirite as it were damned soules and that so much the more miserably and with lesse contentation as they enioy more of them For what a torment is ambition and couetousnes and other affections and vices that accompany them And if we speake of lust we see what is the vengeance of God vpon them who going beyond the bounds of nature so dishonor their bodies and their owne nature that there is no essence or nature whatsoeuer vnto which they may be compared For none doe so much peruert their nature as they I meane not beasts only but not the deuilles themselues And although they be so beastlike as to consider no more of the nature and essence of their soule then they doe of beasts yet the very figure of their bodies should make them to thinke that God hath not made it differing from beasts and namely in creating the head and face vpwards but that hee hath also endued them with a soule differing from theirs to the ende it might be correspondent to the body in which it is But it belongeth to thee ASER to prosecute this argument thereby to shew vnto vs the immortalitie of the soule Of the testimonie that men haue of the immortal nature of the soule in their very body by the composition and frame thereof of that which is in the motion and rest of their soule how the creation of the whole world should be vaine how there should be no prouidēce of God no religion no diuine iustice if the soule were mortall of the multitude and qualities of the witnesses that stand for the immortalitie thereof Chap. 93. ASER. That good king Ezechias complaining in his sicknes said Mine habitation is departed and is remooued from me like a sheepeheards tent I haue cut off like aweauer my life This holy man compareth his body and the life of man in it to a tabernacle and lodge or to a tent and pauillion which are no firme lodgings but remoueable and such as may be transported from one place to another as souldiers carry away theirs when they raise their camp to pitch it in some other place And indeed a mans body in this world is as it were a lodging assigned for his soule to abide in a while not to dwell there alwayes as it were in one place For this life is like to a militarie life and as a continuall warfare vntil such time as we depart hence and that God cutteth it off after wee haue finished our appointed dayes as a weauer cutteth off the threedes at the end of his web after it is finished Therefore Saint Peter also calleth his body a tabernacle when he saith I thinke it meete as long as I am in this tabernacle to stirre you vp by putting you in remembrance seeing I knowe that the time is at hand that I must lay downe this tabernacle euen as our Lorde Iesus Christ hath shewed mee Saint Paul also vseth the like manner of speech when hee saieth For wee knowe that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be destroyed we haue a building giuen of God an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens For therefore we sigh desiring to be clothed with our house which is from heauen And to this agreeth that which is written in the epistle to the Hebrews For here we haue no continuing citie but we seeke one to come Here truely are notable testimonies of the second and eternall life against them that doubt of the immortalitie of the soule But according to that which is giuen vs in charge to discourse of touching this matter wee must bring them other testimonies euen in their bodies seeing their spirit cannot mount vp to celestiall and diuine things We may easily iudge if there be any light of nature remaining in our minde that God would haue vs knowe by the composition and stature of our bodies howe the soule and spirit dwelling within them shoulde be affected and whither it ought to looke For why woulde God lift the head face of men vpwards and not the head of beasts but that hee woulde admonish them thereby that they are of a celestiall nature and that they must alwayes looke not to the earth as beasts do but to heauen as to their natiue country from whence they receiued their Originall in respect of their principall part which al Atheists and Epicures doe renounce And if the body be lifted straight vpward the spirite is much more which ascending by degrees from inferiour things maketh no stay vntill it come to heauenly and diuine things and hauing at length attained vnto them it stayeth there and contenteth it selfe therein In regard whereof as in naturall things we knowe by their moouing and resting which is their naturall place so by the same reason wee may iudge of the naturall place of mans soule which is in perpetuall motion and can finde no rest here below on the earth as the soules of beasts can which because they are altogether earthy and al their natural and proper good comming from no higher place then from the earth their snowts also are continually bending towards it and the more earthy and brutish they are the more downwards do they alwayes bend This we may easily perceiue if we compare not onely the beasts of the earth with birdes which holde more of the nature of the ayre and liue most therein but also if wee compare the beasts of the earth one with an other For albeit all of them haue their snowts inclining towards the earth yet the hogge hath his head more bending downeward then others haue For it is fashioned and bowed after such a fashion that no beast can lesse lift vp the head and stretch it towardes heauen then the hogge neither is any so much troubled as that is when by force it is compelled to looke vpward The same may bee saide
is the Original of all mouing he must of necessitie bee firme and stable because otherwise he could not giue motion to others as we haue dayly experience hereof in our selues For if we would moue one of our feete the other must abide steddie and firme and both the one and the other must alwayes haue some stay whereby to take their motion Nowe because God cannot haue stay from any other hee hath it in himselfe in that manner which hath beene declared alreadie For as hee is alwayes one so all things are present to him yea hee is euery where by reason that hee is eternall and infinite without beginning and without ende Iudge of all and is iudged of none gouernour of all and gouerned by none Secondly we haue those spirituall natures and creatures which are a great Good but not the greatest and chiefest Good which cannot be found but in the Creator This second Good hath qualities because all things in it are not substantial It hath also motion but receiueth the same from the first Good of which it dependeth and then it giueth the same to others This motion is in time but without place and this Good both iudgeth and is iudged gouerneth and is gouerned The Angels and humane soules are this great Good and these spiritual natures which are spirites hauing all these things But there is betweene them that difference before spoken off namely that Angels are spirits which were created to liue an immortal life and not to bee ioyned vnto any earthly bodies and that the spirite of men are created to dwell in bodies and to giue them life Therefore I let passe Angels for this time and purpose to speake onely of the spirite of man which is not immutable as God is but may receiue change of qualities as wee see in that it beeing created good became bad and of euill may also become good by the grace of God But no such thing can befall God For hee cannot but bee good in the highest degree and the soueraigne good of euery creature because goodnes is not accidental to him as it is to a creature but substantial and essential And as God is the soueraigne mouer who giueth motion to all creatures in this great world so the soule and spirite of man giueth mouing to the whole body of man who is the little world and to all the members thereof neither hath it this motion from any other creature beside it selfe as the body receiueth the same from it but onely of the Creator Nowe although this motion bee made in time yet it is not made by any change of place For what motion soeuer there is in the spirite yet it abideth alwaies in his place so long as it dwelleth in the body which it gouerneth vnder God the great gouernour by whome also it is iudged as it selfe iudgeth the body and all that is vnder the same Lastly followeth the body which is another Good but not so great as the spirit This hath not only quality but quantitie also whereas the spirite hath onely qualitie without quantitie For to speak properly no nature hath quantitie except it be corporal Therfore the soule of a great man is not greater then the soule of a little man in regard of corpulency because it hath none as the body hath So that when we say that a man is of a great spirite we meane it not in regard of bodily quantitie as when we speake of a great body but wee consider in him the experience of giftes agreeable to his nature wherewith he is endued aboue others And in taking it so it will often come to passe that the least bodies shall haue the greatest spirites and the greatest bodies the least spirites And by the same reason we consider in a little infant euen as soone as he hath receiued mouing in his mothers bellie the selfe-same soule that is in all the ages that followe his infancie vntill his olde-age and in death it selfe But according as those instruments whereby it worketh during life are fitte for their offices and as afterwarde when they waxe olde they faile of their naturall force and vertue so the soule sheweth her powers and wonderful effects in them and by them continuing still one and the same in substance and nature as these things haue beene at large declared vnto vs. And as for the motion of the body it is made both in time and in place and is gouerned and iudged but it selfe neither gouerneth nor iudgeth Thus wee may see howe these two good things the spirite and the bodie of which the one is greater then the other are vnited and ioyned together in man as if he caried heauen and earth linked together Wee may learne also howe in this coniunction the spirite occupieth the middle betwixt God and the bodie and agreeth with them both Wee see also the admirable workes of the soule during this coniunction all which are so many testimonies of the wonderfull workes of God and of his prouidence ouer all nature Moreouer we behold a very goodly disposition and excellent order in all the powers and faculties both of soule and body Let vs then make our profit of all these things and of these instructions and lessons which God giueth vs in them to leade vs to the principall end for which man was created namely to know and to honour his Creator Wherefore we ought chiefly to consider that seeing God in the wonderful compositiō of our nature hath placed the heart between the head and the belly and the vital vertue of the soule betweene the animal and the nutritiue vertue and the will betweene the vnderstanding and the most sensual part that is in vs therefore the heart and will must alwayes looke vpward and not downeward to the end that they may ioyne themselues to the noblest and most diuine part and not to the basest most sensuall and earthly part For they are in mans body as if they were placed betweene heauen and earth so that as man holdeth the middle place between Angels and other liuing creatures by reason of that communication of nature which he hath with them both so fareth it with the heart and the will betweene the head and the belly and betweene reason with that part which is capable thereof and the sensuall part which is without reason Wherefore if the will of man be ioyned with reason which is celestial and diuine and followeth the same it will become like vnto it and shal be able easily to gouerne the sensual part vnderneath it to be mistresse ouer it and to compel it to obey But if the Will despise reason and the counsaile thereof and if instead of mounting vpward towardes the noblest part it desecendeth to the sensual part and ioyneth it selfe thereunto then shall the Will be made like to that and shal serue it in place of commanding it And by this meanes the Will shall become altogether brutish wheras contrariwise
it might make the sensuall and earthly part as it were celestiall and diuine by drawing it with it selfe if it woulde obey reason rather then the affections of the flesh and if it would looke more towardes heauen then towardes the earth as men commonly vse to doe For as they are in the middest betweene Angels and beastes if they woulde looke more towardes heauen from whence their soules haue their Originall then towardes the earth out of which their bodies are taken they should become celestial and diuine like to the Angels and finally like to God who hath created them after his owne image But if insteede of beholding the heauens vnto which their faces are lifted they looke downe to the earth as brute beasts doe hauing more care of that then of heauen they shall become altogether earthie and brutish like beastes Therefore it standeth euery one in hand to bethinke himselfe seriously which way he aymeth whither he desireth to come and whom he had rather resemble either the angels or beasts Let vs then consider wel of our nature and of that order which God setteth downe therein and follow the same and beware that we doe not peruert it Let vs learne to acknowledge the image of God in vs and to beholde his great wisedome therein as it were in a little world First let vs know by our soule which is a spirituall and no corporall nature that God is a spirite and of a spirituall nature which is not shut vp and inclosed in any place For neither our spirite hath any abiding in a place as if it were inclosed and shut vp therein notwithstanding that it remayneth in a place as it were in regarde of that coniunction which it hath with the bodie Neuerthelesse it is not so inclosed therein but that it is able not onliâ— to raunge through heauen and earth and throughout this whole visible worlde but euen higher and farther so that the whole world is not of sufficient bignesse to containe the same or to content and satisfie it but that it will goe beyond it What then shall wee thinke of GOD who hath created it And howe forgetfull shall man bee of himselfe if whereas the whole worlde is not great enough for his spirite hee content himselfe with a little angle of the earth and doe after a sort burie himselfe therein Likewise let vs knowe and beleeue that God is inuisible seeing our soule is so and cannot bee seen with bodily eyes For it is not painted with any colour neither hath it any corporal figure whereby it may be seene and knowen which is doen onely by the acts and deedes of it Let vs not seeke then to knowe the essence and nature of God by the eyes but onelie by the spirite For hee cannot bee seene by them but onelie by the eyes of faith neither can hee bee founde or conceiued by corporall senses Againe wee ought not onely to consider but euen to woonder howe hee hath ioyned our soule with the bodie and distributed the vertue thereof into all the partes and members of the same and howe hee doeth so excellently knitte together and conioyne so manie members so distant one from another euen from the one ende vnto the other all which receiue life and vertue from the soule according to their nature and office and are all gouerned by one and the same spirite Let vs consider then howe hee woulde haue that part of the soule which is partaker of reason to haue the principalitie and dominion ouer the part in which he hath placed the affections to the ende that the chiefest should commaund and the other obey as himselfe hath the Lordshippe and soueraigntie ouer all his creatures as they that must obey him Let vs not then suffer the spirite to bee brought into bondage by the perturbations of the affections neither let vs suffer them to bee so lifted vp against reason as to bee able to turne the vertue of the soule against it In like manner let vs remember how God worketh in our mindes in such sort as that the knowledge of those things which wee knowe first is not abolished by the vnderstanding of other things we learne after but they are all kept together very surely in the chiefe part of the soule and that in good order by meanes of the memorie without confusion one with another euen as if they were written and engrauen in a table or in a piller of brasse Wherefore we should be very vngratefull and brutish if any thing in the world cause vs to forget God and if we haue not his benefites towards vs in perpetual remembrance FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prou. 6. 6. 1. Cor. 12. Iob 33. 3. Psalme 12. 2. Prouer. 15. 28. and 16. 23. Gen. 1. 1 26. Psal 139. 13. Iob 10. 10 11. Rom. 1. 20. Psalm 139. 14. Isay 44. 2. Hebr. 11. 6. Act. 17. Rom. 1. 19. Psal 20. Act. 17. 27. Protagoras Diagoras Epicurus Lucianus Plinie Sen. Cassius Brutus Lucretius Pope Iohn 13. Pope Leo. 10. Frances Rabelais Iodellus A citizen of Angiers Isaiah 11. 9. 54. 13. Ier. 31. 34. Psal. 119. 71. Psal. 16. 1. Act. 19. 19 20. Matth. 15. 14. iohn 9. 39. Esay 29. 14. 2. tim 3. 13. 2. thes 2. 10 11 12. Rom. 1. 18 19. c. Matth. 24. Acts 2. 37. Psal. 19. 1. What we learne by the view of the world Psal. 8. 1. 4 5 6. Psal. 32. 9. Isai. 1. 3. Euery creature hath his proper motion and disposition The difference betweene the naturall and supernaturall desire of man to good 1. Cor. 2. 14. Isay 64. 4. Psal 16. 11. How we may see God How Plato came to the knowledge of God The knowledge of God and of our selues ioyned together Two books that reach vs to know God The necessitie of the word The name of God Exod. 3. 14. Steps to ascend vp by to the knowledge of God Gen. 1. 26. Three things to be considered in the creation of man Isa. 40. 13 14. rom 11. 34. Prou. 8. 22. c. The trinitie of persons in the vnitie of the godhead Gen. 1. 27. Gen. 〈◊〉 7. Gen. 3. 19. Mans body compounded of the 4. elements Of what element eâ—ery sence holdeth most The first matter the mother of all things An argument of all Atheists against mans creation Aristotles errour was that the worlde had no begâ—nning Nature commeth of the Latine word Nascor which signifieth to be borne How we must ascend vp to the knowledge of God by his creatures Gen. 2. 15 18. What great knowledge of naturall things was in Adam Man was created for societie The creation of woman and vse thereof In Hebrew Ish signifieth man and Ishah woman Ephes 5. 29. How Atheists scofle at the womans creation Genes 2. 21. Of the mvsterie of Christ and his Church in the creation of the woman Ephes. 5. 30. The opinion of naturall Philosophers touching the nature of women Genes 1. 27. 1. Cor. 11.
a lamp and mans body The causes of chirst and hunger Of physicke and the causes therof Instructions from the sense of taste The equality of heate and moysture preserueth life Of the inequality that is in the nature of the body A testimonie of the great prouidence of God What meate is fittest for infants From whence commeth the different substance of our members Men haue more varietie of drinks then beasts We must eate neither too much not too litle The chiefe end of foode Iohn 1. Vnthankful men are like to hogs Luke 12. 48. 1. Tim. 4. 4. Food must be receiued with thankeâ— giuing Some more like to madde dogges then men What beautie is and wherein it consisteth The nose is very seruiceable to the braine Why the sense of smelling is placed so neere to that of tasting Of the agreemeÌ„t of these two senses How men abuse these senses Iohn 12. 3. How the spirites are resâ—estâ—ed with sweete odours Of the diuers vses of the nose Of the matter of the nose How the nose is in steade of a spowt to the braine Of the nosethrils and of their parting asunder Of the spungie or siue-bone Of the muscles of the nosethrils and of the sinews of smelling Notable instructions for the soule Psal 16. 11. Of the vse of the externall senses Of the fupersluities that proceede out of the body Of the passages meete to purge the body by Of the pores in the skinne Of the spowts of the braine and head The face compared to a Limbeck Good instructions for all men The profite of care-waxe The diuersitie of faces is wonderfull The great variety of noses Varietie of countenance in one man The description of an angry visage Of an arrogant countenance Pride is seated vpon the eie lids Matth. 23 12. Luke 14. 11. The seate of shame Esay 48. 4. Ezech. 3. 8. Of the true Physiognomy Iob 10. 12. Genes 2. 7. Three sortes of faculties in man Of the animal power Of the sensitiue Of the motiue How we come to the knowledge of the soule The knowledge of the soule how necessary and excellent it is The knowledge of our selues very necessary The diuision of creatures Of creatures without life The celestiall bodies are immutable Of creatures hauing life Of the vegetatiue life Of the sensitiue Of the cogitatiue Of the reasonable soule The soule of man differeth from that of beasts in vnderstanding and immortality The soule is the proper inhabitant of mans body Two natures in man Two sorts of spirites The description of Angels Mens soules haue alwaies life in the. Matth. 10. 28. Luke 12. 4 5. The soule compared to a cunning workman To a musicion To an inhabitant The soule is the workeman the body the toole A glasse to see God in The world is not the body of God How the soule in the body resembleth God in the world The absurd collection of Atheists Of the Animall vertues Three bellies attributed to mans body Of the braine of the image of God therein The braine most resembleth the heauens Three kindes of knowledge Of the first kinde of knowledge common to all liuing creatures Of the second kind of knowledge Of the third kind of knowledge Of the naturall vertue and of the kindes thereof Of the Animal vertues and powers in the internal senses Of Imagination Of Memorie Of Fantasie and Common sense Of Reason and Iudgement The nature of the reasonable part in the soule is hard to be knowne Of the litle Bellies of the braine Of Dâ—â—a mater or the hard mother Of the skull Three vses of the hard Mother Eccles. 12. 6. Of Iia mater or the godly mother Of the braine and office thereof The diuision of the braine Of the presse and Vault in the head Of the Like worme and of his office Of the passage whereby the superfluities of the brain are voyded None can here attaine to a perfect knowledge of the essentiall power of the soule The mind cannot perfectly know it selfe God cannot deceiue nor be deceiued The testimony of the scriptures most firme Rom. 2. 15. Of the seate of voluntary sense and motion Of the Common sense and of his office Of Imagination and of Fantasie Dan. 2. 28 29. The giddinesse of Fantasie Fantasie is dangerous It is very subiect to the motions of good or ill spirites How sorcerers are deluded by the Diuell The deuill counterfaiteth the workes of God Of the force of imagination The strong fancie of women with childe Imagination preuaileth much in beasts Good counsaile for euery one Psal 119. 37. Beasts search only after corporall things belonging to this life Of the seate of reason and of his office Reason is the iudge of Fansie Of Memorie and of his office Dan. 2. Of the seate of memorie Causes of good and bad memories Of the agreement betweene all the senses The memorie is a spirituall eye Of the effects of Reason Of vnderstanding and contemplation A double discourse of Reason in man Memory compared to a picture What remembrance is The minde compared to the keeper of Rolles A good admonition to humble vs. Diuers kindes of madde folkes The imagination troubled Reason troubled The memory lost Dan. 4. How a man may â—â—dge of the â—eats of the senses Of such as are possessed with Deuilles The power of euill spirites Matth. 26. 4â— and 6. 13. Iob 7. 15. 1. Sam. 16. 14 15. 314. Good instructions for all men Psal 148. 8. Of contemplation and action The senses of â—â—â—serue for the good of his soule Contention betwixt the spirite and fantasie What is meant by the reasonable soule Proofe that the soule of beasts is mortall but of men immortal What is in plants aboue stones and in beasts aboue plants in men aboue beasts The end of mâ—nâ— being Only God knoweth the soule perfectly What actions men doe which beasts cannot How beasts discourse Ezech. 37. 1. Act. 10. 3 10 11. 2. cor 12. 2 3. Of the VnderstaÌ„ding and of Will The memory coÌ„pared to the rolles of Chancerie What degrees are betweene Iudgement and Will What knowledge we may haue of variable things In what things coniecture taketh place Of what things science or knowledge may be had In what things wisedome taketh place Ephes 1. 16 17 18. The author of wisedome Ephe. 3. 19. Much darknesse mingled with our natural light The cause of the diuersity of knowledge and of ignorance in men 2. Cor. 4. 4. Causes of the variety of mens opinions The manners of men follow the disposition of their bodies Two kindes of discourses Of the end of al discourses A comparison The seueral powers of the soule Of the office of Iudgement A sound iudgement is an excellent gift of God Two kindes of consents Agreement betwixt Beleefe and Science What Opinion is What doubting is Of saith in diuine things Of the light of faith Of the senses of faith Ephes 4. 30. 2. cor 1. 22. Ephes 2. Hebr. 11. The conclusions of faith are most true
our birth What similitude there is betweene our spirituall and our natural birth Why we abhorre natural death The first point to be considered touching mans nakednes Gen. 3. 19. The second point Man by nature hath least defence for himselfe A commendation of the hand of man The third point A double vse to be made of our wants Wherin men excell all other liuing creatures The fourth point What we ought to learne by the proportion of our bodies What man is The excellent frame of mans body Who they be that know not themselues Ioh. 15. 1 2 3 4 The soule proceedeth not of the matter Nor of the qualities Nor of the harmonie Nor of the composition of the body The nature of a Hog And of an Elephant The soule of a beast differeth from the substance and nature of his body The facultie of sense commeth not from the body The cause of the life of the body The degrees of mans age Iob 14. 5. The cause of the length and shortnes of life What naturall death is Psal 90. 10. Psal 7. 8 9. Iob 14. 1 2. Of the true difference betweene naturall and diuine Philosophie The cause of so many Atheists Gen. 3. 17 18. Iob 5. 6. The cause of barrennes Nothing abideth still in the same state The cause of the length of life What death is Naturall death Violent death Of the windpipe From whence the cough commeth Esay 2. 22. The blood necessary for life The difference betweene the death of beasts and of man An image of our spirituall death in the bodily Only sinne hurteth the soule What it is to be well A comfort against death Rom. 8. 22. Naturall philosophie affoordeth no found comfort against afflictions or death A profitable contemplation in nature The miserable estate of Atheists that haue no hope of another life Philosophicall reasons against the feare of death Sinne the cause of death Atheists more miserable then beasts The common sayings of Atheists Naturall reason not sufficient to stay the conscience Two sorts of Atheists Why there must needes be a second life What Nature is Nature is a creature The error of Galen such like Atheists nowe adayes What we are to iudge of Nature 1. Thes 5. 23. Dan. 9. 24. Man diuided into three parts One soule in one bodie The soule like to a man that hath many offices Of the seate of the soule in the body The soule compared to an Husbandman The chiefe instruments of the soule Two kinds of vniting things together Of the vnion betweene the soule and the body How the soule is ioyned to the bodie Diuers degrees of nature in the soule Beasts haue some kinde of knowledge The originall of the powers of the Soule An admirable worke of God Why God hath ioyned the body to the soule The naturall knowledge of mans body very profitable Why the soule worketh with sundry instruments Of the Vital and Animal spirites and of their operations The effects of the Vital and Animal spirits in man The Vital Animal spirits are not the soule A wonderfull worke of God 1. Sam. 18. 10. 31. 4. 2. Sam. 17 23. Matth. 27. 5. 1. Thess 5. 23. A comparison of the soule and a workeman A similitude Against the transmigration of soules The aptest instrument for the soule The necessary vse of the humours The humors are in continuall motion What partes of the body come nerest to the soule 1. Cor. 6. 19. Of the entire sanctification of mans bodie The body liueth not to eate but eateth to liue 1. Thes 5. 23. The name of Soule taken diuersly Math. 10. 28. Gen. 6. 17. esai 40. 6. luc 3. 6. leuit 4. 2. ezech 18. 4. rom 13. 1. Gen. 14. 21. 46. 27. When a man is perfectly sanctified Esay 26. 8 9. Luk. 1. 46 47. The soule deuided into three partes Ephe 4. 17 18. Iohn 1. 9. and 8. 12. and 9. 5. and 12. 46. Why the naturall powers are not mentioned in these diuisions Genes 37. 21. Deut. 19. 21. Ierem. 11. 21. Matth. 2. 20. Esay 5. 14. Esay 29. 8. Ierem. 31. 25. Ezech. 7. 19. Deut. 24. 15. leuit 19. 13. Deute 24. 6. Matth. 16. 17. Iohn 1. 12 13. 1. Cor. 2. 11 12 What is meant by liuing soule Genes 1. 1. Cor. 15. 44. What is meant by a naturall and by a spirituall man Genes 2. 7. What is meant by an animal or naturall man The soule put so the affections Gen. 34. 3. Gen. 44. 30. 1. Sam. 18. 1. Deut. 6. 5. matth 10. 39. mar 8. 35. luke 9. 24. iohn 12. 25. How we are to vnderstand that the soule dieth Num. 23. 10. Gen. 22. 16. Ierem. 51. 14. Amos 6. 8. Leuit. 21. 1. The name of soule put for the dead body Iob 33. 18 22. Psalme 30. 3. Psalm 56. 13. and 22. 20. What is meant by Spirite in the Scriptures Psalme 31. 5. luke 23. 46. Actes 7. 59. Eccles. 12. 7. Iob 27. 3 4. Rom. 8. 16. 1. Cor. 2. 11. Psal 33. 20 21. 1. Pet. 2. 11 12. Wisd 1. How the soule is after a sort mortall The ancient Academicall kinde of teaching Pâ—atâ—n Phad The word of God the true glasse for the minde Who know the soule best The soule is not bred of corporall seede Genes 1. Modestie requisite in searching the trueth How we become guiltie of original sinne What originall sinne is How wee must learne to know the soule When wee shall know our sâ—lues perfectly What the soule is Varietie of opinions touching the essence of the soule Iohn 3. 6. Why one soule is called vegetatiue another sensitiue the third reasonable Iohn 3. 12. Of the distinction of the soule from the powers there of The soule of the beast is of a corporal substance Gen. 9. 4. Leui. 17. 14. The Vitall spirite compared to the flame of a lampe It is engendred of the blood in the heart God the author of nature Sundry opinion of the reasonable soule The soule proceedeth not froÌ„ the elements Rom. 11. 33. Galens opinion of the soule Gal. dâ— plâ—s Hip. Platoes opinion touching the soule Aristotles opinion of the soule Occams opinion of the soule Of the creation of soules according to the Platonists Lib 11. chap. 23. of the citie of God Origens opinion of soules The Platonists opinion of the soule confuted God is not the soule of the world Act. 17. 28. Arat. Phae. How men are the linage of God Platoes opinion of Daemones or celestial spirits Plato dwelt with the Egyptians Lactautius lib. 2. cap. 13. Ecclus. 24. 5. The Soule created of nothing Of the transmigration of soules The regeneration of the Pythagoreans A fond opinion of certaine Heretikes Against the transmigration of soules Why Plato inuented the transmigration of soules Mans nature compared to a Monster How meÌ„ become like to beasts The ignorant wrest the sence of good writers Math. 14. 2. marke 6. 14. Luke 9. 7 8. Mat. 16. 13 14. luke 9. 19. Of the Iewes opinion of the transmigration
stay or resting place vntill they be come to those places which God hath appoynted for them Plants cast their rootes downeward and their branches vpward euery one following therein his nature For a plant being to receiue his nourishment from the earth by meanes of his rootes which are vnto it in stead of mouthes and veines to sucke and draw necessary sustenance for the preseruation of it selfe sendeth them alwayes into the ground and disperseth them all about according as they can find nourishment but the stalke stocke branches and boughs which are to be nourished in the ayre alwayes disperse themselues draw and ascend vpward Beasts hauing sense doe much more shewe that liking which they haue to follow their natural inclination For we see that by their proper apprehension and appetite they are driuen hither and thither to seeke and follow after that which they desire and loue being agreeable to their nature and to flie from that which they hate as being contrary thereunto Likewise men who only of all other mortall creatures were by creation made partakers of reason haue their proper motion conuenient to their nature For being created to attaine to that soueraigne and eternall Good which is set before them in the diuine essence they haue receiued from that infinite goodnes power and vertue to wish for that Good with a desire to apply and ioyne themselues thereunto Wherefore all men are naturally pricked and driuen forward with a loue and desire tending to that Good aswell because of that naturall agreement which they haue with the same Idea of Good which is God their soules being of a celestial and immortall essence as also because this Good is of that nature that it ought to be loued of euery nature yea so much the more loued as there is greater measure of reason in the creature to know it But this desire naturally ingrafted in euery mans heart which prouoketh and keepeth men in a loue and liking of euery thing which they thinke meete to content and satisfie them and which they seeke after in diuers things as their affections lead them differeth much from that desire which by heauenly grace is planted a new in those whom God according to his good pleasure and alwaies iust wil hath chosen and elected to euerlasting happinesse and pricked forward guideth and leadeth them to that principall end for which they were created For although the other sort of men being heires of that corruption that hath ouerspread the whole nature of man by the meanes of the sinne of the first father of all be driuen forward in soule and spirit yea many times not thinking thereof to their naturall desire of obtayning that Good yet they seeke it as blind men that goe by groping but cannot find it because the darkenes of error ignorance wherewith their vnderstanding is ouerwhelmed hindreth them from looking directly towards that Good and causeth them to wander out of that only way that could lead them vnto it So that in stead of looking vnto God and to celestiall and heauenly things they stay themselues about earthly corruptible things vnto which the neerer they labor to approch the farther off they are from the end of their wishes desires For this cause the blessed Apostle saith that the natural man perceiueth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishnesse vnto him neyther can he know them because they are spiritually discerned But they that are illuminated and guided by heauenly and supernaturall light and whose vnderstanding is framed by the spirit of God to receiue It know then how they are carried by their proper motion to the contemplation of the true Good in the enioying whereof they shall once for euer be made partakers of a felicitie which eye neuer saw nor eare heard neither came into mans heart I meane when by dissoluing the mortall tabernacle of this body they shall be clothed with glorious immortalitie and shall see him face to face who is all in all in whome they shall be satisfied according to the doctrine of the Prophet In thy presence is the fulnesse of ioy and at thy right hand there are pleasures for euermore This is that my companions which ought to whet vs on to direct our sight streight to that place whereat wee ought to leuell namely to heauen and not looke to any other thing then to God who is the scope which we desire and shal one day attaine vnto Nowe if wee can not see this white so farre off and much lesse come vnto it without direction GOD is come neare vnto vs in the person of his Sonne Iesus Christ who being the brightnesse of his glory hath left vs his word for a sure guide besides so many testimonies of his prouidence and goodnesse ouer all creatures that wee daily beholde him as it were visible in them For the ruled motions of the heauens the wonderfull workemanship of so many starry tents the connexion agreement force vertue and beauty of the Elements the situation firmnesse spreading of the earth amidst the waters and so many sundry natures and creatures in this whole frame of the worlde al these things I say are so many interpreters to teach vs that God is the efficient cause of them and that he is manifested in them and by them as their final cause But the glasse wherein we may yet better beholde him is man in whome shineth and is imprinted an image of the diuine essence which is not found againe in any visible creature that is reason and vnderstanding wherof by creation he was made partaker aswel as the Angels This is the chiefe and principall work of the creation whereby God meant to giue such a being to his creatures spiritual natures to the end he might communicate his wisdom goodnes with them thereby lead them to eternal felicitie Wherefore if it be good for men to consider the works of God in his creatures and in their nature created by him and that for the reasons and ends declared by vs it is better and more necessary that they should do the same thing in their owne person nature wherein there are almost as many maruailous works of the almighty power of God as ther are in the whole frame besids and in all other creatures Therefore that sentence which saith Knowe thy selfe was not without good reason so much praised and renowmed amongst al the ancient Greeke and Latin Philosophers as that which is worthy to be taken for a heauenly oracle a sentence pronounced by the mouth of God For whosoeuer shall know himselfe well cannot faile to know God his creator and to honour him as he ought if he follow the chiefe end for which man was created as wel as the residue of the creatures Plato in his Phaedrus and in the tenth booke of Lawes searching and inquiring by the meanes of motion what was the substance nature and immortalitie of
forme and of so many goodly and pleasant members as are ornaments vnto it yea which are so necessary that without them all the rest are as it were vnprofitable neither coulde they preserue and keepe themselues I speake not yet of those partes that are hidden and contained within the head but onely of those members which appeare outwardly which are in such wise disposed euery one in his place that albeit they be not farre distant one from another yet the neere ioyning of them together doeth not cause them one to hinder the office of an other notwithstanding their diuersitie as wee see euidently and shall know more at large by the sequel of our speaches Hereby doth God admonish vs how wee ought to behaue our selues one toward an other and dwell eueryman within his boundoâ— and limites not setting one vpon an other and not incroching vpon any thing that is our neighbours For as these is spare and roome enough in the head for all the senses and members that are there and the like in the rest of the body for all the members whereof it is compounded by reason of the good order concord consent that is amongst them so the earth and the worlde is bigge enough and hath goodes enough for all if wee had skill and coulde beare one with another and be content euery one with his estate and office and with those gifts which we haue receiued from God as members of one and the same body If this good accord and consent were amongst vs a litle place would please vs but if we doe otherwise all the worlde wil not be great enough to suffice vs. No riuers seas or mountaines will be sufficient to keepe vs within our bounds and borders Therefore let vs learne of the senses and members of our body what rule wee ought to keepe one with an other The bodily senses which God hath giuen to man to bee ministers and messengers to the spirituall senses of the minde are fiue in number namely the sight hearing smelling taste and touching To al the members instruments of these senses which shal be hereafter declared vnto vs the facultie of sense is generally giuen by the sinewes which haue their originall from the braine as we haue already touched So that hereby we see what is the dignitie and excellencie of the head seeing God hath placed therein the fountaine and spring not onely of all the sence but also of all the motions of the boby which are wrought by meanes of the sinewes For we must know that foure things are required in the office and vse of the bodily senses The first is the power and vertue of the soule which giueth sense by the animall spirite guided by the finewes The second is the instrument being well applied and made fit for his vse and office by which the soule effecteth her worke The third is that thing that is to be perceiued by sense about which the soule exerciseth her office The fourth is the meane or way which receiueth the obiect of the sensible qualilitie and and carrieth it to the instrument As for example If the question were of sight first there must be this power and vertue of seeing in the soule Next the eie is necessarily required thereunto for it is the proper instrument appointed to receiue light Then there must bee light without which all thinges are couered with darkenesse and made inuisible For although the eies by nature are partakers of light yet that which they haue naturally and which they cary within them selues will affoorde them as small light as if they had none at all except they receiue a greater light that commeth from the heauens or from some light 〈◊〉 body as from fire or from a candle lighted as we see by experience the night time Lastly the meane or middle way is of necessitie required by which the light is to be brought and communicated with the eye and that is the aire through which it passeth as through a glasse or christall or such like bodies which are not so 〈◊〉 that they keepe backe the light from 〈◊〉 through them For if there bee nothing betweene them I meane betweene the eye and the light and those colours which it must beholde a can not apprehend and perceiue them The like is to bee saide of the senses of hearing smelling and tasting as we shall vnderstand berter when wee speake of them heereafter particularly But as for the sense of touching it is most earthy of all the rest Therefore it agreeth with th◠〈…〉 is common to all the partes and members of the body that haue sâ—nsâ— although it bee more 〈◊〉 lesse in some places theâ— in others This sense is giuen to the body to discerne the first qualities by namely hote colde moyst and drie from others that accompany them as heauy and light hard and soft sower and sweete thicke and thinne which are compounded qualities taken from the foure 〈…〉 all corporall things are made of the foure elements Concerning gâ—â—â—atnesse figures members motion and rest they are common to many of the senses Thus much for the sense of touching from which the rest do differ in that euery one hath his proper sense which is not communicated with any other For onely the eyes see the eares heare the nose breatheth the tongue and palate taste And heere wee haue to consider of the great prouidence of God in many points First forasmuch as the body cannot liue without the sense of touching which hath for obiect the elementary qualities it is giuen to all liuing creatures in euery part of the body to the ende that thereby they might knowe according to the proportion of the qualities what is profitable or hurtfull to their bodies in the participation of these qualities and so eschew more easily that which might hurt them But men haue this sense chiefely in the endes of their fingers that touching slightly with them they might make the first triall of all qualities For if they feele that the thing which they touch is too hote or too cold or that there is some other excesse in the quality which might hurt them they are admonished thereby to the end that by a very litle hurt they might auoyde a greater For a man may better cheape feele a litle griefe and that very lightly in the end of one finger or of many then in a whole member or in all the rest of his body Besides God hath further prouided for this sense in that it is not so sharp to â—â—ele suddainely and to the quicke as the sight or hearing to the end the body should receiue lesse dammage by that which it toucheth if it be hurtfull for it Now the eyes because they doe not touch that which they see nor the eares that which they heare therefore they can not be so damnified as the residue of the members may which feele not except they touch Moreouer we haue yet to note
the prouidence of God herein that amongst them members giue by him to the body he hath created some of that nature that a man can in no wise liue without them and others so that albeit they be not necessary for life yet he can not liue at his ease and not receiue great hurt if he want them The members of the first sort are the braine the heart the lungs the liuer the splene the stomacke and such like that are the seates of the animal vital and natural vertues without which there could bee no stay of life For after these members are hurt or perished farewell life The other sort are the eies the eares the nose the tongue the feete the hands and such like For although a man loose some one or many of these members yet he doeth not therefore loose his life but hee shall surely feele the detriment which such a losse bringeth vpon him And as wee commonly say that the Oxe knoweth not the valow of his â—orne vntill the haue lost it so wee may with greater reason say that no man knoweth of what valew the partes of his body are vntill he want them or vntill they be so hindered that they cannot fulfill their office Wherefore we ought to pray to God to preserue them for vs whilest wee haue them and giue him thankes because he hath not created vs lame or maimed of any member And when we see any that were borne without them or that haue lost them since wee ought to be so much the more stirred vp to glorifie him acknowledging it to come from his grace in that he hath dealt better with ratheâ—r with them although we haue deserued no more then they Now because we do not so neither haue this consideration as we ought to giue him thankes and to vse them to his honour and glory therefore he depriueth vs of them many times to punish this ingratitude and to cause vs to know better the valew of these gifts after they are taken from vs and that wee haue lost them seeing we could not knowe it whilest wee had them nor yet him that gaue them vnto vs. And by the same meanes also he would admonish and put vs in minde of the dammage we receiue by the defects of our soule by those which wee feele by experience in our bodies Whereupon wee haue an other goodly point of the prouidence of God to note in that hee hath giuen vs almost all double members without which we could not liue but with great paine and trouble to the end that if we lost one wee might yet vse the other and in some sort supplie the losse of that which is wanting For this cause hee did not create onely one eye or one nosethrill one eare one arme one hand one legge or one foote but twaine This ought to bee well considered that wee might haue the better knowledge of the care that God hath ouer vs seeing hee hath so well prouided for all things that hee will not onely haue vs liue but also furnish vs with all necessary things whereby wee might liue more commodiously more easily and with lesse paine and trouble And when it falleth out that some one of these members or both are wanting God supplieth this defect by maruailous meanes For sometimes wee see that maymed folkes haue done many thinges with their feete or with their necke and head that others could hardly doe with their hands at least wise they haue done things without handes that would seeme altogether incredible to such as haue not seene them And many times wee see dumbe men whose handes stand them in steade both of tongue and eares For by the signes and gestures of their handes they signifie their meaning to others as if they themselues did speake and vnderstand the minde of others that make the like signes Yea there are some that conceiue what others say vnto them onely by seeing them open and mooue their lippes so that we must needs acknowledge it as a miracle of God Now hauing spoken generally of the senses of the body and specially of touching as also of their members and instruments wee must come to their particulars Therefore AMANA thou shalt discourse vnto vs first of the eyes which are as it were the principall windowes of this building which we haue vndertaken to pourtraite and set foorth Of the eyes and of their excellencie profite and vse of the matter and hâ—nors whereof they are made Chap. 10. AMANA It hath alwayes bin the opinion of the Stoics and Academics that the bodily senses did rather hinder then help to obtaine wisedome that no man could know or vnderstand anything that the senses were feeble and slowe that sensible things were so small that they could not be perceiued or els so subiect to motion that no certainetie coulde be found in them that our life is short and full of opinions and customes that all was compassed about with darkenes and hid and therefore that nothing could be perceiued or vnderstoode so that men were to professe that they woulde affirme or approoue of nothing Plato writeth in many places that wee must beleeue nothing but the vnderstanding which beholdeth that that is simple and vniforme and as it is indeede and that there is no science but only in those reasons discourses which the soule maketh wheÌ„ it is not troubled with bodily lets as with sight and hearing or with griefe plesure Eusebius disputing against this sheweth that the senses help much towards the obtaining of wisedome that when they are rightly affected and in their naturall habite they neuer deceiue the mind that it â—tentiue But wee shall knowe more at large what their profit is by continuing our discourses of the instruments of the senses Let vs knowe therefore that the eies were giuen of God to men to cause them to see and to be as it were their watch towers fentinels the guides leaders of the whole body as also they are as it were the chiefe windowes of the body or rather of the soule which is lodged within it For it is a most excellent worke of God whether we coÌ„sider the matter wherof they are made how diuerse or agreeable it is to the office that is assigned them or the beauty that is in their forme in the diuersity of their colours or the commodity vse of their motions and howe they are set in their places as it were goodly pretious stones laide in some curious piece of worke how they are inuironed and armed both aboue and beneath on the right hand and on the left with the eye-lids and the eye-browes not onely for their protection and defense but also to adorne and to make them shew more beautifully And surely it is not without cause that God hath put such great excellencie in them and hath created and framed them so artificially For first they are the chiefest members of all the
his prouidence towards vs to make vs more then ashamed and confounded We haue yet another point to bee noted touching their situation which causeth a certaine proportion and agreement to bee betweene the heauens and the head and betweene the eyes of the great little worlde and those of the body and soule For it is most certaine that they could not be placed more conueniently then in the highest part of al the bodie as it were in the highest towre seeing they are to serue all the other members in place of Warders and Watchmen and of guides and leaders Therefore Salomon had reason to call them the Lookers aut by the windowes For the holes of the head in which they are placed as it were Looking-glasses are their windowes through which they see and behold We may also say asmuch of the apple of the eye which looketh within his litle circle as it were by a window For this cause as God hath placed the sunne moone and all the rest of the lights aboue in the heauens so he would that there should bee some proportion betweene the heauens and the head of man and betweene those goodly lights aboue named and the eyes that are created to receiue light from them and to be that in man who is the litle world which the sunne moone other lights of heauen are in this great vniuersall world Therefore forasmuch as the eyes are as it were the images of these goodly bodies and celestiall glasses they occupie the highest place in this bodie of the litle worlde as the lights doe in the great bodie of the world whereof they are as it were the eyes to giue it light on euery side For this cause also the eyes are more fierie and haue more agreement with the nature of fire then any other member that belongeth to the corporall senses And as they are in a high place so they are admonished thereby of the place vnto which they ought to looke according to that which Dauid saith I lift vp mine eyes to thee that dwellest in the heauens In all these things we see a goodly harmonie and agreement between the great and the litle world the like whereof we shall also finde betweene the worlde and the spirituall heauen whose sunne and light is God and between the eyes of the soule and of the mind Therefore Iesus Christ said very well The light of the bodie is the eye if then thine eye be single thy whole body shal be light but if thine eye be wicked then all thy body shal be dark Wherfore if the light that is in thee be darknes how great is that darknes So that the eyes being as it were the lanterne lampe and flame of the whole body they could not haue a more apt place or more conuenient for their nature then that where God hath placed them The like also may be said of the spirituall eyes of the soule of the mind For God hath lodged the vnderstanding and reason in the braine of man as it were in a high towre in which it ought to raigne as a Queene and Princesse and guide vnder her lawes all the affections and actions of men as the eyes guide all the members of the body And when God who is the sunne and light of the world of the spiritual heauen reacheth out his beames to these eyes of the soule by his eternall Sonne and giueth them life vigour and vertue by his spirite then is the minde wel lightned and then doth she happily and to her proper end direct al the parts of the soule Now for the conclusion of our speech seeing wee haue spoken largely enough of the eyes of the bodie and of their nature beautie and excellencie and what goodly images of the spiritual eyes they represent vnto vs let vs yet a litle better acknowledge the greatnesse of their Woorkmaster by considering apart the matter whereof they are made I meane by it selfe and without the woorkmanship as if we should now behold their substance without that disposition and form which he hath giuen them What is an eye pluckt out of the head but a litle clay and mire as indeed it is the matter whereof it is made Now what a wonderfull thing is it that God hath so appropriated it as to make such a goodly piece of woorke thereof and such faire instruments for the seruice of men And therefore our Sauiour Iesus Christ meant to represent this diuine woorke when hee made the blinde to see by putting clay vpon his eyes Let vs therefore vse their sight which is such an excellent gift of God to behold his workes and those goodly images of the diuine nature which on euery side and continually are before our eyes and let vs beware that wee feede them not with the sight of prophane and dishonest things least they serue to poyson the minde and soule whereas they ought to become messengers to declare vnto it honest healthful things For he that doth otherwise is woorthy to haue not onely his bodily eyes put out and pluckt out of his head but also the eyes of his mind that so he may be blinde both in body and soule as it commonly falleth out to many But let vs follow our matter propounded touching the senses and their members and speake vnto vs ACHITOB of the eares and of their composition offices and vse Of the Eares and of their composition offices and vse Chap. 5. ACHITOB. The wisedome of God is so great he prouideth so wel for al things by his prouidence that he neuer doth any thing in vain insomuch that there is nothing whatsoeuer in all nature which hath not his proper vse and which is not compounded of matter and forme agreeable thereto for the instruction of men But forasmuch as men are rude of vnderstanding and by reason of their natural corruption easily turned aside from the chiefe ende of their being namely the contemplation of celestiall and heauenly things in place whereof they betake thēselues to the care of those things that are earthly corruptible it commeth to passe that hauing eyes and eares they neither see nor heare any spirituall thing so that their very light is become 〈◊〉 And then how great may we thinke the darknes to be in those partes that ought to be guided by thē that are capable of light Therfore as we haue learned that the eyes are the first guides and houshold masters that God hath giuen to euery one and the first authours and inuentors almost of all artes sciences and disciplines because by their sight we know the light colour greatnes figure number situation and motion of bodily things both neere and farre off so now we are to know that the heating and the cares are very conuenient for one man to communicate his knowledge with another as if one shoulde powre wine or water out of one vessell into another But they are especially giuen by
the end we should know the great skill and wisedome of the Woorkmaster that made them Now for the conclusion of our speech let vs learne that although our eares did vs no more seruice then the eares of brute beastes doe to them and reached onely to the vse of this life yet coulde we not sufficiently acknowledge that good which God doth to vs by them But wee must make a greater account of this that by the meanes of his worde which he will haue declared to our cares he causeth them to serue to his honour and glory and to our owne saluation Therefore let vs apply these so beautifull and artificiall members with all the rest of our senses to their principall ende yea to the end of all nature namely to the glory of their Maker and let them be deafe and stopped vp against all dishonest things that might poyson them and so consequently our mindes by them For that which Saint Paul saith That euill wordes corrupt good manners ought to be extended to euery vile dishonest and wicked thing which the eares may heare Wherefore they that abuse them so vilely deserue that God shoulde pluck them off and stoppe them and make them altogether deafe not only their bodily eares but also those that are spirituall as hee maketh them blind according to that threatning which he giueth out by Esay Now to follow our purpose touching corporall senses and their instruments I thinke we ought to intreate of the tongue because it serueth chiefly for speech whereof we haue already made some mention and for the sense of taste in which we must be instructed Therfore ASER declare vnto vs the diuers vses of the tongue and what instruments are necessary both for voyce and speech Of the diuers vses of the tongue of the instruments necessary both for voyce speech how there is a double speech of the forme thereof how the spirit of man is represented thereby Chap. 13. ASER. If wee were onely of a spirituall nature as the Angels are it is certain we should by and by vnderstand one another by that minde vnderstanding whereof we are partakers as they vnderstand eche other neither should we need speech tongue eares or eyes to heare and see by no more then those natures that consist only of spirit hauing all those things spiritual wherby they communicated both with God amongst themselues But we can haue no such communicatiō among our selues by the vnderstanding of the mind spirit only because of that corporall nature which commeth between the soules spirits one of another Wherfore the helpe of speech aswel as of the other external senses is very requisite for vs in euery part of life Also because our soule being kept vnder our flesh as vnder a vaile vseth cogitations discourses it stādeth in need of speech of words of names by means of which it may vtter publish that that lieth bid as it were in a deep darke place where nothing is seene Forasmuch therfore as the tongue is the principal instrument wherby God giueth speech to mē without which they would be dombe seeing also it serueth the sense of taste as wel as the roofe of the mouth it shall not bee without good consideration if intreating now of this mēber of the vse therof we place it in the order of our discourses betweene the instruments of hearing whereof we spake before and those of taste of which we will speake hereafter for the agreement it hath with them both God hath giuen the tongue to man not for one vse alone but for many namely for three at the least which are all very necessary for the life of man The first is to frame the speech the second for the taste the third to helpe to prepare the meate that is chewed in the mouth for the nourishing of the body And because the first is the noblest of all and giuen to man onely whereas the other twaine are common to him with beasts I wil begin with that whereunto this may be added that because of the conueniencie it hath with the hearing and with the eares these two matters will agree the better beeing ioyned in order one after another Next we will handle the other vses that appertayne properly to the sense of taste to the nourishing of mā Now we haue first to note that God hath placed many instruments in the body without which speech could not be well pronounced expressed For first speech could not be without voyce for the which God hath created many instrumēts the are all necessary for that purpose as namely the wesell of the throate the windepipe the throte the lungs the breast and certaine back-running sinewes appointed therunto by reciprocal motions All these partes helpe onely to make the voyce of man without any framing of speech except it be the wesell of the throte which is a litle fleshy and spongie bodie in figure like to a pine-apple hanging at the end of the palat whose vse is manifold For it serueth first to stay the aire from rushing in ouer fast violently into the lungs from entring in too cold ouer sodainly vnto them Then it serueth also to diuide distribute the aire when it ascendeth from the lungs the it may be the better scattered dispersed into al parts of the mouth And by this means this instrument fashioneth the voyce causeth it to yeeld a sound so prepareth it for the tongue that it may be articulated and framed into speech by the same Therfore besides the wesel of the throat which serueth for these two vses there are fiue other instrumēts which in regard of this present matter serue only to frame the voice into speech that otherwise would be but a confused voyce The first is the tongue which hath the chiefe place among the rest then the palate the teeth the lips and the nose For although a man may speake when hee hath not all these parts perfect yet his speech wil not be well framed if hee want any one of them as we see by experience in them that haue lost their teeth or their lips or the roof of the mouth or that haue their nose cut stuffed or otherwise troubled For this cause the Hebrewes name their letters some gutturall because they are pronounced more in the throat others dentall because a man cannot wel pronounce thē without the teeth and so they call others labiall that is letters of the lips and others letters of the palat because they cannot bee well expressed without those parts of the mouth The like is in all other languages albeit they doe not distinguish their letters by such names Now in such varietie of instrumēts made for the seruice vse of one only thing we ought to acknowledge the great nobility and dignity of speech with which God hath indued honored man aboue al other creatures For he
we haue saide yet these soundes will be but confused without harmony and melody if the Organist doeth not play with his handes thereby to dispense as neede requireth that winde and breath which is to be distributed into the pipes and if hee touch not the keyes of the Organs according to those tunes and notes which hee woulde haue the pipes to make following the Arte of Musicke And this we may see yet more plainely in a bagge-pipe For although it soundeth by reason of the winde within the leather bagge which receiueth and keepeth it as it were a little sacke yet it alwayes yeeldeth foorth but one sound without distinction and harmony vntill the Minstrill play with his fingers vpon the holes of the pipe that belongeth vnto it Therfore as there is great difference betwene a simple confused voice that which is distinct artificiall so is there betweene voyce and speech So that when the tongue hath receiued the winde and breath which ascendeth vp from the lunges by the rough artery and is fashioned into voyce by the meanes afore mentioned then it formeth the same afterward into distinct speech by such an arte and science as none can vnderstande much lesse expresse it but GOD onely who hath giuen it to the tongue in which consisteth the chiefe dignitie thereof For it is that science which is the mother of eloquence which men haue in such great admiration and because of this the artes of Grammer Logike and Rhetorike haue beene published by the best learned men For all these three Artes are specially appoynted for speech the one to make it proper pure nete namely Grammer the other namely Logike to knit well together all discourses made by speech and all sentences in them according as they agree among themselues depend and follow one another and are grounded vpon good reason Thirdly Rhetorike is ioyned vnto them to adorne and polish speech to make it more significant and very eloquent so that whereas Logike maketh speech as it were a simple picture that hath nothing but bare draughts which serue to make it whole and furnished in regard of euery part and lineament thereof Rhetorike maketh it not onely as it were a picture well set foorthwith faire and liuely colours of all sortes but also adorned and enriched with goodly hilles and dales and such like payntings that it may shewe better and bee made fairer and pleasaunter to beholde Wherefore as there is great difference to looke vpon betweene these two pictures so is there of speech in respectes of the eares as it is propounded eyther more plainely and simply or more deeked and garnished For this cause seeing God hath vouchsafed vs so much honour as to giue vs speech especially to prayse and glorifie him with our tongue and to benefite the common societie of men we must not be content onely to speake but we must studie to speake well in fit termes and wisely to the glorie of God and to the good and profite as well of our selues as of them that heare vs. This cannot be done but by the knowledge of God and of his word without which all the Logike Rhetorik of men is but vaine babbling But when the one is ioyned with the other the artes that teach men to speak elegantly are appliedto this purpose then is the vse therof very good worthy of great cōmendation Therfore we must all acknowledge our selues to be as it were Organ-pipes hauing of our selues neither sound nor voyce nor tongue nor mouth to speake of God of his works as we ought and to praise and glorifie him but only so farre foorth as hee being the Organ-player bloweth within and inspireth vs by his holy spirit giuing vnto vs wisedome and tongue and mouth and vertue in speaking Now heere wee must not onely call to minde what we haue already spoken of the causes why the lungs which is one chiefe instrument of the voyce and without which it cannot bee made is placed so neere the heart but also wee must consider howe neere the tongue and the other instruments of voyce and speach next vnto it are vnto the braine wherein is the principall seate of the spirit and which is chiefly assigned to the minde of man and to that part of his soule that is most diuine For seeing God would haue the tongue to be the messenger and as it were the Interpreter of the spirite and minde and of all the thoughts thereof that men might teach one another both the knowledge of God his worship and of all other good things and seeing hee would haue speach to be the bond of humane societie and of that communication which men ought to haue one with an other therefore it was very requisite that being the instrument of speaking it shoulde be neere the braine which is the lodging of all the internall senses of which if God will wee will intreate heereafter in their place For as all the externall senses doe carry to the internall and the bodily to the spirituall whatsoeuer they perceiue by sense according to their nature and office thereby to admonish and instruct them that they may thinke and iudge thereof and lay it vp in memory so the internall and spirituall senses carry the same things afterward to the tongue that it might declare and make them knowen to those vnto whome they would communicate their minde and cogitation Hereof it is that the tongue is oftentimes taken for doctrine and for all speach both good and euill in which sence Salomon taketh it when he saieth The tongue of the wicked shall perish And Saint Paul calleth speaking with the tongue when one vseth spech that is not vnderstoode of the hearers and speaking with the spirite and with vnderstanding also when such a language is vsed as is vnderstoode of euery one and which serueth to the edification of them that heare it Therfore the tongue must not stirre nor the mouth open it selfe to speake before it haue receiued a commandement and charge from reason which is the Lady and Mistresse thereof to guide and gouern it whose messenger and seruant it is to giue notice of that which the reason and minde would haue knowen Wherefore it is very conuenient that the lady and mistresse of the tongue shoulde haue her lodging ouer and neere about her and not to be farre from her to the end she forget not her selfe nor attempt any thing without a commandement from reason So that as before wee gaue the heart to be the gouernour guide and counsailour of the tongue so nowe we appoint the braine as lord and master thereof to the end it should haue a good guide both aboue and beneath it For no member in al the body hath greater neede Therefore S. Iames calleth the tongue a fire yea a world of iniquitie which defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature and is set on fire of hell
fiue They which make fiue sortes distinguish betweene the common sense the imagination and the fantasie making them three and for the fourth they adde Reason or the iudging facultie and for the fift Memorie They that make but three kinds differ not from the other but onely in that they comprehend all the former three vnder the common sense or vnder one of the other twaine whether it be the imagination or the fantasie As for the Sensitiue facultie it comprehendeth the vertues of the fiue corporall senses of which wee haue spoken before As for the Motiue vertue it comprehendeth the moouing of all the outward parts of the body from one place to an other especially of the feete and legges which is to walke and of the handes which is to apprehend and to gripe This moouing is done by the sinewes muscles and filaments as we haue already declared but not without knowledge and will as the other that are more properly called naturall motions of which we may speake in their order And this motion is led by the imagination in regard of beastes but in regard of men by reason But because we haue already handled at large these two last powers of the soule namely the Sensitiue and Motiue when we spake of the externall members of the body we wil now speake especially of the first which comprehendeth the internall senses spoken of by me euen now which answere to the externall senses according to the bond agreement and communication which the body and soule haue together And because wee cannot know the faculties vertues of the soule but only by means of those instruments whereby it worketh as we haue shewed in our former discourses the nature and vse of the externall members and howe the soule is serued by them so now we will do the like by the internall parts to the ende that we may the better knowe the nature of the soule by her operations and instruments as the labourer that worketh by his instruments and frameth those woorkes that are before our eyes For the soule being of a spirituall nature and not bodily we cannot see it in it owne substance and nature nor haue any knowledge thereof but by the effectes by which wee may iudge and conclude of their cause as also by those testimonies of the soule which the Lorde affordeth vs in his worde And although the vnderstanding of man can not attaine to an entire and perfect knowledge of the soule yet that smal knowledge which wee may haue doeth exceedingly profite end delight vs. For seeing it is the most excellent creature that is created vnder the cope of heauen yea more excellent then the heauens themselues or any of the celestiall bodies because the soule only is endued with reason and vnderstanding there is no doubt but the knowledge thereof is more excellent profitable pleasant and necessary yea more worthy admiration then of any other thing whatsoeuer as that which alwaies yeeldeth profit to the greatest things that can be Therfore we ought not to set light by that knowledge of it which wee may attaine vnto For there is in it so great varietie beauty and harmony yea it is so wel adorned and set forth that no heauen nor earth is so wel painted or bedecked with such beautifull liuely and excellent images and pictures as that is On the other side she is the Mistresse and Authour from whence proceedeth the inuention of all Artes and Sciences and of all those wonderfull woorkes that are made throughout the whole course of mans life Therefore no man can beholde her or thinke vpon her without great pleasure and admiration And seeing the fountaine and well-spring of all the good and euill that befalleth vs is in the soule there is nothing more profitable for men then to know it well to the ende they may labour more carefully to keepe this fountaine pure and well purged that all the riuers of their actions and workes may issue and flowe pure and cleane from thence For that man can neuer gouerne his soule wel nor be master of himselfe that doeth not knowe himselfe If wee desire to knowe what workes wee are to looke for of a workeman what hee can doe or what may befall him what hee is good for and for what hee is vnmeete hee must first of all bee knowen what hee is Therefore that sentence of which we haue already spoken that saith Know thy selfe ought heere especially to take place and to bee practised For it is a harder matter to knowe the nature and qualitie of our soule and of our minde the vertues and affections thereof to enquire and consider of it well and to knowe what may be knowen thereof as also the diuerse and holow lurking holes the turnings and windings therein then to know the bones flesh sinews and blood of our bodies with all the matter whereof it is made and all the partes and members thereof Seeing then wee are to make enquirie of the nature and powers of the soule by the effects thereof according as I haue already spoken and seeing the principall effect is the life which it giueth to all liuing creatures let vs first consider of the difference that is betweene the creatures void of life and those that haue life in them Afterward let vs looke into the sundrie sortes of liues that are in liuing creatures as that which will helpe vs well to the vnderstanding of that wee seeke for First then wee must note that all creatures are either spirituall or bodily All they are spirituall creatures that are without bodies and which cannot be perceiued by any bodily sense and such are the Angelles both good and bad and the soules and spirites of men The bodily creatures are all those that are visible and that may bee felt and perceiued by corporall senses amongst which some haue no life and some haue life Againe those creatures that haue no life differ in two respects for some of them haue no naturall motion as stones metalles mineralles and such like creatures Others haue their naturall motion among which some are mutable corruptible and subiect to change others are immutable incorruptible continuing alwaies firme in their estate during the course of this world The water the aire the windes and the fire are creatures hauing motion albeit they haue no life but they are subiect to corruption and so are all the creatures that are compounded of the elements whether they haue life or no. For being made of contrary matters and qualities they corrupt and change not in respect of their first matter and substance which can neuer perish according to the testimony of Philosophers notwithstanding it alter in forme but alwayes returneth to the first nature Stones and metalles albeit they be very hard yet are they not freed from corruption and consuming through vse But the celestiall bodies are of that matter and nature that they mooue continually and yet abide
them but there is space betweene them to the ende that the motion of the braine might be free without any let or hinderance The second vse thereof is to serue for a passage to the veines and arteries for the nourishing of the braine and gouerning of the vitall spirites Last of all it serueth to distinguish the whole brayne first into two partes namely into that before and that behinde then into the right side and the left It is of this skinne whereof some men thinke Salomon spake when he made mention of a golden Ewer broken in the extremitie of olde age and so wee expounded it when wee intreated of the marrowe in the chine-bone Besides this skinne there is another named the Godly mother which is fine and very slender wouen of many veynes and arteries seruing not onely for it owne life and nourishment but also for that of the brayne Neither doeth it onely compasse and wrap in the braine round about as the Hard mother doeth but entreth also into the bowels and windings thereof to tie and knit it togither on al sides As for the braine which is the fountaine and beginning of the sinewes and of the voluntary motion and the instrument of the chiefest faculty of the soule namely the Animal and reasonable facultie it is greater in man then in any other creature as that which filleth almost the whole skull I say almost because if it filled it full and wholly the motion thereof could not be perfect His office and vse is to woorke and make fine the Animal spirite which is necessary for the whole body and to serue as an instrument to the facultie of reason which is the chiefest facultie and vertue of the soule The first part of the brayne retayneth the name of the whole beeing diuided into two partes namely into the right part and the left The hinder part is called the little brayne and that in comparison of the other partes So that when a man considereth the whole brayne hee shall finde within the substaunce thereof foure Ventricles or hollowe places which are ioyned together by certaine wayes Nowe although wee cannot see with our eyes nor well vnderstande and conceiue howe the soule woorketh by her instruments neuerthelesse God giueth vs a certain entrance into some knowledge thereof by the matter and forme which they haue And therefore it seemeth that these litle bellies of the braine haue such wayes from one to another to this ende that by them the spirites that are made and imprinted by the sensible and intelligible kindes and images might passe and bee communicate one with another Nowe because they must not onely bee well wrought but also throughly cleansed of all excrements God hath created those vessels and instruments in which this woorke is to bee begunne greater then the others which are to receiue the spirites alreadie wrought and almost perfected Therefore the two first are the greatest hauing their situation before namely on each side one and being in fashion like to two halfe moones The thirde is vnderneath them right in the middest of the braine The fourth and last is vpon the bending downe of the nape of the necke As for the two first ventricles they are so conioyned the one with the other that they end in one common pipe or passage like to two paire of smithes bellowes And it seemeth that God hath made them of that fashion as if hee meant thereby to shew vs that the spirite of the saide ventricles hauing receiued his forme of the kindes and images propounded vnto it is caried by this passage into the middle ventricle or bellie I omit to speak at large of many vessels and instruments which serue the brayne for sundry purposes amongest the which there is one which both the Greeke and Latine Physicions call by a name that signifieth a Presse because the blood is pressed into it for the nourishing of the braine and another called a Vault both in respect of the fashion and of the vse For it is like a Vault or arch-roofe fet vpon three pillers and is as it were the roofe and couering of the middle ventricle that there might bee a more free and easie space for the motion of the Animal spirite that is made therein and also that it might more easily sustaine and beare the greate quantitie of brayne that leaneth vnto eache side of it I omitte also other instruments which serue in like manner to strengthen and support the partes thereof There is also one instrument made as it were of many pieces ioyned together like little wheeles which is called Like-worme because of the likelihoode it hath with those great white wormes that are founde in rotten wood It seemeth that this piece was placed there to bee as it were the porter to shutte and open the passage of the spirites that goe into the hindermost ventricle to the ende they shoulde enter therein measureable and so auoyde the confusion of the memorie that is placed there which otherwise would happen if they shoulde enter in too sodainly and too much at once There is likewise a pipe to euacuate the grosse and thicke excrements of the braine aswell by the roofe of the mouth as by the nose and therefore because it resembleth a litle basin or rather a funnel it is called by those names Moreouer there is a pipe that passeth from the middle ventricle to the last which is as it were the chariot of the spirite to passe from one to another In all which thinges and in many others particularly obserued by Physicions and Anatomists in this part of the brayne wee may note a woonderfull woorkemanshippe both for the varietie of instruments and for their fitte application to those dueties that are assigned them Wherefore wee may well say that it is in this part of man chiefly wherein GOD doeth most excellent manifestly his diuine nature and the glorie of his maiestie And this wee shall better perceiue by considering particularly and in order vnto which of the internall senses all these partes of the brayne are vessels and instruments in which the faculties and vertues of the soule are contained and doc shewe themselues But as was sayde in the beginning of our speech let vs not heere looke for a sounde and perfect knowledge of that substantiall power whereby the soule effecteth so many marueilous woorkes by the meanes of these senses For so high a secrete beeing layde vp and hidde in wisedome and trueth it selfe cannot fall within the small capacitie of mans sense and vnderstanding vntill the light thereof bee purged from that corporall darknesse wherewith it is couered and compassed about during this life Neuerthelesse by a diligent contemplation of that matter which wee haue noted woorthie of admiration wee shall finde sufficient wherewith to content our mindes by causing them to looke to themselues in respect of that which it hath pleased GOD heere to reueale and manifest two manner of
sound to discerne the images of those things which hee representeth to their mindes from all Diabolicall illusions And surely no maruaile if wicked spirites so oftentimes deceiue men when as Iuglers haue so many waies to abuse them shewing them such strange sights that if they were not wrought by those kinde of men a great many woulde take them for miracles Yea although they be done after this manner yet wee wonder thereat being hardly able by the sharpnesse of our wits to attaine to the knowledge thereof so that many are perswaded that such things cannot be done without the power of the deuill But let vs returne to our matter This imaginatiue power of the soule hath moreouer such vertue that oftentimes the imagination printeth in the body the images of those things which it doeth vehemently thinke of and apprehend the experience whereof is very euident especially in the longings and imaginations of women with childe Many times also we see some that can hardly goe ouer a bridge without falling by reason of the apprehension of the danger which they haue conceiued in their fantasie and imagination But which is yet more strange it falleth out oftentimes that the fancies and imaginations of great bellied women are so vehement and violent that vpon the bodies of the children they goe withall they print the images and shapes of those things vpon which they haue fixed their fancies and vnto which by reason of their fancie they are most affectionated Wee see examples heereof a great many continually Neither is it altogether without reason which wee vse commonly to say that fancie breedes the fact which it imagineth For wee see many fall into those mishaps and inconueniences which they imprint in their fantasie and imagination Wee may also obserue heere howe wee are prouoked to yawne and gape when wee see others doe so and driuen into a desire of many things of which wee should not haue dreamed vnlesse wee had beene incited thereunto by the example of others or by some obiect presented to our senses and prouoking vs thereunto Yea this imaginatiue vertue can do much in beastes as among other things wee may see it in this that they desire rather to make water in a puddle or in a riuer or in some other water or vpon a dunghill or in a stable then else-where For the things that are offred to their senses soone mooue their fantasie and imagination which afterward stirreth them vp either in respect of the agreemēt that is betwixt those things namely water and vrine or because of their custome to doe such a thing in such a place which putteth them in minde and helpeth them to doe it more readily by reason of the imaginatiue vertue that is in them Nowe if imagination hath such vertue in beastes wee may iudge also what it is able to do in the minde of man which is a great deale more quicke and ready Therefore we ought to eschew all occasions of euill that may be presented to our senses to stirre vp our imagination and fantasie to wicked and dishonest things For one only wicked looke or one dishonest speach is sufficient to trouble our minds with diuers imaginations and fantasies Which as it is well knowne to the deuil so knoweth he also how to giue occasion and to offer the means of stirring all the stuffe in our fancies But we keep such bad watch in this respect that in steade of eschewing occasions of euil we seeke after them and where we should shut the doore against euill we set it wide open that it may enter more easily into vs. Wherein wee followe not the example of the Prophet who prayed vnto the Lorde saying Turne away mine eyes that they beholde no vanitie but wee rather take a contrary course to whet our selues forward to all beastlinesse Seeing therefore Imagination and Fantasie haue so little holde of themselues wee haue neede of an other facultie and vertue aboue that to be able to iudge of things imagined and perceiued by sense of which wee haue hitherto spoken and that is reason the discourse where of I reserre to thee AMANA as also of memorie which is the fift and last internall sense of the soule Of Reason and Memorie and of their seate nature and office of the agreement which all the senses both externall and internall haue one with another and of their vertues Chap. 26. AMANA They that haue curiously searched into the nature of beasts haue found in them especially in such as were most perfect as many externall and internal senses as are in man yea they perceiued that their braine and all the partes thereof did not differ much from that of men whether wee respect the substance or the fashion But all these excellent giftes of nature reach no farther in them then to the vses of this present life and the necessities thereof For they haue no reason giuen them to enquire after that which is good to the ende their will might followe and embrace the same Moreouer their Good consisteth only in corporall things belonging to the bodie which they easily knowe and discerne as standing in neede of no other reason or vnderstanding to make enquirie after it then of that bare knowledge and naturall inclination that is giuen them But the Good that belongeth to man is hidden in the soule and spirite For this cause hee must of necessitie enquire after it that hee may come to the knowledge thereof least he chuse euill in steade of good for want of knowledge of his proper and true Good and so be deceiued by the appearance of a false Good which is not so in trueth but in opinion onely and by errour whereby the greatest part of men are commonly beguiled preferring the supposed Goods of the body before the true goods of the soule and temporall things before eternall Therefore as our eyes stand in neede of light to keepe vs and to cause vs to see in darkenes so our soule and spirite hath neede of reason to guide it in the middest of errour and ignorance that it may discerne trueth from lying the true Good from the false and that which is profitable from the contraty This facultie and vertue of the soule so necessary in man and which is able to iudge of things imagined and perceiued by the other senses of which we haue spoken before to knowe whether they be good or bad and what is to be embraced or eschewed is called the Iudging or discoursing facultie namely Reason which is the principall part and vertue of the soule and beareth rule among all the other senses For this cause he hath his seate by good right assigned him in the midst of the braine as in the highest and safest fortresse of the whole frame of man to raigne amiddest all the other senses as Prince and Lord ouer them all For it is he that discourseth and iudgeth of trueth from falshoode that knoweth the agreement
For all these senses and vertues of mans mind agree so well together that as the outward senses serue the common sense so the common sense serueth Imagination and imagination fantasie fantasie vnderstanding and consideration consideration recordation recordation conference and conference reason and lastly memorie serueth them al as they also serue memory Therfore it is not without the great wisdome prouidence of God that the seate shop thereof is in the hindermost part of the head because it must looke to the things that are past So that we haue in that part as it were a spirituall eye which is much more excellent and profitable then if wee had bodily eyes there as wee haue before or else a face before and an other behinde as the Poets fained that Ianus had Thus we may learne by our speach what reason is and the discourse thereof and how it causeth the nature of man to approch in some sort to that nature which is diuine and heauenly making man farre to excell all other nature in the world For it goeth from things knowen to them that are vnknowen and descendeth from generalles to specialles and from them to particulars and mounteth aloft againe by the same steppes from one to another and compareth one with another For after that Imagination hath receiued the images and impressions of things offered vnto it by the outward senses the consideration of Reason followeth which enquireth of all that may be in the minde of the plentie or want that is there and causeth it to returne to it selfe as if it did beholde and consider it selfe to take knowledge what it hath or what it hath not howe much it hath and of what qualitie and nature it is After this reason draweth out and concludeth inuisible things of visible of corporall things it concludeth things without bodies and seeret things of plaine and euident matters and generalles of particulars then it referreth all this to the vnderstanding which is the chiefe vertue and power of the soule and that which comprehendeth all the faculties thereof as wee will discourse in place conuenient yea that which finally resteth in the contemplation of the spirite which is the ende of all enquirie of trueth and as it were a setled and assured view of all those things that haue beene culled out by reason and receiued and approoued by iudgement Heereof it is that wee say there is a double discourse of Reason in man whereof the one consisteth in speculation hauing Trueth for the scope and ende thereof and goeth no farther after it hath founde the trueth The other consisteth in practise and hath Good for his ende which after it hath found it stayeth not there but goeth on to Will which is an other power of the soule of great vertue as wee wil declare heereafter and is giuen of God to man that hee should loue desire and followe that which is good and hate eschew and turne from euill But these things shal be handled more at large in the sequele of our speeches Now to resume and finish this present matter as wee learne that man by the discourse of reason that is in him lifteth vp himselfe aboue the outward senses yea aboue Imagination and fantasie and knoweth well that hee is inclosed within the body as in a prison which neuerthelesse can not altogether hinder him from vnderstanding and contemplating the things hee seeth not so also hee vseth the helpe of Memorie to keepe and retaine in his minde whatsoeuer hee hath knowen by any of the senses eyther externall or internall Therefore is the Memorie compared to a Picture For as a Picture by the sight of the eyes giueth the knowledge of that which is painted therein so is it with Memorie by the sight of the minde endewed with vnderstanding and knowledge for it doeth not onely looke vpon things simply as beasts doe but considereth of them and diligently enquireth into them and hauing found them it placeth them in the Memorie and there keepeth them And the better to haue them in memorie it often thinketh and meditateth of those things it turneth and tosseth them to and fro that they may bee the better imprinted therein For this cause some Philosophers attribute vnto man beside memorie both recordation and remembrance which is one recordation vpon another whereby we call to mind that which was slipped out of it For it commeth to passe oftentimes that that which before we haue seene heard and knowen and euen kept a while in our memory is escaped vs and so forgotten that we thinke of it no more then if wee had neuer vnderstoode or knowen it neither should we euer remember it vnlesse some body did put vs in minde of it or some euident token made vs to thinke of it Some things also there are which albeit they are not cleane gone from vs but are somewhat better registred in our memory yet wee cannot readily remember them and bring them foorth without great and long inquirie Therefore must the minde turne ouer all the leaues of his Booke or Register of Memorie or at leastwise a great part thereof to finde them out as if a Chauncellour or Secretary shoulde search all his Papers and Registers and all his Rolles of Chauncery vntill hee had found that which hee sought for And wee see among our selues what notes and obseruations wee vse that they might bee as it were a memoriall booke vnto our memories You see then why some haue attributed to man both recordation and remembrahce thereby to put a difference betweene them and bare memorie without any other consideration which they say is in beastes who forgetting presently what they perceiued by their senses when they see those things againe that in some sorte putteth them in minde thereof then they call them to minde as if they had knowen them before But nowe that wee vnderstand the nature office order and seates of the internall senses of the soule that all may be more casily perceiued I thinke wee ought to shewe by some familiar examples howe a man may knowe that these internall senses are so distinguished disposed and ordained and that they haue their seats and instruments in the braine in such sort as wee haue already spoken Let vs then heare ARAM discourse to this purpose That the internall senses are so distinguished that some of them may be troubled and hindered and the rest be safe and whole according as their places and instruments assigned vnto them in the body are sound or perished and of those that are possessed with Deuilles Chap. 27. ARAM. Howsoeuer it pleased God to enrich man with heauenly gifts and graces aboue all visible creatures yet foreseeing the future pride of mankinde he alwayes and in all things gaue him great matter of humilitie and modestie to the end that they which knowe howe to profit thereby should neuer forget the graces receiued from the goodnesse of their Creator and
moderation or defect in the internall senses which exercise their offices in the head as well particularly as generally Therefore it is not without reason sayde in our common speach of him that hath a good spirite sense and iudgement that his head is well made and contrariwise that his head is ill made that wanteth these things For whatsoeuer the inhabitant or workeman is that laboureth the lodging in which hee dwelleth or the tooles and instruments which hee vseth are of great moment to further or hinder him in his worke But nowe that we are in hand with frenetike persons and haue saide before that good and ill spirites haue great meanes and such as wee can not comprehend whereby they mooue the imagination and fantasie of men it shall not be altogether fruitlesse if we speake somewhat of them that are possessed with spirites For there are some who thinke not that the Deuilles in their very substance enter into the bodies or soules heartes or mindes of men I speake not heere of such as thinke there is neither God nor Angelles nor Deuilles but euen of them that beleeue all these thinges who neuerthelesse thinke that euill spirites trouble the heartes and mindes of men onely by prouocations temptations and illusions Others there are that referre all the madnesse of Lunatike folkes to naturall causes as if they proceeded either from melancholike or cholerike humours or some such like causes as frensinesse madnesse and furie or some such diseases whereby men are carried beside themselues True it is and cannot be denied that many are thought to be possessed with Deuilles when in deede they are nothing so For there are some counterfeit crankes as many haue beene taken with the maner who vpon some occasion haue by meere knauery fained themselues such And some also there are that bee but melancholy madde and carried away by some disease of the braine but because their melancholie and furie is very violent and strange ignorant people suppose they are possessed with some spirite Notwithstanding wee may not doubt but that euil spirits desirous to hurt men both in their goodes bodies and soules vse al the meanes and occasions they can possibly inuent and finde out to execute their malice when it pleaseth God to giue them leaue For they can driue forward and mooue the hearts and mindes of men and set them in such a fury that euen their reason and iudgement wil be wholly confounded and as it were cleane extinguished Heereupon it commeth that many being caried headlong with such madnesse teare and kill themselues or their owne wiues children or others whereof we may daily see many examples Neuerthelesse we say not that the naturall light which God hath giuen them is wholly put out in them much lesse in those that are not so farre gone but the Deuill doeth stirre them forward with such violence that they are as it were taken perforce from themselues when they are forsaken of God Which examples ought to admonish vs to call vpon God incessantly that hee woulde gouerne vs by his sonne Iesus Christ who is come to destroy the woorkes of the Deuill that so the light of reason and of iudgement may not be darkened or put out in vs and that our heartes be not so possessed and pusshed on by Satan that wee rush our selues through a deuilish furie against the will of God And this did our Sauiour teach vs to demaund of him when hee saide Pray that yee enter not into tentation and when hee taught vs to say Leade vs not into tentation but deliuer vs from euill For if euill spirits durst set vpon those that were sounde both in body and soule after that manner which I haue spoken of according to that power that was giuen them wee may not thinke that they spare such as are sicke especially those that are already troubled in braine and beside themselues For the Deuill as our mortall enemie continually watcheth for those occasions that are fittest and most for his aduantage to hurte vs withal Therefore he intrudeth himselfe amidst our diseases and miseries chiefely when there is weakenesse of braine ioyned therewith vsing against vs those weapons which hee findeth in our owne nature as also those which his owne malice and rage ministreth vnto him whereof wee haue a very profitable example in the historie of Iob. Hee declareth plainely by his speach that if the feare of God had not kept him backe he had rather haue strangled himself then liued in that miserable estate wherein he was And no doubt if God had not helde a strong hand ouer his seruant Iob and brideled the rage and euill will of Satan that persecuted him the Deuill had had great power ouer this good man to haue perswaded him to make away himselfe desperately as Achitophel and Iudas did Nowe if the Deuill preuailed so farre with Iob by that leaue which God gaue him to afflict and trouble him wee may well thinke what hee can doe with the wicked and reprobate whome GOD wholly abandoneth and giueth ouer vnto him We haue a very plaine example in Saul of whome it is written that the spirite of the Lord went from him and that hee was giuen ouer of the Lord to an euill spirite which troubled and vexed him and that in the ende he fell into such desperation that hee vtterly forsooke God and slew himselfe We may know also by that which the holy Euangelists haue written of such as were possessed and were healed by Iesus Christ and by his Apostles what power euill spirites haue ouer thē whilest God suffered them to execute their rage and furie A man may easily iudge that such persons are not onely out of their wits through sicknesse but that euill spirites possesse them For he so troubleth their minde and spirite that they knowe 〈◊〉 more what they doe then the veriest bedlems that can be And although hee horribly vexeth their bodies yet they feele not his torments or if they doe feele them yet they cannot abstain from vexing thēselues So that it is easily knowen that the deuill is in them and that it proceedeth not onely of a simple frenzie or melancholy humour seeing some of them haue done such things as coulde not possibly bee perfourmed by the power of man whereof some of those are witnesses whom the holy scripture rehearseth vnto vs. Wherefore it is out of all question that euill spirites haue wrought both in them and by them Therefore we haue good occasion offered vnto vs by all that hath beene hitherto spoken to humble our selues before God and to pray vnto him continually as wee saide in the beginning of our speech For being as we are we ought still to praise God who distributeth his graces as it pleaseth him and that by a most exquisite kinde of iustice And when wee see those that are infirme and beside themselues some for a certaine time and by fittes others continually and after diuers manners
let vs not mocke or despise them but rather haue pitie and compassion ouer them pray to God in their behalfe and succour them asmuch as wee can acknowledging the grace of God towards vs in keeping vs from such inconueniences and beseeching him to preserue and keepe vs continually For whatsoeuer befalleth others shoulde as it were hang before our eyes as often as it pleaseth him to beate them with such scourges which we our selues haue no lesse deserued then they that are beaten yea oftentimes a great deale more The Lord striketh whome it pleaseth him that by them others might take instruction Therefore if we cannot profite by such teaching nor learne at other mens cost to feare and honour him to call vpon him and to giue him thankes it is to bee feared that he will send vs asmuch that so we may learne at our owne charges Yea and then also he is very gratious vnto vs if he suffer vs to haue our vnderstandings to knowe how to profite by his roddes and chastisements and giue vs not wholly ouer into the handes of Satan our Aduersarie But enough of this matter And nowe that wee haue seene the nature and office of the internall senses of the soule with their seates and instruments the sequele of our speech requireth as I thinke that we should intreate of vnderstanding and will which are two faculties and vertues in the highest and most principall part and power of the soule of man and in regard of which it is properly called by the name of a reasonable soule and life as wee shall presently learne of ACHITOB. Of the reasonable soule and life and of vertue of the vnderstanding and will that are in the soule and of their dignitie and excellencie Chap. 28. ACHITOB. Although beastes without any iudgement and reason follow after that which they conceaue to be agreeable to their nature and eschew the contrary according as their natural inclination driueth thē thereunto yet they passe not those bounds of nature which God hath set them nor violate the lawes thereof Wherby we see that through a secret sense of nature they draw alwayes towards God their Creator in that their nature bendeth still towardes that which God hath appoynted to bee the chiefe Good vnto which they can attaine And no doubt but God hath giuen them such inclinations to bee as it were rules to direct them to that which is their proper and naturall Good which consisteth onely in corporall thinges belonging to their bodies Nowe if hee bee thus carefull for beastes we may not thinke that hee hath depriued Man of such a benefite but that hee hath also giuen him his inclination to leade him to his proper Good and to the trueth which in respect thereof is necessarie for him For what likelihoode is there that such a woorkeman as God is woulde create Man the most excellent creature vnder heauen in worse estate not onely then beastes but also then all other bodily creatures which are nothing in comparison of the excellencie which is in him who notwithstanding following their naturall disposition Prayse GOD and fulfill his worde as the Psalmist saith As therefore God hath ordayned and prepared a farre greater Good formen then for beastes and hath layde vp the same in his soule and spirite so hath he giuen them the meanes to enquire and finde it out But the difficultie that is in finding it out proceedeth through their owne fault For the darknes of ignorance and error which sinne hath brought into their minds is that which hindereth them which had not taken holde of them if mankind had continued in the perfection of his first nature Neuertheles what defect soeuer there be yet we see that in the minde of man there shineth alwaies this naturall light that is giuen vnto him aboue that which beasts haue I mean Reason which serueth to guide the soule and spirite amidst the darknesse of errour and ignorance to the ende they may be able to discerne trueth from falsehood and the true Good from the false as we see the light serueth the eyes to keepe vs and to cause vs to see in darkenesse Therefore we sayde before that there was a double discourse of reason in man whereof the one is Theoricall and Speculatiue which hath Trueth for his ende and hauing found it goeth no farther The other is Practical hauing Good for his end which being found it stayeth not there but passeth forward to the Will which God hath ioyned vnto it to the end it should loue desire and follow after the Good and contrariwise hate eschew and turne away from euill Therefore when the question ariseth of contemplation reason hath Trueth for her vtmost bounds and when she is to come into action she draweth towardes Good and hauing conferred together that which is true and good she pronounceth iudgement So that reason considereth of thinges with great deliberation and beeing sometimes in doubt which way to take shee stayeth and returneth as it were to her selfe and maketh many discourses before shee iudge and conclude But sinne hath so troubled our spirite that these naturall rules which shoulde euermore cause vs to encline to that which is right and good are greatly depraued and corrupted Neuerthelesse there remayneth in vs a small remnant of that great Good which testifieth sufficiently vnto vs what losse and damage wee receiued by our fall Therefore both the internall and externall senses serue vs not onely for the good of the bodie and for this life as they do to beasts but also for the good of the soule and helpe vs to lift vp the minde higher to seeke for a better life and for a greater Good then can be found among all the creatures and in which alone the minde findeth true felicitie agreeable to such a nature as it selfe is Heereof it commeth that it cannot content it selfe with that wherwith beasts are contented nor stay there where they stay For after the spirite is somewhat setled vpon that knowledge which it hath by his imagination and fantasie he lifteth vp himselfe higher by the meanes of reason namely to the vnderstanding of spirituall and diuine things For hee knoweth well that because he is as it were shut vp in an obscure prison and compassed about with darknesse he is hindered from attaining to the vnderstanding and knowledge of many things whereof he is ignorant and can neither see nor know that which he would so neerely cleerely and perfectly as if hee were at greater libertie nor vse that naturall vigour that he hath being in this prison of the bodie In this sort doeth man consider of himself and of his nature and from that knowledge which he hath of the highest and most excellent things in nature there springeth in him a loue towardes them insomuch that the spirit ascendeth vp and attaineth vnto God who is the authour and Creator of all For this cause there ariseth contention betwixt reason and fantasie For
imagination and fantasie being neerer to the corporall senses draw the soule to those things that are bodily but reason and the spirite pricke it forwarde and cause it to lift vp it selfe to more excellent things For the spirite which the Philosophers expresse by Vnderstanding mounteth vp vnto those things that cannot be knowen nor comprehended of imagination and fantasie nor of any other sense Moreouer it keepeth fantasie brideled and bringeth it into the right way which otherwise wandreth farre wide and entereth into many turnings and windings Neither doeth the spirite wholly yeeld vnto euery present profite or decline the contrary but calleth things past to remembrance coniectureth and foreseeth things to come and searcheth out what is true and what false to giue iudgement thereafter and then to followe after or to eschew that which ought to bee followed or fledde from Thus you see what the reasonable soule bringeth to men which is not in beastes nor in their soule Besides from this vigour and nature of the spirite speech proceedeth which being his messenger is wanting vnto beastes because they are voyde of reason and vnderstanding in regard whereof speech is giuen as wee haue already hearde Therefore we vnderstand by the reasonable soule and life such a soule and life as hath counsaile iudgement and reason and which was created to this end that knowing God her Creator and louing him in respect thereof she might honour and serue him and finally by degrees attaine to immortall life and happinesse which is appointed for her ende For as nothing is more excellent then reason whereof God hath made man partaker so there is nothing more beseeming reason then to know loue and honour God seeing there is nothing greater more excellent or that may be compared vnto him Therefore as man differeth from brute beasts in respect of reason wherewith God hath indued him so he differeth from them in that he is capable of religion created and borne thereto which consisteth in the things alreadie touched But beasts are not capable of any kind of religion being altogether voyde thereof as on the other side there is no man but he hath some sense of it Whereby wee may gather a good argument that beasts are not onely voyde of reason but also that their soules are mortall and the soules of men immortall For the fountaine and fruit of the religion and seruice of God consisteth not in this mortall life and therefore it must needes bee in some other that followeth And for this cause Reason which is so great and excellent a gift of God in man is not bestowed vpon vs for things of so smal price and so transitorie as these are which we vse and enioy in this life and in which it is wholly busied much lesse for those whereby the life of beastes is preserued but in regarde of these thinges which I haue nowe declared Therefore as God hath not giuen such a life to stones as he hath giuen to trees and plants nor yet sense imagination and fantasie to trees and plants as he hath done to beasts so hee hath not graunted reason to beasts as he hath to men and that not without iust cause For as it is enough for stones in regarde of the perfection of their nature to bee heauie and such as they are and sufficient likewise for trees and plants to haue a Vegetatiue soule seeing they want not that which beastes haue more then they so beastes stand not in neede of that which men haue aboue them For it sufficeth for the preseruation and defence of their life and beeing that they haue some kinde of cogitation ioyned with imagination and fantasie although they want reason which is not necessary for them as it is for men for the causes already specified and chiefly because they were not created by meanes of the knowledge of God and of true religion to come to a better life then their brutish life is Therefore as man is created to the end that the light of the knowledge of God might shine in him and that God might communicate with him his wisedome and goodnesse so he would that the soule of man shoulde bee an euident testimonie of himselfe For this cause it was said in his creation that God made man after his owne image and likenesse as wee haue already heard Seeing then there are in the reasonable soule so cleere and excellent testimonies of God and that by it especially the difference appeareth betweene man beasts as also in the diuers gouernments of their liues it behoueth vs to conâ—ider thereof very diligently And albeit this glasse of God cannot be so euidently seen as those that are made of steele or of glasse and lead by the hand of man to represent the image of our bodies neuertheles the actions and works of the soule doe plainly shew that there is such a power and vertue in vs which God hath giuen vs more to vse for our benefite then to know it and that for the causes already touched by vs. For the true and perfect knowledge thereof belongeth to God onely who being aboue it hath created and giuen it and will cause vs to know it better when we shal be in that eternall light in which wee shal know those things that are nowe hidden from vs. In the meane time let vs in this life consider of and distinguish the actions and workes of the soule whereby we are seuered from beasts and which being very euident testimonies of God in vs gouerne the life of man and bring foorth all honest sciences and artes We haue spoken alreadie of the powers and vertues of the soule which by the vse of corporall instruments labour and manifest themselues but it appeareth euidently that there is in man another higher power because we haue many actions and doe many woorkes which beastes cannot performe nor imitate For man hath the knowledge of numbers and can reckon hee vnderstandeth not onely particular things but also generall and vniuersall things he discourseth that is gathereth and concludeth one thing of another and that very farre he inuenteth artes and disposeth them he iudgeth of his owne reasons and discourses and marking his owne faults he correcteth them he changeth his intents and purposes he discerneth vertues from vices honest things from those that are dishonest finally hee deliberateth by a long discourse of reason As for beastes they haue not these thinges common with vs as they haue the vse of the senses as of seeing hearing smelling tasting and other such like things wherein they oftentimes excell vs in many respectes For many of them haue these senses more sharpe then wee haue And although they haue some imagination fantasie and apprehension of thinges offered to their bodily senses yet that holdeth but for the present and in the place or fielde where the thinges are offered vnto them The like may bee sayde of those discourses of reason which many thinke are in
the perfectest of them For they haue some kinde of discourse in that they can passe from one thing to another But all their iudgements are but of particular things neyther doe they ascend higher In like maner they know not things absent nor passe from thē to others whether it be from things absent to them that are present or from present things to those that are absent For they take or leaue incontinently those present and particular things which they know and make a stop there without any further discourse So that this intellectuall and reasonable power is proper to man onely and is the highest and most soueraigne vertue of the soule of man And although the internall senses are seruiceable vnto it as they are serued of the externall senses neuerthelesse it hath proper actions vertues and motions which it can and doeth exercise without the helpe of bodily instruments when it is separated from the bodie And euen while it is in the bodie it is sometime rauished as if it were altogether out of it as it hath often fallen out to holy men who haue beene rauished in spirite in the contemplation of celestiall and diuine things and that by the reuelation of the spirite of God insomuch that Saint Paul testifieth of himselfe that Hee was taken vp into the thirde heauen and into Paradise not knowing whether hee were in the bodie or out of the bodie but GOD hee knewe Wee will consider therefore in this chiefe and most soueraigne part of the soule two faculties and vertues namely the Vnderstanding and the Will For it beeing so that man is created to attayne to that soueraigne and eternall Good which God hath propounded vnto him therefore hath GOD giuen him the power and vertue to wishe for that Good to the ende hee might desire to applie and ioyne himselfe vnto it This power and vertue is called Will. But the soule cannot haue this appetite and desire if first it vnderstand or know not that Good which it ought to desire and followe after For this cause hath God giuen vnto it another power and vertue which wee call Vnderstanding And forasmuch as our spirite stayeth not alwayes in one thought but discourseth and goeth from one matter to another it had neede of a receptacle and storehouse wherein it may lay vp the first thoughtes when others come as if it placed them in a treasurie that they shoulde not bee lost but might bee founde out and called foorth when neede shoulde require But wee learned by our former speech that this office apperteyneth to memorie which is as it were the Rolles of a Chauncerie court in which the seales of images framed by the thought are imprinted and vpon which the vnderstanding doeth looke as often as it pleaseth And euen as it serueth to the other internall senses vnto which it succeedeth in order so also it serueth the Vnderstanding and Will Concerning the Vnderstanding if we consider it generally it comprehendeth the whole minde but beeing taken more specially we meane a certaine particular office thereof For it vnderstandeth the the thinges that come from without as we conceiue them then it laieth vp that which it hath vnderstoode in some little cofer by it selfe for a time out of which it may take them againe when neede requireth This repetition and taking againe which is as it were an inquiry and searching out is called Consideration from thence it commeth to recordation and remembraunce and so conferreth together the thinges it hath vnderstood and compareth them one with another which being done a discourse thereof is had with others after which discourse it determineth and iudgeth what is true and what false what good and what euill Then doeth the Will choose that which is good and refuseth the euill And as we come from the vnderstanding to the will by these degrees so we must ascend vp by the same steppes euen from the last to the first namely from Will to Vnderstanding For Will doeth not follow after or refuse any thing which the iudgement hath not first determined to be good or euill and the iudgement decreeth nothing before it hath taken aduise of reason and reason aduiseth not before she haue conferred the things one with another and throughly examined them Neither can this conferring bee without consideration nor consideration without requiring that of Memorie which was committed vnto it to keepe and the memorie will keepe nothing safe but that which it hath first knowne and vnderstood So that the reasonable soule hath all these things namely Vnderstanding Will and Memorie And vnder this facultie of vnderstanding there is simple and particuler intelligence after which Consideration followeth next Recordation then Conferring and discoursing after that next Iudgement and last of all Contemplation which is as it were the rest of the soule and spirite Nowe these things being so excellent and wonderfull and somewhat obscure withall deserue to bee discoursed of more at large and to be vttered more clearely And therefore before wee goe to any other matter wee shall doe well to consider of the diuersity that is found in the operations and discourses of the Vnderstanding according to that gift of light which is in it and what is the end of all discourses Prepare therefore thy selfe ASER to intreate of this matter Of the varietie and contrarietie that is founde in the opinions deliberations counsailes discourses and iudgements of men with the cause thereof and of the good order and end of all discourses Chap. 29. ASER. All things whatsoeuer can be rehearsed are either of this mutable and temporary nature or of the other which is immutable perpetuall and aboue that nature If the question be of the first either the varietie and change is such that no certaine rule or determination can be giuen or els there is a perpetuall tenour and constancie in them according to their inbred inclination through a stedfast and continuall order of nature which is alike in all according to their natures and kinds If the variety and change be very vncertaine there can no certain science and knowledge be had of them nor any determination set down so general but that there wil be alwaies some exception For touching the first sort we can haue no sure knowledge of things that are infinite and that haue infinite alterations And because particularities and particular things are infinite in regarde of our capacity there can no entire and certaine knowledge be had of them all in speciall As for generals howbeit they also are variable yet some rules may well bee giuen of them of which the arte followeth afterward and yet no such certaine rules but often it falleth out otherwise as we may see in many artes and in sundry experiences For although it bee ordinarie for women to loue their children yet there are some that murder them cruelly So that howsoeuer it bee very common to loue them yet it falleth not out so
are soone perswaded to giue ouer all care to seeke for and to prouide thinges necessary for the soule And if the bodie be neuer so little out of square yea the verie feare least they should procure it any griefe causeth them wholly to abstaine from labouring the minde in the searching out of wisedome and trueth so that they voluntary become ignorant There are others that haue running heads who will neuer continue and stay in one thing and some also that when they shoulde hearken to that which they are about haue their wittes a wool-gathering and as wee vse commonly to say are building of castles in Spaine But aboue all we must herein acknowledge that God distributeth his giftes and graces to men and bestoweth witte and vnderstanding as it pleaseth him Nowe that we haue intreated sufficiently of the vnderstanding and of the discourses of reason therein let vs speake of Iudgement which followeth it and of his office This then shal be the matter subiect of thy speech AMANA Of Iudgement and of his office after the discourse of reason and how Beleefe Opinion or doubting follow it of the difference that is betweene them Chap. 30. AMANA If I iudge aright of the doctrine contained in our former discourses which handled the nature powers faculties and vertues of the soule I finde that the spirite is as it were the chiefe part therin in which is the Mind the Vnderstanding Memory The Mind is as it were a white paper wherein as a man groweth in yeeres and iudgement so he writeth his cogitations and thoughts which he hath by learning and by the instruction of wisedome Vnderstanding is framed by the knowledge of reason and last of all Memorie followeth For there is great difference betweene that which the senses and the vnderstanding are able to doe in the time of infancie and that which is done by them in other ages wherein there is greater vse of them And although the seeds of al the operations of the soule are included within it euen from the beginning of the creation thereof neuertheles God hath created it of that nature that as hee hath ioyned it to the body which hath his degrees of growth in euery part thereof so the soule hath some agreement therewith in this respect touching the manifestation of her powers and vertues If then any man bee endued with an excellent spirite that is quicke and ready to conceiue and with a memory apt to retaine and holde fast it is a great meane for him whereby to attaine to the knowledge of the trueth But for the perfection of these two great giftes of nature it is necessary hee shoulde haue a good and found iudgement proceeding from a sounde disputing and discoursing of reason lightened by the spirit of God and by it purged of errour illusion and of all vaine opinions which the nature of man hath of his owne inheritance and which hindereth him from iudging aright of the trueth Nowe the office of Iudgement is to like or dislike the discourses of reason and the conclusions which are made thereby For it belongeth to Iudgement to iudge whether reason discourse and conclude well as it ought to doe And therefore it is in the spirite and in the minde as a rule or as the skoles in a payre of balance and whilest reason is a woorking it is quiet But when shee hath concluded and done iudgement afterwarde examineth and considereth whether there bee any fault in the discoursing or in the conclusion or in both or whether all bee well referred before it eyther approue or mislike any thing And if it finde any thing that breedeth feare least it be deceiued then it beginneth againe to aduise of the matter Nowe the greatest cause it hath to feare least it bee deceiued ariseth of probable reasons which albeeit they bee like to bee true yet indeede are not true And because there are some which haue such great shewe of trueth that it is a very harde matter to bee able to discerne them from true reasons and not take them to bee such indeede therefore the Iudgement may bee often deceiued by this meanes For it will not easily flippe aside but abide constant in that wherein it is once setled if it bee not ledde and induced to allowe or disallowe of a thing eyther by vertue of true and certaine reasons that may mooue it or of such reasons as are so verie likely and carry so greate a shewe of trueth that they cannot bee knowne and discerned for others Therefore wee may well saye that a good vpright and sounde iudgement is an excellent gift of God neither is there any thing more necessary in all artes and disciplines yea in the whole course of mans life and chiefly for the principall end of our being which is to know and to serue God For as Good is a thing agreeable to the Will so is Trueth agreeable to the Minde whereupon it followeth likewise that as Euill is contrarie and an enemie to the Will so is lying in respect of the minde Wherefore if iudgement iudgeth that the conclusion made by reason is true and followeth well it ioyneth it selfe thereunto receiuing and imbracing it as agreeable to it selfe This approbation is called Consent But if it iudge the conclusion to be false it turneth aside and reiecteth it and this refusall may be called dissent because it is contrary to consent when there is no agreement of sentences but disagreement and contrarietie As touching Consent we may diuide it into two kindes For one kinde thereof is firme and stedfast and another weake and vnstayed If the consent bee firme certaine and throughly resolued it is called Beleefe But there is difference betwixt that beleefe or faith which concerneth humane matters and that which is of diuine thinges For then doe wee giue credite to humane thinges when wee take them to bee so certaine that wee doubt nothing thereof as namely when wee are so perswaded eyther by very euident reasons which remoue all doubting from vs or els by testimonies which we take to bee most certaine Wherefore wee may say that there is great agreement betwixt this kinde of beleefe and betweene Science because there is a certaine resolution both in the one and in the other For Science is a kind of knowledge in which the demonstration made vnto vs compelleth vs to approue that which is spoken because we see the reasons so certaine that we cannot gainsay them nor thinke otherwise The like is done in beleefe which is a kinde of knowledge that causeth vs without doubting to giue credite vnto that which is tolde vs because wee are ouercome by witnesses and by authoritie which wee approue For if wee doubted any thing our consent woulde bee yet weake and so it coulde not properly be called beleefe but rather Coniecture or Opinion For considering that in this there is some kinde of consent which inclineth to one part rather then to another
they call it the foundation of iustice Therefore faithfull signifieth as much as true constant and firme in that which a man hath spoken and promised namely when one hath kept his faith Heereof it is also that God is so often in the holy Scriptures called Faithfull in respect of vs because hee neuer falfifieth his faith but is alwayes firme and constant in al his words and workes But when the Scripture speaketh of Faith in regarde of men towardes God it doth not onely comprehend a beleefe whereby wee beleeue that to bee true which wee heare and which is spoken vnto vs as when one telleth vs some historie but it is also a trust which assureth vs that God will performe that vnto vs which he hath promised vs. Therefore true faith includeth in it a certaine and vndoubted confidence of heauenly things and an assured perswasion of the accomplishment of Gods promises towards vs. Now to prosecute our purpose seeing we haue learned that the knowledge of the truth which is the principall obiect of reason and vnderstanding is verie hard for men to attaine vnto let vs consider of the meanes whereby wee may bee certaine and sure of those things which we are to beleeue This discourse ARAM. belongeth vnto thee Of the meanes whereby a man may haue certaine knowledge of those thinges which he ought to beleeue and take for true of the naturall and supernaturall light that is in man and how they beare witnesse of the image of God in him Chap. 31. ARAM For a man to knowe himselfe to be ignorant is a goodlie science and so necessary for men that without it they cannot be truely skilfull For the ignorant person that knoweth not himselfe to be such a one but supposeth hee knoweth that which hee doeth not in deede is as vnteachable a beast as can be because hee will neuer seeke for a master to be instructed by but if any offer themselues hee will reiect them and rather himselfe take vpon him to teach them Therefore Socrates was greatly commended by the ancients because he saide that hee knewe but one onely thing namely that he was ignorant and knewe nothing True it is that if wee speake of things which may be knowen by the corporall and spirituall senses of men euen as nature hath giuen them vnto vs and of things belonging to naturall and morall Philosophie there are many men to bee founde whose knowledge therein is so great that other men in respect of them may seeme to bee but poore beasts But when we must ascend vp to the knowledge of things reuealed vnto vs in Iesus Christ and in the Gospell no sense or vnderstanding of man is able to comprehend any thing therein if the spirite of God doe not teach him and dwell in him to seale and to confirme in his soule the doctrine of those heauenly mysteries wherein the skilfullest men are no better taught of themselues then those that are most ignorant For that abideth alwayes true which Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the naturall man perceiueth not the things of the spirite of God for they are foolishnesse vnto him neither can hee knowe them because they are spiritually discerned Nowe I finde foure meanes whereby men may be made certaine of those things vnto which they ought to giue credite whereof three of them are naturall and according to naturall Philosophie the fourth goeth further and is proper to diuinitie The first is generall experience the second the knowledge of principles the third naturall iudgement of these three wee will first speake and then come to the fourth Generall experience is that iudgement which al men of sound mindes doe giue all after one sort of those things whereof they haue certaine experience by their corporall senses as is to be seene in naturall things For who knoweth not that the fire is hote And who woulde not take him for a senselesse man that should affirme the contrary Yea who coulde affirme it being conuinced of the trueth thereof by his owne senses Likewise who seeth not the difference that is betweene death and life and what are the effectes both of the one and the other For euery one knoweth these thinges by a generall experience common to all Wherefore this knowledge is certaine and where it is so there needeth no other proofe or demonstration fetched farther then from such experience For God hath so created the nature of things that men must needes confesse it to be so as generall experience doth declare it to be And he that will not beleeue it let him take triall thereof himselfe and he shall know whether it be so or no. So that whosoeuer would stand against this common and generall experience he should make open warre against God and nature in denying all order which he hath set downe therein Concerning the knowledge of principles wee must first knowe that there is vnderstoode by principles that naturall knowledge that is borne with vs which is the seede of all Artes and a beame of the light of God in vs to the ende that by this meanes all Artes necessary for life should be inuented and put in vse As for example euery one knoweth naturally that the whole of any thing is more then the halfe or then a part of it onely and that three are moe then two To be briefe the knowledge of numbers of measures and of other such like things is naturall vnto vs and is not found in the nature of beastes and therefore they haue neither the inuention nor vse of any Arte as wee haue already heard But let vs proceede farther and consider whether there be no natural knowledge in men whereby they vnderstand that there is a diuine nature wise iust true good that loueth goodnesse and hateth and punisheth euil with which nature the soule of man hath some agreement and is as it were an image thereof for which cause he ought to be made conformable to God by folowing after wisedome trueth iustice goodnesse and all vertue and by shunning the contrary vices In this respect he that followeth this rule obeyeth God doing that which is pleasant and right in his eies and he that leaueth this rule disobeyeth and displeaseth him committing wicked and dishonest things whereby hee becommeth woorthy of punishment In a worde wee may referre to these naturall principles whatsoeuer God hath imprinted in mens hearts and mindes of the law of nature which serueth all men for naturall diuinitie the Bookes of which they carry printed in their soules And yet out of all question this diuinitie will scarce serue vs but to condemnation if we go no farther because the booke thereof is so blotted in vs that there is not so much as one small peece or leafe thereof whole sound which is not very much blurred torne Neuertheles that which remaineth is a sufficient processe against vs before God and able to conuince and condemne vs at
through a cloude For that is the contemplation of all contemplations seeing it is the beholding of God with whome nothing may bee compared Then there shall be no cloude of ignorance when wee shall haue not a likely or probable but a most certaine and true knowledge For the trueth shall bee shewed vnto vs most certaine in GOD who is the Authour and Father thereof in whome wee shall throughly and perfectly see and knowe the causes of all things For our spirites shall be helde no longer in such an obscure and darke prison as heere they are constrained to suffer in our mortall bodies Therefore there shall bee no more diuersities disagreements or contrarieties of opinions and iudgements that some shoulde condemne that which others approoue but all shall be of the same iudgement But seeing we are fallen into the matter of contemplation it shall not be vnprofitable if vpon occasion of that diuision which is commonly made of the actiue and contemplatiue life wee note that although the spirite desireth aboue all things the pleasure that is in contemplation as the proper foode and delight thereof yet wee must alwayes consider that wee are not only borne for ourselues but also for others and to this ende that wee shoulde all in common serue one an other both generally and specially For God doeth not onely commaund the performance of that seruice which hee requireth of vs towardes his owne person according to that which is contained in the first Table of the Lawe but he commaundeth vs also in the second Table to doe that which hee requireth of vs towardes other men Therefore hee will not haue vs dwell alwayes in contemplation but wee must put to our hand and discharge vs of our dutie towards euery one according as he teacheth vs by his word Wee are then to learne that so long as wee liue in this world we must not separate the actiue life from the cōtemplatiue but alwayes ioyne them both together vntil we come to that blessed life which shal be altogither contemplatiue when we shal be deliuered frō al the miseries and necessities and from al the troubles lets in which wee are wrapped and detained in this mortall life God graunt vs his grace to vse all our senses so well both externall and internall and all the powers faculties and vertues of our soule and spirite of which wee haue hitherto spoken that wee may cause them all to serue to his glory and that wee may attaine to that blessed contemplation which is prepared for all his elect in his celestiall pallace and that to this ende hee woulde dispose in vs our will and all the affections of our soule of the nature of which we will beginne to morrowe to discourse And first ASER I thinke thou art to intreate of those appetites that are naturally in man seeing Desire is the proper subiect of the Will as thou shalt instruct vs more at large The end of the fourth dayes worke THE FIFT DAYES worke Of the Appetites that are in al liuing creatures and namely in man and of their kindes and particularly of the Naturall and Sensitiue Appetite Chap. 33. ASER. As God and all that is in the worlde is propounded to the minde of man that hee might knowe him so farre foorth as is needefull for him so is hee also propounded to the will that hee might will desire and folowe him as farre as his nature is capable thereof Wherefore if man had not sinned but had continued in his first estate wherein God created him this great and eternall Goodnes had shed in our soules that diuine worde together with his holy spirite which worde being the eternall sonne of God woulde haue alwayes taught and shewed vs the Father of whome bee was begotten before all time and woulde haue lightened our mindes with the light of all wisedome that we might haue beheld and seene him and the holy spirite would haue ioyned our hearts and willes vnto the Father and to the Sonne through a mutuall loue replenished with all ioy and gladnesse and through certaine motions agreeable with the diuine nature By which meanes there should haue bin in our hearts a great fire of loue towardes God and next to him wee should haue loued all other good things according to that order which is shewed vnto vs in his heauenly wisedome and doctrine and should haue desired them for the loue of him But nowe in the estate of naturall corruption in which wee are all this goodly agreement harmony and concord which ought to be betweene God and man is wholly peruerted and ouerthrowen For in place of the true knowledge of God there is nothing but ignorance and doubting in our mindes and as for the will it searcheth after and desireth other things whereunto it applieth it selfe and seeketh not after God Neither doeth it keepe any order in those things which it hath for obiects and which it setteth downe in steade of the things commanded in his word So that while it thinketh to attaine to that good whereunto naturally it aspireth it obtaineth nothing to it selfe but a very great euill Nowe when wee spake before of the braine and of the internall senses of the soule and of the principall part and vertue thereof we made some mention of the wil which ought to be directed and ledde by vnderstanding and reason It remaineth nowe that we looke more narrowly into the nature thereof and of the affections of the soule of the vitall vertue of the heart and of other members which are the seates and instruments thereof euen as when wee intreated of the animall vertues of the soule wee considered of their seates and instruments First then we must marke what hath beene hitherto spoken namely that God hath giuen to all his creatures a naturall inclination that leadeth euery one of them to that which is naturall and agreeable to itselfe Beasts haue an appetite to follow that good that is fitte for them and therefore also hath God giuen them the knowledge of that good and senses meete for that purpose to the end they might shewe vnto them what is good for their preseruation to followe it and to shunne the contrary Wee haue learned also howe God hath giuen both the one and the other to man and vnto what degree concerning both of them hee hath lifted him vp aboue all liuing creatures For as hee hath created him to enioy a farre greater and more excellent Good then hee hath beastes and hath giuen vnto him a will to wish and desire it so hee hath endued him with a deeper knowledge whereby to knowe that Good because hee coulde not wish for it and desire it except hee did knowe it and he could not knowe it if he had not a minde capable thereof and endewed with greater knowledge then that is which hee hath giuen to beasts For this cause as they haue a kind of knowledge agreeable to their nature and to the
So that the whole consultation lieth in the liberty and choyce of Will For men are not drawne by an immutable violence of nature as beasts are but reason enquireth what way is to be taken or left and wayeth and examineth what good or euill is in euery thing Therefore Will may goe about againe with that which was once deliberated of to the end the first conclusion be not approued staied in but that greater inquiry may be made to finde out if it may bee some better or more profitable thing And thus when many thinges are shewed set before her she may choose what pleaseth her although it be not that which was best approued by iudgement and which reason vpon very euident arguments counselled her to follow For if there be another side that hath some shew of good albeit neuer so small she turneth to that if she please so that vpon one onely coniecture or opinion of good she will lay holde vpon that and reiect the other side in which peraduenture the ture good is to bee founde The chiefe cause whereof is in the corruption of our nature and in those impediments of good discoursing and of vpright iudging whereof wee haue alreadie hearde and which hinder reason and iudgement diuers and sundrie wayes And this also taketh place in respect of Will which likewise hath great occasions offered to beguile and deceiue it selfe because all the affaires of men are intermingled with good and euill thinges Therefore it is very hard to be able to discerne and separate them well one from another For men being compounded of diuers natures namely of a body and of a soule they propound also diuersity of good euil things vnto themselues because they know corporall and terrestriall things better then spirituall and eternall things therefore they preferre them oftentimes before the other Which is the cause why there are so many that loue this life a great deale better and those outward good things belonging therevnto then they doe eternall life and those goods which are able to leade men thither and giue them full fruition therof when they come thither Therefore in so great diuersity of good and euill things it is no marueile if there came nothing into deliberation wherein reason findeth not some good or euill which in the end it counsaileth vs to follow or to auoyde according to the circumstances of times places persons qualities and other such like things It commeth to passe also oftentimes that Will refuseth all counsaile and exhortation to doe that onely which she pleaseth thereby to shew that shee is Lady and Mistresse and subiect to none And beeing mounted vp to that pride shee accounteth this Lordshippe which shee taketh to her selfe to bee a great good and so maketh knowne her power and magnificence as it were a tyrannicall prince making choyce in the meane time of a false kinde of good which is no way good but a very great euil And thus much concerning the libertie of the Will in her internall actions which freedome also appeareth plainly enough in the outwarde actions For after she hath liked of a thing she may put it in execution or stay execution yea after she hath begunne she may giue it cleane ouer or doe not so much or so speedily as shee might And although it falleth out oftentimes that men are hindered from executing their Will yea are forced and compelled to doe the cleane contrary yet their Will if we consider the matter well is neither hindred forced or constrained For that keepeth it not from willing still that which it pleaseth but the violence offered outwardly stayeth the effectes and execution thereof Hereof it is that wee commonly say that a mans Will is taken for his deede although it bee not put in execution Nowe to conclude our speech wee knowe that the Will hath hinderances to let her from choosing those good things which shee ought to followe and refusing those euils shee ought to eschewe and auoyde For Reason beeing appoynted as Mistresse to guide and direct Will by her iudgement the selfesame thinges that mooue Reason and Iudgement doe mooue Will also as if the one touched the other or as if there were a certayne knitting and ioyning of them together not vnlike to the linkes of a chayne of which if yee mooue or touch one the like is done to the others that are neere vnto it by reason of the coniunction they haue one with another Wee ought also to knowe that although the Will often choose euill in stead of good yet it ceasseth not therefore euer to desire good naturally which is most fitte and agreeable to the nature therof but it is deceaued in that it hath no skill to discerne between true and false goodes and to distinguish the greater from the lesse And as wee haue hearde that euill spirites may trouble and mooue the fantasie and minde so no doubt they can doe the like towardes the heart and Will to induce them to euill and to driue them to doe greater thinges then weake nature woulde doe of it selfe if it were not holpen by them euen to cause them to committe such crimes as nature abhorreth Therefore wee must without ceassing watch and pray that wee enter not into temptation and if wee bee tempted that wee fayle not neither bee ouercome And this wee may assuredly beleeue wee shall obtayne if through regeneration by the spirite of GOD our minde bee taught and our Will guyded by his light Nowe then hauing spoken enough of Vnderstanding and of Will which are the principall powers of the soule let vs come to the affections thereof and first it shall bee good for vs to consider of the distinction that ought to bee made betwixt all these faculties of the soule and betweene their seates and instruments which they haue in the bodie But wee shall learne these thinges of thee ACHITOB Of the distinction that ought to be betweene the Vnderstanding and knowledge and the Will and affections in the soule and betweene the seates and instruments which they haue in the body of the agreement that is betweene the heart and the braine Chap. 36. ACHITOB. The heauens the earth and all the elementes the stones plants beasts al the other creatures that want reason vnderstanding obey God in their kind but yet they know him not the obedience which they yeld vnto him proceedeth not of any knowledge they haue of his will or of iudgement in them to discerne good from euill but only so farre forth as they are drawne by their natural inclination in those things that concerne their nature But Angels and Men in whome God woulde haue his image to shine in euery part of them and after all sorts were created by him of that nature that hee would be knowne of them and that they should follow his Will not without Vnderstanding and iudgement thereof nor without agreement of their willes with his
hope maketh not ashamed because the loue of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost which is giuen vnto vs as if he should say that they which stay themselues vpon such a hope shal neuer be ashamed nor deceiued For the expectation thereof is neuer frustrated but it hath alwaies a good a happy issue For when we perceiue that we are deceiued of our hope we are ashamed and confounded But this neuer hapneth to true hope which proceedeth of a sound faith in Iesus Christ by means whereof we haue accesse through him vnto this grace wherein wee stand and reioyce vnder the hope of the glory of God as Saint Paul said alitle before Therefore he exhorteth christiaÌ„s to reioice in hope calleth God the God of Hope praying that he would fil the Romans with al ioy peace in belieuing that they may abound in hope through the power of the holy ghost And in the epistle to the Hebrews hope is compared to a sure and stedfast ancre of the soule For this cause God is so often called in the holy Scriptures the hope and fortresse of his people and of his It is written also that they which hope in the Lord do reioyce For hee that hopeth in him shal be healed and preserued Therefore it is not without cause that the spirite of God so often repeateth vnto vs this sentence Blessed are they that put their trust in the Lord for they shal neuer be confounded It is better to hope in him then to put any confidence in Princes But vnfaithful and wicked men can neuer be partakers of such a Good because they haue no such hope For it is written The expectation of the iust is gladnesse but the hope of the wicked shall perish And againe The hope of the hypocrite shall perish his confidence shal be cut off and his truct shall be as the house of a spider He shall leane vpon his house but it shall not stand he shall holde him fast by it yet shall it not endure But to prosecuâ—e our matter nowe that wee haue seene the hope of good men together with their ioy let vs consider what remaineth to the wicked of their vaine and false ioy namely Feare which is the second kinde of sorrowe mentioned by vs. Tell vs then AMANA what Feare is with the nature and effectes thereof Of Feare and of the nature and effects thereof towards the body the minde and soule and how it troubleth them of the true harnesse and armour against Feare Chap. 46. AMANA As wicked men can haue no certaine hope of any good they looke for so they neuer haue any true ioy of any present good because they alwayes forsake the true Good and stay in that which is not Good but in their opinion and fantasie neither doe they at any time refâ—rre the ende of good things vnto God but looke onely vpon the things themselues Therefore it is neuer in their power to reioice in that ioy which they accompt to be their true ioy but only by offending God as we heard before Which is the cause why they seek after nothing more then to hide themselues to depart from him as much as they can possible so that they would neuer heare any speech of him but desire to bury the remembrance of him for euer because they can heare nothing spoken of him but as of their iudge neither think of him but he awakeneth their coÌ„science which they labor with might and maine to rocke asleepe Wherein they take a cleane contrary course to that which they ought to follow to obtaine the true Good For seeing God is the soueraigne Good of all creatures what Good can they finde that is greater wherein they can fully reioyce and satisfie themselues Or what other Good dare they promise to themselues to finde without him and when they haue him for their enemy But they are like to drunken men who cannot vnderstand this Diuinitie vntill they haue slept out their wine and are awaked out of their drunkennesse Then shall they knowe what is true and false Ioy what is good and badde Hope when their ioy shall bee turned into sorrowe their expectation and hope into feare and terrour wherewith the wicked shall be continually haunted as the Spirite of God teacheth vs. Nowe as sorrow is a griefe for some euil which a man presently feeleth shutting vp the heart as vnwilling to receiue it so feare is a sorrow which the heart conceiueth of some looked for euill that may come vnto it Therefore it restraineth the heart also and closeth it vp as being desirous to auoide the euill Wee see then that there is the same difference betwixt sorrowe and feare in respect of euill that is betweene Ioy and Hope in regarde of Good So that we may well say that Feare is not onely a fantasie and imagination of euill approching or a perturbation of the soule proceeding from the opinion it hath of some euill to come but it is also a contraction and closing vp of the heart which commeth from that which euery one iudgeth to be euill for himselfe when hee thinketh it is at hand and will light vpon him Therefore first of all it draweth in and shutteth vp the heart and so weakneth the same Whereupon nature being desirous to relieue and succour it sendeth heate vnto it from the vpper partes and if that bee not sufficient shee draweth away that heate also which is in the neather parts By which doing she sodainely calleth backe the blood and spirites vnto the heart and then followeth a generall palenesse and cold in all the outward partes and chiefly in the face with a shiuering throughout the whole body For seeing the first moouing thereof is in the heart the other alwayes followeth so that when the heart trembleth the whole body doth so likewise Whereupon it followeth that by reason of the great beating and panting of the heart the tongue faltereth and the voice is interrupted Yea it commeth to passe sometimes that present death followeth a great and sodaine feare because al the blood retiring to the heart choaketh it and vtterly extinguisheth naturall heate and the spirites so that death must needes ensue thereof Therefore we cannot doubt but that feare hath greaâ— power ouer all the body and ouer life it selfe For this cause Esaias after he had denounced the iudgement of God against the Babylonians the comming of the Medes and Persians by whome their citie shoulde be taken and themselues slaine saieth thus Therefore shall all handes be weakened and all mens hearts shall melt which is as much to say as that their hearts shall faile them for feare And therefore hee addeth They shal be afraid anguish sorrow shall take them and they shall haue paine as a woman that trauaileth euery one shal be amased at his neighbour their faces shal be like flames of fire But here we
dispensed to the eyes and sounde to the eares in good measure and moderation For if the light bee too great the eyes cannot receiue it insomuch that they will bee hurt and offended in steade of receiuing delight On the other side if it bee too little it will not suffice them and therefore it must bee betweene both And as euery mans sight is sharper and stronger or more dull and weaker so must the light bee dispensed according to that measure The like may bee sayde of soundes in regarde of the eares and of all other thinges in respect of those sences vnto which they agree And if this moderation bee requisite for the outwarde sences it is no lesse necessary in respect of the inward senses and of all the powers of the soule Therefore as God is incomprehensible and infinite so is hee receiued with delight of that part of the soule which commeth neerest vnto his nature and which is most incomprehensible most ample and most infinite in regarde of other partes and that is the Spirite and Vnderstanding On the other side because there is no proportion or agreement in greatnesse and infinitenesse betweene GOD and the Soule shee receiueth and comprehendeth him by such meanes whereby hee may bee applied vnto her and shee made after a sort capable of him For if hee shoulde present himselfe vnto her such as hee is in his high and diuine maiestie especially man beeing in this estate wherein hee is in this mortall life shee coulde not beare so high maiestie as beeing too exceeding great for her So that insteede of receiuing pleasure ioy and delight shee shoulde not onely bee very much frighted but euen wholly ouerwhelmed and swallowed vp as a droppe of water woulde bee consumed beeyng throwen into a great fire as wee may iudge by so many examples as are in the holie Scriptures to this purpose For when God manifested himselfe to the Patriarkes hee neuer appeared vnto them in the greatnesse of his maiestie but tooke vnto him alwayes some shape and vsed such meanes as were agreeable to their nature Therefore also it is verie requisite that GOD shoulde descende and applie himselfe vnto our small capacitie to the ende wee may enioy him and his Goodes and take pleasure and delight in them For this cause hee hath not onely appointed the ministerie of his worde and Sacraments to shewe and communicate himselfe vnto vs by them applying himselfe vnto our nature and capacitie but hath also manifested himself in flesh in the person of his sonne Iesus Christ to become more like vnto vs and to drawe neerer vnto vs in our owne nature to this ende that wee might enioye him and all his benefites the better and receiue more true and entire delight in them And thus much for this poynt of the agreement that ought to bee betweene the thing that delighteth and that which receiueth pleasure Next wee are to note that a man may take pleasure by all those partes whereby hee may knowe as well by the internall as the externall senses and by all the powers of the minde and soule Whereupon it followeth that as euerie one is more or lesse addicted to any of these partes so hee delighteth most in those pleasures which hee may receiue by that part vnto which hee is most giuen Therefore wee see that the baser and more vile sort of people and such as are most rude and ignoraunt are more mooued by corporall and externall thinges which moue the bodily senses then by spirituall and high things that are more meete for the spirite and wherein it taketh greater pleasures But with prudent and wise men and such as are more spirituall it is otherwise So that as euery ones nature is more noble and excellent or more vile and abiect and according to the nature of those things wherein euery one delighteth so is the delight either more noble and excellent or more base and contemptible more pure quiet or more impure and troublesome of longer or of shorter continuance and hath moe or fewer pleasures and those either more or lesse tedious Now among those delights which a man may take by the bodily senses the basest and most abiect of all is that which is receiued by the sense of touching For as it is most earthy of all the external senses so are the pleasures that are taken by it That delight which is taken by the sense of tasting is a litle more honest and lesse contemptible and yet is it brutish enough As for the delight that may bee receiued by the sense of smelling it is very light and nothing so pleasant as the yrkesomnesse that commeth of the contrary is vnpleasant For a good smel bringeth not so great pleasure as an euill smell causeth displeasure besides that this sense of smelling is not so sharpe in man as in beasts And concerning those pleasures which a man may receiue by the eares they haue some more beautie and excellency in them For the more they holde of the nature of the ayre they are so much the lesse earthy and brutish And those which we receiue by the eyes are yet more excellent then all the rest because the eyes are of the nature of the fire which commeth neerest to the celestial nature And thus much for those pleasures which a man may receiue by the corporall senses of which the noblest and best are baser and of lesse excellency then the least of those which we may receiue by the basest parts powers of the soule For as much as the soule is more noble and more worthie then the body so much is the least thing in it greater and more magnificall then that which is most noble and most excellent in the bodie And as there are diuers degrees of pleasures according to the varietie of the externall senses and according to the difference that is betwixt them and the powers of the soule so is it betweene the powers of the soule as some of them are more noble and more diuine then others For those which appertaine to the nourishing and generatiue powers are more corporall earthy and brutish then those that belong to the vitall partes and to the heart And those that are proper to the spirite and minde are purest and best of all among which that delight that is in contemplation is the chiefest as we may iudge by that which we haue alreadie spoken Wherefore if we would consider well of all these degrees of delight and pleasure and could iudge well of them we should not be so deceiued in them as commonly we are preferring the least before the greatest the basest before the noblest those that are most earthy before them that are most heauenly and those that fade soonest before them that continue longest Besides the very enioying of euery one of them ought to suffice to make vs know their nature and the difference betweene the one and the other and how farre one is to be
life that lasteth for euer Therefore it is no straunge thing if manie of the Philosophers affirmed that this kinde of life was the best of all and most excellent and if Aristotle placed the end of all Goods and of beatitude in contemplation Now if these Philosophers that neuer knewe what was the true and chiefe Good did notwithstanding mount vp so high what a shame is it for vs to whom the soueraigne Good is reuealed from heauen if wee staye and as it were rotte in these base brutish and supposed pleasures Therefore we must consider how we come downe by degrees from the highest vnto the lowest steppe by reason of this heauie burthen wherewith our nature corrupted through sinne is sore charged wherevpon she is driuen downewarde to seeke for delights and pleasures and to recreate her selfe in these earthly things But according as she retaineth more or lesse of her first puritie and nobilitie so she keepeth higher or descendeth lower from the contemplation of the highest and most excellent thinges to those that belong to the affections of this life Therefore some take pleasure in the administration either of the common wealth or of their domesticall affaires There are others who not beeing able to soare vp so high delight themselues in the knowledge and remembrance onely of those thinges that were done by other men yea many times in histories and fables Some take pleasure in handy-works and in such artes and occupations as belong to thē There are many that cannot apply their mindes to so good things as those but giue them the bridle to recreate and delight themselues either in vnprofitable sports and pastimes or in vile and abiect idlenes Yea there are others that come lower For they suffer themselues to be ouercome by the allurements of their corporall senses so that they fal into brutish pleasures as if they were become brute beastes and as if their minde and spirit were wholly swallowed vp and plunged in the most bottomlesse gulfe of immoderate and excessiue pleasure And when a man is come downe solowe hee can descend no lower But yet he may seeke after pleasures crosse-wise and turne cleane out of the way from reason and iudgement feeding and delighting his fancie and imagination with false opinions From hence it is that he hath found out nobilitie renowne glory popularitie fauour of Princes and all other vaine things that consist in externall goods Yea if hee could he would gladly be depriued of that spirite and minde which God hath giuen him that he might not retaine and keepe any grauitie or seueritie beseeming his nature but plunge and giue ouer himselfe with full saile to follow all kinde of pleasure voluptuousnesse and delight For his nature is become so nice and tender that he can away with nothing that would molest him so that euery litle burthen waieth very heauy vpon him Againe it is already so pressed with the fardell of corruption that of it selfe it draweth downeward continually and needeth not be driuen that way by any other meanes Therefore a great many that of themselues would not seeme to stoope so lowe fearing to loose any part of their reputation if they should not keepe that grauitie that beseemeth their person finde meanes to doe that by others which they durst not doe of themselues Hereof it commeth that they delight in Mummers fooles tumblers and othes of like trades which are not onely vnprofitable for the life of man but very hurtful also by reason of the corruptions which they bring with them In all which thinges wee may see the vanitie of our corrupt nature and of those pleasures it taketh delight in But there are other notable reasons whereby we know what difference there is betweene the pleasures of the minde and spirite and those of the corporall senses For the spirite needeth no space of time wherein to intermit his pleasures and then to take them in hande againe but onely changeth them from one to another namely from the greater to the lesse or from the lesse to the greater In the meane time I say there is no intermission but it is continually busied onely it changeth from one delight to another For seeing our spirite is in continuall motion it can in no wise cease from doing vnlesse the power from whence the motion thereof proceedeth bee stayed by some impediment of the instruments which it vseth As in deede it falleth out in a drunken man whose spirite and minde is as it were buried by those vapours that trouble it of which the braine is full The like is in an Apoplexie or falling sicknesse For these are violent thinges and such as resist the nature of the spirite But presently after the violence ceasseth which hindereth his power hee falleth to his accustomed action againe for the doing whereof he needeth no externall ayde but onely that all lettes and impedients shoulde bee remoued and taken out of the way Which being remoued the spirite and minde cannot bee idle but necessarily thinketh of somewhat continually about which it is occupied Therefore whosoeuer laboureth to stay it altogether from thinking so that it shoulde not bee busied about something it is all one as if he went about to change the nature of the fire and to keepe it from burning after it hath founde conuenient matter and is alreadie kindled For either it will bee vtterly extinguished if the impediment it hath bee stronger then it or els beeyng of greater force it will make way for it selfe Therefore we had need to bee well aduised alwayes what matter wee minister to our spirite and looke that it bee agreeable to the nature thereof and beseeming the same least it shoulde bee distracted and wander after those thinges that might hurt it And when wee woulde recreate the minde seeing it is in continuall action wee must so change the matters about which it is to bee employed that they bee good and honest howsoeuer they be diuers and sundrie But it is not so with the corporall senses For they must necessarily haue some space of time to rest in euen from their pleasures and to cease for a while from vsing them becaue they are more fresh and pleasant after they haue abstained for a time But the spirite cannot rest In the meane time the pleasures of the bodie and those of the soule and spirite haue one another in chase Therefore they that are addicted to corporall pleasures haue lesse knowledge and feeling of those that are spirituall and contrariwise they that delight in spirituall pleasures abstaine from those that are corporall For these delights are in continuall combat one against another so that they cannot be acquainted together because they are contraries This combat is such another as that which is betweene the flesh and the spirite Moreouer wee see by experience that those delightes which wee receiue of naturall thinges haue more force and are purer and continue longer then artificiall pleasures For let a
And as it is written in Genesis That he created nothing but that which was verie good so there was nothing made but it was very beautifull in his kinde Therefore as there is agreement between the body the soule so bodily beautie is as it were an image of the beautie of the soule and promiseth after a sort some good thing of the inwarde beautie For internall perfection breedeth the external Whereupon the internal is called goodnes and the external beauty which is as it were a floure of goodnes that is the seed It is true that this which we say doeth not alwayes fall out so but that oftentimes a man may see the cleane contrary whereupon wee haue this common prouerbe Proper fellowes at the gallowes and faire women in the stewes For ordinarily the goodliest mē such as are best furnished with the gifts of nature in the disposition of their body are most wicked and vicious more beautiful women are strumpets then foule womē at leastwise they are in greatest danger and haue much more a doe to keepe their chastitie For there is alwaies great strife betweene chastitie and beautie which is so much the more increased as beautie is the greater because it is so violent that oftentimes many desire willingly to die for the beautie of others and some are so tossed and tormented that they become senselesse and out of their wits being ouertaken with looking vpon a beautifull face which hath such prickes that they pearce euen to the liueliest part of their heart and soule Wherevpon it commeth to passe that poore silly louers are so tormented and ful of passions that they stand altogether amazed and are like to them that are rosted by a soft fire yea their soule is so subiected to their concupiscence and desire that she must obey them as if shee were some poore chambermaide and drudge Whereby wee may know what good there is in such beautie and what good commeth with it also what coniunction agreement it may haue with goodnesse and whether a man may not truely say according to our common prouerbe That beauty without goodnes is worth nothing But we are to consider what is the cause hereof For we speake not of that which is now done but of that which should be done if the nature of man had continued sound and of that which yet would most commonly bee put in vre were it not that euill education besides that naturall corruption which is already in euery one did infect euen that little good of naturall inclination which remaineth in man But howsouer it be bodily beautie doeth alwaies promise more good of the soule then deformitie doeth If it fall out otherwise it is because God will shew that all good things come from his onely grace and not from nature and therefore he doeth not alwayes followe one course and one selfesame order without any change Besides he commonly recompenceth in one thing that which is wanting in another so that he supplieth that in the spirite which is wanting in the body or in the body which is wanting in the spirite On the other side because many abuse that beautie of the body which God hath bestowed vpon them as they do all other his giftes hee letteth them fall oftentimes into great vices whereby they shew the deformitie of their soule which bringeth also their bodily beautie into great obloquie and shame For as beautie causeth vertue to appeare more faire when it is ioyned therewith so contrariwise it maketh vice more vgly and loathsome to looke vpon Therefore Socrates had reason to say that it was good for euery one to beholde himselfe in a glasse that they which sawe themselues faire shoulde bee the more afraide to blotte their beautie with vices and that they which were foule shoulde labour to beautifie themselues with vertues Nowe seeing we are entered into the causes why beautie draweth loue following this matter we woulde knowe of thee AMANA what other thinges are to bee considered heerein with the sundrie degrees and kindes of beautie and what is the proper effect of loue Of other causes why Beauty procureth Loue and of diuers degrees and kindes of Beauty howe it is the nature of Loue alwayes to vnite and what other effectes it hath howe Loue descendeth and ascendeth not what power it hath to allure and breed Loue. Chap. 50. AMANA Many amongst the Philosophers haue made three kindes of good or of good things namely that which is pleasant profitable and honest Hereupon forasmuch as Loue is a desire of good or goodly things or at leastwise of things so accompted they haue also made three kinds or fortes of Loue of which the first is towards delightful and pleasant things and such are those things which tickle and delight our senses being properly called the goodes of the body The second kinde of Loue is towardes profitable things as honours riches greatnesse and such other like things called externall goodes or the goodes of fortune The third kinde is towardes honest things as wisedome prudence and other vertues which are the goods of the soule As for the two first kindes of Loue wee may well place them amongst the perturbations of the soule because so many euill affections spring from them that al confusion proceedeth from them yea euery mans life is thereby made miserable But to loue and desire good and honest things is that which truely maketh a man famous For this loue maketh the chiefe part of his soule excellent euen that part whereby he is man and which is farthest remooued from bodily matter and from obscuritie and neerest to diuine brightnesse I meane the spirit and vnderstanding which of all the other partes and powers of man onely is voide of the blot of mortalitie The consideration of the diuers degrees and sundry sortes of beautie doth prepare the way whereby we may come to this laudable and honest loue For by them wee may ascend vp from the lowest to the highest and turne our corporall and earthly loues into spirituall and heauenly They that are most ignorant know that Loue is a desire of beauty and that Beauty draweth Loue. Yea some of the learned Heathens haue taught that it was Loue which mooued God not onely to create the world but also to create it beautifull and of so goodly a forme in euery part of it And the name whereby it is called yeeldeth testimony of the beauty of it For worlde signifieth as much as a goodly and well decked ornament Therefore seeing God hath created and framed it by loue no doubt but loue is dispersed and shedde throughout the whole world and is continually drawen and procured by beauty to the ende it might bee conformable and like to the fountaine from whence it came On the other side all beautie is as it were a beame of that infinite and diuine beautie that is in God and therefore as the diuine forme draweth
the miserie of our like Whereupon it followeth that as euery one is of a more tender heart so he is more mercifull as contrariwise hardnesse of heart extinguisheth mercie and compassion As for this word Compassion it signifieth asmuch as alike compassion that is a like sense and feeling of euil and of griefe as if we our selues suffered that which we see others endure by reason of that coniunction which we ought to haue one with another as members of one and the same body among which there is such agreement that if one suffer all feele it and so all are carefull for it Therefore it is written in the Epistle to the Hebrewes that brotherly loue continueth Bee not saith he forgetfull to lodge strangers Remember them that are in bondes as though ye were bound with them and them that are in affliction as if ye were also afflicted in the bodie Wherefore we may well conclude that this affection of mercie is very necessary for men yea as sweet as milde and as profitable an affection as any can be amongst them which they haue receiued of God for their mutual succour and consolation in the midst of so many miseries as commonly happen in the life of man And this hee commaundeth vs expresly in infinite places of his woorde that the image of his vnspeakeable mercy might shine in vs by our mercy towards others Hitherto we haue spoken of man as of man and of those affections that are most humane in him now others remaine which often make him more brutish then any sauage beast that is For seeing they come of the opinion of euill they prouoke and stirre him vp greatly making him marueilous wilde and vntamed To the end therefore that we may enter into the discourse of this matter we will first see what Offending and Offence is in the heart and soule consider what degrees it hath and what good or euill may be in this affection This we shall learne of thee AMANA Of offence in the heart and soule of the degrees of offence of the good and euil that may be in this affection of contempt that is bred of it and of mockery which followeth contempt Chap. 54. AMANA The Philosophers haue set downe foure causes of al the troubles of the soule from whence all the residue proceed into which they returne and haue their end namely immoderate desire vnbrideled ioy vnmeasurable griefe and extreame feare These as they say proceede through imprudence or ignorance of the minde and pusillanimitie of heart from the opinion of good or euill things present or to come which we imagine to be in the things of this worlde being vnperfect and of small continuance Now forasmuch as these foure causes are the springs of all vices and sinnes into which men plunge themselues in this life they are called perturbations of the soule which if they be not mastred by reason doe so carie the soule hither and thither that in the ende they constraine the reasonable power thereof to giue ouer all authoritie and libertie and to obey the lustes of the sensuall and vnreasonable Will Nowe desire and ioy they commonly accompanie the perishing goodes of the bodie For they are of that nature that they inflame the soule with an insatiable lust inso much that the obtaining of one thing is the beginning of a new and vehement desire of hauing another And the enioying of them besotteth the spirite with a sugred poison of fained delight and pleasure vnder the yoke of which it easily suffreth it selfe to be ouercome to be bound and to be gouerned As for griefe feare although they also be not farre remooued from such false and vading goods of the body yet for the most part they respect those aduersities and miseries which in our opinion wee iudge to be in the want and priuation of those goods For they fill the soule with trouble and disquietnesse as she that thinketh her estate to be most miserable if she obtaine not the ende of her carnall and inordinate affections So that if the body endure neuer so little shee casteth foorth strange cries and complaintes And although the bodie suffer nothing at all yet is shee alwayes in extreme feare least some euill shoulde befall it But these very passions may bee diuided into good and badde For honest desire modestioy and moderate griefe and feare are naturally in vs for the preseruation of our being Yea all these affections are endued with the qualities of commendable vertues if they respect the soueraigne Good of man as we may learne by our former speeches touching this matter which were chiefly of good affections and of such as are most natural in man Therefore following our matter subiect we must from hencefoorth consider of a great number of other affections of the heart which for the most part make men more beastlike then the very beasts themselues that are voyde of all vnderstanding and reason yea then the wildest beastes that are All which affections take their beginning from the opinion of euill as these that are good proceed from the opinion of Good For the feare of euil doth wonderfully prouoke a man when he is touched therwith he waxeth very sauage and wilde Now the first sting and byting of euill is offence by reason that the heart is offended euen as when one rusheth against a thing hurteth himself Therfore by offence we vnderstand properly a certaine griefe of the soule of the heart which commeth through some touch of euill that agreeth not to our nature This first sence of griefe is like to the first pricking of ones bodie and is contrarie to the first pleasure which we receiue of some Good that is offered vnto vs and is agreeable to our nature So that as this pleasure when it is confirmed is turned into loue so out of this first feeling of griefe which I call offence the other affections that are ioyned with griefe doe budde foorth afterwarde namely anger hatred enuie indignation reuenge crueltie and such like The euill that may offend vs is whatsoeuer we iudge to be contrary to vs and to our nature as well in regard of the body as of the soule For as the bodie is offended by those euils which trouble the harmonie and temperature thereof and which bring griefe and hurt vnto it so is it with the soule and with all the powers senses and affections thereof For she may be offended in her imagination and fantasie in her reason in her will and in her affections Nowe because euery one followeth his affections or his natural inclination and not the right rule and iudgement of reason it is an easie matter to offend and displease many and that in many things but not so easie to please them For there is but one onely reason or at leastwise it hath no great diuersitie in it But the naturall dispositions of men are infinite and wonderful
any in him that is true and sounde but onely that which is counterfeite and fayned towardes them that submit themselues vnto him through flatterie But that which is most dangerous in pride is when it is bredde of humilitie of modestie and of vertue For there are manie who considering their owne modestie and other vertues and condemning pride and other vices are delighted therewith after an insolent manner and are puffed vp with pride thereby Whereby wee see what windings and slipperie turnings are in that olde serpent the Father of pride into howe manie fashions hee changeth himselfe and in what manner hee hath infected and poysoned our heart For hee hath brought it to this passe that as venimous beastes turne all they eate howe good soeuer it bee into venime so the proude man turneth all his thoughtes wordes and deedes into pride For hee draweth and referreth euery thing to his owne honour and glorie and therefore Saint Chrysostome verie aptly compareth Vaine-glorie to a Mothe For as the mothe marreth and consumeth that cloth in which it is bredde so vaineglorie sometime springeth of vertue and afterwarde corrupteth it For there is no vertue so excellent which is not turned into vice and made abominable before GOD so soone as it is mingled therewith Seeing then pride is such an horrible monster as that which breedeth and bringeth foorth so manie other monsters wee ought to seeke diligently after all remedies for it that may possibly bee had whereby it may bee tamed and kept vnder and so our soules cured of such a dangerous disease and plague Nowe forasmuch as it proceedeth of ignoraunce and of inconsideratenesse and through the want of the due knowledge of God and of our selues wee must redresse this euill by the vertues contrarie to these vices namely by the true knowledge of God of his worde and of our selues Which wee shall obtaine if hee deale so gratiously with vs as to fill vs with his holie spirite and to giue vs an humble heart that renouncing all pride and all arrogancie wee may learne to walke in his feare and in all obedience to his holie will so that wee wholly consecrate our selues vnto him both in bodie soule and spirite in will heart and all our affections Nowe hauing spoken sufficiently of that matter into which wee fell whilest wee handeled the second bellie which God hath placed in man for the lodging of the vital partes and namely of the heart which is the seate of the affections it remaineth that we consider of the third beilie which is the seate of the naturall powers and vertues of the soule of which thou shalt beginne nowe to discourse ACHITOB. Of the naturall powers of the soule and what sundrie vertues they haue in the nourishment of the bodie of their order and offices of their agreement and necessarie vse where the Vegetatiue soule is placed in the bodie and what Vertue it hath to augment the same Chap. 60. ACHIT The dispositiō placing of the principal parts of our body of that noblest mēbers therof is a goodly schole wherin we may learne how much more carefull wee ought to be of heauen then of the earth and of the spirite then of the bodie We haue already heard how the internall partes of man were deuided into three bellies and lodgings of which the two former namely the braine and the heart together with the vertues offices and works of the soule in them haue beene declared vnto vs. It remaineth that we consider of the last lodging of the bodie which properly beareth the name of belly which is the seate of these naturall powers and vertues of the soule which we call Vegetatiue and nourishing and is diuided into three kinds namely into the vertue of nourishing of augmenting or growing and of engendring Nowe when we see this order and disposition in our nature we ought seriously to thinke that seeing God hath placed the heart betweene the head and the belly the Vitall vertue of the soule betweene the Animal and Nutritiue and the will betweene the vnderstanding and the most sensuall part in vs therefore the heart affections and will ought to looke alwayes on high and not downward to the ende they should ioyne to the most noble celestiall and diuine part and not to that which is most base sensual and earthly Whereunto that also ought to induce and leade vs which we learned before of the agreement between the highest and middlemost of these principal and more noble parts of the body vnto which this last is inferiour in all kinde of excellencie beautie and dignitie This belly of which wee are nowe to discourse containeth all the members and instruments that serue for nourishment and generation whereupon it is termed the Kitchin and Nurserie of the body and the seminary and welspring of mankinde But before we enter into a particular consideration of these members and instrumentes wee are to looke into the naturall powers of the Vegetatiue soule that is in them And first we will note that which we spake of elsewhere of the office of heate and moysture in the nature of the bodie that as moysture keepeth heate within it so heate drinketh and soaketh vp moysture as much as it may digesting and dispelling it by the vertue and action of it owne nature Now whilest this moysture is thus digested by the heate there is a separation made of that which is profitable in the bodie from that which is superfluous and consequently hurtfull to the bodie That which is profitable for it is the iuyce and humour that agreeth with it in regarde of the similitude and likenesse that is betweene them Whereupon it followeth that all moysture that is greatly diuerse or contrary to the body is hurtfull for it as also all drye matter which likewise hurteth the health and life thereof So that this vertue of the soule which we call naturall or otherwise Vegetatiue and which comprehendeth vnder it the vertue of nourishing of augmenting and of engendring euery of which hauing sixe others tending all to one ende as we heard alreadie this vertue I say causeth that which is profitable for the nourishment of the bodie first to bee distributed vnto the members and then to bee turned into the bodily substance of the liuing creature because that vertue and power of the soule doeth imbrace and receiue it acknowledging it alreadie to bee a part of the bodie Therefore the vertue of drawing nourishment that is in the soule hath for an helper the vertue of retaining and keeping vntill there bee a conuenient change thereof made by the facultie and power of digesting and as it were dressing of it For otherwise the attractiue and retentiue power were to small purpose Now when the meate is digested so much of it as is pure must bee separated from that which is impure by the vertue of purging and that which is impure must bee deliuered ouer to the
branches of the veines of their names and vses and of the similitude betweene them and the arteries Chap. 63. ARAM. When we consider how the prouidence of God reacheth so far vnto those things that are profitable necessary in our bodies that it forgetteth not neither omitteth the least thing that is in them we should be very blinde of vnderstanding if we doubted that our God prouided not aswell for all things that are profitable and necessary for our soules for the spirituall foode and growth of them and for their perfect purging and saluation For albeit there is no superfluity or excrement in that spiritual food wherewith the soule is nourished yet is it requisit and needful that the soule be purged from those excrements and filthines of sin wherwith the deuil hath infected filled it And so indeed is it purged in Iesus Christ who hath washed clensed vs from our sins by his blood doth daily purge vs by his holy spirit and by those means which he hath ordained in his church Therefore I am out of doubt that God meant to put men in minde of these things by the order necessitie which he hath appointed in the nature of their bodies both in regard of their food and of their nourishment and that we shal alwaies find good and holy instructions for the soule by considering the nature and office of euery part of the body Let vs then consider of other instruments of the naturall powers of the soule then hitherto we haue spoken of After the entrals guts the Mesentery foloweth which is placed in the midst of them whereupon it is so called of the Graecians as if you would say dwelling in the midst of the guts And because it is carried and lift vp into the middle of all these vessels it is also called by some Mesareon which name signifieth the selfe same thing in Greeke Others take Mesareon to be the highest part of the Mesentery which is also called Calicreas by the Graecians because the flesh of it is very pleasant to eate according as the name giueth vs to vnderstand So that it is no entrall or gut but a coat and folded couering in the midst of them or rather a thicke white flesh of a sinowy and kernelly substance that beareth fat distinguishing the entralles and knitting them vnto the backe But it was chiefely created to beare vp and sustaine the Meseraicall veines and arteries with the sinewes that are in that member which because they are in danger of breaking through the vehement motions of the body such other accidents therefore the prouidence of God would not haue them without a foundation prop and defence to countergard them For this cause he hath fortified and fastened the branches and diuisions of the veins by such a member and instrument which serueth in steade of a band and stay both to the great and little ones Besides his action and vse also is to fasten and keepe the entralles euery one in his place and to conuey vnto the liuer by the meseraicall veines that are called the handes thereof that liquor which the Graecians call Chylus of which wee haue already spoken For as the bodies of trees haue their rootes which spread abroad in the earth to drawe nourishment from thence euen so there are branches dispersed throughout the Mesentery and deriued from the liuer veine which are ioyned to the bowelles as it were small rootes to drawe foode being much like to haires or cob-webs These braunches or small rootes are the Meseraicall veines so called because they are placed in the vpper part of that member and instrument that is called Mesareon whereof I spake euen nowe Their office and nature is to draw and sucke out nourishment from the guts and to carry it to the liuer from whence they haue all their beginning as appeareth by Anatomie howsoeuer there are that thinke that some of them come not from thence The flesh of the Mesentery is kernelly and fatty not only seruing in steade of a munition and defence as hath beene said but also to moisten the entralles and guts and to preserue the heate both of the bowelles and veines So likewise the arteries are ioyned to the veines to giue them heate and to the guts also to concoct the liquor and nourishment Besides the nerues and sinewes there serue to giue sense to the guts There is moreouer a kernelly flesh which the Physicions call Pancreas because it doeth wholly resemble flesh as the Greeke name importeth It is placed in the hollow part of the liuer that it might be as it were a cushion vnto it and a preseruer of the diuided partes thereof by filling the void places that are betwene the stomach the liuer and the spleene to the ende it may vphold and protect the meseraicall veines and keepe euery thing from breaking either by falles or by violent motions Nowe touching the liuer it is a very noble member For it is the principallest member of all the naturall partes and the chiefest instrument belonging to the vegetatiue and nourishing power of the soule It is the first of the nobler partes that is made perfect when the childe is framed in the mothers womb it is the author shop and forge of the blood the originall and fountaine of the veines Therefore the substance of it is a soft and red flesh like to blood newly pressed out clodded Neuertheles in it own nature it is perfect flesh hauing sundry different veins dispersed throughout as it were threeds arteries also ioyned vnto thē for their refreshing Now after the stomach hath finished the first concoction of meat and turned it into liquor as it hath bin declared vnto vs the second is made in the liuer after it hath receiued this liquor so prepared by the stomach and guts as we said and turned it into blood This concoction is perfected in the small veines that are dispersed throughout the body of the liuer And because God hath inioyned this office to this member he hath compounded it of such a flesh matter as hath giuen vnto it this proper and peculiar vertue to conuert into blood that foode and nourishment that is brought vnto it to the end it may bee the instrument of the generation of that thing wherewith the body is nourished Hauing thus transformed the liquor receiued it maketh it redde like vnto it selfe as contrariwise blood is made white in the breasts of a woman both by reason of their nature and substance as also for other causes touched by vs. The temperature of the liuer is hot and moist such as becommeth the blood and concoction it hath to performe which is like to boiled meat Now forasmuch as this instrument and member is the chiefest in the kitchin of mans body GOD hath giuen vnto it such a nature and property as if there were in it a harth a table a knife and a wagoner
of them say that it were best for a man not to bee borne at all or else to die so soone as hee is borne Others set themselues against nature and speake euill of her saying that shee is rather a badde stepmother then a good mother to mankinde And because they knowe not what GOD is they set vpon Nature through whose sides they wound him speaking euill of him and blaspheming him vnder this name of Nature Thus you see what comfort and consolation they finde who looke for no other life after this And as for those other that haue but some bare motion and slender opinion of the immortalitie of soules what greater ioy or contentation can they haue Nay there are three things that doe greatly diminish their comfort The first is their doubting wherewith they are continually possessed which hindereth them from hauing any assurance of the same The second is the seperation of the soule from the body whereby they conceiue and imagine that the bodie doeth so turne into corruption as that it wholly perisheth without anie hope of the resurrection thereof or of conioyning it againe with the soule from which it was disioyned The third is the ignorance of the estate of soules after this life For albeit they were verie certainely perswaded that our soules are immortall yet they haue no assuraunce of their estate neither knowe they whether they liue in ioy and rest or in paine and torment but onely by opinion as they esteeme by euery ones merites which they measure according to that knowledge they haue and that iudgement which they are able to affoorde of their vertues and vices Therefore whatsoeuer they thinke or hope seeing they are not very sure and certaine neither indeede can bee if they haue no better assuraunce then by their naturall light and reason they must needes bee subiect continually to sorrowe and griefe which way soeuer they turne themselues For if they are of opinion that there are punishments for such as haue ledde an euill life in this worlde who can assure them that they shall bee exempted and freed thereof For howsoeuer they labour to enforce as it were their conscience and striue neuer so much to rocke it on sleepe and flatter themselues in their sinnes yet can it not affoorde them anie such peace and quietnesse as will altogether satisfie and content them And as for perswading themselues that there is no punishement for the wicked they are neuer able to doe it For the same naturall light and reason whereby they iudge soules to bee immortall doth likewise constraine them to acknowledge that there is a God a iust Iudge who suffereth not euill vnpunished as also he will not passe by that which is good without accepting of it as it is So that seeing they cannot assuredly know that God will approue and receiue their workes as good or refuse them as euill they must of necessitie bee alwayes in feare whatsoeuer they beleeue Therefore as the one sort endeuour with all their power to bee perswaded of this that mens soules are mortal as well as their bodies and that after death there remaineth no more of the one then of the other thereby to deliuer thēselues of this feare and of the torment that accompanieth feare so the other sort that haue a better opinion of the immortalitie of soules labour to perswade themselues that there is no Hell nor punishment for soules after this life but that they are onely poeticall fictions and fables But although Poets vsed fictions in that which they wrote of Hell and of those infernall furies and torments yet they deriued the grounde and foundation of them from that testimonie which God hath planted in the nature of vs all So that none ought to flatter and seduce themselues by meanes of such opinions as ouerturne all nature for that were to take away all difference betweene good and euill vertue and vice things honest and dishonest For if there bee no reward either for the one or the other or if it be all one it followeth either that there is no difference betwixt all these things or that there is no iustice in God But both these are impossible whereupon it must needes be concluded that not onely there is another life after this but also that in the second life there is ioy rest and felicity for the one and greefe paine and dolour for the other Wherfore we must not thinke that because the Kitchin and Nurserie of this mortall bodie is by the appointment and prouidence of God ioined with the soule that is immortall and diuine therefore there is no other life for man besides this bodily life or that the soule which giueth life and mainteineth it in the body is no more immortall then the body that receiueth the same from it and that the body in like maner ought not to expect another life after this But I hope that these things shall hereafter bee better declared vnto vs in those discourses which wee are especially to make touching the immortalitie of the soule Now to end this speech forasmuch as in this and in our former discourses we haue oftentimes made mention of Nature which for the most part men ioyne as companion with God when they speake of the counsels of his prouidence ouer all things created according to that common prouerbe that God and Nature haue made nothing in vaine I say in this respect it shall be good for vs to know what Nature is to speake properly and into what detestable errour they fall who attribute that to it which appertaineth to God alone And first they that vse this prouerbe might speake more directly and Christianly if they attributed the whole to God only not ioyning vnto him nature for a companion as though he had neede of her helpe and coulde not well finish all his woorkes alone and as though hee had not beene able to haue done all that hee hath done without her It may bee they will say that they doe giue this honour vnto God and that they speake not of Nature as Galen and many other Heathen Physicions and Philosophers or rather Epicures and Atheists doe who place Nature in God his stead but that they speake of her as of a means created of God by which he performeth all these things But there is no such necessitie to ioyne Nature with God as his fellow worker For when hee created the first man what Nature had he with him that did helpe him to make this worke Besides the verie name of Nature doeth it not declare that it is a thing borne created and so consequently hath her creation and birth from God as all other creatures haue For if we take Nature for that diuine vertue and power which appeareth in the workes of the creation in their preseruation and order we must of necessitie take it not for a thing that is borne and bred of others but that giueth birth and beeing
it is so there is but one onelie Soule in euery liuing creatures body by which it doeth liue but yet this soule is distinguished according to the vertues and offices thereof Wherein it falleth out with the soule as it doeth with a man that hath many charges and offices or that exerciseth many Artes and occupations which hee practiseth in seueral places at sundry times and by diuers instruments and seruants Yea the very varietie of those instruments which the soule vseth and the repugnance that is betweene the actions thereof doe shewe manifestly that there is but one workemaster from whome the whole proceedeth and which gouerneth and moderateth all as a liuing creature ought to doe For there could not be so great agreement in such diuersitie if there were diuers workemen and so many soules as there are effects and actions in all the partes of man Besides if there were such diuersitie of kindes of all things as there is diuersity of effectes the number of them woulde bee infinite whereupon there woulde great confusion follow in the searching out of nature and of naturall things Therefore seeing there is but one soule in euery body we must learn whether it hath any certaine place and seate in the body or whether the whole body be the lodging for it Now as euery forme of each body is in the whole body so the soule is wholly in the whole body in which the true forme principall essence of man consisteth For if there were any part thereof that had no soule within it that part should haue no life as we see it by experience in a member that is dry or putrified or cut off from the body So that as an Husbandman hath his sundry instruments for the trimming of the ground and by them effecteth diuers works according to the vse of each seueral instrument so fareth it with the soule in the bodie For the husbandman worketh another woorke with his plough then hee doeth with his harrowes and otherwise with his spades and shouels then with the other aboue named instruments so that according to the diuersitie of his tooles he worketh diuers workes And yet all this while there are not so many husbandmen as there are sundry instruments but one alone vseth all these to serue his turne And hee that should demand in which of all his instruments the Husbandman were should he not thinke you mooue an impertinent question For hee may be both without his instruments also with them and when he vseth them he applieth them to himselfe and himselfe vnto them And to aske which of his instruments is the chiefest were not to speake very much to purpose For euery one of them is principall in his vse and for that worke whereunto it it is applied and so is it with the soule and with the instruments thereof For it can be both with them and without them in that maner that hath beene already declared And as the plough is the chiefe instrument which the Husbandman hath to cutte and diuide the grounde into furrowes and the pickaxe to digge in hard places so the eye is the chiefe instrument the soule hath for seeing the eare for hearing the brayne with the thinne cleare and bright spirits therein for all kinde of vnderstanding and knowledge and the heart for the fountaine of life Nowe because the soule hath so many sundry powers offices and actions it is also taken in diuers sences and significations but especially in the holy scriptures as God willing we shal learne hereafter In the meane time that vnion which it hath with the body is marueilous and ought to be diligently considered of vs. Wee are to know then that all things whatsoeuer are ioyned together in nature are alwaies so knit and vnited by some means which meane consisteth either in this that the essence of two extreames doe participate one of another ioyne together or els in the agreement of action and of worke Now as the bond of the first meane is between the elements themselues and also betweene them and that matter whereof bodies are compounded because there is betweene them an agreement and participation of nature euery one in his degree according as they are neerer or further remoued off one from another so we haue the bond of the second meane betweene the body and the soule namely the agreement of action and worke Let vs then consider of the coniunction and agreement that is betweene a workeman and his worke together with those instruments whereby he effecteth his worke For there is an agreement and coniunction betweene the painter and his picture by reason of the pensill wherewith hee woorketh And the like may be said of all other workmen Euen so the form and kinde of all things is as it were the Workemaster in regard of the matter and the qualities and fashioning of the matter are the instruments whereby the Species or kinde of any thing is vnited and knit vnto the matter Now the soule is ioyned to the body as light is vnto the aire For by reason of the coniunction of the aire and light together the aire is made cleare and lightsome and yet the aire and light remaine whole and perfect without any mixture or confusion of the one with the other For they are not mingled together as the elements are in naturall mixtures or as hearbes that are beaten together into powder or drugges of the Apothecary in a medicine that lie mingled and confused one within another But the vnion and bond of two substances ioyned together is a great deale more neere in other kinds and creatures then in the soule wherein it is remooued farther of by reason that the nature of corporall things admitteth of a neerer coniunction and agreement among themselues then there can be naturally betweene corporall and spirituall thinges So that the greater agreement of natures there is the straiter is the bonde and vnion-betweene them Nowe wee may knowe of what nature euerie kinde of thing is by the offices and actions thereof As if the question were touching the nature of that soule which heeretofore we called the Nourishing and Vegetatiue Soule it appeareth by the office and actions thereof that it is hote and that it taketh part as also all the actions thereof of the nature of fire which is the highest and purest element and that which approcheth neerest to the celestiall natures But that kinde of soule which wee called Sensitiue and Cogitatiue such as it is in brute beastes ascendeth yet higher and by agreement is linked neerer to the heauens and to the nature of heauenly bodies And therefore beasts haue not onlie sense but some kinde of knowledge also whereby they doe in some sort marke and perceiue the course of the heauens and heauenly bodies and doe seeme after a sort to vnderstande them For they haue knowledge both of the day and of the night of Winter and of Summer
reason For if the Angels and soules of men were of the proper substance and essence of God they should not bee creatures but Gods themselues equall in substance and essence with him as wee say of the Sonne begotten of the Father and of the holy Ghost proceeding from them both in the matter of the vnitie trinitie of the diuine nature which by this meanes shoulde bee diuided into partes and so nothing at all resemble the fountaine and substance from which they are drawen as I shewed euen nowe And albeit the Philosophers and Heathen Poets did not so well vnderstand this matter as Saint Paul neuerthelesse when they sayde that the soule of man was of the diuine nature and part thereof it is very likely they had regarde to the reasons touched by mee not meaning that it was of the very substance and essence of God I speake of them that were of greatest vnderstanding and that wrote best and namely of them that did best vnderstande the Philosophie of Plato For hee confesseth and testifieth plainly that the Angels themselues both good and bad whome in his language he calleth daeâ—ones as the other Grecians doe are creatures of another essence and substance then God is of and that they are not immortall of themselues but haue their immortalitie of God their Creator who both giueth it and preserueth them in it and could take it from them if hee would and dissolue them as well as hee hath made them Nowe if he supposed God to speake so to his Angels and to declare these things vnto them a man may easily iudge that hee placeth not the soules of men aboue the Angels whome hee taketh to be of a more excellent nature as he sheweth euidently by that which he hath written of them both In which writing wee may see manie things touching these matters which come neerer to the doctrine of the holy Scriptures and of true religion then in the writings of many others who yeelded no further then they were able to knowe and conceiue by naturall things without going any further For they doe not conceiue so well either of the nature of God or of that of Angels or of the soules of men as this Philosopher doeth Moreouer we are to know that Plato had other helpes and more light them from his natural reason whereby he attayned to the vnderstanding of that which others were ignorant of who busied themselues onely about nature and naturall things For hee conuersed with the Egyptians as Pythagoras did before him of whome they learned manie points touching diuine things which they should neuer haue learned of the Grecians nor out of their Philosophie For the Egyptians had great acquaintance and familiaritie with the people of Israel that dwelt in their land and with many of the ancient Patriarkes of whom they had learned manie things of the diuinitie and of the nature of soules But all they that haue beene destitute of the chiefe light of the spirite of God haue still mingled many dreames a middest their writings as we haue alreadie heard and shall heare more in the sequele of our speech Yet first we will note howe not onely manie amongst the Heathen Philosophers but also amongst the Christians haue imagined that the soules of men are the substance of God I omit to speake of the Heretikes as the Priscilianists and some others that haue been of this opinion but I wonder at Lactantius a man of a right Christian heart who seemeth to haue beene of this opinion And there haue beene some that reasoned after this manner that if it bee to bee vnderstood that of the breath issuing foorth out of the mouth of God the soule was created and inspired into the body of man then it followeth thereupon that it is of his verie substance and equall to that wisedome which sayeth I am come out of the mouth of the most High But that wisedome saieth not that shee was breathed out of the mouth of God but that shee came out of it Now as when we breathe we make a blast not of our nature whereby we are men but of this ayre rounde about vs which wee drawe in and out by breathing so the Almightie God made a blast not of his nature nor of this creature of the aire rounde about vs but euen of nothing Which was saide very fittely to haue beene inspired or breathed when it was created in the bodie of man by God who being himselfe incorporeall and not of a bodily substance made the soule also incorporeall but yet he beeing vnchangeable made the soule mutable because himselfe beeing vncreated made that a creature But let vs goe on with the Philosophie of the Platonists Wee haue heard their opinion touching the birth of soules their entrie into the bodie and the pollution which they receiue thereby namely that the soules of men are created long before their bodies but are afterwarde sent into them when they are begotten and borne in the worlde at which time they are defiled as hath beene declared But further according to the opinion of Pythagoras who is sayde to bee the first Authour thereof they imagined that after a soule was once entred into a bodie it neuer ceased to goe from body to body entring into one bodie out of another So that when it went out of one bodie it entred into another whether it were of a man or of a beast or of a plant For they put no difference betweene the bodies of any liuing creatures whatsoeuer but spake as if euerie soule were fitte for euerie bodie so that according as euerie soule guided and gouerned it selfe in that bodie in which it had liued before it was receaued into another bodie beeing such a one as it had deserued eyther by her vices or by her vertues Therefore those that had taken the way of vertue entered into humane bodies woorthie their vertue into such as had beene called to honourable offices and estates and as vertue had preuayled most with euerie one so were they more or lesse honoured in their bodies And if so bee they had ledde a brutish rather then a humane and reasonable life they passed into the bodies of plantes or of beastes whose nature resembled the life which they had ledde in their former bodies This Transmigration of Soules they called Regeneration because it was vnto them as it were a generation and newe birth in respect of their life and conuersation which before they ledde in the worlde Moreouer they accounted this regeneration to be a kinde of purgation and satisfaction because that by this meanes euery soule was punished or rewarded honoured or dishonoured according to her worthinesse or vnworthinesse and that so long vntill shee were reduced to her first and right estate There haue beene Heretikes of olde who following the opinion of the Platonists affirmed that no soule coulde bee fully purged and bee at rest and cease from passing out of one
bodie into another vntill such time as it hath done and finished whatsoeuer can bee done in the worlde whether good or euill accounting both euill deedes and good deeds vices as well as vertues to bee a kinde of penance and purgation of soules Besides these Heretikes affirmed as the Libertines their successours doe the like in our dayes that there was no sinne but onely in the opinion and fancie of men and that it is but a conceipt in their minde that breedeth this opinion Nowe when I thinke vpon this manner of regeneration and passage of the soule from one bodie to another I muse howe it is possible that euer any men especially those that are taken for such great Philosophers should fall into such foppery and aboue all how Plato shoulde bee of that opinion who is by them surnamed The diuine For first of all we haue alreadie learned by our discourses of the nature both of body and soule that the soule cannot dwell nor exercise her offices in any other then in the bodie of a man seeing that is the true forme and perfection of man and of that kinde without which hee cannot bee man Wee may say the same of the soule of beastes and of plants For if euery creature had not his proper forme and some thing in which the perfection of it consisteth without which it cannot bee that which it is and by which it differeth in kinde from other creatures there woulde bee a woonderfull confusion throughout all nature yea the whole order thereof woulde bee ouerturned For all kindes of nature shoulde bee confounded together neither shoulde there be anie one kinde certaine and distinct which thing is contrary to all naturall reason and to all order appointed by God Therefore it is a very hard matter to beleeue that euer any man of a sounde minde and good iudgement would admitte of such a fantasticall opinion But wee may learne of thee ASER in proceeding with the matter of our discourse what thou hast learned of skilfull men concerning this that Plato hath written of transmigration of soules The chiefe causes as learned men thinke that mooued Pythagoras and Plato to broache the transmigration of soules and transformation of bodies the ancient opinion of the Iewes touching the same thing Chap. 85. ASER. The worlde was neuer without certaine wittie men that boasted they coulde answere vpon a sodaine to any thing that shoulde be demaunded of them And there haue beene alwayes some others that in euery controuersie and disputation mainteyned one while this part and by and by the contrary which hath giuen occasion as I thinke to certaine of the auncient Philosophers to beleeue that a man can know nothing perfectly and that no man ought certainely to determine any thing otherwise then vpon his bare and simple opinion But in my minde this consideration will finde but fewe defenders nowe adayes except it bee amongst the ignoraunt who leauing all search of things liue onely at all aduenture or else amongest them that beleeue euery thing that is tolde them and are ledde with euerie sentence which they heare of others without any further inquirie made of the reason thereof Nowe as we would bee loath to perish with the ignoraunt so wee must beware that wee commit not our selues and our beleefe so easily to the daunger of other mens errours And in deede oftentimes wee iudge not aright of their meaning namely when the question is concerning the sense of their writing As I purpose to let you see my companions in that which hath beene alreadie spoken of Plato I haue learned of manie skilfull men that Pythagoras and Plato neuer beleeued that transmigration of soules into manie bodies which we reade in their writings but that by these fayned kindes of speech their meaning was rather to withdrawe men from beastly affections vnwoorthie their nature and thereby to paint out and to expresse the diuersitie of those affections and to set them as it were before their eyes thereby to declare vnto them howe by reason of their vnruly affections they resemble all other creatures and chiefely brute beastes Wherefore wee may with good reason call man a little worlde if there were no other cause but this albeeit in this respect it standeth not with his honour and credite For there is no kinde of beast whatsoeuer nor yet of any other creature vnto which hee doeth not in some sort transforme himselfe by his affections and by his maners and vices For when he pleaseth he transformeth himselfe one while into a sheepe then into a woolfe againe into a foxe or into a hogge or into a dogge or into a beare or into a Lion or into some other such like beast Moreouer sometimes hee transfigureth himselfe not onely into one kinde of beast but into many together and yet those very differing and contrarie the one from the other And as he can at his pleasure transforme himselfe into an Angell so doeth hee likewise turne himselfe into a Diuell It is not then altogether voyde of reason that Plato sayeth that the nature of man is as it were a monstrous nature yea hee compareth it to a Monster whose vppermost part resembleth a Virgine whose breast which is the middest is like to a Lyon and the lowest part to a barking and bawling dogge For hee compareth the highest part to a Virgin because hee placeth reason in the head as in the proper seate thereof and of the animal powers of the Soule for their nature and office sake Next hee saieth that the breast resembleth a Lion because he taketh the heart to bee the seate of the Vitall power of the Soule and also of the affections that often may well bee likened to a Lion and to furious beastes Lastly hee compareth the lower partes to dogges because that part is appoynted to be the seate of the naturall and nourishing power of the soule and of the generatiue vertue as that which is very brutish and giuen to all carnall pleasures and chiefely to fornication If then a man cannot moderate his affections and concupiscences hee maketh himselfe like to so many beastes as hee hath affections holding of their nature This also is the cause why the spirite of God in the holy Scriptures so often compareth men to sundry sortes of beasts to teach vs that they are as it were transformed into them and into hideous and horrible monsters to the ende they might bee the more ashamed of themselues and that knowing howe they turne themselues into beastes and into Diuels by their vices they should learne also howe contrariwise through vertue they become men of beastes and angels of Diuels Therefore it is very like that Pythagoras and Plato had respect to this which hath beene saide in those transformations and transmigrations of soules of which they spake I thinke also that the Poets following the same inuention haue for the like reason fayned the transformations of men into diuers beastes and into other
enter into the combat with vs. It belongeth therfore to thee ACHITOB to beginne the skirmish How men can haue no certaine resolution of th'immortalitie of the soule but by the Word of God of the peruersenesse of Epicures and Atheists in this matter Of the chiefe causes that hinder men from beleeuing the immortalitie of the soule and of their blockishnes and euill iudgement therein How wee must seeke for the Image of God after which man was created in his soule Chap. 88. ACHITOB. We are now fallen into a time which discouereth vnto vs not onely false religions but euen an Atheisme that is farre worse For they that are altogether without Religion are farther distâ—â—t from true pietie then they that follow a false religion and yet at this day there are as many or moe that declare themselues to be Atheists and Epicures as there bee of such as are taken for good Christians And if in outward shew they pretend some exercise of Religion it is but to couer themselues with the vaile thereof to the ende they might not bee esteemed and accompted for such as they are in trueth But in their heart and with their companions they doe but make a mocke of the holy Scriptures and of al those testimonies that we haue in them of another life besides this of Heauen of hell of the blessed immortalitie and eternall death of the soule Now it is an easie matter to conuince such felowes of error and lies But this is a thing worthy to be bewayled in all the affaires opinions and counsailes of men that when any question ariseth of the trueth and of that which is Good no proofes or testimonies how rich or of howe great authoritie soeuer they bee seeme sufficient to vs and worthy to bee beleeued And yet if the question be of any euil falsehood and lyes no testimony how slender and bad soeuer it be but satisfieth vs very well For by reason that we are euil and ignorant ful of blindnesse and darkenesse by nature we are alwayes the readier to follow that which is like our selues namely wickednes and falsehood lies and error as we see it by experience in Atheists and Epicures and in all infidels and scorners of God and of his Word For there are many skilfull in Artes and humane learning and in naturall Philosophie who reprehend and condemne Epicurus Lucretius Pliny and other such like Philosophers Epicures and Atheists in that which they haue taught and written of naturall things belonging to this life and call them ignorant men and voyd of experience But in that which they haue spoken against the prouidence of God the immortalitie of soules and all Religion abolishing them wholie by their false doctrines and by Philosophie they imbrace and praise them for the skilfullest and most excellent Philosophers that euer were as hauing deliuered men from the greatest torments that could seaze vpon them and brought vnto them the greatest good that could befall them by taking from them all feare of God of hell and of all punishment after this life and all opinion and hope of Paradice and of a better life after this In a worde they extoll them as if they onely had found the beane in the cake as wee vse to say and as if they onely deserued to be the Kings of beanes among their fellowes Forasmuch then as we are entred into this matter of the immortalitie of the soule and seeing at this day so many Atheists herein followe the opinions of these Epicurian Philosophers before named I say not onely more then they doe all the best Philosophers but also then the authoritie of the holy Scriptures and the testimonie of God in them we cannot gather too many arguments whereby at leastwise to cause them to ponder the matter more diligently if they will not be confounded wholy by naturall reasons seeing they make so small reckoning of that celestial and heauenly doctrine It is true that it will bee a very hard and difficult matter to perswade such in this point as giue no more credite to this testimonie of the word of God then they doe to all humaine and naturall reasons that can bee alleadged vnto them For although the arguments of those Philosophers that maintaine the immortalitie of the soule are strong and waightie yet they can neuer wholy and fully assure men of their immortalitie except this testimonie of God take all doubting from them But that argument of all others is most forcible which hee hath giuen vnto vs in the resurrection of Iesus Christ whereby his soule was vnited againe vnto his body and so wrought those heauenly workes which followed his resurrection and ascention into heauen and namely by the gift of the holy Ghost which hee sent vnto his Apostles and by the effects thereof which according to the promise of Iesus Christ appeared so great and manifest throughout the whole world and that in so short a time that no prudence wisdome skill eloquence authoritie power or force of man was able to hinder that vertue or the course of the Gospel But because Epicures and Atheists accompt these things for fables and are of so peruerse and monstrous a nature that they had rather sight against nature it selfe and cleane to the worst opinions most vnworthy the nature of man then to follow the reasons of the best Philosophers grounded vpon a more sure foundation let vs at leastwise put them to some further trouble by vrging them to be fully resolued in that opinion which is contrary to the immortality of the soule For certainly I doubt not but they wil be alwaies without resolution And in deed froÌ„ wheÌ„ce should they fetch this resolution of theirs seeing they haue no certaine ground of their false opinion and seeing there are so many and so forcible reasons to the contrary But wee must note that the principall cause that keepeth men from beleeuing the immortalitie of the soule is partly their ignorance partly their malice and peruersenesse For some there are so blockish that they measure all things according to the knowledge and reach of their bodilie senses so that they set downe with themselues to beleeue nothing but that which they are able to knowe and perceiue by them Others there are who besides this are so wicked and peruerse that they would not onely haue their soules not to bee immortall but wish also that there were no God to the ende they might haue no Iudge For by reason they are so wholly addicted to the worlde and to their carnall pleasures they would haue no other God or other life after this but wish that all life might end with their delights and the soule with the body that so they might haue no accompt to make to any Iudge Therefore they are of that number whereof mention is made in the Booke of Wisedome who make these discourses saying Our life is short and tedious and in the death of a man there is no
any right and interest therein to any other besides him onely who is soueraigne almightie and the onely father of spirites For if the question be of the body and of all the senses thereof many may claime an interest therein vnder God namely Fathers mothers the children themselues nature the kinred the countrey friends kings Princes Lords But the soule belongeth to none but to God alone which he willeth commandeth should be reserued to him only for our happines because he only is the author and creator thereof If it be so then that our soule is not begotten or produced by this nature which is the handmaide of God and worker vnder him but by God alone it followeth very well that nothing in nature can extinguish it but God onely who is able to do it if he please Now it is not likely or credible that God would make a thing by it selfe and that after a different manner from other things which should haue nothing besides the creation of it then within a while after would destroy it For if it were otherwise why woulde hee obserue another meane in the creation of man then in that of beasts Why would he not rather haue bestowed vpon nature the power of the generation and corruption of mans soule as he hath done that of other liuing creatures Wherefore woulde hee seeme to reserue that thing as proper to himselfe which hee woulde make subiect to the law and common condition of other things Thus much then for those arguments which we may take from the knowledge that God hath giuen to mans soule from his constant worke in the creation of it to proue the nature and immortalitie therof Now we are to consider what arguments we haue to the same purpose in that vertue of desire which is giuen vnto it These things then we may learne of thee Aram. Of the argument for the immortalitie of the soule that may be taken from that naturall desire thereof and of perpetuitie which is in it of another argument to the same purpose of the desire which men haue to continue their name and memory for euer an argument to the same ende taken from the apprehension and terror which men may haue both of the death of the body and also of the soule and spirit Chap. 91. ARAM. These three things are so linked and knit together namely Gods religion his diuine prouidence and the immortalitie of the soule that they neither may nor ought to bee seperated in any wise For if our soules were not immortall no rewarde or punishment for good or bad doings were to be looked for and then God should not seeme to haue any care ouer vs which if he haue not why should wee worship him Our hope should be in vaine and religion vnprofitable But if without the grace and goodnes of God we cannot liue and if he wil be sought vnto of vs by prayer then religion is very necessary and the immortalitie of the soule certaine And euen as a man cannot renounce those excellent giftes which naturally are planted in his spirit and minde and in that reason which God hath bestowed vpon him but hee must renounce himselfe and become like to the bruite beast so fareth it also with him when he renounceth his immortalitie But seeing we are now in handling the powers of the soule to shewe that it dieth not and seeing wee haue spoken of knowledge wee will consider what arguments to the same ende may bee taken from the vertue of desiring that is naturally in it Heretofore we learned that all knowledge both in man and beast is giuen to this ende that they should desire whatsoeuer they know to be good and eschue that which they know to be euil Concerning the knowledge of our sences they conceiue well ynough what it is to be present and so do the sences of beastes of which and of our whole nature we may iudge both by our external and internal sences that are common to vs with them so we may discerne of all such like things But the appetite or desire of beasts goeth no further then the time present For that naturall desire of their owne preseruation which is in them proceedeth not frō any knowledge which they haue of things but from the workemanship of nature and from that naturall inclination which they haue thereunto without any motion of reason or vnderstanding Whereupon it followeth that their desire to preserue themselues and their power of procreation proceedeth not from their knowing vertue that is the chiefest in them but from the vegetatiue vertue which is the basest most abiect But man goeth a great deale further For man hath knowledge of perpetuitie and of eternitie as we heard in the former speach and because he knoweth that eternitie is a good and profitable thing for him he doth also desire the same This desire then is naturall and if naturall it followeth also that it is a very meete and conuenient thing for vs and so consequently that it is not giuen to man without cause and to no purpose Wee must then conclude hereupon that it may be accomplished and that of necessitie it must be sometime or other For if it were otherwise to what purpose should this knowledge serue which man hath of so great a benefite and which also mooueth him to desire the same if he could neuer attaine to the fruition thereof And why should God teach the same to men if he would not make them partakers of it Were it not rather to debase then to aduaunce them aboue beastes whereas hee hath created them Lordes and as it were his last and principall peece of worke in his worke of creation Should it not seeme to be not onely a vaine thing but also if I might so speake as though God delighted to torment men to cause them to desire that thing of which they should neuer haue any participation Were it not better for them at leastwise as good that in this respect hee should haue created them like to bruite beastes For so they should liue a great deale more quiet and not torment themselues as they doe after a thing which is altogether vnpossible for them to attaine vnto Nowe wee haue a very euident signe and testimony in vs of the continuall being of this desire of enternitie in that longing which men haue to make their name eternall as much as may be and that their memory might remaine in all ages that shall follow long time after them And which is more this affection is so naturall and imprinted so deepe into mens hearts that euen they who deny the immortality of soules and who thinke that euery man doeth wholy vanish away by corporall death doe couet notwithstanding the immortality of their name and to haue a good report amongest men still after their death Heereof wee haue very good proofe in the last will and Testament of Epicurus himselfe the Captaine and standard-bearer
mans body no man will take them that haue some defect of Nature or that are more deformed and monstrous then others but the soundest goodliest and most perfect bodies We must doe the like when wee search into the nature and essence of the soule For to know it wel we must not make choice of men that are borne brutish so that a man can knowe nothing in them whereby they differ from brute beasts except the outward shape of a man Yea there are some borne with lesse sense and gouernement of themselues then beasts haue The like may bee saide of them who being better borne voluntarily become brutish of themselues For this cause we must chiefly consider what effectes the noblest and most excellent soules bring foorth if wee wil iudge of the nature of al other soules that are of the same kind For albeit the soules of some men are more brutish then of others yet it followeth not but they are al of one and the same nature substance seeing they are all of one kind but the difference betwene them proceedeth from hence that some are more degenerated from their true and proper nature then others are Neuertheles this changeth not their naturall essence but that alwayes continueth one and the same in all as the ill disposition of bodies taketh not from them that nature essence which they haue common with others notwithstanding they differ from them as a sicke and deformed body differeth from a sound and perfect body Nowe there is no doubt but that the noblest and most excellent soules take more pleasure in the internall senses then in the externall and more in reason then in fancie and imagination but aboue all in the contemplation of the Spirit And among those things which the Spirit doth contemplate it delighteth most stayeth longest in them that are spirituall and eternal that are highest of greatest soueraigntie And as the spirit longeth most after these pleasures and retaineth them with greatest affection so it is lesse wearie in searching for them and in the contemplation of them Whereupon it followeth that spirituall and eternall things are more conformable to the Spirite then those that are corporall and temporary and that it hath greater participation and agreement with heauenly things then with earthly For it is maruailously delighted and contented with spirituall things as if they were his owne things which is by similitude proportion and agreement of nature as contrariwise both the internall and externall senses please themselues in corporall things and are not able to comprehend or attaine to the other but onely by coniecture Whereas if the Spirite were as mortall as the senses then the excellentest Spirites and such as approch nearest to the heauenly Spirites and to the nature of God woulde giue themselues to transitorie and corruptible things as much as the senses doe and would search after them as earnestly as it doeth after true and perfect pleasures But wee see by experience that they ascend vp a great deale higher Yea the Spirits euen of most carnall and brutish men in that they neuer meete with any pleasures in transitorie things that doe fully content and satisfie them thereby giue euident testimonie that they are borne to enioy greater pleasures then they can find in all this nature and that they are of another nature surpassing them which mounteth aboue corporal and temporary things For who euer sawe an ambitious man satisfied with honours or a couetous wretch with riches And from whence commeth this that they are so insatiable but onely because the spirite that God hath giuen them is of so noble a race and of such an excellent nature that howe much soeuer it be fallen from his first nature and nobilitie yet it can neuer content it selfe with any thing that is of another nature more base and vile then it owne as that which is too much vnworthie and vnbeseeming the Spirite and very much disagreeing from the essence of it For although being buried in this body as in a sinke of all carnall and brutish affections it can not so well perceiue it owne nature dignitie and nobilitie nor acknowledge the same so well as the noblest and most excellent spirites and such as are farthest from this stincking puddle are able to do neuertheles without thinking therevpon as it were it hath euermore a secret sense of it owne nature and dignitie which keepeth it from being contented with any thing whatsoeuer although it be with neuer so great liking and abundance except it enioy that thing which is most proper and agreeable to his natural disposition which is of a more high noble and excellent nature then any thing proceeding from this mortall and transitorie masse But because it is buried in this darknesse which sinne hath brought vpon the mindes of men the same thing happeneth to the spirite of which wee haue already spoken concerning the immortalitie and eternitie of name and renowne For the right and naturall desire of true and immortall honours and of eternall riches agreeable to the nature of mans soule is degenerated into this false and corrupted appetite of worldly honours and temporall riches Notwithstanding this is manifest heereby that as euery Spirit always searcheth after God as a blind man goeth by groaping as wee haue heard already so it seeketh after riches and honours agreeable to it owne nature But because that darkenesse with which it is ouerwhelmed hindereth it from knowing them well and so consequently from taking that way which it ought to enter in that it may attaine vnto them therefore it changeth them into others that are of a differing and cleane contrary nature So that it can neuer finde out or attaine to that which it seeketh because it is ignorant thereof and so seeketh for it vnder a maske which it taketh for the true face and vnder a shadow which it taketh for the very body whereby it commeth to passe that the maske and shadow remaine with it instead of the very face and body that are lost by means of thē In which the same thing hapneth to the spirite that doth in the matter of religion when it forgeth vnto it self new strange gods and idoles instead of the true God whō it searcheth after because it knoweth not who he is although it seeketh him desireth to find him Wherefore being thus deceiued not knowing it neither the means whereby it is deceiued it still desireth because it perceiueth very well whether it wil or no that it hath not attained to that which it wanteth as indeede it might wel know the same if it were not becom very brutish by reason that it neuer findeth any contentation in any thing that it doeth or can attain vnto By which things we may further learne that men shall find euen in their vices testimonies of the nature essence and immortality of their soules wherby they may be conuicted namely in their ambition couetousnes
iustice that men vse against malefactors be grounded Shall there be more iustice in men who are altogether iniustice themselues then in God who is the fountaine of all iustice yea iustice it selfe All this must be so or else we must confesse that all these things testifie vnto vs that God hath care ouer vs and that there is an other place and time of rewarding euery man according to his workes then in this worlde and heere in this life For this cause Saint Peter calleth the day of the last iudgement in which all shall appeare before God the time of the restauration of all things foretolde of God by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the worlde beganne For considering that al things are so confused and troubled in the worlde that it seemeth there is no difference betwixt the blessings and curses of God pronounced in his lawe and that all things are turned topsie turuy by the malice of men the Lord hath ordained a place and time in which hee will put an end to this disorder and wil restore al things to their right estate and good order Now if the Lord hath appointed that euery one shal be rewarded at that time and place it followeth that then and there also wee must search for the end for which man was created and that his soule shall liue there And if the soule then liueth and in that place it followeth well also that there is the end of it For we take the ende for that which is the last and most perfect in euery thing So that if the question be of the authoritie of men and multitude of witnesses for the confirmation of that which hath beene hitherto saide of the immortalitie of the soules of men wee shall haue for this purpose all those who from the beginning of the worlde amongest all people and nations haue beleeued and thought that there is a God that there is a Diuine nature and prouidence and consequently any religion yea euen those barbarous and sauage nations which were found out of late dayes in those new Ilands commonly called the new found world And if the qualitie of the witnesses is to be considered we shall still haue almost all on our side For if wee looke vnto the most barbarous and strangest nations that are the testimonie of nature which all of them carry in their hearts compelleth them to range themselues on this side And if we come to others that haue bin more ciuil better instructed we shall haue a greater aduantage Or if the question be of the greatest and of such as by the consent and testimonie of all were accompted and were indeede best learned and most vertuous we shal not only finde them to haue beene on our side but also that they haue condemned as ignorant men and vnworthy to liue them that haue beene of a contrary opinion betwixt which men and the other there is great difference For those among the Philosophers that denied the immortalitie of the soule were such as did abolish also all diuine nature and prouidence and all religion and such as placed the soueraigne good of men in pleasure which kinde of men were alwayes woorthily taken to be the vilest and most abiect and as it were the skumme and dregges of the professours of Philosophie For to the ende wee may the better vnderstand this by mine aduise we will consider of the best arguments that are alleadged by Philosophers to prooue the immortalitie of soules that they who will not credite the testimony of the holy Scriptures may feele themselues vrged in their conscience with the sayings of Ethnickes and heathen men who shall rise vp in iudgement against them to aggrauate their condemnation Now it belongeth to thee AMANA to followe this matter Of an other argument for the immortalitie of the soule taken from that naturall desire which men haue of knowledge of Aristoteles opinion touching the nature and immortalitie of the soule of other reasons of Philosophers to prooue that the spirite can not be of a corruptible and mortall nature and how iust men should be more miserable and should haue more occasion to feare and to eschew death then the vniust and wicked if the soule were mortall Chap. 94. AMANA There is in all men a naturall desire of knowledge and wisedome yea a man may perceiue that most barbarous men desire naturally to knowe vnto what Art soeuer they apply their spirite iudging the same to be commendable honest as contrariwise they accompt it vnbeseeming a man and dishonest to be ignorant to erre and to be deceiued From this desire the wisest and most famous among the Philosophers tooke a very good argument to prooue the immortalitie of the soule For seeing this desire is naturall and that in this worlde all the knowledge and wisedome that men can haue is very small and as it were nothing in respect of that which they want they conclude necessarily that there must needes be some other place and time then in this life wherein that which is heere begunne but slenderly is to be accomplished and made perfect The reason from whence they deriue their argument is that common saying that God and Nature the minister of God doe nothing without cause Wherefore seeing this desire of knowledge and wisedome is naturall in man it can not be in vaine neither is it giuen vnto him but that it should attaine to some end and perfection For to what purpose serued the corporal eies of liuing creatures and for what cause should they be giuen them if they could neuer see or were to liue alwaies in darknes So likewise why should the eies of the soule mind be giuen to men thereby to behold celestiall and diuine things which cannot be seene with bodily eies if they could neuer view them but in such darknes as they do heere behold them To what end also should man be naturally pricked forward with a desire to know the truth and to haue skill if he could neuer soundly enioy his desire but should remaine always in ignorance for the greatest part of those things which he desireth to know which are of so great waight that whatsoeuer he is able to vnderstand and know in this world is nothing or very little in regarde of that which yet remaineth behinde for him to knowe For not to speake of those things in which all humane philosophie must acknowledge her ignorance let vs come to that vnderstanding which wee may haue by the holie Scriptures reuealed vnto vs of God For although the knowledge wee haue by them surpasseth without al comparison all humane philosophie and science yet Saint Paul compareth it to a knowledge that is very obscure to a light that is seene through thicke and darke cloudes and to an image represented vnto vs in a glasse in comparison of that most high and perfect knowledge and vnderstanding which is reserued for vs in another life and whereof
we haue here but a very little taste and weake beginning Therefore if wee could neuer goe further would it not be a vaine and ridiculous thing if God had giuen this desire onely to men and neuer woulde vouchsafe to let them haue the effect of it And if it were so that God had not ordained an other time and place for the finishing of that which is heere beginne in this life it seemeth that the complaint made by some of the greatest Philosophers against Nature shoulde not be without some ground of reason For what iust cause is there that hee shoulde giue a longer life to some beasts then to men seeing it skilleth not whether beastes liue long or no because long life cannot make them more learned or more wise then they are at their birth But it is otherwise in man For seeing that knowledge and wisedome are his greatest Good whereby hee approcheth neerer to the nature of God and of which all his other good things chiefely depend it seemeth to stand with reason that God should haue giuen a longer life to men then to beasts that so they might the better attaine to so great a Good so necessarie for them in regarde of which especially they are preferred before beasts and differ from them For wee see by experience that wee must die so soone almost as wee beginne to taste of Sciences and to waxe wise But we haue no cause to make this complaint against the wisedome prudence and goodnesse of God who hath granted vs life long enough wherein we may learne heere as much as wee neede if wee coulde vse it well both to passe away this life and also to attaine to the other in which wee shall abound in knowledge and wisedome and be fully satisfied therewithall And although God had giuen vs a life twice as long in this world as that wee nowe enioy so that we might liue as long as the ancient Patriarkes whose yeeres were so many especially before the flood as Moses testifieth yet all that which wee coulde possibly learne during the time of so long life woulde bee very little in comparison of the knowledge reserued for vs in that Eternitie For the eies of our spirite and minde are not able to endure so great brightnesse of heauenly knowledge and wisedome whilest it is heere shut vp and as it were imprisoned in this body of sinne and in a manner wholly ouerwhelmed with darkenesse but it fareth with the spirite in this respect as it doeth with the Owle in regarde of his eies and of the light of the sunne Therefore euery one hath better cause to assure himselfe that God hath appointed an other time and place for the full accomplishment of this desire of knowledge and wisedome that is so firmely engrauen in the nature of men then to accuse God as if he offered them iniurie to depriue them thereof by the shortenesse of their life Now let vs come to other particular reasons of Philosophers concerning this matter wee haue in handling Although Aristotele so famous amongest them be very obscure and wauering where hee handleth the same so that it is a very hard matter to vnderstand what was his opinion and resolution therein neuerthelesse hee dares not plainely say that the spirit of man is of a bodily nature and corruptible matter or that it is mortall as the body is But in one place hee saieth that if the Spirite be able to vnderstand without the fantasie it may bee separated from it but if it cannot vnderstand without it then it cannot be separated Which is all one as if hee saide that if the spirite could vnderstand without the senses and the vnderstanding and reason without fantasie and imagination then a man might certainely conclude that there is a difference in nature and substaunce betweene these things and that there may a separation bee made so that the destruction of the one doeth not bring with it a corruption of the other Wherefore none may conclude the mortalitie of the spirite that is capable of reason and vnderstanding by the mortalitie either of the externall or internall senses But Aristotele leaueth it doubtfull in this place whether this separation may bee made yea or no and whether a man may conclude thereupon that the spirite is of an other nature and substaunce then the senses are and so consequently immortall But it followeth not that if the soule being in the body vnderstandeth things bodily that is to say by the bodily instruments that are outward and then by the conueiance of the internall senses therefore it can vnderstand nothing but that which they declare and bring vnto it For after the internal senses haue gathered together the images and similitudes of those externall things that are offered vnto them and so retaineth them fast being secluded and separated from all matter the vnderstanding is to receiue from thence the first and simple knowledge of things So that as the qualities of externall things are the matter subiect of the internall senses so their images conceiued by the internall senses and purged from all bodily matter are the matter subiect of the vnderstanding and spirit And the spirite labouring about them draweth out certaine motions and knoweth many things from them which can not mooue the senses and which the senses can not know And yet the spirite is first mooued by these images as the senses are by externall things But wee must declare these things somewhat more familiarly We vnderstand already howe corporall things are the subiect and obiects of the corporall senses and that the bodily senses receiue and know them corporally euen such as they are presented vnto them euery one according to his nature and office But they cannot receiue or perceiue any more then that which is laied open vnto them and manifesteth it selfe outwardly Nowe after the outward senses haue thus receiued them and their matter couered with their qualities the internall senses to which the externall are seruiceable conceiue the images without the matters and qualities of those things whereof they are images For the eye cannot see either the sunne or the light of it nor yet any other creature discouered by the light except it bee present before it But the Fantasie and imagination receiue and conceiue the images of things euen in darkenesse although the things of which they are images appearant to the eyes nor yet are perceiued at that present by any corporall sense We see then already how these images are separated from the matter of which they are images and how the internall senses behold them without their matter bodies as the external senses look vpon them being ioined with their bodies Then hauing receiued them thus purged from their corporall matter the spirite receiueth them yet more pure and goeth further in the knowledge and vnderstanding of them then all the senses doe comprehending other things of which the senses can haue no knowledge or
apprehension And thus the Spirite beholdeth and vnderstandeth corporall things corporally that is by meanes of those instruments which it hath in the body and spirituall things it beholdeth spiritually without those instruments Whereupon it followeth that although it vseth the senses and such kinde of instruments neuerthelesse it is not so tied vnto them that it can not be separated or do nothing without them or not knowe and vnderstand that which they are not able to conceiue or know So that it is no hard matter to beleeue that the soule is of another nature and substance as a man may iudge also by this that it is the fountaine and beginning of motion begunne by it selfe and not by any other but as we haue already declared Likewise by this that it is capable of the knowledge of infinite things of which it retaineth the memorie and that it inquireth into secret things separated from all corporall matter which can not be perceiued by any sense and that it doeth so many and so great things without the helpe of any bodily nature Whereupon the Philosophers conclude that it is of a simple nature not compounded and so consequently that it is immortall For that nature which is adorned and decked with such vertues and with the facultie to vnderstand the like whereof is not in the body and which can vnderstand by it selfe without the vse of the body can not be compounded of an earthly and mortall nature nor haue any part thereof mingled with it selfe but it is stayed and sustained by it selfe it subsisteth of it selfe and is immortall Heereof also it followeth that if the soule of man be of such a nature then it cannot be rent in sunder or diuided or pulled into peeces or haue any thing in it that can be separated from it and so it must needes be that it can not die or perish And therefore the best and most excellent Philosophers holde that sentence as immooueable which Aristotle saieth in an other place namely that the spirite is a thing separate and distinct from the senses and from the body as an immortall thing from a mortall and that it commeth from without and else-where then from the body as we haue already touched it in another place Whereby to my thinking he hath declared very plainely that he did not take the soule of man to be mortal But yet it is somewhat hard to iudge what his opinion was because he doth not shew himselfe so openly as the matter requireth Yet whatsoeuer he thought or resolued with himselfe the soule shal not be therfore any whit the more mortall or immortall For the immortality therof depēdeth not vpon his opinion or of any other mans whatsoeuer Neuerthelesse seeing so subtill and sharpe a Philosopher durst not affirme that it was mortall euerie one of anie sound mind may wel iudge that hee knew there were too many arguments to the contrary and those so waightie that they deserued to bee diligently examined and were not so lightly to be reiected For hee was not so shamefast and modest but he durst boldly reiect and condemn the opinions and sentences of all others that were as wel in his time as before him how great and famous personages soeuer they were when he thought he could doe it with any shew of reason insomuch as hee spared not his master Plato Therefore albeit we had no other resolution from him touching this matter but this only that he was in doubt and durst affirme nothing on either side yet his authoritie ought to preuaile much with vs against them who depende onely of humane Philosophie and reason and are so easily induced to approue rather of the mortalitie then of the immortalitie of the soule For at leastwise they may imagine that so great a Philosopher who is in such woonderful estimation amongst all learned men did not iudge their reasons friuolous and vaine who mainteined the immortalitie of the soule as our Epicures and Atheists thinke because they are more blockish and foole-hardie And therefore they boldly condemne that which either they will not or cannot conceiue and comprehend not considering what a confusion of things their opinion worketh in all mankinde For besides that which wee haue spoken to this purpose alreadie if it were so that the soule were mortall the wickedest and most desperate men should haue that which they desire most and which is most expedient for them and that should befall the best and iustest men which they abhorre most and flee from as very hurtful for them contrary to that which Salomon saith in the Prouerbes That the wicked shall fall into the euill he feareth and that the desire of the iust shal be accomplished In regard whereof good men shoulde haue farre greater reason to feare death then the wicked to desire it For what good man is there of noble courage who will not greatly abhorre death when hee thinketh with himselfe that it consumeth and swalloweth vp the whole man as if he were buried in perpetuall darknesse What consolation will serue him and what comfort can a man offer him that will be able to surmount the feare and horrour of death but that he will expect and suffer it with great impatiencie and despaire when he shal be through necessitie brought vnto it As for that consolation which is taken from the necessitie of nature and from the common condition of all men it is very leane if there be no other We see by them who are so greatly tormented that they wish and aske after death as after a hauen wherein they may bee deliuered from that tempest and torment in which they are although the greefe which they suffer breede such vowes and desires in them yet if they haue but a smal respite they gather some consolation to themselues by some assurance that their griefe will in time cease or els that time and custome will make it lighter vnto them and will teach them to beare it patiently To be short life is acceptable and beloued of euery one that such as are most miserable and wretched cannot bee brought to leaue it but with great griefe no not those who destroy themselues with their owne handes Whereby wee may iudge howe much more bitter it is to them that haue not all these occasions to desire it For euery one may imagine what extreame griefe it woulde bee to a good man who for liuing honestly all his life time and for all the good which hee had euer thought spoken or done shoulde not onely receiue no honour nor recompence in this world but which is woorse as it commonly falleth out among men shoulde receiue nothing but euill for good And yet in the meane time hee shoulde see the woorst men that wholly giue ouer themselues to dishonour and despite God enioy the honours riches and pleasures of this worlde and contrariwise himselfe to haue nothing but dishonour shame confusion famine pouertie miserie sorowe torment and
oftentimes cruell death What comfort can such a bodie haue if hee thinke that there is no other rewarde after this life nor anie better estate for him then for the most wicked and abhominable person in the worlde And although none of all this shoulde euer happen to good men yet what contentation coulde they finde in all the rewardes which they shoulde receiue in this worlde for recompence of their vertue It is an easie matter to iudge by this that the memorie of the name and prayse of well-doing doeth not alwayes take effect neither is it alwayes due to them that haue it but oftentimes verie vniustly giuen But from thee ARAM wee shall receiue more full instruction touching this matter Of that praise and reward which wisedome and vertue may receiue of men in this world how miserable it is if there be no better prepared for them els-where how death would be more grieuous and lamentable to the best learned and wisest men then to the ignorant and foolish if the soule were mortall how the best and most certaine iudgement of men is for the immortalitie of the soule of them who not beleeuing the same say that it is good for men to be in such an errour Chap. 95. ARAM. If the Philosophers might draw many arguments of great waight from the natural desires of men to proue the immortality of soules this which we haue now to propound of the purpose reward which euery one naturally desireth is of great consideration touching this matter For it is very certain that the best most iust among mē albeit they could auoide all hurt from wicked men wherewith commonly they are rewarded from procuring their good yet they should not enioy any true and sound contentation in any of these rewardes which they might haue in this world as a recompence of their vertue But rather whilest they were expecting and hoping for them they should be euer in doubt and feare of missing them by reason of the inconstancie of men and of the vncertaintie of all humane things So that nature might well seeme to haue giuen vnto them this desire of praise and of reward if they should neuer enioy their desire els-where but in this present life Whereof wee may easily iudge by the reasons that are to be set downe For the first the memory of a mans name and the praise for wel doing doth not alwaies come to passe neither doth it fal out aright in regard of all but is for the most part very vniust For how often is glorie and honour attributed to vices yea to very execrable crimes and to the wicked whereas it ought to be giuen to vertue and to good men And if these haue sometime any commendation yet it is very sparing But it falleth out much woorse when vertue receiueth blame in stead of praise And when something is giuen to them vnto whom it appertaineth it cannot be stretched out farre by reason of the diuersity and contrarietie of natures of minds and of opinions of the manners of men and of people and nations For howe often commeth it to passe that some condemne and blame that which others approoue and prayse Yea manie times one and the same man will contradict himselfe through the inconstancie of his iudgement nowe dispraysing that which before hee had praysed and contrariwise On the other side albeit fame and commendation should be neuer so great yet it could not bee of any long continuance considering that time consumeth and bringeth an ende to all that is vnder the heauens Moreouer we see what great alterations are daily wrought by time and although praise were perpetuall among the liuing yet what could it profite the dead or what feeling can they haue of that more then of blame and infamie For the praise which good kings and Princes haue purchased by their vertues and the memorie they haue left behinde them among men can profit them no more in regard of the world then the memorie of that infamie and dispraise which tyrants haue left behind them can doe them any hurt For how wel or ill soeuer men speake and thinke one of another the dead haue no sense at all thereof Yea it is likely that they care not greatly for it and that they rest neuer the lesse at their ease for all that Therefore wee may well conclude that notwithstanding all the praise and reward which wisedome and vertue can receiue from men in this world yet they are still very miserable if there be no better prouided for them else where And if wise and vertuous men hope for another rewarde they must needes beleeue a second life in which they shall bee recompensed for their good and iust works But further when a learned and wise man hath by his spirite discoursed and gone through the heauens the planets and starres beasts men and through all nature yea hath reached to the Angels and euen to God himselfe the Creator and king of the whole worlde and hath passed through all histories both new old and hath gotten the knowledge of all things contained in them that haue come to passe in the world I pray you let vs consider what hee can be tolde of that wil be more grieuous more bitter and feareful vnto him then of death and what consolation can he receiue when hee shall vnderstand that his soule which hath seene and beheld so great riches so many goodly and excellent things and which hath beene as it were the storehouse and treasurie of them shall be wholly extinguished in the middest of such a goodly pleasaunt and wonderfull scaffold and theatre that is so excellently adorned with all kinde of beautie so that it shall neuer be againe at any time or in any place nor shal haue any more sense and feeling then the soule of a beast hath What is he who after such a consideration of death should not haue great cause to feare it in so great misery as may befall him in this life Doe we thinke that these men among the Heathen who haue heeretofore slain themselues to eschew the hands of their enemies and that shame and infamie which they feared to receiue among men and who haue accounted it an acte of great vertue and constancie to kill themselues in that maner for the auoyding of shame would haue done that which they did if they had not thought that there had beene another life besides this At leastwise Cato Vticensis for his part part testifieth this vnto vs who the same night in which hee had purposed to kill himselfe which he did because he would not fal into the hands and subiection of Iulius Caesar against whom he had taken Armes in that ciuil warre caused those Dialogues of Plato to bee read vnto him in which hee mainteineth and confirmeth the immortalitie of the soule according to the doctrine of his master Socrates We may then iudge by the contrarie what consolation it is to a
good and wise man against all the miseries that can befall him in this world if he knoweth and is assuredly perswaded that there is a resting place prepared for him not therein to be depriued of all sense of good and euill as they imagine who seeke for rest in death without all hope of another life but a place of happines for them that with a good heart and Will haue giuen themselues to vertue and holinesse which is appointed by God who is aliust almightie and algood For what rest can that thing find which is not at all So that if man bee no more after the death of the bodie then death cannot bring him any rest at all And therefore wee may say of this rest that as God is not the God of the dead but of the liuing according to the testimonie of Iesus Christ so rest is not for them that are not but for them that are For rest presupposeth a beeing because the thing it selfe must needes be as well as the rest that belongeth to it otherwise neither of them both should haue any being Thus then we may iudge after so many reasons taken from nature and hauing had so many testimonies as haue hitherto beene alleged from the authoritie and sayings of men on which side the truth is most certaine whether with them who haue all good and wise men on their side or with the other who haue none but foolish and wicked men Wee haue then in this matter which now wee follow the iudgement authoritie and sentence of all the greatest and most excellent men in the world with the greatest and chiefest part of all mankinde Vnto whose testimony we may further adde religion iustice holines and all vertues which are so grounded and laide vpon the immortalitie of mans soule that if this foundation bee taken from them they are altogether ouerthrowen For albeit they haue their chiefest foundation in God neuerthelesse he hath so ordained and ordered them that they cannot take place if there be no immortalitie of soules and that for the reasons alreadie declared It followeth then well that trueth is on their side For trueth will rather stande for them then for vices villanies and notorious wickednesse vnto which the mortality of the soule is more agreeable then the immortalitie And if all the Philosophers were not able to attaine to the knowledge of the soules nature nor define the immortalitie thereof wee ought not to bee greatly abashed if such as were most ignorant vile and abiect of them as they are called by some of the best of the Ancients abused themselues so grossely and spake so vnreuerently seeing many of the greater sort and of good account fell so shamefully and shewed themselues to be woorser then beastes in some things whereof a man may iudge by the outwarde senses For haue there not some beene founde who albeeit they sawe the snowe white yet they durst maintaine that it was blacke and that pepper was white and although they felt the fire hote and burning yet affirmed that it was colde But for this time let vs leaue the opinions of Philosophers and speake somewhat of them who although they doe not beleeue the immortalitie of soules nor yet all that is spoken of GOD or of religion say notwithstanding that it is good for the life of man that men shoulde bee of that opinion without which humane societie could not be kept inuiolable neither would men do any thing as they ought if they were not as it were with a bridle kept backe by this feare that there is another life after this and that there are gods to take vengeance of such as haue done euill And therefore they say that feare ws the first that made gods Heereof they conclude that religion is nothing but onely in opinion yea that it is nothing else but superstition which proceedeth from this foolish opinion But seeing this errour serueth for the benefit of mans life it is good say they to vpholde it and to confirme men therein And they that vse this speech are none of them that are taken to bee fooles and ignoraunt persons but of the greater and skilfuller sort of people yea of the wisest men of the worlde according to the iudgement of men For when wee speake of good men and such as are wise wee must iudge of them according to the matter which wee handle and according to the iudgement of God in his worde Therefore if according to this reason wee iudge of these men of whome wee nowe speake they shall be found to be the grosest and most blockish beasts that the earth beareth For all science wisedome and greatnes separated from vertue are not the things themselues indeed but brutishnesse rather and vile basenesse And if we iudge otherwise what is all the knowledge wisedome greatnesse that is in all men in respect of that which is in one Deuil onely For what want the deuils from being Angels like to those blessed Angels that continue still in their obedience vnto God If there be any question made for greatnesse of spirite they are all spirite If for such wisedome and knowledge as the cunning and wise men of this worlde haue of whome haue worldly wise men learned their skill but of them in comparison of whom they are but young schollers If the question bee for greatnesse what King or Prince in the worlde is so great as they For who is called the prince of this worlde by Iesus Christ the God of this worlde by Saint Paul principalities powers worldly gouernours and the princes of the darknesse of this worlde Are not the deuils so called who rule and gouerne the great ones of the whole worlde that are great indeede according to men but not according God What then doe they want of beeing celestiall Angels but vertue and goodnesse But because these men of whome wee speake nowe beleeue not that there are Angels or diuels wee will beate them with other arguments For of these men also there bee some that say wee must hue as the most doe but followe the opinion of the fewest Nowe then when they woulde haue men to bee perswaded to vertue and to doe their duetie by lying and errour namely by intertayning in them an opinion of religion and of a second life although there bee no such thing is not this a very proper meanes to call all trueth into question and to trample all vertue vnder foote For if any propounde the immortalitie of soules vnto men not as if it were a true matter but as a fayned and false thing which yet they would haue them beleeue as true to the ende that through the feare of Gods iudgement they might bee kept backe from euill and lead vnto goodnesse euerie one may guesse easily howe men will dispence with themselues when they once knowe that whatsoeuer is spoken and propounded vnto them is but as a scarre-crowe to make them afraide as wee vse to
and that hath moe or so many reasons as this whereof wee dispute at this present Howe many things doe these fellowes beleeue according to naturall Philosophie for which they haue not so many nor so euident reasons And howe many things shoulde bee doubted of except so many arguments coulde bee brought for their proofe and confirmation as wee haue alleadged and as might yet bee found out for this matter Nowe what can they alleadge on the contrary side For if they beleeue nothing but what they see and whereof they haue experience I demaund of them howe many things there are in humane Philosophie where of they are throughly resolued and yet haue no experience at all in them neither can haue any certainetie but onely as they giue credite to such as haue written of them who yet are deceiued themselues oftentimes so haue deceiued others And yet they are not so hardly brought to beleeue their reasons as to giue credite to them that maintaine the immortalitie of soules which is a matter of so great consequence and waight And as Spiders turne into poison the sweetest liquors they sucke so they maliciously gather the reasons testimonies and places not onely of Poets Philosophers and others but also of the holie Scriptures which they thinke will serue to confirme them daily more and more in their errours and in their false and wicked opinions howe little likelihoode soeuer they seeme to haue and howe flenderly soeuer they make for them In the meane season they dissemble and make shewe that they see not all the other reasons that fight directly against them which being in number infinite are so cleere and so certaine as nothing can bee more There are many of them that haue no other reason but their opinon who can alleadge no other thing but this It is not so or I beleeue it not or I doubt of it or Peraduenture it is otherwise And in trueth none of them all in a manner haue any reasons of greater shewe or that can vrge them that haue neuer so little iudgement as wee may easily iudge by the examination of one of their cheefe Maisters and strong Pillers I meane Pliny by whome we may iudge of all the rest For if hee who is so much esteemed among them shewed himselfe to be such a grosse and blockish beast and so farre from reason in that which hee wrote touching this matter a man may soone guesse what can bee in the others who are no body in respect of him or at leastwise haue not gotten so great credite and authoritie But let vs heare the reasons of this venerable Doctor First he derideth all that men haue spoken or written of the beeing of soules after the death of the bodies accompting all this to be but toyes and dreames and then hee propoundeth his resolution that there remaineth no more of a man after his corporall death then there was of him before hee was conceiued and borne After that he laugheth at the vanitie of men in that they are so foolish as at the very time of their death voluntarily to flatter and beguile themselues in promising to themselues life euen after life some by the immortalitie of the soule others by the transfiguration thereof and a third sort by attributing sense to the dead and by honoring their soules and making a god of that which hauing beene a man is now nothing at all I maruaile not if Plinie mocked at many foolish opinions that were among the Heathen touching this matter and namely the fooâ—eries of the Pythagoreans and Platonists which I doubt not but hee meant by the transfiguration of soules whereof hee maketh mention For Plato was so farre from yeelding that the soule of man was mortall that hee will not confesse the soule of beasts to bee so because according to his opinion of the creation of soules hee thinketh that there is but one kinde of soule for all sortes of bodies that haue life and that soules passe and repasse from one to an other as wee heard vntill that being well purged they come to the place of the blessed Likewise this Authour of the naturall historie had reason to deride the follie and vanitie of men in deifying them that died and in making them immortall gods that had beene before but mortall men But from these fond opinions he had no reason to conclude that if soules did not passe and repasse from bodies to bodies and if men coulde not become gods after their death therefore they ceased to be men any longer and nothing remained of them but their ashes so that their soules also perished as well as their bodies But what reasons hath hee to vpholde this conclusion For the first hee alleadgeth that men breathe not otherwise then beasts doe because hee seeth nothing of the soule of either of them and goeth no further then to the externall senses as if the soule of men as well as of beasts were nothing else but a breath Wherby we see what a grosse beast he sheweth himselfe to be We may say the same of him in that he requireth both the internall and externall senses after the death of a man and the same offices which the soule performed in the bodie when it dwelled therein concluding that without these things there could be no good for maÌ„ after death Then he taketh this for an other argument that there are many other things in the world which liue a great deale longer then man doth and yet we attribute no immortality vnto them After he demandeth whither maÌ„ goeth after death what lodging he hath and what a multitude of soules there should be in the world from the time it hath bin a world if al they shuld liue that haue bin so concludeth that they should be but as it were so many shadows We haue sufficiently answered all these goodly arguments before when we spake of brutish men who rest only in the witnes of their senses and go no further then beasts doe Besides what an argument is that for so great a man to say that we attribute not immortalitie to many things that out-liue men and therefore why should wee rather beleeue it of mens soules There are not only many beasts whose life is longer then the life of men but also many trees and therefore wee must aske of man why we should think that he is rather capable of reason and more excellent then other creatures are that he hath a soule of another nature more noble then they But I will further vrge these arguments against himselfe according as we made answere to the complaint of som Philosophers who accused nature because she had graÌ„ted loÌ„ger life to many beasts then to meÌ„ seeing it was so necessary for them For seeing Nature hath endued man with so many goodly gifts and so excellent wherewith she hath not adorned beasts certainly she should be a stepmother and no true mother or if she were a
of Gods Spirite which illuminateth the eies of the minde a great deale more cleerely then any naturall light can doe as being grounded vpon the testimonie of God himselfe Some also there are who persuade themselues that Salomon putteth no difference betwene the soule of men and of beasts and that he doeth not affirme that one of them is more or lesse mortall or immortall then the other I considered in mine heart saith the Wiseman the state of the children of men that God had purged them yet to see to they are in themselues as beasts For the condition of the children of men and the condition of beasts are euen as one condition vnto them As the one dieth so dieth the other for they haue all one breath and there is no excellencie of man aboue the beast for all is vanitie All goe to one place all was of the dust and all shall returne to the dust Who knoweth whether the spirite of man ascend vpward and the spirite of the beast descend downeward to the earth But they are greatly deceiued that thinke to defend their impietie by this saying of Salomon For it is most certaine that his meaning is not to conclude that it is so indeede as hee speaketh in that place as it appeareth manifestly by his finall resolution in the same Booke made of the matter hee hath in hand wherein he concludeth touching the body of man that dust returneth to the earth as it was and that the spirite returneth to God that gaue it Nowe wee may well thinke that this excellent man or rather the Spirite of God which spake by him woulde not contradict himselfe especially in the very same Booke Wherefore wee must rest in the conclusion he maketh therein in which hee giueth vs the meaning of al his former speech And as for the place alleadged by vs which as Epicures and Atheists thinke maketh for them he would giue vs to vnderstand thereby what a man may iudge of the life and soule both of men and beasts and of the difference between them according to that wee see and perceiue by our corporall sences and that may bee comprehended by the minde and reason of man if wee haue no other testimonie that looketh beyond this life in which these dogges and hogges and all carnall and brutish men stay themselues For if there remained no more of man after his death then there doeth of a beast both the one and the other woulde come to one passe Nay the life of man shoulde bee so farre from happinesse that it woulde bee a great deale more miserable then that of beastes So that it shoulde seeme to bee better for men to passe away the time merrily and to liue like beasts according to the Philosophie of Epicures And although they shoulde take this course yet in the ende all woulde be but vanitie according to Salomons theame which hee handleth in his Booke of the Preacher Therefore being to set downe the conclusion of his Booke hee saieth Remember nowe thy Creatour in the dayes of thy youth whiles the euill dayes come not nor the yeeres approch wherein thou shalt say I haue no pleasure in them Nowe if there were no difference betweene the soule of men and the soule of beastes both which the Prophet calleth by the name of Spirite taking spirite for soule what profit should men reape by this instruction and exhortation For what greater benefite coulde hee looke for who from his youth had giuen ouer himselfe to the seruice of God and had alwayes remembred him then he that forgat him and turned himselfe away from him Thus ye see how Epicures and Atheists feare not to prophane the holy Scriptures by snatching at some places of them very maliciously to the ende to set some colour vpon their damnable opinion against the immortalitie of the soule But wee see what a goodly bulwarke they are able to make euen all one with the rest of the arguments which wee haue already heard of the same matter And although they alleadge heere in defence of their cause Lucian and Lucretius two other Patriarkes and Patrons beside Pliny whome they accompt as principall pillers of their impietie yet wee can heare from them no other arguments woorthie to be so much as once thought vpon besides those which wee haue already handled But wee may obserue the like iudgement of GOD vpon them that was vpon Pliny the great searcher of Nature For Lucian according as Suidas testifieth was torne in peeces and eaten of dogs and Lucretius being madde and franticke slew himselfe For hauing abused so vilely that good wit and skill which God had giuen him did he not worthily deserue to loose it vtterly and to haue lesse of it then brute beasts Hee became so brutish that hee woulde not acknowledge that any either GOD or man had brought so great a benefite to the whole race of mankinde or that was for this cause more woorthie of greater prayse then Epicurus was because by his Philosophie and Doctrine hee abolished all diuine prouidence and so consequently all Diuinitie and immortalitie of the soule all hope of an other life all religion and conscience all difference betweene vertue and vice betweene honest and dishonest thinges and reduced all nature both Diuine and Humane into meere brutishnesse This beastly fellowe thus admiring Epicurus concludeth that men can not but be wretched and miserable all their life time so long as they haue anie opinion of all these thinges because they will holde them in continuall feare and so consequently in perpetuall torment but being dispossessed of all such thoughtes and so of all feare of GOD it will followe thereupon that they shall haue no more conscience to resist or gaine-say them whatsoeuer they thinke speake or doe And so their conscience shall not torment them with any feare and terrour especially of any iudgement of GOD but will suffer them to bee in quiet and not hinder in any respect their carnall pleasures and brutish affections Nowe when they are come to this point they accompt themselues happie For then they are all of them not onely as Kings and Princes but euen as it were gods fearing no other power aboue themselues and hauing no bodie to hinder their pleasure but that they may freely followe their owne heartes lustes So that the last and best conclusion of all this Philosophie will bee this that men can not bee happy except they become very beasts and being spoiled of all things wherein they excell them waxe altogether brutish and retaine nothing at all of mans nature but onely the outward shape of a man Therefore wee may iudge by the examples of these personages of so great skill and so highly esteemed among men what man can doe by his naturall light if it bee not guided by GOD but vtterly forsaken of him seeing those selfe same men who haue beene such great inquisitours and admirers of nature haue
and vnchangeable Incredulitie contrary to beleefe and opinion Of the diuers acceptions of this word Beleefe or Faith The description of Faith It is good for a man to knowe his owne ignorance 1. Cor. 2. 14. Foure meanes to knowe certainely those things that are to be beleeued Of generall experience Of the knowledge of principles Of the naturall knowledge of God in men The vse both of the naturall and of the written law Of natural iudgement Of the fourth meane of knowledge Hebr. 11. Of the image of God in man Ephes 4. 24. The difference betwixt soule and spirite Matth. 10. 39. rom 13. 1. Esay 40. 5 6. Iuc 3. 6. Rom. 8. 6. Genes 1. How God proceedeth in the creation of his workes How the powers of the soule manifest themselues How they haue their degrees in growth Luke 1. 80. The difference betwixt reason and iudgement and contemplation Why some haue preferred Philosophie before riches Of the benefits that commeth by the contemplation of diuine things Of the contemplation that is after this life When all men shall be of one iudgement The actiue life must be ioyned with the contemplaiue The obiect of the will is as large as that of the mind What great confusion is in our corrupt nature Of the desires that are in creatures Three kindes of appetites Of the Naturall appetite Of hunger and thirst Two kindes of Sense Of the seate of the naturall appetite Of the sensitiue appetite kinds thereof The vse of the sinewes Of the affections The ende of knowledge The best thingsin beasts are sensuall Beasts haue no Will. Matth. 5. From whence the desires of all creatures ought to be deriued What Will is and how it worketh How reason is set ouer the Will Diuers acceptions of the words Reason Will Psal 115. Matth. 6. The Will is the chiefest appetiteâ— The Wil aymeth alwaies at good The Will is free and vnconstrayned Of the image of God in the Will Good is alwayes the obiect of the Will Diuers degrees in the actions of Will How the Wâ— coÌ„mandeth the appetite The difference betwixt the natural and regenerated man What is the chief good that meere naturall men seeke after What good men are taught to ayme at by the heauenly light How we must cary our selues both in prosperity and aduersity Of the frailety of mans estate Of the power of the Will in all actions Why men preferre earthly things before heauenly Will sometime reiecteth all counsaile What freedome the Will hath in outward actions The neere coniunction of Reason and Will Euâ—â— spirites haue power ouer the Will The difference of mans obedience to God from that of other creatures Difference betwixt Knowledge and Affections Of the discord betweene the heart and the braine A comparison Rom. 1. 18. verse 21. How the Scripture taketh the word heart Matth. 22. 40. Of the agreement that ought to be betweene the minde and the heart Why the heart is taken sometime for the seate of reason Deut 29 4. Matth. 22. 37. 1. King 3. 12. Rom. 1. 24 25. Pleasure of it owne nature a gift of God The end of mans creation Of the second belly of the body Ezech. 27. 4. ionas 2. 4. matth 12. 40. Of the midriffe and of his vse Of the skinnes of the breast and of their vse Of the cawle of the heart Of the fashion of the heart Of the water in the cawle of the heart Of the office of the heart Of the lungs and of their vse How the lungs couer the heart How the heart agreeth with the heauens Of the arteries and their office How the vitall spirites agree with the aire and windes Of the double motion of the heart and the vses thereof An admonition to mutuall loue 1. Iohn 3. 20. Whereof the striking of the breast arose Of the substance of the heart The situation of the heart Of the counterpoize of the heart A good lesson for euery one Deuter. 5. ezech 20. Of the two voide places in the heart and of their vse What the vitall spirite is Of the great artery Aâ—example of â—utuall succour Of the veiny â—â—â—ery Of the doores and pipes of the heart Goodly instructions for al men Moderation is 〈◊〉 be kept in all things Superfluitie to be auoided in all things Good counsell for Princes Man was created not onely to be but also to be well What the affections are Two kindes of affections What affections goe before iudgement Agreement betweene the temperature of the body and the affections of the soule The affections can doe much with the body â—oy good for the body and Griefe hurtful to it How the agreement betweene the body and the soule may be discerned Naturall qualities breede diseases Men are more carefull for the health of their bodies then of their soules The affections breed the health or sicknes of the soule How the soule receiueth from the body in regard of the diuers temperatures thereof Agreement betweene corporall and spirituall Physicke Luke 21. 34. Rom. 13. 3. Ephes 5. 18. Act. 13. 2. Iudge 20. 26. Psal 69. 10. Esth 4. 16. The knowledge of physicke necessary for all Sinne is the cause of all disorder discases and of death Three things to be considered in the facultie of Knowledge How habâ—tes are bred in the minde Foure things to be considered in the Will and desires Of natural inâ—linations and affections Rom. 1. 30. 2. Tim. 3. 3. Leuit. 19. 18. matth 5. 43. Of the vâ—â—â—lines of our naturall affections 2. Tim. 3. 2. Rom. 1. Of true loue towards a manâ— selfe towardâ— his Gen. 22. Naturall inclinations are seeds of vertues or vices The originall of all diseases What a habite is Of the force of custome Sweat is Gentleman-vsher to vertue The cause and profite of an habite What affection is froÌ„ whence vertue and vice first spring The fountaine of morall philosophie Why the affections are giuen to the soule The affections compared to the windes Of commotions perturbations How 〈◊〉 the iudgement can preuaile ouer the affections The originall of violent motionâ— in the soule A similitude shewing the perilous motions of of the soule The effects of a prudent and wise man Of the variety of affections The cause of all motions in the â—oule Two kindes of punishments Of the generation nature and kindes of the afâ—ections How the affections are bred or brideled one of another Goodly similitudes The first motion of the heart is an image of the second Griefe or Ioy in all the affections Ioy appeareth in the face The effects of laughter in the face 2. Cor. 6. 11 12 What is meant by bowels in the Scripture 1. King 3. 26. Col. 3. 12 13 14. The true workes of a Christian 1. Ioh. 3. 17 18. Isay 58. 10. What ioy is How the heart chuseth euil for good What sorrow is Of melancholy The effect of sorrowe A commendable vse of teares Rom. 12. 15. A comparison Psa 34. 8 9 10. Vers 19. 21.
the immortality of soules But they will giue no credite to any thing that we fetch from the saying of Pythagoras and Socrates and from the writings of Plato Aristotle Cicero Plutarch and an infinite number of other excellent Philosophers of all nations who haue all taught that there is a diuine prouidence and iustice and that the soule is immortall What shal we say then where shall we seeke for arguments which they will vouchsafe to heare I haue heard them say sometimes that they would giue credite to naturall Philosophy in those things wherein the causes are prooued by their effects Now if we take this course to prooue vnto them a godhead his prouidence his future iudgement and the immortalitie of the soule which way soeuer we turne our selues eyther vpward or downward on the right hand or on the left we shall find testimonies euery where which they may not in any wise reiect For we haue nature the necessitie of causes proportion and similitude the life decency and dignity of man the goodnesse of God the vtility that commeth by mankind proceeding from the bounty of God all which with one common consent and as it were with one voyce doe teach cry that there is one God creator gouernor of the whole world and that the soule of man cannot be mortall Hereof it is that the holy Ghost doth often propound vnto vs in holy scriptures this whole visible world as a great booke of nature and of true naturall diuinitie all the creatures as preachers and generall witnesses of God their creator of his workes and of his glory Neuerthelesse there are but fewe that haue such eyes as are requisite for the reading of this booke or fit eares to heare the voyce and to vnderstand the sermons of these naturall preachers no not amongst them that are most skilfull and best studied in the searching out of nature and haue greatest knowledge of naturall things of liberall arts and of all humane philosophy For there are as many yea moe to whom in this respect the selfe same thing is befallen which long since befell to the first and greatest philosophers vnto whom Saint Paul obiecteth this by way of reproch that when they knew God by the works of the creation of the world wherein he maketh his power his eternall and inuisible Godhead as it were visible vnto vs they did not glorifie him as God but withheld the trueth in vnrighteousnesse And yet it wil not be a hard matter for vs God being our helper to make it manifest by the consideration not onely of the whole frame but of the least creature therein especially of the body and soule of man who is a litle world and of the creation nature dignitie and excellency of both his parts how not onely the simplest and most ignorant may and ought to learne to know God his prouidence ouer euery nature and so to honor and to glorifie him as hee hath bound them thereunto but also how the wisest ought to direct all their skill and knowledge which they haue in naturall philosophy to this selfe same end As for those that make open profession of Atheisme and refuse the testimonies which God in his word setteth downe vnto vs of himselfe of his prouidence and of all things belonging to the saluation and soueraigne good of men they shal haue yet wil they nill they ynough probable reasons to prooue all these things so that we may easily conuince and prooue vnto them by these testimonies which euery one of them carieth about in himselfe both the immortality of the soule as also the religion of God and of his prouidence For these three things are so linked together that in no wise they cannot neyther ought to be separated so that he which admitteth the one must of necessitie approoue the others and if he doubt of the one he reiecteth all As therefore my companions some yeeres past after our returne from warre we tooke occasion vpon the corruption that then was in all the estates of Fraunce and the forlorne manners which raigned in euery one to meete together and to discourse in our Academy of the institution in good manners and of the meanes to liue well and happily to the end that in renuing the memory of our former studies we might begin to direct our life to that principall end which the Philosophers appoint thereof namely vertuous actions So I thinke that euen now we haue an other good occasion to read in this great booke of nature and to bring one to another whatsoeuer we haue learned concerning the nature of man For first we haue leaue in regard of our Princes seruice to recreate our selues for a while in our owne houses Againe the selfe same place where we met so fitly and wherein we began our former discourses of Philosophy doth inuite vs to proceed in them Moreouer we doubt not of the combat which is prepared for vs when we shal visite our neighbours and friends amongst whom many professe themselues better Philosophers then good Christians We know also into what straights we haue bene brought in our masters courts and let vs not hope that the perill will be lesse when their seruice shall recall vs neere vnto them Wherefore we shal doe well to arme our selues now with all the reasons and testimonies which wee haue in nature against that Epicurean doctrine whose only drift is by denying the immortalitie of the soule to turne men from all religion and feare of God For thus doing we shall not onely greatly profite our selues but them also who being in danger to be seduced by such deceiuers shall heare vs now and then reason with them who feeling themselues conuinced by naturall reasons wherein they supposed to haue greatest strength will not be so bold to vomit their poyson before others but shall be constrained to dâ—gest it by themselues â—o heir owne confusion and ouerthrow I desire therefore my companions to know how you stand affected towards this my intent and purpose AMANA If euer there were age wherein those signes of the end of the world which the spirit of God hath foretold vs haue bene seene it is this wherein they are so apparant that there is no one body if he be not depriued of all discourse of reason who doth not acknowledge them very euidently For we are fallen into those times wherein store of false prophets are arisen haue seduced many wherein all iniquity is increased and charitie altogether frozen Which thing hath discouered not only many false religions but also Atheisme which is farre worse For without doubt they that are altogether voyd of religion are farther off froÌ„ true religion then they that follow one that is false And yet there are as many yea moe at this day that doe openly shew themselues to be Atheists Epicures then there are of those that are taken for good Christians If in outward shew they professe religion it is but to couer
to vs with beasts from reason groweth election which is proper to man and from the minde and spirite in which the image of the diuine essence is engrauen proceedeth the will As then sense knoweth none but sensible and corporall things so the appetite desireth only the same things and as the mind of it owne nature enclineth to the contemplation of spirituall and intelligible things so the will feedeth and contenteth it selfe onely with eternall and heauenly goods Now Man that is to say the soule by nature reasonable being placed as it were in the middest of these two extreames and sustaining wonderfull assaults and combates through the impression of these two contraries taketh part one while with the desires of this side an other while of that according as hee inclineth by his election either to this part or to that by stooping downe to the sense or by lifting vp himselfe to the minde But because of the darkenesse of errour which shadoweth his reason it is very necessary that the spirite of God worke mightily therein to this ende that by the power and vertue thereof the naturall affection of earthly things which offer violence to all the powers of the soule might be transported and lift vp to the desire of celestiall and eternall things Truely forsomuch as Good is the obiect of Loue good reason it is that wee should lift it vpward and separate it from the earth as much as we may For as so many rash affections which are the spring of all vices haue their beginning from earthly loue socōtrariwise celestiall and heauenly loue adorneth the soule with two excellent ornaments namely wisedome and vertue the ground of all true Beauty in which all good all contentation and felicitie consisteth And this loue which hath God for his ende and scope hath three great benefites among many others which are not to bee found in any other loue especially in that of concupiscence For first there is no good so excellent in the enioying of earthly things but it is mingled with some thing that may displease vs or some way harme vs. Whereupon taking it to be a lesse benefite and not altogether so good for vs wee are of this iudgement that it is the lesse to bee wished for of vs. But there is no such thing in God Therefore if the soule of man did beholde him by contemplation not such a one as hee is for that is impossible but as shee might contemplate him notwithstanding she is enclosed in this body shee woulde bee rauished in her loue with greater vehemencie then shee is stirred vp to embrace that which of all mortall and transitorie things shee iudgeth best and most certaine For she should know that God is a Good wherein there is nothing mingled that may breed yrkesomnesse or be hurtful but is altogether profitable and full of pleasure Although it can not be gainsaide but that the contrary seemeth to come to passe oftentimes when we see that they which loue God as they ought which by means of this loue are driuen forward induced to procure his honor and glory with all their might are commonly most visited with griefes losses and sorrowes Whereof it commeth to passe that many are alienated from this loue because they greatly dislike that troublesome estate But we must know that this humane and friuolous consideration proceedeth only of this that the price of loue is diuersly valued For there is one kinde of loue that is perpetuall and firme and another which is temporary according as the present motion of the heart pricketh one forward to followe any thing because at that instant it seemeth vnto him to be good or in regard of the profit which he seeth therein or of the appearance of good which he imagineth is in it As for example we know well that health is a greater good then is the swallowing downe of dainty morselles the pleasure whereof passeth away very quickely And yet it commeth often to passe that our appetite stirreth vs forward with such vehemencie that meere lickerishnes causeth vs to eate such meats as we know are contrary to our health The reason hereof is because we compare not the good that is in taste and in dainty fare which sodainely passeth away with that which is in health which is of a longer continuance or else because wee thinke there will not come so great hurt thereof as there may come or else we hope easily to remedy the same And thus is it with them that consider not what great good there is in God but forget him or els suppose that they cāeasily recouer that which they shal lose by folowing after a terrestriall and transitorie Good which causeth them to turne aside from God For if they thought well vpon it and knewe what losse they receiued they would neuer suffer themselues to be gouerned by their appetites and worldly desires But the bare imagination and consideration of honors and of earthly goods doth so dazell the eyes of their mind that they can not knowe the greatnesse and excellencie of celestiall goods which they forsake for those other Whereas contrariwise if they were not altogether blinde they should perceiue that this light affliction of good men which passeth away in a moment bringeth foorth in them an eternall waight of most excellent glory and maketh them partakers of God who is the perpetuall stedfast reward of their true and holy loue Now touching the second benefit which being in his loue is not to be foūd in the loue of creaturs we are to know that this latter is alwayes in feare and care for that thing which it loueth lest some euill should befall it So that notwithstanding any securitie that may be had yet there is alwayes some vexation in al loue towards men and towards mortall things But in that loue which is towardes God there is nothing but delight without care griefe or disquietnesse For we are very certaine that all things are most safe there full of ioy and lasting happinesse And for the third wee see that in the loue of concupiscence there is commonly enuy and euill iealousie which is one kind of it because many couet that which one alone would wholy possesse But it is cleane contrary in the true loue of the soule wherein is vprightnes and fellowship For he that loueth vertue and a vertuous man is so farre from being iealous that he would not onely haue many companions but wisheth that all the men in the worlde were like affected with him The same may be said of him that loueth God For he would haue al men his companions in that amitie iudgeth al those to be miserable wretched which are estranged from it As for that friend who would alone loue his friend hee loueth not perfectly but rather loueth some thing in him that is profitable to himselfe as namely to enioy alone whatsoeuer good he iudgeth to be in his friend