else the body and soule would neuer abide together but warre against one another being that they are as contrary in nature as fire and water But vnlesse the spirit of ayre were put betweene these two contrary elements to ioyne them together they would neuer agree nor abide in their spheares no more would the soule and body without a spirituall meane Now as we see that the Heaven of the great World is composed of light and spirit proportioned and as it were glewed together by the eternall Spirit which is the Infuser of life in them both so also is the spirit in man so firmely vnited vnto the soule by the spirituall Word which is the tye or glew of life that it is not possible to be separated the one from the other except it be by that Spirit which did ioyne them together And this may easily be gathered out of these words of the Apostle Viuus est sermo Dei efficax 〈◊〉 omni gladio ancipiti pertingens vsque ad diuisionem animae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Word of God is liuely and effectuall and more piercing then a â—…edged Sword and attaineth euen to the diuision of the soule from the spirit Whereby it argueth that the life consisteth of soule and spirit and that these two are so vnited together by the tye of the Word that nothing but the composer or binder can make any separation of them And for this reason wee may see that there is a strong tye as well betweene the spirit and the soule as betweene the soule and the body And therefore as the soule is more worthy then the spirit so the spirit excelleth in dignity the body and consequently the spirit is by proportion interposed betweene the soule and the body no otherwise then the Ayre betweene the Sunne and Earth Wherefore it is an absurdity in the Peripateticks to deny this tye and vnion and more absurd for Master Foster to make such a poore excuse as to say that the body was generated for the soule and the soule created for the body and therefore that there needeth no bands to faften them A poore conclusion I say of so eminently appearing a Philosopher and Theosopher as who fhould say two extremes could more be ioyned together without a medium or middle tye or intermediate spirit to conioyne and vnite them then the two extremes of a Diameter in a Circle without a middle point or Center And more absurd it is in him to say that there can be a reciprocall desire of two extremes and contrary opposites to come and dwell together at the 〈◊〉 when they are so contrary that the Wise man saith Corpus infestum corruptioni aggrauat animam terrena habitatio deprimit mentem multis curis plenam The body which is subiect to corruption doth ouerburthen and aggrauate the soule and the earthly habitation doth depresse and keepe vnder the minde that is full of cares Is it not strange and vnnaturall that any captiue spirit should not desire his freedome and liberty especially the bright soule which is captiued in her darke bodily prison For this reason therefore Iamblicus saith that Anima dormiat in corpore humano The soule sleepeth in mans body And Porphyrie hath it That it is alwayes 〈◊〉 in the body And Mercurie Trismegistus That the body is vnto the soule a veile of ignorance Whereupon it is certaine that there is a spirit which keepeth it in this his darke prison By this therefore you may see what goodly doctrine this is of Master Fosters But to mend the matter he proceedeth thus And they endeauour after vnion so to keepe together c. It is true if he speaketh in the behalfe of the darke body who is â—…oth to leaue the bright soule which is his treasure But as for the soule we see how many there are that to escape the fetter of this prison doe sluce out their owne blood or destroy themselues and many as well amongst the Elect as by Scriptures we finde it as among the common Worldlings desire earnestly of God as being weary of this World to be dissolued and to passe out of this life Cupio dissolui esse cum Christo saith the one c. Whereby it is apparent that the soule doth not desire to liue in the body or with the body as Master Foster concludeth And when she departeth she cannot leaue her body without the spirit so firme is their vnion as the Apostle sheweth in the text before mentioned neither can the spirit wholly forsake that relation it hath to the body as is said I conclude therefore â—…at against Master Fosters assertion that the soule doth with a strict vnion depend and rely on the spirit and reciprocally the spirits rely on the soule no otherwise then the Agent can not be esteemed as an Agent without the Patient nor the Patient without the Agent And therefore they must both of them be vnited in one And consequently as an essentiall Agent doth act from the Center vnto the Circumference euen so it is to be conceiued that the agile soule is contained in the spirits as the Agent in the Patient or soule in the body or lightning in the cloud And thus farre haue we proceeded to squeese out all Master Fosters Sponges validity touching this matter I come vnto the next CHAP. V. The Authors essentiall Carrier of sympathetical vertue giueth in this Chapter vnto our Sponge-bearer but Iack Drummes entertainment for calling him Tom Long the Carrier Reade and you shall see the manner The naked assertion of D. Fludds Text. VVHereupon it is manifest that 〈◊〉 spirituall Line being inuisibly protracted or extended in the Ayre betweene the places of the wounded person and the Box or Pot of Oyntment doth carry along with it his animal forme the which soule or spirit of life is no lesse to bee diuided from his whole or integrality contained in the body of the â—…unded then the beame of the Sunne is from the Sunne Therefore as the beame of the Sunne swimming in the 〈◊〉 of the world is as it were a Messenger betweene Heauen and Earth euen so this animal beame is the faithfull conductor of the healing nature from the Box of the Balsam vnto the wounded body and this medium or directing and carrying Line namely that which conueyeth the wholesome and salutiferous spirit by meanes of the soule or spirit of life is that spirit which is inuisibly extended or drawne out in the ayre the which vnlesse it had beene in a hidden manner figured and fashioned forth the vertue of the Oyntment would euaporate or sluce out this way or that way and so would bring no benefit vnto the wounded Master Fosters Collection The spirit of the bloodshed is carried by the ayre which is the carrier of the spirit of euery thing vnto his body this spirit going by this ayre in a direct inuisible Line carrieth the sanatiue vertue from the anointed Weapon to the wounded party For the
of this feate of occult curing and not rather such ingredients as are collected out of mans body being that they are neerer and more familiar vnto their kinde and therefore more benigne and affable vnto it then stranger Medicines as are vegetables or such like If the Reader will well ponder this he will perceiue all that our Sponge-carrier speaketh Pag. 8. is but foppery The Deuill saith he maketh the Mediciner beleeue it is spent by a vertue going to the wound whilst hee skilfull by long experience in all Arts and so in the Art of Medicine doth himselfe secretly apply some other vertuall operatiue Medicine to cure the wound to delude his credulous Mountebankes and makes them beleeue that this Salue which dropped out of the Hangmans bouget hath performed it O wonderous miracle and what getteth the Deuill by that namely to cure a man in that sort whose body and soule is in the hands of the Almighty In maâ—… Iehouae saith Iob est anima omnis 〈◊〉 spiritus 〈◊〉 carnis In the hand of God is the soule of euery creature and the spirit of all flesh Thinkes he that God will leese his owne by so weake and poore a sleight Nay more to giue or grant vnto the Deuill his Word which as Salomon saith 〈◊〉 all things to deceiue himselfe of his owne heritage What The Deuill doe good where no profit vnto him is to be expected And why not then by the virtuall contact of this Medicine being of a neerer consanguinity with man and therefore a more easie Curer then any other Medicine that can worke by any virtuall contact A goodly tale As if a man would perswade me that it is not the Load-stone that draweth the Iron but the Deuill vseth some other creature to doe the deed to coozen and deceiue the Philosopher or Mariner These are but fabulae Inuentions I say of a fantastick braine who to perswade vs vnto his imaginary and no way probable will would make vs beleeue that Castles are built in the Ayre and that we are in all our good actions deluded by the Deuill and that flying with the wings of Master Fosters wit we must needs be wafted on the clouds of error and so in a mist of ignorance forget the blessed workes of our good God and Sauiour and by Master Fosters palpable delusions to acknowledge them to be effected craftily by Gods enemy And how in Gods name hapneth it that the Deuill is become so great a Student in Physick and doth proue so expert in the art of curing who hath employed his whole cunning and bestowed the best fruits of his industry to play the Kill-cow and to destroy A very wonderous thing Master Foster said it ergo must we beleeue it No God forbid But blessed be our Lord God who by emitting forth the benignity of his countenance sendeth onely health where how and vnto whom he list But to proceede CHAP. IIII. This Chapter sheweth Master Fosters error in saying that the soule doth not reside after an hidden manner in the spirits The second attempt of the Sponge against the same Text. Fourthly I deny that the soule resideth after any hidden manner in the spirits The Stoicks indeed held that the spirits were vincula animae corporis but the Peripatetick and Diuines deeme this as needlesse seeing the body is generated for the soule and the soule created for the body and both make the totum compositum What needs there any bonds to fasten them together There is a reciprocall desire to come together at the first and an endeauour after the vnion to keepe together The soule cannot in any kinde depend on or reside in the spirits her instruments but the spirits in the soule c. We squeese once againe in this Argument this swelling and full-gorged Sponge after this manner Though in the precedent I answered sufficiently that point yet must I wring this Sponge a little harder or it will keepe some of the iuyce of verity in his porous paunch I said before that animaesedes was in sanguine and her chiefest vehicle was the humidum radicale as we see that the Spirit of life in the great world did place His Tabernacle in the Sunne of Heauen And againe it is said that the incorruptible Spirit is in all things but this is that spirit which viuifyeth all things and therefore it resideth in the blood and consequently in the spirits which are contained therein after a hidden and mysticall manner As touching the Peripateticks and some 〈◊〉 opinion who hold that it is needlesse there should be a tye betweene the soule and body verily that doctrine is most erroneous and false First because the soule and body are so contrary in complexion vnto one another that except an vnion were made betweene the two extremes it were impossible that they should meet together or if they should or could meete yet the pure and heauenly light of the soule would suddenly forsake the impure and earthly darknesse of the body For how can duo contraria conuenire in vnum Doe we not see that all influences from aboue must haue an ayrie Chariot vehicle or medium to conuey them into bodies and to vnite them together Why did God ordaine and place the Ayre betweene the Heauen and Earth but to serue as a vehicle to vnite celestiall things with terrestriall ones quasi amoris vinculo as it were with the band of loue Can we haue a better proofe hereof in this typicall world then that of the Archetypicall Is not the Father vnited to the Sonne by the Holy Spirit which Saint Augustine calleth and many others Diuinum amoris vinculum The Diuine tye or vnion of loue Now after the Archetypicall image were all things effected both in the little and great world For the Prophet saith By the Word of the Lord the Heauens were fashioned and by the Spirit of his mouth all the vertues of them So that the vertuous vnion or linke which is made betweene the effects of the Word in whom is life and the creature to be viuified is the Good and Incorruptible Spirit by which tye God hath his essentiall relation vnto the creature By this Spirit all the discordant elements are tyed in an vnion and louing consent whereupon it is called Peace and Loue and Concord which beareth as the Apostle saith and sustaineth all things by the Word of his vertue By it weight and proportion is assigned vnto the ayre and the clouds are fastened or hung vp in measure and the waters are tyed so fast in the thicke clouds that they cleaue not To conclude in the great World the Earth and the Heauens are established and linked together by the Word of God as the Apostle Peter telleth vs or else the elements would be continually at warre And by the same reason the soule and the body or Heauen and Earth in the little World are linked together by this intermediate eternall tye or
in composition I meane it not as a part compounding but as the sole Compounder in composition Againe if he were absent from composition the word could not be said to be incarnated nor the Incorruptible Spirit to be in all things neither could God by the Apostle be said to be ouer all and in all But leauing this paratticall or parasiticall garb He bringeth the authorities of Scripture And what are they Saint Paul hath this We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spirituall wickednesse or euill spirits in high places And therefore Christ said Handle me and touch me for a spirit hath not flesh nor bones as yee see mee haue But Deuils can not be handled Therefore they haue no bodies Here is a stout Argument because Deuils as they are in their thinne aëriall bodies cannot bee handled Ergo they haue not any corpulency I would faine know of this acute Arguer what organicall body for speech this spirit had when hee in reciprocall words and speech did tempt our Sauiour Doth he thinke that the very ayre which is the externall of the Deuill as shall be proued is not a spirituall body when it may be felt heard or vnderstood though not as flesh and bones Doth not the Apostle make mention of a spirituall or heauenly and thin body and an earthly or grosse and thick body It is most true that there are some of the Fathers and Schoolemen who are of opinion that the Angels are absolutely incorporeal as Damascene Thomas Aquin Denis and so forth But there are as many yea and more of the learneder sort who giue a contrary sentence touching the bodily existence of these spirits and say flatly that an Angel is a corporeal substance and consequently that Angels may without any error be termed bodily creatures and amongst this number of the Fathers are ranked Basil Origen Gregory Augustine Isidorus Peter Lombard and of Philosophers Mercurius Trismegistus with all the Schoole of the Academicks And as for S. Augustine he saith in his Booke vpon Genesis in expresse words quòd Daemones sunt aërea ignea animalia that the Daemons or Angelicall spirits are aëry and fiery Animals and consequently assigneth vnto them aëry bodies Againe he affirmeth in another place that the Angels had in their creation aëry bodies to wit framed and fashioned out of the purer part of the superior ayre made more apt and proper to act then to suffer and hee auerreth that the euill angels were by reason of their fall changed as touching their bodies or externall being into the nature of the grosser ayre that they might be the rather made to suffer the torments of fire And Fetrus Lombardus saith Angeli corpora in quibus hominibus apparent de summo aëre sumunt solidamque speciem ex coelesti elemento induunt vt humanis obtutibus manifestiùs demonstrentur So that it is euident that Augustine and he agree in one Also Basil doth teach vs what manner of bodies the Angels haue when he saith they are thinne aëry and pure Spirits Againe Arteplius that wise man saith in his great Key of wisedome That the externall of the Deuill is ayre but his internall is fire For the which reason he sheweth that it is easie for him namely in regard of his externall or body to insinuate and communicate with the aëry and bloody spirit in man and consequently to engender in him hot and fiery diseases But why should we rely onely as Master Foster doth on bare Authorities I will come vnto plaine Philosophicall proofes to shew and demonstrate that Angels haue soules and bodies or externall and internall First you must know that if they were Identity that is of all one simple formall being they would be all one in essence with God their Creator who is called Identitas or absolute and simple vnity but for as much as they are compounded of two namely of light which is the beame of God which they receiue to informe them and make them creatures and spirit which as polished Looking-glasse receiueth the glory of that diuine light they are called Alteritas or Alterity that is composed of two And this is most liuely expressed by Saint Denis when he termeth them Algamatha that is most cleare Mirrours or Looking-glasses receiuing the light of God And therefore he defineth an Angel to bee the Image of God the shewing forth of bid light a mirrour pure and most bright And Damascen saith That they are intellectuall spirits hauing light as their soules from the first Light And Salomon describing the Prince of all Angels which as Ecclesiasticus saith was ante omnia creatus that it was candor lucis aeternae speculum sine macula Maiâ—…slatis Dei or the brightnesse of eternall light and a glasse without spot of the Maiesty of God Whereby it is euident that the Angels internall and as it were his soule is the brightnesse of Gods emanation his polished or pure aëry internall is his 〈◊〉 body which receiueth this light For we must note That in the beginning Heauen and Earth were made of water and by water consisting by the Word as S. Peter speakes And therefore the whole World was composed of an internall or inuisible which is the soule or spirit animated by Gods Word and an externall and visible earth and water which is the body So euery creature must needs be compounded of an internall or actiue soule and an externall or organicall receptacle of that soule which is the body Is it not apparent That when the Spirit of the Lord did moue vpon the waters the water was the Catholick Patient and the spirit the internall Agent For Saint Augustine super Genesim saith Spiritus ferebatur super aquas igneum â—…s vigorem impertiens The Spirit moued on the waters imparting vnto them a fiery vigor or vertue that is a viuifying nature So that the spirituall created Catholick waters were animated by the spirituall increated Catholick breath and light of life whose Spirit in euery creature is the Spirit of life and therefore their centrall soule and the creature animated is the body Wherefore as the purest and most spirituall part of water or ayre is the externall of the Angell so his internall is the lucid act of Gods Spirit Now I conclude thus If the externall substance of the Angel be ayre for either it must be of spirituall water or else of the substance of God which is meerely formall and not materiall then wee know by the rules of Philosophy that ayre subtiliated is fire and againe ayre inspissated is a vapour a mist a cloud and so by inspissation ayre inuisible becommeth a visible substance yea and a bodily vocall organ too as it appeareth by lightning the which soule of the cloud except it haue his cloudy organ or bodily instrument will not speake in thunder We finde therefore out of Holy Writ that God is said to speake out of his organic all cloud And
spirit of the lesser world or man For the selfe-same spirit that viuifieth the ayre in the great world after a foure-fold fashion bringeth forth the very same effects in the lesser which I proue in this manner The Prophet saith A quatuor ventis adueni ô spiritus perflato interfectos istos vt reuiuiscant c. Come O spirit from the foure winds and breath vpon these flaughtered persons that they may liue againe and the breath came into them and they liued and they stood on their feet By which words wee may gather these foure things First that it was one onely Spirit which was indued with the property of the foure winds according to whose variety in properties the foure winds were animated with contrary natures that they might worke after a foure-fold manner in the Catholike element of the world to effect the will of the Creator in any manner whatsoeuer Next that this Spirit which is the essentiall actor and mouer in the winds was that incorruptible spirit of the Lord by the which hee vseth according to that of the Apostle to viuifie all things and vnto that of the Prophet dare â—…atum populo spiritum calcantibus terram to giue breath vnto the people and a spirit to all that trace on the earth or vnto that of Iudith emittere spiritum creare omnes creaturas to send foorth his spirit and to create by it all creatures or according to that of Esdras Spiramine suo facere omnia serutinare â—…mnia in absconditis terrae to make all things by his breath and to search out by it all things that are in the bowells of the earth or according vnto that of Iob Apponere homini animam suum cuilibet creaturae nam fi spirituÌ„ seuflatum suuâ—… ad se reciperet veltraheret omnis caro expirato giue man his spirit of life and to euery creature for if God should receiue or draw vnto himselfe his spirit all flesh would expire And therefore in this place when the dead bodies should arise againe hee commanded the Prophet to say Come spirit from the foure winds as if hee should say Come O thou Catholike and Vniuersall spirit of life of the world and doe thy office in viuifying and making the dead to liue againe Thirdly that this same spirit is it by which the Apostle doth acknowledge that God worketh all in all sometimes giuing life by taking away the killing Northerne cold and dissoluing the deadly or immobil congelation of spirits which did stupifie them as it were with the sleepy and restfull enchantment of Morphaeus by his Southerne or Easternely properties which is to liquifie resolue and giue a new motion and life to spirits congealed and stupified by the Northern property and therefore Dauid saith in the foresaid Text Emittit verbunâ—… liquefacit ista simul ac efflat ventum suuÌ„ effluunt aquae Hee sendeth forth his Word and melteth them as soone as hee bloweth forth his wind the congealed and as it were dead waters â—…oue and flow againe whereby we ought to obserue that it is Gods Word or his incorrupble spirit which animateth the winds Fourthly that the very selfe-same spirit which viuifieht and giueth life and motion vnto the great worlds spirit and at his pleasure by a contrary property killeth stupifieth ceaseth to act by life motion congealing mortally doth performe the very selfe-same office when the will of the Father is in the Catholike spirit of the little world or man yea in euery creature And therefore Iob saith It is God that wounâ—…eth or striketh and it is he that cureth the reason heere hee sheweth in the place before mentiened as also wee may find in Deuteronomy I will kill and I will make aliue againe and Salomon saith Thou hast the power of â—…fe and death in thine hand Thou bringest vnto the graue and bringest backe againe and the Sonne of Syrach Vita mors bonum malum à Deo sunt Life and death good and euill are from God Wherefore as this secret and mysticall spirit hath breathed into the dead a blast of life so that very blast or breath is essentially of the nature property and Will of the Breather which was to make aliue by a quickning and not a stupifying spirit and thereupon created spirits which were before congealed and mortified became now quickned and liuely and were closed in an externall body and in an ayery or bloody vehicle which by vertue of this quickning blast his spirit did moue in the channels or veines and arteries being animated by the vertue of that spirit of life And this is the reason that God did ordaine so strict precepts touching the blood of the creatures as is said before namely that it should not be eaten as is aboue related because in it is the spirit of life or the soule of the creature in which is the spirituall vertue of the foure winds For in this action of life hee exerciseth the very same property in the heart of the creature or little world as hee doth in the heauenly sunne of the great world For as the Sunne is hot operating by rarefaction and exciting vnto motion and therefore reuiuing and multiplying as well in vegetation as in generation graines plants and other animated things of the earth powring downe from aboue the beames of life and light vnto the inferiour creatures euen so this incorruptible spirit or blast of life thus infused into man is the spirituall Sunne of the little world who maketh the heart which represents the body of the celestiall Sunne his Tabernacle from which by the arteries and vaines he sendeth forth his beames and animateth the vniuersall spirit of mans fabrick and maketh the blood agill fluent and liuely euer mouing and operating vnto the nourishment and preseruation of the members as well with naturall as vitall spirits cauâ—…ng both corporall and spirituall vegetation and multiplication of parts in euerie specificall bodie But now that I may in this place touch in few words though somewhat allaterally Master Fosters Aristotelicall limited spheare of Actiuity which the old Schoolemen haue so tumbled and tossed in their externall Phantasies without any centrall regard vnto this true and essentiall viuifying and vegetating spirits dilatiue or contractiue power I would faine know whether any worldly philosophicall Axiome can conclude or limit this princely spirit of the foure Winds which bloweth and breatheth as well in the great world as little when where how farre and at what distance it pleaseth I will first giue an example of his action from each wind in the great world and shew you how it commandeth carrieth and dilateth the spirit of the vegetable Creature Wee can gather and collect the virtuall operation of the vegetable ad distans by no meanes but by the scent as for example Rosemary and Sassaphras c Doe emitt their spirit into the Aire at a proportionated distance more or lesse
according vnto the viuacity of the acting Spirit which is in it and yet neuerthelesse wee see that if the blast of any strong wind doth encounter the emitted spirit of the Creature it dilateth it mightily from his centre or plant and maketh a wonderfull large spheare of actiuity and that greater or leâ—…er according vnto the power of the wind The case is apparant and found most true by such as trauaile by sea neare Spaine For when the wind is Easterly they can discerne the Aire thirty Leagues off the shore to bee filled with the sweet odour of Rosemary which groweth abundantly in those parts of Spaine And euen in the very like manner about Guiana and Virginea at the same or greater distance the odoriferous scent of the Sassaphras with other fweet woods is scented by the nauigatours vpon those shores and that somtimes before they can discerne any land What shall wee then say of the same spirit which a cteth in the little world or man when his insensible breath or emanation tendeth affectionally towards the homogeniall place of his owne nature I meane vnto the ointment inwhich the selfe same indiuisible nature either in the blood adhering to the weapon or hauing penetrated in the weapon without any signe of external blood is bathed Shall wee not beleeue that by his emanation it can carry along with it in the Ayre the occult spirit of the vegetating nature of the wounded person included secretly in a volatile salt to act in the oyntment vnto the reuiuifying of the sopified spirit in the oyntment No mary saith Master Foster For the Sassaphras woods odoriferous spirit and that of the Rosemaries are knowne by sense and so cannot the breath of such an emanating spirit with his volatile vehicle of vegetation be perceiued An excellent Argument in an externall and sensible Philosopher who with Saint Thomas will beleeue nothing but what he toucheth smelleth or tasteth But intellectuall men may easily gather that there is nothing that is externall and visible but was first internall and inuisible Neither can it be conuertibly said that what was internall was externall For there are an infinity of inuisible and internal actions performed by God in the closet of Nature which falleth not into the spheare or capacity of the sensuall or naturall man but are onely by faith to bee beleeued And for this reason the Apostle saith Through Faith wee vnderstand that the world was ordained by the Word of God so that the things that wee see are not made of things which did appeare By which it is euidently proued that all things were first inuisible before they were by sense to bee discerned And consequently it is the property of an externall and carnall man to beleeue nothing but what hee perceiueth by sense and to say that if any thing appeare to sense which was not knowne before it is diabolicall and not of God when the aforesaid text doth attribute all reducing of inuisible actions to the visible sense by the Word not of the Deuill but of God All Philosophers therefore haue accorded that it is one spirit of life which onely operateth in mans body But this spirit according vnto his diuersity of distinct offices indueth a diuers appellatioâ—… and therefore it is tearmed by them in one respect Rationall in an other Concupiscible and in a third Irascible By the first it is apt to be illuminated to vnderstand things that are aboue it beneath it and in it and with it selfe For by this his propertie or faculty it knoweth God aboue it selfe the Angels which are ranked with it selfe and whatsoeuer is comprehended in the whole circle of the heauens beneath it selfe such is his spirituall act of centrall emanation by reason of that powerfull vertue allotted her by God By the second and the third it is inclined either to desire and affect a thing or to eschew and flye from it that is either to loue or hate c And by this propertie of hers she doth exercise herselfe about the Sympathy or Antipathy of those things which are either proper or dissonant vnto her specifick nature And therefore in this her office she worketh mightily in and about the effects of this Weapon-Salue being that from these two later operations in her proceedeth euery affection For as of Concupiscibility proceedeth all ioy and hope because Natura laetatur in sua naturâ c and therefore by the vnion of the liuely emanation the dead or congealed spirit in the Salue is quickned and viuified So contrariwise the liuing soule or naturall Spirit in which the supernaturall Spirit doth act is of it's owne nature obnoxious vnto a kind of spirituall dolor and feare by reason of the Weapon that vsed violence vnto it the which passions belong to and are affected by the Irascible spirit for asmuch as it either greiueth or is made dolorous already at the violence offered or seareth to bee greiued or made dolorous by it These foure affections of the spirit of man are the beginners and as it were the common subiect of all vertuous and vicious actions which befall vnto man Now to expresse the large extension of that centrall spirit which doth radically operate in the vitall spirit the wisest Philosophers affirme that it seeth it selfe in it selfe to the end that it may rightly vnderstand it selfe in it selfe And when it will know God it eleuateth it selfe aboue it selfe by it's mentallbeame it penetrats all things it beholdeth all things as well present as absent it is when it pleaseth beyond the seas and searcheth out things that are hidden yea and in one moment it directeth and sendeth forth his beames vnto the farthest limits of the whole world and searcheth out the secrets of it it descendeth downe vnto the deepe and mounteth vp againe from thence vnto heauen and cleaueth fast to Christ and is made all one with Christ. And must the infinite vertue of this all penetrating spirit according vnto Master Fosters tenent bee limited by any imaginary spheare of actiuity assigned by the vaine Philosophy of the Ethnicks which as the Apostle saith is framed out after the tradition of man and the world and not by God Doth he not warne vs to beware that wee be not deceiued by such philosophicall doctrine which doth disagree from the rules of Christ in whom is the plenitude of the Godhood bodily And must we now to obey Master Fosters phantasticall Idaea breake the Lawes of the Apostle to be deluded by his false Philosophy But to returne vnto our purpose All this which is aboue mentioned being well considered namely the Catholike Nature of the Spirit which breathed life into the creatures tâ—…e indiuisibility and indiuiduality of the giuer and the gift which is giuen nam Essentia diuina est indiuidua The diuine Essence is in diuisible and vndiuided and therefore the diuine Spirit imparted vnto the creature is continuated and vndiuided from him that giueth it his infinity of extension for asmuch as
to the Reader that he is infra inuidiam As for my selfe I must ingenuously concurre with the opinion of all the world and say that I had rather be enuied then pittied But to our purpose The subiect of this Chapter cited by me in my mysticall Anatomy is onely a discourse of the naturall reference and Magnetick or attractiue and sympatheticall relation which is obserued to be betwixt two distinct substances of the like nature but differing in the distance of place as betweene the Loadstone and the Iron betwixt the blood and the salt of the same nature in which the vegetating spirit common vnto them both doth occultly abide And you must note also courteous Reader that in this particular Booke of my mysticall Anatomy I did handle the secret and hidden properties of the spirituall or internall blood in the externall citing therewithall as neere as my small capacity would giue me leaue the harmonicall effects which it worketh as well by contract or immediate touch as at a distance I would faine know now wherein I haue offended in so doing or how I haue deserued M. Fosters slanderous ingression into his examination of this businesse or whether in my naturall discourse vpon this subiect I mention Diabolicall Charmes Circles Witch-craft or vnlawfull and forbidden Characters or such like If you finde nothing appertaining vnto any such deuilish Magick then giue your sentence whether such a Prelude vnto this businesse was honest decent or any thing appertaining vnto the matter in handling As for the vsage of the Weapon-Salue in it selfe I protest before God and man I neuer of my selfe did practise it vnto this very day but in my conscience and by reason of a more strict inquiry which for this cause I haue made into it I finde it so free from any Diabolicall superstition which God is my witnesse I haue euer hated as I doe the Deuill and all his workes and haue heard so much of the vertuous operation thereof that from henceforward malegree the demeure writers or speakers against it I will both practise it and defend the lawfulnesse of it as being more assured now then euer that it is the blessed vertue of God and not any act of the Deuill which operateth in it vnto the health and alledgement of Gods afflicted creatures But to come vnto our matter I will make but few words for I haue already beene too long in my precedent discourse But before I begin I pray you obserue gentle and iudicious Reader how that our Sponge-carrier is very halting and vnperfect in the interpretation of my text straining it much from its true nature to serue his owne sense rather then iustly to expresse mine intention as indeed he ought I will therefore in the fiâ—…st place expresse vnto you in naked English tearmes the full and exact purpose of my Latine text which I call mine Assertion and then in the next place I will expresse his exposition or collection After that I will set downe the vertuous validity of his Sponge in drinking vp deuouring or wiping away the strength of my Assertion and then in the last place I will crush and squeese his Sponge and make it by force to vomit vp againe the truth which it hath deuoâ—…ed or rather couered with his vaile of ignorance And this shall be my manner of proceeding in combate against this Lernian Monster and his Trâ—…th 〈◊〉 Sponge CHAP. I. Heere it is proued against our Aduersaries Assertion First that the Blood Fat Flesh and Bones of a dead Man doe participate with that Balsamicke nature or humidum radicule which is in the liuing Man Secondly that a Horse hath a Balsam sympathising with that of a Man My naked text Englished We see that this Oyntment is compounded of things passing well agreeing vnto mans nature and consequently that it hath a great respect to his health and preseruation for as much as vnto the composition thereof wee haue in the chiefest place or ranke Blood in which the power of life is placed Here I say is the essence of mans Bones growing out of them in forme of Mosse termed Vsnea here is his Flesh in the Mummy which is compounded of Flesh and Balsame here is the Fat of Mans Body which concurreth with the rest vnto the perfection of this Oyntment And with all these as is said the Blood is mingled which was the beginning and food of them all for as much as in it is the spirit of life and with it the bright soule doth abide and operateth after a hidden manner So that the whole perfection of Mans Body doth seeme to concurre vnto the confection of this precious oyntment And this is the reason why there is so great a respect and consent betweene this Oyntment and the Blood of the wounded person For it is most necessary that some of the Blood of the wounded be drawne out from the depth of the â—…und c. This is the exact interpretation of my text Now yee shall see what he maketh of it M. Fosters Collection Scull-mosse or Bones saith Doctor Fludd Mummy and the Fat of Man the especiall ingredience comprehend the corpor all perfection of man and so are apt to heale by reason of a naturall Balsam resting in them sympathising with the hypostaticall Balsam refiding in the liuing Man You see here that first he leaues out the blood which is the prime ingredient and then whereas I speake of that enbalming ingredient which the Nobles of Aegypt were wont to make of the naturall Balsam and such like Bituminous and vnctuous things as were enemies to Corruption he nominates and interprets after his fashion and to serue his turne saying that I speake of the naturall Balsam in Man residing in the Oyntment c. But I will let him haue his scope being it cannot much vary from my purpose M. Fosters Sponge to wipe away this mine Assertion I deny that Scull-mosse or Bones Mummy and Mans Fat haue though they be medicinable any naturall Balsam or radicall humor for so some call naturall Balsam residing in them sympathising with the hypostaticall Balsam remaining in the liuing Man vnlesse a Horse haue a Balsam sympathising with Mans. For saith D. Fludd which I aduise him to remember if a naile which pricketh a Horse be put into the Oyntment-pot the Horse shall be cured I say there is no such sympathy betweene Horse and man and if there be no cause at all to beleâ—…ue the one there is but little to beleâ—…ue the other Here the Sponge is Squeesed Obserue in the first place that our Opposite forgets that Blood is one of the ingrediences And then he disputeth ex non concessis as is before said and yet neuerthelesse I will giue him his way and proue that all which his Spongy tongue hath vttered for the wiping away of that truth which hath bene here expressed by me is of no validity nor yet of any appearance or probability I will therefore diuide this
Confutation of his into two Branches or Members whereof the first shal produce this question namely Whether Blood Flesh Fat Bones haue any naturall Balsam or radicall moisture residing in them sympathising with the Hypostaticall Balsam remaining with the liuing Man The later containeth this Whether a Horse haue a Balsam sympathising with the Balsam of Man The first of these two is flatly held by M. Foster negatiuely and I in a surer confidence doe hold it affirmatiuely and will proue it first by Naturall Reason secondly by the Authority of Holy writ and lastly by Common Experience In the first place therefore I would haue M. Foster to learne what a Balsamicke nature is before hee thus rashly seeketh to censure the creatures to haue it or to bee without it I must therefore let him know that it is nought else but a volatill and essentiall salt that is full of vegetating and multiplying vertue which it receiueth from aboue as a precious soule to viuifie and animate it the which vertue is that Calidum innatum or Naturall heate by whose vertue euery creature doth exist and the volatile vehicle in which it is carried is that Humidum Radicale or Radicall Moisture or Humidity by which and in which the foresaid vertue doth immediately moue and act vnto life vegetation and multiplication By the operation therefore of these essentiall actiue and passiue Vegetables and Animals doe manifestly and Minerals occultly vegetate and multiply and that as well in their forme or naturall fire as in their substance And for this cause the true Alchymists do cal this mystical Salt Sal Sapientûm the Salt of Wise men for as much as in it consisteth the mystery of Nature And others tearme it the true Balsamum Naturae or Balsam of Nature in which all the Mystery of Nature doth consist Whereupon the wise Philosophers affirme Quod sit in sale isto quicquid quaerunt Sapientes That all that Wise men seeke after is in salt Touching the aëriall part it is the volatile salt which is euery where expansed in the open ayre and it is the purest essence of and in the ayre in which the graine of life is and therefore other Wise men say Est in aëre occultus vitae cibus The hidden food of life is in the ayre c. It is not without a very mysticall and secret cause also that our Sauiour Christ tooke an especiall notice of Salt In one place he saith Sal Terrae estis vos Ye are the Salt of the Earth where hee meaneth the spirituall man in which is the breath of life And againe Sal si euaneurit in quo salietur ad nihilum valet vltra nisi vt mittatur for as conculcetur ab hominiâ—…us If the Salt shall vanish away with what shall it bee seasoned It will be of no further value saue onely to bee cast cut of doores and to be troden on by men Whereby it is euident that nothing can exist or be of any reckoning or estimation without this Mysticall Salt or Glew of Life but will be quite dead and corrupt There is Salt in the very dunghill that giueth life and heart vnto the ground whereby it multiplieth the Graine in a greater proportion and sucketh vnto it more plentifully the Celestiall influence of life To conclude the very essence of the Animall creatures blood in generall consisteth in this Balsamicke Salt By it the body is animated by it the flesh through apposition vnion and agglutination of parts is viuified multiplied and successiuely preserued By this in the bread and the flesh of creatures the blood in man is daily increased in this therefore is the incorruptible spirit of life which keepeth man aliue and defendeth him from corruption and vnlesse it acteth his viuifying office man is quickly rotten or corrupted Doe not Scriptures confirme thus much in many placesâ—… namely that Anima ominis est insanguine That the life of man is in his blood and Anima carnis est in sanguine The life of the flesh is in the blood Now it is certaine that this viuifying Spirit which is Donum Dei cuilibet Creaturae The Gift of God vnto euery Creature as is proued before is the true operator in this his Radicall moist Tabernacle to heale mend and agglutinate wounds being assisted with any application made either by a Reall or Virtuall Contact It followes therefore that this Spirit being in the Blood Fat Bones and Flesh of Man for as much as they doe subsist by it and were first animated and engendered and multiplyed by it doe participate of this Spirit which the Scripture saith doth animate and heale all things Spiritus seu Verbum Dei saith SALOMON sanat omnia The Spirit and Word of God healeth all things But M. Foster will say that this Spirit of life is in the Blood Fat and Flesh when it is not separated from the liue Man but after it is separated it hath no more life or being I haue told him and proued the contrary in my Philosophicall Demonstration For without this Salt and liuing Spirit in it neither Blood Fat Bones nor Flesh could subsist but according vnto that of Christ beâ—…ore mentioned it would be of no vse Againe it is intimated in Holy Writ that the Spirit of life is in their centrall or inward parts though it doth not act or operate but quiescere in Centro rest in the Center as I haue before expressed plainely For else why should it be said Thou shalt altogether forbeare to eate the Blood and the Fat And againe Thou shalt not take in thy meate the blood of the creature And againe The blood of the Beast or Foâ—…le killed in hunting must be powred on the ground and the reason is there giuen namely Because the Spirit of life is in the blood And againe it is said The Soule of the flesh is in the blood Now if the Spirit of life did vanish out of the Blood Flesh Fat and Bones immediately after their separation from the liuing creature what needed all these words or strict precepts for the not eating of the Blood and Fat after the death of the creatures Or why should that reason be giuen Because the soule or life is in the blood or the blood is the seeâ—…e of the soule or life The text doth not say The Blood was the seate of the soule or life but It is namely the subsistence of these parts though separated from the liuing body doe yet participate with the Spirit of life therefore beware that you eate it not I will not here remember you of the viuifying vertue remaining with Elias his Bones which made the murthered body that was by the theeues cast into the Graue of the Prophet rise againe nor that the soules of such as were slaine for the Words sake did cry vnto the Lord from vnder the Altar for vengeance nor that the voyce of the murthered Abels blood did cry out to
deliuereth them from their graues let them confesse before the Lord his louing kindnesse c. Whereby it appeareth that it was his louing kindnesse and not his seuerity and vengeance which by his Word did heale and cure For he operateth vengeance in his seuerity or destructiue will by the organ of the Deuill And then of Salomon But the teeth of the venemous Dragons could not ouercome thy Children for thy mercy came to helpe them and healed them for neither herb nor plaister healed them but thy Word O Lord which healeth all things for thou hast the power of life and death and leadest downe into the gates of Hell and bringest vp againe c. Now I would know whether it ought to be any true Christians opinion that the Deuill can command the misericord of God and so be Master of his word at his pleasure as to heale Gods creatures nay one framed after his owne Image for any wicked stratagems cause I meane for the gaining of both body and soule of man from God to himselfe Doth not Iob say In the hand of God is the life of euery liuing creature and the spirit of all flesh To conclude as Saint Iohn doth truely auerre that in the Word was life So it is certaine that all healing and restoring power is from this viuifying vertue in the Word and not from the priuatiue power of the Deuill in whom contrary wise is death and destruction Moreouer I would haue you to note these words of the Apostle Now there are diuers gifts but the same Spirit and there are diuersities of operations but God is the same which worketh all in all but to one is giuen by the Spirit the Word of wisedome to another the word of knowledge to another is giuen faith and to another the gift of healing by the same Spirit c. Can any good Christian thinke that this one Spirit that onely worketh these things is the Deuill No verily For in the third verse the Apostle termes it the Holy Ghost What shall we say then That the Deuill doth heale by the gift of the Holy Ghost or that the holy Spirit will grant the euill spirit his good gift of healing to deceiue mankinde and to rob God of his right God forbid But with iustice giue that vnto God which belongeth vnto God and assigne vnto the Deuill that property which was allotted him by his Creatour from the beginning the first Spirit from all creations was ordained in his office to be a good viuifying and a quickning Spirit the latter a bad a killing and a mortifying spirit For it is said by the Prophet in the person of God Ego creaui destructorem ad disperdendum I haue created the destroyer to destroy I will boldly therefore conclude and finish my Pamphlet or petty discourse as I began it namely with this religious verse mentioned in the diuine Hymne of the Royall Psalmist to the honour of God and disabling of either Deuill or any other creature to worke essentially wonders of himselfe or by himselfe Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël qui facit mirabilia solus Blessed be the Lord God of Israël who onely worketh wonders Or as he hath it in another place Confitemini Domino Dominorum quoniam in aeternum miserâ—…or diaâ—…ius qui facit mirabilia magna solus Prayse the Lord for his mercy endureth for euer who onely doth great wonders And therefore if the Lord of Lords onely or alone then hath he not any mortall man to helpe him if he alone then not any Angel of Heauen and lastly if it be God alone and onely then not any Deuill of Hell nor Daemon or spirit of the fiery or aëry or watry or earthly element to assist him For the text saith It is the Lord of Lords alone and therefore not any creature to helpe him or that is able to doe this without him it is he I say onely and consequently not the Deuill who performeth wonders But by euery mans acknowledgement this manner of cure is wonderfull for as much as the manner of working in it passeth the capacity of worldly mens vnderstanding Therefore with Dauid I will say Benedictus Deus qui facit tale mirabile solus and consequently I may inferre thereupon and that iustly Maledictus homo qui diuina falsò attribuit Diabolo Wherefore I wish euery zealous and religious person to haue this inuiolable Motto engrauen in his heart that by the vertue thereof he may fright away and banish from his thoughts all such irreligious perswasions as would moue him to derogate one Iota or tittle from Gods power who is Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end of all things to arrogate falsly vnto the vilest of creatures who in himselfe is nothing but what God is pleased that he shall be of himselfe hath nothing but what God pleaseth to bestow on him and by himselfe can doe nothing but what God is pleased to act in him and by him that he doth and not any thing else and therefore what God will not that he cannot doe Let this then be your Motto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Finis omnium principium Deus God is the end and beginning of all things And for this reason Reuchlin in his Booke de verbo mâ—…risico saith Omne hominis miraculum cuius vera non imaginaria deprehenditur substantia tum grande tum mediocre tum minimum si ordo sacrorum prascriptus obseruetur referendum est semper in Deum gloriosum cuius nomen est benedictum in aeternum Is enim solus est qui vel seipso vel delegato non sine seipso velper substitutum exseipso talia facit qualia demiramur quorum causam adaequatam scire non possumus vel quod fiant vel quod hoc modo fiant Euery miracle of man whose substance is certaine â—…nd not imaginary or prestigious bee it great or meane or little if the prescribed order of Holy Writ bee obserued is alwayes to bee referred and ascribed vnto one glorious God whose Name bee euer blessed For it is hee alone who either of himselfe or by a delegat with whom hee is present or by a substitute of his owne and from himselfe that effecteth such things the true or plaine grounds whereof and by what meanes they are brought to passe wee neither can discerne nor comprehend Thus farre Iohn Reuchlin And therefore in the period of this Treatise I may iustly put home and allude vnto Master Foster and his Complices the woe of Isaias against such persons which I did mention in the beginning of it for as much as they presuming too too much on their worldly wisedome doe mistakingly and through their blindnesse ascribe the things of God vnto the Deuill the deeds of goodnesse vnto euill and the effects of light vnto darknesse ISAIAS 5.20 21. Woe vnto them that speake good of euill and euill of good which put darknesse for light and light for darknesse that