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A44985 An answer to some queries propos'd by W.C., or, A refutation of Helmont's pernicious error (that every man is often born, and hath twelve ages of tryal allow'd him in the world by God) warmly contended for, in and about Lambourn in Wiltshire : in a letter to a friend. Hall, John, 1627-1656. 1694 (1694) Wing H343; ESTC R34926 10,528 24

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some information to prevent that Error and Confusion such a strange way of Numera 8 But to cut my Work shorter instead of amassing more Arguments of this kind I will make use of one sensible Demonstration which I will desire leave here to lay down out of its proper place But that the force of it may be better understood 't will First be necessary for me to give you an account of as much of the Hypothesis of Van Helmont as will be needful for my purpose and this I will do out of a Book sent me by the Inquirer call'd A Letter concerning the Revolution of Humane Souls In that we are told pag. 10 11 12. That every Man lives a 1000 years on the Earth in which time he undergoes 12 Revolutions in the same Body In all which time the Soul is absent from the Body 333⅓ Years and if these 12 times of Absence are computed one with another the distance between every parting and meeting again of the Soul and Body will be 27 Years 10 Months and 2 Days Now I will shew the Impossibility of the Reunion of these parts in the time that this Philosopher hath assign'd for it and the Reason I do it by is obvious viz. The testimony of our Senses That the Bodies of departed Souls are not reassum'd by them in a much longer space 'T is so intolerably ignorant to think that our Bodies do within the compass of 28 years corrupt small enough to be drawn into the Womb at every new imaginary Birth that the Plea of Dotage which commonly attends old Age will not be sufficient to excuse it For whose Faculties can be so much impair'd as not to know That ordinarily in dry Graves the Bones will appear entire and in some Vaults the Flesh will not be all consum'd in that time Many Persons now living who saw Bishop Braybrook's Body taken up out of a Vault in St. Paul's Church about 20 Years since in which he was laid about 200 Years before can testify That there remain'd not only a firm Connection between the Bones but that also the outward Skin that cover'd them and some Entrails within tho' dry'd like Parchment were not consum'd The Romanists do shew abundance of Bones as Relicks which tho' most of them did never belong to those ancient Persons they are ascrib'd to yet they have amongst them Loads of such as are about 1000 Years Old These are not can not be attracted into the Womb and yet the Men in whose Contexture they once were cannot make their Revolutions without them unless the Helmontians believe that a Man may be made up like a Collar of Brawn all Flesh and no Bone But if you desire Instances that are more General I would carry your Thoughts as far as Egypt Judea and indeed to all the East where anciently that curious way of Embalming dead Bodies prevailed or to old Rome and many other Nations who burnt their dead Bodies and by an Artful way they had separated the Ashes of the Body from that of the Fuel and then put them into Pots Now were I an Helmontian there is nothing I should hate more than these ways of preserving Bodies for they are so ordered that the Magnetism of the Soul hath afterward no power to draw them towards a Revolution I will send these curious Inquirers no farther than the University of Oxford where they may see Instances of both these Sorts of preserving There is a Body Embalm'd of which there are undeniable Tokens that it must be 2000 Years old and their Urns are but little under that Age but 't is not to be doubted but if the Vessels which contain this Humane Dust could last so long but that they would remain till the last Trump shall call them to Reunion Well then if the Souls to which these Bodies did belong have not fetch'd them away in all this time there is then no Ground for this Unphilosophical Position That the Soul after a few Years spent in a state of Separation from the Body should joyn with its old Companion again Lastly This Doctrine if believ'd would lead Men into Security For if they cannot recollect that they ever had any Life besides the Present they must conclude that they have XI more behind and on that Account would defer the trouble of living well till their Last Revolutions That Men if they had liv'd at all before would remember it I prove 1. From Pythagoras who positively affirms it Now his Testimony in this Case ought to be deciding because He first taught this Doctrine to all the Eastern Nations and therefore must better understand his own Opinion than his late Disciples the Helmontians 2. Because the Body decay'd by Age would be repair'd at every new Birth and therefore the Soul would exercise memory and all its other Functions in it better than before 3. The Rich Man in the Gospel Luk. 16. 25 27. is represented as remembring his Family 4. Unless we retain in another Life a memory of this we cannot give an Account of it in the day of Judgment as we must do Rom. 14. 14. 5. The Worm that never dies Mar. 9. 44. is an evil Conscience reflecting in the next World upon Sins committed in this But if I should not insist on this but yield that Men cannot remember this Consequence against Religion will still follow For since they declare that every one must have XII Revolutions granting that a Man cannot come to know whether he be at the First or Last of them yet he is sure that 't is XI to one but that he shall have another Revolution which is odds enough on the Sinners side And if Men are apt now to delay their Repentance whilst they are under the Perswasion that this Life is the only time of Tryal how wicked will they be when they come to believe as so great a probability must make them do that they shall live again at least one Age more on the Earth The Inquirer concludes thus Now if any Man will put Pen to Paper to deny the Return of Souls I would put my Hand to Paper to prove that That Man does deny there is any God but what he hath fondly conceiv'd But if Men will only exclaim against and call it Damnable Doctrine as I hear some do I would thereupon ask this Question Whether it be not a Duty incumbent on Teachers to refute this Damnable Doctrine if they are able that Men might not run into it But seeing many Books containing this Doctrin have been Printed in divers Languages and divers Countries and no Man that we can hear of hath hitherto written against it therefore I think it altogether impossible for them to confute it If any One will undertake to Answer these Questions I mean any Teacher of one of the divers Congregations and send his Answer to me it shall be kindly receiv'd I have offer'd my Queries to some of the Clergy of the Church of England and I could not find that they were willing to medle in the Matter I have also sent them to the Learned amongst the Presbytereans but if I receive no Answer from them nor any other of the divers Congregations to whom they are propos'd I shall conclude that they are altogether unable to Answer what I have Written W. C. Here he forgets what Modesty becomes One who pretends to be seeking about after the Truth and insults upon all that differ in Opinion from him He swaggers like Goliah before he enters the List and Challenges out the Army of separate Teachers but in a manner that bespeaks him a foul Adversary for if they will not Answer him he concludes 't is because that they are Ignorant and Unable but if they will Answer him then he will charge them with Atheism I know there are some amongst the Persons he provokes that are Men of good Learning and who could had they not despis'd This Cause and the Defenders of it easily have corrected the Opinion the Inquirer and his Master have of themselves and let them understand what little Creatures they really are Toleration hath lately brought forth Three unshapely Sons at a Birth the New-Jerusalem-Man the Barker and Revolutioner But of the Three the last is the weakest Brother as having only instead of Reason a hard Fore-head where with to defend himself That I may not be too tedious I 'le put a stop here and conclude my self SIR Your Most Affectionate Friend and Servant J. H. Mat 16. 2● * 〈…〉 8 1. 4 Job 〈…〉 * See a Letter concerning the Rev●lution of Humane Souls p. 10. * ● Pet. 2 5 Rom. 8. 11. 1 Cor. 15. 5. 22. See a Letter concerning c. p. 25. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Iamb cap. 14.