in the wrong But yet all nations besides had their Priests their Altars their Gods their rules and principles of the religion which they professed which is an argument that by nature they knewe there was a GOD. And that I may descend vnto the work-manship of man to shewe that there is a God It is truely said that hominis fabricatio est innumeris Dei testimonijs ornata the verye work-manship of man him selfe doth aboundantly witnes that there is a God Let vs therefore first of all looke into the soule of man and afterward into the state of his bodye There is in it not onely an infinite capacitye in so much that the more it knoweth the more it is able to learne It is able to conceiue not onely the whole worlde but also two worldes yea infinite worldes It is of infinite desire which is neuer satisfied I will not speak of Daniel which was called vir multorum disideriorum a man of manye desires nor of Moses which in this transitorye life desired to see the very face of God but of Alexander the great which when he thought he had subdued the whole worlde yet was not therewith contented but affected more worldes and hearing a Philosopher say there were infinite worldes wept for greife to thinke how great a labour it should be for him to subdue them all as if he had hoped to conquer all Mans appetite is neuer satisfied giue him a Citye he desireth a Kingdome giue him a kingdome he affecteth an Empire giue him an Empire he desireth a worlde If he could be made Lord of the whole world and knew that besides that there were no more yet would he not rest there but desire somwhat which is greater then the worlde And what can that be but only God So then forasmuch as man is not satisfied with knowledge and contemplation but laboureth to knowe more that still Aristotles proposition shall be veryfied in him Omnes homines naturaliter scire desiderant all men naturallye are desirous of knowledge neither yet with possession but desireth to haue more what can that be but Dei maiestas in mente voluntate tanquam in speculis reflexa et vnita euen the Maiestie of God in mans minde and in his will as it were in two glasses seene and reflected backe againe Againe forasmuch as the proper obiect of the minde is truth as Tully writeth but the minde of man is infinite as I haue declared the obiect must be correspondent vnto the minde therefore truth must be infinite and there must be no end of the knowledge and apprehension of truth And forasmuch as that truth which is in creatures dependeth vpon vncertaintyes therefore there is some other truth which is immutable and most certayne and that is God Also the substance of mans soule hath not his originall or beginning from any materiall thing because it is not of seed as in due course I will proue vnto you neither yet is it mortall as I will shewe when I come to speake of the soule Therfore it is not of any naturall cause but is the effect of such a cause as is supernaturall and metaphisicall and that is God But to leaue the soule of man and come to his bodye Mercurius Trismegistus writeth of it in this sorte Si vis opisicem etiam per mortalia intueri cogita ô fili hominis in vtero fabricam opificis exacte artificium expende disce quisuam artifex pulchram hanc diuinam hominis imaginem cordat quisnam sit qui oculos circumscribat nares aures perforauerit os aperuerit nertias extenderit colligauerit venas in canales efformauerit ossa indurauerit carni cutam circum diderit digitos articulos distiuxerit pedibus basim dilatauerit splenem extenderit poros cauauerit heper latum fecerit pulmonem perforauerit ventrem capacâ—â—… fecerit honorabilia palam figurauerit turpia absconderit vide quot artes in vna materia quis haec omnia fecit qua mater quis pates nisi solus immanifestus Deus If thou ô man wilt see the inuisible workeman doe but thinke vpon man how he is framed in the wombe who made his eyes round his eares and nostrels holowe his mouth open who stretched out his sinewes hardned his bones skinned his flesh parted his fingers who made the passage from his veynes who widened the bottomes of his feet dilated his splene who opened his pores his lunges dilated his liuer made his belly of such capacitye his honest partes to be open and his secret partes to be hidden who did all these thinges but onely the inuisible God A third reason to proue there is a God is the generall consent not onelye of the learned men of the worlde but also of the worlde it selfe And why should any fewe wicked men thinke them selues wiser then the worlde The denyers of the God head haue beene these men of name Diagoras Theodotus Cyrenaeus Euemarus Tegeates Callimachus Podicus Caeus Plinius Lucianus Lucretius Doletus Epicurus some of them denying that there was a God others that he tooke the care of gouerning and guiding the worlde and besides these verye fewe But as for the famous and learned Philosophers of the worlde they confessed there was a God Empedooles said Deus est cuius centrum est vbique circumferentia autem nusquam God his center is euerye where his circumference no where Socrates called him magnum Iudicem the great Iudge as Tully witnesseth Plato acknowledged him in all his workes Aristotle the greatest of all which in deed was equiualent to all the Philosophers I may iustlye say there is almost no leafe in his workes but in it he inserteth the name of God euen as almost no page of the Bible but in it is vnderstood the name of Christ who is called by him prima causa causa causarum ens entium primus mortor author omnium lux aterna simplicissimus actus conditor mundi infinitus immensus inaffabilis Deus The first cause the cause of causes the essence of all thinges of whome all things haue their being the first mouer the author of all thinges the eternall light most pure act maker of the world infinite vnmeasurable vnspeakable God Aristotle when he liued was accused by Hiero the Priest because Contra patrios mores ritus multitudine deorum vnum solum â—erum Deum agnouit Contrary to the religion of his countrye where many Gods were worshipped he acknowledged but one onely true God And when he dyed the last wordes which he spake were these Ens entium miserere mei God haue mercy vpon me The like was acknowledged by Mercurius Trismegistus Quid Deus immutabile bonum Mundus factus est propter hominem homo propter Deum What is God an immutable goodnes the worlde was made for man and man for God Ego fi lt et humanitatis gratia et erga Deum pictatis haec scribo I write
this tract my sonne in regarde of my loue to vardes man and my dutye towards God Illud vero ex mente lucidum verbīs filius Det that same pure worde which is borne of God is the sonne of God Natura diuina principium entium the diuine nature is the beginning of all thinges Deus et pater bonum eandem habent naturam quid est Deus pater bonum quam omnium esse God the Father and Goodnes haue the same nature what is God the Father and Goodnes but the very essence and being of all thinges Here is a manifest acknowledgement of the Trinitye To leaue particular men what answere the Atheists to the iudgement of the worlde the consent of nations Tully draweth his argument in this manner Deus esse non est dubitandum quoniam corum notitiam omnium animis ipsa impressit natura that there is a God it is without question because all nations doe acknowledge and confesse him by the instinct of nature But in an other place saith he Omnium consensus vox naturae est the consent of all men is the voyce of nature it selfe I haue shewed how all nations imbrace some religion or other haue their Altars their Priests their Gods as the Hebrues from Moses so the Egiptians from Mercury the Cretians from Melissus the Latins frō Ianus the Romans from Numa the Greckes frō Orpheus and Cadmus and all nations from one or other St. Augustin saith concerning miracles Non nunc necessaria sunt vt olim miracula tum facta erant necessario priusquam crederet mundus ad hoc vt crederet mundus quisquis autem adhuc vt credat prodigia requirit magnum est ipse prodigium qui mundo credente non credit Now miracles are not so necessary as in times past they were before they were necessary that so the worlde might beleeue but now he is a miracle his selfe that will not beleeue because the world beleeueth But say I as he is a wonder that will not beleeue that which the worlde beleeueth so he is a monster which will not confesse that which the world confesseth A fourth argument to proue there is a God is the great multitude of miracles which haue beene manifested to the worlde euen such things as are farre aboue the strength of nature therfore needs must proceed from some higher supernaturall cause and who is that metaphysicall cause but euen Natura naturans God him selfe For example slightly to passe ouer so many earthquakes which haue ouerthrowne whole Cityes as Eutropius sheweth how the yeare after St. Pauls death the Citye of Colossus was swallowed vp for despising St. Pauls doctine They are not vnacquainted with the Historiographers which shewe how by an earthquake the Iland of Sicily was made an Iland being before one maine continent with Italy how Europe and Africa were parted when Spaine was deuided from Barbary which before were one land And that I may speak that which mine eyes haue seene Vienna the cheife Citye of Austria is now more subiecte to earthquakes then other places in the worlde besides in so much that there is scarce one house in the Citye which hath not one rent or other in the stone wall which came onely by earthquakes And because that place hath beene more subiecte to earthquakes then other places one of the Bishops of that Sea heretofore deuised a certaine prayer continually to be said in the Churches of Vienna to this effect that God would defend that Citye from earthquakes Let the Atheist satisfie me by a natural reason concerning this poynt else let him confesse that there is a supernatural cause which if they doe that is God What can they saye to so manye strange Eclipses to so manye prodigious raines as when it rayned bloud flesh stones coles of fire of which they may read at large in Liuy Plutarch and other authors what say they to so many comets appearing in the ayre after which stil doe insue the death of so many Princes as namely the Comet which appeared in the yeare 1506. after which ensued the death of Philip King of Spayn sonne and heyre to Maximlian the Emperour Philip Prince Elector of Rhene Albert Duke of Bauaria Pope Iuly the second Iohn King of Suecia and Noruegia Lewis king of France Maximiliā the Emperour the Bish of Spire the Archbishops of Colen Magdeburg the venetiā wars the wars between the Turke and the Persian the King of Denmarke Christian driuen out of his Kingdome Hungary inuaded and Rhodes taken by the Turke Lewis King of Hungary slayne who can giue a naturall reason of this and many other like vnto this But I will stand especially vpon two things which haue troubled the wise men of the world let the Atheists yeild naturall reasons how these things could be else let thē cōfesse there is a God w c is aboue nature First the Starre which apeared at the birth of our Sauiour being neither a fixed starre nor yet a Planet for it was nothing like vnto either of them if we doe respecte the motion of it the place where and the time when it apeared and the vse whervnto it serued For it neither moued as the fixed starres from the Est to the West nor as the Planets from the West to the Est but from the Est to the South the like neuer heard of before nor since When the Sunne shined it also shone when the wise men came to Palestina it went before them when they came to Ierusalem it vanished away when they went to Bethleem it went before them againe as if it were a creature indued with reason and vnderstanding it shewed them the verye house where the Childe did lye whereas a naturall starre by reason of the great distance betweene heauen earth could not discouer vnto them the place and scituation of a great Citye much lesse of a small house when they went forward it went forward whē they stood still it stood still And as St. Augustin saith Quid erat illa stellanisi magnifica lingua coeli quae nec vnquam antea inter sidera apparuit nec postea demonstranda perntansit quid erat nisi magnifica lingua coeli quae gloriam Dei narraret quae inusitatum virginis partum inusitato fulgore clamaret cui non postea apparenti euangelium toto Orbe succederet What starre was that which was neuer seene before nor since but the wonderfull voyce of heauen which should declare the glory of God and publish to the worlde the vnvsuall Child-bearing of a Virgin by an vnvsuall brightnes which should neuer afterward apeare againe but in steed of it should be the glorious Gospell of Iesus Christ If you aske me what proofe I haue besides the Gospell that euer there apeared such a starre witnes Ignatius which sawe our Sauiour in the flesh Prudentius the Poet Macrobius a professed enemye to Christiā religion which testifieth
earth and a fluide or liquid body yet confined within the bankes that it cannot drowne the earth the earth solid and firme vnder our feet that we cannot sinke we must confesse ô sonne Tatius that there is one which is Lord maker of these thinges for it is impossible that euery thing should continue in due place number and meeasure and so iust a preportion should be obserued without a maker and who could make these thinges but God therfore there is a God To this booke of nature agreeth the booke of the Bible who saith The heauens declare the power of God the firmament sheweth the worke of his handes one day teacheth another one night giueth knowledge to another Againe the wrath of God is reuealed from heauen against all vngodlynes and vnrighteousnes of men which detaine the truth of God in vnrrighteousnes for asmuch as that which may be knowne of God is manifest in them for God hath shewed it vnto them for the inuisible thinges of him that is his eternall power and Godhead are seene by the creation of the worlde being considered in his workes to the intent that they should be without excuse Dauid saith he couereth him selfe with light as with a garment and spreadeth the heauens like a curtayne he layeth the beames of his chamber in the waters maketh the clowdes his chariots and walketh vpon the winges of the winde In which wordes I doe not presse them with the authoritye of the Scriptures because the Scriptures are not of sufficient credit with them but with the reasons which are vsed in the Scriptures which if they cannot answer they must yeild vnto and confesse that there is a God And therefore I conclude against them in this manner We see dayly effects before our eyes in all the elements continuall motions in the heauens but there can be no effecte without a cause there can be no motion without a mouer no action without an agent no worke without a workeman these be relatiues and therefore one could not be without the other Mercurius Trismegistus could say Statuam siue imaginem fieri sine statuario aut pictore nemo dicit Hoc vero opificium fine opifice factum est Ô multam cacitatem ô multam impietatem ô multam ignorantiam nunquam ô sili Tati priuaueris opifice opificia A picture cannot be made without a Painter or a grauen image without a Caruer And can such a piece of worke be made without a worke van It is blindenes it is impietye it is grosse to entertaine such a conceit So then we take these for vndouted principles in naturall Phiosophye that they may not be denyed to witte Euery effect hath his cause euery action his agent euery motion his mouer But as there be many secondary causes agents mouers so there must needes be one principall and aboue the rest There is ordo causarum qui in rerum natura non procedit in infinitum an order of causes sub-ordinate one to an other and therefore there is no infinite ascention vp in the subordination of causes but at the lēgth by ascēding we must come to the highest we must in ea consistere stay when we come there because we can goe no higher and that is God What naturall body soeuer is moued I say it is moued by some other which is higher then it selfe For example The sphere of the Moone which is the lowest of the heauens is moued by the spheare of Merc. which is higher thē it Mer. is moued by Venus which is higher then it Venus by the Sun the Sun by Mars Mars by Iupiter Iupiter by Saturne Saturne by the sphere of the fixed staries and so we ascend vntill we can goe no higher that is vnto the heauen which is called Primum mobile y t first highest body w c is subiect to motion volubility That also is moued aswell as the rest not of it selfe because no naturall bodye can moue it selfe therefore it hath motion frō some other not from any other bodye because there can be no other bodye aboue the highest therefore it must of necessitye be moued by that which is a Spirit and not a bodye not naturall but metaphisicall and that can be nothing else but God In like manner the Sunne and a man doe beget a man the Sunne putrifaction doe engender Flyes and these thinges being subiect to outward senses are therefore naturall bodyes and because they are naturall bodyes they haue foure causes two inward which are matter and forme and two outward efficient and finall and there is nature which hath his secret motion tell me therefore what is that You will say peraduenture that is nature which Aristotle defineth to be principium motus the beginning of motion you say rightly but that is inward therefore you must besides this assigne an outward cause of motion and what is that If you say the ayre that is but a middle cause and therefore you must ascend higher for if there be causa media there is also prima if there be a midde or subordinate cause there is also a principall and first cause And what is that but onely God that is causa causarum the cause of all other causes and from whence all other thinges haue their being Againe all agents doe not worke alike for one thing worketh of necessitye and that is nature an other thing worketh in these outward and indifferent thinges partly of will and partly of necessitye that is man there you see medium participationis a meane which participateth with the extremitye but there can be no meane without two extreames and there can be no one extreame without the other and therefore of necessitye there must be a third agent which worketh freely as nature worketh of necessitye and man partly of will partly of necessitye And that can be nothing else but Deus liberrimum agens euen God which worketh freelye that no power is able to withstand his worke Therefore I conclude this point with Iob Aske the beastes and they will teach thee the foules of the heauen and they will shewe thee speake to the earth and it will tell thee the fishes of the sea and they shall declare vnto thee who is ignorant of all these but the hand of the Lord hath made all these Secondly to leaue the work-manship of the whole worlde and to come to man alone which is but one little part of the same If man goe no farther then him selfe he shall see God most liuely in him selfe three manner of wayes First in his conscience and vnderstanding Secondly in his naturall inclination he hath to religion Thirdly in the excellencye of the work-manship both of his bodye and his soule Concerning the first I say there is in euery man at some time or other an inward feeling of his conscience which wil he nill he maketh him to confesse there is a God For suppose a man for
Dauid my soule is in mine handes meaning his life 2 a desire so the soule of Dauid was ioyned to the soule of Ionathan 3. the whole man consisting of bodie and soule so 76. soules descended with Jacob into Aegipt 4. a blast or breath Saule said to the Amelakite I pray thee come vpon me and slay me for anguish is come vpon me anxietas apprehendit me etiamsi anima mea adhuc in me est because my Soule is yet within me And it was said of Eutychus which fell downe dead for sleeping at S. Paules Sermon anima eius est in ipso his soule is yet in him that is there is yet breath in his bodie that he may bee reuiued againe 5. It is also taken for nothing so said the Prophet we haue conceaued and bin in Trauell and wee haue brought foorth a soule poperimus spiritum that is nothing because the soule or spirit although it bee some thing a most excellent thing yet because it is not visible nor any sensible thing he calleth it nothing 6. It is taken for that which is regenerate by the spirit of God so sayth the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the spirit lusteth against the flesh that is the spirit as it is guided by God doth striue and wrastle with it selfe 7. when the soule and the spirit doe concur together in the same sentence the soule signifieth mans will and the spirit his vnderstanding so the Apostle saith I pray God that your whole spirit and soule and body may be kept blameles c. But last of all and in this place it is that which is defined by Aristotle Actus corporis organici in potentia vitam habentis an acte or perfection of the body which giueth vnto the bodie life sense motion vegetation c. And of this signification of the soule we are to dispute in this place Concerning the originall of the soule which I proposed in the second place it is agreed vpon by the best Diuines and Philosophers that since the first Sabaoth God ceased from creating any more visible things but y t he doth Quotidie noues animas creare create new soules querie day houre momēt for asmuch as euerie moment young Children are quickned in their mothers wombes and that Anima hominis creando infunditur et infundendo creatur mans soule is in one moment infused by creation and created by infusion of it into the bodie But Optatur desireth to bee resolued by S. Augustin concerning this doubt of the originall of the soule vtrum animae vt corpora propagà tione nascantur sintque ex illa vna anima quae primo homini creata est vel Deus sine vlla propagatione animas nouas faciat singulis proprias Whether euerie mans soule is made out of Adams souie as euery mans bodie is made out of Adams bodie that so by propagation a soule should come out of a soule as a bodie commeth out of a bodie or whether God doth especially create to euery mans body a newe soule proper onely to that bodie He answereth that in the same manner as God made Adams soule of nothing so hee made all mens soules of nothing and he proueth it thus 1. When Adam saith of Eue flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone hee dooth not say soule of my soule 2. If any man holde that the soule of man commeth of man hee must shewe that as one light is kindled of an other and one fier lighted of an other without diminishing of their former light and heate so the soule must proceede out of an other soule the same soule out of which it proceedeth being not diminished which cannot bee expressed how it might be by the wit of man And besides saith hee it is dangerous to holde so least ye fal into the error of Tertullian which deemed the soule to be a bodie and not a spirit for so it must be borne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of seede as the bodie is If they speake of semen incorporeum a spirituall seede infused inuisibly into the body at the time of mās conception suppose that which is often seene that that which is conceaued doth prooue an obortiue and vntimely fruit when it is Embrio or non homo not a perfect man not fully shaped in the wombe that spirituall seede must either returne whence it came which it cannot doe or perish with the bodie and then wil follow this absurditie that an immortall soule is borne of corruptible mortall seede Tolet the Iesuit sheweth that mans soule cannot come ax traduce by any Propagation for these causes 1. No naturall agent can produce and bring foorth that which is aboue it selfe but the soule of man is aboue nature because it comprehendeth supernaturall thinges The maior is plaine because no naturall agent can worke but it must worke vpon matter the action must bee a materiall action whereas the soule is immateriall 2. Euerie natural agent as I haue shewed doth work vpon matter and the matter is capable of diuision but the soule of man is indiuisible 3. God hath created soules in the same manner as hee created Angells but the Angells were created of nothing therefore mens soules were created of nothing And because I haue entred into this discourse concerning the soule that I may leaue the Atheist for a little season handle one point for the instruction of the Diuine The question ariseth vppon this discourse how the soule commeth to bee infected with sinne Pope Gregorie the great disputeth in this manner Si anima oriatur cum carne ex substantia Adae cur non simul moritur eum carne si cum carne non nascitur cur peccato obligatur The soule is either borne together with the bodie of the substance of Adam or else it is onely infused from aboue if it be borne with the bodie of the substance of Adam then should it also die with the body if it be infused of God how can it being newly created and immediately comming from God which is perfectly righteous be originally and naturally sinfull as is the flesh which originally descendeth from a sinfull man Optatus desireth to be instructed how when and where the soule which of it selfe is pure beginneth to take infection S. Augustin answereth that hee is not able to giue him full satisfaction therein Pelagius obiecteth against S. Augustin in this manner If the flesh onely descended from Adam then is the flesh onely polluted with sinne and not the soule quia iniustum est vt hodie nata anima non ex Adae massa tam antiquum peccatum portet alienum quia nulla ratione conceditur vt Deus qui propria peccata dimittit vnum imputet alienum because it cannot stand with the iustice of God that the soule which is newly borne and not descended of Adam and therefore hauing no sinne of her own shold beare the sinne of an other man namely of
Adam which was committed so long before For it is not to be thought that God which forgiueth vs our owne sinnes will impute an other mans sinnes vnto vs. The soule saith hee at the first creation is eyther pure or corrupted impure it cannot be because it commeth immediately from God and being at the first cleane how commeth it to be vncleane how can a spirit bee infected by a body that which is immateriall bee polluted by that which is materiall But Mr. Caluin doth satisfie that doubt saying that although corruption be inherent both in the soule and the body yet the cause of that hereditarye corruption is not in the substance eyther of the body or the soule but onely it was ordayned of God that the imperfections of the first parents should bee common to all the Children euen as according to the lawes of earthly Princes such as are descended of parents attainted of high treason are also stayned in their bloud preiudiced in respect of their landes and honors by their fathers offences committed before their time and wherof they were ignorant and it is but imitatio diuinae iusticiae an imitatiō of that iustice w c is with God So thē we are borne of impure seede as the Psalmist teacheth and not onely the bodie but also the soule is infected with sinne by reason of this our birth although sinne be more apparent in the body then in the soule and the onely cause why the soule is thus infected is this our impure and vncleane birth and yet the soule is not of seede or any materiall thing but it commeth immediately from God And it is a weake argument which Pelagius vseth that because beleeuing parents doe sanctifie their Children therefore Children cannot receaue infection from their Parents which are regenerate For the children doe lineally descend from their parents by carnall generation but not by spiritual regeneration because regeneration is not from beneath but from aboue not from men but from the holy Ghost Sanctification is an especial blessing giuen in particular but so that the general course of al mankinde may take holde of all men for as much as they all are the Sonnes of men Natus est homo natura sanctificatus ex supernaturali gratia that wee are borne it is the worke of nature that we are sanctified it is supernaturall of the especiall grace of God But I returne to the Atheist The soule I say as it appeareth by these premises is of a more excellent and diuine nature thē that it should be subiect to mortalitie and corruption And therfore that we may not complaine with Theophrastus who accused Nature because she gaue to Rauens and Harts a long life whome length of life did no way profit but made mās life of that shortnes vt tum extingueretur qùum incaepisset sapere that euen then hee was cut off and vtterly extinguished when hee did but begin to be wise I will produce these arguments which are alleadged by naturall Philosophers to prooue the immortallitie of the soule that I may refute Theophrastus and shew plainely that wee are not vtterly extinguished by death and that although wee doe but then begin to bee wise when we are neare our death yet wee doe not then cease to bee wise but then we increase in wisdome when the soule is separated from the bodie My reasons are these The first is drawne from the vnderstanding of man for mans soule is of infinit capacitie the more it vnderstandeth the more it is able to vnderstand It is able to comprehend not onely the whole world but infinit worldes In numbring it can adde and multiply so farre that of addition and multiplication there shall bee no end It is able to imagin infinit perfection But whatsoeuer is infinit in capacitie is also infinit in continuance because as the proprietie of any thing is so is the existence of the same But for asmuch as it is infinitlye capable in this life and cannot bee satisfied in this life therefore it must bee satisfied in the life to come 2. The obiect of mans vnderstanding is truth as Tully speaketh not in particular but in general which is the way wherby all thinges are knowne And therefore it cannot be satisfied vntill it come vnto that in which all truth consisteth and that is God which is truth it selfe according to his essence for no accidents are in him And for asmuch as this cannot be attained vnto in this life therefore it is reserued vnto a better life 3. The obiect of mans vnderstanding is ENS euerie thing that is but because there are some thinges material and some spirituall it must conceaue them both and as for the thinges which be immateriall and without bodies it cannot distinctly conceaue them in this fraile body therfore the conceiuing of them belongeth to the soule when it is separated from the bodie 4. All men by nature desire knowledge as the Philosopher speaketh but scire est rem per causas cognoscere to knowe a thing is to iudge discerne of the causes of it So then because it is naturall to euery man when hee seeth any effect to search out the causes of that effect and againe when hee hath found out the cause to search farther and examine what is the cause of that cause and so to ascend higher vntill he come to the highest cause which is God And that cannot be in this life because the essence of God is not conceaued by discoursing of him but by perfectly seeing of him and beholding of him face to face euen as he is My second reason is drawne from the will of man That also is infinite for he can loue that which is good not onely in the first degree but also in the second and third neyther can there be any end of his loue but still his louing and liking may increase as St. Augustin saith in his Meditations En amo te Domine et si hoc non sufficit amo teplus et si hoc parum est amabo te validius Behold Lord I loue thee if this be not enough I wil loue thee more and if that be not yet enough I wil stil loue thee more Man may desire that which is infinitely good this infinite capacitye of the will must bee fulfilled and because not in this life therefore after death 2. The libertie also and freedome of mans will I meane not in Diuine but in ciuill and Domesticall affayres is of an infinit power which is a sufficient argument to proue the immortality of the soule For if man will not no creature is able to force his will to loue this thing or that voluntas potest cogi who can impose a necessitie vpon man to bee willing or vnwilling to do this or that but onely God which hath created both the will and vnderstanding and is therefore aboue them both 3. The obiect of the wil is that whatsoeuer is good I meane
all goodnesse in generall and therefore neuer resteth but still willeth desireth vntill it come to the perfect fruition of God in whome all goodnesse is included who is essentially good in himselfe 4. The will of man mooueth it selfe to one thing and an other and is not mooued by any naturall agent and as the will is so is the essence it selfe and therefore not subiect to corruption A third reason the verie appetit of man is also infinit it findeth no contentment among al the things which are vnder the Sunne it is neuer satisfied with the desire of happinesse knowledge honour glorie riches and eternitie that it may liue after death But to whatsoeuer nature hath giuen this appetite it hath also appointed how this appetite shall bee satisfied and that must bee onely after death A fourth the verie operations of the soule it selfe without any reference vnto the bodie As for example to beleeue goeth farre aboue sence and is an act separated from it To distinguish between a body and a spirit to imagin those thinges which are but onely imaginarie as vacuum infinitum in rerum natura emptines infinitenes in worldly and naturall thinges mathematicall lines to make sillogismes to define deuide demonstrate And these thinges it doth without the conditions and proprieties of the bodie it doth these thinges the better the more it is abstracted from the body and therefore doth then best of all when it is altogether out of the bodie and at full liberty these thinges which do not depend vpon the body neither can bee accomplished by the Organs and Instruments of the body A fift nothing can be destroyed by that wherein the perfection of it doth consist but y e very perfection of the soule doth cōsist it the abstraction seperation of it from the body which appeareth by the iudgement of all morall Philosophers which holde the very highest perfection of vertue to be then when man doth not follow the passions and perturbations of the body but doth subdue them wholy to the minde and vnderstanding The sixt There is a kinde of reflection of the minde and al the faculties thereof aboue it selfe the vnderstanding vnderstandeth that it doth vnderstand the wil willeth that it shal be willing the memorie remembreth that it doth remember so it vnderstandeth that it willeth and doth remember which no bodily nor mortall thing can performe it is therefore spirituall and immortall The seauenth Besides the vsuall manner of attaining to knowledge which is proper to it selfe the soule hath also a more diuine knowledge by the influence of an higher cause which is by reuelation and infusion But when it hath such reuelations it is abstracted from the body and therfore it is in a more perfect estate when it is not at all in the body The eight The first originall or beginning of the soule is not by any naturall agent because it is more perfect then the bodye for no effect which is more perfect can proceed frō a cause which is of lesse perfection Therfore as it proceeded not frō any natural cause so it cannot be destroyed by any naturall cause and therefore it cannot dye by seperation of it from the bodye The nynth The soule subsisteth by it selfe and therefore it cannot die by any accident The antecedent I proue because it hath operations proper to it selfe as I haue shewed The tenth Euerie thing which is corrupted hath his bane destruction eyther by that which is contrarie to it selfe as heate by colde drynes by moisture or by the absence of that whereby it is preserued and nourished as the lampe goeth out for want of oyle or by the corruption of the subiect in which it is as the heate of the fire when the fire is extinguished but nothing is contrarye to the soule because it is a substance and not an accident neither doth it depend vpon any material cause but onely on God neither hath it any subiect because it is no accident The eleuenth That which dyeth with the body must also languish and decay with the bodie and wax olde when the body is olde as it appeareth by sence motion and vegetation which in olde men doe faile but vnderstanding doth increase in age The twelfe is the verie conuenience and agreement which the soule hath with God and the Angells it argueth the immortality thereof for why are they sayd to be immortall but because they are as the soule is spirituall immateriall simple no way mixed or depending of the bodye The thirteenth What is more common in this life then the prosperitye of the wicked and the aduersitye of the godlye But it cannot stand with Gods iustice nor his prouidence that there should be no rewarde for wel-doers and no punishment for vngodly men therefore because it is not in this life it must needes be in an other life w t cannot be vnles the soules of men be immortall To conclude It is incident to good men to hope well to euill men to feare and be troubled in their mindes because of their offences there is Conscience But there cannot be Conscience without immortality of the soule Therefore I conclude that the soule of man is immortall Chapter 11. Of Noah his Arke and the Deluge THe Atheists dispute against the storye of Noah his Arke the maner of the drowning of the worlde with water saying it was an impossibilitye that so many creatures should be preserued in so small a vessel or that the worlde should be so destroyed For the better satisfaction of such vngoldly men concerning that storye I obserue these thinges which folowe Concerning the multitude of Beastes which were in the Arke of those which were cleane were 7. of euery sorte that is 3 couples for increase for meat when it should be permitted to eat flesh for labour and other vses of man and the odde beast for Sacrifice Of vncleane beastes 2. of euery sorte for increase As for Fishes they were in the Sea and not destroyed because they were farther separated frō the sinnes of men for they were in an other element as also such other creatures as can liue in the waters as Otters sea-wolues Swannes water-soules c. Agairie from the kindes of beastes which were in the Arke were excluded such as bred not by generation as Mules such Serpents and creeping thinges as are ingendred by the Sun out of putrifaction such as being wholye perished might be restored agayne in other creatures which were preserued as Mules which are ingendred of an horse and a shee Asse Therefore these beastes which were in the Arke were onely such as liued vpon the drye and proceeded by generation The number of beastes according to Plinye and Gesner are not knowne to be aboue one hundreth and fiftye kindes And it is verye likely that they which are not known should be neither great nor manye And of them which are great there are not aboue fortye kindes As for the capacitye of the
voyce when there was nothing besides him selfe he spake that is he decreed with him selfe that it should be so If you aske what moued him to create it when he could be aswell without it being delighted with the reflection of his owne glorye which he sawe in him selfe made creatures because he would haue some to be partakers also of that his happines as men and Angels and for their sakes he made the worlde that they might be contayned in it Angels in heauen men vpon the superficies of the earth and all other creatures for the vse of man that so Angels and men seeing his goodnes whereof they were made partakers should prayse him As for the Philosophers and Poets and great wise men of the worlde although they enioyed not the Bible as were Mercurius Trismegistus Homer Hesiodus Aristotle Tully Ouid they all held that the world had a beginning and that God was the maker of it How then is it that now our Atheists denie the same Surely they thinke themselues wise and are become foolish as the Apostle speaketh For they thinke there may bee an effect without a cause a motion without a moouer a worke without a workeman But because disputation is not to be held with them which are ignorant but with the learned and the learned will not preiudice their knowledge so much as to be thought not able to yeild a reason of their assertions let vs examin the reasons which they alleadge why they should holde that the world wâ—â—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out beginning Aristotle say they affirmeth that there can be no motion without a mouer and there must be a due proportion inter motorem id quod mouetur betweene that which is moued and that by whome it is moued there is one Sphere which is called primum mobile the first bodye which is moued so there must be one first agent to moue the same but he did moue from eternitie there was therefore some thing which from eternitye was to be moued by him and that is the highest Sphere For say they if he did not from all eternitye moue this Sphere but began the worlde then non agens factum est agens of no agent he was made an agent which could not be without alteration but that could not be because God is not subiect to alteration for then should he also be subiect to corruption and so should be no God The argument I say doth not followe for although that God is said to be primus motor ab aeterno the first mouer from eternitye yet he did not actu mouere ab aterno this motion of his was not in action eternallye and therefore it is not rightly inferred that there should befor that cause anye change in God For God what-soeuer in his eternall fore-knowledge he intended to doe is said to doe it in the same maner as he intended it and that motion which was not in rerum natura subsistens subsisting in the nature of things as they terme it yet in God was alwayes subsisting with whome all future thinges are present which called the things that were not by their names as if they were He ordayned euery thing that it should be euen before the foundation of the worlde was layed the reason is because that eternall and diuine essence doth not acknowledge time he seeth thinges past present and future not successiuelye but all at once Therefore they haue not yet attayned to the true vnderstanding of Aristotles meaning which argue in this maner Naturally I confesse motion is without beginning because one motion cannot begin without an other precaedent motion so likewise it cannot end without alteration because in omni vere continuo physico in euerye true naturall thing whose partes haue their coherence together as this hath there is a perpetuall succession which may be diuided into infinite partes of the same proportion For euen as in time and euery part thereof there is one present moment or instant which argueth that there is an other past and an other future so in euerye motion which is measured by time there is one present mutation which argueth one motion precedent and an other subsequent because euery motion is a change either of substance or of quantitye or of qualitye or ofplace And therfore the first moment of time cannot be assigned nor the first mutation which is in motion The naturall Philosophers could not discerne by nature whether was first the Hen or the egge because one cannot be without the other therfore they supposed that eternallye the generation of one was the corruption of an other and so there should be an eternall reuolution of thinges which indeed naturally must be so but metaphisically it is not so because there is a God aboue nature by whome nature is ouer-ruled Neither is it meruayle though Philosophye and Fayth doe not speake alike concerning the beginning of the worlde wheÌ„ the Metaphysics and their principles differ so much from the Physics their principles and Aristotle dissenteth so much from Aristotle one and the selfe same man from himselfe It is one thing to affirme that the worlde simply had no beginning and an other thing to saye that nature did not make the worlde and that by the power of nature it shall haue no end for God and Nature are diuers thinges Aristotle confessed that the worlde began and shall haue an end in respect of the diuine and supernaturall power because he said that God as he is the first mouer so he is the first cause of motion and actuallye infinite a most free agent not tyed to any secondary causes instruments meanes whereby he worketh He which is eternall was before all motion can be without motion or time because he made both motion and time Aristotle denyeth that any thing which is eternall can be measured by time he denyeth God to be in time and by a consequent he denyeth him to be tyed vnto motion which is measured by time God moued eternallye but his motion was metaphysicall which was nothing else but to will to nill and to vnderstand The worlde therfore is not without beginning in respect of the first cause which is God but of the second cause which is nature for then nature should be iniurious vnto her selfe if she should doe vyolence vnto her selfe and be a cause of her owne destruction And therefore according to nature there is a reference and due proportion betweene him which mooueth and that which is mooued and the motion it selfe and so the eternitie of the mouer must argue the eternitie of the thing which by him is mooued of the motion but God hath exerciseth his metaphysical power and authoritie ouer all thinges whereby he counterchecketh and ouer ruleth these thinges The arguments therefore which the Philosophers produce to proue the eternitie of the worlde are reduced vnto these First if there were any first motion the mouer and the moâ—ued body from whence this motion