Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	effect_n	natural_a	supernatural_a	1,915	5	10.5176	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76020	A treatise of adhering to God; written by Albert the Great, Bishop of Ratisbon. Put into English by Sir Kenelme Digby, Kt. Also a conference with a lady about choyce of religion.; De adhærendo Deo. English	Albertus, Magnus, Saint, 1193?-1280.; Digby, Kenelm, Sir, 1603-1665.	1653 (1653)	Wing A876; Thomason E1529_2; ESTC R25226	62,177	159

to be extinguished in it although in some particulars by the immersion in matter and the terrene habitation it dwelleth in some soule may be drawne or rather wrested to a contrary byas unto that which originally nature implanted in it Now the primary originall naturall appetence of mans soule is the love of truth which it vehemently desireth and is alwayes unquiet and ardent in the search of it upon what occasion soever and is never appeased and at ease untill she have found it out which she no sooner hath done but the violence she was in is calmed she is contented and she setleth her selfe to repose as having arrived to her center and naturall place of rest wherein she continueth enjoying the purchase she hath made untill some new occasion of disquisition stir her up againe in which she useth the same industry and eagernesse as before And thus we plainly see that the acquisition of truth is that which the soule in every action naturlaly aymeth at as fire doth to ascend detesteth falsehood as flames suffer violence to be reverberated downewards Therefore although any particular man may have his senses or fantasie so depraved as to take imperfect and maymed impressions of outward objects or the powers of his understanding so weake as to make preposterous and disorderly collections out of them or his judgement so misguided by preoccupation of any affection or particular end as he may in himselfe be deceived and feed his soule with falsehood insteede of truth or else that finister respects and interests or sordide apprehensions of commodity to himselfe meeting with a soule so disposed and wrought upon by the sensuall passions tyrannising over it as to cause him to swallow those bayter may make him employ the faculties of his understanding and the powers of his soule contrary unto their naturall inclination to the maintaining of a lye and industriously to deceive others yet it is impossible that all mankind or such a multitude of men as containe in them all the variety of dispositions and affections incident to the nature of man and that are dispersed throughout the world so as they can have no communion together whereby they might infect one another nor can have finister ends common alike to them all which should invite them to conspire together to forge a falsehood it is impossible I say that such a company of men should so degenerate from their owne nature which is to love truth as they should of themselves invent a lye and that in so important a matter as faith is and concurre to deceive the world of men that should come after them in things of such nature as their deceipt must of necessity damne for all eternity both themselves and all them that shall receive that lye from them and take it upon their credit without which unanimous conspiracy of one whole age of men throughout all the world we proved in our last conclusion that no false proposition could be admitted into the Church as an article of faith In a word this generall defection of all mankind from truth is more impossible then that all one entire element or any primigeniall nature should absolutely perish or loose its original propriety as for all the fire in the world to be corrupted and forsake his heat levity so consequently to have no more fire in nature all which followeth of what is said above And thus I conceive I have made good the assertion that hath begotten all this discourse upon the thirteenth head which is that faith conserved in the Catholick Church and delivered by perpetuall succession and generall tradition is more certaine and more infallible then any naturall science whatsoever for naturall sciences being grounded upon the indefectibility of the natures of those things from whence those sciences are collected and faith depending upon the indefectibility of human nature which is infinitely more noble then they and whose forme is elevated beyond the reach of matter whereas theirs is comprehended and shutt up within the wombe of matter and which is indeed the end and period of all their natures and of all the whole materiall world it followeth of consequence that faith must be lesse subject to contingency and lesse liable to error then naturall sciences are And they being universall infallible and certaine faith must be so too and more if more may be But this is not enough our disquisition must not rest here We must not content our selves in this divine affaire and supernaturall doctrine with a certitude depending only upon naturall causes The wisdome of God proportioneth out congruent meanes to bring on every thing to their proper end and according to the nobility of the effect that he will have produced he ordaineth equivalent noble causes Therefore mans obtaining beatitude being the highest end that any creature can arrive unto and altogether supernaturall it requireth supernaturall causes to bring us to that end and a supernaturall infallibility to secure us in that journey We must not onely have a supernaturall way to travell in which is faith but also a supernaturall assurance of the right way unto the discovery of which all that we have already said doth necessarily conduce for Gods providence that disposeth all things sweetly will not in any generall affaire introduce into the material world any supernaturall effect untill the naturall causes be first disposed fittingly to cooperate on their partes and then he never faileth of his As for example when a naturall creature is to be produced into being the father and the mother must both concurre in contributing all that is in their power to the generation of a child and yet we are sure the soule to be produced hath no dependence of them yet notwithstanding without their precedentaction no new soule would be but when the matter is fittingly disposed in the mothers wombe he never misseth creating of a soule in that body which is not so able an effect and as much requiring the omnipotency of God as the creating of nothing all the materiall world and yet we may say that the matter when it is arrived to its last disposition for the reception of such a forme may in a manner claime that miraculous action depending of his omnipotency since for mankind he created the rest of the materiall world and therefore there ought to be as certaine and necessary causes for the productiō of man as there are for the production of other materiall things which we see doe seldome misse in any when the matter is fitly disposed for the reception of their severall formes And so in like manner we may rationally conclude that in this high and supernaturall businesse of delivering over from hand to hand a supernaturall doctrine to bring mankind to the end it was created for he will first have all the naturall causes fittingly disposed for the secure and infallible performance of that worke and then that he will adde and infuse into them some supernatural gift

life for sanctitie and neer union with God and contempt of worldly and transitory things raised above the pitch of nature and morality we may conclude the holy Ghost inhabiteth not there for every agent produceth effects proportionable to the dignity of it and the excellency of any cause shineth eminently in the noblenesse of its effects Now that this gift of the holy Ghost is to remaine with the Church as long as the Church remaineth to illuminate it with the spirit of truth and to give it a supernaturall and divine unction will appear manifestly upon consideration of the cause why the holy Ghost was to be given at the first which remaineth alwaies the same and therefore the same effect must alwaies follow and accordingly Christ promised his Church upon his ascending into heaven that he would alwaies remaine with them untill the end of the world to wit by this holy spirit for he was then at the point of withdrawing his corporeall presence from them 15. Our next conclusion shall be that this Church or congregation of men spread over the world conserving and delivering the faith of Christ from hand to hand is even in its owne nature perpetuall in time and cannot faile as long as mankind remaineth in the world This needeth no further proofe then that which we have already made which is derived from the necessity of supernaturall faith to bring mankind to the end it was created for and that there is no meanes to deliver this faith to mankind in the ages after Christ but by the tradition of the Church and therefore as long as mankind lasteth this meanes must be continued Yet in this way of reasoning that I use we are to examine our conclusions as well by the genuine and orderly causes that beget them and by their owne particular principles as to assent unto them for the necessity that we see in them in regard of the end that they are referred unto And when we haue retrived those and evidently discerned their force it giveth an admirable content and satisfaction to the understanding Thus then as philosophers conclude that it is impossible any whole species or kind of beasts should ever be utterly exterminated and destroyed that is diffused up and downe over the whole face of the earth because the amplitude of the universe is greater then the variety of causes can be from which such a generall and entire corruption must proceed In like manner we may confidently conclude that it is impossible any depraved affections should so universally prevaile and so absolutely raigne in mens mindes throughout the whole world as would be requisite to extirpate and roote out a doctrine universally spread over it all that was at the first taught and confirmed with such seales of truth as the miracles that Christ and the apostles wrought that in its selfe is so pure and agreeable to the seedes that every man findeth sowed even by nature in his owne soule that worketh such admirable effects as the reformation of manners in mankind that withdraweth mens affections from humane and worldly contentments and carrieth them with a sweet violence to intellectuall objects and to hopes of immortality and happinesse in another life that prescribeth lawes for happy living even in this world to all men of what condition soever either publicke or private as working a moderation in mens affections to the commodities and goods of this life which else in nature is apt to blind mens mindes and is the cause of all mischiefs and evills and lastly that is delivered over from hand to hand from worlds of fathers to worlds of sonnes with such care and exactnesse as greater cannot be imagined and as it is requisite to the importance of that affaire which is infinitely beyond all others as on which the salvation and damnation of mankind wholly dependeth Now unto these rationall considerations let us adde the promise which Christ made to his Church that the gates of hell should not prevaile against it and I thinke we have sufficiently maintained that the Church of Christ in which the true doctrine of Christ is conserved can never faile but must infallibly continue unto the worlds end Thus having proved that a supernatural doctrine is necessary to bring mankind to beatitude that Christ taught this doctrine that from him the Church received it and is the sacrary in which it is conserved that this Church cannot erre in the tradition of this doctrine that besides the infallibility of it this Church is perpetuall It remaineth now that we close up this discourse by applying all these premises unto the question in hand which is where we shall find out this infallible Church that by it we may gaine the knowledge of the true saith of Christ whereby we are to be saved 16. For this end our sixteenth and last conclusion shall be that the congregation of men spread over the world joyning in communion with the Church of Rome is the true Catholike Church in which is conserved and taught the true saving faith of Christ The truth of this conclusion will without bringing any new proofes appeare evidently by reflecting upon what we have said and onely examining whether the Romane Church be such a one as we have determined the true Church of Christ must be or whether the notes which we may inferre out of our discourse to belong inseparably to the true Church may not rather with more reason be acknowledged of some other then of that in communion with the see of Rome This point after these grounds layed requireth no very subtill disquisition but is discernable even by the weakest sights and therefore this way of arguing appeareth to me most satisfactory and contentfull when taking the whole body of the question into survey and beginning with the first and remotest considerations of it we drive the difficulties still before us and pursuing of them orderly at every steppe we establish a solid principle and so become secure of the truth and certainty of all we leave behind us which course although it may at the first fight appear to be a great way about and looking but superficially upon the matter we may seeme to meete with difficulties which concerne not our question yet in the effect we shall perceive it is the most summary method of handling any controversie and the onely meanes to be secured of the truth of what we conclude and that will recompence the precedent difficulties by making the conclusion which is the knot of the affair plaine easie and open I say then first that unity of doctrine in matters of faith is inseparable from the Roman Church and can never be found in any other it onely having a precise and determinate rule of faith For it hath believed in every age all that hath bin plainly and positively taught unto it by their Fathers as the doctrine of faith derived from Christ and admitteth no other article whatsoever as an article of faith Whereas on the other

an excellent judgement and strong naturall witt to be able to wield and make good use of these weapons without which they would but advance him the faster to ruine and pernicious error With which excellencyes how few are there in the world fairely adorned Fourthly it is evident that the Roman Catholicke Church onely hath had a constant and uninterrupted succession of Pastors and Doctors and tradition of doctrine from age to age which we have established as the onely meanes to derive downe the true faith from Christ Whereas it is apparent all others have had late beginnings from unworthy causes And yet even in this little while have not beene able to mantaine themselves for one age throughout or scarce for any considerable part of an age in one tenor of doctrine or forme of Ecclesiasticall government Lastly we may consider how the effect of the holy Ghost his inhabiting in the Church in regard of manners making the hearts of men his living temples shineth eminently in the Catholick Church and is not so much as to be suspected in any other whatsoever For where this holy spirit raigneth it giveth a burning love of God as we have touched before and a vehement desire of approaching unto him as near as may be Now the soule of man moveth towards God not by corporeall stepps and progressions but by intellectuall actions the highest of which are mentall prayer and contemplation in which exercises a man shall advance the more by how much he is the more sequestred from the thought and care of any worldly affaires and hath his passions quieted within him and is abstracted from communication with materiall objects and is untyed from human interests and according to the counsailes of Christ in the Gospell hath cast off all sollicitude of the future and remitteth himselfe wholly to the providence of God living in the world as though he were not in it wholly intent to contemplation when the inferiour part of Charity calleth him not downe to comply with the necessity of his Neighbours This forme of life we see continually practised in the Catholick Church by multitudes of persons of both sexes that through extreame desire of approaching as neare unto God as this life will permitt doe banish themselves from all their friends kindred and what else in the world was naturally dearest unto them and either retire into extreame solitudes or shut themselves up for ever within the narrow limits of a straight Monastery and little cell where having renounced all the interest and propriety in the goods of this world and using no more of them then is necessary for the sustenance of their exhausted bodyes which they mortifie with great abstinences watchings and other austerities that they may bring them into subjection and roote out as much as may be the very fewell of concupiscence and passions and having of their owne accord barred themselves of all propriety of disposing of themselves in any action and renounced even the freedome of their will and thus in summe having taken an eternall farewell of all the joyes and delights that this world can afford and that carnall men would bee so loth to forgoe for any little while yet by the internall joyes that they find in their prayer and contemplation unto which all these actions of retrenchment from superfluities or outward solaces doe serve as a ladder to ascend unto the top of it they live so happily and cherefully and with such tranquillity of mind and upon occasions say so much of the overflowings of their blysse as it is aparent they enjoy there the hundred fold that Christ promised in this life Nor can it be objected that men usually betake themselves to this course of Religious life upon being distempered by melancholy or for the ill successe and traverses they have had in affaires of the world or out of simplicity and weaknesse of understanding since it is evident that this angelicall forme of living hath ever heene practised by persons of the best composed and cheerfullest dispositions and by multitudes of such is and hath beene imbraced and that in the world overflowed with all the blessings it could afford them and were of strongest parts of understanding and judgement and were most eminent in learning So that it is apparent they had no other motive thereunto but purely the love of God and fervour of devotion which being an effect of the holy Ghost residing in their hearts to his inspirations and admirable wayes of working in those his temples of flesh and blood these extraordinary effects are to be imputed Whereas on the other side no such examples or supernaturall forme of life are to be mett withall in any other Church whatsoever Rather they disclaime from them and like men of this world which is the expression that Christ useth in the Gospell to designe those that are not of his Church not being able to discerne things of the spirit but being blinded with the lustre of them too great for their weake eyes they neglect and disdaine them and imagine that all Christian perfection consisteth in an ordinary humane morall life which is the uttermost period that any among them seek to attaine unto And therefore we may hence conclude that they have no interior worker among them more sublime then their owne humane discourses and judgements and that supernaturall sanctity an effect of the holy Ghost is confined onely to the Catholick Church Besides wee may observe by daily experience how those persons that addict themselves to such an extraordinary way of life doe absolutely prove the very best or the worst of mankind the one excelling in admirable piety fervour of devotion abstraction and sanctity of life and some of them soaring up to a pitch even above nature the other abounding in all sorts of impiety wickednesse and dissolution of manners till at length their hearts become even hardened against correction and all sence of spirituall things whereas it ordinarily happeneth that the most flagitious men among those who live in a vulgar worldly estate of life doe upon occasions frequently receive notable impressions from divine objects to the amendment and change of their dissolute course And this being a constant certaine effect noted at all times and in all places it must be attributed to a constant and powerfull cause which can be no other then the neere approaching of those persons to the originall fountaine of sanctity goodnesse which being like a consuming fire worketh vehement effects in them according to the disposition they are in and to the nearenesse that they have unto that fire so that as the sunbeames which are the authors of life and foecundity to all plants and vegetables shining upon a tree that hath taken solide rootes in the earth maketh it budd flourish and beare fruit and on the other side if it be weakely rooted their heate and operation upon that tree maketh it the sooner to wither and die And as the fire sendeth an influence