vpon the Stage and that as soone as the Prologue begins he that is to play the last Act must know well his Quew euen so fareth it with all the things that are come to passe and that shall happen hereafter during so many yeeres in this world whereof the last that must finish the age of the world was knowne and ordained by the Creator afore the first began to be It is that as I thinke Diarchas in Philostratus would intimate when hee sayd God had begot the world all at once as the Beasts do their yong ones notwithstāding that he hath brought it forth by little and little as they doe causing one part to come out first and the other after It is not Time that is the father and authour of things hee is but their Steward and as Tatian shewed vnto the Greekes the Dispencer that bringeth them vpon the Stage Yea but some will say If things were ordained from all eternitie and that this decree cannot be violated what will become of the libertie of our Will must it not be a Bond-slaue vnto this Law and bee such or such good or bad according as it hath appointed No for this Destinie that hath fore-ordained all things hath decreed that our Will shall bee free so that if there bee any necessitie in our will it is this that it is necessarily free And as for that our Wills haue beene foreseen such as they shall bee they haue beene foreseene because they shall be so and are not so because they haue beene foreseene But another will say What auaileth our will seeing that of such things as wee would haue to be done there comes nothing to passe but what God hath ordained and there is almost nothing in our power We cannot almost desire any thing how easie soeuer it bee if it were but in a manner to carry our hand to our mouth that may not be hindered by an infinit number of chances it is that which the Prouerb saith There falleth out many things betweene the Belly and the Lips Though we can do many things that we will and will many things that we can do yet we cannot say that any euent how little soeuer it be depends wholly vpon vs. Notwithstanding out Will remaineth free because it is not the action but the motion vnto action and serueth vs neuerthelesse because that althogh it be not the onely cause yet it co-operates with the rest which are gathered and bound by Destinie into the same knot to bring forth one onely effect When it aimeth at the end which it ought it is backed by Destinie and fauoured by the meeting of other causes and so doing it is conducted vnto its owne purpose or at least to another ende that Prouidence iudgeth to bee good for it When contrariwise it is bent to an ill end it is by the concurrence of other causes and force of Destinie carryed away to a cleane contrarie end from its owne but still for one purpose from the which in spight of it God draweth his glory the good of the Vniuerse For although Destinie most commonly changeth nothing in the nature of causes and suffereth those that are voluntary to worke voluntarily and those that are necessary necessarily and those that are naturall naturally neuerthelesse from the mingling and gathering of them altogether in the point forme wherein he causeth them to meete he bringeth foorth such effects as he listeth drawing oftentimes from the selfe same causes cleane contrary effects as by the transposition of the selfe same letters wee compose words altogether different He is so cunning a worker that he can apply any thing to doe his pleasure yea many times when as wee thinke to withstand his counsels suffring vs to haue our will he carrieth vs where he pleaseth iust like vnto that great Circle in heauen that inuelopeth all the others though he letteth not their naturall course from West to East neuerthelesse he draggeth them all euery day along with him from East to West Whether we run or goe hasten or stay goe right or wrong we come still to our lodging with Destinie we cannot auoyd it we fall vpon it in recoyling from it we finde it when as we flie from it we run vpon it thinking to ouer run it This Destinie comes from too wise a power and too powerfull a wisedome to bee resisted either by force or craft Now such and how great soeuer it be it is but euen as Nature one of the effects of that wise Prouidence which filleth gouerneth all things that is spred ouer all the parts of the world being euen as its soule She ruleth all the parts of it with wife and infallible counsels most certain reasons which often we do not apprehend but very late and sometimes not at al either for that her wisdome is so deep inscrutable that we cannot penetrate into it or that our negligence and stupidity is so great we doe not vouchsafe to open our eyes to consider it from whence it coms that men attribute vnto Fortune the accidents whose causes they comprehend not And frō thence it is come that some being grown so brutish as they obserued no causes of the effects which they saw they deemed all did happen by chance So out of their ignorance and brutalitie they haue made themselues a Goddesse which they call Fortune and paint her out blind-fold turning with a wheele worldly affaires casting al at randome and throwing her presents and fauours by chaunce as they do new money at the first entrance of Kings into a towne according as they stand neere so euery one takes vp what falls vpon him But I could wish that those which would make the world to be gouerned so many ages by this rash and blind foole would but suffer her to gouerne their houses for one yeare they should see fine oeconomie Sillie people they perceiue well enough that a small familie cannot subsist a yeare without great prudence and they would haue this great Vniuerse composed of many different parts to subsist so many thousand yeares vnder the conduct of Chance They would not haue giuen a flocke of sheepe vnto a Shepheard that were ill sighted and they would commit vnto a blinde Temeritie the gouernment of so many legions both of Angels and men O ingratefull kinde of people why do you set vp Altars to your gods if your sacrilegious opinions worship nothing but Fortune Why doe you offer sacrifices after your victories to giue thankes vnto her that saw you not when she saued you and seeth you not when you giue her thankes you thinke perhaps that this Hobgoblin hath better eares then eyes That which filled men with this errour and compelled them to snatch the Rule and the Compasse from the hands of Prouidence to make all things to rush at randome one against another and happen by hazard it hath beene in my opinion for that they would accommodate the greatnesse and power of God
in publike and priuate calamities to perswade himselfe that whatsoeuer befalleth him is ordained by that eternall power distributed by that infinite wisedome which gouerneth the world with the same goodnesse and Iustice wherewithall hee created it When this opinion is once rooted in the heart of man I doe not see what windes can shake his constancie For as much as wee ought to beleeue there commeth nothing from that kinde and gracious hand but what is intended for our good Now although this Prouidence which wee may define to bee the perpetuall care God hath in the gouernement of all that Hee hath created doth shine continually in all the parts of the world and appeareth in wonderfull effects neuerthelesse most men turne their eyes and looke awrie vpon it striuing to deceiue themselues to the end they may not bee beholden vnto that wise mistresse who ruleth the birth and conserueth whatsoeuer is seene in this Vniuerse There hath bin truelie verie few that durst bee so impious as flatly to denie it but if there hath bin any I will forget their names and being so vnworthy I will suppose they neuer were There are a number indeed whose opinions I haue heard but alwaies reiected which acknowledging diuine wisedome and power in the first creation of the world haue taken the gouernement thereof from it after it hath bin created some attributing it vnto that order which they call Nature some to a fatall necessitie some others vnto Chance and Fortune wherein they seeme rather to haue changed the name then the power of diuine prouidence for in expounding their opinion they plainely declare that in all worldly accidents they acknowledge some Entitie that is great and diuine the nature whereof is incomprehensible and neuerthelesse by I know not what carelesse presumption they would haue that little which they vnderstand of it to passe currant for sound doctrine and a part for the whole choosing rather to mistake Prouidence then acknowledge their ignorance It falleth out with them as it might doe with three seuerall persons which comming three seuerall wayes should see a farre off a great pyramide of Marble such a one as you might imagine that of the kings of Egypt carued on three sides with many Characters and hieroglyphicall letters euery one marking at first that face which is on his side and comming no nearer iudgeth there is no more but that and goeth backe with an opinion he hath seen all so all of them report sundry tales of one and the selfe same thing each of them maintaining it to bee as he had seen it on his side But had they approched nearer and walked round about it then euery one of them should haue seene all the three faces and haue knowne that all three make but one body would haue beene well enformed of the thing and would agree all together in it When these men are come to contemplate that Soueraigne power which conducteth and gouerneth this Vniuerse and that they haue considered it in its effects euery one of them hath had enough to behold it a farre off and apprehend as much as the first sight affoorded him He that obserued an order and continuall course of regular causes which are brought forth one of another hath called it Nature and hath beleeued this Nature did all He that had seene many things come to passe which had beene fore-seene and fore-told and neuerthelesse could not be auoyded hath called the power that produced them Destinie and fatall necessitie and deemed all to depend from thence The other that had seene an infinite number of casualties whereof they could giue him no reason and which seemed to happen without cause hath named the power from whence such euents did proceede Fortune and hath esteemed all things to be managed on this fashion But if euery one of them had taken the paines to approch neerer vnto truth and report publikely what he had seene in priuate perhaps they might haue knowne truly what was the figure of that first and soueraigne power from whence are deriued all the things and all the accidents of the world and vnderstand that in this Nature in this Destinie in this Fortune gathered all together shineth through humane ignorance that wise and excellent diuine Prouidence known neuertheles more according to the proportion of our weake vnderstanding then according to her incomprehensible greatnesse and Maiestie For I doubt not but in the Creation of this Vniuerse God hath established a rule and a certaine Law whereby all things must be produced disposed of and maintained which if any one will call Nature I will not gainesay so that he makes not of it an Essence separated from God vnto the which hee should thinke hee had committed the gouernment of things created to set himselfe on rest Contrariwise this Nature can bee nothing else but the first Power and Vertue which from the beginning without any separation from him hath printed it felse in the matter and hath giuen vnto it that regular motion by the which things are maintained in their being and bring foorth their effects besides Which Power and Facultie is by him from day to day and houre to houre and moment to moment inspired in the world which as it preserueth it so it doth create it anew againe and repaire it still and euery day makes it vp as it was made in the beginning In such sort that it seemeth God hath built it onely as a shop for him to worke in perpetually and keepe still in action his infinite goodnes which cannot endure but it must communicate it selfe vnto men True it is that like a great Architect he hath many workefolks vnder him which he doth imploy about this great gouernment not so much for any need he hath thereof as for the ornament of this stately worke-house the gracing of its brightnes and magnificence to impart vnto his creatures one of his most high soueraigne faculties cause them to produce create in a manner something as well as he And therefore throgh an admirable wisdom he hath left some part of these low terrestriall things imperfect in some kind to serue vnto man as matter subiect to work vpon hath forthwith giuen him the art to adapt apply them He hath giuen him stones hath not giuen him buildings but the art to make them hee hath giuen him mines and hath not giuen him mony but the art to make it he hath giuen him corne and hath not giuen him bread but the art to make it he hath giuen him wooll and hath not giuen him cloth but the art to make it To be short it seemeth that after hee had created man vnto his likenesse he hath shared with him the honour of the Creation of things yea euen of the Creation of man himselfe his will and pleasure being he should co-operate with him in the generation of his posteritie and that as hee Soueraigne and chiefest Creator had made the soule in his
image so man as an associate to his glory should make in the generation another body like vnto his And though God hath kept to himselfe the creation of the soule of man as of a great Master peece which cannot be wrought but with his owne hand yet in that he hath also called man euen as to his helpe hauing granted him the institution discipline and polishing of it that hee might bragge in a manner to haue affoorded something to his owne perfection But you must neither say nor think that the authority he hath giuen vnto creatures doth lessen his in any thing he doth not rely vpon their care neither doth he rest vpon their vigilancie contrariwise the greater power he hath giuen them so much the greater need hath he to watch ouer them and the more labourers hee hath at worke so much more necessary it is he should haue not onely the Eye but also the Hand ouer them to amend what they doe amisse contrary to the perfect patterne hee hath proposed vnto them and to guide and direct them in their workes which cannot any wayes stand nor last without his helpe and assistance This will I then say that what great faculties soeuer wee obserue in second causes we ought not to thinke for all this that the first is idle and that the others doe any thing but by his direction and farre lesse beleeue that this order and continuance wee see in all things is the chiefest and vniuersall cause thereof seeing it is but the effect no more then in Musicke the melodie is not the cause but the effect of concords produced by the Musitian his skill and art who gathereth the sounds and ordereth them into good consonance Now as it is Prouidence which by this regularorder that is called Nature bringeth forth and maintaineth euery particular thing according to the generall Law that is appointed for euery one of the same kinde so it is she which besides this regular order called Nature giueth sometimes vnto worldly things qualities and intermingleth accidents which one while are different another while contrary to their nature and then doth bring about the meeting of things amongst them to make them bring foorth the effect she hath ordained so that knitting and gathering vp many different causes she draweth from the connexion and weauing thereof not the ende that is natural or propounded to euery one of them but an euent prescribed by her selfe Insomuch that as Nature is seene especially in the creation production and maintenance of euery thing in it selfe according to its kinde and condition and by an ordinary rule and euer alike Destinie contrariwise appeareth in euents which proceede from the meeting of these things already created which being ordered by a rule vnknown to men produce fore-ordaind effects which seeme incuitable and do not concerne nor accōmodate themselues so much to the nature of euery particular thing as vnto that of the Vniuerse Certainly it should seeme that this Law had not bin needfull in the world if euery thing had kept the first motiō God had giuen vnto it at its creation for hauing infused in euery one the most perfect forme and principle of working that could be desired it followed that if they had continued in that condition their owne Nature had of her selfe directed their actions to good effects one towards another and consequently to the good of all the world and glory of the Creator But either throgh the vice imbecillity of the matter or through the tēdernes of their forme which could not subsist without they should adhere perpetually vnto their Creator they haue beene disfigured and strayed from the way which Nature had traced out vnto them For example Angels and men were created as the most perfect and absolute peeces of the world and God in the Creation had infused in them a liuely and pure light to direct their actions to make good vse of worldly things and consequently to bring foorth workes to his glory But as it falleth out vsually in great Buildings that a rich Wainescot or an artificiall winding Staire wrought with great skill will soonest decay because that the more excellent a peece of worke is so much the weaker it is so those most perfect creatures haue first of all declined from the right way peruerted and violated the end of their Creation Which disorder did not remaine onely in them but for the great power wherewithall they were created they haue caused it to slip into the things they had abused And moreouer it seemes that by their fault other things that were created for them were presently changed either by a secret consent or by a secret iudgement to serue for their punishment Therefore it hath beene needful that this All-seeing-eye which pierceth through ages as the Sunne through the Aire hauing from the beginning foreseene this confusion should euen from that time appoint a remedy to stay the presumptiō both of mē and Angels and let them least they should stretch their ill actions as farre as their ill wills The remedie hath beene this inuiolable Law by the which he hath prouided for all euents and hath ordained that things should happen as we see them fall out not altogether after the ordinary power of causes but as it pleaseth God to make them worke sometimes increasing sometimes lessening their strength and now and then causeth them to worke against their nature and bringeth backe to his will what men thinke to doe at theirs But some one will say that this Law seemes to be contrary to the first God being immutable in his essence should be so likewise in his determinations Ought wee to thinke that hee who knoweth all things from all Eternitie taketh new resolutions The alteration that is in this is not in God but in his workes which being separated from him who is vnchangeable alone could not be like vnto him but subiect to decay and waste away by the defect of the matter whereof they are made And the remedy God hath brought vnto the euill is not a new aduice though it bee put in vse since the corruption of Nature neuerthelesse it was resolued vpon euen before her creation For as a worke man that sets a Clocke to goe foure and twentie houres before he taketh vp the weights and setteth it on going can fore-see that either rust wil stay its course or that some idle fellow will stirre the needle touch the wheeles or remoue the ballance euen then prouides whatsoeuer is necessary to set it in order again restore it to the first point so God that hath foreseene euen before the Creation of the world what would fall out in the gouernment and maintenance thereof did in the same instant appoint remedies for it which though they come not to our sight but after a long time and succession of ages yet they were prepared from all eternitie For as the Poet must haue his Play in a readinesse afore any body comes