Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	eternal_a	life_n	work_n	4,885	5	6.6730	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08035	A most learned and pious treatise full of diuine and humane philosophy, framing a ladder, wherby our mindes may ascend to God, by the steps of his creatures. Written in Latine by the illustrous and learned Cardinall Bellarmine, of the society of Iesus. 1615. Translated into English, by T.B. gent.; De ascensione mentis in Deum per scalas rerum creatorum opusculum. English	Bellarmino, Roberto Francesco Romolo, Saint, 1542-1621.; Young, Francis.	1616 (1616)	STC 1840; ESTC S115760	134,272	612

particular as of all ingenerall and of all in generall as of euery one in particular Luke 12 Math. 10 A Sparrow is not forgotten of God The haires of our head are all numbred by him and not one of them shall perish Psal 146 The young Rauens being forsaken of their Parents are not forsaken by God How safely therefore mayst thou rest my soule in the bosome of such a Father Although thou were in darkenesse Among the mouthes of Lyons and Diagons Among innumerable legions of spirits Cleaue onely therefore to him in t●ue loue holy feare certaine hope and assured faith Neither doth Gods prouidence take care of thinges present and particular but Reacheth from end to end mightily Wis 8 and disposeth all thinges sweetly For which cause God is called The King of worldes 1 Tim 1 For he hath appointed the Order of worldes and disposed the successions of Kingdomes and the changes and varietie of seasons from all eternitie To God nothing can happen strange vnlooked for or vnthought of Wis 9 But the cogitations of mortall men are fearefull and our prouidences vncertaine as the wise man saith For of thinges to come we haue but vncertaine coniectures but God knoweth all thinges to come as certainely as thinges past and present and disposed in his minde before the making of the world the order and succession of all thinges Therefore our holy Mother the Church doth publiquely and securely affirme That Gods prouidence erreth not in the order and disposition of thinges But because the reason of Gods prouidence is most secret Psal 35 And his iudgements are great depth it commeth to passe that some seeing many euills to be committed among men and left vnpunished fall to beleeue that either humaine affaires are not gouerned by Gods prouidence or els that those euills are done by the will of God Both which opinions are wicked but the latter is the worst as St. ●ib 1. de Ord. c. 1 Augustine writeth And such runne into the downefall of these errors who behold Gods prouidence in part and in part behold it nor For whereas they ought to expect the end of thinges which at the day of iudgement shall be made manifest vnto all they iudge rashly before the time and are greatly deceaued Therefore the Apostle cryeth out in the Epistle to the Corinthians Iudge not before the time 1 Cor. 4 vatill our Lord doe come who will lighten the hidden thinges of larkenesse and will manifest the Councell of heartes Saint Augustine declareth this by an excellent similitude Si quis in vermi●ulato pauimento c. If one saith he should beholde in a chequered Pauement the workemanship onely of one small peece thereof hee might blame the Workeman as ignorant of order and composition to wi●t because he seeth but one little parcell of the worke but the greatest part he seeth not But if hee saw all the partes and their cohaerence hee would doubtlesse very much commend both of the worke and the Workman Euen so many see the wicked pro●●●● and the ●ghteous punished and 〈◊〉 but they know not what God doth reserue hereafter for the iniquity of the wicked or for the patience of the righteous and therefore they blaspheame with them which in Iob said God walketh about the Poles of Heauen Iob 22 neither doth hee consider our thinges And with others which in Malachy say Euery one that doth euill is good in the sight of our Lord Mal. 2 and such please him Saint Augustine vseth also another similitude taken from Verses For if when one heareth an heroycall verse he should say in the beginning or in the midst thereof that the verse was not good hee might iustly be reprehended of folly for he should expect vntill all the sillables were sounded and then he might finde fault therewith if it pleased him not Euen so they are most fonde who dare discommend the most orderly prouidence of God before the whole course thereof be runne out Therefore my Soule if thou be wise endeauour all thou canst that Euill be not done for so doth God command thee but why he suffereth euill to be done leaue it to his Iudgements which may be Secret but neuer vniust But although the Reason of Gods prouidence in gouerning humane affaires is very deepe Cap. 5 yet the reason of his Eternall predestination and reprobation is deeper without comparison For why God filleth many of the wicked with temporall goods and leaueth their sinnes vnpunished in this life And againe why he suffereth many Innocents to be pressed with pouerty and to be vniustly afflicted tormented and killed we cannot truly search out the particulers but we may assigne some probable generall cause For God often causeth the wicked to abound with temporall goods to reward some of their good morall workes albeit be will not giue them eternall life or to allure them thereby to be conuerted from their sins and be brought to the hope and desire of eternal benefits Sometimes also be punisheth not their sinnes in this life because he will sufficiently punish them in Hell But the righteous he suffereth to be afflicted with pouerty ignominy and diuers other vexations as well to purge their light sinnes in this life as also to reward their patience humility and other vertues with greater glory in Eternall life Mal. 1 But why God loued lacob and l●ted Esau before they diel either good or euill who can tell And this is that which the Apostle wonlieth at in his Epistle to the Romans Rom. 9 For they were twinnes Brothers borne of the same Father and Mother and yet God by predestination loued the one and by reprobation hated the other And least perhappes some might say that God fore-saw the good workes of the one and the euill workes of the other the Apostle preuenteth this answere saying This was done that the purpose of God according to election might stand And he alleageth the wordes of God in Moses I will haue mercy on whom I haue mercy Exod. 33 and I will shew mercy to whome I will shew mercy Who also will not wonder that one should perseuer a long time in good workes as Iudas the Traytor and at the end of his life giue ouer and perish And another to continue a long time in euill workes as the good Theefe and at the end of his life be conuerted and goe into Paradise But thou wilt say Indas betrayed Christ and the Theefe confessed Christ It is true but could not Christ haue lookedon Iudas as hoe looked on Peter Luk 22 And inspired Iudas with that powerfull Grace which no hard heart can refuse And could not Christ haue giuen Faith repentance to both the Theeues which were hanged with him as he did to one of them or suffer them both to dye in their sinnes as he suffered the one of them Who likewise can tell the reason why God taketh away some Wisd 4

the reparation of his owne minde St. Augustine in his bookes of the Cittie of God saith 19 Ciu. 19 Ocium Sanctum quaerit charitas veritatis c. The loue of truth seeketh holy rest the necessitie of Charitie vndertaketh iust busines but neither is the delight of truth to be altogether forsaken least the sweetnes thereof being withdrawne the necessitie of busines oppresse And the same St. Augustine speaking in his Confessions of himselfe and of his frequent Meditation of God by creatures saith Sepe ●stud facio c. 10. Conf. c. 40. I often doe this It delighteth me and when I can be spared from my necessarie busines I haue recourse vnto this pleasure St. Gregorie in his booke of pastorall Charge saith 2. par Pastor 5 Sit Rector c. Let a Prelate be equall vnto any in compassion and before all in contemplation that through the bowels of pietie be may transferr the infirmities of others vnto himselfe and by the height of Contemplation in seeking after things inuisible he may exceed himselfe And St. Gregorie in the same place bringeth the example of Moyses and Christ For Moyses often went into the Tabernacle and came out He went in that he might contemplate Gods Secrets he came out that hee might beare with the infirmities of his neighbours And Christ himselfe in the day time by preaching and working miracles sought the saluation of his neighbours but the night hee passed ouer without sleepe in prayer and contemplation For he passed saith St. Luke the whole night in the prayer of God Luke 6 Many thinges also like vnto these may be read in the last chapter of the same booke Moreouer St. Bernard to admonish seriously Pope Eugenius who was sometime his scholler not to giue himselfe wholy to action but sometime euery day to recollect himselfe and to enioy holy rest and heauenly foode writ fiue bookes of Consideration in the which he doth not onely exhort him vnto the daily Meditation of diuine thinges but also doth plainely teach him the manner method how to meditate and by Meditation to ascend and by ascention to vnite himselfe vnto God in vnderstanding and affection Neither doth he admitt that excuse which he might haue pretended and which many now a dayes pretend to wit that the ouer-many businesses wherewith the office of a Bishop is accompanied would not afford him leysure enough to apply himsele vnto the mediation of diuine things For none truely ought to giue himselfe so wholy to outward businesses but that he may take sometime to strengthen his body with meate drinke and sleepe And if the body doe duely require this refection and rest with how much more reason doth the soule require her meate and rest neither can she without this refection truely execute her office by any means amidst the incumbrances of so many great affaires But the meate of the soule is prayer and her rest is contemplation by the which Ascentions are framed in the hart Psal 83 That the God of Gods may be seene in Syon as much as in this vaile of teares he maybe seene But wee mortall men as it seemeth can finde no other Ladder whereby to ascend vnto God but by the workes of God For those who by the singular gift of God haue by an other way beene admitted into Paradice to heare Gods Secrets which it is not lawfull for a man to speake are not said to haue Ascended but to haue bene wrapt Which St. Paul doth plainly confesse of himselfe when he saith 2 Cor. 12 I was wrapt into Paradice and I heard secret wordes which it is not lawfull for a man to speake And that a man may by the workes of God that is by Creatures ascend vnto the knowledge and loue of the Creator the book of Wisdome doth teach Wisd 13 Rom. 1 and the Apostle to the Romans and reason it selfe doth sufficiently confirme since the efficient cause may be knowne by the effects and the example by the Image neither can there be any doubt but that all creatures are the workes of God and that men and Angels are not onely his workes but also his Images as the holy Scripture teacheth vs. I therefore being mooued by these reasons hauing obtained some small vacancie from publique affaires and admonished by the example of St. Bonauenture who in the like vacancie writ a booke intituled The Pilgrimage of the minde vnto God haue essayed from the contemplation of creatures to make a Ladder by the which we may in some sort ascend vnto God And I haue deuided it into fifteene Stepps in resemblance of the fifteene stepps by the which they went vp into the Temple of Salomon and of the fifteene Psalmes which are called Gradualles THE FIRST STEPP From the Consideration of Man IF any one truely desire to erect a Ladder vnto God Cap. 1. he ought to begin from the consideration of himselfe For euery one of vs is both the creature and image of God and nothing is nearer vs then our selues Therefore not without cause Moyses saith Attende tibi Attend to thy selfe vpon which two wordes Basil the great writte an excellent sermon For he that shall truly behold himselfe and consider what is within him shall finde as it were an Abridgement of the whole world whereby he may easily ascend vnto the maker of all things But I at this present intend to seeke out nothing els but the foure common causes who is my maker of what matter he made me what forme he gaue me and to what end hee produced me For if I seeke my maker I shall finde him onely God If I seeke the matter whereof he made me I shall finde it nothing whence I gather whatsoeuer is in me is made by God and the whole to be of God if I seeke my forme I shall finde my selfe to be the Image of God If I seeke my end I shall finde that the same God is my Cheife and totall happinesse Therefore I may vnderstand there is so great a coniunction and nearenesse of my selfe with God that he onely is my maker my author my Father my example my happinesse and my All. And if I vnderstand this how can it be but that I should most ardently seeke him thinke of him sigh for him desire to see and imbrace him and detest the great blindenes of my hart which so long time hath desired sought or thought of nothing lesse then of God who onely is All vnto me But let vs consider more diligently euery particular Cap. 2. I aske thee O my soule who gaue thee being when as a little time before thou wast nothing surely the parents of thy flesh begot thee not for what is borne of flesh is flesh but thou art a spirit neither did heauen or earth or the Sunne or starres produce thee for those are bodies thou without body nor yet could Angels Arch-angels or any other spirituall creature be causes of thy being for thou art

that made them By which words the infinite power of God is signified who did in a moment produce and cause to worke bodies so great and beautifull And to shine to him with cheerefulnesse that made them is with such readinesse to obey their maker as if in obeying him they were greatly pleased and delighted And surely it is a thing much to be meruayled that the starres moouing so speedily and continually and some performing their course so slowely and some so swiftly in their seuerall orbes yet they alwayes keepe such measure and proportion together that from it ariseth a most sweete and pleasing harmonie Wherof God speaketh in the booke of Iob when he saith Iob. 38 Who shall declare the manner of the heauens and the harmony of heauen who shall make to sleepe This is not the harmony of voyces or soundes heard with corporall eares but the harmony of proportion in the motions of the starres heard onely with the eare of the Hart. For all the starres of the firmament passe with the like speede about the whole compasse of heauen in foure and twenty houres And the seauen Planets or wandring starres are mooued some swifter some slower So that the starres of the Firmament seeme to beare the plaine song to speake after the vulgar manner and the Planets to modulate a sweet and continuall kinde of Descant But these thinges are aboue vs and this Harmony is heard onely by them that are in Heauen and vnderstand the reasons of these motions The starrs also keepe a iust measure alwayes in turning ●ound and therefore they seeme to daunce continually in ●eauen like honest virgins skilfull in that art But thou my soule ascend a little higher if thou canst and by the great brightnesse of the Sunne the beauty of the Moone the multitude and varietie of the other lightes the admirable harmony of heauen and delightfull dauncing of the starrs Thinke what it will be to beholde God aboue heaven to wit That Sunne that inhabiteth light 1 Tim. 6 not accessible to behold the virgin Queene of heauen who being faire as the Moone reioyceth the Cittie of God To behold the quires and orders of Angells which being more in number and brighter then the starres adorne the Emperiall heauen To behold the soules of Saintes among the companies of Angels as Planets among the starres of the Firmament And lastly to heare the songes of prayses and that eternall Alleluia with concording voyces most sweetly to resound in the streetes of that Cittie Then shall it come to passe that neither the beauty of heauen will seeme great vnto thee and the thinges belowe heauen which are small short and of no value will be reiected and contemned THE EIGHT STEPP From the Consideration of the reasonable Soule WE haue hetherto passed onely through corporall things Cap. 1 whiles we intended from the contemplation of creatures to ascend vnto the Creator And now we finde the soule of Man surpassing the dignitie of all bodies to be in the lowest ranke of spirituall substances betweene whom and God there are no other but the Hierarchies and Orders of Angells The soule of man carrieth such a resemblance with God the maker thereof that truely I knowe no way more easie for a man to ascend vnto the knowledge of God then from the consideration of his owne soule And therefore he is vnexcusable before God if he knewe not God since from the knowledge of his owne soule he may by Gods assistance without difficultie attaine thereunto First therefore the soule of Man is a spirit for so the holy Fathers expound those wordes of Genesis Gen 2 Our Lord God formed Man of the sl●me of the earth and breathed into his face the breath of life And that of Tobias Command my spirit to be receaued ●ob 3 And Ecclesiastes Let thedust returne into his earth Eccl 12 and the spirit returne to God who gaue it For albeit the word spirit agree also to the winde whereof it is said in the psalme The spirit of stormes Psal 148 Ioh. 3 And in the Gospell The spirit breatheth where he will and thou hearest his voyce Yet there is no doubt but that the Spirit of stormes is a body which by reason of the exceeding raritie thereof doth neerer immitate a Naturall spirit then any other body whatsoeuer but the soule of man is a true spirit not a body neither is it produced out of matter but created of God Whereof among Catholiques there is no controuersie Heere then beginneth the excellencie of the soule and her resemblance with God For God is a spirit saith our Sauiour and they that adore him Ioh. 4 must adore in spirit and veritie But although God is a spirit and the soule of man is also a spirit yet God is a spirit vncreated the soule a spirit created whereupon it followeth that there is an infinite difference between that spirit which is the soule and that spirit which is God As therefore the soule may reioyce for being a spirituall substance excelling thereby the heauens and starres in nobilitie of Nature so ought she also to be humbled vnto God her Maker because she is made of nothing and without him of her selfe is nothing Secondly Cap. 2 the soule of Man is a simple spirit and therefore immortall for it hath nothing within it selfe that can dissolue it or cause it to dye but as it hath this priuiledge aboue the soules of brute beastes which dye with the bodie so it ought likewise to admire and reuerence the excellencye of the Creator who is not onely immortall but also eternall For there was a time when the soule of man was not and by the will of God onely it tooke beginning and may likewise if God so please be reduced to nothing although in it selfe it hath no cause of corruption Therefore the Apostle said of God ● Tim. 6 Who onely hath immortalitie for he onely can by no power chance or reason be dissolued because he is the Fountai●e of life Thirdly Cap. 3 the soule of Man hath the light of vnderstanding for it not onely decerneth colours senttes tastes soundes hot cold hard soft and other such like thinges which lye open to the senses of the body But also iudgeth of substances and of generall and vniversall Notions as well as of particular Neither knoweth it onely thinges present but also coniectureth of thinges to come and mounteth by discourse aboue the Heauens penetrateth the depth searcheth out causes by effectes and from causes runneth backe to effectes Lastly by the light of reason it ascendeth vnto God who Inhabiteth Light vnaccessible And of this Light St. 1 Tim. 6 Iohn saith in the Gospell Ioh. 1 It was the true Light which lightneth euery man that commeth into the World Psal 4 And Dauid in the Psalmes The Light of thy countenance O Lord is signed vpon vs. And Psal 31 Doe not become as Horse and Male which haue

which none can sufficiently admire vnlesse he could number all the Creatures which God hath made shall make or can make And who is able so to doe but hee whose knowledge is Infinite This Power also may seeme the greater when wee imagine how great a thing it is to destroy thinges made so many ages in one moment or as Iudas Machabaeus saith To destroy with one becke Mach 8 Let vs therefore say with Mases Exod. 15 Who is like to thee among the strong O Lord The length of Gods Power is seene by continuall cooperation with all thinges made Cap. 2 yet neither is nor euer shall be wearied For it cannot be lessened weakened or decayed by any meanes because it is truely eternall or rather the true eternity of the Diuinity Some wonder how the Sunne Moone and Starres can mooue so long time with such speed from East to West and returne again to their courses without any intermission And surely it were much to be wondred at but that we know they are carried by God Almighty Who carrieth all thinges by the worde of his Power Heb 1 Others wonder how it can be that in Hell the fire is not consumed which burneth euerlastingly nor the bodyes of those wretches dissolued which are for euer scorched in those flames And this may be thought not onely admirable but also vnpossble were it not that God who is Almighty and Euerlasting causeth that fire so to burne that it is neuer quenched and so preserueth the bodyes of those wretches in that fire that they are alwayes tormented and neuer consumed Others wonder moreouer how God Carrieth and sustaineth all thinges and yet is not wearied with so huge a burthen For a strong Man Horse Oxe or Elephant can carry a great weight a little while or a very great weight a very short while But to carry a most great burthen an euerlasting time without wearinesse surpasseth the strength of any Creature But indeed they had cause to wonder if the Power of God were in Weight and Measure as the power of Creatures is But since his power is Infinite it is no meruaile if it can beare a great burthen an infinite time without wearinesse Let vs say therefore with the holy Prophet Moses Exod. 15. Who is like to thee among the strong O Lord. The Height of Gods power consisteth chiefly in two thinges Cap. 3 First in that it onely hath made Most high things Sublunary thinges God made in the first Creation yet may they by Action of Creatures be ingendred altred or corrupted For the Elementes are in part mutually changed Hearbes and Plantes spring from the Earth Beastes are bred of Beastes Fishes are ingendred in the Water cloudes and rayne in the Ayer and Cometts in the Fire But the Heauens Starres which are the highest bodyes God onely created and he alone doth so preserue that no creature hath power to make change alter or corrupt them I shall see saith the Prophet thy Heauens Psal 8 the workes of thy Fingers the Moone and Starres which thou hast founded For he that is most High hath kept the highest workes for himselfe onely he began to frame them from their foundation and hath brought them to their perfection Hee also by his Infinite power created preserueth and for euer will preserue thinges Spirituall as Angells and the soules of men which are his noblest and highest workes from death For Creatures haue no part in doing these thinges neither can they all ioyned together Create or destroy one Angell or one soule Secondly the height of Gods power is seene in Miracles which as St. Tract 24 in Ioh. Augustine teacheth Are workes beside the vsuall course and order of Nature whereat the very Angells and Nature her selfe doth wonder Which of the Angells did not wonder to see the Sunne and Moone which runne their course so speedily stand still at the commandment of Iosue Ios 10 And that wee may not thinke it fell out casually for none can imagine how a thing so vnusuall could be donne by a mortall man the holy Ghost saith Our Lord obeying the voyce of a Man ●●dem For Iosue did not properly speake vnto the Sunne and Moone which he knew could not heare his commandement but he prayed to God as if he should say Thou Sunne by the commandement of God against Gabaon moue not And thou M●one against the valley of A●alon And our Lord obeyed the voyce of a Man That is Caused those Lights to obey the voyce of a Man For often times in holy Scripture God is said to do those things whereof be is the Cause that they are done As in Genesis when our Lord said to Abraham Now haue I knowen that thou fearest God Gen. 22 the meaning of those wordes is Now haue I caused that both thy selfe and others know that thou truely fearest God The like also was that worke signifying the height of Gods power at the Passion of our Lord When the Moone which was very farre distant from the Sunne approached with vncredible speed vnto the Sun Ecclipsing it three houres Math. 27 caused darknesse vpon the whole earth after with like speed returned to the place from whence she came All which St. Denis in his Epistle to St. Policarpe doth witnes that he saw and obserued And this truely is a wonder cōtrary to the former though no lesse strange For it is as vnusuall and as much aboue the whole power of Nature to make the Moone runne her course more speedily then she is accustomed as it is to make her stand still I omit the giuing sight to the blinde the raysing of the dead and many such like miracles which God hath done and doth by his Prophets Apostles and other his faithfull seruantes All which doe crye Who is like to thee among the strong O Lord But I cannot omitt that cheife and greatest Miracle which God shall shew at the day of Iudgement when all the dead shall rise together albeit the bodyes of many of them haue beene burned to ashes and scattered in the Windes or deuoured by beastes and changed into other bodies or buried in fieldes and Orchards and altred into sundry hearbes Which of the Angells but will wonder to behold in the twinckling of an eye so many Millions of Millions of Millions of men at the commandement of the Almightie to take againe their bodies albeit they haue lyen hidd for many ages and after diners manners haue bene dispersed and consumed This therefore is the higth of Gods power in regard whereof it may likewise be said Who is like to thee among the strong O Lord. There remaineth the depth Cap. 4 of his power which seemeth to me to consist in the manner which God vseth in making thinges For who can conceaue how somthing is made of nothing They could not sound this depth who held it for a certaine and approued Principle That of nothing nothing is