sinne and wickednesse which the diuel himselfe dare not auouch of the soule of Christ. Men maie doe well therefore to beware how they venture vnaduisedlie to saie that Christ suffered the death of the soule for howsoeuer they may frame vnto themselues a new kind of death in the soule of Christ as they thinke far from these absurdities and blasphemies yet both scriptures fathers mightilie contradict that loose if not lewde assertion With thee is the fountaine of life saith Dauid to God Then if the soule of Christ were alwaies ioined with God or so much as in Gods fauor it must needs haue life for in Gods fauour there is life Yea the presence of Gods spirit giueth life Spiritus est qui viuiâ—icat it is the spirit y t quickneth saith our Sauiour and Paul citeth the same words Where then THE SPIRIT OF GOD is there is LIFE and consequently the soule y t is dead is depriued of Gods spirit Now from whom the spirit of God is departed in him must néeds want al the fruits of Gods spirit and so the soule that is dead is excluded from all godlinesse and vertue For these are not onelie signes but effectes of Gods spirit working in the soule of man And since between righteousnes and vnrighteousnes there is no middle the soule of man wanting light truth and sanctitie of force must be filled with darkenes error iniquity which to surmise in the soule of Christ is the hight of all impietie As manie as are led by the spirit of God they are the sonnes of God If Christes soule wanted at anie time the spirit of God he was not the sonne of God If he euer and alwaies had the spirit of life dwelling in him his soule coulde at no time be dead For the spirite is life through righteousnesse But whie seeke we proofes that Christes soule could not die since he himselfe is the AVTHOR and GIVER OF LIFE I am the waie the truth and THE LIFE saith our Sauiour He that beleeueth in me hath euerlasting life I am the resurrection and the life hee that beleeueth in mee though hee were dead he shall liue And hee that liueth and beleeueth in me shal neuer die If the soule of him that beleeueth in Christ shal neuer die how could Christ himself at anie time die in soule Christ is our life howe then shall we be sure neuer to die if the fountaine of our life in Christes person might for the time bee dried vp with death shall we haue fuller or perfiter fruition of life then Christ Iesus our heade who giueth life to all his sheepe but he had so plentifull perpetuall and personall possession of life not onelie for himselfe but for vs all that the Apostle saith the first Adam was made a liuing soule the last Adam was made a quickening spirit that is not only to haue life in himself but to giue life to others Could hee then at anie time be a deade soule whome the holy ghost affirmeth to be made a QVICKENING SPIRIT could he giue that to others which himselfe did lacke or loose that which he once had I know to giue life is proper to God and for that cause the soule of Christ could not haue that power by creation but by coniunction with his godhead and in that respect was the receptacle whereby the life and grace of his diuine nature was deriued into his humane with such abundance and assurance that of his fulnes we al haue receaued insomuch that the words which he spake were spirit and life and the flesh which he tooke was the bread of life yea the body of Christ dying did not only resist and represse the force of death but rising againe destroied death restored life to the world If the temple of his bodie were stronger then death what was the sanctuarie of his soule I wish therfore all men that professe themselues christiaÌ„s to be soberlie minded and with the learned and auncient fathers to acknowledge that there is not mentioned in the scriptures anie death of the soule besides SINNE eternall DAMNATION neither of the which with anie moderation or mitigation can be attributed to Christ without shamefull blasphemie Anima peccans ipsa morietur The soule that sinneth that soule shall die In these wordes are both deaths of the soule expressed the first voluntarie when for the delights of sinne wee refuse the preceptes of God the other necessarie when God by his iustice withdraweth his presence from vs and executeth his VENGEANCE on vs that neuer shall haue end That sinne is a death of the soule cannot be denied Let the dead bury their dead saith Christ to one of his disciples follow thou me Which must néedes be meant of such as are liuing in body dead in soule as Paule speaketh of wanton widowes she which liueth in pleasure is dead whiles shee liueth These the scripture calleth DEAD IN SINNE When we were dead by sinnes God quickened vs together with Christ. And again You which were dead in sinnes hath he quickened together with Christ forgiuing you all your trespasses From this death I make no doubt but all christian men with heart and voice will cléerelie discharge the VNSPOTTED and VNDEFILED Lambe of God who did no sinne neither was there any guile found in his mouth The other kinde of the death of the soule which is damnation must be farther from Christ then euer was sinne For not onelie Christes innocency should bee vniustlie condemned which were altogether repugnant to Gods righteousnesse but the sonne of God wronged and mans saluation wholy subuerted Nothing might befall the humane nature of Christ which was vnfitting for his diuine both being ioined in one person And if our Sauiour were condemned to hell which way shall we thinke to scape the iust and fearefull iudgement of God for our manifold and grieuous sinnes he was indéed condemned by man that gaue wrongfull sentence of death against him but hee was acquited of God And because hee humbled himselfe to the death of the crosse God highly exalted him and gaue him a name aboue all names as well in witnesse of his innocencie as in reward of his humility Yea the holie ghost which euidently recordeth Christes assurance confidence and reioicing in God as hee hung on the crosse cleane excludeth all suspicion that he suffered the death of the soule For the soule in this life can haue no fuller nor faster coherence with God then Christ had And since God is the true life of the soule the inseparable coÌ„iunction of Christes soule with God proueth a continuall perswasion and fruition of eternal life which by no meanes admitteth anie danger or doubt much lesse anie sence or sufferance of the second death being the iust wages of sinne whereby the wicked are euerlastinglie punished Certe aâ—ima Christi non solum immortalis
voluntarily committed by him Christ then beeing frée from all sinne might not suffer the inwarde or euerlasting death of the soule but corporall and temporall reproch and paine which God might and did recompence with eternall ioye and glorie Thirdlie that soule which sinneth that soule shall die This is the setled rule of Gods iustice and therefore Christs soule which sinned not could by no iustice die the death of the soule To laie down his life for vs was loue and thankes with God but willinglie to separate himselfe from God for vs was no waie to reconcile God to vs or to bring vs to God He must therefore cleaue fast to God in soule whose death shall bee pretious in Gods sight as was Christs If the soule bee seuered from God the death of the bodie is detestable in his eies as beeing the wages of sinne and therefore no more acceptable to GOD then sinne it selfe but where the soule hating the infection of sinne and loathing the infirmitie of the flesh resigneth it vnto death for Gods glorie and the good of others And in this respect the death of the bodie maie bee a sacrifice vnto God but not except the soule doe liue and cleaue to God without separation Then hatefull to GOD was the death of Christ if his soule were first hated or accursed if that were beloued and blessed of God it coulde not choose but liue for God is not the God of the deade but of the liuing So that the death of Christes bodie on the Crosse was by no iustice an acceptable sacrifice vnto God if his soule were first deade But his death was so precious in Gods sight that in the bodie of his flesh through death he reconciled vs vnto God his soule was therefore aliue and in fauour with God yea so abundantly blessed and highly accepted for the holines humilitie and obedience thereof that God was pacified and pleased and we all sanctified with THE OBLATION OF THE BODY of Iesus on the altar of the crosse Lastlie the flesh of Christ by Gods iustice must bee as able to purge vs from sinne as Adams was to poyson vs with sinne But the flesh of Adam infected all his posteritie with sinne and death ergo the flesh of Christ must haue as much force to clense and quicken the faithfull both in this life and the next Of this iustice Paul speaketh when he saith since by man came death by man must come the resurrection of the dead For as in Adam all die euen so in Christ shal al be made aliue The first Adam WAS THE FIGVRE of the second Adam that where sinne abounded there grace might abound much more As then by one mans disobedience manie were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many bee made righteous The obedience of Christ which here Paule mentioneth is his obedience vnto death euen to the death of the crosse and the righteousnesse of the faithfull is the forgiuenes of their sinnes through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus I wil not here dispute whether the soule be created and infunded or else traduâ—ed from Adam as well as the flesh I meane not with curious or superfluous questions to busie mens heades that which the scriptures deliuer touching the deriuation of sinne and death from our first parents I may safelie teach and you must necessarily beléeue That we were fashioned in iniquitie and conceaued in sinne the words of Dauid doe exactlie witnesse and no maruaile For who can make that to bee cleane which commeth from the vncleane yea sinne cleaueth so fast vnto our flesh that when the eies of our heart are lightened and the spirit of our minde is renued so that the inwarde man delighteth in the law of God EVEN THEN haue we an other law in our members rebelling against the lawe of our minde and leading vs captiue vnto the lawe of sinne the one so contrarie to the other that we cannot doe the things which we would by reason the affection or liking of the flesh cannot be subiect to the lawe of God This fight betwixt the flesh and the spirit is so durable that it cannot bee dissolued but onelie by death Though Christ bee in vs and the spirit liue for righteousnesse sake yet sinne so dwelleth in vs that is in our â— mortall bodies that whiles we liue in minde we serue the law of God but in our flesh the lawe of sinne From Adams flesh wee deriue this infection of sinne that sticketh so fast vnto vs after we are regenerate and new borne againe of water and the holie ghost and this is the roote and nurse of all sinne and the cause of death to al men If Christ be in you the bodie is dead because of sinne From Christes flesh then we must receiue the purgation of sinne both inherent in vs and committed by vs or else Adams flesh is stronger to wound vs then Christs is to heale vs which is repugnant to the iustice of God by which the grace of God must bee farre mightier vnto saluation in the bodie of Christ then the force of sinne was vnto condemnation in the bodie of Adam vnlesse wee make sinne of more power to kill then God is to quicken which is to exalt the diuell aboue God and his sonne For God was in Christ reconciling the worlde to himselfe by whose bloud the partition wal is broken down and hatred abrogated through his flesh that wee might bee reconciled vnto God in one bodie by his crosse But the death of the bodie they will saie hath no proportion to the death of the soule and therefore the one cannot in iustice excuse the other There is farre greater distance betwixt the sonne of God and the sonnes of men then betwixt the bodies and soules of men These differ as creatures and both inferiour vnto the angels but there is the excellencie of the Creator aboue the creature which is simplie infinite Whatsoeuer therefore it pleased the sonne of God to suffer for our sakes it was most sufficient for our redemption howbeit to demonstrate his loue hee would be partaker of our infirmitie and mortality least we should loath our condition or grudge at the chastisement of our sinnes but if we set a side the dignitie and vnitie of his person then is no waie the death of the soule or the paines of hell which they imagine Christ suffered proportionable in exact iustice to the true wages of our sinne For what equiualence hath one soule with all the soules of the Saints or one daies anguish which Christ felt in soule as they suppose with that euerlasting fire which wee shoulde haue suffered in bodie and soule for euer set aside I saie the respect of the person which suffered for vs and in the rest they shall neuer bee able to prooue anie proportion of iustice diuine or humane But as
be these wicked fancies either to the Créede or to Christian Religion Séeing therefore your Gréeke Poets with one consent make HADES to be a god below vnder the earth and put vnder his power as well the Elisian fields and seates for the iust soules as the prisons and dungeons for the vniust and this fantasticall conceite of Socrates touching a speciall place for himselfe and such Philosophers as hee was together with Swannes beasts trees flowers fruites as it was singular and secret to himselfe so it was most absurd and wicked you may by no meanes bring your Classicall writers that were Pagans to expounde the Créede much lesse must you binde the holy Ghost in the new Testament to vse the word HADES as the infidels did since the holy Ghost onely knoweth and speaketh trueth and their imaginations of the dead or as you speake of the world of soules was not onely false and foolish but impious and blasphemous And yet if you doe admit them to bée interpreters of the Créede which I vtterlie refuse for the causes I haue tolde you they make directly against you For HADES with them was the Ruler or place of soules that were beneath vnder the earth were they in rest or in paine and that Christian Religion will assure you must néedes be hell howsoeuer to beare out your broken matter you beginne halfe to doubt where hell is The authenticke authors of the Greeke tongue vsed hades for the place of the blessed soules you say and not properlie for hell So Leonidas cheered vp his men not to feare such a blessed death to suppe in hell had beene a colde comfort vnto them You reade nothing your selfe belike that you hit nothing right In Plutarch whome you alleage this is no comfort giuen by Leonidas but hée séeing the Persians now in sight as his men were dining and in number so infinite aboue his who were but an handfull willeth them to make short and saith So dine as men that must suppe in HADES that is care not for meate since death is so neere but prepare to fight for your Countrey It sheweth a resolution to dye but no consolation after death more than they knew before which was that in HADES were places as well for the good to rest as for the bad to bée punished but both were below vnder earth and in Plutoes kingdome as the Gentiles supposed Neither did Homer meane to make a new heauen for such as Achilles slue but to send them to the place where hée thought all soules did abide and therefore hée put Achilles soule in Plutoes region vnder the earth as well as the rest of the Grecians and Troians that died in that Battaile And because your Proctor will néedes haue the words that Achilles spirite spake to Vlisses at his descent to hell to bee a dictionarie for hades what place it is against which if the Creede had gone it had been a skoffe to all Hellas and had hindered all the proceeding of the Gospell Let vs sée whether his owne dictionarie will not returne all his allegations vppon his owne head If HADES in the Créede must bee the same place where Achilles spirite was whither Vlisses descended and where he saw and spake with so many Ghostes then apparantly HADES must bée the Poets HELL At Vlisses entrance Homer telling how the soules came about him saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The soules flocked together out of Erebus now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the very place where the Poets place Cerberus and whence the same Poet saith Hercules 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Was sent to fetch from Erebus the dogge of HATEFVLL HADES Againe Vlisses mother asking him how hee came to that place saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My sonne how camest thou vnder this darke mist Of Aiax Ghost who would not for anger speake to Vlisses Homer saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hee went away to other soules in Erebus There Vlisses saith hée saw Sisyphus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Suffering grieuous torments as also Titius and Tantalus to endure the like There he saw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hercules strength a Ghost for hee himselfe was in ioye with the immortall Gods There Achilles spirite tooke so small comfort that when Vlisses said There is none happier then thou Achilles before whiles thou liuedst wee honoured thee as a God and now art thou a great commaunder among the Dead bee not therefore so fadde hée replied Praise not death to mee Vlisses I had rather serue any poore man on earth as his drudge though hee were scant able to liue then to raigne here ouer all the dead If the place bee darke and déepe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If Cerberus bée there which the Poets make the very kéeper of hell if there bée grieuous and cruell punishmentes for such as deserue them if the best haue there so little ioye of the place as Homer maketh Achilles ghost here to confesse what place can this bée but that hell which all the Poets acknowledge though in some part thereof there hée worse punishmentes then in other This is not that Tartarus you will saye which the Poets make the â—ayle and Prison for the wicked What is that to the purpose if some punishmentes in hell bée worse than other Looke to those whome the Poets place without the dungeon and sée whether they bée in heauen or no And because you and your friends talke so much of the worlde of Soules and of heauen to bée found in HADES and INFERI and your selfe bring Virgill as one of your Classicall authors to proue this matter Who though hee were a Poet and fayned many things yet hee spake you say familiarlie and after the vulgar vse and for the substance of the matter vttered touching heauen and hell the opinion of the worlde then I must pray the Readers leaue and patience whiles I follow you in your owne fantasticall deuise though against mine owne liking to let the simple sée what your world of soules and your heauen is euen in those very writers which you produce for this purpose and whether they bée fitte things to bée Presidents for the Créede or no. In Plutoes kingdome vnder earth whether Aeneas went to sée his Father Anchises Virgil your authenticke author maketh besides Tartarus and your goodly Elisian fields the eternall habitation as you call it of the blessed many lodgings As first for sicknes care weeping pouertie labour warres discord dreames and death besides for Centaures Briareus Hidra Chimera Gorgon Harpies and Gerion and sundrie other monsters There wander the Ghosts whose bodies are not buried a hundred yeare before they can get ouer the foule and silthie riuer of Styx The other side of Styx is kept by Cerberus the Dogge with thrée heads where first are placed the soules of infants weeping and crying then such as were vniustly condemned to death
but in the garden Christ neuer praied with strong cries and teares to be saued from death that we read in the scriptures and He was heard saith the Apostle in that he feared or shunned From the death of the crosse hee was not saued that therfore was not the effect of his praier for he was heard in that hee asked He desired therefore to be saued from ETERNALL death and that the cup of Gods euerlasting malediction might passe from him and in that he was heard At least then wil they say Christ feared euerlasting death against which he instantlie praied with stroÌ„g cries tears The number of our sinnes and power of Gods wrath hee coulde not choose but see being ordained the sauiour of the world to heare the one and appease the other and therefore if we grant that the sight of both did for the time somewhat astonish the humane nature of Christ aduisedly considering she waight of both I 〈◊〉 no great inconâ—enience therein so long as they impressed nâ—thing in the soule of Christ but a religious feare to Sorrow for the one and to pray against the other But distrust of his owne saluation or doubt of Gods displeasure against himselfe we cannot so much as imagine in Christ without euident want of grace and losse of Faith which we may not attribute to Christs person no not for an instant It is weakenesse of â—aith in vs to feare or forget the promises of God when the conscience of sinne accuseth vs. What then will it be for the soule of Christ after so manie promises and oathes made by God to annoint and send the Sauiour of the world after so manie cleere and full assurances of Gods loue and fauour towards his person to stagger at the certaintie of Gods counsell at the light of his owne knowledge and at the truth of his fathers voice so often denounced and confirmed with thunder from heauen I refraine to speake what wrong it is to put either doubtfulnes or forgetfulnesse of these thinges in any part of Christes humane nature Why then did hee praie that the cup might passe from him he had no néed to pray for himself but onely for vs who then suffered with him and in him On vs it might haue staied being seuered from him as the iust wages of our sin against him it could not prenaile because nothing could befall him either against his will or vnfit for the sonne of God Wherefore the force and effect of his praier chieflie concerned vs Being then comprised in his bodie in which wee were crucified buried and raised togither with him And touching himselfe albeit the innocencie of his cause the holinesse of his life the merit of his obedience the aboundance of his spirit the loue of his father and vnitâ—e of his person did most sufficientlie gard him from all danger and doubt of eternal death yet to shew the perfection of his humilitie he woulde not suffer his humane nature to require it of right but proâ—raâ—â— on the earth be sought his Father That cuppe might passe from him and was heard in that he â—â—unned or anâ—â—ded For though God were long before resolued to accept the death and bloud of his sonne for the sinnes of the world yet by this meanes Christ did sée howe déerelie God loued him that for his sake and at his request released the last bengeanâ—â— of mans sinne tooke the 〈◊〉 of eternall malediction not from him onlie but from vs all at his mediation howbeit to shew the confidence he had in his father and to bring his obedience to the highest degrée that might be hee did after his religious dislike of that cup which wee had deserued simplie and whoâ—â—e submit himselfe to his fathers pleasure without anie condition or exception in saying to his father Not as I will but as thou wilt Not 〈◊〉 by striking any terror of hell into the sence of his flesh as some would haue it but fully resting on his fathers will and goodnesse towardes him as in the surest hauen of his hope and ouâ— helpe against all the power of death and hell A second thing which Christ might iustlie feare and earnestlie praie against though his soule were neuer so safe was the power of Gods wrath to be executed on his bodie vnlesse it pleased God to lighten the burden of mans sinne For God was armed with infinite vengeance to afflict and punish the bodie aboue that the humane flesh of Christ was able to endure Since therefore Christ was not onelie with meekenesse to beare but with al willingnes to offer to abide the hand of God laid vpon him by what meanes soeuer hee might pray that the cup of his passion might be proportioned to the strength of his flesh which was but weake in respect of Gods power and therein also he was heard For the cup which his father gaue him to drinke by the hands of the wicked did passe from him without oppressing his patience or shaking his obedience Thirdlie Christ might feare his verie passion not as weaker in courage then martyrs or malefactors but as perfecter in nature then either of them The more we enioie the presence of God in soule or in bodie the greater griefe it will be and must be to lacke the sence hereof euen for a short time The flesh of Christ then which had not onelie a personall coniunction but also a wonderfull fruition of God aboue all men liuing might well he loath to leaue the same and yéeld to death not as timorous through infirmity but as desirous in pietie to kéepe that sence and feeling of Gods presence which not onlie the soules but also the bodies of his Saintes shall hereafter enioie and which Christ had here on earth in greater measure then we can expresse as being personallie vnited to the diuine nature though as yet not glorified with immortalitie And where some auouch it had beene in Christ a shamefull nicenesse to be so afflicted with the feare of his passion albeit S. Augustine saie well Non est vllo modo dubit andum non eum animi infirmitate sed potestate turbatum We may by no meanes doubt that Christ was troubled not for any weakenesse of hart but through his own power yet Cyril granteth that Christ as a man abhorred and feared death and addeth that except he had voluntarily shewed our feare in himselfe and quenched it we had neuer beene fréed from it Omnia Christus perpessus est vt nos ab omnibus liberaret Sicut igitur nisi mortuus esset mors non extingueretur sic nisi timuisset non essemus nos à metu liberati nisi doluisset non cessassent dolores nostri Christ suffered all that he might free vs from al. As therefore except he had died death had not beene conquered so vnlesse he â—ad feared we had not beene deliuered from feare and if he had not sorrowed our sorrowes could not haue ceased And in
aire that is not seene nor hath any colour And in his discourse whether a secrete and silent life be best or no Plutarch proposeth this etymologie as truer elder theÌ„ Soâ—rates fancie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men ACCORDING TO THE AVNCIENT TRADITIONS OF THEIR FATHERS thinking the sunne to be Apollo named him Delius and Pythius And the RVLER of the contrarie destinie to life and light whether he bee a God or a DIVEL they termed HADES being the MASTER of dark night and dead sleepe for that when wee depart hence wee go into an vnknowne and vnseene place So that Socrates deriuation of Hades was both false and newe euen as his opinion of HADES to be an eloquent and bountifull God and his reason is woorst of all that because men returne not backe againe after death therefore HADES doeth detaine them with eloquent perswasions and great rewards which maketh him to be called Pluto For the scripture assureth vs that men dead can not returne againe though they were neuer so willing and though God of his goodnes bestoweth euerlasting blisse on his Saints yet the rest would faine bee rid of their eternall miserie and can not neither are they held in their state with faire promises or large benefites but by the vnalterable rigor of Gods iustice Eustathius vpon Homers wordes that Achilles sent many a worthie soule to HADES saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a darke place vnder the earth not to be seene appointed for soules and is deriued from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the priuatiue and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to see and is called also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by contraction HADES So when Homer bringeth in Hectors wife complaining of her miserie and saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou husband art gone to HADES house vnder the dennes of the earth Eustathius addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is a place vnder the earth and so hidde from vs. Therefore it is called Hades that is an inuisible aire which wee can not see And howsoeuer Socrates pleased himselfe in framing this heauen as you call it for himselfe and a fewe others for hee admitteth none but Philosophers into it Lucian in his Dialogues of the dead bitterlie mocketh him as being in Hell with all the rest howsoeuer he dreamed of an heauen for himselfe after his departure hence How Paganish and not onelie ridiculous but blasphemous Platoes heauen is appeareth by this that Socrates maketh SVVANNES his fellow seruants to Phoebus imagineth they sing that day they die 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FORESEEING THE GOOD THINGS THEY SHALL HAVE IN HADES And further saith that wheÌ„ they perceiue they must die then chiefly and most of al they sing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reioycing that they SHALL GO TO GOD whose seruants they are And those wordes which Socrates spake of Swannes foreséeing THE GOOD THINGS IN HADES you Sir Confuter in the abundance of your wit note to proue HADES to be heauen And to this heauen though Socrates admitte Swannes yet he accepteth no men but such as haue béene Philosophers those of the purest sort As for such as vse popular and ciuil vertues as iustice and temperance gotten by care and continuance without Philosophie his words are expressely these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is fit that such soules should returne againe into some such politicall and tame kinde either of BEES VVASPES or EMMETS after that into men again But into the kinred of the Gods it is not lawful for anie to come that hath not beene a Philosopher and verie pure at his departing hence Others that were slouthfull and filled their bellies hee saith must be turned into Asses and such other beasts and oppressours and wrong doers into Wolues Kites and Hawkes Of these his plaine resolution is that such soules wander vntill by the earnest loue of their bodilie nature which followeth them they PVT ON BODIES againe And such bodies of birds and beasts they put on as resemble the manners of their former life Here is a goodly world of soules to be brought out of Plato into the Créede and Socrates heauen why you should fansie I cannot gesse except it be that none but very pure and precise persons shall come thither to whom you would faine be the ringleader But this is not all In making HADES AND PLVTO by which the Poets meane the diuell to bée a wise and bountifull God hath not your wise Master fitted his new heauen with an excellent head Plutarch moueth the doubt whether HADES be a God or a DIVELL that hath power ouer darknes and death Homer Hesiode affirme he dwelleth vnder the earth and is implacable cruell and hated of men Porphyrie no meane follower of Plato concludeth PLVTO which is all one with HADES as Plato confesseth to be the chiefe of all wicked spirits Porphyries words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We doe not without cause coniecture that all wicked spirites are vnder Serapis being led so to thinke not onely by his ceremonies but because offerings to pacifie and sacrifices auerting rage are done to PLVTO as we haue shewed in our first booke Now Serapis is all one god with Pluto and therefore he is the greatest prince of Diuels and one that giueth charmes to driue away spirits Loe here is Socrates wise and bountifull god HADES AND PLVTO concluded by a great Platonicke to be the chiefe diuell whose iudgement Eusebius followeth And in déede considering his place where he dwelleth his rage that he vseth against men for which hee is so feared and hated of them and his sacrifices in which hee delighteth as also his power ouer death and darkenesse it is a cléere case that Platoes HADES OR PLVTO is the great diuell in hell whose craftes and sleighâ—s because hée knew not as a Pagan he hath promoted him to bee a wise and liberall god and you haue learnedly cited this wise deuise to make him ruler of your heauen whither you send Christ and his Saints to liue there for euer Now were it graunted vnto you that Pluto and HADES which by the description of all your classicall Poets is in déede the diuell were one of Platoes gods are you so little acquainted either with Plato or with Paganisme that you presently conclude hee is the true God of Heauen Or that this inuisible place must néedes bee the kingdome of God Looke but in the latter end of this booke which you alleage for this very purpose and there you shall sée what pretie fansies Socrates hath of another inuisible earth farre aboue this and waters likewise and trees and flowers and fruites and beastes and men that liue longer than we doe here below and without sicknes where also there are temples woods in which the gods dwell familiarly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That to see that earth is the sight of the blessed But what