we call the Sonne and the Wisedome of the father This will then which worketh euerlastingly hauing likewise none other thing to worke vppon but it selfe doth also by his working strike backe vpon himselfe and delight it selfe in the infinite good which it knoweth there and so sheadeth out it selfe wholly to the louing thereof and by this action it bringeth vs foorth a third person if I may so terme it whom we call Gods Spirit and the holy Ghost that is to wit the mutuall kindnesse and louingnesse of the Father and of the Sonne of the Father the vnderstander towards the Sonne conceyued and begotten by his vnderstanding and of the Sonne backe againe towards the Father acknowledging all that he hath and all that he is to be of the Father And this sayd Will is the essence of God himselfe and consequently eternally actiue and actiuely eternall For in the euerlasting all things are euerlasting and in a mere act all things are act and of such can nothing procéede which shall not be like them Néedes therefore must this Spirit this Louingnesse or this goodwill bee also actually euerlasting Moreouer the will extendeth as farre as the vnderstanding for as I haue sayd afore will and vnderstanding are both one in God and vnderstanding doth perfectly comprehend the thing that is vnderstood namely the thing that is beloued that is to wit God himselfe The will then doth by his action which is loue liking extend it selfe as farre as God himselfe and so the third Person is equall to the second and the first And yet doth this third Person procéede of the will and the will is Gods essence of that essence can nothing procéede which is not his essence Therefore he is not onely coeternall and coequall but also coessentiall Againe wee see that in vs there goeth alwaies some act of the vnderstanding afore the act of our will for the cause why we will things is that we think wee vnderstand them and wee desire them for the good which wee perceyue in them the loue of a thing cannot be in the louer thereof but vppon his knowing of the thing loued neither is will any thing els than appetite bred of vnderstanding The third Person therefore procéedeth from the first not only by the will but also by the vnderstanding and by the knowledge which the vnderstanding bréedeth And because it procéedeth of two and not by way of resemblance but by act of Will we terme him Proceeding and not Begotten which is in effect the reason of all that is taught vs in the Church concerning that matter Notwithstanding whereas wee say that the action of Understanding goeth afore the action of Will our meaning is not to imagine any going afore or comming after in these persons but onely to lay foorth this procéeding by the order of Nature which wee could not haue done so well by the trueth of the matter as if wee should say that the Sonne is considered afore the holy Ghost in like maner as the knowing of a thing goeth afore the desire of it because that if they could haue had any beginning the Sonne had bin formost in that case As touching names we call him most coÌ„monly the holy Ghost Holy because there is nothing in God which is not pure and holy whereby he is discerned from al other Spirits and Ghost or Spirit because we commonly call those things Spirits the beginning of whose mouing is vnknowne to vs as the Wyndes whose beginning is vnknowne vnto vs the breathing of the Heartstrings which procéedeth from an inward beginning that is hidden from vs and such other things and to be short because that in all things which haue life the inwarde force procéedeth from some kynde of will by a certeyne Spirit Now as for loue it is nothing els but a certeyne couert forewardnesse or foorthgoing of the will towards the thing that is loued insomuch that the very benefite which we receyue by his loue is a secrete and insensible through breathing which worketh in vs yet we cannot well perceyue from whence it commeth Againe wee call him also Loue and Charitie because all the actions of will are in loue and wellyking as in their roote in like maner as all the doings of Gods Understanding méeâ—e altogether in his wisedome For whereas wee desire the thing which we want or be glad of the thing which wee haue the cause thereof is that we loue it or like well of it Likewise also whereas we feare a thing or lothe it that commeth of a hatred which can haue no place in God whose will nothing is able to withstand Therefore as we haue God of God that is to wit the Sonne of the Father by the euerlasting inworking of his Understanding so also haue wee God of God againe that is to wit the holy Ghost or loue of them both by the ioyntworking of the Understanding and Will together Wherevpon we conclude thrée distinct persons or Inbeings in one essence not to exclude the singlenesse thereof which it behoueth vs to hold still but to expresse the diuersitie thereof after a sort which ought not to bee vnknowne namely the power of the Father the wisedome of the Sonne the goodnesse of their loue for whom by whom and in whom it hath pleased the sayd onely one vnspeakable essence to create and to loue all things But there is yet more namely that as there are thrée Inbeings or Persons in this essence so also there can bee no mo but thrée which thing may be made euident by the same reason Whoso denyeth that there is Understanding and Will in God as wee haue seene afore must also denye that he hath made any thing or that he doth any thing for all the things which wee see here belowe are marked both with the one and with the other Likewise he that confesseth that all things are in him according to their preaching vnto vs must néedes also confesse the Sonne and the holy Ghost to bee the wisedome and the loue for they bee but actions of those two which cannot be without their action neither can action bee euerlastingly any where els than in God himself Now as we can not imagine God without his actions so can wee not consider any other than those to abyde in him nor consequently any other Underbeings that procéede from thence wherevpon we say also that a fourth person cannot be admitted As for example we say he is the Creator and we say true and in so saying wee finde also a relation to the Creatures But this power of Creating procéedeth from the power which is in the Father and is not an action that abideth still within him but passeth directly into the thing created which in respect of the Creator is as nothing in comparison of infinitenesse whereof it cannot haue the preheminence Also we say he is a Sauiour and that is all one with the other For his being a Sauiour
A Woorke concerning the trewnesse of the Christian Religion written in French Against Atheists Epicures Paynims Iewes Mahumetists and other Infidels By Philip of Mornay Lord of Plessie Marlie Begunne to be translated into English by Sir Philip Sidney Knight and at his request finished by Arthur Golding ¶ Imprinted at London for Thomas Cadman 1587. To the right Honorable his singuler good Lord Robert Earle of Leycestor Baron of Denbigh Knight of the order of the Garter and of S. Michaell one of the Lords of the most Honorable priuie Counsaile and Maister of the Horse to the Queenes Maiestie Lord Generall of her Maiesties Forces in the Lowe Countries and Gouernour Generall of the vnited Prouinces and of their Associates Arthur Golding wisheth long continuance of health much increase of Honour and in the life to come in endlesse felicitie MAny causes doe fully perswade me right Honorable that this present worke which I presume to offer vnto you will in diuers respects be vnto you very acceptable For vnto such as are of greatest wisedome vertue and Nobilitie the wisest best and weightiest matters are alwaies most agreeable And whereas all men are naturally desirous of the souereine welfare highest felicitie or cheefe good howbeit that very fewe doe knowe what it is or wherein it consisteth or which is the right way that leadeth thereunto And yet not withstanding without the knowledge of that trueth all their wisedome is but mere ignorance blyndnesse and folly all their goodnesse is but mere corruption wickednesse al their brauerie tryumphe iollitie and pompe is but vtter miserie and wretchednesse This present worke treateth of the trewnesse that is to say of the perpetuall and inuariable constancie and sted fastnesse of the Christian Religion the only band that linketh God vnto man and men one to another and all vnto God the only Lampe that enlighteneth mans wit with true wisedome the onely water-spring that replenisheth his will with true goodnesse and the only mightis power that giueth strength and courage to mans spirit whereby he is enabled both perfectly to discerne and beholde his souereine welfare or felicitie which is God the very founder furtherer and finisher of trueth or rather the very trueth it selfe and constantly to hold on with ioy to the obteynement of the same than the which no greater thing can by any meanes bee imagined And in the discourse of this most graue weightie matter many deepe poynts of humaine Philosophie and many high misteries of heauenly Diuinitie be learnedly breefly and plainly discussed and layd open to the vnderstanding euen of the meanest capacities that will vout safe to reade aduisedly to conferre the parts together with diligence For the Author of this work being a man of great reading iudgement learning skill and there with addicted or rather vowed as appeareth by this and dyuers other of his excellent writings to the furthering of Gods glorie by his most faithfull and painfull imploying of himselfe in the seruice of his Church hath conueyed into this worke what soeuer he found eyther in the common reason of all Nations or in the peculiar principles of the cheefe Philosophers or in the misticall doctrine of the Iewish Rabbines or in the writings of the Historiographers and Poets that might conueniently make to the manifestation of that trueth which he taketh in hand to proue VVherby he hath so effectually brought his purpose to passe that if any Atheist Infidel or Iew hauing read this his worke with aduisemēt shall yet donye the Christian Religion to be the true and only path way to eternall felicitie all other Religions to bee mere vanitie and wickednesse must needes she we himself to be either vtterly voyd euen of humaine sence or els obstinatly and wilfully bent to impugne the manifest trueth against the continuall testimonie of his owne conscience Not without iust cause therfore hath so great loue and lyking of this worke of his bene generally conceiued that many not onely of Gentlemen in the Court and Country but also of Students in both the Vniversities haue purposed and attempted the translating therof into our English tongue as an increase of comfort and gladnesse to such as are alreadie rooted and grounded in the trueth as a stablishment to such as any way eyther by their owne infirmitie or through the wilinesse of wicked persons are made to wauer and hang in suspence and as a meane to reuoke such as of themselues or by sinister perswasions are gone away into error and also if it possible bee to reforme the malicious and stubbornhearted Among which number of weldisposed rightlyzealous Gentlemen I may not without iust desert of blame 〈◊〉 to say some what though farre lesse than is meet of that right worthie and valiant Knight your good Lordships noble kinsman Sir Philip Sidney whose rare vertue valour and courtesie matched with equall loue and care of the true Christian Religion being disappoynted of their purposed end by ouerhastie death in the very enterance of his honorable race haue left iust cause to his louing Countrie to be wayle the vntymely forgoing of so great an Ornament and the sodeyne bereuing of so hopefull a stay and defence VVhereof not withstanding this comfort remayneth That he dyed not languishing in ydlenesse ryot and excesse nor as ouercome with nyce pleasures and fond vanities but of manly wounds receiued in seruice of his Prince in defence of persons oppressed in maintenance of the only true Catholick Christian Religion among the noble valiant and wise in the open field in Martiall maner the honorablest death that could be desired and best be seeming a Christian Knight whereby he hath worthly wonne to himselfe immortall fame among the godly and left example worthie of imitation to others of his calling This honorable gentleman being delighted with the excellēcie of this present work began to put the same into our Language for the benefite of this his natiue Countrie and had proceeded certeyne Chapters therein vntill that intending a higher kind of seruice to wards God and his Prince not drawen therto by subtile deuyce of a wylie Vlysses from companie of Courtly Ladies himself being disguised in Ladies attire after the maner of Achilles nor discouered against his will by the wisedome of a Palamedes after the maner of Vlysses but aduaunced through the hardynesse of his owne knightly courage like to Prosilaus he willingly passed for a tyme from the companie of the Muses to the Campe of Mars there to make tryall as well of the Pyke as he had done of his Pen after the example of the valiant Iulius Caesar whose excellencie in all kinde of knowledge and learning could not hold him backe from seeking to inlarge his renowme by hazarding his noble person among the weapons of armed Souldyers Beeing thus determined to followe the affayres of Chiualrie it was his pleasure to commit the performāce of this peece of seruice which he had intended to the Muses or
euen those which would haue had that rather then all the rest wyped out of the Table to confesse his arte and excellent skill And this serueth to conuict thée of blockishnes thée I say which haddest rather to finde fault with God and with the Flye then to wonder at the excellencie of him who hath inclosed so liuely a life so quicke a moouing and so great an excellencie in so little a thing So then it is not for vs to chace her out of the table but rather to confesse our owne ignoraunce or els to chace it away Hereby therefore we perceiue that of all the things which they can alledge there is none which is not good and behofefull in it self and that the euilnesse thereof commeth onely through vs and therfore that the thing hath but onely one Beginner thereof who is good But behold they vrge the matter yet more strongly Howsoeuer the case stād say they it cannot be denyed but there is euilnesse in things seeing that they corrupt themselues and the sinne that is in our selues is vtterly euill and sith it is so from whence may that bee For if God be good he cannot bee the author of euill and therefore there must néedes bee another author thereof This question shall bee handled more lightsomely when I come to treate of Mans fall which is the bringer in of the two euilles namely both of payne and fault but yet may we assoyle it if we take heede Wée say that making and creating are referred to natures or substances and that all natures and substances are good and therefore that God who is good is the author and Creator of them On the contrary part we say that euill is neither a nature nor a substance but an income or accident which is falne into natures and substances It is say I a bereuing or diminishing of the good qualities which things ought naturally to haue This euill hath not any being in it selfe neither can haue any being but in the thing that is good It is not an effect but a default nor a production but a corruption And therefore to speake properly we must not seeke whence commeth the doing of euill but whence commeth the vndoing of good As for example Wine is of Gods creating and it is good Now this good substance falling to decay that is to say to abate or diminish of his vertue becommeth Uineger Wherevpon no man asketh who made the substaunce that is become sharpe for it is the selfsame that it was afore but they aske whence cōmeth the sharpnes or eagernesse that is to say the alteration that is befalne to the substance If thou say that it commeth of the foresayd euill Beginner the author of all euill as the good Beginner is the author of all goodnesse forasmuch as euill is nothing els but a default want or fayling of good it is the souereine or chiefe default or fayling as the good is the souereine or chiefe being And if it be the chiefe default then is it not any more For the default or fayling of a thing is a tending of the thing to notbeing any more the same that it was and the fayling of all is a tending to the vtter vnbeing or notbeing of the whole Moreouer the sayd euill Beginner which worketh not but in the substance that is made or created by another could do nothing if the good Beginner wrought not first and so should he haue the Commencement of his power depending vpon another than himselfe which is a thing repugnant to a Godhead And if you aske what is then the cause thereof I tell you it is the very nothing it selfe that is to wit that God almightie to shewe vs that he made all of nothing hath left a certeyne inclination in his Creatures whereby they tend naturally to nothing that is to say to chaunge and corruption vnlesse they bee vphild by his power who hauing all in himselfe abideth alonly vnchaungeable and free from all passions As in respect then that things be they be of God but as in respect that they corrupt tend to notbeing that which they were afore that commeth of the sayd notbeing whereof they were created And so they be good as in respect of their bare being and euill as in respect that they forgo their formal being that is to say their goodnesse Good on the behalfe of the souereine Good the father of all substances Euill as on the behalfe of the Nothing And soothly neither by nature nor by iustice ought they to be made equall with the vnchaungeable Being of their Creator And this is to be seene alike in all things An Apple rotteth and a man dyeth The Apple and the man that is to say the natures of them are Gods Creatures As for the rottennesse and the sicknesse they bee but abatements and defaults of the good nature that was in either of them from the good Creator Man againe becommeth a Sinner and hereunto he néedeth no newe creation It is a vanishing away of the good nature which loseth her taste And therefore S. Austine sayth that the Latins terme an euill man Nequam and an euillnesse Nequitiam that is to say Naughtie and Naughtinesse Now like as of rightnought there néedeth no beginner so also is there none to bee sought of naughtinesse or euill And by that meanes there remayneth vnto vs but onely one God the beginner and author of all things as wee haue defined him alreadie afore Plato Plotin and other great Philosophers of all Sexts are of opinion that Euill is not a thing of itselfe nor can bee imagined but in the absence of all goodnes as a depriuation of the good which ought to be naturally in euery thing That euill is a kynd of notbeing and hath no abyding but in the good whereof it is a default or diminishing That the cause thereof is in the very matter whereof God created things which matter they termed the very vnbeing that is to say in very trothe no being atall whereof the Creatures reteyne still a certeine inclination whereby they may fall away from their goodnesse And that in the very Soule of man the euil that is there is a kind of darknesse for want of looking vp to the light of the souereyne mynde which should inlighten it and through suffering it selfe too bee caried too much away to the materiall things which are nothing But now that we haue doone with nature it is good tyme to sée what the wysest men will teach vs concerning the onely one God The third Chapter That the Wisdome of the world hath acknowledged one onely God SOme man will say vnto mée if in the worlde if in the things conteyned in the worlde if in man himselfe it bee so liuely painted out that there is but only one God whereof then commeth the multitude of Gods among men yea and among those whome the worlde counted wysest I will not proue héere that all those Gods were either
diuine Vnities are grounded and which is the Originall of all that is and of all that as yet is not In his booke of the Soule and of the Spirit he teacheth vs the way to atteyne from many multitudes to this supersubstantiall Unitie which hee calleth the Nature grounded in eteruitie the life that liueth and quickeneth the waking vnderstanding the welspring of all welfare the infinite both in continewance and in power and yet notwithstanding without quantitie and so foorth Neuerthelesse he attributeth much to Angelles and Féendes according to Art Magicke which the Platomists did greatly affect in those daies howbeit in such sort as he continually followeth this rule of his so oft repeated in his bookes That all things are from the true God who is hidden and that the second degrée of Gods that is to say the Angelles and Féendes are from the very selfsame and to bee short that to beléeue any mo Gods than one and to beléeue none at all are both one thing Simplicius sayth Whatsoeuer is beautifull commeth of the first and chiefe beautie All trueth commeth of Gods trueth And all beginnings must needes bee reduced to one beginning which must not bee a particular beginning as the rest are but a beginning surpassing al other beginnings mounting farre aboue them and gathering them all into himselfe yea and giuing the dignitie of beginning to all beginnings accordingly as is conuenient for euery of their natures Also The Good sayth he is the Welspring Originall of al things It produceth all things of it selfe both the first the middlemost and the last The one Goodnesse bringeth foorth many Goodnesses The one Vnitie many Vnities The one Beginning many Beginnings Now as for Vnitie Beginning Good and God they be all but one thing For God is the first cause of all all particular Beginnings or Grounds are fast settled and grounded in him He is the Cause of Causes the God of Gods and the Goodnesse of Goodnesses Porphyrius acknowledged the one GOD who alone is euery where and yet in no one place who filleth al places and yet is conteyned in no place by whom all things are both which are and which are not This God doth he call the Father which reigneth in all he teacheth vs to sacrifize our Soules vnto him in silence and with chast thoughts On the other side he acknowledgeth the other Gods as his Creatures and Seruants some visible some vnuisible vnto whom he alloweth a materiall seruice farre differing from the seruice of the true God As touching Plotin his Schoolemaister surnamed the Diuine whom the Oracle of Apollo as is reported by Porphyrius himselfe didregister in the number of the wise men of this world and in the number of the Gods in the other world He that would alledge the things which he hath spoken diuinely concerning the vnitie of the one God should be fayne to set downe his whole treatises vndiminished The Summe is That there is one Beginner of all things who hath all thiugs and is all things and is all things whose hauing of theÌ„ is as though he had them not because his possessing of them is not as of things that were another mans and his being them is as though he were them not because he is neither all things nor any thing among things but the power of all things That this Beginner dwelleth in himself is sufficient of himself of himselfe bringeth foorth all maner of Essences Soules and siues as being more than Essence and all life That by his Unitie he produceth multitude which could be no multitude vnlesse he abode One. As touching the vndergods he sayth that they neither bée nor can bée happie of themselues but onely by the same meane that men can become happie namely by beholding the light of vnderstanding which is GOD through their parttaking whereof they abide in blessednesse Yea he affirmeth that the Soule of the whole world surmized by the Platomists is not happie but by that meanes namely by beholding the light which created it like as the Moone shineth not but by the ouershining of the Sunne vpon her That was the very opinion of the Platonists as well old as newe coâ—cerning the onely one God notwithstanding that of all Philosophers they were most giuen to the seruing and seeking out of the bodilesse Spirites whom we call Angels and Deuils and whom they called Gods and Féeâ—ds Now let vs come to the Peripatetickes and begin at Aristotle Platoes Disciple who notwithstanding was vnreligious in many places in not yéelding vnto God his due glorie after the maner of these supersticious folke who are ouerliberal in bestowing it vpon others aud yet euen in him shall we finde this selfsame trueth Aristotle leadeth vs by many mouings vnto oue first mouer whom he declareth to bee infinite without beginning and without ende From thence a man may step further for that which is infinite can be but one because as I haue sayd afore the infinitenesse of one restreyneth the power of all others Afterward he defineth him to be Liuing Inunortall and Euerlasting And againe he nameth him he onely possessor of wisedome the Beginner of all Causes and such like None of all which things can bee attributed to any mo than onely one Yet notwithstanding he setteth certeyne Godheads in the Heauen in the Starres and in the Sunne Moone vnto which Godheads he alsotteth the gouermneÌ„t of those things and termeth them heauenly Mynds First substances vnchaungeable and vnpassible which in his opinion cannot wexe old because they be aboue the first Mouable consequently aboue tyme. Yea and Common custome with the force of Loue caried him so farre as to set vp Images vnto Iuno and Iupiter vnder the name of Sauiours for the life of Nicanor and to doe Sacrifize to a woman whom he loued as the Athenians did vnto Ceres But yet in his Abridgement of Philosophie which he dedicated in his olde age vnto Alexander his finall doctrine is this This world sayth he wherein all things are orderly disposed is mainteyned by God the highest thing that is in it is that it is Gods dwelling place No nature is sufficient of it selfe to indure if it bee not assisted by his tuition He is the Father of Gods Men the breeder and Mainteyner of all the things whereof this world is composed and yet for all that he entreth not into them but his power and prouidence ouersitting them from aboue atteyne vnto all things moue the Heauen the Sunne and the Moone Preserue the things on earth and make all and euery thing to doe according to their nature He likeneth him to the great King of Persia who from out of his priuy Chamber gouerned his whole Empyre by his power and officers sauing sayth he that the one is God infinite in power and the other a very bace and féeble wight He sayth moreouer that all the
names which are attributed to the Gods are but deuices to experesse the powers of the onely one God the Prince and Father of all And therefore it is more behofefull to sende the Readers to the reading of that whole treatise of his throughout than to set in any more thereof here because they shall there see a woonderfull eloquence matched with this goodly diuinitie That which the first and most diuine saith his disciple Theophrastus will haue all things to bee exceeding good and it may be also that he is aboue the reache of all knowledge and vnserachable Againe There is saith he One diuine beginner of all things whereby they haue their beeing and continuance But in his booke of Sauors he passeth further and saith that God created all things of nothing But to create of nothing presupposeth an infinite power and againe that power presupposeth an vnitie Alexander of Aphrodise in his booke of Arouidence written to the Emperour Antonine attributeth Prouidence ouer all things vnto one only God which can doe whatsoeuer he listeth as appéereth by all his whole discourse And he was of such renowne amoÌ„g all the Aristotelians that they called themselues Alexandrians after his name To be short the most part of the Interpreters and Disiciples of Aristotle found it so néedefull to acknowledge one onely Beginner ond so absurd to maintaine any mo than one that to the intent they might not confesse any such absurditie in their Mayster they doe by all meanes possible excuse whatsoeuer might in his workes be construed to the contrarie As touching the Stoiks of auncientest tyme wee haue no more than is gathered into the writings of their aduersaries who do all attribute vnto them the maintenance of the vnitie infinitenesse of GOD according to this which Aristotle reporteth of Zeno namely that there must néedes be but one God for els there should be no God at all because it behoueth him to be singularly good and also almightie which were vtterly vnpossible if there were any mo than one Also Simplicius reporteth of Cleanthes that in his Iambick verses he praied God to voutsafe to guyde him by his cause which guideth all things in order the which cause hée calleth destinie and the cause of cause But the two chief among them whose doctrine we haue in writing will easely make vs to credit all the residue Epictetus the Stoik whose words Proclus Simplicius and euen Lucian himselfe held for Oracles speaketh of only one God The first thing saith he that is to be learned is that there is but one God and that hee prouideth for all things and that from him neither deede nor thought can be hidden He teacheth vs to resort vnto him in our distresses to acknowled him for our Master and Father to lift vp our eyes vnto him alone if wee will get out of the Quamyre of our sinnes to séeke our felicitie there and to call vpon him in all things both great and small Of all the Goddes that were in time past he speaketh not a word but surely he saith that if we call vpon the onely one God hee will informe vs of all things by his Angels As for Seneca he neuer speaketh otherwise What doth God saith he to such as behold him Hee causeth his workes not to be without witnesse And againe To serue God saith he is to Reigne God exerciseth vs with afflictions to trie mans nature and he requireth no more but that wee should pray to him These ordinary spéeches of his shewe that he thought there was but one God But he procéedeth yet fâ—rther From things discouered sayth he wee must proceede to things vndiscouered and seeke out him that is auncienter than the world of whom the Starres proceede And in the end he concludeth that the World and all that is conteyned therein is the worke of God Also he casseth him the FouÌ„der Maker Creator of the World and the Spirit which is shed foorth vpon all things both great and small And in his Questions It is he sayth he whom the Hetruscanes or Tuscans meane by the names of Iupiter Gardian Gouernor Lord of the whole world If thou call him Destinie thou shalt not deceiue thyselfe for al things depend vpon him from him comes the causes of all causes If thou call him Prouidence thou sayest wel for by his direction doth the World holde on his course without swaruing and vtter foorth his Actions If thou call him Nature thou doest not amisse for he it is of whom all things are bred and by whose Spirite we liue To be short wilt thou call him the World In very deede he is the whole which thou seest and he is in all the parts thereof bearing vp both the whole World and all that is thereof By this sentence we may also shewe that by the terme Nature the Philosophers ment none other than God himselfe accordingly as Seneca sayth in another place that God and Nature are both one like as Annoeus Seneca be both one man And whereas he sayth that God may be called the World it is all one with that which he sayth in another place namely GOD is whatsoeuer thou seest and whatsoeuer thou seest not That is to say whereas thou canst not see him in his proper béeing thou seest him in his works For in other places also he defineth him to a Mynd and Wisedome without bodie which cannot be seene but in vnderstanding Now of all the former things by him repeated in many places none can bee verified of any mo than one For he that maketh all gouerneth all and is all leaueth nothing for any other to make gouerne or be otherwise than from himself But he speaketh yet more expressely saying Thou considrest not the authoritie maiestie of thy Iudge the Gouernor of the World the God of Heauen and of all Gods All the Godheads which we worship euery man by himselfe depend wholly vpon him And againe When he had layd the foundations of this goodly Masse although he had spred out his power throughout the bodie thereof yet notwithstanding he made Gods to be officers of his kingdome to the end that euery thing should haue his guyde Now this is after the same maner that the holy Scripture speaketh of the Angelles So then he is not onely God the excellentest of all Gods but also their very Father Author and Maker Let vs yet further adde Cicero and Plutarch who haue of euery Sect taken what they thought good Both of them speake ordinarily but of one God the author and gouerner of all things vnto whome they attribute all things and in that ordinary style is their word Nature which surmounteth the custome of their tyme but yet doth their doctrine expresse much more héere Cicero treating of this matter in his booke intytuled Of the nature of the Gods acknowledgeth one souereine GOD whom he calleth the God of Gods that is the
Suydas he addeth this praier I adiure thee ô Heauen the wise woorke of the great God I adiure thee ô voyce which God vttered first when he founded the world I adiure thee by the onely begotten Speeche and by the Father who conteyneth all things c. There is no man but he would woonder to sée in this author the very woords of S. Iohn and yet notwithstanding his bookes were translated by the Platonists long tyme afore the coÌ„ming of our Lord Iesus Christ. And it is no maruayle though we find sayings of his in diuers places which are not written in his Poemander considering that hee wrote sixe and thirtie thousand fiue hundred and fiue and twentie Uolumes that is to say Rolles of Paper as Iamblichus reporteth And it is said that this Trismegistus otherwise called Theut is the same that taught the AEgiptians to reade and which inuented them Geometrie and Astronomie which deuided AEgipt into partes which left his forewarning against ouerflowings written in two Pillers which Proclus reporteth to haue beene standing still in his tyme and to be short which had bene reputed and honored as a God among them And it may be that the treble outcry which the AEgiptians made in calling vppon the first Beginner whome they tearmed the darkenesse beyond all knowledge like too the Ensoph of the Hebrewes and the Night of the Orpheus was still remayning vnto them of his diuinitie Thus haue you séene how Zoroastres and Mercurie haue aunswered vnto vs the one for the Persians and Chaldeans and the other for the AEgiptians For in matters of Wisdome the wise ought to be beléeued for the whole Nation Now let vs come to the Greekes Orpheus which is the auncientest of them all as soone as he beginneth to speake of these misteries doth first and formost shut all Heathenish folke out of the doores and then sayth thus Let thine eye be vpon the word of God and start not away from it for that is it that made the world and is immortall and according to the old saying is perfect of it selfe and the perfecter of all things and it cannot be seene but with the mynd And afterward I adiure thee Ô Heauen sayth he the wyse woorke of the great God I adiure thee thou voyce of the father which he spake first and so forth For this as appeareth afore was a praier which he had learned of Mercurie from whom also procéeded the common misterie of the Poets That Pallas was bred of Iupiters brayne The same man sayth that the first Moother of things was wisdome and afterward delightfull loue And in his Argonawte hee calleth this loue most auncient most perfect in it selfe and the bringer foorth and disposer of all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wherevpon Pherecydes also sayth That God intending too make the worlde chaunged himselfe into loue And Iamblichus sayth that Pythagoras had the Philosophie of Orpheus alwayes before his eyes and therefore it is not for vs to woonder though he attributed the creation of al things to Wisdome as Proclus reporteth commended three Gods togither in one as Plato doth Howsoeuer the case stand Aristotle sayeth that they fathered all their perfection vpon thrée And Parmenides did set downe Loue as a first beginner insomuch that in disputing in Plato he leaueth vs there an euident marke of the thrée Inbeeings or Persones as Plotine noteth but we shall see it layd foorth more playnly hereafter by Numenius the Pythagorist Zeno the father of the Stolks acknowledged the word to be God and also the Spirit of Iupiter And Alcinous reporteth that Socrates and Plato taught that God is a mynde and that in the sauie there is a certaine 〈◊〉 which Inshape as in respect of God is the knowledge which God hath of himselfe and in respect of the worlde is the Patterne or Mauld thereof and in respect of it selfe is very essence This in fewe words centeyneth much matter that is to wit the one essence which God begetteth by the conâ—idering or knowing of himselfe according to the patterne whereof he hath buylded the world But yet Plato himselfe speaketh more playnly in his Epinomis Euery Starre sayth he keepeth his course according to the order which ho logos the Word hath set which word he calleth Most diuine In his booke of Commonweale hee calleth him the begotten Sonne of the Good most lyke vnto him 〈◊〉 all things the Good sayth he being as the 〈◊〉 that shineth in the skye and the begotten Sonne beeing as the power of the Sunne whereby we see that is to say as the light Also in his Epistle to Hermius Erastus and Coriscus hee chargeth them with an othe to reade it often and at the least two of them togither saying Call vppon God the Prince of al things that are and shal be and the Lord the Father of that Prince and of that Cause of whome if wee seeke the knowledge aright we haue as much sâ—ill as can bee giuen to blessed men Then is there a Lorde and Cause of all things and moreouer a father of the same Lorde But anto King Dennis who had asked of him the nature of God he setteth down al the thrée parsons The nature of the first saith he is to be spoken of in Riddlewise to the intent that if any mischaunce befall the Letter by Sea or by Land the reading thereof may be as good as no reading at all Thus then stands the case All things are at commaundement of the King of the whole world and all things are for his sake and he is the cause of the beautie that is in them And about the second are the secoÌ„d things and about the third are the third and so foorth Now these as he himselfe sayth are Riddies to Dennis the Tyrant vnto whome he wrote and my eâ—pounding of them of the three Iâ—béeings or Persones in the Godhead is by the consent of all the Platonists who haue made long Commentaries vppon those woords agréeing all in this poynt that by these three Kings hee meaneth the Good the vnderstanding and the Soule of the World And Origene against Celsus alledgeth certayne other places of Plato to the same purpose the which I leaue for auoyding of tediousnes But this doctrine which beeing reuealed from aboue came from hand to hand vnto Aristotle who liued about thrée hundred yeres afore the comming of Christ séemeth to haue decayed in him who intending to ouerthrowe al the Philosophers that went afore him corrupted their doctrine diuers wayes And therewithall he gaue him self more to the seeking and searching of Naturall things than to the mynding of the Author of them Yet notwithstanding he fathereth the cause of all things vppon a certayne Understanding which he calleth Noun that is to say Mynde acknowledging the same to bee infinite in God and also vppon a Frée
that be seeing that the liuing Creatures dye and the Elements passe from one into another and that as Plato affirmeth the Skye it selfe is in continuall wheeling If we say that the Elements and the liuing wights coÌ„tinue their perpetuities in their kynds why doth the Heauen continue his perpetuitie rather in number and particularitie If the cause thereof bee that nothing can slippe out of it because it coÌ„teyneth all things how can that reason agree to the Starres and Planets which doe not conteyne al things as the Heauen or Skye doth and yet we affirme them to be euerlasting And if nothing impeach it without what should let that something may not impeach it within seeing that all liuing wights doe naturally perish through the distemperaÌ„ce of their parts notwithstanding that they liue euen while they bee a dissoluing And what inseweth hereof but that both sortes of bodies as well Coelestiall as terrestriall doe perish yea and both Heauen and Earth likewise sauing that the Coelestiall indure a longer tyme and perish more slowly than the Earthly Certeynly sayth he if we tooke this word eternitie as well in the whole world as in the parts thereof not to betoken an euerlastingnesse that is to say a perpetuitie or continuance without beginning or end but only a difference of continuance there would be the lesse doubtfulnesse in the matter But all shall be out of doubt if we father the same eternitie vpon the will of GOD which of it selfe is able enough to vphold the World for so shall things haue their continuance according to his pleasure some in their kyndes and some particularly in themselues Now if the World were eternall were it not impossible that it should be otherwise than it is But if it haue this being from the will of GOD is it not discharged of that necessitie And what shal then become of this saying of his which he setteth doune in diuers other places namely that the World is of necessitie because it would behoue a second Nature to accompanie the first vnlesse we vnderstand it to be spoken of the necessitie that is conditionall and not of the necessitie that is absolute as they terme it Againe the same will which made the World to bée and hath giuen continuance to the parts thereof some after one sort and some after another and hath disposed of them as it listed it selfe shal it not also haue made them when it listed it selfe Whosoeuer then â—aith that the béeing of the world as well in the whole as in the partes dependeth vpon the will of God taketh from the world all necessitie of béeing And hee that sayeth that there is no necessitie that it should haue bin from euerlasting let vs vse those words for want of other sayth therewithall that it is not euerlasting In his booke of Eternitie and of Tyme he sayth that eternitie and tyme differ in this respect that eternitie is verifyed but of the euerlasting nature and tyme is to be verified of the things that are created So as eternitie is and abideth in God alone whom he calleth the World that is to bee conceyued but in mynd or vnderstanding and tyme abydeth in the worlde that is subiect to the sences adding neuerthelesse that the world to speake properly was not made in tyme after which maner wee also doe say that it was not made in tyme but together with the tyme. But when he hath deliberatly scanned all the definitions of time made by the former Philosophers and hath searched all the corners of his wit too find out the best in the ende heâ— concludeth thus Wee must needes come backe sayth hee too the sayd first nature which I affirmed heretofore to be in eternitie I meane the vnmouable nature which is wholly all at once the infinite and endlesse lyfe and which consisteth whole in one and tendeth vnto one But as yet there was no tyme at all or at leastwise it was not among the Natures that consist in vnderstaÌ„ding but was to come afterward by a certeine maner and kynd of posterioritie Now then if a man will vnderstand how tyme proceeded first from the hygher Natures which rested in themselues good cause shall he haue to call the Muses too his helpe for the vttering therof For it may be that the Muses also were as then Therefore let vs say thus Afore such time as Forenesse issued foorth and had neede of afternesse Tyme which as then was not rested in God with the residew of all things that now are But a certein nature bent to many doings that is to wit the Soule of the world beeing desirous to haue more than the present began to moue it self and so from thence immediatly issewed tyme which passeth on continualy and is neuer the selfsame And we beholding the length therof haue imagined tyme to be the image of eternitie And what is ment by all this contemplation but that a certeine Soule or mynd proceeding from God that is to wit the Spirit of God did mooue and cary the worlde about That with that mouing and of that mouing tyme was bred and brought foorth That afore that moouing there was a settled state or rest as eternitie afore time And that as he himselfe saieth there Tyme and Heauen were made both at once and eternitie was afore them both As touching that it is demaunded what God did afore the World doth not Plotinus himselfe furnish vs with sufficient answere in that he sayth that God not woorking at all but resting in himself doth and performeth very greate things And is not the lyke concluded by the godly doctrine of Gods prouidence whereof he treateth in bookes expresly bearing that tytle for if it be possible for the World to be eternall as well as God where then can there bee any prouidence For what else is Prouidence than the will of God vttered foorth with Reazon and orderly dispozed by vnderstanding And if Gods will bee required where is then the necessitie of béeing which in other places hee attributeth too the world Also where is this saying of his become that our Soules are immortall and that some of them are eternall and afore all tyme And lykewise this that afore God had created the world and breathed a soule into it it was but a dead corse a mingle-mangle of earth and water a darke matter a thing of nothing and at a woorde such a thing as euen the Goddes themselues were abashed at it and that after that God had shed this Soule into the world both lyfe mouing were therby breathed into the Starres Planets and Liuing wyghts For seeing that from notbeing notliuing and notmouing there is an infinite distance to being liuing and mouing Doth it not follow also that there is infinite odds betweene him that is liueth and moueth that is to say God and the thing that wayteth to haue being lyfe and mouing at his hand that is to wit the forementioned Chaos And what is it that
With these fellowes wee our selues shall not néede to deale but only heare Porphyrius disprouing them after this maner If neither God sayth he be of Matter nor Matter of God but both of them be Beginnings alike whereof then commeth it that there is so great ods betwixt them sith we hold opinion that God is Good and the very worker or Doer and contrarywise that Matter is Euill and but only a Sufferer The cause of this difference cannot proceed from the one to the other at leastwise if our saying be true namely that the one of them is not of the other And much lesse proceedeth it of any third considering that wee acknowledge not any higher cause which beeing admitted it followeth that these two so disagreeable Beginnings met and matched together by chaunce and consequently that all things are tossed and tumbled together by Fortune Agayne If God sayth he bee apt to the beautifying and orderly disposing of Matter and Matter be apt to receiue beautie and orderlines at Gods hand I demaund froÌ„ whence this mutuall aptnesse and disposition commeth For considering that they bee so disagreeing and so full contrary one to another surely they could neuer haue agreed of themselues but must of necessitie haue had a Third to make the attonemeÌ„t betwixt them Now I am sure you will not say that there was any third to commaund them Neither wil I beleeue that they fell to greement by aduenture To bee short seeing that Matter is not sufficient of it self to be in happie state but needeth Gods helpe thereunto but God is of himself abundantly sufficient both to be and to be happie who seeth not that GOD is of more excellencie than Matter and that Matter is not of it selfe so much as able to be For were it able to bee it were also able to be happie And therefore it is not to be denyed but that he whom wee confesse to haue perfected Matter was also the very first maker and Creator of Matter But how could he make it of nothing Let vs heare once agayne what the sayd Porphyrie sayth vnto this poynt Handycrafts saith he haue need of instruments or tooles For their working is outwaâ—â—â— and they haue not their matter or stuffe at commaundment But the naturall Powers as more perfect being within things doo performe all their doings by their only being After that sorte the Soule by his essentiall life doth nourish growe ingender breathe feele and so foorth So likewise the Imagination by the only one Inworking of it selfe giueth diuers qualities and mouings to the bodie all at one instant So also the bodilesse Spirites themselues as the Diuines report doe worke wonderous things by their imaginations without instrument or action Much rather therefore shall the workemayster of the whole world who is a Mynd giue substance to the whole by his owne only being that is to wit to this diuidable world himselfe being vndiuidable For why should it be thought strauÌ„ge that a thing which is without a bodie should produce things that haue bodies considering that of a very smal seede there groweth so great a Beast composed of so many so great and so differing parts For though the seede bee little the reason of the seede cannot bee small seeing it worketh so great things neither on the other side can it be great forasmuch as it vttereth and sheweth it selfe euen in the smallest percelles Now this reason of the seede needeth matter to worke vppon but so doth not the Reason of God for he needeth not any thing but maketh and frameth all things and notwithstanding that he bring foorth and moueth all things yet abydeth he still in his owne proper nature Now when as the sorest and learneddest enemie that euer ChristiaÌ„s had acknowledgeth this doctrine in good faith and in so expresse wordes who dareth open his lippes any more against it Dare the Epicures with their motes doo it How can they alledge any reason for them selues being by their owne opinion made by haphazard at aduenture without reason Or shal the naturall Philosophers do it with their temperings and mixtures First let them examine their Maister Galene concerning the things which I haue alledged out of him in the former Chapter and if that will not suffize them they shall heare him yet agayne in this Chapter Certesse as it cannot bee denyed but that as he laboureth by all meanes possible to father the causes of all things vppon the Elements and vppon the mixture of them together so is he driuen at euery turne to acknowledge somewhat in them which he is ashamed to father vpoÌ„ them In discoursing how the babe is formed in the moothers wombe he findeth himselfe turmoyled with many opinions But yet in the end Soothly concludeth he I see so great a wisedome and so mightie a Power that I cannot thinke that the Soule which is in the child that is begotten maketh the shape thereof considering that it is altogether voyde of reason but rather that it is formed by that which we call Nature In his booke of the tempering of things a place that serued best for the exalting of the powers of the Elements to the vttermost he very sharply reproueth those which father the cause of the forming of the parts of the bodies of liuing things vpon the qualities of the Elements Notwithstanding saith he that these Qualities be but instrumeÌ„ts and that there bee another that is the framer or fashioner of things In his booke of the opinions of Plato and Hippocrates he maketh the vitall spirite to bee the excellentest of all things that haue a bodie and yet for all that he will not haue it to be eyther the substance or the dwelling place but only the instrument of the Soule And in his booke of Flesshes he procéedeth further sayth that in treating of Leachcraft he spake often according to the common opinion but that if it came to the poynt of vttering the opinioÌ„ that he himslfe hild he declared that both man and Beast haue their beginning from aboue and that their Soules are from Heauen and finally that the Soule procéedeth neither from the qualities of the Elements nor from any of all the things that wee see here beneath Now if the Soule of man or of the very Beastes procéede not of the Elements how should it possibly procéede of the Matter And if it procéede not of the Matter must it not néedes procéed of the forme or rather must it not néedes be the very forme it selfe And what els is so excellent a forme than an excellent substance And from whence is that by his owne saying but from a former fashioner or shaper And what els shal that former be than a Creator seeing that euen shaping is a creating of a substance Now therefore let vs conclude for this Chapter both by vnsoluble reasons and by the testimonies aswell of our enemies as of our friends that God both was able to create and also did
we say of the Creator What shall we say of him which is not the Soule of the Plant or of the Beast or of Man but the maker of al things yea which made thē of nothing who is not as some Philosophers haue vphild the Soule of the World but rather if he may be so termed the very life and Soule of all life and Soule in the World But as we see dayly if the Counsell of a Realme can not ceasse one wéeke without confusion of the Commonweale nor the Soule of a man or a Beast forbeare woorking bee it neuer so little without the death of the partie nor the life that is in Plants stay without withering of the Plant nor the Sunne goe downe without procuring darknesse or suffer Eclips without some notable chaūge much more reason haue we to beléeue that if the world and al that is therein were not guyded vphild and cared for by the same power wisedome and goodnesse that created it and set in such order as it is it would in one moment fall from order into confusion and from confusion to nothing For to haue no care of it is to mislike of it and to mislike of it is in God to vndoe it forasmuch as Gods willing of it was the very doing of it Now if Gods Prouidence extend it selfe throughout to all things aswell in Heauen as in Earth wee cannot doubt but that it extendeth also vnto man For what thing is there of so greate excellencie either on Earth as mans body or in Heauen as mans Soule And in extending it selfe to man it must needes extend it selfe equally to all men For who is either greate or small poore or riche in respect of him which made both of nothing Or what oddes is there betwixt them sauing that whereas both of them bee but slaues to him that setteth foorth the tragedie he appareleth the one in Cloth of Gold to play the King and the other in a course Pilche to play the Begger making them to chaunge their apparell when he listeth But hehold here commeth almost an vniuersall grudge For if there be say they a Prouidence how commeth it too passe that ill men haue so much prosperitie and good men so much aduersitie that some be so long vnpunished and othersome so long vnrewarded And to be short that one for his wickednes commeth to the Gallowes and another for the same cause obteineth a Diademe or Crowne This question hath combred not onely the most vertuous among the Heathen but also euen the most Religious of all ages But it were best to take héere a little breth and to put it ouer among diuers other things which remayne to bee treated of in the next Chapter following The xij Chapter That all the euill which is doone or seemeth to be doone in the world is subiect to the prouidence of God I Sayd héeretofore concerning GOD that all things teache vs that there is but one and yet notwithstanding that all things togither cannot sufficiently teache vs what hee is Also let vs say concerning Prouidence That in all things wee see a manifest Prouidence but yet to séeke out the cause thereof in euery thing is as much as to sound a bottomlesse pit if it be not much worse séeing that the will of God is the cause of all causes Surely if a man will blame Gods prouidence because it agreeth not with his owne opinion he is a thousandfold too bee more mislyked than hee that should find fault with the maister of an household for the order of his house where hee hath not lodged aboue one night or controll the Lawes Counsell of a straunge countrie wherof he hath had no further experience than by resorting too the Tauernes and common Innes Or than the Babe that should take vpon him to giue sentence of his fathers doings or than the Uarlet that should presume to iudge of the determination of a Court of Parliament vnder pretence that he had hild some mans Male at the Palace gate or I will say more than the brute beast that should vndertake too déeme of the dooings of men For what are wee to be admitted to the Counsell of God which cannot so much as abyde the brightnesse of his face And what vnderstand we further of him than he voutsafeth too reueale vnto vs What Princis Counseler is so wyse that he can giue his Lord good aduice vnlesse his Lorde doe first make him priuie to his purpose as well present as past and to all the other circumstances perteyning thereunto Or what Husbandman comming from a farre will presume to vnderstand better what tilth what séede what compost and what time of rest such or such a péece of ground requireth than he that hath bin acquainted with it all the dayes of his lyfe And how farre greater thing is it to create than to till But forasmuch as God is reason it self and we through his grace haue some sparke thereof let vs sée whether it bee not so euident in all his dooings that in this poynt it inlighteneth euen the darknesse of our reason And if wee perceiue it not so cleerly in all things let vs acknowledge our selues to be but men betwéene whom and God there is no comparison whereas in very déede there were no difference betwixt him and vs if we could throughly conceiue all his deuices Now then whereas it is sayd that if there be a prouidence why haue good men so much euill and euill men so much good afore wée deale with the matter let vs agree vpon the words I aske of thee which men thou callest good and which thou callest euill and likewise what things thou meanest to bee properly good or euill If I should aske thée why healthy men haue so many diseases and diseased men so much health thou mightest with good reason laugh mée to skorue for health maketh healthy and sicknesse maketh sicke But whereas thou askest mée why good men haue so much euill and euill men so much good pardon me though I cause thée to expound thy meaning for naturally I cannot conceiue that either good men haue euill or euill men haue good For if by good men you meane rich men men of honour and men that are healthy and that ye take riches honour and health to bee the good things then is your question absurd For it is al one as if ye should demaund why hearded men haue heare on their chinnes and beardlesse men haue none But if as I heare thée say thou estéemest Solons pouertie to be better than the gold of Crassus and Platoes honestie better than Dennysis tyrannie and the Collick and the Stone of a wiseman with his wisedom to be better than the health and soundnesse of bodie of the foole with his follie then art thou deceyued with the fayre name of Good for it is another thing than these goodes which causeth thée to preferre them and to estéeme them the better Therfore let vs say that the
the order of indyting or the antiquities which the wryter reporteth We should find the lyke prouidence of God in the chaunge of all States But I content my selfe with this one afore mentioned as the which is best knowen too all men except I were mynded to take some example of our present age to inlighten the matter withall Now then whereas Cato slewe himselfe through impatiencie thinke ye not that if he had liued still he would haue ceassed to contend with God and haue commended his Iustice and haue written bookes of his singular prouidence Yes But the mischief is that whereas we would not iudge of a Song by one note nor of a Comedie by one Scene nor of an Oration by one full Sentence we will presume to iudge of the Harmony and orderly direction of the whole world and of all that is therein by some one action alone Againe in Musik we beare with changes and breathes with pauses and discordes In Comedies with the vnmeasurable barbarous cruelties of an Atreus the wicked presumptions of an Ixîon and the lamentable outcryes of a Philoctetes and all this is if we will say the trueth because we haue so good opinion of the Musician that we think he will make al to fall into a good concord and of the Comediemaker that all his disagréements shall end in some mariage and of the Tragediewryter that ere hee leaue the Stage he will tye the wicked Ixîon to the Whéele or make the féends of Hell to torment the Atreus or contrariwise cause GOD to heare the wofull voyce and pitifull cry of the poore Philoctetes And if God seeme erewhyles to hold his peace and to suffer men to play their partes ought wee not too haue so good opinion of his wisdome as to thinke that he can tell when it is tyme to pay them their hyre And that although he let the wicked walk at large vppon the stage and the godly to lye in prison he can also prouide to end the braueries of the one sort with iust punishment and the wofull complaintes of the other sort with ioyfull triumph When a Tragedie is playd afore thée thou art not offended at any thing which thou hearest Why so Because that in two howres space thou hast shewed vnto thee the dooings of a ten or twelue yeres as the rauishing of Helen and the punishment of Paris or the miserable end of Herod vpon his murdering of Iohn Baptist. Insomuch that although thou bee not acquainted with the storie yet the arte which thou perceiuest and the end which thou expectest make thee both to beare with the matter and to commend the thing which otherwise thou wouldest thinke to be both vniust and also cruell in the gouerner of the Stage How much more oughtest thou to refreine thy mislyking if thou considerest that the world is a kind of Stageplay â—â—nueied to a certeine end by a most excellent maker And what an excellent order wouldest thou see there if thou mightest behold all the ages and alterations thereof as in a Comâ—â—â—e all in one day yea or but the successe of some one onely Nation for an hundred yeres which were lesse than the interuiewe of two Seruaunts in a Comedie Thou hast seene Pompey ouercome Loe here a discord that offendeth thine eares Thou hast seene Caesar to bring home his Sword bathed in the bloud of the Senate If thou be a Child thou weepest at it but if thou beest a man thou pacifyest the Child and attendest for the knitting vp of the matter and for the iudgement of the Poët Herevpon the Chorus singeth and then maketh a pawse All this whyle the Poet seemeth to haue forgotten Iustice and if thou depart out of the company at that poynt thou canst not tell what to make of it But tarry a whyle and hearken to the note that followeth Caesar is put to death by his owne men See here how the discord is turned into a good concord Thy Childe seeth that this prowd Peacocke which vaunted himselfe aboue all the world is in one day stabbed in with infinite wounds Whereby how little a one soeuer thy Child be he hath some perceiuerance of the forecast of the Poet. Doest thou not see then againe that wee bee like Children which would controll the Song of all ages by one Note or a long Oration by one Letter wheras notwithstanding our life as in respect of the whole world is lesse then a short Minim in comparison of a whole song If thou be a Christian thou readest the History of Ioseph When thou readest how he was sould into AEgipt thou canst not be angry inough with his brothers nor sufficiently bewayle his poore olde Father Againe when he is cast into the deepe Dungeon in recompence of his chastitie thou couldest find in thy heart to blame not only Pharao but euen God himself But when thou seest him taken out of Prison to reade the Kings Dreames and within a fewe dayes after as a King in AEgipt a succour to his father in his old age and the rayser vp agayne of his whole house at their néede then thou perswadest thy selfe that he which made him to reigne in AEgipt did suffer him to be sold to the AEgiptians that he which made him the deliuerer of his house did also make him to bee solde into bondage afore by his brethren and to bee short that the discord which offended thée and the harmonie which delighteth thee agayne proceede both from one selfesame Musition Howbeit afore wee conclude this matter see once agayne how much more vpright thou art towards thy Prince than towards God Thou seest a great number of his Armie come home wounded if thou bee a man it must needes greeue thee Anon one brings thee home thyne owne Sonne dead if thou bee a Father thou canst not forbeare teares A neighbour of thyne assureth thee that he was slayne in doing his duetie in getting victorie to his Countrie Though thou take not comfort in it at the first brunt yet at leastwise thou wilt not bee so mad as to lay the blame in thy Prince Within a while after when thou fallest to considering the fruite of the victorie then as it hath greeued thee to forgoe thy sonne so wilt thou thanke God that he dyed in defence of his Countrie and that he did his part in so noble a seruice Shall not God then haue as great preheminence in setting foorth his glorie as Kings for the obteining of their victories God ouer his Creatures as Kings ouer their Subiects Or shall not we haue as much patieÌ„ce in the death of those whom we bring vp when they dye for his seruice as when they dye for the honour of our Prince Or shall wee haue lesse trust in him as touching his imploying of them to good purpose than wee haue in Kings Princes and Captaines which knowe not the issue of their owne enterprises or at leastwise for the most parte knowe it not ne haue any care
of the Creator and the sentence of his iust wrath vppon his creature wherethrough it came to passe that the same was not onely bereft of all the grace wherewith it was replenished by beholding it selfe in him but also was made an vnderling to the selfesame things which were made to haue done it seruice Now what this sinne was wee cannot better vnderstand than by the punishment thereof For punishment and sinne haue a mutuall respect one to another as a sore and a salue and may after a sort be knowne the one by the other Order would that our wit should obey GOD and that all our sences and appetites should obey our reason but wee see that as now our sences and appetites hold reason vnder foote This punishment ought to set our fault before our eyes when as wee see our selues falne downe and thrust vnder our selues namely that man intended to haue mounted vp aboue God The same order would also that all the whole world and worldly things should haue serued man and man haue serued GOD that God might haue bene the marke of man as man should haue bene the marke for all other things to haue amed at But wee see that at this day man is an vnderling to the least things that are insomuch that euen those which haue neither sence nor life doe resist him and he pitcheth the ende of all his desires in earthly things as if they were of more valewe than himselfe accordingly as all of vs know that the end is alwaies better thā the things that tend to the same Séeing then that nature is reuolted from man it is certeyne that man is reuolted from God for it is the ordinary punishment of rebellious Subiects that their owne seruaunts and vnderlings also do kicke and spurne agaynst them And moreouer seeing that man not only findeth all maner of mischiefe and misfortune in himselfe but is also so blynd as to seeke his felicitie in the myre and in the durtie dunghils of this world it is a token that he sought his happinesse in himself and elswhere than in God To bee short wée bée striken in our Soules with ignorance of the things that are most néedfull for vs and in our bodies with continuall infirmities and finally with death and that is because we haue bene curious in seeking trifeling things as not contented with the lesson that GOD had giuen vs and would néedes haue made our selues immortall howbeit not by the euerlasting power of Gods quickening spirit but by the forbidden vse of transitorie things yea euen which had no life in them Thus see we now whereof the corruption of mankynd is come namely euen of our owne transgression and of the punishment that followed vpon the same But it is demaunded of vs yet further how long it is ago since this befell If wee had espyed this corruption in vs but from some certeyne hundred yéeres hence it were not for vs to seeke any further for it But let vs hold on our course vp the streame of Mankynd euen to the Riuers head and wee shall finde it still alwaies foule and muddy and we shal from age to age heare these outcryes euen among the best I loue well the good but I cannot doe it and to bee short that man is inclyned to doe euill and subiect to receyue euill which are in one word both the fault and the punishment Agayne were it but in some households or but in some Nations only men would not sticke to father the fault vppon the Clymate and the Soyle or vppon the misteaching or misexample of the Parents But when we see that in that respect all men are in one selfesame taking aswell the men of old tyme as the men of our daies sauing that sinne increaseth continually as well vnder the Equinoctiall lyne as betwéene both the Tropicks and as well on the further side as on the hether side of them sauing that some take more payne to keepe it from sight thā others and that those which haue most wit are woorst forasmuch as I haue alreadie sufficiently proued the creation of the world and of the first man wee be driuen to mount vp agayne to the same man and to say that as he is the roote of our ofspring so is he also the welspring of this corruption which reigneth in vs as in whom our whole race was both atteinted with sinne and attached with punishment In this behalfe it is not for vs to pleade against GOD but to submit our shoulders to his Iustice and to lift vp our eyes to his mercie For necessarily from poynt to poynt doth this consequence ensewe The Soule is corrupted in all mankynd Who is so corrupted that he feeleth it not This corruption cannot procéed from the Creator For when did euer purenesse yéeld forth corruptiō The other creatures could not haue defiled it For what maketh a thing vncleane but the taking of vncleannesse vnto it and what causeth the taking of vncleannesse vnto it but the touching thereof and what touching one of another can there be betwéene a Spirit and a Bodie It remayneth therefore that our Soule corrupted it self by forsaking her duetie eyther of her owne accord or by the admitting vnto it of some wicked Spirit that is to say by perswasion of that Spirit which perswasion is vnto Spirits as touching is vnto bodies And agayne this coruption is from all tyme then comes it not of trayning And in all Nations then comes it not of Constellation And in all ages both old young and middle sort then comes it not of imitation or exampletaking Therefore it must néedes procéed both from one only man and from the firstcreated man who turned away from God through pride whervpon God also did iustly turne away from him as wee reade of our first father Adam in the holy Scripture Now then what remayneth more for vs but to conclude that thing by nature which wee beléeue through Scripture namely That God created man good That he told him his will That man chose to liue after his owne lyking and would néedes become equall with God That therevpon he was banished from Gods presence and fauour That the Earth became rebellious against man and man against himselfe and to bee short that man was wrapped in the wretchednesse of this world intangled with sinne in himself driuen to liue euer dying in this life and were not Gods wrath appeased towards him sure to dye euerlastingly in the life to come The xvij Chapter That the men of old time agreed with vs concerning mans corruption and the cause thereof IT followeth that wee gather the voyces and iudgements of the wisest sort yea of all men in generall the which in myne opinion ought to beare the more sway with vs because it is a kindly thing with vs both to loue our selues and also to thinke ouerwell of our selues For what cause hath a man to complayne if being made Iudge in his owne case he frame his
owne indytement and willingly beare witnesse against himselfe by his owne voluntarie confession Surely that man is straungly infected with vyce it is witnessed sufficiently by the Histories of all ages which in effect are nothing els but registers of the continuall Manslaughters Whoredomes Guyles Rauishments and Warres And when I say Warres I thinke that in that worde I comprehend all the mischief that can be imagined And that these vyces were not created in mans nature but are crept into it it appeareth sufficiently by the bookes of the Ceremonies of al Nations all whose Church-seruices are nothing but Sacrifices that is to say open protestations both euening and morning that we haue offended God and ought to bee sacrifized and slayne for our offences according to our desarts in stead of the sillie Beastes that are offered vnto him for vs. Had man bene created with vyce in him he should haue had no conscience of sinne nor repentance for it For repentance presupposeth a fault and conscience misgiueth the insewing of punishment for the same And there can be neither fault nor punishment in that which is done according to creation but onely in and for our turning away from creation Now the Churchseruice and Ceremonies of all Nations doe witnesse vnto vs a certeyne forthinking and remorce of sinne against God And so they witnesse altogether a forefeeling of his wrath which cannot bee kindled against nature which he himselfe created but against the faultinesse and vnkindlynesse that are in nature Also what els are the great number of Lawes among vs but authenticall Registers of our corruption And what are the manifold Commentaries written vppon them but a very corruption of the Lawes themselues And what doe they witnesse vnto vs but as the multitude of Phisitions doth in a Citie namely the multitudes of our diseases that is to wit the sores and botches whereto our Soules are subiect euen to the marring and poysoning of the very playsters themselues Againe what doe the punishments bewray which we haue ordeyned for our selues but that wee chastise in vs not that which GOD hath made or wrought in vs but that which wee our selues haue vndone or vnwrought nor the nature it selfe but the disfiguring of nature But yet when we consider that among all Nations that Lawmaker is beléeued and followed by and by which sayth Thou shalt not kill thou shalt not steale thou shalt not beare false witnesse whereas great perswasion is required in all other lawes which are not so naturall It must néedes be concluded that the Consciences of all men are perswaded of themselues that the same is sinne and that sinne deserueth punishment that is to wit that sinne is in nature but not nature it selfe But to omit the holy Scripture which is nothing els but a Lookingglasse to shewe vs our spots and blemishes what are all the Schooles of the Philosophers but instructions of the Soule And what els is Philosophie it selfe but an arte of healing the Soule whereof the first precept is this so greatly renowmed one know thy selfe Aristotle in his Moralles sheweth that the affections must be ruled by reason and our mynd bee brought from the extremes into the meanes and from iarring into right tune Which is a token that our mynd is out of tune euen of it owne accord seeing that it néedeth so many precepts to set it in tune agayne And yet is not Aristotle so presumptuous as to say that euer he brought it to passe in his owne mynd Theophrast his Disciple was woont to say that the Soule payd wel for her dwelling in the bodie considering how much it suffered at the bodies hand And what els was this but an acknowledgement of the debate betwéene the bodie and the mynd But as sayth Plutarke he should rather haue sayd that the bodie hath good cause to complayne of the turmoyles which so irksome and troublesome a guest procureth vnto him Plato who went afore them sawe more cléerly than both of them He condemneth euerywhere the companie and fellowship of the body with the soule and yet he condemneth not the workmanship of God But he teacheth vs that the Soule is now in this bodie as in a prison or rather as in a Caue or a graue And that is because he perceiued euidently that contrarie to the order of nature the Soule is subiect to the bodie notwithstanding that naturally it should and can commaund it The same Plato sayth further that the Soule créepeth bacely vpon these lower things and that it is tyed to the matter of the bodie the cause whereof he affirmeth to be that she hath broken her wings which she had afore His meaning then is that the soule of her owne nature is winged and flyeth vpward that is to say is of a heaueÌ„ly diuine nature which wings she hath lost by meanes of some fall But to get out of these bonds and to recouer her wings the remedie that Plato giueth her is to aduaunce her selfe towards God and to the things that concerne the mynd By the remedie we may coniecture what he tooke the disease to be namely that our Soule hauing bin aduaunced by God to a notable dignitie the which it might haue kept still by sticking vnto God fell to gazing at her gay feathers till she fell headlong into these transitorie things among the which she créepeth now like a sillie woorme reteyning nothing as now of her birdlike nature saue onely a rowsing of her feathers and a vayne flapping of her wings Now he sayth that he learned all this of a secret Oracle the which he had in great reuerence And of â—â—â—cueth in this doctrine of the originall of our corruption wee haue to marke the same poynt which wee haue noted in some other things afore namely that the néerer wee come to the first world the more cléere and manifest we finde the matter Empedocles and Pythagoras taught that the Soules which had offended God wâ—â— condemned and banished into bodies here belowe And Philâ—â—â—aus the Pythagorian addeth that they receyued that opinion from the Diuines and Prophets of old tyme. Their meaning is that the body which ought to be the house of the soule is by Gods iust iudgemeÌ„t turned into a prison to it and that which was giuen it for an instrument is become Manicles and Stocks So then there is both a fault and the punishment and the fault must néedes procéede from one first man euen in the iudgement of those men of olde tyme which acknowledged the Creation of the world Also those auncient fathers seeme to haue heard what prouoked the first man to sinne For Homer speaketh of a Goddesse whom he calleth Até that is to say Waste Losse or Destruction which troubled heauen and therefore was cast downe to the earth where she hath euer since troubled Mankynd And herevpon Euripides calleth the Féendes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say Falne from Heauen And the
Seede but that he corrupted it afterward Anotherwhile hee sayth that he delt with reason as perfumers doe with Oyles which neuer ceasse medling and mingling of them till there remayne no sent of Oyle at all And in one place perceiuing by all likelihod this corruption to be so vniuersal he saith further that at the very beginning and from their first comming into the Worlde men intangled and confounded themselues with sinne Whereby we may perceiue that had the thing bin declared vnto him in such sort as wée beléeue it surely hee would willingly haue imbraced and receiued it as the only solution of so many perplexities wherein he was intangled Let vs come to the Platonists All of them agrée in these points That the Soule of Man is a spirit and that a spirit cannot naturally receiue any affection from a body neither which may cause it to perish nor which may doe so much as once trouble it Yet notwithstanding on which side so euer they turne themselues they cannot deny but that our mynds are trubbled with infinite affections and passions in this body and that they be subiect one while to starting besides themselues through pryde anger or enuie an another while to be cast downe with Riottousnes Gluttonie and Idlenes yea and to receiue diuers impressions not only from the body but also from the aire the water and from Mistes and finally from euery little thing in the world Now how can this contrarietie be reconciled except their meaning be as ours is that naturally our Soules are not subiect to any of these things but that they bee put in subiection to them beyond the course of nature If it bee beyond the course of nature by whome is it doone but by him that commaundeth nature to whome it is as easie to put a spirit in Prison as to lodge a man in a house If it be done by him who is the rightuousnes it selfe doth it not followe that it was for some fault committed by the Soule If for some fault then seeing that the punishment thereof is in all men in whome should that first fault be but in that man which was the originall of all men as in whom all of vs say I were materially Now againe this fault cannot bee imputed to the body for it is in the will and the body of it selfe hath no will neither can it be imputed to any â—â—fection receiued first from the body for the Soule could not be wrought into by the body In the Soule therefore must the fault of mankind néedes be and for the soules offence doth the Soule itself suffer punishment and make the body also to suffer with her Howbeit that we may the better iudge of their opinions let vs heare them in the chief of them one after another Plotine hauing considered that the Soule is of nature diuine heauenly and spirituall concludeth that of itselfe it is not wrought into by the body But afterward perceiuing how it is defiled ouermaistred by sinne and by force of necessitie linked vnto lust he commeth backe to this solution That hir béeing here beneath is but a banishment too her which he termeth expresly a fall and otherwise as Pato doth a losing of hir wings That the vertue which she hath is but a Remnant of hir former nature That the vyce which she hath is taken by dealing by these bace and transitorie things and too bee short that al the vertue which is learned is but a purging of the Soule which must be fayne to be as it were newfurbished to scoure of the greate Rust that hath ouergrowen it In these Contradictions therefore hee maketh this question to himselfe What should bee the cause sayth hee that our Soules being of a diuine nature should so forget both God their father and their kinred and themselues Surely answereth he the beginning of this mischeef was a certeine rashnes ouerboldnesse wherethrough they would needes plucke their neckes out of the collar and be at their owne commaundement by which abuse turning their libertie into licentiousnes they went cleane backe and are so farre gone away from GOD that like Children which being newly weaned are byanby conueyed away from their Fathers and Moothers they knowe neither whose nor what they be nor from whence they came Now in these words he agreeth with our Diuines not only in this that corruption came in by sin but also in the kind of sinne namely Pryde wherby we be turned away froÌ„ our Maker In another place The Soule saith he which was bred for heauenly things hath plundged itselfe in these materiall things and matter of itselfe is so euill that not onely all that is of matter or matched with matter but also euen that which hath respect vnto matter is filled with euill as the eye that beholdeth darknes is filled with darknes Here ye sée not onely from whence we be turned away but also too what that is too wit from God to vanitie from the Creator to the creature from good to euill But of this inclyning to the materiall things he sometymes maketh the body to be the author as though the body had caried the Soule away by force of his imaginations and he acquitteth the mynde thereof as much as he can insomuch as hee sticketh not to affirme that notwithstanding all this marrednesse yet the Soule liueth and abideth pure and cleane in God yea euen whyle the Soule whereof the Mynd is as yee would say the very eisight or apple of the eye dwelleth in this body Howbeit besides that he is reproued for it by Porphyrius Proclus and others his owne reasons whereby he proueth that the Soule is not naturally subiect to the body be so strong that it were vnpossible for him too shift himself from them In this the great Philosopher is ouershot that he will needes seeke out the cause of sinne in Man as Man is now Where finding Reason caried away by Imagination and Imagination deceiued by the Sences he thought the fault to haue procéeded of that wheras in deede he should haue sought the cause in Man as he was first created when he had his Sences and Appetites absolutely at commaundement whose wilfull offending hath brought vppon vs the necessitie of punishment which we indure And in good sooth this saying of his in another place cannot be interpreted otherwise namely that the cause why the Soule indureth so many trubbles and passions in this body is to be taken of the life which is led afore out of the body that is to say that the subiection of the Soule to the Body is not the originall cause of the sinne therof but rather a condemnation thereof to punishment Neither also can he scape froÌ„ these conclusions of his owne namely that the Soule beeing separated from the body hath her wings sound and perfect and that the Body being ioyned to the Soule hath no power to breake her wings and yet that she findeth herself there
vpon them was the ende why they tooke the orders of them vppon them so the end of true Philosophie is the Contemplation and beholding of the myndly and immortall nature that is to say of God the Creator Iamblichus was surnamed the Diuine and it is sayd that he was so called because he spake so Diuinely of this matter Thus therfore doth he say Shal we say that to be healthy to be faire to be riche to be honored to be of a good wit and such lyke are mans happines No surely The strength of man is but a iest and his honour a mockery Yea Man himself and all that he maketh account of are but a fleeting shadowe Neuerthelesse vnto good men they be good possessions but vnto wicked men they be euill and daungerous What then shoulde not the possessing of them for euer and not as in a Dreame that vanisheth away be the true happines No the possessing of them for euer if it were without vertue were a very greate mischiefe and the sooner they were taken from vs the lesse harme it should be Nay the very true meane to atteine to the heauenly felicitie is praying and calling vpon the Goddes cheely vpon the great God which reigneth ouer them all And therefore he sayth in another place Whatsoeuer a man doeth or leaueth vndone ought to be referred to the Godhead and all this lyfe is ordeyned for nothing els but to followe God the knowledge of whom is perfect vertue Wisdome and Blesfulnes which maketh vs lyke the Goddes that is to say after his maner of speaking like the Angels Let vs heare yet more of him The time hath bene saith he that man was fast tyed to the beholding of God but afterward he was made subiect to the body and tyed to the necessitie of Destinie therfore it behoueth him to be well aduised by what meane he may be rid of it Now other knowledge there is none that can deliuer him but onely the knowledge of God For the paterne of felicitie is to knowe the good and the knowing of good is the holy gate whereby to come to the maker of all things Now sayth hee againe afterward the care of these inferiour things which maketh vs to forget God cānot be separated from this transitory lyfe wherein we be for this body will neuer suffer vs to play the right Philosophers in deed It followeth then that this knowledge of God vnder the which he comprehendeth all vertue all wisedome and all studie of Philosophie cannot be atteind vnto nor become perfect in this lyfe but onely in the life to come The finall end of Man sayth Plotin is the pure Good that is to wit God and all other things are but appurtenances to that end and not the end itself Whosoeuer possesseth this good can haue no good taken from him nor any good put vnto him For it is not only an vniting vnto God but almost a being of God himselfe Now who is he that can take such possession of it in this lyfe And therefore he addeth There our mynd beholdeth the fountayne of life of vnderstanding of being the cause of good and the roote of the Soule There lyeth our welfare after such a sort that to be farre from it is as good as not to be atall There is the beginning and end of lyfe The beginning for from thence doth it proceede and the end for there is the welfare whereon it resteth The welfare say I for in atteyning thether it becommeth agein that which it had bin afore For as for the being which it hath here what is it but a downfall whereby it hath lost hir wings Here reigneth a bace and vile Venus but there reigneth a heauenly one Here a loue of the World there the loue of God And what a greefe ought it to be vnto vs to be wedded to the earth And on the contrary part how desirous ought we to bee to feele God in all parts aboue Yea and to be so ioyned vnto him as one centre is within another so as both of them may be but as one Now he is full of such and larger sayings and alwayes he concludeth blesednes euerlastingnes follow one another wherby he excludeth them both out of this world and out of this lyfe But for the more spéede let vs come to others What is the end of Man saieth Porphyrius It is vndoutedly to liue in Mynd And how is that By contemplation in this lyfe No sayeth he in another place All Philosophy is but gessing a lyght beleefe receyued from hand to hand and which hath nothing therein which may not be called in question What maner of Contemplation then shal the true one be Not a heape of words sayth he nor a patching together of precepts but a true vnion of the beholder and the thing that is behild that is to say of our Mynd and of God Simplicius the Peripatetik whether he learned it of Epictetus or some where els speaketh of it thus The greatest good that is in the knowledge of Nature is that it is a fayre path to leade men to the knowing of the Soule of the seperated substāces and of Gods beeing Moreouer it inflameth vs to the seruing of God leading vs by the effectes to the Maiestie of the Creator wherevpon followeth an onement with God with assured fayth and hope which are the things for which philosophy is cheefly to be vsed And in another place The beginning sayth he and the end of happy lyfe and the perfection of our Soule consisteth in being bent and turned vnto God as well by acknowledging that he gouerneth all things with Iustice as by consenting to all that he doth as proceeding from a rightfull iudgement For so long as our Soule abydeth in him as in the roote it abydeth in the perfection wherein GOD created it But if it fall to starting out of him it becometh withered and droopeth vntill it turne backe and bee vnited againe vnto him The cause then of our vnhappines is our seperating of our selues from God and the cause of our happinesse is our linking in againe with him and man seeketh a happinesse agréeable to his kynd as all other things doe The end of man therefore is to turne againe vnto God that he may become one with him Syrian the Schoolemayster of Simplicius wryting vppon Aristotle hath comprehended the matter in one word we deale with Philosophie sayth he for our owne benefite that is to say for our owne welfare which welfare is to be vnyted vnto God And Alexander of Aphrodise commeth not farre behind when he sayth that our souereine felicitie consisteth in deuotion towards God beyond whom there is not any further reward to be desired For seeing sayth he that the worthiest operation of the Soule is contemplation contemplation properly is the knowing of the best things none are so good as the things that concerne God our end and felicitie ought to
Insomuch that their owne Historywriter beholding so many records of Gods wrath was in maner cōstreyned to come somewhat nye the cause thereof which he affirmeth to be that the Highpriest Ananus had vniustly and hastily caused Iames the brother of Iesus to be stoned to death and certeine others with him to the great griefe of good men and of such as loned the Lawe To the which purpose also may this saying of the notablest of their Rabbines be applyed That the second Temple was destroyed for their selling of the Rightuous and for hating him without cause according to this saying of Iesus concerning them They haue hated me without cause And whereas some Iewes at this day doe say that they bee punished because some of them receiued this Iesus for the Christ there is no likelyhood of trueth in it For considering that Gods maner is to saue a whole Citie for some ten good mens sakes if they be found in it he would much rather haue saued his own people for so many mens sakes being the chiefe and representing the state of the Realme of Iewrie which did put their hands to the accusing of Iesus and for so great a multitudes sake which cryed out Away with him away with him crucifie him And if God confirmed the Priesthood vnto Phinees for his zealousnesse in punishing a simple Israelite what thinke you your selues to haue deserued for crucifying as you beare your selues on hand an enemie of God one that named himselfe Christ the Lords Anoynted yea and which sayd he was very God himselfe Yet notwithstanding in the middes of all these calamities the Citie and Temple of this Iesus were builded vp first in Iewrie it selfe and afterward in the whole world and according to Daniels Prophesie the Couenant of Saluation was stablished among all Nations by the preaching of his Apostles and the Sacrifices of the Iewes were then put downe and neuer anywhere reuyued againe since that tyme. And within a while after the very ydolatries of the Gentyles which had possessed the whole world were likewise dasshed also as wée shall see hereafter Whereof Rabbi Hadarsan writing vpon Daniell seemeth to haue giuen some incling in that he sayth Halfe a weeke that is to say three yeeres and a half shall make an end of Sacrificing And so doth R. Iohanan in that he sayth Three yeeres and a half hath the presence of the Lord cryed out vppon Mount Oliuet saying seeke God while he may be found and call vpō him while he is nere hand And vpon the Psalmes it is sayd That by the space of three yeeres and a halfe GOD would teache his Church in his owne persone Now it is manifestly knowen that Iesus preached betwéene thrée and fower yeres about Hierusalem and that his preaching was pursewed and continued afterward by his Apostles Sothen we haue in the Prophets a Christ the sonne of God which was to be borne of a Uirgin in the end of the thréescore and and ten wéekes mention in Daniel at Bethleem in Iewrie whom being foregone by an Elias it behoued to preache the kingdome of God to dye a reprocheful death to mans Saluation and to ryse agayne with glorie shortly wherevpon should follow the destruction of Hierusalem and of the Temple And at the very selfesame tyme we haue in our Gospels in the stories of the Iewes themselues one Iesus the sonne of God borne of the Uirgin Marie at Bethleem in Iewrie who beeing foregone by Iohn the Baptist preached the kingdome of Heauen both in woord and déede was crucified at Hierusalem beléeued on by the Gentiles and reuēged by the ouerthrowe and destruction of the Temple And all these circumstances and markes are so peculiar vnto him that they can by no meanes agrée to any other Wherefore let vs conclude that this Iesus is the very same Christ that was promised from time to time in the Scriptures and exhibited in his dew time according to our Gospell For that is the thing which wee had to proue in these last two Chapters The xxxj Chapter An answere to the Obiections which the Iewes alledge ageinst Iesus why they should not receiue him for the Christ or Messias NOw let vs examine the obiections of the Iewes and sée what they can say ageinst the Testimonie of all the Prophetes which agreeth fitly to Iesus and can agree to none but him First If Iesus say they were the Christ who should haue knowen and receiued him rather than the great Sinagogue which was at that time This obiection is very old for in the Gospell the Pharisies say Doe any of the Pharisies or chiefe Rulers beleeue in him saue onely this rascall people which know not the Lawe who be accursed Here I might alledge Simeon surnamed the rightuous a Disciple of Hillels who had serued fortie yeres in the Sanctuarie how hée acknowledged Iesus for the Sauiour of Israell and the light of the Gentiles in the which Simeon the Iewes themselues confesse that Spirit of God to haue sayled which was woont to inspire the greate Sinagogue and inspired him still during all his lyfe Also I could alledge Iohn the Baptist whom they called the great Rabbi Iohanan who acknowledging Iesus to be the sonne of God sent his Disciples vnto him And likwise Gamaliel whom in the Acts of the Apostles we reade to haue sayd If this Doctrine be of God it will continew if not it will perish and in Clement to haue bene a Disciple of the Apostles and in their owne bookes to haue bene the Disciple of the sayd Simeon And finally S. Paule him selfe a disciple of the sayd Gamaliel soothly a very great man and of great fauour and authoritie among them of whom they cannot in any wyse mistrust To bee short Iosephus reporteth that this Iesus was followed among that Iewes of all such as loued the trueth and that as many as loued the Lawe did greatly blame Ananus the highpréest for causing the disciples of Iesus to be put to death Also R. Nehumia the sonne of Hacana hauing recounted the miracles of Iesus within a litle of whose tyme he was sayth expresly I am one of those which haue beleeued in him and haue bene baptized and haue walked in the right way Likewise the S. Rabbi seemeth to haue hild of Iesus and if he did not then is it yet more wonderfull than if he had knowen him considering that he séemeth to describe this Iesus by the selfsame circumstaunces that the very Christ is described by him But without any stāding vpō that poynt I say further to them That whereas the Synagogue receiued not Iesus for the Messias their so doing is a token that he was the very Messias in deede and that their receiuing of Barcozba for the Messias was a sure proofe that Barcozba was not the Messias For it is expresly sayd by the Prophetes that when the Messias came vnto them they should be so blynde as not too
Gamalielles was sent with Commission to persecute the Christians In his way sayth Luke a light shone about him and being smitten to the ground he heard this voyce Saule Saule why persecutest thou me To bee short of a Iewe he became a Christian and of a Persecuter a Martir And if thou beléeuest not S. Luke S. Paule himselfe toucheth his owne historie in diuers places What hath vnbeléefe to bring against this saue onely peraduenture a bare denyall according to common custome If Peter sawe it he is but a Fissherman say they If Paule heard it he is an Orator So then belike if God offer thee his grace in an earthen vessell thou mislykest of it and if he offet it thee in a vessell of some valewe thou suspectest it eyther the one is beguyled or the other beguyleth thee sayest thou What wilt thou haue God to doe to make thee to beleeue him Examine this case well Paule in the way to growe great he is in good reputation with the Magistrate the Priestes and sodeinly he chaungeth his Copie out of one extremitie into an other to bee skorned scourged cudgâ—led stoned and put to death Put the case that neither S. Luke nor S. Paule did tell thee the cause thereof What mayst thou imagine but that it was a very great and forcible cause that was able to chaunge a mans heart so sodeynly and so straungely Is it not daylie sâ—ene wilt thou say that men are soone changed and vpon light causes Yes fooles are But he debateth the matter he vrgeth his arguments and he driueth his conclustons to an ende The best learned of his enemies finde fault with his misapplying as they terme it of his skill and yet commend his writings Yea and he knoweth that vnto thee his preaching will seeme folly and yet that as much folly as it is it is the very wisedome of God and that by following it he shall haue nothing but aduersitie and yet for all that he doth not giue it ouer How shall he be wise that counteth himselfe a foole or rather which of the wiser sort is not rauished at his sayings and doings But if he be wise learned and weladuised as thou seest he is what followeth but that his chaunge proceedeth of some cause And seeing the chaunge was great the cause must néedes be great also and seeing it was extreame and against 〈◊〉 surely it must needes proceede of a supernaturall and souereine cause Uerely the reason that leadeth thee to this generall conclusion ought to leade thee to the speciall also that is to wit that it was a very great and supernaturall cause that moued him namely the same which Sainct Luke rehearseth and which he himselfe confirmeth in many places for the which he estéemeth himselfe right happie to â—ndure the miserie which he caused and procured vnto others and in the end after a thousand hurts and a thousand deaths he willingly spent his life Also the death of Herod striken by the Angell for not giuing glorie vnto God is reported vnto vs much more amply by Iosephus than by S. Luke Herod sayth he made showes in Caesarea and the second day of the solemnitie he came into the Theatre being full clad in robe or cloath of Siluer which by the stryking of the Sunnebeames vppon it made it the more stately Then began certeyne Clawbacks to call him God and to pray him to bee gracious vnto them But forasmuch as he did not refuse that flatterie he sawe an Owle sitting vpon his head and by and by he was taken with so straunge torments that within feawe daies after he dyed acknowledging Gods iudgement vpon him and preaching thereof to his flatterers This Historie is set out more at large by Iosephus which in effect is all one with that which is written by S. Luke who sayeth that the people cryed out It is the voyce of God and not of a man and that thervpon an Angell of God strake him and he was eaten with wormes and so dyed These bee the things which they finde scarce credible in the historie of our Euangelistes which yet notwithstanding are coÌ„firmed by the histories of the Iewes and Gentyles who report the things with words full of admiration which our Euangelistes set downe simply after their owne maner And seeing that in these things which exceede nature they bee found true what likelyhoode is there that they should not also deliuer vs Christes doctrine truely specially being as I haue shewed afore miraculously assisted with the power of his spirit according to his promisses and moreouer hauing witnessed the sinceritie of their writings by suffering so many torments and in the end death Seeing then that the new Testament conteyneth the trueth of the doctrine of Iesus and proceeded from the spirit of Iesus whom I haue shewed to be the Sonne of God what remayneth for vs but to imbrace the Scriptures as the worde of life and Soulehealth and as the will of the Father declared vnto vs by his Sonne and to liue thereafter and to dye for the same considering that by the same wee shall be raysed one day to glorie and reigne with him for euer But forasmuch as we make mention of rysing ageine from the dead that is yet one scruple more that remayneth What lykelyhod is there of that say they séeing that our bodyes rotte Woormes deuour vs yea our bodyes do turne into woormes and a nomber of other chaunges â—o passe ouer them This is a continewall stumbling alwayes at one stone namely to stand gasing at Gods power who can do all things when ye should rather rest vpon his will He will do it for he hath knit the body and Soule togither to be parttakers of good and euill togither and hee hath giuen one Lawe on them both togither so as they must suffer togither and ioy togither yea and suffer one for another and one by another in this lyfe and what Iustice then were it to separate them in another lyfe He will do it for he made the whole man who if he were but Soule alone were no man atall He will do it for to the intent toâ— saue man his Sonne hath takeÌ„ the flesh of man vnto him Now to saue the Soule it had bin inough for him too haue taken but a Soule but he that made the whole man will also saue the whole man To be short he will do it for he hath sayd it and he will doo it for he hath done it already He hath sayd it by his Sonne and he hath also done it in his Sonne and his sonne adorneth vs with his victorie and he will surely adorne vs with his glorie Looke vpon the grayne that is cast into the ground if it rotte not it springeth not vp if it spring not vp it yeldeth no foyson Agein of one graine come many Eares of Corne of a kernell a goodly Tree of a thing of nothing as yée would say a perfect liuing Creature
coÌ„pany with thy wyfe Man is both Soule body In Man are three Abilitieâ— of Soule The Body and the Soule be not one selfsame thing That the Soule is a substance Bodilesse Vnmateriall The Soule hath beeing of it selâ— Plutark in his treâ—yâ—e why God deferreth the punishment of the wicked Vncorruptible What is death Cleuâ— lib. 1. Three lyues iâ— Man Obiections The opinion of the Men of old tyme. The beleefe of the Patriarkes c. The wise Men of Egipt Hermes in his Poemander 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hermes in his Poemander cap. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hermes in his Esculapius AEnaeas Gaz. concerning the immortalitie of the Soule Ghaâ—deans The Greekes Pherecydes Assyrium vulgo nascetur Amonium Phocylides Sybill Pindar in the second song of his Olympiads Homer in the Funeralles of his Iliads Pythagoras Heraâ—litus as he is reported by Philo. Epicharmus as he is reported by Clement of Aleâ—andria Thales Anaxagoras Diogenes and Zeâ—o Epicurus Lucretius Socrates Plato and XenophoÌ„ Plato in his Timaeus Plato in his Timaeus and in his third booke of a Comonweale Plato in his Phoedon in his matter of state in his Alâ—ibiades and in the tenth booke of his Comonweale Plato in his fifth booke of Lawes Aristotle in his second booke of liuiÌ„g things Aristotle in the third book of the Soule Aristotle in his tenth booke of moralles Michael of Ephesus vpon Aristotles Moralles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In his second booke of the Soule In the last booke of the parts of beasts In the tenth of his Supernaturalles In his first booke of matters of state The opinion of the Latin writers Cicero in his first booke of his Tusculane Questions in his booke of Comfort Cicero in his second booke of the Nature of the Gods and in his fust booke of Lawes In Scipioes dreame Ouid in his first booke of Metamorphosis Seneca writing to Gallio and to Lucillus Seneca concerning the Lady Martiaze SoÌ„ne and the shortnesse of this life In his Questions and in his hooke of Comfort Fauorinus The common opinion of all nations Porphyrius in his 4. booke of Abstinence Which with their owne hands made the fire to burne their bodies in and sawe aliue the kindled flame that should consume their Skinne Gebeleizie that is to say Register or Giuer of caze rest Gebeleizie that is to say Register or Giuer of caze rest Plutarke in his treatise of the flow punishing of the wicked The opinion of the later Philosophers Epictetus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Simplicius Plotinus Plotin lib. 1. Ennead 4. coÌ„cerning the Beeing of the Soule lib. 2. cap. 1. lib. 3. cap. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. lib. 4 cap. 11. the seauenth book throughout Plotinus in his booke of the Sences of Memorie En. 4. lib. 3. and in his booke of doubts concerning the Soule chap. 26. 27. Alexander of Aphrodise in his bookes of the Soule In his second booke of Problemes Galen in his booke of the Manners of the Soule In his booke of the doctrine of Hippocrates and Plato In his booke of Conception The vniuersall consent In the AlcoraÌ„ Azo 25. and 42. It appeareth by the storyes or the East and West Indyes Ageinst Auerrhoes Let the Reader beare these termes their significations in Mynd for al the discourse here ensewing Auerhoes vppon Aristotles third booke of the Soule Aristotle in his second booke of the Soule Aristotle in his first booke of the Soule Aristotle in his â— booke of Supernaturalls Aristotle in his third booke of of the Soule Against Alexander of Aphrodise Mans corruption appeereth in his respect to Godward The sonne of the earth In respect of the World In respect of Man Man in respect of himself Diodorus lib. 4. Herodotus in his Clio. Austin in his woork of the Citie of God lib. 14. Chap. 17. and 18. * The Catopleb and also the Cockatryce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whence mans corruption coÌ„meth How long ago corruption came into maÌ„ The Conscience of Sinne. The opinion of the Auncient Philosophers Aristotle Theophrast Plato in his Phedrus Empedocles and Pythagoras Philolaus Pherecydes alledged by Origen against Cellus Hermes in his Poemander Zoroastres Gemistus Hierocles the Stoic against Athâ—â—â—ts Plutarke in his booke of Morall vertue and in his booke of the mutuall loue betweene Parents and their Children and That Beastes haue Reason Plotin Enn. 3. lib. 2. Also Enn. 1. lib. 6 Cap. 5. Also Enn. 1. lib. 8. Cap. 14. Enn. 6. lib. 9 Cap. 9. Plotin lib. 1. Enn. 5. Cap. 1. Plotin Enn. 1. lib. 8. Cap. 4. Plotin Enn. 3 lib. 5. Cap. 5. Enn. 3. lib. 3. Cap 4. Plotin Eun. 1. lib. 8. Cap. 14. lid 3. Cap. 4 S. Austin in the Citie of God lib. 10. Cap. 23. and 32. Porphyrius in his booke which sheweth how to do the things that are to be conceyued alonly by reason and vnderstanding Also in his third booke of Abstinence Proclus concerning the Soule and concerning the Feend cap. 4. Simplicius vppon Epictus Vniuersall consent Agathias in his secoÌ„d book of the Persian Warres The generall Historie of the Indyes ca. 122. Obiections Things are said to be good either by cause they come to good end or were purposed to a good end Mannes end or amingpoynt and his welfare consist or rest both in one thing The Markâ—â— whereby to knowe the amingpoynt and welfare of Man The world is not the end to which man was made God is the end or Marke that Man ameth aâ— The false ends and the false Welfares Riches Honor. Powre Authoritie and Soucreintie The vtmost end â—â—uerein good of Man are not in himself Beautie Helth Bodily Pleasure Voluptuousenes or Sensualitie Vertue Policiâ— Wisdome or Religiousnes Faith or Beleef Agazel in the beginning of his Supernaturalles Austin in his xix booke and first cap. of the Citie of God The Epicures Antisthenes answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Stoiks The Peripatetikes or walkers Aristotle in his Moralles lib. 5 Porphyr in his first booke of the Soule to Byrithius and Anebon The Academiks Plato in his Common-weale lib. 10. In his Epinomis In his Theeteâ—â—s Laertius in the life of Plato-Plato in his Phoedon Aristotle in his booke of the World And in his Morals and in his first booke of the Heauens The Philosophers of old tyme. Pythagoras Mercurius Trif megistus otherwise called Hermes Zoroastres Plutarke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iamblichus Plotin Enn. 1. lib. 4. cap. 15. 16. Plotin Enn. 6. lib. 9. Cap. 10. Porphyrius in his worke of abstinence lib. 1. cap. 2. Porphyrius concerning the Soule to Byrithius and Anebo the AEgiptian Simplicius vpon the Naturalles and vppon Epictetus Vpon these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alexander in his booke of Prouidence cyted by Cyâ—illus The ends both of the good of the bad In their booke of shame concealed Hermes Trismegistus in his Poemander Orpheus Pythagoras Pindarus Diphiluâ— Sibylla 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tat is to say they