Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A76805
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A discovery of fire and salt discovering many secret mysteries, as well philosophicall, as theologicall.; Traicté du feu et du sel. English
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Vigenère, Blaise de, 1523-1596.; Stephens, Edward.
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1649
(1649)
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Wing B3128; ESTC R230043
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140,188
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172
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of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit that is given unto us Fire denotes tribulation whereupon the said Saint Ambrose upon the first psalm Fire saith he burneth waxe which melts it self to bee purged and wee are proved by fire for God desiring to convert a sinner chastiseth him and burneth him to purge him for fire is light to Beleevers and punishment to the incredulous Said Saint Jerome very well upon Ezechiel That fire illuminates Beleevers and blinds Infidels serving for nothing but smoak which makes them weep and darknesse as smoak which is noxious to the eyes With which fume the house of Israel was all filled and darkened Prov. 10 26. Esa 6.4 Let the just then rejoyce when they shall find themselves upon this text of the 50. Psal 3. A fire shall burn in his sight for they shall be thereby illuminated and obstinate sinners burnt by the same having the two properties to illuminate and burn for that it illuminates it must bee the holy Spirit which is the true fire that is kindled in our hearts and not foolish and preverse opinions vain and erroneous which would quickly draw us to that which the Prophet Esay saith Chap. 50.11 Behold all yee that kindle a fire and that compasse your selves about with sparks walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled and you shall sleep in sorrow From thence saith Origen it seems that sinners kindle themselves a fire wherewith they must be crucified O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self Hos 13. And in the 28. of Ezek. 18. I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee it shall devoure thee and I will bring thee to ashes upon Earth The matter then which entertains it are our iniquities and our offences their iniquity shall burn as fire And in the 7. of Eccles 17. The vengeance of the ungodly is fire and wormes which toucheth upon that in the 9. of St. Mark 44. alledged out of the 66. of Esaiah 24. Whose worm shall not dye nor their fire bee quenched for the one and the other are endlesse namely the fire that burns them and the worm that gnawes their consciences in this world and in the other torments them for ever There where on the contrary if God set it on fire wee may say with one of our ancient fathers O happy flame but not burning illuminating but not consuming Thou dost transform whom thou dost touch so that they even merit to bee called Gods Thou hast warmed thy Apostles who forsaking all things but thee have been made Gods children Thou hast warmed the Martyrs who have spilt their bloud Thou hast warmed the Virgins who by the fire of Divine Love have quenched the heat of concupiscence The Confessors likewise that have separated themselves from the world to join and to unite unto thee So that every creature by the beneficence of this fire repurgeth it self from its coinquinations and ordures and there is nothing exempted from its heat if it would come to injoy the fellowship of God for it is this fire that kindleth in us by the illuminations of the holy Spirit by means of our corporall tribulations which brings us sooner to God then any other thing of which Lead is one of their symboles working the same operations in metals as afflictions do in us There is so gallant a passage in the 6. of Jer. under the figure of a Coupelle which I think that there is not a Goldsmith Refiner or a Mettleman which hath spoken more properly They are all corrupters speaking of the Jewish people then iron or copper The bellows are buâ—nt the Lead is consumed in the fire the Founder melteth in vain for their wickednessâ—s are not plucked away Râ—probate silver shall men cal them for the Lord hath rejected them Whereupon Rab. Sol. is a little interveared for that hee doth not well understand the Coupelles being willing to adjoin one of his own The prophet speaketh here saith hee of God as of a Goldsmith who desirous to purge gold puts thereunto lead or tin that the fire should not consume the gold for after the lead is consumed the fire hurts the gold by consuming it Mark what it is to speek unadvisedly of things wee doe not understand for so doing we suffer our selves to fall easily into grosse absurdities There are are here two faults so apparent that even apprâ—ntices would mock at them the one to mixe Tin at the Coupelle or ashes in stead of lead for it would not bee fit also the Prophet takes heed therein See what Geber sets down in the Chap. of Ashes Metalls that participate least of the substance of quick-silver and more of Sulphur separate themselves sooner and more easily from their mixtions So that lead because it hath more of the Sulphureall terrestreity and lesse quick-silver it is of more tender and light fusion then any other hardens lesse in the coupple and separates soonest therefore it is more proper to this examination for that it carries away with lesse time and pains the impuâ—itiâ—s of imperfect metals mingled with gold and silver Upon which there is no action and by consequent bâ—ings lesse domage thereunto theâ—e where because the substance of tin participates of much quick silver and of little sulphurous earthinesse so that being more pure and subtil the more profoundly it mingles it self and adheres more strongly to gold and silver from which it is separated more slowly and more unwillingly with so much of their losse and falling off the other error is to think that when the lead in the Coupelle hath exterminated the imperfect metals and it self is partly gone away in smoak partly burned and partly inglued within the Coupelle as in vitrified litarge fire cannot in any thing hurt gold for being fire and pure it would remain there a thousand years without the losse of one grain to which nothing of things is wanting it is even safe in burnings and great fires the matter remaining said Pliny well speaking of gold in his 33. Book chap. 3. as wee may see by experience The prophet said then and that so properly as nothing more that even as when there are more impurities mingled with gold and silver to repurge them we must put thereunto more lead at once So the Jews iniquities were so great that it was needfull to visit them with more afflictions one upon another to make them know their offences and to forsake them as Physitians who redouble oftentimes their purgations and medicaments in those bodies where the malady is contumacious and rebellious for tribulations and adversities are in us as fire and as lead in impure metalls As gold and silver are tryed by the fire so the Lord tries our hearts Prov. 2. and in the 2. of Eccles 5. Whatsoever is brought upon thee take patiently for gold and silver are tried by fire and men by the furnace of tribulation and anguish Saint Gregorie in his Pastoralls
procreated before it But in this respect there presents a very rare mystery and worthy of observation that the compleat perfection of things fals out alwaies on the fourth day as of the light The Sunne and Moone were made the fourth day waters on the second day produced nought but fishes the fifth which is the fourth after and al animals the sixth with man for whom the fruits of the earth were made the third Which sheweth us that the 4 number so much celebrated by Pythagoras denoteth the perfection that resides in ten resulting from the four first numbers 1 2 3 4 make â—en So Plato was willing to informe his Timaeus where he treats of the procreation of things by these words one two three but where is the fourth Zohar upon this particle of the 14. of Leviticus you shall keepe my Sabbaths See saith Rabbi Eliezer what is the mystery here contained In six dayes was the world created in each of those is manifested the worke that was made therein and God gave it his particular vertue after he had finished it but on the fourth he attributed one more expresse for those of the third preceding being secret and hidden came not in evidence except that the fourth day happened their faculties would reveal themselves for water air and fire the three superiour elements remained as suspended and the workmanship of them did not appeare till the fourth day manifested them and then appeared all that was made on each But if you will alledge that this was the third day that then God said Let the earth sprout and produce the green herb producing seed and the fruit trees bearing fruit after his kinde which hath his seed in it selfe upon the earth and it was so yet this notwithstanding that this happened on the third day he suffered not to be annexed with the fourth without any separation the which fourth comes to meet with the Sabbath which is the fourth day the fourth and is by it selfe the perfect fourth where there appeared all the works of the six preceeding dayes and it is the fourth foot of the Merchavah O the divine throne whereon God sate for his repose all the six dayes Thus discourseth Zohar We must not here passe over another mystery which these two luminaries have each three names the Sunne is called Chomah wisdome Scemesch heat and Cheres drynesse Plato in Timaeus All moisture that the celerity of fire raised and that which remained arid and dry wee call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 potters earth That of Maor Luminary is common to the one and to the other The Moone is called Malchut reigne or kingdome Jareha which the Greek call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for that she perfects her course in a month and lebenab white for as the Sun representeth Jesus Christ the Moon denotes the Church which is all fair without any blemish following that which is written in the 6. of Canticles 10. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning fair as the Moone clear as the Sun Of this light of the Sunne of Righteousnesse whereof it is said in the fourth of Malachy But unto you that do feare my name the Sunne of Justice shall arise 4. 2. Where the Moone the Church is illustrated on a perpetuall day without darknesse according to Esay 60. v. 20. The Lord shall be thine everlasting light who hath planted his Tabernaele or Church within the fair clear shining Sunne that illuminates every man that comes into the world no more nor lesse then the starres which are innumerable and the least as big as the whole earth receive all their light from the visible sunne Of whom shall it not here bee lawfull to relate something of his praises of the Song that Orpheus made unto it Hear mâ—e most blessed Sunne Worlds heart and eie Heavenly brightnesse shining Living mens pleasing aspect Begetting Aurora in thy right hand And the night on thy left Thou governest the four seasons Who dance in a round At the found of thy golden harpe Thou runnest through this great vault Vpon thy shining Chariot Drawn with thy Coursers That respire heat and life Ardent unpolluted measurer Of times that shewes thy selfe to all A Soveraigne aid to each Keeping faith eye of Justice Brightnesse of shining light Behold that which we here thought to runne through concerning these three fires as for the three salts which relate thereunto we will speak thereof hereafter namely the Terrestriall and Elementary the Heavenly and Solary and the Intelligible that of the Divine Essence denoting the Father from whence proceeds the light which is the Sunne and these two the heat of the Holy Spirit which kindles our hearts with the love and knowledge of God and with charitable love to our neighbour The same in heaven the light of the Sunne expands it selfe to illighten all the starres and here below to the production and vivification of all that which is there begotten and maintained And in the Elementary world fire doth clear us warm us and boil our viands and lends us all other commodities and usages As for fire in the 66. of Esay 15 16. which the Evangelist cites here whose fire shall not extinguish and whose worme dieth not It is without doubt destinated to the punishment of reprobates which shall never be quenched nor the worme that stingeth the conscience shall never dye To keep that this worm that is engendred of corruption may not procreate we must salt it with discretion and prudence that it may do nothing which may offend and scandalize his neighbour according as the Evangelist specifies it Hee that shall scandalize one of these little ones that beleeve in mee And as for banishing and chasing away strange fire that devours our soul as a burning feaver doth vitall heat this must be done by the mediating intervention of divine fire which is much more puissant then any other Let us heare that which to this purpose Saint Ambrose alledgeth in the 3. chap. of his Offices Saint John baptized Jesus Christ with the Holy Ghost and with fire which is the type and image of the Holy Ghost who after his ascension must descend for the remission of sinnes so enflaming as a fire doth the soul and heart of the faithfull according as Jeremie saith in 20. 9. after he had received the Holy Ghost and it was as a burning fire in my heart shut up in my bones What is the meaning then of that in the Maccabees that the fire was become water and this water excites the fire but that the spirituall grace burneth by the fire and by the water it doth purifie and cleanse our sinnes for sinne washeth and burneth according to which the Apostle saith fire will prove what each mans works shall bee for it must necessarily be that this examination should bee perfected in all those that desire to returne into Paradise It was not without cause nor idlely set downe in the 3. of Genesis that after Adam and Eve were