remayning still notwithstanding the redemption of our sauiour Chryste and that euen to the regenerate Now so lōg as death is not yet throughly swallowed vp neither shal the sting of death which is sinne be vtterly remoued or putte away for the effecte continuing in his full force it is necessarily to bée presupposed that the cause wente before Not that this temporall resolution of oure soules and bodies the one from the other is precisely absolutely wroughte by oure sinne the rewarde whereof is rather a deathe that is euerlasting or that it abideth as a punishment that the godly suffer for the same but that sinne and deathe bée so ioyntly conioyned together that so long as the one of them taketh place the other by the course of Gods ordinaunce can not of necessiti◠be far of Suche deare affinitie there is betwixt them and such straight cosinage and alliaunce Nowe where sinne is there also is bondage as Saincte Peter telleth vs in playne wordes And where bondage is residente there truely canne be no tarrying for fréewill Where then is become at laste the fréedome of oure renued nature The harde necessitie whereof as Saincte Augustine tearmeth it precéedeth from none other fountayne or spring than the offence and trespasse of oure father Adam Surely where so euer it be if it be any as I denye not altogither but that it is this I must nedes say of it it is maimed it is mangled it is muche defaced with the remaining relikes of oure olde man. But let it be hardly what they will for what dothe Gods Prouidence anoy it Hath it a natural possibilitie wherby we can doe the workes of nature eate drinke walke and talke and suche like Let it haue so still Yet though will also be ioyned with our power oftentimes euen in suche things we come to shorte How many lustie and strong men haue appoynted on this or that day to take such or such a viage when such occasiōs sodainly haue fallen out by the will and prouidence of God that they were faine to alter their minde and tary at home Howe many haue bene on their iourney to goe this or that way and were preuented The king of Babilon purposed to inuade the Moabites yea he purposed it not only but he now made thitherward with all his power And yet euen in the midst of his iourney God tourned him an otherway and caused him to come against Ierusalem Wherupon the Prophete Ieremie crying oute I knovve Lorde sayeth hée that mannes vvaye is not his ovvne neyther is it in man to gouerne or to directe his ovvne steps And Salomon very agréeably vnto the same sayeth in déede that mannes hearte aduiseth him of the vvay vvhither he vvill go but that God guideth his steppes notvvithstanding How many purpose to do this or that which their strengthe serueth them to doe very well and yet are letted The Prophet Balaam being sent for by Balac the king of the Moabites was minded more than once to haue curssed the people of Israell But when it came to the poynte he confesseth himselfe that he coulde not no though the king would giue him an house full of siluer and gold Why then chaunceth all this For that oure will is compelled by violence No not so For so voluntary a thing is oure will that if it be forced to any thing it is no more a will. Therefore thus Austine defineth it Voluntas est animi motus cogente nullo ad aliquid vel non amittendum vel adipiscendum That is to saye Will is a mouing of the minde without compulsion either to saue or else to get somewhat Haue we also a strengthe naturall in ciuile actions pertaining to outwarde conuersation Wel may we so haue for any foraine force Yet the very Heathen men coulde say this that if mankinde haue any vnderstanding faythe vertue or concorde they coulde be povvred vpon the earthe from no vvhere else but from aboue Whereby what else doe they declare but that nature of it selfe is noughte else but a barraine soyle vtterly vnhable to yéelde fruite if the dewe of grace comming from heauen wyth hys wholesome licoure doe not moysten it Is there say they in oure refourmed nature a certaine libertie and fréedome to doe things acceptable in Gods sight I will not stand héere to alleage the falles and frailties of Goddes children nor shewe how little they are able to satisfie from pointe to pointe the comaundementes and lawes of God nor proue that euen after their regeneration they are yet by the consent of graue fathers like the soyled cloth of a woman in hir flowers All this and more to I will let alone nay I will graunte vnto thē rather of mine own accord the by faith in Chirst Iesus our workes be accepted in very déede yea moreouer that they vs ghostly holy and pure sacrifices which must be offered and dedicated vnto god For it liketh me not nowe to dispute with them in that But this will I say and say againe what so euer possibilitie we haue either in déedes naturall or morall or in actiōs which spring from faithe and be spirituall Gods Prouidence hurteth it not at all The propertie wherof is such that it conducteth vs alwayes as it were by the hand and driueth nothing by violence againste nature Therefore aliter agunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aliter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one maner of mouing haue those things that be voide of choice an other kinde of mouing haue those things that be moued of their owne arbitrement And both of them in déede serue Gods ordinance but yet not bothe after one sorte Stickes stones can not stir to or fro but a violent hande must first moue thē Therefore in them the similitude that Chrysippus vseth in the defence of destiny may take holde to witte of a roller that is caste downe a stéepe hill which althoughe it begin not to goe downe voluntarily at the first yet afterwards the swift tumbling of it downewardes is to be ascribed saith he to the roundnesse of the proportion after the which it is framed But men and reasonable creatures haue an inwarde motion of their owne not moued by compulsion as such senselesse things be but of their frée choice deliberation Neither is it consequent as Austine setteth it out very wel that if the order of all causes be certaine to God therefore nothing should be in oure fréewill For euen our wils themselues be amongste the order of those causes which be certaine to God and comprehended by his for knowledge in as much as mennes willes be also the causes of mennes woorkes Therfore it is so farre off that our willes should be excluded in this case that contrarywise I take them to be the very instruments whereby the will of God woorkes The .iij. Chapter God is not the author of sinne ANd hitherto we are burdened but as iniurious to man This accusation
thincking diligētly of the mater to trauel straight downe to my frends both I thought it no way to be any greate ease their dwelling being so far of and also as I wel considered my cōming in that hote time of the plague mighte seme neither void of danger nor suspition Therfore for want of a better chifte I concluded to retourne to Oxforde nothing doubting by Goddes helpe amongst other which remained there as well as I to prouide wel inoughe for meselfe But sodainly not long after my comming backe see I praye you what matter I had of discoragement my neighboure hard by me fell sicke of the Pestilence Here I remēbred one of Virgils verses who saythe in one of his Ecloges these wordes VVhen fired is thy neighboures wall Surely thy daunger is not small Therefore my minde gaue me that it was nowe highe time for mee to stirre and by and by as the phrase is I remoued away spedily with bag baggage not only content in this case but also verye well apaide of a lodging somwhat simpler than mine other was Thether therfore I fled and there as I mighte I tooke my rest Anone after woorde came vnto me that my laundresse also whiche washed my clothes had her house visited in like manner Wherewithall if I shoulde say I was neuer a whitte moued I dare say I shoulde hardly be beleeued of a greate meinie Howe muche more might I haue bene troubled hearing the belles knolling both day and night for such as but the day before hadde bene mery lustie and in good liking yea and seing also daily and hourely whole housholdes going with corpses by my windowe side But God alwayes be thanked and praised for it althoughe my bodye in deede was in some daunger yet my minde nathelesse was not much brought out of quiete Who as I soughte not deathe wilfully which I studied by all honest meanes to auoide so yet notwithstanding my delighte in the worlde was not so greate but that hartily I could haue yeelded to Gods calling In the meane time seeing it pleased God to deliuer me as it wer out of the Dragons mouthe I thought it my duty to embrace as it wer that light whiche seemed more than halfe in darkenesse to be offered presented to me and amōgst those euils and great perils wherewith I was then assailed to see whether I coulde pike out any good Whereuppon hauing aduised meselfe I sawe forthwith redy at mine elboe pen inke and paper and sufficient furniture of bokes thereto suche leasure oportunitie was ministred vnto me on all sides that I could not possibly wishe greater Breefely my minde being at peace and rest there was nothing that mighte hinder me from well doing Therefore that I mighte not vtterly be vnthanckefull to almightye God and at leaste wise testifie my good meaning towardes his deare espouse the congregation I was fullye purposed with my selfe to bequeathe as who saythe to the broade worlde some poore token and monumente of my good will. And in this case deare brother in our Sauioure Christe I referre it verily to thine owne conscience whether with any thing more frutefully my thought might haue ben holdē occupied than euen with this passing worthy most high and excellent consideration of that whiche can neuer be praised inoughe I say of Goddes endlesse Prouidence Whereof long before in a great meinie and now presently in meselfe suche great proofe and experience was shewed vnto me that I supposed I shuld do very euil not to make other partakers of suche wholesome lessons as thereby I meself had then learned From mine earnest trauelling wherin althoughe I knewe I mighte be discouraged by reason of myne owne insufficiencie yet was I greatly comforted by the saying of a certaine wise man affirming that in magnis voluisse sat est that is to say in the enterprising of great things it is enoughe to put forwarde a well willing purpose What paines I haue taken and what I haue broughte to passe that mighte make for the furtheraunce of the christian reader that will I gladly referre to their iudgemente that haue perused other wryters of the same matter Who by suche diligente conference as shall be voide of affecaffection and parcialitie shall quickly perceyue without muche adoe bothe what I haue added of mine own doing agreably to the doctrine of sound religion and with what choyse and circumspection I haue now and then borowed the authoritie of many other Once this wil I boldly say which I trust vpon farther trial shal be openly manifestly proued true Ther is nothing auouched in this whole work of a singular and priuate iudgement which kinde of teaching although I know it be plausible in ytching eares that take pleasure in nouelties and straunge things yet of my part I delight not in it Yea I wil say farther Ther is not one thing taught in this discourse not verie well concording with the receyued fayth of Chrystes Churche and verie consonant to the rule of holy scrypture There is nothing therfore I am wel assured that any godly learned man will mislyke The godly learned man say I and I pray thee reader marke wel my wordes for the superstitious I deny not wil in deede find great fault whō bicause they are the enimies of gods truth I would be lothe to satisfie in any wise And this hitherto speak I frely with good cōsciēce of the lerning mater of this boke Touching the fourm methode whych I haue vsed I do the christian Reader to vnderstād that in this my processe I haue folowed that kind of order which the Rethoricians Melancthon namely termeth by the name of Doctrinall Therefore wryting of Gods Prouidence bycause I would not haue men thynke that I speake as Plato dyd of hys common weale or Tullie of his perfit Orator describing that which neither is nor shal be I declare first and formoste that Gods Prouidence is not an idle and bare name of a thyng that is no wher to be had but that which is hath bene and shal be euer And hereof make I open proofe in my two former bookes alleaging in my firste booke certaine groundes and foundations whereuppon I builde this my doctrine and replying in my seconde booke againste their fonde and vaine reasons which by all meanes possible woulde impugne it In my thirde booke I procede to disclose the nature of Gods Prouidēce giuing thee reader to vnderstād that it is not all one as some ignorant think either with Destinie or else Predestination much lesse with the naked prescience and for knowledge which some only wold ascribe to Gods power Which Prouidence after I haue defined what it is at large I bothe proue and handle in the same booke euery membre and clause of the definition After this in my fourthe boke so farre as I am led by holy scripture I vtter the power of Gods gouernement opening after what sorte God ruleth the inferioure bodyes by the superioure the earthly
Philosopher for what néede I to wade in him any further wherby he attempteth to proue that which neither Christendome nor Heathenesse can be in doubt of to wit that there is a god Which being as it is in déede a moste certaine truthe it foloweth that we ascribe vnto hym some action and doing in the worlde agréeing and conformable to the diuine power of his maiestie But what can be more agréeable for the creator of the Heauens and the round earth than to preserue by his heauenly wisedome that which he hath formed by his endlesse power than that which he hathe once made to guide euer and as well to shewe his mercy in sauing as his mighte in creating For what can be more vnsauorie than that saying of the Poete Ennius Aye as I haue saide so will I not spare In heauen of gods to say there is a race Mankinde nathelesse in earth how he fare They passe I weene a straw for his case The .v. Chapter That God vvanteth neither mighte nor good vvill to gouerne the vvorlde WHat saith he hath God no regard of his creatures why so doeth he lothe them perchaunce No he saw from their first beginning that they were very good How is it then Belike either he can not gouerne them or else he wāteth a good will. For either the one or the other he must néedes say Will he say he can not Either then God is ignorant in what order and fashion it must be done or else strengthe falleth him that he can not do it To burden God with ignorāce we may not for what else were that in effecte but to say in plaine woordes he were no God And how vnlikely matier were it y he which wroughte all things with suche vnsearchable wisedome he y teacheth man knowledge he in whom all treasures of skill remaine the déep◠riches of whose vnderstanding the Apostle considering is so amazed I say how vnlikely a matier were it that he himselfe should be ignorant Againe if thou say God is vnable to discharge such a waightie function howe then was he able at the first to create all things of nothing Howe could he knitte things togither so disagréeing amongste themselues with suche an entier bande as it were of frendship as for example the fire and the water the daye and the night and make of all these suche a consent and harmonie if he can not looke to them and prouide for them or howe is he called almightie if there be any thing exempted from his power He can therfore directe vs if it please him let no Epicure euer say against that But he will not peraduenture why will he not He enuieth not hys owne woorkmanship How should he especially séeing we depende of his goodnesse much lesse cā he hate that which he hath made Nay rather the same goodnesse y caused him to make vs when we were nothing should muche more allure him to do for vs when now by his wisedome we are brought to somewhat And howe should he I pray you which is the foūtaine and wel spring of al grace be stained with suche foule vices and enormities as he so muche detesteth in his creatures I say malice and enuie Neither is it to be thoughte that for the auoiding of paines he wil neglect vs séeing Christe oure sauioure who came downe from heauen for our sakes suffered for vs suche cruell tormentes and such terrible pangs of deathe He that loued vs so déerely what wil he not doe for vs Howbeit we haue not only to speake of that care which God taketh especially for mankinde but of this general prouidence ouer al the world The welding of the gouernement wherof can not certainly be harder to be atchéeued than the wonderfull woorkes of his creation Whereof it is sayde in the Psalmes he spake but the woord they were made he commaunded and they were created For true is that saying of the wise Pythias which Herodotus rehearseth to his commendation In God it is all one laboure to say a thing and to do it And as Aristophanes said almost with the same woordes to conceiue in minde and to expresse in déedes Séeing therfore he is not spotted with any blemish or staine of ignorance who only is the author of all wisedom Seing he is almighty and therfore hable to doe all things Againe séeing he enuyeth not his owne workmanship that setteth out his glory he himself being blotted with no malice but preserueth al things especially the faithfull séeing also that nothing is hard for him to accomplishe but he is able to doe with much ease what so euer it shall please him to take in hand No dout he careth for the whole world and leaueth nothing maysterlesse or without a guide The .vj. Chapter That God gouerneth the vvorld it appereth by the commodities that vve receaue by the bodies that are aboue and by the foure Elementes WHerin if any man be yet so frowarde that he will not heare of it or so dul the he knoweth not what it meaneth or so gracelesse that he cānot broke it or so thanklesse and vnkinde to god the he will not acknowledge it and confesse it let the vnspeakeable cōmodities that he enioyeth by the sea the lande by the fresh aire by the moone the firmamēt make him to blush to be red for starke shame For euen as kings princes take tributes subsidies of their subiects So thou of euery one of gods creatures reapest as great profite as thou couldest desire For the sunne is the original cause as wel of light as of heat ripeneth the corne and the frute wherby our weak bodies be susteined The moone w hir borowed light tēpereth as it were the darknesse of y night season and when the sunne is gone past our orizont conducteth the wayfarers in their iourney The rest of the starres w their rising and falling in their course shewe to the inhabitants of the earth the four sundry seasons of the yere the winter sommer spring and haruest And in the sea they be guides to them that saile to their earnestly wished hauen Shall we extenuate these great guifts of God or deriue their originall from a wrong foundation which we esteme as slender being of so precious and exceding valew what shall we say of this that Patricius mencioneth in his third booke de regis regni institutione For saith he so sone as we come into the worlde of the Sunne we receaue a spirite of the Mone a body of the star Mars bloud of Mercurie wit of Iupiter desire of Venus an inclination to Venereal actes for the encreasing and multiplying of mankinde Whereof euery one of them at the houre of death we seeme to make due restitution And to speake somewhat of the elements the aire being receiued by the longues assuageth the heat that is about the hart and when it is turned altered into rain it watereth the earth w swete shoures The same aire with the
a great chafe proclaymed warre agaynst God commaunding all his subiects that were skilled either in the crossebowe or the long bowe or were cunning in flinging of the darte or any other instruments of warfare vppon payne of death to bring foorthe their artillarie and to bende all their ordinaunce agaynst the skie What will yée more the fonde Emperour founde as foolishe subiectes that fayled not in all poyntes to doo hys will. But what followed All their dartes and arrowes falling downe agayne vppon their owne heades slewe a great number of the common people assembled by all likelyhoode to sée this so wise a spectacle Haue we not nowe trowe ye a like case in hande yes surely haue we For these curious carpers that can neuer be satisfied nor content bicause they stande iolily in their owne conceyts and thinke nothing well ordered wherein they them selues haue not to do beginne to murmure and picke quarels in great haste to shoote out their foolishe boltes agaynst God and his maruellous Prouidence farre passing the reach of all mens wittes But in the meane time what get they by it When they woulde wreake their téene and spitte oute their poysoned malyce agaynst God they may be well assured they mysse fowlly of their purpose For in steade of preuayling agaynst God their blasphemous slaunders like mightie dartes and sharpe arrowes lighting heauily and violently on their owne heades turne vtterly to their owne destruction The .ij. Chapter Our vvilles bee not forced by Gods Prouidence whereof they be instruments BVT nowe lette vs beginne to ioyne battayle and to approche somewhat nygher to their armies First what maner of menne bée they and howe come they furnished and appoynted Certaynely there is no cause why we shoulde feare them what face soeuer they sette on the matter For eyther they bée suche kinde of menne as the famous aunciente father Clemens Alexandrinus speaketh of in hys seuenth booke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 VVho not perceyuing the libertie of mans soule which touching voluntarie actions can not bee compelled to any thraldome and taking to hearte thinges done by vnskilfull iniustice thinke there is no God or else suche as falling to sensualitie or else besides their expectation lighting on some lamentable misfortunes and pitifully bewayling their owne state through impaeiencie runne into the lyke follies either grossely professing playne Atheisme or else if they confesse there is a God yet saying at leastwise that he seeth not all thinges which be done all tending in effecte to one poynte For what engines of artillarie bring they foorthe or wyth what rammes woulde they batter downe the mightie walles of Gods Prouidence Firste and foremoste séeming to bée very carefull for mannes state and presuming they shoulde be better ruled by their owne wils than by Gods. Oh say they if this doctrine shoulde take place what shoulde then become of oure frée wyll Loe yée here theÌ„ buylders of the greate towre of Babylon crying out Let vs goe make vs a citie and a towre so high that the toppe may reach to heauen and saying as it is in S. Iames his Epistle To daye and to morrowe we wyll goe into suche a citie and there we will spend our time a whole yere and we will make oure bargaynes and we wil be gayners A proude vaunte I ensure you of an arrogant sort of men But no force God willing you shall sée them scattered by and by Onely I will demaunde of them this question Of what libertie doo they speake is it of that which we receyued in our first creation No man can chalenge that which wil acknowledge him selfe raunsomed by Iesus Chryst For if we be redéemed it is necessarily presupposed that we were once captiues if we were captiues we surely loste the libertie which so fréely was giuen vs in oure creation Ille enim captiuus dicitur sayth Chrysostomus expounding these wordes of the .xxv. Psalme Redime me miserere nâ—â—i qui efficitur noÌ„ potestatis suae sed ditionis alienae qui suggestionibus â—ius subditus est That is he is rightely sayde to be a captiue that is become not at his owne frée choyce any more to doo what he liste him selfe but at an other mans ordering and disposition vtterly bounde to do that whiche it shall please his kéeper to put into his head Were we captiues then Yea we were so in déede withoute question and we were captiues not to the Turke or any forrayne Prince but euen to the Prince which ruleth in the ayre and worketh in suche stubborne and wilfull children as woulde néedes be gouerned by their owne will. Therefore touching the lybertie of oure firste creation wée may as soone pype in an yuie leafe as any more haue authoritie to make clayme to that Nam libero arbitrio male vtens homo se perdidit ipsum For when man in Paradise had abused his fréewil he bothe loste him selfe and his fréewill too sayth Sainct Austine What libertie then speake they of in Gods name is it of that which Chryste hathe procured vs by the benefite of oure newe byrthe in Baptisme Neither is that truely so perfecte in thys lyfe but that wée also whiche haue receyued the firste fruites of the spirite sighyng and groning in oure selues may still giue attendaunce for oure adoption that is to say the redemption of oure bodies from many frayle imperfections that they carry with them iustly crying out with Sainct Paule Ah wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of thys death Whiche béeing spoken of sainct Paule in saincte Paules owne person as by the coherencie of the text appeareth and S. Austine in many places coÌ„fesseth reknowledging the same also in his retractations induced as he sayth by the graue authoritie of other godly fathers his predecessours whom he also mentioneth by name writing agaynst the Pelagians whiche I say then béeing spoken of sainct Paule in his owne person whome no manne doubteth to haue bene the very childe of God what shall then any of vs that are regenerate estéeme or déeme of his owne selfe but that at the least he is as muche intangled as he was and wrapte in the wretchednesse of bondage Neither yet doe I therefore derogate from the benefite of oure Sauioure Chryste GOD forbidde Whome the sonne of God hath made frée those I knowe are frée in very déede But from what From all kynde of myserable thraldome that oure greate graundsires guyle hathe brought vppon vs from sicknesse from perill from anguishe of mynde from aduersitie from nakednesse and famine from all kinde of sinnes and infirmities from death it selfe Yea truely But when in this life Yea sir by hope euen in this lyfe So S. Paule also speaketh saying VVe are saued by hope For else should I not only striue against reason but also fight openly with our coÌ„mon sense For who séeth not that deathe sicknesse and afflictioÌ„ with al other kind of calamities be
louingly so amiably so hartily wée shall be entertayned that all that blessed societie that hath gone before vs shall reioyce and all heauen shall ring of it for very ioye Tell me nowe here my déere brethren is it reason thinke you wée should enioy suche a portion prouided for the electe and will we disdayne yet in our lyfe time the poore state of the electe Should we presume to reigne with our Sauioure Chryste And shall we take scorne to serue with our sauiour Chryst would we be in glory with our Lord Iesus Chryst make we daunger to beare Chrystes reproche would we so faine be partakers of Christes blessed life will we not beare in our bodies Christes bitter death We can not do so we may not do so it wil neuer be Wherfore to knit vp briefly with a short clause in no wise let vs be like that vnthriftie Csau who like a dolte made away his birthrighte I am ashamed to say for howe small a trifle I say let vs not forgo that which is euerlasting for that that lasteth but the twinkling of an eye that which we may surely truste to for that which sodenly slideth away euen then when we thinke we haue the best holde of it pure golde for brickle clay the treasure of life for the rewarde of death The thirde booke of Gods Prouidence The first Chapter Making a recapitulation of the former boke he sheweth that Gods Prouidence standeth still inuincible GOD alwayes be thanked for his gracious Prouidēce that he hath so well conducted vs whyles we sayled so dangerously amongest the rockes that he hath so assisted vs and borne vs out whiles we endured such a continual and cruell conflicte For nowe the swelling seas that eare while were thoughte likely to ouerwhelme vs are well quieted and calmed againe the sturdy rockes be remoued and our passage that was so combersome by reason of oure resisting foes lyeth playne and open for vs on all sides With good cause therefore mighte I vse the wordes of the 93 Psalme The floudes haue risen O Lorde the floudes haue lifte vp their voyce the flouds haue lifte vp their waues The waues of the sea are mightie and rage horribly but yet the Lorde that dwelleth on hyghe is mightier Where nowe are they become that tolde vs we haue taken away frée wyll For we haue answered them that mans chiefe fréedome is to be ruled and ordered by the will of god Whose Prouidence taketh not away our frée wils but directeth them nor withstandeth them but conducteth them nor forceth them by any violence but vseth them rather as to his diuine Maiestie it séemeth best Or where nowe will they shewe their face that affirme we make God the proper worker and causer of our sinne for contrarywise we haue playnely proued by the assertions of the schole writers them selues that God poureth no malice into mens hearts but bewrayeth it in making it to come to lighte nor causeth vs to sinne and do euill wherevnto we are prone inoughe of our owne accorde but so ordereth our doinges whyles we sinne that we serue as hys instrumentes to that ende and purpese which he hath ordeyned Or who be they that dare say and stand to it that we disanull prayer aduise-taking or frustrate any wholesome prouided remedies For we say rather they be the ordinarie meanes whereby God executeth his iudgementes Who not onely hathe determined what he will do but the very maner also he hath foreappoynted whereby he will bring vs to hys purposed ende Or who complayneth any more of the distinction of the poore and the riche or findeth faulte that all menne be not equalles For we haue shewed that no state is so incommodious which Gods goodnesse hath not relieued many sundry wayes that no degrée or vocation is so wealthy or well at ease that hath cause to be puffed vp w any vayne conceate Or finally who blameth the euill that turneth to good or mislyketh prosperitie the pittefall of the wicked or affliction and anguishe the fyle and touchestone of the godly Yet these were the weapons whiche oure aduersaries chiefly trusted and the engines of their artillarie wherewith we were moste assayled Then maugre the beardes of all Epicures Gods prouidence remayneth a sure castle and bulwarke of defense shot at in déede very terribly but nowhere hit and very cruelly threatned but without taking harme The .ij. Chapter That Gods Prouidence is neither Destinie nor Predestination and what it is SEing then we haue proued Gods Prouidence by diuerse sundry reasons and at large haue answered their cauillations that repine and murmure at the same it followeth that we now perfourme in due order that parcell of our promise which is behinde And truely thus farre haue we prosecuted oure discourse as god which willed me to go forwarde hath chiefly put it into my minde Neuerthelesse what Gods Prouidēce is wherof I haue holden so long a processe oportunitie yet serued vs not to define The doing whereof with other thinges néedefull to bee discussed béeing reserued of necessitie for this place it might nowe be required of vs as of duetie that wée should attempt at lestwise to go through with it What is then this Prouidence which we take in hande Some odiously burden vs with the name of destinie other séeme to knowe little difference betwixt Prouidence and the doctrine of Predestination Whose errour by a short conference might be quickly knowen For first what make they of destinie wherwith so bitterly we are charged Certaynely as it lyketh Chrysippus one of the chiefest of the Philosophers amongest the Stoikes It is an euerlasting and vnauoydable course of the world and a chayne that is faste wrapped and tangled in it selfe by euerduring orders of causes the one following directly by the force of the other whereof it is lynked so inuiolably that by no meanes it can be pulled in sunder Wherewith Homer that auncient Greke Poet maketh Iupiter so strongly to be withholoē that he cōplaineth miserably crying out that when he would he is not able to go against it So then as they fondly set out the matier not creatures must bowe at Gods becke but god rather must be subiecte to his creatures than the whiche there can be nothing imagined more out of course Therfore the Prophet Ieremie speaking of it vtterly dasheth and disgraceth both Chrysippus his definitiō saying in the person of God himselfe that we should not learne the maner and way of the heathen nor be afrayde of the signes of heauen though the heathen be afrayde of suche And Gregorie mentioning the same mattier in his Homilie made vpon the Epiphanie Be it farre sayth he from the heartes of the faythfull to auouch that destinie is any thing no doubt meaning Destinie in that sense here before determined by Chrysippus For else know I not the contrary but that Austine might be wel inough alowed in the which he writeth of it in his fifte