of Spirituall courage in not daring effectually to aspire to so glorious an Attempt 68. Wee must not here forget two Notable Saints which as the Doctour confidently pretends have given him sufficient advantage so to denigrate their persons as by them to cast an aspersion on the Church These are a Holy Widow and a Virgin S. Brigit and S. Catharine of Siena Both these had Supernaturall Revelations therefore says the Doctour they were Fanaticks But moreover their Revelations touching the Conception of our Blessed Lady do contradict one the other and the Revelations of both are allowed and of one confirmed by the Church in a Councill and by consequence the Doctour with assurance pronounces the Church to be a favourer not only of Fanaticism but Errour also To this purpose the Doctour 69. Hereto I answer 1. That all Catholicks acknowledge both these to have been Saints 2. And that each of them hath been favoured with Supernaturall Revelations the publick Office of the Church testifyes Thus much is confessed but it is utterly denyed that the Church does so approve them as to forbid any one to make iust exceptions against them as wee see many Writers on both sides have done she judges they may in generall be usefull to stirr up devotion in Readers minds but she does not confirme them as infallible For how could it be known to the Pope or Councill that any Speciall Revelation made or pretended to be made to another was from God unles the person also testify them by Miracles And it is observable that when examination is made of Miracles in order to the Canonization of any Saint the testimony of women will not be received Naturally imagination is stronger in them then judgement and whatsoever is esteemed by them to be pious is easily concluded by them to be true This I say upon supposition that such Revelations were not pretended by persons interessed on both sides of the Controversy about the Immaculate Conception And particularly touching S. Catharine of Siena Suares affirms That not any who have written her life have made mention of this Revelation It will suffise therefore to set down here what two illustrious Catholick Writers have declared touching this Point The former is S. Antoninus mentioned by the Doctour If you say saith he that some Saints have had a Revelation of these things as S. Brigit it is to be observed that other Saints who have wrought Miracles as S. Catharin of Siena have had a Revelation of the contrary And since true Prophets doe sometimes think that a thing proceeds from Divine Revelation which they utter of themselves there is not inconvenience to say that such Revelations were not from God but human dreames An example hereof may be found in the Prophet Nathan speaking to David proposing to him his dessign to build a Temple to God For David though he answered him by a Spirit of Prophecy the contrary hereof after wards appeared The other is Cardinal Baronius who treating of certain Revelations of S. Brigit and S. Mathildis hath these words I doe indeed honour and Venerate as is due those two Saints but touching the Revelations had by them or rather ascribed to them I receive only those which the Church receives which we know cannot approve things so repugnant 70. I am sorry I cannot impute it to so harmles a Principle as ignorance that the Doctour speaking of two Writers who both of them rejected these pretended Revelations of both these Saints as illusions and fancies adds What becoms then of the Popes and Councills Infallibility who have approved both By which words an unwary Reader will not doubt but that an Oecumenical Councill had made a Canon with an Anathema against all those who should not acknowledge all the Revelations of S. Brigit to have been Divine and the belief of them necessary to Salvation Whenas all that was done by the Councill was upon occasion of Invectives made against those Revelations by many Catholicks to require Ioannes a Turrecremata to peruse and give his judgment of them which being favourable the Councill saith he approved them that is freely permitted them to be read as contayning nothing contrary to Faith and good Manners Notwithstanding which kind of approbation we see liberty taken and with leave enough from the Church by many Writers to decry both the one and the other and there is scarce a Catholick alive that thinks he has an obligation to believe either of them §. 4. Visions c. no grounds of believing Doctrines among Catholicks 71. THe Doctour thinks it advantageous to his cause against the Catholick Church that it should be believed that Visions Revelations c. are made by Catholicks grounds of believing Severall points of Doctrin as Purgatory Transsubstanciation and Auricular Confession Indeed if he could prove that any such Points of Doctrine have been or the Point of the Conception of our B. Lady should hereafter be declared Articles of Faith upon no surer grounds than modern Miracles or Revelations it would have been the Maister-piece of all that he has or ever shall write But this he durst not say explicitely though perhaps he is willing his Readers should understand that to have been his meaning For then almost all the Councils of Gods Church would have confuted him since they professe that the only ground of their Faith is Divine Revelation made to the Church by Christ and his Apostles and conveyed to posterity in Scripture and Tradition 72. Now this the Doctour being I am sure not able to contradict is it to be esteemed a preiudice to Catholick Faith that Almighty God to confound Hereticks and establish the belief of Catholicks should in severall succeeding ages afford particular Revelations or enable his servants to work Miracles And that he has done so we have such a Cloud of Witnesses that credit must be denyed to History in generall if none of such Witnesses must be admitted As for the Doctour the only expedient made use of by him to invalidate their testimony is to produce it in a stile of Raillery 73. As for the instituting Festivalls for example of the Conception of our Blessed Lady c. it cannot be denyed but it is a Lawfull Church-institution and might at any time on any occasion be appointed And if on some Revelation supposed Divine an occasion was given to the Pope to ordain it this can be no prejudice to it being a Glorifying of God for the Blessed Virgin the Mother of our Lord her being either preserved as some Catholicks say or at least Cleansed as others from the common pollution of Originall Sin at her Conception without any determining which of these two hapned to her and so the Festivall is equally observed by Catholicks of either Opinion The like may be said of the Feast of Corpus Christi of S. Michael the Archangëll c. by none of which the least alteration was made in the Common Faith 74.
the contrary saying That because there was no King in Israel everyone went severall ways doing what was good in his own eyes So that by the Doctours way of proceeding one would almost believe that his meaning was that our Saviour had no intention that his Church should be one and consequently that Generall Councills which took great paines to procure Vnity transgressed therein our Saviours order 103. But all Protestants are not of the Doctours mind for though they generally make Scripture not only the Rule but judge also of Faith when controverted Yet they do not so neglect Vnity but that they profess a willingnes to submit their judgments for the sence of Scripture to a Lawfull generall Councill This the Doctour cannot doe now that he has sett forth his Principles unless he will confess the foundation of his Protestant Religion to be unsound He might well enough have done it before whilst he was a Defender of Archbishop Lawd but now it appears that the Archbishops Principles and his are not the same nor probably ever were and I doe assure my self that if the Archbishop were alive none could be more ready to condemn them 104. Other Protestants therefore refuse not submission to Councells as may appear by their confident demanding them For Gesner speaking in their name thus writes We with the loudest voice we can cry out again and again and with all our power we humbly and earnestly beg of Christian Kings and Emperours that a free Christian and Lawfull Councill may be convâ—ked in which the Scripture may be permitted to be the Iudge of Controversies And our Countreyman Sutcliff confidently cryes out that Catholicks are afraid of Councills Yet all the world sees that if a Lawfull Generall Councill were called according to the order of all past lawfull Councills even those received by Protestants they must necessarily be condemned 105. This some others more wise then these loud Sollicitours for Councills saw and therefore when a Councill was ready to be called they providing for themselves would not permit any Point to be decided by Catholick Bishops alone but euery Minister yea Lay-men must have votes in them and a plurality of Suffrages was not to prevayle but an equall number on both sides must dispute and Lay Judges decide that is declared Hereticks must enioy greater Priviledges then Catholicks and instead of a Councill there must be an Assembly of wild beasts consulting to establish Unity in Gods Church which it seems was only to be procured by confusion and not by Order Therefore a certain Lutheran said well of Calvinists calling for a Lawfull Councill that they did imitate a well known Buffon calld Marcolphus who was wont to say That after all his search he could never find a fitt tree upon which he could willingly be content to be hanged Such a tree would a Legitimate Councill prove to the Doctours Principled Protestants 106. Yet there is one expedient for producing Unity which the Doctour may doe well to advise upon for if it take it will certainly have that effect even the Quakers themselves and Fifth Monarchists will not refuse to be of the Doctours Church if they be not already Nay which is more the Catholicks will come in too This is no invention of mine but was many years since suggested by one of the Doctours Protestants Robert Robertson an English Anabaptist of Amsterdam This surely well meaning man perceiving how litle success Scripture alone had to vnite Sects agreeing only in opposing Popery in the year sixteen hundred and two printed a Book in Holland in which he proposed to them all this means of Vnity viz. That they should all ioyn in a common Petition to the States to give them leave to assemble themselves in some Town or field and there each Sect severally to pray to God one after another that he would shew some evident Miracle for decision of their Controversies and declaring which among them had the Truth which he supposed vndoubtedly was not among Catholicks And to the end the Devill might not enter in and deceive them with a false Miracle the man told them he had thought of one allowed by Scripture and which he was sure the Devill could not work namely to make the Sun stand still for a certain considerable time not doubting but that God of his great Goodnes would not refuse to condescend to the Petition of such devout servants of his in a matter so iust and necessary 107. I suppose the Doctour will not deny this design if succesfull to be a most powerfull and unfaileable Mean of producing Vnity which his Principles have utterly destroyed and rendred impossible if not unlawfull And let him with all his wit and invention devise any other more probable since the Catholick Churches Authority is reiected by him and them 108. Notwithstanding all this the Doctour according to his custom and nature is confident that he has demonstrated that the Church of Rome can have no advantage in Point of Vnity above his medley Church Now to the end any impartiall Reader may be a competent Judge between us I will briefly set down the Instruments and Means of Vnity left by our Lord to his Church to 〈◊〉 end the Truth of this Article of our Faith I believe one Catholick Church may remain to the worlds end unalterable 1. Catholicks do ground their Faith on Gods revealed Will in Scripture interpreted by Tradition 2. They believe that God according to his Promise will lead and preserve his Church in all necessary Truth or in the true sense of Scripture 3. That for this purpose he foreseeing that Heresies and Schisms grounded on a false sense of Scripture would in after times come has established in his Church an unfaileable succession of Teachers of his Truth with whom he will continue till the worlds end 4. It is his Will and Command that all Christians should obey these Teachers who are to give an account of their soules 5. These Teachers constitute the Churches Hierarchy 6. The Vniversall Church is represented by these Teachers assembled in a Lawfull Generall Councill 7. Such a Councill therefore is the Supreme Tribunall of the Church from whose Decisions there must be no Appeale 8. But because the difficulties of making such Assemblies are extreamly great therefore it is necessary there should be a standing Authority with power to prevent Heresies and Schisms in the intervalls of Councills arising and disturbing the Church 9. This ordinary Authority is established in the Supreme Pastour the Bishop of Rome 10. His Iurisdiction therefore as to such an end extends it self to the whole Church and is exercised in taking care that the Ordinances of Generall Councills be not by any transgressed and also in case any Heresies arise or that any Controversies in Causis Majoribus can not be otherwise ended either to determine the Points of Catholick Truth opposed or at least to impose Silence upon disputants and Litigants till he can assemble a
at the best a few Sensuall incestuous Fryars abroad and Popular Preachers at home yea as we have lately seen even Mechanicks Souldiers or any other ignorant persons actuated by the Spirit of Pride and Licentiousness to begin a Sect fitt for the palats and complexions of Seekers after Novelties 162. Matters therefore standing thus in these later times can any rationall man be perswaded that if any of those Holy Fathers cited by the Doctour had lived among us or if such Heresies had been spred among their Disciples and pretended to have been evidently deduced from Gods Word they would have been so zealous in their Exhortations to a promiscuous reading of Scriptures But how much think we would such their zeale have been cooled in case such an Architect of Principles as the Doctour is had been in Vogue in their times For Principles they are which evidently contain the most pernicious Soule-destroying Heresy that ever assaulted Gods Church Principles which banish Peace Charity Humility and Obedience vtterly from the Church and State Principles which if through Gods judgment they should generally prevaile what think you would become of our Saviours Promise for there would not be left in the world one Church at all true or false Since where every one is acknowledged the only inventer and Iudge of his own Faith there may meet a Multitude but it is no Church none having right over another errour and truth vertue and vice being equally Iustifiable Lastly these are Principles the admirable vanity of which I think was never paralleld by any Heresiarch but a certain Rhetorius mentioned by Philastrius who taught That all Heresies were in their precepts of life innocent and in their Doctrins true Omnes Hereses rectê ambulare vera docere 163. Non sum ambitiosus in malis I may with a good conscience protest that it is only Truth and a Charitable compassion to soules miserably seduced by so Comprehensive a Heresy as is contained in the Dostours Principles which hath moved mee to fix such a brand upon them Not that I suspect that he would approve such consequences but I am confident with all his skill he cannot avoyd them 164. Now I must acquaint the Doctour that my iust indignation against these Principles is heightned from my own unhappines if not guilt in being the first who gave occasion that they should be known and received into the Church of England This I am sure neither he nor perhaps any one now alive does know and therefore I will acquaint him with the true Story concerning them 165. As I remember it was in the year 1638. that I had occasion to accompany a Noble freind in a iourney from Dublin to London When we were ready to return I went to a Booksellers shop to search out some bâ—oks to be carried back into Ireland and among others I bought Daillé du vray usage des Peres a Book at that time not at all taken notice of That Book the same night I shewd to my Noble dear Lord Lucius Lord Falkland who perusing and liking the Contents of it desired me to give it him which I willingly did About a month after my return into Ireland he sent me a most civill letter full of thanks both in his own but especially in M. Chillingworths name for that small present telling me that that litle Book had saved him a most tedious labour of reading almost twenty great Volumes 166. This Mysterious speech I easily understood For M. Chillingworth a litle before was returned out of Flanders where he had professed himself a Catholick and being sent for by Archbishop Laud was strictly examined by him touching his Religion And whether he went to Masse or Common Prayer to whom he gaue this account That he had entertained such scruples touching Catholick Religion and withall was as yet so vnsatisfyed with the grounds of the English Protestant Religion that at the present his conscience would not permitt him to goe either to Masse or to Common Prayer And therefore with his Graces leaue he was resolued to spend a year or two in a solitude and the Study of Greek and Latin Fathers fully purposing to embrace that Religion which appeared to him most consonant to what the Fathers generally taught The Archbishop much commended his design and dismissed him with his blessing and a promise also that he should enioy entire liberty to prosecute so laudable a Study Very busy in this Study I found and left him in England But it was presently after interrupted by that vnlucky Book of Daillé which perswaded him to a light esteem of the Holy Fathers vpon whose authority he would no longer rely But yet this did not bring him into the Church of England so as to think himself obliged to belieue her Doctrins and whose authority he saw was much inferiour to the other and from all subordinate but diuided English Sects he had a horrible aversion and contempt Therefore without any long demurr he fixed his mind vpon Socinian grounds which he afterwards shewed in a litle Book of one of them which was an Answer to certaine Theses Posnanienses which Theses as J remember asserted the Authority of the Catholick Church in opposition whereto the Socinian reiecting all Externall Authority layd these very grounds of his Religion That in all necessary Doctrins the Scripture was clear Therefore euery sober Enquirer might with ease find them in it without any help of a Teacher or at least any obligation to believe him Vpon these grounds M. Chillingworth dilated his Discourses with much art and gracefullness of Stile in his Book against a learned Catholick writer And the same grounds so discoursed on Doctour Stillingfleet has contracted Methodically into his Principles And both these Books though manifestly destroying all Authority in the English or any other Church haue been patiently and quietly suffred yea commended by Superiours here to their infinit dammage as is seene at this day which dammage is J belieue more sensible to them since they see no considerable prejudice to Catholicks by them for J doe not remember to haue heard of any one Established Catholick Shaken in his Faith by such grounds Though I confess they obctructed a good while my entrance into the Catholick Church 167. Now it being certain that these Princi ples came originally into England from the Socinians a Sect maintaining a Fundamentall Heresy it is of small edification and less glory to the English Church in case as the Doctour pretends his Faith and hers are built on the same Principles that she should consequently acknowledge herself forced to desert the grounds vpon which she proceeded since the Reformation as being grounds by M. Chillingworths discovery found to be Sandy and ruinous and consequently acknowledge all her Articles of belief all her Laws Constitutions Canons c. misgrounded The consideration of this besides disreputation cannot but raise great Scruples in the minds of her Disciples and Subiects till she not only disavow
established among us and in veneration to whom such a world of Religious houses and Churches have been erected and enriched with vast possessions I can not without renouncing my Duty as a Christian Religious man and an English man by silence conspire to his dishonour the rather because to my best remembrance I never knew that any of the English Church since the Reformation did ever cast any scornfull Aspersions on his Memory and I believe the Doctour will scarce find any one hereafter willing to imitate his malignant Ingratitude 15. Now what is it that the Doctour layes to the charge of S. Benedict The whole Charge consists in repeating after a ridiculons manner certain passages of S. Benedicts life written by S. Gregory As 1. how being a child he by his Prayers obtained a Miracle for the consolation of his Nurse a Monument of which Miracle remained publickly Visible many years after 2. How he lived three years with wonderfull austerity in a cave unknown to any but S. Romanus who to the Devills despight furnished him with necessary food 3. How he rolled himself in thorns to conquer his amorous Passions 4. How he was enabled by Supernaturall Revelations and Lights to spy out Devills to discover things absent and foretell things to come to be a Spectatour of the Soule of his Sister S. Scholastica in the shape of a Dove going up to Heaven and to see all the world in uno radio Solis c. 16. By this brief Account of the life and actions of S. Benedict all which the Doctour expects that his Readers should esteem to be meer fanaticall Lyes and forgeries his intention seems to be to convict both S. Benedict and S. Gregory of lying against the Holy Ghost and ascribing to a Divine Power pretended Miracles Visions c. which either were not at all or were Sleights of Leger-de-main But what arguments does the Doctour give to disparage S. Gregories relation Will he deny that any Miracles were wrought by Gods servants in that Age If so he will find it a hard task to defend himself against so many Saints learned and prudent men who have testified that they have been eye-witnesses of many He will not surely affirm though he is bold enough to affirm anything that such Miracles if reall were Proofs that the Workers of them were Fanaticks and Deceivers These things considered where will he hope to find Readers who can be inwardly perswaded that what S. Gregory relates is sufficiently confuted by his scornfull manner of repeating it in the new stile of a Theological Scarron Or to iudge this a concluding argument S Benedict wrought Miracles was favoured with supernaturall Visions and Revelations therefore he is manifestly convicted of Fanaticism and upon that Fanaticism he instituted his Religious Order for which he framed a Fanaticall Rule 17. Now by Fanaticism the Doctour ays he intends an Enthusiastick way of Religion that is a Religion built upon falsly pretended Inspirations Illuminations c. Which Definition being approved with what shew of reason can the Doctour accuse S. Benedict of Fanaticism For did S. Benedict frame to himself a New Religion Did he make any the least alteration in the Religion conveyed to him by Tradition and professed by the whole Church Had any of his Visions or Revelations any influence on his Religion to make him introduce any innovations How was he then an Enthusiast 18. But S. Gregory affirms that he had Revelations Inspirations and the Guift of discerning Spirits And these things the Doctor will needs call Enthusiasms Surely he will not deny but that God may yea often has conferred on his servants Revelations of his will in some speciall circumstances which are not in the Doctors sence Enthusiasms Neither will I on the other side deny but many persons even in the Catholick Church have bin seduced by the Devill and their own pride to pretend to lights received from God which were either effects of a distempered fancy or suggestions of the Devill The question therefore is whether S. Benedicts visions and Revelations came the former or the latter way But it is no question touching the Doctours Iudgement in this case for certainly he durst not decide them if he thought or but suspected that they came from God 19. I beseech him now that he would examine his own conscience whether I will not say convincing proofs but rational grounds may not be affoorded that S. Benedicts Visions and Revelations were truely divine considering 1. the Innocence purity and vninterrupted fervour of devotion conspicuous in S. Benedict from his Infancie to his death 2. The admiration in which the age wherein he lived held him both for his piety and the stupâ—nduous favours conferred on him by Almighty God Will the Doctor now say that all that age and all ages following have been deluded by an Hypocrit and Counterfeit Enthusiast and that himself was the only person Clear-sighted enoug to discover the cheat not only all Christians living in his time but even the Pagan Goths had him in veneration By what light now after above a thousand years has he seen that the whole world besides himself have been deluded Hee will easily giue me leave to say assuredly it was not by a supernaturall light least he himself should be suspected an Enthusiast And for a naturall light to justifie him he has shewed us none having concealed the reasons moving him to make a Saint soe glorious in the esteem of the Christian world the obiect of his derision 20. I verily believe the Doctor would have been easily induced to have spared the person of S. Benedict and so of the other Saints had not a saying of Cardinal Bellarmin afflicted his mind and stirred up his choler viz. That Religious orders were at first instituted by S. Benedict S. Romualdus S. Bruno S. Dominick and S. Francis by the inspiration of the holy Ghost This was a sayeing insupportable to a mind by education and wordly interest preveÌ„ted with a strong preiudice and therefore all books and Legends must be searched and everie crifling passage and circumstance perhaps indiscreetly inserted any where by Authors must be made use of to disgrace the Saints and to prove them Enthusiasts Though all the world besides haue them in veneration 21. Now to enter into dispute concerning their personall qualities with such an Adversary wil bee to offend against Charity by giving him occasion of reviling yet more Gods most beloued perfect servants The most commodious way then to make a true judgement of them will be to examine their fruits For by their fruits saith our Saviour they will be known 22. Therefore to determine whether it was by Gods Inspiration that they instituted their respective Orders lett those who doubt yea those who scarce think it lawfull to doubt 1. Examine their severall Rules according to which their Disciples oblige themselves to conform their lives and actions And. 2. consider whether God has acknowledged them for his
in a wonderfull Extasy he found himself present in Paradise and there saw and heard as he thought God only knows what Now what soever it was that he saw and heard he was no doubt willing to have communicated it to his brethren but he had not the power to doe it No human language could afford words to express matters so elevated and Divine For if it could I am assured he who was the greatest master of language that perhaps ever was had not failed to do it Nay more which still encreases the wonder though he professes that he really saw and heard these inexplicable glorious things yet he could not determin whether all the while his corporall sences externall or internall were employed in this Divine Visitation 44. This was surely according to the Doctours grounds the greatest Fanatick that ever was yea the father of all Fanaticks Yet the Doctour dares not call him so after he is told that this was S. Paul and that he it was who describes the Revelations communicated to him by Gods Divine Spirit describes them I say by not describing them but by professing that no human language could describe them nor humane fancy comprehend them This certainly the Doctour will not deny to have been a Passive Vnion so derided by him of S. Pauls soule with God for he contributed nothing actively either to the procuring or enioying of it 45. If therefore Mystick Writers many of them persons both of great Sanctity and Learning in endeavouring to describe what passed in their soules during Vnions far inferiour to those of S. Paul are forced to make Expressions out of the common road and not agreeing with School Philosophy if observing that in pure Contemplative Prayer their own operations and the infusions of Gods Spirit are so in time in the soule that it seems to them that there is as it were a Region of it beyond the discovery of Philosophy which they think fit to call the Apex mentis and Fundus animae the Doctour might without any further guilt have abstained from imputing Fanaticism to Ludo vicus Blosius or M. Cressy for transcribing such expressions But this is a Sycophancy inexcusable in the Doctour who mentions such Mystical phrases on purpose to deride them as unintelligible Non-sence and at the same time omitts the setting down expressions which interpret them 46. But there is one speciall Phrase which above the rest cited by M. Cressy exposes him to the Doctours utmost contempt This is where it is sayd that In the supreme Degree of Contemplative Prayer the soule is so united to God as if nothing were existent but God and the soule Yea so far is the soule from reflecting on her own existence that it seems to her God and she are not distinct but one only thing This is called by some Mysticks an Vnion of nothing with nothing in which the soule comes to a feeling of her not being and by consequence of the not being of Creatures the which is indeed a reall Truth True says the Doctour this is indeed either a reall Truth or else Intollerable Non-sense 47. Now I suppose it is not for the Doctours interest to seem to have received any satisfaction from persons iniured by him Therefore addressing myself to any indifferent Reader I doe affirm that the most supreme affirmative Notion that we can have of God is that which is implyed in his most adorable incommunicable name of Iehova or as himself interprets it Sum qui Sum I am what I am which imports an infinite Vniversall Plenitude of Being Therefore as the Schoole Doctours say if we hold to the Notion of Being between the Being of God and the limited participated Being of Creatures there is an infinite distance and by consequence Creatures compared with God have more of Not-being then they have of Being in which regard their denomination so considered ought rather to be taken from not-being then from being Thus the Sthooles which if they speak Nonsense for my part I think they doe not yet surely the nonsense is not intolerable 48. But moreover Mystick Divines though they acknowledge the Infinitenes Totality and Vniversality of Gods Being yet they rather chuse to which choice the Nature of Contemplative Prayer even forces them to reiect all distinct affirmative Notions of God and his perfections as coming Infinitely short of his Divine Nature and which indeed are falsely applied to him if considered as they are comprehended by us and they frame to themselves a Negative Notion of him by separating from him all Attributes whatsoever comprehended by us because as such they are indeed imperfections And to instill into our minds such a Notion of God of all others least imperfect he is pleased to describe himself in Scriptures to be inaccessible light that is light though infinitely glorious yet to us invisible and invisible because of the excess of its Visibility Hence he is sayd to dwell in darknes and to make darknes his secret place and his pavilion round about him to be dark waters and thick clouds of the skyes In this darknes it is that God is contemplated in pure Spirituall Prayer in which all Images and positive Notions of the Divinity being reiected an Incomprehensible Nothing remains to which the Soule is united and in whose presence all Created Beings are annihilated In this darkness therefore contemplative Soules have as it were an experimentall perception of what Schoolmen deduce from reasoning 49. It seems now to mee that a weaker Capacity then the Doctours may perceive in this no intolerable Nonsense Yea I must add that here the Doctour gives a manifest proof of his dishonesty in wilfully leaving out that which evidētly explains M. Cressy's meaning which if it had not been concealed from the Readers would have rendred his Assertion touching the Not-being of Creatures to be most rationall For thus M. Cressy in Sancta Sophia Treat 3. p. 304. treating of the State of Perfection writes In this State the soule comes to a feeling indeed of her Not being and by consequence of the Not being of Creatures The which indeed is reall Truth Not as if the soule or other creatures either did cease according to their Naturall Being or as if a natural Being were indeed no reall Being as F. Benedict Canfield doth seem to determin But because all sinfull adhesion by affection to creatures being annihilated then they remain as to the soule only in that true Being which they have in God by dependance on him and relation to him so that he alone is all in all Whereas while we sinfully adhere unto them by staying in them with Love we carry our selves towards them as if we thought them to have a Being or subsistance of and in themselves and not of God only and that they might be loved for themselves without reference to God Which is the fundamentall Errour and root of all Sin 50. Thus the Doctour deales with his Catholick Adversaries He can at pleasure