Therefore he hath giuen them a nature that is partaker of Vnderstanding and prescribed vnto them rules of iudgement and of certain knowledge which are vnto them as it were lawes ordained by a soueraigne Prince for the ruling of his subiectes And to the end that these lawes should not be in vaine he hath placed in man a Will to execute them and an affection of ioy that is brought to him by meanes of the good which he receiueth or expecteth when he obeyeth these lawes that command nothing but iust things So that hee would haue the nature of man to leade a ioyfull life and by this meanes be preserued that he might solace himselfe in the knowledge of God his Creator and in obeying him settle and rest himself in him As contrariwise it pleased him to place there an affection of sadnesse to take vengeance of rebellion against his lawes and of the transgression of them to the end there might be a flame of anger and griefe to destroy that nature when it doeth not conforme it selfe to the rule of his diuine wisedome and will Hereby we know by experience what difference there is betweene a ioyfull life and that which is sad full of griefe and how ioy preserueth and maintaineth the one and sorow consumeth and extinguisheth the other But to the end we may fully vnderstand these thinges and bee able to iudge aright of the diuers powers vertues and offices of the soule wee must diligently consider that as GOD hath distinguished the Vnderstanding from the Will and affections and the Animall vertue and life from the Vitall so also hee hath giuen them diuers seates and instrumentes in the bodie There is likewise great difference betwixt Vnderstanding and Knowledge and the Will and Affections as we see it by experience in common life For it falleth out often that after we know a man we either loue him or hate him And if at the first we loued him wel yet after hee is knowen vnto vs we may fall to hate him or if wee first hated him afterward vpon better knowledge we may receiue him into our loue Nowe although these affections of loue and of hatred bee thus mutable in vs yet the selfe same knowledge remayneth alwayes with vs. For if wee did not still knowe him wee coulde neyther loue nor hate him because as a man cannot loue without knowing the thing loued so hee cannot hate that which is vnknowen Therefore it is no difficult matter to iudge that the Vnderstanding differeth from the Will and affections and that they are distinct offices and seuerall properties and vertues of the soule which haue also their diuers seates and instrumentes For the internall senses are ioyned with that power which the Soule hath to knowe and the heart with the power of the Will and Affections Heereof it is that wee see manie endued with great knowledge of honest and vertuous thinges but they haue no good affection to followe after them and to put them in practise so that their heart agreeth not with their braine nor their will and affections with their vnderstanding reason Contrariwise there are others that haue not so great knowledge of goodnes and of their duetie and yet they haue a good affection and Will to do wel but for want of vnderstanding what is right and iust they obserue and keepe it not according to that measure of desire which is in them Where wee see againe how and in what sort there is no good agreement betweene the brayne and the heart and betweene those powers and vertues of the soule which wee haue alreadie named So that wee may compare the former sort of men to one that hath eyes to guide him but no legges or feete to goe vpon or if hee haue any yet hee will not set them on woorke As for the other sort they are like to blinde men that long to goe and to walke and haue legges to carrie them but they cannot goe whither they woulde because they haue neyther eyes nor sight to direct them nor guides to leade them Nowe by the consideration of these two sortes of men wee may well conclude and iudge with ourselues what they are that want all these thinges mentioned by vs because they haue neyther sounde knowledge of the trueth and of that which is good nor Will and desire to haue any nor any affection to followe that which is good whome I woulde compare to them that are blind and withal haue both hand and feete lame at one time But this matter may yet bee vnderstoode better if wee make this our speeche to agree with that which Saint Paul wryteth to the Romanes where hee sayeth That the wrath of God is reuealed from heauen against all vngodlinesse and vnrighteousnesse of men which withholde the trueth in vnrighteousnesse For wee may vnderstande by trueth those true and naturall impressions of the knowledge of GOD and of his lawe and of good and honest thinges which are in men as beames of the diuine wisedome shining in that part of the soule whereby hee knoweth But because the Will and the affections of the heart agree not with this knowledge and there are no diuine motions nor celestiall flames to stirre vp and to kindle the heart with the loue of God and to procure it to followe after that knowledge therefore men are detayned in vnrighteousnesse and yeelde not vnto God that honour and obedience that they owe vnto him Wherein they shew themselues vnthankefull and vnrighteous And therefore the Apostle expounding himselfe saieth by and by after That when they knewe God they glorified him not as God neither were thankefull but became vaine in their imagination and their heart voyde of vnderstanding was full of darknesse Whereby hee declareth that their ingratitude and naughty heart was the cause why they abused that vnderstanding and knowledge which they had receiued of God and afterward also he depriued them of these excellent gifts of his grace which he attributeth to the heart for certaine reasons which wee are to note For wee may see in many places of the Scripture and in their writings and exhortations that folowe the doctrine and stile thereof that the heart is often taken for the seate of the minde of the vnderstanding and of reason as well as for the affections of the soule Neuerthelesse the Philosophers and they that followe them in such discourses attribute these soueraigne powers of the soule onely to the braine which they make the seate of them as wee haue sufficiently shewed heeretofore and as for the affections of the soule they assigne the seate of them to the heart Now one body hath not two but one soule Therefore although it haue many faculties powers vertues and offices yet they are all comprehended vnder those two and depend of them euen as in one body there are many members appointed to diuers operations Nowe because reason ought to be the Gouernesse and Mistresse
agreement might soone bee made if the word of God onely might be the iudge of true false religion For all that feare God and are carefull to doe nothing contrary to their duety that accompt the holy scriptures to be the true doctrine of the spirite of God and are assuredly perswaded that there is another life after this and a iudge before whome they must appeare they I say are not so hardly induced to peace and concord but that a man may hope well of them But they that feare nothing that call all things into question that esteeme all religion to be opinions only tormenting mens braynes they likewise that stifly resist euen the trueth it selfe whereof their owne consciences conuince them labouring as much as lyeth in them to extinguish not onely the light of God within them but that also which they learne in his word such monsters I say will trouble all Christendome more then the contentions about religion vnles the goodnes of God prouide some conuenient remedy for the same For they must be taught to beleeue one God one Iesus Christ the immortalitie of the soule the resurrection of the body a second euerlasting life full of ioy and happinesse for good iust men but full of griefe and paine for the wicked and vniust generally they must be taught to beleeue whatsoeuer we learne in the holy scriptures concerning the creation and end of euery nature These things being spirituall and heauenly cannot be seene nor comprehended without a celestiall and supernaturall light nor without spirituall eyes ioyned with the vertue and power of the spirite of God who onely is able to clarifie our eyes and to giue them sight For albeit God gaue spirituall eyes to man when hee endued him with a reasonable and vnderstanding soule yet they are euen blind through sinne if they alwayes haue not God that great and euerlasting Sunne to illuminate them with his diuine light as the eyes of the body remaine in darkenesse when bodily light is taken from them Hereupon they are called blind in holy scripture that haue not the true knowledge of God by the light of his word For although they that are most ignorant haue some little knowledge and sence of the diuinitie by that small remnant of naturall light which man receiued at his first creation neuerthelesse because this sparkle is so small in regard of that darkenesse which filleth the mind of man it is not sufficient to leade them to God and to the right way of saluation Therefore they soone goe astray and wander hither and thither and for the most part followe superstition in place of religion and lies in stead of trueth because it is an easie matter for the deuill to disguise his inuentions vnder a false shew of piety that they may not discerne betweene trueth and falsehood betweene that which God liketh and which he disliketh For seeing the sparke of naturall light in mans vnderstanding is so small there needeth no great troubling of the spirite neyther any great impediments to bee cast in his way to confound and amaze him and to take away or vtterly to ouerturne his iudgement whereby to makâ— him as vnable to iudge of the trueth as a blind man is to iudge of colours But they are in farre worse case that voluntarily separate themselues from all truth both naturall and supernaturall For they easily beleeue that which the Epicures long since taught against the immortalitie of soules and against the prouidence of God towards men insomuch that they hold this for most certaine that the soule perisheth as the body doth and that there is no God that intermedleth in the gouernment of humane affaires but that they are guided eyther by fortune or by prudence or by the folly of men according as matters fall out I quake to thinke that such monsters are to be found amongst them that berare the name of Christians and haue in former times receiued the markes and seales of Christianitie in the Church of Iesus Christ But my quaking is doubled when I consider that many of them that professe learning and humane philosophie and that are thought to haue most skilfull sharpe and subtill wits are not onely infected with this execrable Atheisme but professe it open a schoole thereof and know how to poyson many with it For as there was neuer yet opinion error or heresie so strange or monstrous in the world that hath not alwayes found men ynowe to receiue it so long as there were Authors and masters to set it abroach so these professours of Atheisme are neuer without great store of disciples because after this maner God punisheth the curiosity ingratitude and peruersenesse of men the contempt of his word and hatred of the trueth which is commonly in them as also the pleasure they take in vanitie and lies Therefore God by his iust iudgement giueth them ouer into a reprobate sense so that they cannot but alwayes reiect the trueth and imbrace error and lying as he often threatneth them by the mouth of his Prophets and Apostles Examples hereof wee see dayly in such as thinke themselues the wisest men who haue this in their cogitation if they dare not speake it openly that it belongeth not to men of wit to beleeue in God and his word but to such as are simple and foolish not to these great and noble spirits that flie aboue the clouds who in trueth know more then they should to bring them to that place of weeping and gnashing of teeth We are to liue my companions amongst such kind of men and I suppose that ye as well as my selfe haue heard some of them speake especially since of late times the seruice of Princes hath longer retayned vs neere vnto them then we were wont in our yong yeers when the study of good letters did wholy possesse vs. Therefore we ought to be very desirous to fortifie our selues dayly with strong and powerfull reasons against whatsoeuer wee may heare vttered by these scorners of all pietie not for feare that wee shall at any time bee deceiued by them for I am most assured of the graces and gifts which we haue receiued from God but that we may haue abundantly wherewith to resist the vaine and weake arguments of these deceiuers when wee light among them especially in the company of ignorant folks whom they may easily draw to their side if we should be silent Besides although we should not be able to confound them by reason of their obstinacy yet we shall at the least giue them occasion to thinke more seriously of their error I know well what small accompt they make of the testimonies of holy scriptures and how they esteeme of them but as of fables and dreames made by some doters and idle persons for so they call the Patriarks Prophets and Apostles As for the writings of Philosophers they will beleeue Epieurus Pliny Lucretius Lucian and others of their sect who deny all diuinitie and
let vs not mocke or despise them but rather haue pitie and compassion ouer them pray to God in their behalfe and succour them asmuch as wee can acknowledging the grace of God towards vs in keeping vs from such inconueniences and beseeching him to preserue and keepe vs continually For whatsoeuer befalleth others shoulde as it were hang before our eyes as often as it pleaseth him to beate them with such scourges which we our selues haue no lesse deserued then they that are beaten yea oftentimes a great deale more The Lord striketh whome it pleaseth him that by them others might take instruction Therefore if we cannot profite by such teaching nor learne at other mens cost to feare and honour him to call vpon him and to giue him thankes it is to bee feared that he will send vs asmuch that so we may learne at our owne charges Yea and then also he is very gratious vnto vs if he suffer vs to haue our vnderstandings to knowe how to profite by his roddes and chastisements and giue vs not wholly ouer into the handes of Satan our Aduersarie But enough of this matter And nowe that wee haue seene the nature and office of the internall senses of the soule with their seates and instruments the sequele of our speech requireth as I thinke that we should intreate of vnderstanding and will which are two faculties and vertues in the highest and most principall part and power of the soule of man and in regard of which it is properly called by the name of a reasonable soule and life as wee shall presently learne of ACHITOB. Of the reasonable soule and life and of vertue of the vnderstanding and will that are in the soule and of their dignitie and excellencie Chap. 28. ACHITOB. Although beastes without any iudgement and reason follow after that which they conceaue to be agreeable to their nature and eschew the contrary according as their natural inclination driueth thē thereunto yet they passe not those bounds of nature which God hath set them nor violate the lawes thereof Wherby we see that through a secret sense of nature they draw alwayes towards God their Creator in that their nature bendeth still towardes that which God hath appoynted to bee the chiefe Good vnto which they can attaine And no doubt but God hath giuen them such inclinations to bee as it were rules to direct them to that which is their proper and naturall Good which consisteth onely in corporall thinges belonging to their bodies Nowe if hee bee thus carefull for beastes we may not thinke that hee hath depriued Man of such a benefite but that hee hath also giuen him his inclination to leade him to his proper Good and to the trueth which in respect thereof is necessarie for him For what likelihoode is there that such a woorkeman as God is woulde create Man the most excellent creature vnder heauen in worse estate not onely then beastes but also then all other bodily creatures which are nothing in comparison of the excellencie which is in him who notwithstanding following their naturall disposition Prayse GOD and fulfill his worde as the Psalmist saith As therefore God hath ordayned and prepared a farre greater Good formen then for beastes and hath layde vp the same in his soule and spirite so hath he giuen them the meanes to enquire and finde it out But the difficultie that is in finding it out proceedeth through their owne fault For the darknes of ignorance and error which sinne hath brought into their minds is that which hindereth them which had not taken holde of them if mankind had continued in the perfection of his first nature Neuertheles what defect soeuer there be yet we see that in the minde of man there shineth alwaies this naturall light that is giuen vnto him aboue that which beasts haue I mean Reason which serueth to guide the soule and spirite amidst the darknesse of errour and ignorance to the ende they may be able to discerne trueth from falsehood and the true Good from the false as we see the light serueth the eyes to keepe vs and to cause vs to see in darkenesse Therefore we sayde before that there was a double discourse of reason in man whereof the one is Theoricall and Speculatiue which hath Trueth for his ende and hauing found it goeth no farther The other is Practical hauing Good for his end which being found it stayeth not there but passeth forward to the Will which God hath ioyned vnto it to the end it should loue desire and follow after the Good and contrariwise hate eschew and turne away from euill Therefore when the question ariseth of contemplation reason hath Trueth for her vtmost bounds and when she is to come into action she draweth towardes Good and hauing conferred together that which is true and good she pronounceth iudgement So that reason considereth of thinges with great deliberation and beeing sometimes in doubt which way to take shee stayeth and returneth as it were to her selfe and maketh many discourses before shee iudge and conclude But sinne hath so troubled our spirite that these naturall rules which shoulde euermore cause vs to encline to that which is right and good are greatly depraued and corrupted Neuerthelesse there remayneth in vs a small remnant of that great Good which testifieth sufficiently vnto vs what losse and damage wee receiued by our fall Therefore both the internall and externall senses serue vs not onely for the good of the bodie and for this life as they do to beasts but also for the good of the soule and helpe vs to lift vp the minde higher to seeke for a better life and for a greater Good then can be found among all the creatures and in which alone the minde findeth true felicitie agreeable to such a nature as it selfe is Heereof it commeth that it cannot content it selfe with that wherwith beasts are contented nor stay there where they stay For after the spirite is somewhat setled vpon that knowledge which it hath by his imagination and fantasie he lifteth vp himselfe higher by the meanes of reason namely to the vnderstanding of spirituall and diuine things For hee knoweth well that because he is as it were shut vp in an obscure prison and compassed about with darknesse he is hindered from attaining to the vnderstanding and knowledge of many things whereof he is ignorant and can neither see nor know that which he would so neerely cleerely and perfectly as if hee were at greater libertie nor vse that naturall vigour that he hath being in this prison of the bodie In this sort doeth man consider of himself and of his nature and from that knowledge which he hath of the highest and most excellent things in nature there springeth in him a loue towardes them insomuch that the spirit ascendeth vp and attaineth vnto God who is the authour and Creator of all For this cause there ariseth contention betwixt reason and fantasie For
imagination and fantasie being neerer to the corporall senses draw the soule to those things that are bodily but reason and the spirite pricke it forwarde and cause it to lift vp it selfe to more excellent things For the spirite which the Philosophers expresse by Vnderstanding mounteth vp vnto those things that cannot be knowen nor comprehended of imagination and fantasie nor of any other sense Moreouer it keepeth fantasie brideled and bringeth it into the right way which otherwise wandreth farre wide and entereth into many turnings and windings Neither doeth the spirite wholly yeeld vnto euery present profite or decline the contrary but calleth things past to remembrance coniectureth and foreseeth things to come and searcheth out what is true and what false to giue iudgement thereafter and then to followe after or to eschew that which ought to bee followed or fledde from Thus you see what the reasonable soule bringeth to men which is not in beastes nor in their soule Besides from this vigour and nature of the spirite speech proceedeth which being his messenger is wanting vnto beastes because they are voyde of reason and vnderstanding in regard whereof speech is giuen as wee haue already hearde Therefore we vnderstand by the reasonable soule and life such a soule and life as hath counsaile iudgement and reason and which was created to this end that knowing God her Creator and louing him in respect thereof she might honour and serue him and finally by degrees attaine to immortall life and happinesse which is appointed for her ende For as nothing is more excellent then reason whereof God hath made man partaker so there is nothing more beseeming reason then to know loue and honour God seeing there is nothing greater more excellent or that may be compared vnto him Therefore as man differeth from brute beasts in respect of reason wherewith God hath indued him so he differeth from them in that he is capable of religion created and borne thereto which consisteth in the things alreadie touched But beasts are not capable of any kind of religion being altogether voyde thereof as on the other side there is no man but he hath some sense of it Whereby wee may gather a good argument that beasts are not onely voyde of reason but also that their soules are mortall and the soules of men immortall For the fountaine and fruit of the religion and seruice of God consisteth not in this mortall life and therefore it must needes bee in some other that followeth And for this cause Reason which is so great and excellent a gift of God in man is not bestowed vpon vs for things of so smal price and so transitorie as these are which we vse and enioy in this life and in which it is wholly busied much lesse for those whereby the life of beastes is preserued but in regarde of these thinges which I haue nowe declared Therefore as God hath not giuen such a life to stones as he hath giuen to trees and plants nor yet sense imagination and fantasie to trees and plants as he hath done to beasts so hee hath not graunted reason to beasts as he hath to men and that not without iust cause For as it is enough for stones in regarde of the perfection of their nature to bee heauie and such as they are and sufficient likewise for trees and plants to haue a Vegetatiue soule seeing they want not that which beastes haue more then they so beastes stand not in neede of that which men haue aboue them For it sufficeth for the preseruation and defence of their life and beeing that they haue some kinde of cogitation ioyned with imagination and fantasie although they want reason which is not necessary for them as it is for men for the causes already specified and chiefly because they were not created by meanes of the knowledge of God and of true religion to come to a better life then their brutish life is Therefore as man is created to the end that the light of the knowledge of God might shine in him and that God might communicate with him his wisedome and goodnesse so he would that the soule of man shoulde bee an euident testimonie of himselfe For this cause it was said in his creation that God made man after his owne image and likenesse as wee haue already heard Seeing then there are in the reasonable soule so cleere and excellent testimonies of God and that by it especially the difference appeareth betweene man beasts as also in the diuers gouernments of their liues it behoueth vs to conâ—ider thereof very diligently And albeit this glasse of God cannot be so euidently seen as those that are made of steele or of glasse and lead by the hand of man to represent the image of our bodies neuertheles the actions and works of the soule doe plainly shew that there is such a power and vertue in vs which God hath giuen vs more to vse for our benefite then to know it and that for the causes already touched by vs. For the true and perfect knowledge thereof belongeth to God onely who being aboue it hath created and giuen it and will cause vs to know it better when we shal be in that eternall light in which wee shal know those things that are nowe hidden from vs. In the meane time let vs in this life consider of and distinguish the actions and workes of the soule whereby we are seuered from beasts and which being very euident testimonies of God in vs gouerne the life of man and bring foorth all honest sciences and artes We haue spoken alreadie of the powers and vertues of the soule which by the vse of corporall instruments labour and manifest themselues but it appeareth euidently that there is in man another higher power because we haue many actions and doe many woorkes which beastes cannot performe nor imitate For man hath the knowledge of numbers and can reckon hee vnderstandeth not onely particular things but also generall and vniuersall things he discourseth that is gathereth and concludeth one thing of another and that very farre he inuenteth artes and disposeth them he iudgeth of his owne reasons and discourses and marking his owne faults he correcteth them he changeth his intents and purposes he discerneth vertues from vices honest things from those that are dishonest finally hee deliberateth by a long discourse of reason As for beastes they haue not these thinges common with vs as they haue the vse of the senses as of seeing hearing smelling tasting and other such like things wherein they oftentimes excell vs in many respectes For many of them haue these senses more sharpe then wee haue And although they haue some imagination fantasie and apprehension of thinges offered to their bodily senses yet that holdeth but for the present and in the place or fielde where the thinges are offered vnto them The like may bee sayde of those discourses of reason which many thinke are in
his iudgement Of this wee our selues may iudge in that wee see that there is no nation or people that liue with no religion at all but they haue one eyther true or false whereby they labour to appease the wrath of God and to be vnder his fauour and protection according to that measure of knowledge which they haue of him Whereby they plainely declare that there is a certaine lawe within them taken from the Booke of this naturall diuinitie which condemneth them in their hearts vrgeth constraineth them to do that which they do euen as we feele our selues pressed and cnndemned by the written law which God hath giuen vnto vs. Wherefore if wee knew how to profit by them both they would both serue vs in steade of a Schoolemaster to direct leade vs vnto Iesus Christ For both of them if we vnderstand them wel testifie sufficiently vnto vs that we stand in need of a Mediator by whom we may haue accesse to God and be reconciled vnto him seeing wee feele our condemnation within our selues and in our owne consciences As for the third meane to make a man certaine of that which hee is to accompt for true which wee saide was naturall Iudgement it is the vnderstanding of that order that ought to be in things and of the consequence of them whereby to iudge in some sort of the agreement or disagreement they haue one with an other insomuch that euery one hath within himselfe as it were a naturall logicke whereby hee is able to iudge at leastwise of common things It remaineth nowe that we learne the fourth meane which passeth all the former and that is diuine reuelation whereof wee haue made mention and those certaine and infallible testimonies which wee learne of the holy Scriptures I meane the Bookes of the Prophets and Apostles with the confirmation and vnderstanding of them by the holy Spirite For it were not enough for vs to haue the worde of God deliuered vnto vs by them except the holy Ghost had his working both in them in vs. Wherfore although naturally we more easily and firmely beleeue that which our minde is able to see knowe and comprehend by the naturall light thereof then that which goeth beyond it yet forasmuch as God hath made vs capable of vnderstanding and reason wee ought to giue no lesse credite to all that he hath reuealed vnto vs by his worde yea much more to this howsoeuer by that light of nature which remaineth in vs wee neither see nor knowe howe true and firme it is and that for the causes before vttered Hereof it is that in the Epistle to the Hebrewes faith is called the substance and ground of things hoped for and such an euident demonstration of things not seene that it conuinceth men and causeth them to perceiue and knowe the trueth of them very cleerely Whereupon wee haue to note that this naturall light and that which wee call supernaturall are not to speake properly two diuers and different lights but one and the same as wee shoulde well haue knowen if our nature had continued in perfection and in that image of God in which it was created and framed farre differing from all other creatures For although there is in them some image of God yet they haue not vnderstanding to knowe it as it is neither to knowe God their creator who hath imprinted it in them But it is farre otherwise in man For God will be knowen of him and therefore hee hath so imprinted his image in his nature that hee will haue him to see and knowe it For this cause hee hath giuen him a minde and vnderstanding able to to receiue this knowledge For the greatest likenesse and resemblance that man can haue with God consisteth in the agreement with him in wisdome and iustice which cannot be but in a nature that is capable and partaker of reason and vnderstanding Nowe because God is good yea a common and generall Good hee will not withholde this good in himselfe without communicating it but maketh all his creatures partakers thereof especially man with whome it hath pleased him to communicate this Good of wisedome and iustice which is the greatest and most excellent good that is in him Therefore did God together with his image imprint his knowledge in the nature of man For man could not otherwise know this image and similitude neither what it is to be like or vnlike to God if hee had no more knowledge of God who and what manner a one hee is then other creatures that want this knowledge because they are not capable of vnderstanding and reason nor of this image of wisedome and iustice which is in God and by which man is made like vnto him Wherefore the first degree of this image and similitude that is in man appeareth in that power and facultie of vnderstanding which God hath giuen him and in that wisedome whereof hee hath made him partaker and which hath some agreement with the wisedome of God So that before man sinned the image of God was such in him that there was a perfect agreement of all the powers and vertues of the soule betweene God and him For the diuine light did so shine in his minde that hee had certaine and firme knowledge of GOD neither was there any resistance against either in his heart or in his will but a sounde and perpetuall concord and consent So that there was alwayes betweene the minde and the will an vprightnesse and iustice agreeable with God neither was the freedome of the will hindered or driuen forward to euill because man had not yet made himselfe the subiect and salue of sinne As long therefore as man kept this image of God within him the Lord dwelt therein as in his own lodging and by that meanes would haue giuen to men such perpetual life ioy as shold neuer haue bin broken off or extinguished either by sorow or by death if he had suffred himselfe to be alwayes guided by God neuer turned aside nor seuered himselfe from him Therefore S. Paul speaking of this first image and the renewing thereof in man saith Put on the new man which after God is created in righteousnesse and true holinesse Seeing then it is thus there is no doubt but that if man had continued in his integritie the light which is nowe supernaturall in him woulde haue beene naturall in all that knowledge of God which is necessary for him to that ende whereunto he was created For hee had neuer beene ouerwhelmed with darkenesse which dimmed and hindered this heauenly light that shined in him and made him the habitation and temple of God but had seene cleerely the image of the father of the sonne and of the holy ghost shining in his soule in which it was imprinted the draughts and beames whereof are yet euident enough in him I meane to them that consider of them as it appertaineth following the light of the
word of God But forasmuch as the darkenesse which sinne hath brought with it keepeth man from hauing any sound and perfect knowledge of God or of heauenly things as he had in his first estate it is necessary therefore that hee should restore and kindle againe in him this diuine and perfect life which hee hath lost by the benefite of regeneration and spirituall renouation as if hee created him anew giuing him a minde to vnderstand his worde and a will to followe and to embrace it This is that which I thought we were to note and learne concerning the meanes that bring vs certaine knowledge of such things as we ought to iudge and accompt for true Let vs nowe consider howe the spirit of man being enriched in measure with heauenly gifts and graces doeth finally attaine to the ende of all inquisition and searching out of trueth which is contemplation that followeth iudgement as iudgement followeth reason and the discourse thereof Therefore doe thou ACHITOB take vpon thee to discourse of this matter subiect and so ende all speaches of this dayes worke concerning vnderstanding that afterward wee may looke particularly into the will which is the second part and vertue of the highest and most soueraigne power of the soule How the vertues and powers of the soule shew themselues by litle and litle and by degrees of contemplation and of the good that is in it of that true and diuine contemplation which we looke for after this life Chap. 32. ACHITOB. I was much troubled oftentimes about the vnderstanding of these two words Soule and Spirite in seeking to find what difference or agreement they haue one with another seeing that many times I sawe one of them taken for the other and also opposed as repugnant one to another In the ende I learned of skilful men that wee might vse the worde Soule to signifie man as hee is borne hauing onely the giftes of a humane soule namely the humane senses and those other powers and vertues both animall and naturall of which wee haue already spoken And as for the Spirite that wee must vnderstand thereby whatsoeuer heauenly grace and knowledge of the trueth is giuen to man by the spirite of God dwelling in him which guideth and leadeth him to the contemplation of the diuine nature wherein consisteth his good and felicitie Moreouer wee may see in sundrie places of the Scriptures according to the Hebrew phrase the worde Soule taken not onely for the life of man and for all things belonging thereto but also for the whole nature of man and thus also is the worde Flesh taken Therefore when the flesh is opposed and set against the spirite in man wee vnderstand thereby not the body only but also the soule of man I meane such a one as it was at the beginning when being left vnto it selfe it followed the corruption of it owne nature And likewise by the spirite wee meane that which is regenerated in euery part of man whereby hee being withdrawen from the peruerse desires and corrupt affections of his nature is lift vp to the contemplation of celestiall and eternall things But our God vseth in such sort to apply himselfe to the nature and abilitie of his creatures that by little and little and by degrees he dispenseth vnto them those things which hee will bestowe vpon them alwayes keeping that order which hee hath vsed and followed in the creation of the worde For as Moses testifieth hee first created it of nothing Then hauing created the matter of all natures hee brought it into a woorke and gaue vnto it a forme and so polishing it by degrees and day by day at length hee set it in that perfection which hee minded to bestowe vpon it Wee see likewise that in the continuation of his woorkes hee beginneth alwayes at the basest and least thing and so goeth on encreasing augmenting and ascending vp vntill hee hath placed them in their perfection whereof we haue daily experience principally in plants and liuing creatures For the generation of plants commeth of their seedes from which they take their beginning And when the seede which is the least part of the whole plant is put into the ground it taketh roote therein and then commeth foorth encreasing dayly vntill it come to those bounds that are alotted vnto it by the Creatour which it can not passe because it can not attaine to greater perfection being of that kinde but then daily falleth to decay vntill it be wholly consumed and returned to the elements from whence it was taken The like is done in the generation of all liuing creatures and namely in that of man For what is his beginning and what is his conception natiuitie childehoode adolescencie youth mans estate and then old-age Wee see howe small his beginning is and howe hee groweth steppe by steppe and from age to age vntill hee commeth to the flower of his age and to his full strength as plantes doe and from thence the neerer hee draweth to olde-age the more hee fadeth and decayeth vntill hee come to death whereby the body returneth to the Elements out of which it is taken For as God hath giuen him a beginning so hath hee appointed him limites vnto which hee may ascend vp vntill hee come to his highest and then hee is to descend as the ordinance of God shall leade him As for the soule the same can not befall it in regard of bignesse seeing it is not corporall as the body is neither yet in respect of death seeing it is immortall For it can not be resolued as the body may to returne into the elements out of which it is not taken but it abideth alwayes in that substance and nature which first it had because it is of a celestiall and diuine nature But if the question be of the faculties powers and vertues thereof the seedes of which it hath in it selfe wee see by experience howe they shewe themselues more and more perfect and howe the vse of them is greater in one age then in an other For as long as the infant is in his mothers wombe no man can perceiue that as yet hee vseth anie other vertue and facultie of the soule that is in him then that which heeretofore wee called the vegetatiue or nourishing facultie by which hee is nourished as plants are After when hee is borne hee continueth a long time like to other liuing creatures as though he had only a vegetatiue and sensitiue soule as they haue Then by little and little as hee groweth from one age to an other those vertues of the soule whereby hee differeth from beastes appeare euery day more and more And yet hee hath no other soule in substaunce nor any other senses and minde throughout his whole life then hee had when it first mooued as also hee hath no other body But a man may easily iudge that this cōmeth not of the nature of the soule but of the instruments it hath in
So that the whole consultation lieth in the liberty and choyce of Will For men are not drawne by an immutable violence of nature as beasts are but reason enquireth what way is to be taken or left and wayeth and examineth what good or euill is in euery thing Therefore Will may goe about againe with that which was once deliberated of to the end the first conclusion be not approued staied in but that greater inquiry may be made to finde out if it may bee some better or more profitable thing And thus when many thinges are shewed set before her she may choose what pleaseth her although it be not that which was best approued by iudgement and which reason vpon very euident arguments counselled her to follow For if there be another side that hath some shew of good albeit neuer so small she turneth to that if she please so that vpon one onely coniecture or opinion of good she will lay holde vpon that and reiect the other side in which peraduenture the ture good is to bee founde The chiefe cause whereof is in the corruption of our nature and in those impediments of good discoursing and of vpright iudging whereof wee haue alreadie hearde and which hinder reason and iudgement diuers and sundrie wayes And this also taketh place in respect of Will which likewise hath great occasions offered to beguile and deceiue it selfe because all the affaires of men are intermingled with good and euill thinges Therefore it is very hard to be able to discerne and separate them well one from another For men being compounded of diuers natures namely of a body and of a soule they propound also diuersity of good euil things vnto themselues because they know corporall and terrestriall things better then spirituall and eternall things therefore they preferre them oftentimes before the other Which is the cause why there are so many that loue this life a great deale better and those outward good things belonging therevnto then they doe eternall life and those goods which are able to leade men thither and giue them full fruition therof when they come thither Therefore in so great diuersity of good and euill things it is no marueile if there came nothing into deliberation wherein reason findeth not some good or euill which in the end it counsaileth vs to follow or to auoyde according to the circumstances of times places persons qualities and other such like things It commeth to passe also oftentimes that Will refuseth all counsaile and exhortation to doe that onely which she pleaseth thereby to shew that shee is Lady and Mistresse and subiect to none And beeing mounted vp to that pride shee accounteth this Lordshippe which shee taketh to her selfe to bee a great good and so maketh knowne her power and magnificence as it were a tyrannicall prince making choyce in the meane time of a false kinde of good which is no way good but a very great euil And thus much concerning the libertie of the Will in her internall actions which freedome also appeareth plainly enough in the outwarde actions For after she hath liked of a thing she may put it in execution or stay execution yea after she hath begunne she may giue it cleane ouer or doe not so much or so speedily as shee might And although it falleth out oftentimes that men are hindered from executing their Will yea are forced and compelled to doe the cleane contrary yet their Will if we consider the matter well is neither hindred forced or constrained For that keepeth it not from willing still that which it pleaseth but the violence offered outwardly stayeth the effectes and execution thereof Hereof it is that wee commonly say that a mans Will is taken for his deede although it bee not put in execution Nowe to conclude our speech wee knowe that the Will hath hinderances to let her from choosing those good things which shee ought to followe and refusing those euils shee ought to eschewe and auoyde For Reason beeing appoynted as Mistresse to guide and direct Will by her iudgement the selfesame thinges that mooue Reason and Iudgement doe mooue Will also as if the one touched the other or as if there were a certayne knitting and ioyning of them together not vnlike to the linkes of a chayne of which if yee mooue or touch one the like is done to the others that are neere vnto it by reason of the coniunction they haue one with another Wee ought also to knowe that although the Will often choose euill in stead of good yet it ceasseth not therefore euer to desire good naturally which is most fitte and agreeable to the nature therof but it is deceaued in that it hath no skill to discerne between true and false goodes and to distinguish the greater from the lesse And as wee haue hearde that euill spirites may trouble and mooue the fantasie and minde so no doubt they can doe the like towardes the heart and Will to induce them to euill and to driue them to doe greater thinges then weake nature woulde doe of it selfe if it were not holpen by them euen to cause them to committe such crimes as nature abhorreth Therefore wee must without ceassing watch and pray that wee enter not into temptation and if wee bee tempted that wee fayle not neither bee ouercome And this wee may assuredly beleeue wee shall obtayne if through regeneration by the spirite of GOD our minde bee taught and our Will guyded by his light Nowe then hauing spoken enough of Vnderstanding and of Will which are the principall powers of the soule let vs come to the affections thereof and first it shall bee good for vs to consider of the distinction that ought to bee made betwixt all these faculties of the soule and betweene their seates and instruments which they haue in the bodie But wee shall learne these thinges of thee ACHITOB Of the distinction that ought to be betweene the Vnderstanding and knowledge and the Will and affections in the soule and betweene the seates and instruments which they haue in the body of the agreement that is betweene the heart and the braine Chap. 36. ACHITOB. The heauens the earth and all the elementes the stones plants beasts al the other creatures that want reason vnderstanding obey God in their kind but yet they know him not the obedience which they yeld vnto him proceedeth not of any knowledge they haue of his will or of iudgement in them to discerne good from euill but only so farre forth as they are drawne by their natural inclination in those things that concerne their nature But Angels and Men in whome God woulde haue his image to shine in euery part of them and after all sorts were created by him of that nature that hee would be knowne of them and that they should follow his Will not without Vnderstanding and iudgement thereof nor without agreement of their willes with his
would say vnto their ripenesse as we may see by experience in the corporall senses For not long after the childe is borne he seeth and heareth the reason whereof is because the senses of seeing and hearing are by nature absolute and perfect Therefore in such actions there needeth no exercise to cause them to performe that which they doe well but onely a good vigour and strength because in them nature is a great Mistres that hath all efficacie But there are farre more excellent actions as science arte prudence fidelitie and such like which had neede of vse and exercise to cause them to doe readily and well This vse bringeth custome which hath in it a facilitie to worke and a disposition tending therunto And then such actions take the name of habite which is bred by the reiterating thereof Thus the actions of the Wil power of desire in the soule of which wee haue spoken before when they are often reiterated so that they grow to be firme and stedfast are called habits because the Will is so accustomed thereunto that it becommeth more constant eithet in desiring one certain thing or in eschewing the same Therefore as the affections are more or lesse forward more seldome or often vsed more weak or strong so they are called either inclinations or actions or habites But we are to note that habites extende not themselues onely to those things which we doe but also to those which we suffer abide which displease vs and are contrary to our nature For custome diminisheth moderateth by litle and litle the sense of that griefe paine which they bring vs whereof we haue trial in all diseases which commonly seem not so grieuous intollerable after we haue bin long accustomed vnto theÌ„ as in the beginning of them And although pouertie be a heauiâ— burthen neuerthelesse custome maketh it familiar vnto vs and familiarity causeth vs to thinke it lighter Wherefore we ought not to maruel if our God doth vsually send affliction to his children to acquaint them therewith as also to the ende they might obtaine the vertue of patience which is learned by often suffering insomuch that there remaineth a habite in men which being nothing els but a common custome causeth them mildly to beare sustaine all euents Whereas there are some that like furious and desperate men are caried away w e great impatience either because they neuer suffered much before or if they did suffer yet they neuer accustomed theÌ„selues to beare their afflictions patiently Moreouer we know by experience that although the way of vertue at our first entring thereinto seeme vnto vs very difficult to tread in yet afterward we find it very â—asie when wee haue walked in it a certaine time For there is no honest trade of life in which we finde not great difficultie And the more excellent it is so much the more troublesome and tedious it will seeme to our flesh whereas the path of pleasure will seeme to bee very delectable and easie because it is a great deale more naturall to our corrupt nature But howe harde so euer it bee to our flesh to followe after a vertuous honest and sober life yet custome will make it easie to ouerpasse as likewise to forsake that which is contrarie vnto it Therefore it hath not without iust cause beene giuen out long since by wise and skilfull men that it is very good and profitable to bee accustomed to good thinges especially from ones infancie that it skilleth much howe euâ—rie one hath beene brought vp from his youth that nothing is of greater force then custome eyther to good or to euill as that which seemeth to bee another nature Nowe vpon this speech of habites wee are to note further that as all other naturall thinges in the soule are giuen vnto it for the good thereof so is this habite which is no other thing but a custome rooted therein For except continuance of time did confirme this power of the soule I meane that it ought not onely to doe a thing but to doe it well and as it ought to bee done that it is to gette a facilitie therein through vse and excercise to the ende it may doe the same thing afterwarde more freely and readily and bee more willing to occupie it selfe about the same thing and that after the same manner I say except this bee so many inconueniences will ensue thereupon The first is that it shoulde labour altogether in vaine The seconde that it shoulde alwayes come rude and vnskilfull as it were a newe prentice to the exercising of these excellent actions and woorkes Whereof this woulde followe that hauing profited nothing with the time it woulde not doe any thing perfectly And this we ought not onely to vnderstand of those things which wee doe willingly but euen of that which wee suffer and indure maugre our willes where with of all other things we had neede to be best acquainted For seeing wee are compassed about daily with so many miseries seeing wee must suffer and vndergoe so many sharpe and vnworthie assaults howe much greater will our misery be if long custome an habit in suffring should affoord vs no ease refreshing But let vs come now to that which particularly concerneth the affections of the soule that we may be fully instructed in the nature sundry kinds of them First wee will note that wee vnderstand by affection that natural power in the soule which openeth it selfe towards Good and with draweth it selfe from euill as wee haue alreadie declared before Nowe when the actions of an affection are growen to bee habites then are they called either vertues or vices according as they are either well or ill done And from hence proceede good or ill manners of which morall Philosophie tooke that name because it inâ—reateth of them For that sheweth what vertue and vice is howe manie kindes there are of them and what difference there is not onely betweene vertues and vices but also betweene the sundrie sorts of them as we haue discoursed at large in our first Academical assemblie But let vs vnderstande this that the knowledge of the soule and of the powers of it about which wee nowe labour is the right springhead and fountaine of that morall Philosophie and doctrine This knowledge therefore is very profitable and necessary to the ende that by it we may know the originall and beginning of all vertues and vices of their whole generation and their sundrie kindes For if wee be well instructed in all the partes and powers of the soule we know the causes of these actions we knowe how the minde iudgeth how the will chooseth and commaundeth as wee haue alreadie spoken And thus we see that there are most sure and certaine principles of knowledge which shine in the minde as it were a light which are the rules whereby the soule squareth out her actions and which discerne betweene trueth and falsehood good
knowledge of God and obedience to his will bringeth to our heart wee may also iudge whether there be a paradise and another life and other ioy besides this which we receiue by corporall pleasures as beasts doe For this ioy that commeth to vs from such pleasures is common to vs with them vsually it endeth in sorowe and sadnesse But they haue no other that commeth vnto their soule of which they may haue any appehension as we haue And by the same consideration we may also in some sort iudge of that happines in which we shall be in the other life when this ioy shal be perfect in vs wherof we haue here but a very smal taste in respect of that we shal haue when we shal be fully reformed according to Gods image so that both our vnderstanding reason wil shal be made cōformable vnto him because we shal be wholy swallowed vp in his loue Contrariwise if here we feele a Hel which we cary about vs and which greatly tormenteth vs after we haue offended the maiesty of God especially when we haue cōmitted some horrible crimes this also is another argument whereby we may iudge whether there be not a Hel and vengeance from God to be executed vpon his enemies in another life For that sorow which our crimes committed doe breede in our hearts is within vs as a brand of this fire of Gods wrath which is daily kindled in vs more more Wherfore if there be in vs already such a vehemēt heat thereof when as yet the Lord doeth kindle but a litle the fire-brands of his wrath in our heartes how great shal it then be when all his wrath shal be set on fire Certainly they are very dull that doe not well consider and vnderstand it Now we haue heard heretofore how the heathen Philosophers concluded the immortalitie of mans soule by the nature thereof affirming that it is not created or compounded of corruptible matter but is of a celestiall and diuine nature by reason of that knowledge which it hath not onely of particular and corporal things as the soule of beastes hath but also of vniuersall and spirituall things and namely of God of numbers of order of the difference betweene vertue and vice and betweene honest and dishonest things For the knowledge of al these things is so naturall to mens soules that they are within them albeit they haue not receiued thē from without eyther by doctrine or instruction Whereby a man may easily iudge yea it followeth necessarily that they are created of a more excellent nature then is that of the elements of a nature that is incorruptible and perpetuall Wherefore it is verie euident that this knowledge thus naturall to mens soules is a certaine testimonie that they are not borne at all aduenture but are created by great arte and by a woonderfull prouidence of that diuine and eternall nature by which they haue their beeing namely God their Creatour for which cause also the knowledge of him shineth in vs. So also we may well iudge that God hath not in vaine placed in our nature the knowledge of the difference that is betweene vertue and vice betweene things honest and dishonest and that griefe which is to take vengeance in vs of those vices and crimes of which wee feele our selues guiltie And therefore the Heathen themselues concluded that there was not onelie a diuine iustice and nature which discerned good men from euill but also that there was another life after this in which this iudgement should bee made For they considered what great torments the wicked feele in their heartes and conscience after they haue committed horrible crimes and that there is none so audacious and obdurate not the greatest mocker and contemner of God and of his iudgments that can be who can always exempt himselfe from this dolour and paine notwithstanding hee labour with all his might to the contrarie For there is alwayes a certaine secrete vertue of Gods iustice which goeth beyonde them all and euermore punisheth the wicked Nowe it is certaine that these things come not thus to passe at all aduenture In like manner it is not possible that this knowledge which men haue to discerne vertues from vices shoulde bee a casuall thing and come thus to passe at aduenture without the certaine prouidence of God For if it were so that there were no punishment appoynted for vices and no more benefite or ioye prepared of God for the good then for the euill it should follow that all this knowledge shoulde bee giuen to man in vaine For it should doe him no more good then if hee were without it as brute beasts are Moreouer seeing all the wicked are not punished in this life it followeth necessarily that there is another life wherein they shal be punished and in which also God wil acknowledge the iust and cause them to enioy that good which he hath prepared for them For God cannot bee God but he must bee all-good aliust and almightie If hee be good hee cannot hate the good or them that doe it but loue them so as that hee cannot doe otherwise For howe shoulde hee not loue his like And as he cannot hate goodnesse or good men so hee cannot loue euill nor the wicked that follow after it but hateth them necessarily as contrarie to his nature Nowe Loue is of that nature that it cannot but desire and procure the good and honour of him whome it loueth as contrariwise hatred cannot but desire and procure the hurt and dishonour of him whome it hateth It followeth then necessarily that God beeing good and iust loueth good and iust men desiring and procuring their honour and their good and contrariwise that he hateth vniust and wicked men desiring and procuring their confusion and ruine And if hee haue this desire and this will no doubt but hee can easily and doeth also execute the same seeing hee is all-iust and almightie Truely this conclusion cannot seeme to bee ill grounded and those Heathen Philosophers who thereupon haue concluded the immortalitie of soules and the iudgement of God in another life had good reason so to doe For it is taken not only from the nature of man and from that image of God after which he was created but also from the very nature of God So that whosoeuer gainesayeth the same hath no more reason then if he saide that there is no God and that God is not God and that man is not man and that he differed in nothing from a beast neither God from the deuill And so not onely all nature shoulde bee ouer-throwen but God also the author and Creator thereof For we see almost vsually that the wickedst men haue the greatest honors in this world and liue most at their ease as we haue alreadie shewed If then there be a God and any prouidence and iustice in him now who can so much as thinke there is none but hee may also perswade
himselfe withall that there is no worlde nor any creature and that himselfe is not the same he is it must I say of necessitie follow that if God be there is also another life in which that iustice shal be perfourmed which is not heere executed and in which both iust and vniust shall receiue euery one the reward of his iustice or iniustice For it is impossible that God who is so good and so iust a nature shoulde create mankinde in that sort as if he had created the best and iustest part thereof onely to misery and wretchednesse and the woorst to ioy and happinesse Now continuing our discourse of those internall testimonies which euerie one of vs beareth within him of the immortalitie of the soule we will speake to morrow of conscience which presseth men to stand in awe of God and of his iudgements It is your part ASER to intreate of this matter The ende of the twelft dayes worke THE THIRTEENTH dayes worke Of the testimonies which euery one may take from his conscience of that feare vnto which all men are naturally subiect to prooue the immortalitie of the soule and a iudgement of God vpon the iust and vniust howe that which the Atheists say that feare causeth gods amongest men serueth to ouerthrow their damnable opinion Chap. 97. ASER The wicked may flatter themselues and labour as much as they list to rocke themselues asleepe in their impieties and horrible vices yet they cannot preuayle so much but they haue continually a warning-peece ringing in their eare and an Apparitour rapping at their doore without ceassing so that they cannot alwayes sleepe at their ease For that is euer true which the Lorde saide to Cain Why art thou wroth and why is thy countenance cast downe If thou doe well shalt thou not bee accepted and if thou doest not well sinne lyeth at the doore Which is as much as if hee had sayde that if Cain doeth as Abel doeth hee shall bee receiued of GOD with that honour that hee is receiued and shall goe with his face looking vpwarde but if hee doe otherwise his sinne will awake him well enough and not suffer him to haue anie rest in his conscience but will so presse him that hee shall bee as a man that lyeth alwayes in a portall or neere vnto it who can take no rest for anie long season by reason of commers and goers that goe in and out by it or that knocke at it euerie houre to haue it opened And therefore it is commonly sayde that Repentaunce euer followeth after sinne For howesoeuer it may bee slowe in comming yet it cannot bee without great heauines and sorow which no vniust person can eschew but he shal be sure to feele it very sharpe and vehement For he must needes feele and haue experience in himselfe that of euill nothing but euill can befall him in the ende and that when he feeleth what euill sinne bringeth vnto him he cannot but bee grieued that he hath committed it and wish that the thing were to doe againe Therefore euery wicked man feeleth himselfe accused and condemned by his owne conscience which is a certaine testimonie vnto him that there is a God and a Iudge whose iudgement he cannot auoyde But before we proceed in this discourse it shal be good for vs to know what conscience is properly Wee are then to knowe that although sinne hath greatly troubled the minde which God hath giuen vs by the darkenesse of errour and ignoraunce wherewith it is filled yet it coulde not so wholly blind it but still there remayned in it some sparkles of that light of the knowledge of God and of good and euil which is naturally in men and which is borne with them This remnant that yet remayneth is commonly called by the Diuines Synteresis which is taken from a Greeke word that signifieth as much as if wee should say Preseruation whereby that remnant of the light and law of nature that remaineth in vs is still preserued and kept in our soule after sinne And so this worde Synteresis signifieth that knowledge of the Lawe which is borne with vs and it is so called because it alwayes keepeth in man yea in the most wicked that can bee an aduertisement or instruction which telleth him what is right and iust and that there is a iudgement of God Some distinguish betweene Synteresis and Conscience others take them both for one and the same thing calling this Synteresis the very conscience it selfe whereas others say it is the naturall iudgement and some the light of our minde and spirite The Philosophers who had some obscure knowledge saide that there are certaine Anticipations in our nature by which they meant the selfe-same thing in a manner For by these Anticipations they vnderstande those principles of knowledge and naturall informations which being as it were rules wee haue not learned of any Masters neither by vse or experience but wee haue drawen and receiued them from nature whom God hath appoynted in this respect to be our mistres For this cause the Philosophers vsed this word Anticipation or som other of the same signification in the language wherein they wrote before we receiue these natural rules from nature as from our mother before we receiue any other either by learning of our masters by vse or by studie For to Anticipate signifieth as much as to preuent and to take before It is true that these rules of nature are in greater number and more certayne in some then in others and so are polished and encreased more by studie by vse by experience and by exercise Nowe by what name soeuer this light of our mind and this naturall censure is called by which we iudge what is right and iust or otherwise sure it is that of it owne nature it is alwaies caried to that which is true good And from hence commeth the approbation of vertues dislike of vices from which also the lawes and commandements of men touching maners doe afterwards flow so the conscience that is within euery one to the ende it may argue reprooue and condemne him for his owne faults So that there is no man but he hath a Iudge within himself except he be altogether depriued of sense and humane vnderstanding and so being turned into a brute beast committeth all vncleannes euen with greedines as S. Paul speaketh to the Ephesians And although some men that are most forsaken of God fall sometimes into this senslesnesse yet it continueth not alwayes with them but God afterwards rowseth them vp well enough causeth thē to apprehend feele the rigor of his iudgements For although nature were so put out smothred in them that no sparkle of naturall light to rectifie their iudgement appeared in them nor yet any flame of Gods wrath which burneth the hart that is turned aside from him yet he hath other means to kindle the fame againe and to set it on
a lamp and mans body The causes of chirst and hunger Of physicke and the causes therof Instructions from the sense of taste The equality of heate and moysture preserueth life Of the inequality that is in the nature of the body A testimonie of the great prouidence of God What meate is fittest for infants From whence commeth the different substance of our members Men haue more varietie of drinks then beasts We must eate neither too much not too litle The chiefe end of foode Iohn 1. Vnthankful men are like to hogs Luke 12. 48. 1. Tim. 4. 4. Food must be receiued with thankeâ— giuing Some more like to madde dogges then men What beautie is and wherein it consisteth The nose is very seruiceable to the braine Why the sense of smelling is placed so neere to that of tasting Of the agreemeÌ„t of these two senses How men abuse these senses Iohn 12. 3. How the spirites are resâ—estâ—ed with sweete odours Of the diuers vses of the nose Of the matter of the nose How the nose is in steade of a spowt to the braine Of the nosethrils and of their parting asunder Of the spungie or siue-bone Of the muscles of the nosethrils and of the sinews of smelling Notable instructions for the soule Psal 16. 11. Of the vse of the externall senses Of the fupersluities that proceede out of the body Of the passages meete to purge the body by Of the pores in the skinne Of the spowts of the braine and head The face compared to a Limbeck Good instructions for all men The profite of care-waxe The diuersitie of faces is wonderfull The great variety of noses Varietie of countenance in one man The description of an angry visage Of an arrogant countenance Pride is seated vpon the eie lids Matth. 23 12. Luke 14. 11. The seate of shame Esay 48. 4. Ezech. 3. 8. Of the true Physiognomy Iob 10. 12. Genes 2. 7. Three sortes of faculties in man Of the animal power Of the sensitiue Of the motiue How we come to the knowledge of the soule The knowledge of the soule how necessary and excellent it is The knowledge of our selues very necessary The diuision of creatures Of creatures without life The celestiall bodies are immutable Of creatures hauing life Of the vegetatiue life Of the sensitiue Of the cogitatiue Of the reasonable soule The soule of man differeth from that of beasts in vnderstanding and immortality The soule is the proper inhabitant of mans body Two natures in man Two sorts of spirites The description of Angels Mens soules haue alwaies life in the. Matth. 10. 28. Luke 12. 4 5. The soule compared to a cunning workman To a musicion To an inhabitant The soule is the workeman the body the toole A glasse to see God in The world is not the body of God How the soule in the body resembleth God in the world The absurd collection of Atheists Of the Animall vertues Three bellies attributed to mans body Of the braine of the image of God therein The braine most resembleth the heauens Three kindes of knowledge Of the first kinde of knowledge common to all liuing creatures Of the second kind of knowledge Of the third kind of knowledge Of the naturall vertue and of the kindes thereof Of the Animal vertues and powers in the internal senses Of Imagination Of Memorie Of Fantasie and Common sense Of Reason and Iudgement The nature of the reasonable part in the soule is hard to be knowne Of the litle Bellies of the braine Of Dâ—â—a mater or the hard mother Of the skull Three vses of the hard Mother Eccles. 12. 6. Of Iia mater or the godly mother Of the braine and office thereof The diuision of the braine Of the presse and Vault in the head Of the Like worme and of his office Of the passage whereby the superfluities of the brain are voyded None can here attaine to a perfect knowledge of the essentiall power of the soule The mind cannot perfectly know it selfe God cannot deceiue nor be deceiued The testimony of the scriptures most firme Rom. 2. 15. Of the seate of voluntary sense and motion Of the Common sense and of his office Of Imagination and of Fantasie Dan. 2. 28 29. The giddinesse of Fantasie Fantasie is dangerous It is very subiect to the motions of good or ill spirites How sorcerers are deluded by the Diuell The deuill counterfaiteth the workes of God Of the force of imagination The strong fancie of women with childe Imagination preuaileth much in beasts Good counsaile for euery one Psal 119. 37. Beasts search only after corporall things belonging to this life Of the seate of reason and of his office Reason is the iudge of Fansie Of Memorie and of his office Dan. 2. Of the seate of memorie Causes of good and bad memories Of the agreement betweene all the senses The memorie is a spirituall eye Of the effects of Reason Of vnderstanding and contemplation A double discourse of Reason in man Memory compared to a picture What remembrance is The minde compared to the keeper of Rolles A good admonition to humble vs. Diuers kindes of madde folkes The imagination troubled Reason troubled The memory lost Dan. 4. How a man may â—â—dge of the â—eats of the senses Of such as are possessed with Deuilles The power of euill spirites Matth. 26. 4â— and 6. 13. Iob 7. 15. 1. Sam. 16. 14 15. 314. Good instructions for all men Psal 148. 8. Of contemplation and action The senses of â—â—â—serue for the good of his soule Contention betwixt the spirite and fantasie What is meant by the reasonable soule Proofe that the soule of beasts is mortall but of men immortal What is in plants aboue stones and in beasts aboue plants in men aboue beasts The end of mâ—nâ— being Only God knoweth the soule perfectly What actions men doe which beasts cannot How beasts discourse Ezech. 37. 1. Act. 10. 3 10 11. 2. cor 12. 2 3. Of the VnderstaÌ„ding and of Will The memory coÌ„pared to the rolles of Chancerie What degrees are betweene Iudgement and Will What knowledge we may haue of variable things In what things coniecture taketh place Of what things science or knowledge may be had In what things wisedome taketh place Ephes 1. 16 17 18. The author of wisedome Ephe. 3. 19. Much darknesse mingled with our natural light The cause of the diuersity of knowledge and of ignorance in men 2. Cor. 4. 4. Causes of the variety of mens opinions The manners of men follow the disposition of their bodies Two kindes of discourses Of the end of al discourses A comparison The seueral powers of the soule Of the office of Iudgement A sound iudgement is an excellent gift of God Two kindes of consents Agreement betwixt Beleefe and Science What Opinion is What doubting is Of saith in diuine things Of the light of faith Of the senses of faith Ephes 4. 30. 2. cor 1. 22. Ephes 2. Hebr. 11. The conclusions of faith are most true
yea they haue some sense and perseuerance of the alteration of seasons according as they fall out by the course of the spheres but yet not by any such knowledge and vnderstanding as is in man Nowe sense and knowledge cannot proceede of the power of the elements but is deriued from some higher thing For it is by meanes of a more celestiall power that beastes are distinguished from plants holding more of the excellencie of their Creatour declaring it a great deale more But man hee mounteth vp much higher For hee ascendeth vp aboue all the heauens euen vnto God and to those spirituall natures by meanes of reason and vnderstanding which make his soule capable of heauenly light and wisedome and of diuine inspirations Whereupon it followeth that the originall and birth of the Soule is celestiall And therefore in this diuersitie of the faculties and powers of the soule and life of man wee must note this that the lower kindes of the soule and life are not the Well-springs and fountaines of the highest as if those powers and faculties did first set these latter awoorking or as if the highest did spring of the basest and receiued their vertues from them but they are onelie certaine aydes and degrees of helpe whereby the highest and chiefest descende and ascende So that the Vegetatiue and nourishing life and vertue is not the originall of the sences and sensitiue vertue but onelie a degree by which the facultie of sense is deriued to the bodie and by little and little ascendeth vp to her powers and offices The like may bee sayde of the vnderstanding and of reason in regarde of the sensitiue facultie For euerie sort and kinde of life and euerie power of the soule hath beginning of it selfe and certaine boundes within which it is conteined Wherein we haue to consider a marueilous woorke and prouidence of GOD in that hee hath ioyned and linked togethet in man things that are so diuers For wee take this as graunted that the soule of man is a spirituall nature and not corporall that it is immortall and created for the contemplation of celestiall and eternall things On the other side wee see howe this so excellent and diuine a nature is ioyned to that part and power that is called Vegetatiue and Nourishing which seemeth rather to bee corporall then spirituall to bee more terrestriall then celestiall and to bee as it were the Kitchen of the bodies of liuing creatures and the Store-house and Originall of their generation So that there is no man of any sounde minde who knowing this marueilous coniunction of nature in thinges so diuers and considering that it cannot come to passe by happe-hazard and at aduenture but hee must needes bee rauished with great admiration and acknowledge an admirable prouidence of God the Creator and Lord of nature But they that are instructed in the holie worde and in the doctrine of the Church haue yet a further consideration of these thinges For they knowe well that albeeit this Kitchin of mans bodie shall haue no necessarie vse in the life to come neuerthelesse God hath established this order and woulde haue it thus ioyned to the soule and spirite to the ende that those beginnings of eternall life and of that true and perpetuall wisedome which hee hath put into vs shoulde bee kindled and inflamed in this mortall life For they shall not shine foorth in anie there who haue not heere had some beginnings but haue suffered those to bee cleane extinguished which they haue receiued of GOD. For this cause doeth the voyce of God and of his heauenly doctrine sounde in mens eares and to these endes hath hee ordayned that gouernement which ought to bee amongest them and hath bounde and fortified it with manie bondes and rampires Wherefore wee stande in neede of doctrine of instruction and discipline vnto which things the consideration of mans nature may greatly helpe vs. For there is no science or humane wisedome howe great soeuer it bee that is able to rehearse and comprehende the great profite which this consideration can affoorde to men euen so farre foorth as they may verie well learne and knowe And of this wee may the better bee resolued if we consider well of that which hath alreadie bene handled yea we may the better iudge hereof if wee perfectly vnderstand that diuision of man made by S. Paul and mentioned by vs in this discourse Therefore AMANA proceede you in the residue of this matter giuing vs first to vnderstand what is the nature and offices of those pure animal cleare and bright spirits which we saide were seruiceable to the soule for all kinde of vnderstanding and knowledge Afterwardes you may more easily instruct vs at large and teach vs what difference there is not onely betweenethe soule and the instruments thereof whereby it worketh but also betweene the instruments themselues and their nature and offices and which of them are nearest or remoued farthest from the soule Of the nature and varietie of the animall spirites and how they are onely instruments of the soule and not the soule it selfe of the nature of those bodies wherein the soule may dwell and worke of the difference that is not onely betweene the soule and the instrumenes by which it woorketh but also betweene the instruments themselues and their natures and offices and which of them are neerest or farthest of of the degrees that are in the vnion and coniunction of the soule with the bodie Chap. 78. AMANA It is requisite that workmen should haue instruments answerable to those works which they are to make and if they haue taken in hand but one single and simple worke they neede but one toole fitte for that purpose as to sawe timber there needeth but a sawe But they that are to make many workes or one woorke that is full of varietie stand in need of many instruments as painters ioyners carpenters masons and such like The same may bee saide of the soule and therefore it hath many members in the body that are giuen vnto it as instruments to serue for those woorkes which it hath outwardly to perfourme Moreouer the soule hath humours to preserue and vphold the members and to keepe them alwayes ready for their worke by those meanes which we haue heard already besides it hath vital spirits of which the animall spirites are bred which serue in steade of a light to garde and conduct it in the actions both of the external and the internall senses And as there is great force in a toole or instrument to cause a good or euil worke so is there in the humors spirites and members of the bodie whereby we are made fitte to exercise and to execute all actions whether they concerne life and sense knowledge and vnderstanding or will and affections For it fareth in this matter as it doeth in the disposition of the aire which the thicker and more obscure it is the lesse cleare will the light
appeare vnto vs and contrariwise the more pure and thinne it is the brighter and more shining it will shew it selfe vnto vs. Nowe for this matter wee must call to minde what wee heard concerning the generation of spirites both Vitall and Animall in those discourses of the nature and office of the heart And as they are thinne vapours engendered of blood concocted and sette on fire through the vertue of the heart that they might bee as it were little flames hauing diuers actions in diuers members so according to the puritie and impuritie of the blood in the composition of the bodie wee are to iudge of the spirites that proceede from them And albeeit they haue all one and the same fountaine namely the heart in which they are bredde neuerthelesse they change according to those places and members wherein they woorke and being so changed they haue diuers and seuerall actions Wee vnderstand then by the Vitall spirite a little flame bredde and borne in the heart of the purest blood whose office is to carie naturall heate to the other members and to giue them vertue and strength to put in practise those actions and offices which they exercise by the same heat It hath beene tolde vs also before that the arteries serue to carie this vitall spirite to all the members But wee are farther to learne that when the vitall spirites bredde in the heart are in part transported to the braine others are engendered of them which are called Animall spirites in that sence in which wee called those Animall faculties and powers from whence the Soule deriueth her vessels and instrumentes in the brayne For after the spirites sent by the heart are come thither they are made more cleane and bright through the vertue of the braine and agreeable to the temperament thereof and then beeing infused into the brayne by meanes of the sinewes they are insteade of a light whereby the actions of the sences are incited and stirred vp as also those motions which are from place to place And as wee haue hearde that a good temperature of the blood and of other humours doeth much helpe forwarde and profite the manners and conditions of men the same may bee saide of the heart and of the spirites proceeding from the same For when the heart is in good temper so that it is not troubled either with anger or sadnesse or any other euill affection it is manifest that the spirites are a great deale the better in the braine Nowe let vs consider the woonderfull woorke of God wrought in man by meanes of the Vitall and Animall spirites For what are the chiefe actions effected in him Are they not the preseruation of life nourishment and generation and then sense and motion with cogitation and the affections of the heart And what were all these thinges without spirites Hence it commeth that in the holy Scriptures the heart is taken for the fountaine not onely of life but also of all the actions of men as it hath beene alreadie declared vnto vs. And for this cause also some haue sayde that these spirites and little Vitall and Animall flames were the soule it selfe or the immediate instrument thereof that is to say the verie next whereby it woorketh immediately so that there is none betwixt them twayne But the latter is more certaine and more agreeable to trueth then the former For if the soule were nothing else but the Vitall and Animall spirites it shoulde fayle and perish with them as the bodily life doeth and so it shoulde not bee immortall But seeing they are but the instruments thereof as the humours of the bodie are and namely the blood from which they proceede the soule can well bee without them albeeit they cannot bee without it and although it cannot without them perfourme the woorkes it doeth with and by them And forasmuch as God hath giuen them to bee as it were a light it is certaine that the light of these surmounteth the light of the Sunne Moone or starres and that all these lights haue great agreement one with another But it is yet a farre more woonderfull woorke of GOD when not onelie the soule vseth these instrumentes for the life of man but also when the celestiall spirite ioyneth it selfe vnto them vsing them in the elect and making them more cleere by his heauenly light that the knowledge of God might bee more euident that their assuraunce and trust in him might bee more firme and that all the motions of his children might bee kindeled the more towardes him So likewise the euill spirite knoweth well howe to take occasion by the badde temperature of the humors to abuse men as wee haue alreadie declared thereby to set forwarde their ruine when hee possesseth the heart troubleth and poysoneth the spirites in that and in the brayne Whereupon hee attempteth to hinder reason and iudgement to bring men to furie and madnesse and to thrust forwarde their heart and their other members to committe foule and execrable factes Whereof wee haue examples in the furie of Saul and in his death in the death of Achitophel of Iudas and of manie others whome hee hath brought to slaye themselues as likewise in manie other horrible factes dayly committed by men Therefore it is very requisite that wee shoulde diligently consider our nature and bee carefull to gouerne and guide it well Wee are to knowe that our spirites are the habitations of the holy spirite and therefore wee are to pray to God through his sonne Christ Iesus to repell and keepe backe euill spirites farre from vs and to inspire his diuine and celestiall spirite into our spirites heartes and mindes that it may guide and gouerne them And this agreeth verie fitly with that prayer which wee hearde alreadie vttered by Saint Paul touching the entire sanctification of the whole man whome hee diuided into spirite soule and bodie So that if wee haue throughly tasted of the former discourses as well concerning the nature of the bodie as of the soule wee may perceiue wherefore the Apostle hath thus diuided the whole man For first wee cannot doubt but that the soule beeing the principall Woorker is such a substaunce and nature as dwelleth in a bodie apt and meete to receiue life in I speake this purposely because all sortes of bodies are not capable of soule and life and they that are capable are not yet capable of euerie kinde of soule and life but onelie of such as are agreeable to their nature hauing those instrumentes in themselues which may bee vsed by them according to their nature Wherefore the soule of man must of necessitie haue another bodie with other instruments and of another nature then the soule of beastesmay haue and the soule of beastes another then the soule of plantes according as euerie one of them differeth from other both in nature and offices But of what nature soeuer eyther the soule or the bodie is the soule hath this