if Faith say one's three and three is one Though Sence say nay we Faith belieue alone Faithes Sences are so firme they cannot faile For they deriue their science from Gods Sonne Through whom in what she seekes she doth preuaile And by the light thereof aright doth runne Faith hath no Fancies fell hir thoughts to quaile Nor by delusions is to wauer wonne For beeing guided by so true a light Hir Iudgement and discourse must needes be right No maruell then though men with Faith endow'd Become so firme that no plague pow'r or skill Can shake them once for they are wholy vow'd To him whose Rod and Staffe doe stay them stil. In few by no meanes can she be subdu'd But stands as vnremou'd as Sion hill Then Faithes foundacions must of force be sure That can all kinde of force so wel endure Yet Iudgements function is of great effect Which sortes Particulars from Generalls Then Generalls from Generalls elect And so from Speciall parteth speciall Then all conferres and as she can select The good from bad and Spirits from Corporals This by hir pow're she able is to doe Especially if God giues ayme thereto But when discourse sets out Fancy must rest Shee s like a whelpe that playes with eu'ry toy Nor must the Will the Memory molest Because it doth the Intellect annoy Which quietly must Sence reports disgest And al hir powre it must thereon imploy But if commotions of the Minde impugne She cannot worke and all must needs go wrong For as in well composed Common-weales The Members in their place their works apply And with reciprocall affection feales Each others want and it with speede supply So in well-mannag'd mindes the Sences deales Which hinders not ech others faculty But for the publike good of Souls and Minde Each Pow're applies the worke to it assign'd And Memory is true if she be trusted If otherwise shee 's more then most vnsure Shee 'l keepe Mindes riches else till they be rusted Yet riches of the Minde are passing pure But if the Minde with rust of Care be crusted Then Memory in force cannot endure For cares are moathes and cankers of the Minde That Memory consumes therein confin'd So while Reas'n worketh Iudgement rest doth take But when that worke is wrought the same she wayes And markes with Linxes Eyes what Reas'n did make If wel or ill or neutrall she bewrayes And if she finde hir eyes not wel awake VVith watchfull eyes againe she it suruayes And ceaseth not till she be fixed fast In that which of the truth hath greatest taste And when she doubts she is her selfe deciu'd It growes from Ill that is so like to Good That for that good its commonly receiu'd Yet is the Frier not made by the Hood But likelihoods of Truth by Sence conceiu'd May drowne her without heede in Errors flood Else hardly would she slide but firmly stand If Falshood like Truth bare hir not from land For as true Good agreeth with the Will So Truth hath with the Minde true simpathy And as the Will hath no such foe as Ill So Error is the Mindes most ennemy If Iudgement then approue of Reasons skill Shee ioynes hir selfe thereto insep'rably And so of Iudgments reas'n and Reas'ns iudgement Makes then but one by force of one consent Fow'r things there are that makes our knowledge strong Experience knowne to know each Principle Naturall iudgement hauing health among And reuelation from th' Inuisible That 's iust and right and cannot vtter wrong These makes vs know all comprehensible The first three tendeth to Philosophy The last belongeth to Diuinity These are the Elements whereof is form'd Our totall knowledge humane or diuine And had the first Man not bin sinne-deform'd More bright then Sol it in the Soule should shine For to that influence t 'had bin conform'd That make the Mindes eyes pure and chistaline For then Gods glorious Sonne all only wise Had lent the Spirite Sunne-bright all-seeing eyes Now twixt the Soule and Spirit great oddes there is Though vulgarly they taken are for one For by the Soule is meant those faculties That doe consorta humane Soule alone The Spirit doth not as they doe oft amisse For it to grace and virtue still is prone The Soule to Sinne consents but not the Sp'rit For that with Sinne and Flesh still maintaines fight Whereto in sort agrees what 〈◊〉 faine How Ioue did Reas'n ensconse within the 〈◊〉 And for th' Affections did the Corpes ordaine Which Reas'ns regiment doth disannull Taking two Tirants fell with them to raigne VVhich oft the whole man to their parte doe pull That 's Ire which in the Hart hath residences And in the Belly raignes Concupiscence VVhich Passion of it selfe is of such pow'r Vnlesse th' almighty Powre preuent the same As Nolens volens will the Soule deolow'r And make the flesh Gomorrah-like to flame Though God and Nature at that sight doelow'r And Hell wide-gaping laughes to see the same Nay though it should foorthwith destroy the Soule Yet Flesh being fraile wil make faire Flesh thus fowle But from this Passion to repasse from whence VVe past Oblique and so out-right proceede For hauing past the faculties of Sence It rests that now wee weigh what doth succeede But stay a while my Muse thou must from hence Mount higher then thou canst then hast thou neede To rest in contemplation of thy flight Sith Contemplation next ensues by right WHen from the outward Sences is conuai'd All their relations in the common Sence And so to Fantasie as erst was said And then to Reason or Intelligence From whence being sent to Iudgments confe It lastly comes to Contemplations sight rence Which is the viewe of Truthes true consequence For Reas'n and Iudgement findes out what is right Which Contemplation viewes with rare delight For to the Spirit nought more pleasing is Then naked Truth she is so passing faire For when they meete they do with comfort kisse And nought but Error can that ioy impaire Herehence it is that though we do dispaire Of some whose manners are most monstrous Yet they by Natures instinct Truth desire For knowledge to their Spirits is precious And deeme all dull-heads most inglorious Nay though the Sp'rit cannot come neere the truth It pleaseth hir t' approach the neer'st she may Which like an egre Beagle it pursu'th Whose paines are passing pleasure all the way Then as the Minde is more diuinely gay So wil it most most diuine Truth affect But beeing base it will the same bewray By most pursuing things of least effect Which Spirits of diuine temper do neglect The Contemplation then doth ruminate On Truth and none but Truth for onely it Vnto hir dainty tast is delicate And nothing doth the same so fully fit As this Soule-feeding single simple bit Then Contemplation must be most diuine That can with Truth diuine a humane wit And Zeale from Error doth aright refine And to the purest faith the same combine She diuine
I no name can frame To fitte thy greatnesse but it is too scant Thy goodnesse is as great good Great I grant But where art thou among thy Angels Noe Where then with thy Church euer triumphant There and where not thou art but yet not so As thou art with and in thy selfe I know For twixt the Heau'n where Saints and Angels rest And that same Heau'n of Heauens where thou resid'st Is greater distance then from East to West Yet on the Cherubins thou often rid'st And euery where in Essens thou abid'st But where thy Glories beames doe glitter most With distance infinite thou it deuid'st From all the Orders of the heau'nly Hoast Where to thy selfe thy selfe alone thou sho'st In quintescens of Glories quintescens Which was and is most vnapprochable The Throne is plac'd of thy magnificence Whereon thou sitt st in light vnthinkeable Then not by Tongue or Pen expressable For eu'n as when the Sunne his beames display Because our Eyes to see the same 's vnable We through a scarfe behold them as we may Eu'n so must Man behold Gods Glories ray Such as goe downe into the Sea profound Of deepe Philosophy doe meete thee there Of Men profane thou art there often found For in thy Workes thy steppes do plaine appeare Nay in thy works is stampt thine Image cleere And yet no worke of thine resembles thee So right though Men and Angels drawen neere But that the difference infinite must be Sith thou art infinite in each degree The Deites that in the Starres do dwell Thy Deity their seu'rall Mansions made And all that Sacred Senate found full well That it o're them supreme dominion had Who found it permanent when these did fade By Natures light they saw a light extreame Glaunce from his grace that did their glory shade And saw his Image true as in a dreame Together with the new Ierusalem This goodly Great or greatly Good is he So good so great as none so great or good That was that is and euermore shal be In each respect without all liklyhood Including in his threefold-single Godhood Notions Properties Relations In whom they stil as in their Subiect stood Then all Diuines diuide the Notions Into fiue braunches or partitions Namely into Innascibility Fatherhood breathing or Spiration Son-hood Procession these fiue naturally Dependeth still by Logicall relation Vpon the mistery of the Trinity All which conioynd makes but one Unity The two first solely to the Sire pertaines The third to Sire and Sonne indifferently The fourth the Sonne within himselfe retaines And to the holy-spirit the fift remaines Which Notions are Relations in some sence For Father Sonne doth euer presuppose And Sonne a Father by like consequence The holy Spirit proceeding from both those Implieth them from and with whom he goes The Notion of Innascibility Is no Relation sith it doth suppose No other person in the Trinity But is a Notion noting Vnity The two first is the Fathers in respect He onely doth beget and doth vnite Spiration Father and the Sonne effect From it the Holy-Ghost's excluded quite They breathe and what is breathed is that Sprite But Filiation solely to the Sonne Doth appertaine sith only Sonne hee hight For as one Father so one Sonne alone The Trinity affords and brookes but one cession with the holy Spirit accords And only with that Spirit it doth agree As with the other two three other words Agreed and did with him quite disagree So this alone applied to him must be For if they breath'd him foorth as erst was said None can be sayd then to proceed but he Sith from the other two he is conuaide Yet in the other two he still is staid Now in another Sence we may transmute These Notions into Properties To witt When they doe one and not another sute As father doth the Father only fitt The Sonne the Sonne and to the holy Sprite Procession is peculiar And againe Innascibility we must admitt The Father But Spiration th' other twaine Then name of Property t' will not sustaine So in the Trinity fiue Notions are Foure Properties and foure Relations Wherein besides are other Secrets rare Founded vpon vnsearchable foundations The Sires beginning is th' eternall Sonnes Though he be said to be the Sonnes beginning Yet no beginning had these holy ones But from beyond Beginnings both haue bin Nor can their neuer endings euer liâ— The Sire and Sonnes beginning being one Breath foorth their blessed Spirit a third one being VVhich by a generall creation Beginning gaue to all in one agreeing And from eternity the same foreseeing The greatest Monarch and the least Insect With earthly things aquaticall or fleeing Whose seu'rall shapes and what they should effect Had euer being in their Intellect et how they should there actually exist And by what meanes they should haue entrance there Sith there eternally they did subsist Is hard for Man to know who doth appeare A Chaos of defect and folly meere They entred not by meanes into his mind As from Ideas which without him were VVithout whom nothing is in any kind Then in him selfe he all that all doth finde Yet are they not of such necessity As without them he could no way exist For they on him not he on them rely Then how eternally can they consist Sith he alone doth only so subsist They are not of his Nature but his wil His Intellect inciting to insist In knowledge of what that will should fulfill So in that knowledge they existed still For as to God it is most naturall To know himselfe in whome he all doth seet Eu'n so to him it is essentiall To know the kindes of all things as they be Or else he should not know his owne degree Yet his essentiall knowledge doth not stretch Vnto particulars as Mee and Thee For he may well exist without that reach And which his knowledge no way can impeach But all his Science of distinguisht things Flowes from the freedome of his sacred will Drawne from those Notions which his nature brings And are essentiall to his nature still Who made to shew his vniuersall skill What is created in particular As t' were a proofe of that he can fulfill When he is pleas'd to make or mend or marre Then in that skill all things distinguisht are The things that were or are or are to come Makes in his minde no change though chang'd they be Obiects our mindes affect our mindes o'recome But his intelligence is euer free Actiue not Passiue sith all Act is he For as by Sense he makes vs Arts to learne And abstract Formes by other meanes to see So he by meanes can seu'rall things discerne Though it no way his nature doth concerne Who being infinite nought is in him That 's lesse then so but so he could not be If his all-seeing Eies should be so dimme That now he sees what erst he could not see Then sees he all from all eternitie The whole the partes the rootes
the Will proceedes And with that Good the Will it freely feeds Yet lest the Soule beholding hir faire forme Aboue hirselfe should of hirselfe aspire He giues vs proofe he can hir parts deforme That form'd hir parts if pride prouoke his ire Then lets hee Fiends the Fantacie enorme VVith strong delusions and with passions dire Herehence it is that some suppose they are Stone dead some all Nose some more brittle ware Some hauing this parte perfect are defected In the powre rationall the Soules sentinell That is with doting dulnesse so infected As what they say or do they wot not well Yet is their Memory right well affected And all their other Faculties excell So Sicknesse some Mens Memory vnframes That they forget their country friends and names Some others not in parte but wholy loose The vse of all the Sences of their soule Because they did their faculties abuse Those beeing franticke Reason with Rage controule And worse then beasts they liue and cannot chuse The Good from Bad ne yet the Faire from Fowle But like infernall Furies fare they than Iniurious to themselues to God and Man Thus may these Powers perish all or parte VVhen that almighty Powre his grace withdrawes Then let high Spirits retaine a lowly hart That may obedient be to Reasons Lawes For ill successe proceeds from worse desart And good effects proceeds from no ill cause If thy Mindes eyes see more then such eyes can Thanke God therefore yet thinke thy selfe a man For if thy thoughts flie higher then that pitch And Luciferian pride thy Minde inflate Thou mayst with him fall hedlong in the ditch And runne into Gods vnreuoked hate Then will the Fiend so much thy Mind bewitch That thoushalt be possesst in endlesse date VVith his strong Legions Then let Reason raine Thy head-strong Will and thy high thoughts restraine Now hauing seene how each internal Sence Contained is in cauernes of the Braine And how their works haue mutuall reference That so they may their common good maintaine Let vs with Eagles eyes without offence Transview the obscure things that do remaine For Mans aye-searching Sp'rite with toil 's opprest Til it haue found that Good that giues it rest Yet this breeds bate twixt Reas'n and Fantacie For Fantacie beeing neere the outward Sences Allures the Soule to loue things bodily But Reason mounts to higher Excellences And mooues the spirit her nimble wings to trie In pursuite of diuine Intelligences Who in the iawes of Fantasie doth set A Snaffle to o're-rule her wilde coruet And all this vigor to the Spirite is giu'n To flie with restlesse wings of Contemplation Vnto that Powre which in the highest Heau'n Makes his no powre-impeaching Habitation Of which Powre if this Powre be quite bereau'n Her dignitie incurreth degradation For as nought is more rare in Man then Spright So nought but rarest things should it delight For it beseemes not that high Maiestic To Man his creature lower to descend Then Man by force of his Mindes Ingeny Is able to him easly to ascend That makes him not appeare to Mans weake eie Because his Reason can him apprehend If Reason then by vse be cleere and bright She may see him vnseene by her owne light For by our Reason and Intelligence We know him from which knowledge Loue doth slowe For we may loue that we see not by Sense But cannot loue the thing we doe not know Our Soules we loue and loue the place from whence Our Soules first came though Sense them cannot show So that high Powre though our Sense cannot show him Yet may we loue because our Reasons know him For can it be Mans Soule should be endow'd With Understanding Reason Will and Wit To whose high powre the highest Powre hath bow'd His goodnesse to be conuersant with it But that the Soule is therewithall allow'd On sempiternall Thrones with him to sit If so what can be worth the Soules discourse But that same Minde that gaue the Soule such force Let Beasts whose soules are meerely Sensitiue Whose Beeing ceaseth with their Bodies beeing Let those with Tooth and Naile striue here to liue Because they die for euer with their dying To them no other Soules did Nature giue But such as to this life was most agreeing But sith Mens soules of God Characters bee With nothing but with God they should agree Which Soules without their corp'rall Instruments By vertue of their intellectiue powres Within themselues can act some good intents Though not expresse them to this sence of ours Who are sometimes rapt vp with rauishments As parted from the Body certaine howres Wherein they exercise their virtue so That more then erst they knew they doe and kno Wherein the Vnderstanding and the Will Wherewith the Soule are sumptuously set forth Are most imploi'd whose functions are to fill The Soules with Treasures of the rarest worth Which th' Intellect to Will presenteth still And to the loue thereof the will allur'th For Will will nothing entertaine in loue But what the Vnderstanding doth approue And what it doth approue as erst was said It sends to Memories safe custodie So then the powres that most the Soule do aide Is Understanding Will and Memorie Which if by Error they bee not betraid They will the Soules affects so fortifie That shee in spight of all the Pow'res belowe Shall giue hir foes a glorious ouerthrowe Yet as the Sunne to vs imparts his light Now more now lesse as it is cleare or clouded So fares it with our Vnderstandings sight That 's darke as hell if it with Sinne be shrowded Or if that Earthly things inclose it quight VVherewith the Soule may be so ouer-crowded That she may faint and finally may fall To vtter darkenesse hir foe Capitall Besides the Sodies state and constitution May much auaile or disaduantage it Then Riot is no good Phisition To heale or keepe in health mans feeble Wit For excesse tends to Dissolution And Dissolution doth in Darkenesse sit Then wouldst thou haue a cleere Intelligence Feare God fare well but feede without offence For though the Soule the Body should o're-rule By lawe of Nature and in Reasons right Yet oft we see the Body rule the Soule When meates excesse augments the Bodies might The Flesh exalted wil the Spirit controule And make the Bodies manners brutish quight But if thy Flesh be ill compos'd by kinde Mend it with holsome meate and mod'rate minde For what a monstrous vice is this in Man To quench his Spirit with wine and belly-cheare When Beasts will take no more then well they can Although by force they should aby it deare For neuer Man a Beast by rigor wan To eate or drinke more then hee well could beare Then if thou wouldst not haue a Beast excell thee Take thou no more then Nature doth compell thee O that these Healthes that makes so many sicke Were buried in the lake of Leachs quicke For since our English ah were Flusbeniz'd Against good manners and good men
Pow're consociates Pow'res diuine Gliding through Heau'n on hir celestiall wings And to the Angells Hymnes hir eares incline And all the Hoast of Heaun together brings At once to view those bright-eye-blinding things Yet stayes not here but doth hir selfe intrude Into the presence of the King of Kings To see th Obiectiue sole Beatitude That of the Cherubins cannot be view'd And hou'ring here she staies and straines hir fight To see the same as of it selfe its seene But taper-pointed Beames of extreame light Darts through hir eies and make them sightlesse cleane Yet inly sees a certaine Light vnseene That so doth rauish all hir powres of Sence As in the Heau'n of Heau'ns it makes hir weene She sensibly hath reall residence O'rewhelm'd with Glory and Magnificence But if the Body in disposed bee And due proportion of the Humors want If Wisdome do not well the same foresee She here may passe the bounds of Grace I grant And so wax franticke vaine and ignorant Or else presumptuously too curious For Powre inscrutable she must not fcant To hir powres reach for that were impious And most impard'nably presumptuous For as our Corp'rall Eyes cannot behold The Sunne whose substance is but corporal So the Soules Eye being fixt to mortall mould Cannot behold the Deity immortall But if our Eye were supernaturall And fixt vnto the Sunne then might it see The Sunne it selfe and with the Sunne see all So shall the Soules Eye see that Deitie When after death it fixt to it shall bee Yet Contemplation may by force of loue Whilst yet the Soule is to the Body tide Wing d with Desire ascend her selfe aboue And with hir God eternally abide So neare as if she toucht his glorious side For as one drawing nigh materiall fire Doth feele the heate before the flame be tride So who drawes nigh to God by Loues desire Shall to and with that heau'nly Flame aspire This is that holy kind and sugred Kisse That God in loue vouchsafes the louing Soule To which this louing Lord espowsed is When as hir Lord he by his grace doth rule Which doth extinguish all affections foule This Kisse must needes be short as Lightnings leame Or else it would the Body so controule Through Soules excesse of ioy in such extreame That it would leaue hir in a datelesse dreame Those Soules that are by Contemplation fixt So fast to God that th' are remou'd by none Are like the Seraphins to God confixt Who are exempt from outward charge alone And still like burning lampes surround his Throne For as fine Gold beeing molten in the fire Doth seeme as if the fire and it were one So is the louing Soule through loues desire With God in Contemplation made intire Here Contemplation may so long reside For here she makes the Soule drunke with delight As if the Body Soulelesse did abide And all the Sences were depriu'd of might While from hir selfe the Soule thus takes hir flight To such excesse of mind some men are brought That they do see by reuelation right How they should liue and belieue as they ought VVith many maruells else surmounting thought This ghostly wine in Contemplation drunke Hath made ere now some Soules so drunke with ioy As some good Bodies in the same haue suncke As if they were strooke dead with some annoy And othersome it hath constraind to toy To sing to leape to laugh and some to rue Who then to weepe they doe themselues imploy Some nothing say but Iesu Iesu Iesu And othersome some words they neuer knew The cause of all these motions as should seeme From the Soules blisse and ioyes-aboundance came Which to the Body shares that ioy extreame And it not able to containe the same Doth vent it out with jestures vsde in game As when new wine into a caske is cast It vpwardes boiles and many motions frame And wanting vent it will the vessell brast So fares the Body which these Dainties taste But heere me thinkes I heare some Athist say All these are but meere naturall effects For th' obiect of our Loue our Soules betray To eu'ry Passion which it selfe reflects And so the Pagan his false God respects As Loue thereto these things in him doth worke But neuer Heathens heart had these Affects For neuer in a Pagan Iew or Turke Can such Soule-pleasing Iubilations lurke For as in Tempests Smoake away doth flie Which yet augments the fire and spreads the flame So in Afflictions stormes these dogges will die And can no praier with deuotion frame But Christians then can best performe the same Who though with Troubles stormes they still are tosst Yet of their endlesse griefes they make their game And in their most affliction glory most When such affliction grieues a Pagans ghost Know then whose knowledge is but Ignorance Whose Wit though ne're so nimble is but lame That all is subiect to the gouernance Of that I Am that no Tongue well can name For there is nothing subiect vnto Chance But as he will so will all Fortunes frame Who is the proppe of diuine Prouidence Which thou seest not for want of Grace and Sence Thou Diu'l incarnate Monster like a Man Perfidious Athist gracelesse Libertine Which Nature then produc'd when she began To wrong her selfe and from herselfe decline Yea then when Reason farre herselfe ore-ran And to the brutish part did whole incline What brow of Brasse can beare thy earned blame Whose Conscience fear'd wants sense of sinne and shame For loe the Soule by force of Contemplation Engulphed lies in ioyfull Extacy Where she doth languish in a loue-sicke passion Swallowed with sweets in such extremity That shee s eu'n stifl'd with felicity But O wretch that I am when when O when Shall my dry soule her thirst here satisfie But I a sincke of sinne and Soile of Men Am too too fowle this Fount a loofe to ken Here neede the Soule to stand vpon her guard And keep the Tempter at the Sp'rits sword-point Else pride will puffe her sith so well she far'd Which swelling will runne downe from ioynt to ioynt That she wil burst if Grace her not annoynt This found he true that found this true repast In the third Heau'n as God did fore-appoint Yet must he Buffetts with such Banquets taste Lest he should be puft vp and so disgrac'd For our Soules foe extracts Ill out of Good As our Soules friend doth draw Good out of Ill The foe can foile if he be not with-stood With Pride our Piety and our good-will But our best friend though we offend him still From these offences drawes humilitie Which makes vs crouch and kneele and pray vntill He doth commiserate our misery This doth our friend vnlike our enemie The Soule cannot her soundnesse more bewray Then when she doth Temptations strong resist For like as when our Pulses strongly play We know wee neede not then a Galenist So when the Soule doth paint striue and persist In strugling with Temptations then we kno That