first place know that the Author of it is far from the humour of pressing his Sentiments upon any one And again that herein we have chosen rather to follow the free Order of Nature and the manner in which it came from the Author in Discourse than to follow School-inventions And in the last place the Reader may be pleased to consider that in case this Work should have been set down fully and at large the few leaves of this Book would not have been able to contain it but would have made a great yea rather many great Volumes Nature her self being so great a Book as she is But yet if in one or the other â—â—ace of this Treatise some further Information may seem to be wanting the same may be met with in other parts of it where upon occasion the same thing is again mentioned for to avoid all superfluity of words forasmuch as in this Discourse the End conformably to Nature is contained in the Beginning and the Beginning in the End And therefore neither can any due or right Judgment be passed concerning it from any one particular passage therein nor indeed without a considerative and oft-repeated reading over of the whole Book Nor that I would go about to deny but that some faults may be here found properly to be attributed to my self as well for want of skill and capacity with reference to the Language I not being a German born as especially by reason of the weightiness of the things themselves which therefore I doubt not but will be easily pardoned me Not to mention now the haste in which I did it by reason of my unexpected departure out of the Land after I had undertaken it Moreover seeing that for want of another this Treatise hath been now Translated into English by a Hollander it is not improbable but upon this account also some failures may have slipt in which the Reader as he meets with them is desired favourably to pass by And because we had a great desire that he would be pleased to comply with our desire of having his Picture engraven in Copper printed in the front of this Book to the end that a stop might be put to the cheats of many who make use of his Name to deceive people and their fraud detected Forasmuch as the same was done to my knowledge by a certain person at Paris about five years since who pretended to great and extraordinary Cares and at first by this means got great sums of money but afterwards was fain to slip away in secret whereas it is notorious that Van Helmont never received either money or monies worth for the like or any other testifications of his Friendship In like manner we have heard of another here in London a Lieutenant-Colonel who pretended to have married his Sister and that by this means he had obtained many rare and excellent Medicines but when Prince Rupert in presence of the said Van Helmont did send for this Lieutenant-Colonel to come to him and speak with his Brother-in-Law he excused himself and withal declared that what was reported of him was a mistake and that it was not his Sister but a Servant of the House whom he had married Wherefore we supposed that his Effigies placed before the Book might prevent such an abuse for the future but we found he was not resolved to gratifie this our request at present but upon our importunate instance he at last consented to another Request of ours viz. to the end that many ignorant persons who are very liable to mistake might be rowsed out of their dream that for a testimony of his outward manner of Life the Patent of Honour freely given and granted unto him by the Emperour and the Roman Empire should be printed at the end of this Book And forasmuch as all this is now published with the will and consent of the Author he expects that the generous and truth-loving Reader will be pleased well to consider what is here set down according to the circumstances before-mentioned and so pass an impartial Judgment upon all in the same manner as the said Author promiseth that whensoever any in kind love shall better inform him to take and receive the same with a like affection to the end that Truth which for so long a time hath been strange and unknown to the greatest part of Europe may at length be manifested and the Publick Good promoted Dat. Lond. Octob. 5 1684. J. B. A Low-Dutch HYMN of ADAM BOREEL presented by him to the Author of this BOOK who had it translated into English I. O Heavenly Light my Spirit to Thee draw With powerful touch my Sences smite Thine Arrows of Love into me thraw With flaming dart Deep wound my Heart And wounded seize for ever as thy Right II. O sweetest sweet descend into my Soul And sink into its lowest Abyss That all false Sweets Thou may'st controul Or rather kill So that Thy Will Alone may be my Pleasure and my Bliss III. Do thou my Faculties all captivate Vnto thy self with strongest tye My Will entirely regulate Make me Thy Slave Nought else I crave For this I know is perfect Liberty IV. Thou art a Life the sweetest of all Lives Nought sweeter can thy Creature taste 'T is this alone the Soul revives Be thou not here All other cheer Will turn to dull satiety at last V. O limpid Fountain of all virtuous Lear O Well-spring of true Joy and Mirth The root of all Contentments dear O endless Good Break like a floud Into my Soul and water my dry Earth VI. That by this Mighty Power I being rest Of every thing that is not ONE To Thee alone I may be left By a firm Will Fixt to thee still And inwardly united into one VII And so let all my Essence I Thee pray Be wholly filled with Thy dear Son That thou thy splendour mayst display With blissful Rays In these hid ways Wherein Gods Nature by frail Man is won VIII For joyned thus to Thee by the sole aid And working whilst all silent stands In mine own Soul nor ought's assay'd From self-desire I 'm made entire An Instrument fit for thy glorious Hands IX And thus henceforwards shall all Workings cease Vnless't be those Thou dost excite To perfect that Sabbatick Peace Which doth arise When self-will dies And the new Creature is restored quite X. And so shall I with all thy Children dear While nought debars Thy Workings free Be closely joyned in union near Nay with thy Son Shall I be one And with thine own adored Deity XI So that at last I being quite releas'd From this strait-lac'd Egoity My Soul will vastly be increas'd Into that ALL Which ONE we call And One in 't self alone doth all imply XII Here 's Rest here 's Peace her 's Joy and holy Love The Heaven 's here of true Content For those that hither sincerely move Here 's the true Light Of Wisdom bright And Prudence pure with no self-seeking
sight yet are ready to fall into a swound And is it not plain from hence what a great and hidden power man hath in himself which when excited can distinguish and discern the Spirits that come from Bodies which are concealed from them 72 Q. Seeing that Man as the Little World hath everywhere in himself several fiery Solar and also cool Lunar Spirits the union of both which is the cause of a good order and health but when the said Spirits by means of any excess are disordered will not that be the best way of pacifying them which is done without the least weakning of Nature And must not a good experienced Physician be like an understanding Master of a Ship who well weighs and considers the condition his Ship is in and the circumstances of the Storm and look to himself and have a care that he doth not do as an unexperienced Master of a Ship who not onely casts over board what is an overpoise to the Ship but together with it the necessary Provisions of Life and so afterwards for want of the same must perish together with his Ships Company 73 Q. When therefore an experienced Ship-Master who hath weathered many Storms and hath seen many Ships lost sees a Storm arising he is not at all affrighted or dismayed thereat but keeps all things in good order as knowing that God is the Governour of Nature and doth all things in number weight and measure and that Storms themselves are not without their use and profit And ought not likewise an understanding man to consider that Sickness and Diseases prepare men for Patience and Virtues In like manner as a Ship-Master is not against the Wind because he knows the Wind to be advantageous to him as furthering his Voyage and ought not a Physician as well to understand the same When by means of disorderly Heats and Colds the wind in man is at any time raised that the same must be laid and stilled again and that he must wait the time when As our Saviour did in curing Peter's Wives Mother where he did not proceed as when he cast out Devils but onely in the same way and manner as when he rebuked and stilled the raging Waves of the Sea Furthermore like as a Ship-Master when he is at Sea and hath a good Wind though not very strong and violent is satisfied therewith Ought not so likewise a man to consider who finds no Wind in himself that the Wind is there though he doth not perceive it forasmuch as the Wind is his Life but that a sensible perception of it is no more needful to him than a strong and stormy Wind is necessary to a Ship-Master to advance his Voyage And forasmuch as some persons-when they perceive a Wind in themselves are ignorant that it is onely some disorder of their life and that the Wind it self is good for them and their very life yet afterwards when they have learnt by experience that the Wind Heat and Cold are not hurtful to their Life but rather useful and profitable can we suppose that ever after they will be against the same and not rather love it as the Mother loves her sick Child And may not this be accounted the first and best step towards Recovery And when such a ground or foundation as this is laid in those that are right Patients will not then first the outward Medicaments be received and rightly applied by Nature Furthermore that the Wind as was now mentioned doth work in stilness in Man without being perceived can we not infer this from the dissection of Excrements viz. that a Wind is made in the Guts which by degrees thrusts forth the said Excrements CHAP. IV. Concerning the Revolution of Humane Souls 1 Q. FOrasmuch as we are informed from Scripture as well as Nature that God is a God of Order who hath created every thing in its certain and determinate number measure and weight to the end that by a never-ceasing Revolution it might be still renewed until it grow up to its full age maturity and perfection in all the Macrocosm or great World from above from the Sun Moon and Stars and thence down even to the Center of the Earth and then again to move and rise up from a state beneath to one above And seeing that man is made out of the Great World and is the Beginning and End of the same and continues as it were bound and fastened thereunto as long as he is in this life and will it not follow then that in like manner there must be a continual Revolution in the whole Man as well as there is in the Greater World Might not we also by this means be able from Nature it self to answer and satisfie Jews Heathens and Turks in Asia Africk and Europe who are wont to produce weighty grounds in relation to this matter in hand viz. the Revolution of Humane Souls For seeing that our Christian Religion as it is the best so must be the wisest of all others in order to convince Gainsayers and lead them to the perfect Truth the Query is how we may be able to satisfie these People when in confirmation of this their Opinion they produce these following instances and proofs out of the Old and New Testament of our own Bible which we will set down here and illustrate as briefly as may be 2 Q. Forasmuch as we find in the Old and New Testament that the first of all the divine Commands is this Hear O Israel the Lord 〈◊〉 God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord 〈◊〉 God with all thy heart with all thy soul and with 〈◊〉 thy might Mat. 22. 37. Mark 12. 30 33. Luke 10 27. Deut. 6. 4 5. and cb 10. 12. Now how can any one love God when he doth not know him And how can he know him otherwise than by 〈◊〉 Attributes and Properties which amongst others are these That he is a Creator of Heaven and Earth and of all created Beings Moreover 〈◊〉 Unchangeableness Goodness Love Wisdom Justice and Perfection which are incontestable and unchangeable and must be allowed him without the least question Now which way can we reconcile with these Attributes of God that he wh◠is a wise and perfect Creator who hath created a things in so wise an order that they might all at last be able to attain their full and ultimate perfection should have created such imperfect Creatures as Fools and Naturals Abortives and Monsters and all those wicked and barbarous men we find in the World which kill and afterwards feed on one another c Now to suppose that all these must continue in this their state of imperfection would not this run directly contrary to the forementioned Attributes But how can this be that God should work and act contrary to his own nature and himself And is there any other way to be found whereby such imperfect Creatures should arrive at perfection besides that very same which the New Testament points
mient XIII Here Spirit Soul and cleansed Body may Bathe in this Fountain of true Bliss Of Pleasures that will n'ere decay All joyful Sights And hid Delights The sense of these renewed here daily is XIV Come therefore come and take an higher flight Things perishing leave here below Mount up with winged Soul and Spright Quick let 's be gone To him that 's One But in this one to us can all things show XV. Thus shall you be united with that ONE That ONE where 's no Duality For from this perfect GOOD alone Ever doth spring Each pleasant thing The hungry Soul to feed and satisfie XVI Wherefore O man consider well what 's said To what is best thy Soul incline And leave off every evil trade Do not despise What I advise Finish thy Work before the Sun decline Concerning the MACROCOSME OR Great World CHAP. I. Concerning the Lights of Heaven Quest. 1. HOw are we to consider the Lights of Heaven Respond The Lights of Heaven are to be considered in a twofold respect for there are some warm Lights and some cool or refrigerating Lights both which may be united because they are of kin together and symbolize with each other 2. Q. Which are those you call warm Lights R. The warm Lights are those that are Male or Day-lights 3. Q. Which are the Cool Lights R. Those which in opposition to the former may be termed Female or Night-lights 4 Q. How can we know that the warm Lights are Male or Day-lightâ—â— R. Because the Sun which is the â—arm Male Day-light doth govern or rule by Day and the Day is more noble than the Night 5 Q. Why are the cool Lights Female or Night-lights R. Because the Moon and Stars which are cool Night-lights rule in the night and for that the Night is the Days Wife 6 Q. Must we then consider the Sun in opposition to the Moon and Stars as the Male or Husband R. Yes forasmuch as we perceive that part of the Moons light proceeds from the Sun even as the Woman from the Man Gen. 2. 22. 7 Q. When now the Light of the Sun which is warm comes into the Moon which is cold what disposition or property is produced from this meeting or union R. Cold and Frost 8 Q. How can this be made out R. This may be demonstrated several ways both from Natural and Mechanical Experiments 9 Q. How can this be made out from Nature R. We perceive in the Summer that when for some time together a great heat hath been in the air and a cool air follows upon it the drops of rain become changed into cold Hail-stones by which means the former heat ceaseth and a cool air succeeds 10 Q. How may the same be demonstated Mechannically R. First When the warm Light of the Sun and the cool light of the Moon both which are united in the Moon are caught and concentred by means of a large burning-glass the said united Rayes produce cold according to what several curious persons from their own experience have attested and even Rusticks know as much for they will not lye down to sleep in the Moon shine but in the shade because they know by experience that the Rayes of the Moon are cold Secondly The same is likewise demonstrated by a peculiar Instrument made for this purpose invented by Basilius Title Governour of the Electoral Castle of Pleissenburg with which Instrument by means of a cool air which is drawn out of a Cellar through Leather Pipes into a Copper vessel and another air heated over the fire in a second vessel being both of them in due manner through Copper Cocks blown into a third vessel that stands in water he produceth Snow Several other experiments might be here alleadged for confirmation of this as well from Nature as from Art by means of Salts and Sulphars warm and cool things which we on purpose pass by as being commonly known 11 Q. What is properly Heat and Cold R. Heat as well as Cold is not a bare accident but a right true spiritual Essence or Being 12 Q. How can it be made out that Heat is a Being R. That Heat is a real Being may be perceived by this instance when a Wain-load of wood of four or five thousand weight is burnt and reduced to ashes which wood is for the most part a birth or product of the Sun as is evident from its burning and forasmuch also as by its warmth it makes the Vegetables of the earth to grow like the Sun which is the Father of all Sublunary things which ashes do not amount to above ten or twelve pound in quantity In these ashes there remains a fix Salt which before was a Sulphurious Oyl but is now precipitated by Heat and may be reduced again into a natural Volatile Salt and this in the way of Nature by means of the Air. The greatest part of the said Sulphurous Oyl would have gone away in case the wood had been burnt in the open Air with a slow soft fire but when it is burnt by a quick strong fire of Reverberation the said Sulphurous Nature becomes precipitated into Salt through the violence of the fire A small part of the said word is changed into a Combustible soot so that all the remaining quantity of so many thousand pounds was all turned to heat Now this Heat which at first was a Spirit and afterwards became a Body viz Wood and now again is changed into a Spiritual Being can pierce through the closest bodies even through the hardst Stones and Metals forasmuch as from it they derive their original and dwell only in those bodies that stand in need of it for their sustenance and makes the same more powerful and full of vertue as also more ponderous as we may perceive forasmuch as men and all other Creatures are fed and maintained by the Heat of the Sun for a man cannot eat so much in the Summer as he can in Winter And the people that live in hot Countries as well as the Beasts do not stand in need of so much food as those of Cold Countries and yet they are more lively vigorous and strong than these So likewise we observe that the Fruits Wood and other Vegetables which grow in hot Countries are more vertuous vigorous ponderous and balsamick because they enjoy more of the Sun than those of other Countries The same is likewise further evidenced from hence for that we find by experience that when the water of the Thames is carried to the East Indies when the ship in which it is comes under the Aequator where the power of the Sun is most intense the water becomes thick tough and clammy but as soon as it is brought again to these parts it becomes thin again and takes fire like Brandy From whence is plainly seen that the fiery vertue of the Sun is entered into the said water and corporified in the same The same effect may likewise be produced by
Now if this Impregnation is to be performed which is nothing else but the spiritual Union of both their spiritual Natures and Essences in order to the birth of a third Being or Body which resembleth them they the Parents must needs according to Nature be of the same specifical nature or of kin and symbolize together so as the Father must be partaker of the Mother's and the Mother of the Father's nature Now forasmuch as naturally they are of kin and both of them work together in one in order to the bringing forth of one onely third Being it must needs follow that before the said Impregnation they both proceeded from the same Unity and were once united together and that this Union of both was in the man as he that hath the pre-eminence above his Wife and doth not come from the woman but the woman from the man as shall be shewn hereafter when we shall in particular treat of Man From whence then it is evident that the Mother the Moon must of necessity lie hid in the Father the Sun and be one with the same and that in a far more high and noble degree than she is in her self viz. according to the nature and property of the Father viz. the Sun Forasmuch then as we may suppose it evident from what hath been said that the Sun impregnates the Moon and that he dwells in her and not that the Moon impregnates the Sun or that she should dwell in him Neither can it in like manner be demonstrated that as the Sun which is a Fire and the Day-light becomes corporified in the Water which is an out-working and out-birth of the Night-light viz. the Moon and Stars so the Moon and Stars cannot become corporeal in the Sun which if it were so would cause a great confusion in Nature 15 Q. What kind of Essence or Being is that which the Night-lights the Moon and Stars after that they are impregnated by the Sun their Male do work out and bring forth R. The Night-light viz. the Moon and Stars do by day with great desire and longing draw in for their life increase and melioration the Sun as the Day-light Now every Star as well as the Moon have each of them their own distinct substantial Life Essence and Nature and every one of them draws in the power of the Sun according to the kind and property of their own Essence and in it self changeth the same into its own property and afterward by night gives forth again in part this attracted virtue of the Sun together with some part of its own Essence viz. the Night And thus the out-birth or working and efflux of the Stars downwards into the Moon as the Center of the Night-light happens according to the kind and property of the distinct Essence of each Star And in this manner the universal distinct efflux or out-birth of all and every Star becomes concentred in the Moon into an upper aethereal water which in comparison of the lower and grosser is a spiritual water which also is cool and more subtile than that in and upon which the Birds flie viz. the Air even as the Fish swim in the lower grosser waters which last water is made or produced under the Quick-sand in the Center of the Earth concerning which we shall speak more when we come to treat of a Vacuum improperly so called This foresaid living essential virtue of all and every Star which at first proceeded from the Sun in the which they in and with the Moon as an Army under their General were all hid as their Seed which was sowed above in the Heavens these virtues of the Stars I say after that by their entring into the Moon they are united and concentred in the same as the universal Night-light do work and bring forth out off or from themselves by means of an universal co-operation of all and every one these lower waters which forasmuch as they be the universal common effect and outworking of all and every Star it follows that every part of the same even the very least and most imperceptible drop must comprehend and contain in it self the innumerable multiplicity of powers essences and out-births of all and every Star that is of all together and each in particular all which are comprehended together in one onely indivisible Being which is the very body and essential out-birth of the Stars who therein have conjoyned themselves into a body And as the outward water is produced out of the universal Night-light viz. the cooling refrigerating virtue which is a spiritual Essence so can likewise this coolness as being the Spirit of this water-body pierce through the said water and all bodies proceeding from the same nourish support and work in them altogether in the same manner as the heat of the Sun goes through all Bodies From hence therefore we may plainly see and acknowledge that as the Out-birth of the Sun in these lower waters as before-mentioned is an Oyl Balsome and sulphurous Essence into which the heat or light of the Sun is changed in the water so likewise the Out-working or Out-birth of the Moon and Stars is this lower and material water which is without form and therefore susceptive of all as being the Mother of all sublunary Creatures that are produced from the spiritual Union of all Stars and the Moon and that the coolness of the Night-lights is as well a true spiritual Being from whence all sublunary Creatures do in part receive their support and nourishment as the heat of the Sun 16 Q. According to what hath been said hitherto doth it not appear as if in the Out-working as well of the Sun when he brings forth out of himself the Moon and Stars as well as of the Moon and Stars in their producing the lower material water all and every part of the Out-birth as the circumference did perfectly contain in it self the whole and the center which at this rate seems to run out into a kind of infinity R. It is so indeed and may be clearly enough demonstrated by an example from Quicksilver which is like a Looking-glass being a round or globular metalline water If we take a quantity of this Mercury and lay it in some place under the open Heaven we can see the whole Horizon with all its parts or objects very plainly represented in the same and when this Mercury is reduced into sublimate and by means of sublimation divided into an innumerable multiplicity of little globular bodies which by reason of their smalness must be distinguished by a Microscope we shall find that the whole Horizon as was said before will appear in every one of them altogether in the same manner as they appeared in the said greater quantity of Quicksilver And in case the said division should be yet further carried on into more minute parts than these of the sublimate yet the same Phaenomena would still appear in them also 17 Q. From what hath been said it is
after a narrow search that that part which is white in the Stone was before the red and that the white brought forth the red for thou wilt perceive in some places of them many white parts which in their growth and increase were once conjoyned but by means of the red are separated from each other though they did before belong to one another and that the red parts as their bloud proceed from them We proceed now to a brief declaration of the operation and being of Metals and partly how they are interwoven together which Metals are six in number or seven if we count Mercury together with them which is a water from whence the other Metals are produced or born and withal we shall set down some short Remarks concerning Minerals and also Salts which are few in number and stand in harmony together that the understanding of man might the more easily be able to comprehend them in order to give the Reader a small hint how he may be able to discourse with them as well as with the Stones forasmuch as they are very nigh of kin and that there is a great union between them for that the Stones are the Mother and Work-house of the Metals SECT II. Concerning Metals Minerals and Salts ANd here first of all Mars appears in his whole Armour wherefore it is fit to put this Query to him 1 Q. Why art thou the first of all the rest who appear'st and shewest thy self R. Seest thou not that I must have a nearer alliance in many respects with all the Metals more than they the rest of my Brethren have one with another And seeing that men cannot be without me and I amongst all the Metals am of greatest use to them both inwardly and outwardly by water and by land therefore at Sea they must make use of my Needle in their Compass because I have the North-Pole for my propriety as my Magnetical living power doth demonstrate as also doth my Minera the Magnet it self which here in England is found near the Tinn-Oare Moreover the whole Earth is everywhere as it were sowed over with Iron-Oare And besides this all other Metals are best known unto me so that I am best able to give an account concerning them 2. What meanest thou by that expression when thou sayst that thou art profitable to man both inwardly and outwardly R. Ask the Earth and the plow'd lands where Corn grows from whence both Beasts and Men do receive their life and nourishment 3 Q. How am I to understand this R. Look into my several Changes and thou wilt find by experience that when I am polished I shine like a Looking-glass and am the hardest amongst all Metals especially when I am changed into Steel so that between my Hammer and my Anvil all Instruments of Life and Death and of Peace and War are made and formed out of me and through me alone can be prepared Moreover I amongst all Metals am soonest changed into Earth or Clay for when I am moistened with water I become rusty and by means of this corruption corrosion and suffering am changed into a yellow-colour'd body which Painters use and is called Oker this Oker when put into the fire is changed into a red colour forasmuch as it still retains the nature of Iron and into which the greatest part of it can be changed again This foresaid yellow Oker thou wilt find in many places where my Mine or Oare is which when it is again joyned to me by those that are skilful and experienced it makes a softer and better Iron than the ordinary because my superfluous sulphur is meliorated in the said yellow-colour'd body through rust and is no more so apt to melt but withal is less stony and brittle whereas the other Iron wherein the said sulphur doth abound is more apt to melt but more stony and brittle when it grows cold 4 Q. How can the Sulphur have this effect upon Iron R. When thou takest a red-hot glowing and fiery piece or gad of Steel and holdest to it a piece of Brimstone then the Steel will drop down melted together with the Brimstone and the drops will be hard stony brittle and unmalleable though more easie to melt but when the said drops are oft put into the fire until the Brimstone be burnt away from them then they become harder to melt again but withal are softer and more malleable as they are cold 5 Q. What further changes is this foresaid Oker subject to when it is not melted down to Iron but is permitted to die and perish R. When the said Oker it is changed into a yellow Earth or Clay which by means of the fire is afterwards baked or burnt into red Bricks which by their red colour shew that there is some Iron left in them which in the fire by means of some additions may be separated from them And forasmuch as we find everywhere throughout the whole World such innumerable multitudes of Fields which consist of such a yellow Clay or Earth what can we else conclude from thence but this that the said Earth was formerly Iron-oare which now partly of it self and partly by means of the Plough-share is every year more and more cut off from its Root or Mine whereby its mortification is promoted so that it can be changed or transmuted into Grass Herbs Trees and Corn from whence men and Beasts have their Food and Being And from all this thou mayst lear the great inward profit and advantage I do afford to mankind 6 Q. From this it may seem as if the advantage which ariseth from this change or alteration were the reason of the Iron Age so called wherein men forasmuch as they were sed herewith became Iron-like and cannot yet change the food and consequently also the essâ—â—ce which they receive from the Iron-like Earth into a better and more noble essence viz. into Love so that the Iron-like nature of their food still remains which they as being also Iron-like do draw magnetically into themselves and therefore must be ruled with a Rod of Iron to the end that the said Iron-like nature through multifarious mortifications and advances may be gradually improved transmuted and lost through fire and be changed into the Gold of Love and Unity which is fix in the fire Give me therefore now an account also of the outward advantage or profit thou affordest men R. Concerning my Hammer and Anvil I have by the way mentioned something before to which may be yet added more particulars according as Dr. Gilbert hath described them When I am formed into the Needle of a Compass and made hot if then they let me lie upon the Anvil towards the North till I am cold I shall by this means better turn my self towards the North than if I had received that impression from the touch of the Magnet Moreover all sorts of Instruments which men make use of throughout the whole course of their lives in times of Peace
it makes them swell up and divides them into small Atomes that can hover upon and flie away in the Air which cannot be in the fixt Metals forasmuch as they be by nature so well and close woven together that the fire cannot separate or divide them And the better they are thus woven by Nature the more like they be to Silver and Gold as shall be more largely declared when we shall come to treat of Gold in particular The common burning Sulphur which is founâ—â— abundantly in Copper-oare and some of it also in Iron doth melt easily with the same and makeâ— them of easie fusion because it findes its like in them with which it can easily unite itself which it cannot do in Gold and Silver because it doth not find its like so open in them But when we melt Antimony with any metals we find that it makes it to be easily melted for that it consists 〈◊〉 both Sulphurs viz. of the combustible and incombustible The white Sulphur hath an ingress into Gold and Silver forasmuch as their whole body consists of it and both the Sulphurs have their ingress into all the other metals Before Copper can be brought to its true form which gives it the denomination of Copper it stands in need of passing many fires and heates more than other metals to the end that the great quantity of common combustible Sulphur which abounds therein may be separated from it And when it is now become Copper we find it in a two-fold Sulphur viz. the Red and White Sulphur interwoven together from whence afterwards ariseth and appears 1. It s deep red colour 2. That it can like Gold endure a very strong fire before it is melted 3. It s malleability as well when it is hot as when cold 4. It s softness forasmuch as it suffers itself to be beaten out into thin leaves and in all this resembles Gold and Silver 5. That both these Sulphurs by reason of their strict union commonly flie away together in the fire in the appearance of a Green-blue flame 6. That it gives tincture and colour to pale Gold which so strongly and intimately unites itself with the Gold that the fire can no more rob the Gold of it Likewise that seventhly It may be melted down with Gold and Silver without making the same brittle and for these reasons very well worth our consideration it is that the Ancients have endeavour'd to prepare an excellent Medicine out of the same comporting and agreeing with the nature of man Concerning which upon occasion more may be expected in my Annotations When a man will melt Iron he must make use of a great heat because it contains much of a hard melting unripe white fix Sulphur which is the reason why cast Iron which hath not been wrought with a hammer hath so little toughness in it that when we strike upon it with a little hammer it leaves a dent in the surface of it but when we strike on it with a great hammer it will sooner all break to pieces then bend and that because the texture of it is not such as it should be according to what we mentioned concerning paper and the reason of it is because Iron stands in need of so great heat for to melt it that by means thereof it is reduced into a thin water whereby its natural texture is for the most part broken which we experience when we go about to make it tough and malleable again for then to bring it to its natural threads or filaments and them to their natural posture we are fain to melt it anew with a gentler fire so that such thick drops may fall from it as makes it into a Cake which Cake when taken out of the fire proves malleable and may be hammer'd on the Anvil because now it is grown tough For every one of these forementioned drops becomes a thread and these threads twist themselves together and the more the Iron is extended on the Anvil the tougher it grows because the threads continue the same in number but become every time thinner as before was said of Flax and Linnen But when afterwards we give this tough Iron too great a heat it will break to pieces again as soon as it is cold and will not be tough as it was before and that by reason of the threads being broken again through the great heat Furthermore we may remark this Experiment viz. when we take a foursquare Rod of Iron of an inch thick and make it red-hot in the fire so that the sparks fly from it and afterwards lay this Iron on the Anvil and swiftly and continually blow against the same with a common pair of Bellows that the Iron will melt drops will fall down from it which drops are no more Iron but are changed into Glass for the wind which comes out of the Bellows causeth that the fire cannot come out of the Iron but is continually driven back by the wind and thus by its being forced to remain in the Iron it unites itself with it and turns it to glass Again it is to be observed that when a Smith doth not understand the true proportion of his fire and the stroaks of his hammers as well as of the thickness and heat of his Iron but doth stretch and expand his Iron farther than the heat of it will suffer him with an intent to make the threads of it the thinner he will lose by so doing and shews thereby that he doth not understand his craft for by this means he will break the threads of Iron And the same is to be observed as well in Gold Silver and Copper for a short and general rule And on the contrary it will not be amiss to take notice also of this experiment that when a quick and active Smith takes a cold rod of tough Iron of the thickness of a finger and hammers the uttermost end of it which is to be four square very swiftly then the said part of the Iron in the extending of it will be made wholly or throughly red hot after that he hath briskly given it twenty strokes with the hammer 15 Q. Seeing then the Metals are distinct and different from one another must we therefore suppose them every one to have a distinct and different form and life each for it self R. That all Malleable Metals have their proper and peculiar form and life by vertue whereof they are woven in such an order and according to the property and measure of every one of them that they cannot so naturally and essentially by fusion be united with one another as they are in themselves All Soders will make out this very clear-all all things must perform their Revolutions in manner as was mentioned before when we treated concerning the Earth 68 Q. Now when all things in the Stomach of man are in good and due order may not we conclude that it must then needs communicate health to the whole body of man
handycrafts men make use off in order to the bringing about of a natural union of things they might then be able to find out the true way of Dying In order to which they need only to mind and consider the practise of some Mechanicks whom I here shall mention As 1. Tanners who do bring forth life in two several things which commonly amongst men are looked upon as dead and unite them so together as that afterwards they cannot by any art whatsoever be separated again As for instance they take the Hides of Oxen or other Beasts and when by means of Quicklime they have rid them of all the hair and afterward throughly washed out the Lime they dry them and then lay them to steep in water impregnated with the strength and vertue of Oak-bark wherein they let them lie for some time and then take them out again and dry them and so repeat this moistning and drying them again three four or more times according to the thickness of the Hides and then after this they take out the Hides and lay them wet upon one another strewing some powder of the said Oaken Bark between them and let them lie so till they grow naturally warm of themselves and by this means the life and virtue of the Oaken bark becomes so intimately united with the life of the Hides that it is impossible to separate them again so as a third Creature is produced out of two Natures united together as is a Mule For the Leather which before would quickly rot and putrifie in the water hath by this means obtained on Oaken nature so as to abide in the water without damage as experience teacheth us how that such a piece of Leather hath continued for several years in a Pump without rotting or putrifying We may observe the same likewise from those that make wash-leather who also do unite two natures viz. an earthly and watry so as that they cannot be separated again viz. they take several skins of beasts and fetch off the Wool or Hair with Lime as aforesaid and then wash them well and dry them afterwards they moisten them throughly with Train-oile and beat it well into them as a Fuller doth when he fulls Cloath this done they dry them in the Sun or in a Stove till they find that when the Skins are stretched out there appear some white streaks in them then they moisten and work or full them again with Train-oile and dry them as before in the Sun or beated room which they repeat so long until the said skins according to the proportion of their thickness have taken in and do retain enough of the said Train-oile Then these skins being almost dryed are laid in heaps one upon another in a stove or hot-house until they begin to grow naturally warm of themselves which they try by thrusting their arm into the midst of them for when they perceive they are warm enough they must one by one be turned so as that which was under most must now lie uppermost to the end that all of them may equally partake of the said warmth for if they should grow too hot and lie too long upon one another the heat would become too great and burn the skins Those parts of the skins to which the warmth hath not been communicated will have no true union with the Train-oile but the same may be washed away from them and the Leather continues the same as it was before But what is well united with the said Train-oile never can be washed off again neither can the Oile be separated from it forasmuch as it is now become of an Amphibious nature as partaking of the nature of Fish and beast at once 3. In some places they make vinegar in the manner as follows they take the dry stalks of Raisins and fill a Barrel or other great vessel with the same and when any one hath got a large vessel such as are the largest Rhenish-wine Fat 's full of these he hath enough for his whole life time for to bring wine to a natural heat withal and so turn it to vinegar For when the wine is poured upon these stalks called Rap and hath stood a while on them the wine gets through the pores veins or hollow pipe vessels of these stalks as having formerly passed through the same or like and by means of this motion and passage it grows warm and then is drawn off and other wine drawn upon them instead of the former and by this means of drawing off and pouring on again they do make vinegar in Holland Now if Dyers would well mind and consider the practice and performance of these three sorts of Handicrafts men they would soon find the great difference there is between the natural union which those Artists introduce into their Materials and their own Mechanical conjunction of colours with the subjects of their Trade The Second PART Concerning the MICROCOSME OR MAN As being the Little World CHAP. I. Of the Original and Essence of MAN and his Vnion with the Great World 1 Q. SEeing that the Creator of all Beings before the foundation of the world and before ever they were brought forth had and contained the same in his mind and wisdom even the little world as well as the greater according to the testimony of Scripture Prov. 8. 22 23. and the following verses also Wisd. 8. 4. Must not then the world the greater as well as lesser have their Creator as their Original and Beginning within themselves so as neither the Creator nor his Creature are separate from each other which St. Paul confirms Acts 17. 27 28. That the Lord is not far from every one of us for in him we live move and have our Beings 2 Q. Since then the Creator in and through the Son of God is every where present in the Creatures in the greater as well as in the lesser world Man who is the Seed and Fruit of the Tree of the greater world filling the same in all parts and working in and with the same to the end he may advance all things to their due perfection and glory Col. 1. 16 17. Hebr. 1. 2 3. Wisd. 8. 5. Syr. 24. 7 8 9. And seeing it cannot be said that perfection is come before the end hath reached its beginning and the beginning united it self with the end in order to a New Birth and production The Question then is whether both the great and lesser world for to arrive at their perfection must not in all their workings aim at this viz. that they may return to their beginning and to be united with it And that seeing their beginning is the Son of God John 1. 1 2 3. Col. 1. 17 18. Rev. 22. 13. they through the Son of God who co-operates in them and with whom they as the members of a Body in order to their glorification and becoming Sons of God must be united that so they in the Son the first-born as their head may
birth comes forth viz. another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This new 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enters with his new point as with the lower 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into the shut-up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies the Mother or Womb in order to multiplication And that is the cause why this syllable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the Hebrews always signifies the plural number Now Love is nothing else neither can it be represented otherwise than as a Mother with her Child and seeing that a Child before it comes to be so was onely humane Seed and that this Seed of Man the Lesser World proceeds from the Seed of the Greater World which is Wheat as being the chiefest Food of Man and that the Wheat when it turns downwards into a root doth bring forth a Fruit and turns to that we call Earth-nuts and Rachel having for so long a time together before their cohabiting together so heartily loved her Husband Jacob and by him again been spiritually beloved and thereby also was spiritually impregnated by him which multiplied impregnation seeing it was spiritual went up to the head as being the first seat of Love and abode there until the time of their coming together when his Seed being united with hers by reason of a long-continued custom having past so many Revolutions still went upwards till at length these spiritual impregnations were so greatly multiplied as to make her burst out into these words which she spake to Jacob Give me children or else I die From which manifold spiritual impregnation at last Joseph whose name imports multiplicity was born May not this therefore be supposed to have been the reason why seeing that Rachel knew that the impregnation in her which formerly in a wrong order went upwards to bring forth fruit in Idea onely and in the head before that the same could take root beneath must needs first be conveyed from above downwards before ever she could bring forth Children therefore she desired the Dudaim because she knew that they were a Fruit that had also grown in a wrong order yea wholly according to what was said of her impregnation viz. their upper part was turn'd downwards that so by means of this Seed of the Great World in which the blessing of God or generative power did lie might cause in her the Seed of the Little World which went wrongly upwards into her head in Idea's of love to her Husband to descend rightly downwards in order to corporeal birth Now that upon every cohabitation of Man and Wife a spiritual Seed also doth come into the woman and abide there and is not annihilated may not this be evidenced from the example of Thamar who after the death of both her Husbands had their Seed raised and excited in her by her Father-in-law Judah Gen. 38. 32 Q. Forasmuch as we perceive that the whole Mouth of Man above beneath and on both sides as well as the Tongue and Teeth do every one of them continually and without ceasing give forth a distinct circulating moisture so that in the Mouth there is a twofold water one above and the other beneath both which must be united by means of the Tongue in order both to eating and speaking which latter is formed by the Tongue which therefore is as a Spunge moving and turning itself to all parts of the Mouth destinated for the forming of all the living Images and Letters and the sounds of them in the mouth as we may see in the printed Hebrew Letters that they have the same figure and form as they are shaped and formed by the Tongue in the Mouth especially when any one is forced to speak loud to another at a distance as is more largely declared in the said Alphabet of Nature And may not we again in this circulation of waters in the Mouth of Man perceive an evident harmony and agreement between the greater and lesser Worlds in their continual Revolutions 33 Q. Now that the lower waters which come from beneath viz. from the Belly up into the Mouth be of Lunar Nocturnal and Terrestrial property and consequently do incline us to fleep and allay pains may we not perceive this from hence that when the sweat of a mans feet is taken by the mouth and swallowed down it asswageth the pains of the Cholick as hath been experienced by some and as it is commonly known that by applying the soals of a Stocking sore Throats are cured In like manner also that the Spittle of any one taken in the night-time as soon as they awake and applied to the place where a Ring-worm or Tetter is doth take away the same when on the contrary our Spittle by day so applied doth increase the Malady And may not this perhaps be the reason why the lower waters are of such a nature as hath been now said viz. for that our Feet from whence these waters come considered with their ten Toes are as it were the roots wherein as in the roots of a Tree all nourishment must die as descending into the roots if ever they are to arrive at an operative power and to bring forth Fruit through the Arms. Hands and Fingers as through Boughs and Branches An example of which we have in Women with Child who when by reason of a longing they have for any Fruit or from a sudden Fright and Amazement at any thing they lay their hand on any part of their body the Child also which is in their Womb will in the very sâ—me part of its body get an answerable mark or tâ—ken which retains a sympathy with the Fruit longed for or with the thing which was the cause of the Mothers affrightment From whence we may see that the hands are nothing else but the essential Out-workers of the thoughts of the head We might further enquire here seeing Man hath his beginning and life from the Trees by his feeding upon their Fruit whether therefore an arboreal essence be not in the first original and most inward imaging of his outward body And whether this Mystery be not hinted to us in the New Testament in which all Wisdom as in the highest divine Philosophy is contained in the story of the blind man Mark 8. 23 24 c. where it is related how Christ spit in the blind man's eye and laid his hand upon him and asked him whether he saw any thing whereupon he looked up and said I see men walk like trees But that afterwards when Christ a second time had laid his hand upon his eyes he saw all things clearly 34 Q. May not the foresaid continual Circulation and Revolution of waters in the Mouth be supposed to be for the reason as follows Inasmuch as the said waters must give the first serment and must kindle the first life in the Food which we take in whereby our Food comes to be united with us of which also even the Americans themselves do not seem to be ignorant viz. that these waters are a true
fell to be the Portion â—d Propriety of their fore-Fathers and which â—as as it were the foundation-root of their â—hole stock and all the boughs and branches â—owing on the same and from whence not oneâ— they derived their nourishment and increase but â—eir very Bodies themselves I say that they might â—gain as it were be planted into the same and â—ecome united with it and that so by means of their â—oprietary enjoyment of it the said Land might â—evolve in them according to the Divine Ordiâ—nce and Appointment in order to its further â—erfection and glorification And this Inheritance â—hus divided by Lot not onely Sons but Daughters â—lso with some restrictions had a share according 〈◊〉 Gods Laws given by Moses And so it was adâ—dged and determined by God himself in the case 〈◊〉 the Daughters of Zelophehad Num. 27. 36. viz. 〈◊〉 to them should be granted the free possession 〈◊〉 their Fathers Inheritance for their Father had â—st never a Son behind him yet with this caution â—â—at they must marry into the Family of the Tribe of their Father And may not we with â—round conclude that this was thus appointed to â—he end the deceased fore-Fathers Predecessours â—nd Fathers of these Daughters might by revolâ—ing through them be restored again to their own â—heritance as also for to shew that in case of the want of Sons the Souls may revolve through Daughters May not we likewise here be informed of the reason why the Children of Israel were commanded that the surviving Brother should raise up the seed of his Brother deceased without leaving any Heirs And will it not follow that the Husbands which the Daughters of Zelophehad married being of their Tribe by their Wives raised up seed to Zelophehad deceased without leaving an Heir Male that might perform the same 17 Q. Moreover do not we meet with another proof of this Doctrine of Revolutions in Lev. 18. where certain Rules and Limitations are given by God himself about Marriages with those that are near of kin determining what is lawful and what unlawful in that matter and when we narrowly inquire into the ground of the said Rules and Restrictions must not we conclude that though it be wholly natural for men to cohabite with women yet that God himself set these bounds to the end that the order and way of Nature which is appointed for mankind might not be neglected perverted broken or removed And is not this the greatest and most universaâ— Law and Ordinance which the Creator once for all hath established in Nature viz. that in all natural propagations there might be a continuaâ— processions or going forwards Now that in Nature it is so ordered that Life goes always forwards and that Parents do live in their Children doth not daily experience teach us this Thus we see that when a Mother finds her sick Child drawing near to death she is so highly afflicted and anguished that she oft wisheth to die for her Child Of which we have examples that Fathers have offer'd themselves to be hang'd for their Sons whereby they gave sufficient evidence that their own lives were sensible of and did suffer what ever happened to their Children Now this Law of Nature could never be broken in whatsoever degree of affinity or consanguinity Man and Wife might be related together if according to the common opinion God should for every Birth create a new Soul and put it into the Body for so no such confusion or perverting of the order of Nature could happen Whereas on the contrary according to our Hypothesis which supposeth many Souls concentred and united together every one of which in a due order and procession must manifest and display it self in many different births and propagations would it not sollow that from such a promiscuous and disorderly commixture a great confusion would arise to the subversion of the order of Nature For was it not therefore thus ordained by God because he is a God of Order And must not his will incontestably take place 18 Q We will here omit many passages and examples relating to this matter which might be alledged out of the five Books of Moses and onely make reflection on some passages in the Ten Commandments When we read Exod. 20. 5 6. That God will visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him but shew mercy to thousands of them that love him and keep his commandments May it not bear this Sense That forasmuch as formerly hath been hinted concerning the Conception and Birth of Man every Child is generated and formed of the Seed of his Parents and that each of these Seeds is twofold viz. Male and Female so as the Child is as it were made up of four Is it not therefore worth our enquiry whether or no all out-working must not happen in four Generations For do not we observe that when a Father begins to grow covetous the said vitious disposition increaseth in his Child and in his Grand-child arrives to extreme covetousness And then when this Vice hath attained to its full growth and maturity the great Grand-child proves a Prodigal and Spend-thrift because he hath had nothing of the said covetous inclination transmitted to him but rather is possessed with an hatred against it forasmuch as by means thereof he hath been oft pressed and forced against his will and thus being made sensible of the evil of it he takes up an hatred against it and consequently falls into the opposite extreme so that he lavishly spends all what his Forefathers in their Covetousness had scraped together and leaves nothing but Poverty to his Child which Poverty then occasions that his Child 's great Grand-child becomes disposed to grow up from this humble reduction to a new propagation And the same may be said of any other Vices whatsoever For ought we not always to keep in mind this great and fundamental Maxim That God never punisheth for sin but with this aim that his creature thereby may be amended and his Salvation promoted forasmuch as Sin which is finite cannot come in any competition with the infinite Emanation of the Grace of the Creatour in his Creature He being in the highest degree Righteous and Good and gives to man the fruits of his own doing For man himself works his own suffering and punishment but God in and by the same works out and manifests His own Glory Would it not therefore prove a very false imagination for any one to think that God for every Birth doth create a new Soul and afterwards eternally punish the same for sin which according to the meaning of some it could not avoid nor was once guilty of For this can never comport with the infinite Righteousness and Mercy of God Nor according to this Supposition can it be true which is said in Scripture that we all sinned in Adam for how could we sin in him except we had lived and been in him
many places are found in Scripture treating of the same matter and every one of them either in their order or as they are appointed seek some one or more Texts in his own Bible and when every one hath his place ready they from the youngest to the eldest are commanded to read every one his Text or Texts and withal to give their judgement upon them no matter how simple the same may be by which both the Children and whole Family are awakened and quickened and in time attain to a good understanding and mature judgement so as afterwards of themselves they are able to propound questions and so proceed from one degree to another till they become wise indeed And this in short is the way which Nature her self points out to us and by these and the like ways the Wise men of old instructed their Children at home in order to prepare them for the further instructions in their publick Schools and that from the very time of Moses until that of Christ and the Apostles also have constantly observed the same In the Jewish Church besides the Temple at Jerasalem they had two sorts of Houses in which the Congregation had their publick Exercises of Piety the one of which was called Beth Hacneseth or the House of meeting or gathering together the other Beth Hammedrasch or the House of Enquiry Of these the first was the House of Prayer and the other was the House of Instruction Both these are called in the New Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Synagogues that is meeting places or Schools without distinction even as at this day the Jews give the name of Schools to both these places though the first of these be also by way of distinction Acts 16. 3. called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from Praying and the other Acts 19. 19. a School as being designed for Learning and Instruction In their great Cities they had a great number of both these sorts of Houses insomuch as at Bitter there were four hundred Batte Cnesioth according to Talmud Gittin fol. 58. a. and at Jerusalem four hundred and eighty as in Jalkut Jesai 1. fol. 40. d. from whence we may conclude that in the foresaid places were near as many of the Batte Medraschoth Now forasmuch as the several Congregations which were at least to consist of ten persons did meet every Sabbath Monday and Thursday in the House of Prayer and there assisted at the publick Prayers which every one of the people were to conclude with saying Amen uttered by the Schliach Zibbor or Angel of the Congregation The second thing which was perform'd in this Hcuse of Prayer was the Publick Reading of the Scripture in the Hebrew Text performed by seven of the Congregation of which the first was to be a Priest the second a Levite if any such were present and the rest common Members of the Congregation and thirdly the Interpreting and Expounding of the Original Text into their Mother Tongue by means of a Methurgeman or Interpreter thereto appointed Where fourthly also they had oft times Sermons preach'd to them which sometimes were delivered to them by the foresaid Interpreter as when at any time in expounding a Text he was pleased to enlarge himself upon it As may be seen in the Jerusalem Talmud Biccur fol. 65. d. Sanhedr fol. 20. c. and in the Babilonish Berachoth fol. 28. a. And fifthly sometimes by Preachers particularly thereunto appointed who especially for the sakes of the women and common people were to preach publickly and to move and stir their hearts As appears from the Glosse upon Schabbath fol. 30. b. in the Babilonish Talmud Moreover in this place were there Children also instructed as appears from the Babilonish Talmud Berachoth fol. 17. a. and the Glosse upon it After these exercises they went to the Beth Hammedrasch which they also often call Keneseth and Zibbor where they were instructed by a peculiar Teacher in the so called Oral Law and partly also in the Ordinances which are of common use amongst them and their secret signification partly also in the Cabala and high Mysteries concerning Divine and Spiritual things Which Teaching was celebrated in this manner The Doctor himself did not speak aloud to the People but whisper'd what he had to say in Hebrew in the Ear of a Minister hereunto especially appointed who afterwards declared the same to the People in their Mother Tongue as appears from the Babilonish Talmud Goma Fol. 20. b. and at these instructions it was usual for every Talmud Chacham i. e. Scholar of the Wise or Learned or any other of the hearers though he were a Merchant or Handicrafts man for it was usual for the most learned amongst them to exercise some Handicraft or other to propound one or more questions and request an answer to them from the Doctor as we may see in the Babilon Talmud Berachoth Fol. 67. compared with Luke 2. 46. Matth. 12. 9 10 11. Acts 17. 10 11. These Bette Medraschoth they esteem holier and more excellent than the Batte Knesioth because by this liberty of asking Questions they acquired more knowledge in the Law than in the other where they were Hearers onely In reference to this they used that Proverb Mibbeth Mickdasch le beth Medrasch from the House of Prayer to the House of Instruction And to this purpose also they applied that passage out of the 84 Psalm They go from strength to strength c. These Assembles and Exercises in the Houses of Instruction were never abrogated by Christ nor his Disciples but rather confirmed and approved of by their visiting of them and teaching in them of which we have a special instance Acts 19. 9. Insomuch also that in the Primitive Church there was a particular sort of Officers whom they call Teachers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of whom the Apostle saith that the Lord had given them Ephes. 4. 11. and of whom also mention is made Rom. 12. 7. 1 Cor. 14. 26. 1 Tim. 5. 17. And the same is also particularly mentioned by the Apostle 1 Cor. 14. throughout the whole Chapter as a Command of the Lord and a thing of great necessity and concern as appears from the 37 verse of the said Chapter where he saith If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual let him acknowledge that the things which I write unto you are the Commandments of the Lord. And at the 38 verse But if any will be ignorant let him be ignorant Though most of the said particulars are now adays alas not so much as known amongst Christians much less put in practice and which is the onely cause of all that ignorance disputing hatred envy and persecution which abounds everywhere Concerning this way of the Ancient Wisemen now mentioned much more might be said which for brevity we pass by and shall onely for a conclusion briefly hint one thing more viz. What the Reason may be why so many Similitudes Parables Figurative Expressions c. are found in Holy