Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	ghost_n	holy_a	trinity_n	3,214	5	9.7060	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07219	Reasons academie. Set foorth by Robert Mason of Lincolnes Inne, Gent	Mason, Robert, 1571-1635.; Davies, John, Sir, 1569-1626.	1605 (1605)	STC 17619; ESTC S109937	40,563	119

REASONS Academie Set foorth by Robert Mason of Lincolnes Inne Gent. Vitet censura furorem LONDON Imprinted by Th. Creede for Iohn Browne and are to be solde at his shop in S. Dunstons Church-yard in Fleet-streete 1605. To the right Honourable sir Iohn Popham knight Lord chiefe Iustice of England one of this Maiesties most honorable priute Counsell and to the rest of the Iustices of Ass●se RIght honourable seeing it pleased you to patronise my fo●mer paines entituled Reasons Monarchie wherin is declared that reason is an essensial quality of the immortall soule with a descriptiō of certain faculties qualities belonging to so noble a Creature and other circumstances in that small tract handled to vpholde ttue sincere reason discouering the mischiefes inconueniencies that haue followed by corrupt abuse of reasō with the designes of some office as wel for particular as general gouernmēr aduancing right reasons aboue all affectiōs passions and perturbatiōs as the great Queene to raigne gouern ouer them al. I am bold againe to become an humble Suter vnto your Lordships that you wil protect and further reasons true title or rather true Reasons title for the dispearsing of her Rudiments precepts and directions amongst her Schollers for their better gouernmēt and order To the kings great maiesty as the founder of her vniuersitie in the time of his admirable vniō peace she appealeth To his maiesties great coūsel of state she appointeth the office of visitors And your LL. she chuseth to be Presedēts Prouosts Wardens heads of her Colledges acknowledging your intollerable paines taken continually in her behalfe And me the vnworthiest of al her poore schollers she hath enioyned to present this her sute to your Lordships knowing that you wil not account the lesse of her high worthines by the meannesse or insufficiencie of the messenger Who in all humblenes beseecheth your Lordships to take his dutie in good part And so with his praier for your happy estates he leaueth further to trouble you Your Lordships humbly to cōmand Robert Mason To the Reader SEeing all men take most comfort and pleasure in the things wherin themselues haue title interest or propriete Therefore gentle Reader I yeelde and render to thee such place in this most famous Vniuersitie or S●hoole as appertaineth to thy qualitie or degree for it cannot be but thou oughtest to haue an office or exercise there if not of command gouernment or teaching then at the least of being taught learned and instructed which may moue thy consideration the more to peruse the points herein handled which although it be but as an Acaden●e or introduction in respect of deepe learning yet herein is something to be seene which will be worth the consideration and may moue further progession to higher vnderstanding Let it not seeme straunge that I handle number place and time in the frunt of this worke as instruments moulds and frames to fashion set downe and worke the substances and stuffes that serue to make vp the worke it selfe Then will ensue a discovery of the worthinesse of man and his reasonable soule within which ranke thou slandest and of the innumerable blessings made for thy vse and the wrong done to thy genus or kind by corrupt false vsages Out of these thou must discerne that the greatest good that Reason hath by the looking into Nature is to grow to the vnderstanding of the price and value of the soule and the employment of the faculties of the soule is to search out the greatnesse of the Creator comforts or benefits that belong to her selfe which doth manifestly shewe that the worthyest operation of the soule is contemplation and contemplation is properly knowing of the best things now the best things are such as concerne the knowledge of God the vnderstanding of the worthinesse of the immortāll and reasonable soule all which I leaue to thy due consideration And thy selfe to the fauour of God with increase of learning in this most famous Vniuersitie Vale. REASONS Academie Of Nomber AS I purpose not to discourse of al the deepe points therof for that wold require a large treatise yet because it is a needefull part to be known in the vnderstanding of Reasons exercise I will make bold briefly to touch the same Nomber doth cōsist of diuerse things either of one or seuerall denominations and without nomber there can bee no true definition demonstration manifestation nor vnderstanding of any thing for if all things were but one then were there no nomber or order wherefore one is said to be no nomber Sed scala devni●●●e the beginning of nomber In the God-head being before all time the maker of time and all things that increase in time there is number The Trinity of persons and vnity of God-head do declare as much For although god be a most singular Diuine essense in himselfe yet hath he proportioned number in himselfe vnseperably vnited in his God-head which the diuines call the Father Son and holy Ghost And the ancient Philosophers cal three inbeings The Father the actiue or inworking vertue power nature The Son they cal the word speech or reason The holy Ghost Loue. These Philosophers haue striued wonderfully in this labor wherin they haue waded exceding deep Amelius the disciple of Plotin is said to name the trinity three things or three vnderstandings The Beer the Hauer and the Seer The Trinity is expressed in these words Power vnderstanding wil which Trinity maketh a full number of things belonging to a mind which the Philosophers esteeme to be the Godhead But to leaue off this kind of descriptiō I cōclude with Plotinus There are saith he three chiefe Inbeings The one or the God 2. The vnderstāding or wit 3. The soule of the world And of these three saith he it is not for any man to speake without praying vnto god And without setling his mind afore vnto quietnes And if it be demanded saith he how one of them begetteth an other it is to be considered that we speak of euerlasting things therefore we must not imagine any temporall begetting for this begetting which we speake of saith he betokeneth but onely cause and order This Trinitie and first and euerlasting number hath proportioned appointed other numbers in them a miraculous order If any aslee a reason hereof I answere It was the power the wisdome vnderstanding wil of God to expresse himselfe in this compleat number of persōs in one vnity of godhead By this nūber three was the whole world created al things innumerable whose mouers are only known to the creator himself In that number three is expressed the wōder of the world the taking vp of Henock Elias the Ascention of our Lord Iesus Christ. Ionas three dayes in the Whales belly and Christ three dayes in the grave So that in the nomber of three is manifested the eternall Trinitie of the God-head the creation of the world and of

man the life the death and the resurection There c●sented to the destruction of man The Serpent the woman and the man There haue repaired that downfal The Father the giuer the Sonne the gift and the holy Ghost the comforter In the numof three is a perfect conclusion of all things Much may be said of the nomber and orders made by this trinitie As fire water ayre and earth to make the world the Spring Somer Autum Winter to make the yeare East West North South to quarter the world Creatures going creeping flying swiming w e infinit miliōs of celestial terestial bodies which he keepeth preserueth boundeth in holdeth within this Trinity And briefly to wind vp this point concerning nomber I hold it the original most worthy part of the three I mean that number is of higher cōsideratiō thē place or time for God himself the can by no means stoup to be known to the capacity of man neither can be cōtained within any place nor limited to any time in respect of his on̄ipotent greatnesse and eternall essence before and without respect of time yet hath hee vouchsafed to bring himselfe within the compasse of number And therein by the power therof to create man in a blessed and happy estate Thus hauing in som measure discouered the nature worthines of original number desiring by al meanes to auoyd tediousnes I leaue to be considered that these and diuers other auncient writèrs that haue left behind them learned workes had no other meanes to vnderstand any thing of the deity eternity of the God-head or immortality of the soule but the vse and helpe of Reason only proper and peculiar to man And so I proceed to the rest Of place IN respect of God before the creation of the world beginning of time All was Place And yet in respect of his greatness● there was no place for he cannot be cōtained in any thing but in himselfe If any be curious to demaund how spacious large or ample this place was let him take his answere with Cato of Vtica who would needs know of God why Caesar ouercame Pompey It is as if the meanest vassal in a kingdome should require the king to giue a reasō for all things he doth or cōmandeth Porpherius being much encumbred with vnderstanding of supernaturall causes breaketh out into these words Seeing that God did by skill dispose and ouerrule all things and ordereth them by incomparable propriete of vertue And on the contrary part mans reason being very smal is ignorant of most things how skilfull soeuer it seeme to be of the truth Surely we may thē cal it meaning Reason wise whē it is not curious in searching such doubtfull and hard matters as are matched with danger of blasphemie but rather graunteth that the things which are done are very well as they be for saith he what can our weak reasō find fault with or reproue in that great Reasōn meaning of the deitie As if he shuld haue said The waies the works the place of God and Eternity are not to be searched nor enquired after by any creature whatsoever If we descend but to the diuersitie of the condtion and nature of Creatures confined vnto place and their vnderstanding of matters not designed nor prouided for their estates conditions we shal haue sufficient cause to say that Place was such so much as it pleased the purpose prouidēce power wisdō of God Before there was a creation of things and a beginning of time Place was infinit indefinit indeuisible without space or distance without being repaired vnto or departed frō neither containing nor contained w e out Center Circōferiēce rule or diameter consisting neither of matter substāce nor whatsoeuer stuffe Euery thing hath his point his Center his place and beginning Only the diuine escēce place nature of god hath none as euery mā that wil seriously looke into his own self shall be enforced to cōfesse In nature the greater can neuer be cōprehended by the lesser But God in his nature place and essence is greater then man Therefore cannot ●od his incomprehensible place and nature be comprehended by the reason or vnderstāding of mā Nature is a thing wrought by God Now no worke how great soeuer can perfectly expresse the cause or worker thereof Therefore nature cānot vnderstand the diuine essence place and nature of God The reasonable soule is the admirable nature of man Now whosoeuer shall come to know his owne soule and the place thereof meerly by the power worke of it selfe shall confesse himself to be absolutely ignorāt thereof Therfore if nature reason with the powers affects of the soule reason commeth short to know it self much more must it come short to discouer or vnderstand the incircumscriptible nature essence and place of the holy Trinitie We see in the cours of the creatures of God as well terestrial as celestial cōtinual mouings frō plàce to place all those moued by their Creator the first mouer which argueth subiectiō obedience in the creatures to the Creator and out of a cessarie consequent of the contrarie it discouereth that God the mouer is neither moued nor doth moue too or from any place For to say he is here or there it is all one for he is euery where as it is anthentically prooued If I clime vp to heauen thou art there If I goe downe to hell thou art there also If I take the wings of the morning and remaine in the vtmost part of the sea euen there also shall thy hand leade me and thy right hand shall hold me for the heauen is his seate and the earth is his footestole To conclude this point we fee and confesse that God made and knoweth all things and hath appointed their natures beings times and places Now if he had in him the nature of any of his creatures that is to be limited vnto one contained in place or consisting of any materiall substance the same would incomber his di●ine essence for hee doth not come within the compasse of their limited nature place nor number for by that meanes wee should derogate from his holy and diuine Deitie and essence of a Creator Seeing therefore that God is not compounded of material substance he can not be a bodie And seeing hee is not a bodie he can not bee contained in place neither wholly nor in part wherof it may properly be said that hee is no where namely that no part of him is limited within any place to be pointed at or described For like as hee made all things by the power of his beeing So doth the same power enter into al things fill all things containe all things And for so much as the same being power is indiuisible it is whole in all and whole in euery part So likewise is he himselfe whole throughout in whome all things haue their being how be it he is not definitely nor