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A97067 Truth tried: or, animadversions on a treatise published by the Right Honorable Robert Lord Brook, entituled, The Nature of Truth, its vnion and vnity with the soule. Which (saith he) is one in its essence, faculties, acts; one with truth. By I. W. Wallis, John, 1616-1703. 1643 (1643) Wing W615; Thomason E93_21; ESTC R11854 114,623 143

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is Vnity But be it granted That there be divers particular Species under the same Genericall nature as when all particular acts of duty are comprised in One generall name of Love or Obedience Be it so That many Effects may proceed from the same Cause as all virtuous acts from the subordination of the Will to Reason That there be many Combinations of Beings or Persons Naturall Voluntary O●conomicall Politicall Logicall c. whence may arise One Aggregatum One Praedicament one City or Kingdome one World Be there S●pernaturall or Spirituall Societies One Church Paroch●all Nationall O●cumenicall Visible Invisible one mysticall Body Be there also in Lines Bodies Sounds c. besides their Absolute Affections Length Bignesse Lowdnesse c. some mutuall Relations of Proportion Harmony Discord c. Be there in Physicall Bodies a desire of Union or Conjunction in One to another Yet will not this prove That all things have One Nature One Essence much lesse That this Essence is Vnity If Iron desire Union or conjunction rather with the Loadstone doth this prove their Specificall Essence to be One Or if it doe doth it pro●e that this One Essence is Vnity And so of the rest All that can arise from hence is That God hath so ordered the severall Natures of particular Creatures as that his Wisdome doth not only appear in their Absolute and Simple natures but hath also put Relative or Respective natures in them whereby his Wisdome may appear in their mutuall Oppositions Conjunctions Similitude Dissimilitude Sympathy Antipathy Help and Hinderance of one thing to another whereby not onely Every thing Severally in its Absolute nature doth set forth Gods glory but also All things joyntly doe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and work together in their respective Relations as well for the good of those that love God as for their mutuall advancing of Gods glory All which may be though neither Vnity nor any One specificall Being be the formalis ratio the essentiall form of all things but each species have a severall kind of Being For my own judgement I am as confident that Vnity is Nothing as his Lordship is That it is All things 'T is a meer rationall nominall Notion that hath no more Reality in it then Darknesse then non esse Yea to be One is a pure Negative Proposition and what Reality you can allow to a Negation so much you may allow to Vnity It is true Vnus as it is opposed to Nullus is Affirmative and is the same with Aliquis or Nonnullus But if it signifie the same with Vnicus and be opposed to Multitude according as we now take it it is a meer Negation and no more Which to make clear observe but this Syllogisme Whatsoever is in England is in Europe But in England there is Rex Vnicus One only King Therfore in Europe there is Rex Vnicus but One King Where you shall find no fault in the Syllogisme save that the Minor is Negative in the first figure Whence it is apparent That Vnity as it is opposed to Multitude is a meer Negative term There is One Sunne but is this Vnity Essentiall to it Whether another Sunne be or be not it nothing concerns the Essence of this Sun but onely grounds an externall Relation which is yet but Relati● rationis Was not the Essence of Adam the Same and he Equally a Man before the production of Eve while he was Vnicus and after both the Production of Eve and the Generation of sonnes and daughters when he ceased to be Vnicus there being more beside him Was there any Detraction or Addition of Essence or any Reality that concerned Adams person at such time as his children were born or would there have been afterwards if all except Adam had been swept away Nay when two Drops of Water are separated or conjoyned is there any Essentiall or Reall Mutation in either Surely if Vnity may come and goe without any Reall Alteration then is Vnity so farre from being Essentiall to all things that it is not so much as Reall Object You will say But God is indeed One Vnus et Vnicus and not onely supposed to be One Therefore his Unity must needs be Reall and not Imaginary Answ I grant it But what then must therefore Unity be Positive or Reall The Ayr in the night time is indeed Dark and not onely ●●●posed to be Dark Will you therefore infer that Darknesse hath a Reall a Positive Being and is not a privation of Light When the Moon is eclipsed it doth Really and Indeed want the Illumination of the Sun-beams and is not onely supposed to want them but you will not I suppose say that this Want of Light hath a Reall Essence So here God is indeed One and not only imagined so to be yet hath not Vnity●ny ●ny Entity or Positive Being in it There is Negatio Realis and Negatio Rationis a Reall absence and a Supposed absence Of the one you may truly frame a Negative Proposition of the other you cannot there may be indeed in the Understanding concerning thi● Negatio actus which is all one with Abstraction but not actus negationis actus negativus When the Ayr in the Night time is Dark there is a Reall Absence of Light when in the Day time I conceive of the Ayr according to its Essence or according to some other Qualities not at all regarding its being Light this is Negatio Rationis or negatio Abstractionis there is only a supposed Absence of Light but indeed a reall Presence Yea ipsum Non-esse is a Reall Praedication though it be not a reall Praedicate Like as Mendacium esse Falsum is a Truth Therefore when I say Centaurus non est I do not Forge this Proposition or suppose a non-entity in a Centaure where indeed there is none but I affirm that non-entity to be which is for a Centaure Is non-ens and not only Supposed to be Non-ens And of Negations or Privations That is onely Negatio Rationis when by Abstraction Things are supposed to be separate which are indeed conjoyned Other Negations though they have not realiter Esse yet they have realiter Non-esse their non-entity is not Imaginary I speak of Negatio Physica not Negatio Logica for a Logicall Negation that is a Negative Enunciation is as Reall as an Affirmation A supposed Being is Ens rationis and a supposed Absence is Negatio rationis Negations and Privations are Non-Entia and not Entia Rationis for they have not in themselves so much as Esse Cognitum which is requisite to Ens Rationis And when as sometimes a Negation is said to be Ens Rationis it is not to be understood of its internall Entity for so Darknesse in it selfe doth not include esse cognitum but when the Understanding considers of a Negation and so makes it Objectum Cognitionis then of a Non-ens it becomes Ens Rationis But then I say it is ●●trationis not Negatio rationis Yet
Objects formerly seen or now first represented Next he lays down three Requisites to the constitution of every Being A Fountaine commu●icating a Channell entertaining and Waters imparted Conferen● Collatum Recipiens And he asks Where we shall find these three if the Vnderstanding be a Faculty I answer If you speak of Advenient light last mentioned which is a Representative Truth or an Idea of that R●all Truth which is in the Things Known I say the Reall Truth or Veritas Ess●ndi sends forth this Representative Truth or Idea which is conveyed by a Deferent Light either of Discourse or Information or the like till it come to the Vnderstanding where it is received and entertained by the Innate Light or Truth of Reason Like as the Inherent light of Colour in the Object sends forth a Representative light of visible Species which is conveyed by a Deferent light in the Ayr till it come to the Eye where it is entertained by the Innate light which is the faculty of Seeing And as the Remotenesse or Obscurity of the Object the Darknesse of the Medium or the Weaknesse of the Faculty may hinder Sight so that we see not at all or not perfectly In like manner the Distance of the Object as in things quite out of our reach or the Obscurity of them which send forth no Species or manifestation of their essence towards us our imperfect Discourse or insufficient Information which is as a dark Medium and lastly the weaknesse of our Apprehension doe cause Ignorance in the Understanding which is answerable to not-seeing in the Eye Again as in Ignorance so in Errour A reflection of a false Light upon the Object casting a false seeming colour which may be mistaken for the true colour of it an indisposed Medium as when we see through Red glasse c. and a distempered Organ by reason of some vitious humours accidentall in the Eye c. may cause a mistake and Errour in Sight So here when there is a False Light upon the Object as when we conceive that to be the effect of one thing which indeed proceeds from some other cause fallacia non causae pro causâ or the like a false Discourse or Inference or a false Relation which is as a stained Medium or a distempered Vnderstanding by reason of Passion of l●sa Phantasia or the like may cause an Erroneous Judgement apprehending things to be otherwise then inde●d they are And thus I have shewed not onely those three requisites which his Lordship requires but some others besides them supposing in the mean time the Vnderstanding to be a Faculty and taking Truth for those sweet B●ams of Light which beat upon us Advenient Light If you take Truth for Reason and withall suppose Reason to be distinct from the Vnderstanding and ●t also from the Soule You may say The Understanding is the Recip●ent Reason the thing Received in it and that Then and from Those when and from whence it received its Essence to which Reason is a conna●e and appendent Faculty That is either from God by immediate Creation which many think or from the Parents by Propagation which others ●old But I suppose there be few or none that hold Reason to be distinct from the Vnderstanding and That also from the Soule For when they speak of Reason as a faculty of the Understanding by Vnderstanding they mean the Soule it selfe quatenus intelligens being considered a● the Subject of Reason And when they speak of the Vnderstanding●● ●● a faculty whereby the Soule is able to conceive and judge of Truth Then they take the Vnderstanding to be the same with Reason I should rather say That Reason and the Vnderstanding as it denotes a Faculty are two words Synonima denoting the same Faculty or Power of Knowing and Judging Which Faculty I would not grant to be another Thing from the Soule-Knowing or the Soule-Understanding but a Modus As neither doe I allow to Any Naturall-Power or Faculty which they make the second Species of Quality any other Being then the Being of a Modus and not the being of ● Thing And thus we may safely say the Soule receives the Faculty of Reason or Understanding Thence from whence it receives its Being as a Stone receives its Heavinesse from that which Produceth it That which gave it to Bee gave it to be Thus. Sometimes indeed Accidents are not received from that which produceth the Substance but from some other Efficient as the Smoothnesse of Marble proceeds not from the Producer but from the Polisher And yet I hold not the Smoothnesse to be One Thing and the Marble to be another Thing but the Marble to be a Thing and the Smoothnesse to be Modus And thus it must be granted in Acqui●●te Habits where the Giver and Receiver are the Same and the Thing Received Modally but not really distinct from either But for Faculties or Naturall-Powers If you look for an Externall Efficient or Giver it will be the same that produceth the Substance But if you be contented with an Efficient per Emanationem Thus they are said to flow or arise from the Form or Substance And then the Giver and Receiver is the Same for the Form which i● the Subject Receiving is also per emanation●m Effectiva from whence it ariseth as an Essentiall Consequent and if you say the Faculty Received is not so much as Modally distinguisht from it but onely ratione 〈…〉 I contend not But so much distinction at least I suppose we must allow it Having thus answered his Lordships Qu re I proceed to answer his Objections If the Vnderstanding saith he be the Recipient then the Light of Reason which differenceth us from the Vegetative and Sensitive creatures lieth in the Vnderstanding and not in the Soul And so the Soul is either not enlightened at all but only a Theca to the Intellect or else there be two Enlightened rationall Beings in ●●● Reasonable creature For answer First I suppose as I said before that there are few if any that will affirm the Soul the Understanding and Reason to be Three things But they will either say Reason Is the Understanding and not in the Understanding or else Reason is in the Understanding which Understanding is the Soul considered only under this Notion quatenus Intelligens as it is the Subject of Reason And thus the difficulty appears not For the Light which differenceth us from Unreasonable creatures whether you call it Reason or call it the Understanding is seated in the Soule and so denominates it Intelligent or Vnderstanding But secondly we want not a Recipient for Truth though the Soul be not it It may be the Understanding Yet thirdly though the Soul be not the Immediate Subject it may yet be the Vltimate which is more then a Theca Object But you will reply However it be so that wee make this Light to be inherent in the Soul yet it is not sufficient to make an Essentiall difference
mediante animâ rather then by himself immediately together with it he might do either But in generall By what means soever saith he Truth or Reason be conv●yed if the Vnderstanding do at all receive Truth then it is Truth For God doth not communicate Light but to Light If he mean God gives Lucem non nisi Lucido or Lumen non nisi Luminoso I grant it saking the words i● sensu composito but not insensu diviso And so God gives not Animam nisi Animato nor Rationem nisi Rationali That is God gives not Light but to that which is Light ● Lucide or Illuminate viz. when that Light is bestowed But in s●nsu diviso That this was before Lucid it is not to be admitted Light communicated to the Ayr makes it Illuminate but finds it not so God inspires not a Soule but into a Living-creature And so breathing into Adam the breath of Life he made him a Living-creature but found him his body Inanimate a ●ump of Earth So here God gives not the Light of Reason but to that which is Light or Inlightned viz. Then Inlightned when this Light of Reason is bestowed But if by this God gives not Light but to Light he means Lucem non dat nisi Luci or Lumen non nisi Lumini I cannot admit it either in sensu composito or in diviso When the Sunne imparts Light Lumen to the Ayr the Ayr is Illuminate or Enlightned But that the Ayr is Lumen I must never grant till we cease to hold Lumen non est Corpus So if God communicate to the Soule or Understanding the Light of Reason the Soule or Understanding becomes thereby Illuminate or Enlightned with Reason But that the Soule or Understanding is this Light this Reason follows no more then if you would say That Water is Heat when it grows Hot The Ayr is Light Lumen when it is Enlightned A Body becomes a Colour when it is Coloured Any Substance whatsoever is metamorphised into an Accident when as a Subject it Receives that Accident or That the Body of Adam formed out of the Dust was made a Soule when it received a Soule inspired That which is annexed as a proof Because Quicquid recipitur recipitur ad modum recipientis together with the illustrations following proves no more but this Whatsoever is conferred is no further forth conferred then as the Subject is capable of and actually doth receive it And this we grant That the Soule or Understanding upon which the Light of Reason is conferred is a fit Subject to receive or entertaine Reason and is actually indued with Reason And so I admit that which he cites of Dr. Twisse Neither a quality permanent nor an act immanent unlesse they be made INHERENT IN the Soule observe the phrase and the latter also produced by it can be said to be given to the Soule Hee saith It is Inherent in the Soule not that it is the Soule Lastly How passeth saith he this Light from the Vnderstanding to the Soule there being as vast a distance between It and the Soule as between It and the will supposing them distinct Faculties whence grow those inextricable disputes How the Will is made to Understand what the Understanding judgeth fit to be Willed But here his Lordship varies somewhat the state of the Question in altering the acceptation of the word Truth from truth understanding to truth understood and instead of innate truth of Reason speaks of the advenient truth which is a Conceptus or Idea framed to represent the truth of Being in the Object For we cannot conceive Reason which is now looked upon as a permanent Faculty to be transient from one subject to another But Truth Vnderstood how it may be conveyed from the Understanding to the Soul I shall Then perhaps better tell when he shews me How the Visible Species are conveyed from the Organ to the Soul or Faculty seeing That the Organ receives species he will not deny for else the Soul might as well see when the Eye is out That the Soul also by the Organ doth apprehend these Species must likewise bee yeelded else why should not the Eye of a dead man see That the Soule and the Organ are distinct must needs be granted for we see them really separated by death whereas nothing can be separated from it selfe And when I am informed How the Soule and the Organ being distinct are conjoyned in Seeing I shall better be able to resolve How the Soule and the Faculty though distinct may joyntly Vnderstand Till then it might suffice in generall to say That As by the Organ the Soule S●●th so by Reason or the Understanding-faculty the Soule Knows and Understandeth only allowing such disproportion as must be allowed between a Materiall and Immateriall instrument And it seems to be no more vast distance between a Faculty and the Soule then is between an Organ and the Soule So that if by Visible Species in the Organ the Soule may see why not by Intellectuall Species in the Understanding though a Faculty may the Soule Vnderstand But because I love not to answer a difficulty only by opposing another you may resolve it thus We are not to conceive there is any such vast Gulfe between the Soule and the Understanding though a Faculty as that Truth should need a Ferry-boat to wa●t it over For as the Eye doth not first see and then Inform the Soule or Visive Faculty what it hath seene but the Organ and the Faculty joyntly concurre to the Act of Seeing So neither doth the Understanding first Receive and Entertain Truth and afterward inform the Soule what it hath Understood But the Soule with and by this Faculty of Reason or Understanding doth Know and Understand Both concurring to the same Act. Thus a Stone by its Heavinesse descends Fire by its Heat warms by its Light shines Glasse by its Smoothnesse reflects light a Knife by a communicated Faculty from the Magnet draws iron And yet in some of these at least you must of necessity grant a distinction ex parte rei There is indeed sometimes a Reflex act of the Soule whereby it Knows what is Vnderstood But we must not think that it is an act of the Soules Essence surveying or taking account of the Vnderstanding Faculty what it hath done But the Soule by this understanding Faculty reflects upon a former Act which It selfe by the same Faculty had formerly performed The Gulfe is likewise fordable between the Vnderstanding and the Will though they be distinct faculties Not as if the Will by an act of Knowledge should Understand what the Intellect doth dictate But the Soule which by its faculty of Understanding Knows doth by its Willing faculty Command and by its Loco-motive Execute So that neither the Will Knows what the Vnderstanding Judgeth nor the Inferiour Faculties what the Will Commands But the Soule by severall Faculties executes severall Functions Thus when the Soule by the Eye discovers a