either concerning the Traditions of the Jews or the doubtful and disputatious Philosophy of the Gentiles either of the Science falsly so call'd which the Gnostics so boasted of or of meer Natural Reason as such destitute of Divine Revelation Or lastly of the carnal Appetites of Christians of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Law of the members warring against the Law of the mind Secondly by Reason we know the Scriptures to be the Word of God and by Reason we come to the true meaning and sense of them and by Reason we know the obligation that lies upon us therefrom and without this it is not easie to conceive a way how God could either have convey'd the knowledge of his Will to us or of our Duty to him and it is not probable that Scripture should condemn that without which all its own commands would signifie very little or nothing I shall here therefore briefly enquire into the nature of Reason both as it was in innocence before the Fall and as it is now in this state of depravation for the want of a right distinguishing herein hath been the cause of many errors and mistakes about the power and properties of it however 't is that which must needs cause a great deal of obscurity in what is said concerning it in this complex'd and undistinguish'd capacity And this is that which seems the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first fundamental error in Mr. Hobs his Politicks that he doth not sufficiently distinguish betwixt pure and corrupted Nature so that there must needs be a great deal of falshood in some things and confusion in others when he ascribes that to Nature in general which doth not belong to it but in such a particular respect and private consideration Reason in innocence was that inward Principle that Divine Light set up in the soul of man which bore an equal respect to truth and goodness by which we were both instructed in our duty and enabled to perform it it was part of that Divine Image wherein Man was created and that which directed both the speculative and practical dictates of the understanding to their respective ends viz. to the acknowledgment of the Divine Wisdom in matters of speculation and yielding obedience to his will in matters of practise Now did right Reason enjoy an universal and undisturb'd Empire now was there not that contrariety in the faculties of the soul but what was Knowledge in the understanding immediately became Obedience in the will and affections now was Reason and Righteousness as it were the very complexion of the man nor was there any further need of Supernatural Grace to be super added to him besides what was naturally contain'd in these Essential Principles of his constitution which made him such as God design'd him viz. a Man in Innocence This was the state of Reason before the Fall and it yet remains the same in substance though not in the same degree of purity and perfection as before it is the reliques of the Divine Image yet remaining in us by which we are still enabled in some measure to understand truth and practise our duty it is that power or faculty of the soul or the soul it self as it contains in it the principles and foundations of ratiocination and a power and ability of drawing right consequences therefrom but yet so obscur'd and weakned that there is now need of Divine Illumination and assistance for the performing of that which before we were able of our selves to do But then though God did thus punish man by taking away part of that strength which he had so misemploy'd which was the effect of his justice yet did not his goodness suffer him to sink below himself though he became weak and guilty yet he remained a man his faculties though deprav'd yet were they not annihilated and as the Principle is not wholly taken away so neither are the Acts and Exercises thereof necessarily false so that we are not abandon'd to an eternal Scepticism but we have still sufficient grounds of truth and certainty within our selves for we had better have no such faculties as pretend to Reason then such as should always deceive us even in things that we clearly and distinctly perceive And here may be as strong arguments drawn from the goodness of God that the punishment of the first sin did not extend to an absolute falsification or total corruption of our faculties as there may be from his veracity that he gave us true ones at first for indeed to assert Reason thus wholly corrupted would be to introduce such a confusion and disorder into the nature of things as is inconsistent with the notion of a Providence such an one as we should think that God would rather have annihilated the whole race of mankind then ever have suffer'd it in the world And this is the true State of Reason in it self before the Fall and as it is in us now since only here we must further know that this natural Faculty of Reason in Christians is further enlightned and inabled by the Divine Revelation of his Will and by the assistances and influences of his holy Spirit I could wish therefore that those men would speak more intelligibly who go about to give such particular distinct differences betwixt the Spiritual and meer Rational Man as they call him in their Actions relating to Religion as if there was any Character either more certain in it self or more warrantable to us to judge of the Spirit of God in a man by then by it's producing the effects of Righteousness in him That the Principles of Natural Reason and Grace are two distinct things flowing from different Fountains is certainly true but then why we should oppose these two especially in a Christian State where God is never wanting by his grace to assist the humble and sincere exercises of Mens Reasons where the more truly Rational any Men are the more Spiritual they are and the more Spiritual the more truly Rational here actually to distinguish betwixt the Spiritual and meer Rational Man when the same effects of real Righteousness equally appear in both this is arrogantly to take upon himself that which is only proper to God to be a searcher of hearts As for that place of 1 Cor. 2. 14. upon the misunderstanding whereof they seem principally to found this their opinion but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discern'd here by the Natural Man is not meant the Christian Rational Man but a man endow'd only with the Principles of Natural Reason void of Evangelical Grace and Divine Revelation now this cannot be apply'd to a Christian who enjoys both in their respective degrees so that the true meaning of that place is briefly this That the matters reveal'd in the Gospel and Preach'd by the Apostles were such as the Learned Philosophers of the
these very mysteries so far as necessary to be believ'd in order to Salvation sufficiently intelligible being so far clearly laid down in Scripture But then we must not place our own private fancies or the doubtful and controverted opinions of particular men in the number and rank of Divine mysteries thus coyning more out of our own brains then God and Scripture ever made Thus a late Author hath rank'd Reprobation and absolute Decrees in an equal order with the Trinity and Incarnation but if all the unintelligble opinions which have been broach'd of late years must be receiv'd as Divine Mysteries what a monstrous thing would Religion by this means soon appear Nor doth the belief of this particular hinder us from making the mysteries of our Religion as reasonable and as intelligible as we can provided only that we do not make Reason the Rule and Condition of our believing them we must not reject what we cannot fully understand this is both the fault and folly of the Socinians for herein they shew themselves neither sound Divines nor good Philosophers for 't is probable that if they had been more conversant in Philosophy they would not have so err'd in Divinity if they had a little tam'd and corrected the extravagancy of their own conceited abilities with the difficulties of Philosophy and a little more us'd their understanding to the obedience of nature they then would not perhaps have thought it such an unreasonable thing to submit to that of Faith for what an affront is it both to Reason and Religion to be so credulous as to believe things altogether unintelligible in Philosophy and yet be such Virtuosi in Religion as to believe nothing but what is capable of demonstration or within the compass of our faculties to comprehend Here we may further defend the mysteries of our Religion not only from the Authority of the Speaker in as much as it is very reasonable to believe what the God of truth reveals but also by such subsequent illustrations as may at least facilitate our apprehensions of the thing and this is that which Athanasius his Creed makes use of as the reasonable soul and body are one man so God and man are one Christ here we may also make use of those Arguments which are call'd argumenta ad hominem that is we may consider whether those respective persons we then deal withal do not believe some things altogether as unaccountable as those things they charge upon us Thus the heathens have no Reason to object against us the credulity of believing upon bare Authority seeing the Pythagoreans in particular did look upon Pythagoras his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 almost of as great Authority as the Christians do their sic dicit Dominus and generally all Sects of Philosophers did jurare in verba Magistri did yield great honor and obedience to their respective Founders nor have they any Reason to object the unconceiveableness of the Trinity and Incarnation seeing they believe things concerning their gods altogether as unintelligible as these Christian mysteries And to come a little nearer the results of the Divine Omnipotence and Omniscience how God can create something out of nothing and how he can know the free determinations of our secret thoughts and these not only present but future all which is notwithstanding part of our natural Creed this perhaps is as unconceiveable as any thing that is contain'd in our reveal'd Religion 3. It is not in the power of meer natural Reason to perform the precepts of the Christian Religion without the concurrence and assistance of the Divine Spirit Here for a man to deny either the being of God or the operations of his Spirit in us is to use a familiar resemblance as if we should deny a sharp Rasor to have an edge because we cannot see it whereas indeed the very invisibility of it is an Argument of its being or as if we should deny any motion in the world because we cannot explain the communication of it though here as in the other the visibility of the effects doth sufficiently prove the truth of both There are some who argue the duty incumbent on us to believe the Christian Religion from the benefit that accrues from it to mankind making this the foundation of their argument that men naturally ought to believe that w ch is for their advantage how far this is true I shall not here enquire yet this is certain that where we have all the Reason in the world to believe a thing and none to oppose it where God makes that our duty which is also our interest there to deny or disbelieve such a thing is not only to act against our selves but to fight against heaven of this nature is the belief of the Divine assistance Such is the amiableness of the Divine Nature that some are of opinion that if the Atheist did but frame a notion of it though he could not believe that there was a God yet he must necessarily wish there was one so here such is the advantage that accrues to us from the belief of this Divine Assistance that methinks those very men who deny it ought notwithstanding to believe it in order to their own designs of acting to the utmost extent of the powers of nature for they might more vigorously exert these if they liv'd under the imagination at least that they had a greater power then their own concurring with them As for that controversie concerning Grace and moral Vertue if the question be first clearly stated and the sense and acceptation of the words justly determin'd and then the thing calmly discours'd without the heat of contest and disputation the difference betwixt the contenders on either part seems not so great but that it seemes easily reconcileable Here Grace may be consider'd in a double sense either first as it signifies the Divine Assistance that inward root and Principle of all Christian Vertues and Graces or secondly as it signifies the fruits and effects of the Spirit the Christian Graces themselves as now reduc'd into acts and habits In this latter sense Moral Vertues as to the substance and matter of them are the same with Christian Graces they differ only in the principle from whence they flow thus the Christian Vertues and Graces spring from a more Divine Original then the Moral Vertues of Heathens In the first sense there are none but profess'd Pelagians that assert morality or moral vertue in opposition to or derogation from the Divine Assistances but those who perhaps by some are now thought too great friends and Patrons of it do mean and intend nothing of this by it That which hath render'd this question more obscure and intricate is that they are not rightly agreed about the sense and meaning of the word morality some say that by morality is properly meant such a degree of vertue and honesty as is attainable by the mere strength of nature without the advantages of Divine Revelation others by
the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only such things the events whereof depend upon the natural and necessary connexion of causes but such as come to pass by the free determination of Mens wills and though the proper nature of prophesy doth not consist herein yet is it a certain character of a true Prophet where it doth occur for it is not in the power of any lower principle certainly to foretel such things 2. Prophesy more properly implies the Communication of the Divine Will to men and that with this particular design to instruct and inform the world in things of great concernment for there may be private notices and personal commands convey'd from God to Men which yet are not sufficient to denominate them Prophets Prophesy in the first sense doth suppose the being of God to a Christian and proves it to an heathen for there may as strong an Argument be drawn from the punctual predictions of future contingencies in all the particular Modes and Circumstances of them to prove a Divine Being as there may from the regular order and constitution of the universe for it is as impossible certainly to foretel things to come in that very way and method wherein they happen without Divine Revelation as it would have been for the world to have reduc'd it self into this stately frame by the fortuitous concourse of Atoms And as prophesy proves the Being of God so the being of God proves at least the possibility of prophesy si dentur dii datur divinatio says Cicero and the consequence is good and valid unless with the Epicureans that granting a God we deny his providence and the government of the world by him Prophesy and Divine Revelation being one great instrument which he makes use of herein and indeed it would have seem'd a great defect in providence to have created such a Noble Creature as Man without a way of communicating suitable notices to him as the conveniencies or necessities of things might require Thus the Stoicks argue in this case if say they there be Gods and yet they do not declare to men future events then either they do not love men or they know not themselves what will come to pass hereafter or they think it nothing concerns men to know or they think it inconsistent with their Majesty to do it or lastly they know not how to communicate this their knowledge to others but all these consequences are false therefore the Being of God proves such a kind of prophesy or divination This argumentation of theirs refers to prophesy in the first sense but it would be more strong and undeniable if from thence we infer'd the being of prophesy in the latter that is the Revelation of things much more considerable then the meer knowledge of future events for he that denies prophesy in this sense must either grant all those false and unworthy consequences before mention'd or some of these which are as false as the other either first that God hath declar'd his whole Will by the Light of Nature so that nothing more remains further to be reveal'd or Secondly that nature hath declar'd enough and that there is no need of any more or Thirdly that it is inconsistent with the free determination of the Divine Will to make any further Revelation then what nature hath already discover'd But now this kind of Prophesy or Divine Revelation was both necessary in respect of man and no ways contrary to any resolution of the Divine Will 1. It was necessary because all the several Religions that ever appear'd in the world either really had or at least pretended to Divine Revelation now things being in this posture at our Saviours appearance in the world it was necessary that his Religion should have the truth of that which many of the others only pretended to both to free Christians from the danger of being seduc'd by the false pretenses of others and also fully to assure them of the truth of their own Religion Not though as if the false Oracles of the Heathens did first occasion that Revelation that was truly Divine for this had always a precedency in nature to that which was false and counterfeit thus God first gave the command to Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit before the Devil ever tempted him thereunto And the reason of that resemblance which we sometimes find betwixt Sacred and prophane Rites is not that God took occasion from them to institute the like amongst his own people but because the Devil being Gods Ape doth many times either pervert Divine Institutions to Superstitious or Idolatrous purposes or erect something of the like nature of his own to keep some in the belief and practise of the false Religion and to seduce others from the true one so that it is no ways inconsistent with the subtilty or malice of the Devil but rather highly promotive of both to borrow some Divine Rites and Sacred Institutions and insert them into his own Worship And it seems more probable that the Egyptians here borrowed from the Jews then the Jews from the Egyptians for notwithstanding the great hatred which they bore to the Jews yet they might imitate them in some part of their Religious Worship and that not out of any love they had either to them or their Religion but that they might the better secure some of their own people in their Idolatrous Worship who perhaps had entertain'd too great an opinion of some of the Jewish Ceremonies or that by this means they might some other ways more effectually manage their malice against them but what ever was the first occasion or original of the Devils Oracles yet this is certain that at Christs appearance in the world they had very much prevail'd in the Heathen Nations and therefore it was necessary that Christ should both silence these and institute a more certain method of Divine Revelation of his own 1. Revelation was necessary to assure the world of Gods reconciliation to mankind and upon what terms and by what methods we may attain Salvation for though the Divine Goodness be as knowable by the Light of Nature and as easily apparent in the notion of a Deity as any other of it's attributes of Power and Iustice yet being conscious to our selves of daily offending God and guilt being naturally full of Iealousie We could not be so fully assur'd of Gods mercy without such a Revelation having forfeited the effects thereof as to our selves and however though we might have some notions of Gods parability and willingness to pardon yet we could scarce have imagin'd that his mercy would have extended thus far not only to pardon our sins but also to confer upon us such a degree of happiness Nor doth their way of reasoning seem cogent and necessary who tell us that Natural Reason leads us to a Mediator and that such an one as God indeed has appointed to be God and Man God say they is
Imprimatur Ab. Campion R mo D no Arch. Car. Ã Sacris Domest Feb. 12 ' 167â— Ex AEdib Lamb. A DISCOURSE CONCERNING THE Divine Dreams MENTION'D IN SCRIPTURE TOGETHER With the Marks and Characters by which they might be distinguish'd from vain Delusions In a Letter to Monsieur Gaches by Moses Amyraldus Translated out of French by Ia. Lowde Fellow of Clare-Hall in Cambridge LONDON Printed by A. C. for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops-head in S t Paul's Church-Yard 1676. TO THE Right HONOURABLE JOHN Earl of Bridgewater Viscount Brackley Baron of Elsemere Lord Lieutenant of the County of Bucks and one of His Majesties Most Honourable Privy Council MY LORD THE first Fruits by the Law of Moses were due to God yet is it no violation now of the Laws of heaven in some proportion to shew our just esteem of those who are so much like it here on earth Hence it is that I presume to Dedicate these my first endeavors of this kind to Your Lordships Patronage and Protection and I could wish that the first productions of Art and Study were like those of Nature that is the best and most perfect in their kind that so the Present might more resemble it's Patron I do not present this to Your Honor as if you stood in need of Translations for in this respect You perhaps are the most improper Person in the Kingdom to make such Dedications to being Your self so Great a Master not only of the French but also of the more Ancient and Learned Languages But I look upon my self under some obligation of justice to return that to Your acceptance which was the result of some few hours which I should have counted stoln from Your Lordships Service but that such is your Candour and benign Temper such Your great love and affection to all commendable Studies that You and they seem to have the same Ends and the same Interests thus what ever time is employ'd in them You are pleas'd to look upon it as spent in Your own Service But this is not all the right You may justly challenge to this Translation Your Title to it seems yet more particular wherein such was your Favour and Condescension that as it would be Ingratitude to conceal so would it be almost Arrogance to acknowledge them wherein pardon the pride of the expression I had the Honour to be instructed by Your Lordship in the French Tongue You being pleas'd not only to peruse but in many places to Correct it so that I cannot now so properly challenge any thing therein my own as the Imperfections And now I hope you will pardon this my innocent Ambition if I desire to publish my Gratitude and that sense of my Obligations which is too big to be confin'd in a private breast How acceptable this Treatise may be to the World I know not yet this I know that I should have sufficiently oblig'd the Age if in the Dedication I had given it Your Lordship's just Character this being the most probable way to provoke men to the love and imitation of Vertue not to represent it in Idea and Speculation only but as it appears both more amiable in it self and more prevalent on others when thus incorporated in the lives and practices of Noble Persons But this though a true and just Relation would be as uneasie for You to hear as it would be difficult yea above the power of my Pen to perform Thus among other things Your own Temper concurs in this to make You Heroically Vertuous that is a follower of Vertue merely for Vertues sake since Your modesty will not endure the common cheap Reward of a due Praise and just Commendation But yet I could wish that I had not so much to plead for the seasonableness of the Discourse in an Age where Infidelity on the one hand Fanatical Enthusiasm on the other seem to divide the greater part of the World where some men look upon all Divine Revelations to be mere Dreams others mistake their mere Dreams for Divine Revelations Now what more proper and seasonable in these circumstances then that which is the design of this Discourse that is to evidence the Grounds and Reasons why we receive those that are truly Divine and reject the vain pretences of others And to whom could the Dedication be more suitable then to one whose Principles and Practices at once confirm and adorn the Religion you profess whose well-settled judgment and understanding of Your Religion in general and Your great affection to the Church of England in particular render You equally distant from the Superstition of the Romanists and the Novelties of later Enthusiasts My Lord I shall not any further by a tedious address misemploy those precious minutes which are usually spent either in Your serious and private Studies or in more publick Employments I shall only beg that God would long continue You amongst us and bless Your endeavours in settling and securing the Kingdom by Your Counsel and supporting the Church by Your constant Affection which is the hearty Prayer of Your Humbly Devoted Servant Ja. Lowde THE PREFACE TO THE READER I Shall not go about to make any tedious Apologies for the publication of this Treatise being conscious to my self of the innocence of my intentions that however I may be mistaken in my apprehensions or have fail'd in my design yet I did intend herein not to offend but to serve thee for I am not of the temper of those who would rather commit a deliberate crime then want an occasion of Apologizing the reasons then inducing me hereunto were principally these two 1. Because those who have not stock enough of their own to trade withall are not altogether unserviceable to the Commonwealth by becoming Carriers and conveyers of other men's goods and Translations I conceive bear some resemblance hereunto and if it be for the benefit and advantage of a Kingdom to bring in the Riches of Forreign Countries then certainly can it not be disserviceable to the Commonwealth of Learning to make the works of other Nations intelligible to our own and whatever Law there may be in particular against other things of the French Nation yet there is none against the Importation of their Learning 2. This Treatise if we consider the whole Series and Method of it's mannagement seems a sufficient vindication of the sober use of Reason in matters of Religion if we reflect upon those natural and necessary deductions which the Learned Author makes from certain and undoubted Principles and those other rational motives of credibility which he makes use of to prove those dreams he there treats of to be truly Divine Yet not so as to exclude that secret sense and inward consciousness which was the immediate result of the Divine Impression made upon their minds by the Spirit of God especially in those dreams and visions where particular and personal commands were convey'd to any of his Servants as to Joseph to convey our
And nevertheless it appears by the history that he did not at all hesitate upon it which shews that he had a powerful perswasion of the truth of the dream Now though we cannot at present certainly know wherein this full perswasion did consist and upon what it did depend yet notwithstanding we ought not at all to question but that this and the like perswasions were founded on something that was both in it self sufficient and to them a sufficiently evident ground of their assent But we must enquire what that was and this is the proper subject of this Meditation since there are but three sorts of dreams those which are produc'd by natural causes those which proceed from the operation of Angels and those which I call Divine The readiest way to come to the knowledge of the truth in this case will be to shew that these can neither belong to the first nor the second rank and thence it will necessarily follow that they must belong to the third As for natural dreams I suppose that 't is easie to distinguish those from such as proceed from a Divine impression these natural dreams I said were of four sorts the first depends upon the temperament and constitution of the body others acknowledge no other cause then the meer motion of the Idea's of the brain by the natural heat in the time of sleep the others come from a very attentive application of our minds to some things when we were awake and the last from the passions of the sensitive soul which is as it were awaken'd and acts more vigorously during the repose of our senses But now for Example to which of these causes can we refer the dreams of Ioseph or Pharaoh What mark do they bear of the temperament of their bodies or the constitution of their humors What Idea's of things could remain in their memory which could be able so regularly to proportion these dreams as to see in the one the number of the sheaves and of the Stars the Sun and the Moon and their prostrations before him in the other the number of the Ears of Corn both the empty and the full ones of the Kine the fat and the lean ones and their action in devouring one another What so great attention of mind could be upon any worldly care or employment as to cause any such representations in their sleep What passion could move either their concupiscible or their irascible appetite as thereby to form such phantasms And further the dreams that come from any of these causes are always irregular and composed of parts not consistent with one another so that nothing is commonly more phantastick and extravagant then they but those of Ioseph and Pharaoh and the Image of Nabuchodonosor and if there be any other of the same nature mentioned in Scripture they are so admirably well composed that they seem to be the result of a very intelligent Cause The dreams which proceed from natural causes are obscure and always presented to our minds with a great deal of confusion so that we observe nothing distinct in them or if one part have something of clearness and perspicuity in it the others are commonly perplex'd and intricate Whereas those dreams related in Scripture are not only clear but full of light whether we consider them in the whole or in their parts natural dreams do make so little impression upon our Spirits that for the most part we do not remember them when we are awake whereas the Divine are firmly fix'd in our memory for as for what is reported of Nabuchodonosor that he had forgot his dream and that he stood in need of Daniel to recal it again into his mind this happen'd by the particular dispensation of the Divine Power and Providence which remov'd out of his mind the Idea's of his vision thereby to render the wisdom of Daniel more remarkable besides this Prince very well remembred that he had dream'd and the perplexity which his dream caus'd in him the passionate desire he had to recal it the manner of his behaviour to the Sooth-sayers and all the rest which pass'd upon this occasion fully shew'd that this vision did very nearly concern him and that also in his dream he had observ'd something that was singular and extraordinary in it if in the morning we remember our natural dreams yet we disregard them and count them but meer trifles whereas those to whom God sent those Divine Dreams did not only distinctly remember them but had them still firmly represented to them when they were awake and did look upon them as Divine advertisements and were very solicitous about the interpretation or the event of them When dreams proceeding from natural causes have made any impression upon our Spirits so that they hold us in some suspense in the morning as it sometimes happens we commonly do these two things First We make an attentive reflexion thereupon and carefully examine and consider them in all their circumstances and at last find them to be meer vanities and produc'd by some of those natural causes before mention'd and so we free our selves from that disquietness they had before caus'd in us Secondly If we cannot thus wholly free our selves then we compare them with those true and real operations which our senses produce in us waking and by thus comparing them all those impressions which these dreams had made upon our spirits do altogether vanish For it is here almost as in the comparison of things represented upon a Theatre with those that are really done Whilst we see a Tragedy acted we feel a concernment and passion in us sometimes even to the effusion of tears But this only touches as it were the surface of the soul and is not of any long continuance or if this emotion of the mind do continue longer yet it is as good as nothing in respect of that which the real view of these actions and passions and murthers actually committed in our sight do cause in us but in Divine Dreams it was directly contrary for if those to whom they were sent did in the least doubt of their Divinity and did set themselves seriously to examine them the more they consider'd them the less reason they found to doubt of them and when they compar'd them with the operation of their senses they found to their great astonishment and admiration that even those of sense were less true and real then they these Divine Dreams I say made a more strong and firm impression upon the Spirits of those that receiv'd them and they were more fully perswaded of their Divinity then we are of the reality of the operation of our senses when waking they exercise themselves upon their respective objects and it is no difficult thing to give a reason for it That which causes sensation and makes us believe the truth and reality of the actions of sense is that those sensible species which affect the outward senses do also pass into the
Common-sense which is a faculty superior to them so that it can judge of their actions and of the things imprinted thereupon It can also compare the action of one sense with the operation of another and laying them together confer their respective properties and qualities and the judgment that results from hence depends as well upon the impression which the object makes upon the external organ according as it is more or less intense as upon the nature of the Internal and Common-sense which is a corporeal faculty and that which belongs to the sensitive part of the soul of which Dogs and Horses and other animals do also partake As for Divine Dreams the impression was indeed make in the fansy which is also a corporeal faculty it being one of the internal senses but the reflexion which the servants of God made thereupon when waking was the work of the understanding which is more clear and exact in its operations and which in the Prophets and those other faithful men to whom these dreams were convey'd was further enlightned by the Spirit of God to judge aright of the object which it had so attentively consider'd The impression then of these dreams being more profoundly imprinted upon the phansy for as much as it came from a supernatural cause then that which the sensible objects make upon our outward senses and the faculty which did consider and reflect upon them both as to the whole and the parts and the circumstances that attended them being more excellent and more exact in its judgments then t is possible for the common sense to be consequently the result thereof ought to be proportionably more perfect and the perswasion of the divinity of these dreams more certain and more undoubted As for the dreams which proceed from the operation of Angels it must be acknowledged they are more difficultly distinguish'd from those that are Divine for they are capable of a more regular formation then those that are produc'd by natural causes they may be more strongly imprinted upon the imagination and so may be of longer continuance so that we may more easily remember them when we do awake in a word they are of greater force to perswade us that they proceed from a Divine principle For the understanding of an Angel doth manifestly shew it self as well in the methodical placing of the parts of the dream from whence it draws its symmetry and proportion as in the resemblance which they bear to the things which they are designed to represent as we have seen before in the dream of the Egg and the Treasure to which we might add many others of the like sort Yet here we must call to mind what was before said of this matter that there is a great deal of difference betwixt the dreams which may have been caus'd by Angels only for as much as that which they contain'd and whereof they did consist was not above either the understanding or the activity of Angels and betwixt those of which they were only the Instruments to form the Images in the phansy of Gods servants according to the Command and according to the Revelation which he had given them of his Will As for the first the comparing the actions of good and bad Angels would easily show the difference and it might more especially be made in this double respect 1. The Images that good Angels did imprint upon the phansy did never contain any thing of Idolatry or Pagan superstition whereas those which proceeded from evil ones were commonly full of it for in these there was always either some representation of false gods or something which concern'd their worship or some other vision of that nature which denoted the author of the dream to be willing to authorize Idolatry or Superstition from which the Inclination of good Angels was always very distant 2. The dreams caus'd by evil Angels did always or at least for the most part induce to some evil actions which the good ones never do who as they are free from temptation to evil themselves so do they never tempt others to it That which might render the discerning betwixt these two more doubtful or more difficult is that upon this as upon other occasions these Angels of darkness might transform themselves into Angels of light and endeavour to impose upon the credulity of the faithful by causing them to have such dreams which should not seem to contain any thing of that vice we before mention'd and which should tend to actions indifferent in themselves or such as perhaps might have the appearance of good but yet such as they might make use of for some evil design And the dream sent to Ioseph to command him to carry Christ into Egypt may serve for an Example for as I have already said Ioseph might perhaps think that this was a meer illusion of the devil who design'd hereby to lie in wait for him to destroy him Here we may lay down these several considerations First That how great a cheat soever the Devil is yet he can never counterfeit so well but something will happen whereby he may be discovered they say that when he visibly appears in humane shape what ever care he takes to disguise himself yet there is always something in the apparition by which he may be known either by the horror of his Claws or some stinking smell or some such like thing which presently appears and renders the vision terrible and frightful Whether it be so or no I know not I will not affirm it though it be not without some appearance of reason But as for what concerns his actions and the means he makes use of whereby to deceive men whether by dreams or by voice or any other illusion neither is his own malice able nor will the Divine Providence suffer him so perfectly to resemble the actions of good Angels but there will be some mark by which to discern them And what I said before upon occasion of the dream of the Arcadian is founded only upon the relation that Cicero makes of it If we had had a perfect and entire account thereof with all its circumstances one might certainly have found something in it whereby we might easily have known whether it proceeded from a good or bad Angel Hence I dare boldly affirm that if the dream sent to Ioseph had come from an evil spirit there would have been something more in it then what is related of it whereby this holy man would easily have known that it was not of a Divine Inspiration Secondly Not only dreams proceeding from the Devil have some character from whence we may conclude their original but also those that come from good Angels have something on the contrary whence we may conclude their Author truly good for naturally every effect retains some mark of its cause Fire leaves something of it self where it exercises its power and Water where it passes Beasts do imprint something upon their proper operations and Men
morality seem to understand not only this but also include in it all the assistances and encouragements that attend Christianity Whether is the properer acceptation of the word I shall not here enquire yet however those who take it in this latter sense cannot be thought to ascribe too much to the power of nature only they include more in the sense and meaning of the word so taken then perhaps can properly belong to it I shall here only add one consideration which refers to Reason in matters of Speculation and so put an end to this digression 'T is this that it no ways reflects dishonourably upon Reason that it is not in its power to convince a Sceptick Scepticus nec potest alium redarguere nec ipse redargui and the Reason of both is because he neither asserts nor grants any Principles whereby he may either prevail upon others or he himself be confuted Scepticism is a capricious phrensie of the mind and it tends no more to the disreputation of Reason that it cannot cure it then it doth to the dishonor of Grace that it doth not always captivate the perverse wills of wicked men But there are degrees in this Sceptical humor and we then seem to retain some Tincture of it when we unreasonably and immoderately undervalue and enervate those Arguments which natural Reason brings for the proof of some of the Articles of our natural Religion viz. The being of God and the Immortality of the Soul Revelation indeed hath advanc'd these to higher degrees of certainty then before they had but I see not how it tends to the advancement of the Honor of Divine Revelation by too rigid if not Sceptical denials to invalidate all those Arguments that Reason may suggest in proof or confirmation hereof Reason me-thinks here should not be treated as an enemy but rather help'd and incourag'd then discountenanc'd in so good a design we should rather procure and maintain a certain rational tenderness and modesty of mind whereby we should be asham'd either to assert or deny any thing upon unjust grounds and this temper of mind is equally distant from a vain credulity on the one hand and an unreasonable demanding of demonstrations in matters uncapable of them on the other it assents not to things on weaker grounds then Reason may justly require nor doth it require more evidence then the nature of things and the nature of men are capable of But I must remember that I write a Preface not a Treatise I shall now only premise something concerning the Nature of Prophesie and Divine Revelation in general and so refer thee to the following discourse for further satisfaction An operose attempt to prove that which no sober and considerate man ever went about to deny would rather weaken then add any strength to the thing design'd yet I could wish that either the affectation of singularity or a more pernicious design of some in this present age had not render'd the proving the truth of Divine Revelation in opposition to those who would ascribe all prophesie to some lower principle not altogether unnecessary It is indeed both unjust and uncharitable to suggest unreasonable surmises of the possible intentions of an Author contrary to his express words only here give me leave to shew the Reasons why it may be suspected that the Author of Tractatus Theologico-Politicus notwithstanding what he there speaks of it yet may indeed assert no other Prophesie or Revelation then what is within the power of nature to perform 1. In his sixth Chapter he absolutely denies all miracles in general then it is very inconsistent with and naturally consequent upon this his principle to deny this of prophesie in particular The opinion of miracles according to him is founded in the ignorance of natural causes since nature never goes out of her fix'd order and settled course whatever we may weakly or ignorantly conceive of it now according to this way of arguing prophesie may as well be the result either of blind chance or natural causes though such as are not commonly known as other miracles Now the nature and notion of a miracle doth as well belong to the certain Prediction of future contingencies and the declaring and revealing things naturally unknowable as it doth to those things which leave more immediate and sensible effects behind them and if God by such an eternal decree hath so fix'd the course of nature that it can no ways now be alter'd then prophesie must run the same fate with miracles and he that denies one if he be consistent with himself must deny both 2. He tells us that God may reveal by way of prophesie such things as we already know by the light of nature that which I here take notice of is not the falsness of the assertion but only that he doth no where plainly and clearly tell us whether the prophesies contain'd in Scripture be above the power of nature or no or whether they may not naturally follow from such a System of the world as he supposes 3. He himself doth sufficiently explain his own opinion herein towards the end of his first Chapter Denique Prophetae Dei spiritum habere dicebantur quia homines causas Propheticae cognitionis ignorabant eandemque admirabantur propterea ut reliqua portenta ipsam ad Deum referre Deique cognitionem vocare solebant wherein he positively resolves prophesie as well as other miracles into natural causes though such as are unknown to us My design here will not give me leave fully to examine his opinion either concerning miracles or prophesie only I shall observe in general that it is but a very weak way of arguing which he there uses viz. That because God sometimes makes use of natural causes or the accidental ministery of some other means in working of miracles therefore to ascribe the whole causality or efficiency to those things which God for other Reasons thought fit to employ on those occasions thus he asserts Moses his throwing Ashes into the Air to be the natural cause of the Biles that thereupon befel the Egyptians Thus also because God makes use of the phansy in the conveying of prophesy therefore must it wholly be subjected here and reach no farther therefore he concludes that the Prophets prophesy'd according to the various temperaments and complexion of their bodies and some Prophets were more obscure in their prophesies then others because their phansy was not so good nor their imagination so strong as the rest But this kind of Reasoning seems much what like that of the man who speaking of the miracle of Christs feeding five thousand with five Barly-loaves and two fishes Joh. 6. 10. gave this account of it that what they wanted in meat they made up with grass because it is there occasionally said that there was much grass in the place Prophesy in the notion of it may include those two things 1. A prediction of future contingencies a foretelling not only