man applyed prophecies of Christ unto Vespatian XXXV But whence was that drawne but out of the true and ancient Theologie which Plato doth inculcate in so many places of the punishment of the soule and of the judgment of God And that which Ovid singeth of the last burning of the World Metamorph. 1. Esse quoque in fatis c. He callâ— to mind it doom'd in fate doth stand That time shall come wherin the Sea and Land And Heav'ns bright pallaces shall shake and burn And all this stately frame to ruine turne It were a tedious thing to insist on all particulars Hee that would know more of this kind let him read Iustine Martyr his Parenesis to the Greekes and Clemens Alexandrinus his Protrept and his Stromata and Iosephus his bookes against Appio but especially Eusebius of Evangelicall Preparation These things are sufficient for the praise of Theologie for the time will not permit any more but especially is these times wherein wee see prostrated as it were the Carcasses of so many Churches and Vniversities and fires overwhelmed with ruines So that now Theologie it selfe if it could speake without the helpe of men would require lamentations rather then praises Vertue is coÌ„mended butis cold unregarded Adulterous Theology flowing in wealth environed with armes and greedy of bloud doth most horribly rage for the chaire insults upon the ruines of the Sanctuary Whilst in the meane while true Theologie whispereth her Doctrine into a few eares and hath not where to lay her head From whence it ariseth that few doe apply themselves to these Arts and his profession is better reputed who swaggers with a feather in his Cap and walkes with a sword by his side then his who weildeth the spirituall sword of the divine word and it is a greater glory â—o break a horse into the Ring then to compell mens minds into the compasse of true Piety and Fathers had rather place their Sons in a way of Merchandize or to make them common Lawyers then addict theÌ„ to this sacred discipline Let my Sonne say they be an Atourny in Court let him be a Solliciter of causes let him bee a Steward or a Factour that getteth mony rather then a Pastor of the Church that with an empty purse speaketh of great things and thundereth out heavenly matters But as for our parts if we have true wisedome or if we contemne earthly things in respect of heavenly neither the perverse judgements of men nor these rigorous times in which studies grow cold and nothing is fervent but cruelty nor the deceitfull lustre of riches nor the very ruine of the tottering World shal ever remove us from our sacred purpose Divine wisedome is a sufficient reward unto it self and whom it admitteth into its discipline it carryes the whole race without dependance of the judgements of men it raiseth our minds unto God For whose sake to suffer contumely is an honourable rebuke and a reproch more illustrious then all humane glory Wherefore casting all our cares upon GOD whose counsells cannot be kept backe by the Devill nor moved forward by our sorrow let us absolve our taske and finish our intended worke with what fidelity and industry we may The Inauguration of ALEXANDER COLVINUS IT remaineth therefore that we now come unto that which hath beene the cause of this frequent Congregation With Gods good-will we are about to elect unto the profession of Divinity and the degree of a Doctor Alexander Colvinus a man by descent noble endued with much learning and commendable for his disposition and maÌ„ners whose knowledge above his yeares elegant and piercing wit acute judgement tenacious memory happy flowing speech and stile lofty with naturall decency lastly whose great and constant labour doe not need our commendation Hee hath with much praise performed the office of Philosophy and Hebrew reader for some yeares already But revolving greater things in his mind he applyed himselfe to the studies of Divinity Wherein having very much profitted hee is by his own just desert and the will of our most illustrious Dutchesse called unto the profession of Theologie To wit that this profession which by the death of Professors or by other casualties may suffer hurt and dammage might bee confirmed by the more props and defences In your sight hee hath given testimonies of his wit and learning both in disputing and teaching Not as if we desired trial of his wit nor that wee have the lest doubt of his learning but that wee might satisfie custome Let therefore the university Register stand up and read unto thee Alexander Colvinus the usuall forme of Oath whereunto thou shalt sweare that thou mayest know to what Offices thou doest tye thy selfe and what are the duties of thy profession Here is read the forme of of the Oath NOw then thou most worthy man that shalt be a member of our Colledge ascend this Chaire where thou shalt be graced with the dignity of a Doctor as is due unto thy vertue The Doctor to be admitted ascendeth the Chaire and the Promotor speakes thus unto him FIrst of all I warn thee and will againe and againe admonish thee that thou prove all thy doctrine according to the rule of Gods word which is contained in the Canonicall bookes of the new and the old Testament and that thou entangle not mens minds in false opinons and corrupt the use of the pulpit which is consecrated to truth That thou applaud not thy selfe in a vaine subtilty of wit or giue thy selfe to curiosity That thou tire not thine auditour with multiplicity of speech raising questions out of questions and being too busily diligent in unnecessaries but forth with invade the maine force of the controversie and strike at the heart of false Doctrine That thou intermit not thy Lectures with too long neglect and bee thou more carefull of the benefit of thy Schollers then thine owne fame And as thou wouldest have thine Auditors attentive and earnest so let thine care be open to the questions of thy Schollers when they aske thee Let thy manners bee blamelesse thy life honest thy correction perpetual be thou courteous to thy Schollers peacefull with those of thy society and upright before all men I know that I admonish one that is mindfull and adde spurres to one that freely runneth But it is better to advise what is superfluous then to bee deficient in what is necessary Whatsoever thou shalt judge to bee needlesse in our exhortation impute it partly to the custome and partly to our love The Forme of Inaugration THerefore in the name of the Father the Son and the holy Ghost the Individuall Trinity J create and declare thee Alexander Coluinus to be Doctor of Divinity And with the consent and allowance of our worthy fellowes I admit thee into the body and Colledge of Professors that thou may'st teach out of this Chaire And that from henceforth thou enjoy all the priviledges and immunities which are granted to this sacred order by the Illustrious Dukes of Bulloigne I propose unto thee the booke of the sacred Scripture open that thou mayst learne wisedome from thence and continually cast thine eyes on it I propose the same unto thee shut that without the helpe of bookes thou mayst as often as shall be needfull answere unto mens demands Extempore I give thee mine hand as to a fellow Collegian for a pledge of our brotherly society And with this brotherly embrace I salute thee With the good prospering and the guidance of one good and great God take on thy selfe this office that it may be an honou◠〈◊〉 â—hee delight to our most illustrious Dutchesse profit to this Vniversity and 〈◊〉 safegard to Truth To the glory of Gods name and the edifying of his Church through JESUS CHRIST our Lord Amen FJNJS Imprimatur T. WYKES January 28. 1639.
the civill Law who deeply concealing his hatred with-holdeth his hand from the injury being restrained by feare of the Lawes Neither is vertue the end of civill Lawes but peace and concord And truly they are infinitely mistaken who suppose that the efficacy of civill Lawes doth consist in this that they are just For a Law hath its authority not because it is a Iust but because it is a Law and a rule established by him that hath power yea men live peacefully under evill lawes and miserably under good ones They live peacefully under wicked lawes when the Citizens do agree in the observation of them They live miserably under good lawes when the disobedient Citizens doe contemne the authority of the Law giver the force of the lawes doth lauguish From hence it is that divers people doe live after divers Lawes That by the Law of the twelve Tables it was lawfull for Creditors to cut in pieces the Debtour that was not able to pay them That by the same Lawes a father might thrice sell his Son and a Husband might kill his wife if his wine did stincke or if she counterfeited Child-bâ—râ—h That amongst the Lacedemonians theevery was permitted and that in Cyprus Virgins got their dowry by the use of their bodies That amongst the Calecut Indians that wife that was more beloved of her husband then the rest being gorgeously apparelled even to allurement is led forth unto her Funerall and burned alive with her husband that Kings are not to take to theÌ„selves wives but first laine withall by their Priests which are called Bramins That among the Turkes Polyga my is lawfull that men goe to Market to be sold as Cattell and to drinke wine is a matter of conscience Of all which things no one is observed amongst us so that it is evident that that Iustice which is commanded in humane Lawes is not so much a vertue as a custome and that therefore are things just because they are decreed but not decreed because they are just and lastly those Lawes are just which being founded upon nature are consentaneous to the Law of God If any one doth object to the contrary those intricate contentions of Divines and that men in matters of religion encounter with most inveterate hatred we answer that it is not the fault of the faculty but of men who seeke a knot in a bulrush as sayes the Proverb and abuse the depravation of most certain things for their avarice and ambition He doth ill that attributeth the faults of artificers to their Arts as if any one should impute his blearednesse to the Sunne or being stricken with sudden blindnesse should thinke that the Sun doth suffer an Eclypse But whosoever doth not obstinately stick to prejudicate opinions nor hath made his faith subject to his belly nor enslaved it to anothers will he shall find in the holy Scripture many evident sentences and needing no interpretation which are abundantly sufficient vnto salvation But whereas the nobility of practique sciences doth consist in the nobility of their end and in the fitnesse of meanes to attaine vnto this end it cannot be spoken how many degrees Theologie doth herein excell all other Arts and Sciences For every Science doth propose unto it selfe some particular end which is not extended to our whole life much lesse doth it reach unto those things which ensue this mortall life So Oeconomy serves for the instruction of an Nouse-holder Politickes of a good Subject and a good Prince Tactickes for the well marshalling of an Army Astronomy measutes the motions of heavenly bodies Their number and distances Only Theologie doth instruct a man as he is a man and coÌ„prchendeth the whole life of man and extending its care bey ond the bounds of nature is sollicitous for the life to come But men being preposterously wise and adicted to present things doe deliberate of the severall portions of their lives and have the manner of the whole disordered and fayle of their universall end From whence it comes to passe that by many things prudently provided for there amounteth one generall imprudence whilst they endeavor to abound in good things when themselves are evill Onely Theologie designeth the last end which is union with God and supplying fit means therunto it layeth open a way which was never trodden by any humane wisedome It onely restoreth the Image of GOD in Man which was almost defaced It onely poynteth out the way unto salvation It alone teacheth us to live as in the sight of God by whom the coverts of the darkest hypocrisie are most clearely seene through before whose tribunall are admitted no exceptions nor procrastinations nor escape by idle excuses Theologie instructeth the heart with holy meditations represseth anger bridleth the appetite detesteth fraud and lying by the feare of God expelleth all feare of men by the more vehement affection of the mind subduing and as it were swallowing up all inferiour perturbations And it so elevateth the soule above the body that it becomes a candidate of Divinity and begins to live an heavenly life in this mortall body For whereas the soule is united with the body in a two-fold bond whereof the one is naturall the other voluntary Theology either looseth or cutteth off the voluntary so long as by the Law of nature or the will of God a naturall dissolution is expected That J may not hold you long I esteeme that man truly a Divine who is a Divine not only in his word but in his life Cicero defined an Orator A good man skilfull in Ornaments of language But we more rightly define a Theologer a good man skilfull in divine things For as saye the Apostle 1 Cor. 4. The Kingdome of God doth not consist in word but in vertue This truly is a great praise of Theology and a remarkeable perogative that whereas there are but few Physitians among common people and few who are versed in the Lawes onely Theology doth forme and instruct every common man and in the Amphitheater of this life sits not onely amongst Senators and noble personages or amongst the fourteen orders but is also extended to the very utmost scaffold and the meaner sort of people Wee will also speake somewhat of the Antiquity of Theologie for that also doth much conduce unto its praise It is delight to contemplate the venerable Antiquity of this sacred Discipline Where in much ancient hoarinesse is seene But such old age as is both fresh and greene We are wont to wonder at the Pyramids of Egypt being the most ancient structure in the whole world And those raw Schollers who are called Philologers doe with great labour search after the old inscriptions of Tombes Coines eaten and worne out and Words which are mouldy obsolete with age and preserve them as precious treasuries But how late and fresh are these things yea how frivolous are they in respect of the reverend age of Theologie which doth almost challenge the Sunne in Antiquity and deriveth its
originall from the infancy of the world as being the Daughter of the ancient of Dayes and from her fathers bosome sent downe unto the Earth But if any contest in antiquity of bookes and letters the Greekes are reputed to be the Princes of all learning and Greece the mother of Arts and the most ancient ingrosser of wisedome But first of all Cadmus brought the letters into Greece out of Phoeniciae which is neere bordering on Iudea and anciently did vse the Hebrew idiome Which the Greeke Characters doe make manifest being not much vnlike to those amongst the ancient Samaritanes and the names and order of the Greeke alphabet but little differing from the Hebrew And also the name of Cadmus which signifieth a man of the East Homer the most ancient of the Greeke authors that is extant was after Moses sixe hundred and odde yeares Moses was five hundred and fifty yeares before David in whose age notwithstanding the Grecians did fetch both their food and the oracles of their God from the Oake and Walnut tree From whence juglans was as much as to say Iovis glans The first amongst the Greekes renowned for wisedome were the seaven Wise men But their age was in the time of Cyrus Cambyses and Darius which was the age of Zacharias and Aggai the latest of the Prophets We can also prove by sixe hundred examples that the Grecians were Schollers vnto the Hebrewes that they drew out of the Theologie of the Hebrewes whatsoever is contained in their Philosophers or their Poets coÌ„cerning divine things agreeable to the truth but these things are so corrupted by the craft of the Devill that to find out some small particles of Gold a whole heape of dung is to be remooved I. I will take my beginning froÌ„ those names of God which are attributed to him in Scripture In the old Testament the name of JEHOVA is most frequent and God calleth himselfe by this name Exod. 3.6 From this name it is evident-that the name of Iove amongst the Greoians was deduced There is extant in Ensebius his 10. booke of Evangelicall preparation a fragment of Porphyry a most cruell enemy vnto Christians citing a place of Sanchoniata Beritius a most ancient Author that writ before the time of the Trojan warres where hee sayes that hee received his Commentaries from Ierombaall a Priest of the GOD Iove which name is not much vnlike to the name JEHOVA And this Beritius was of Phoeniciae which is adjacent to Iudea Adde hereunto that Diodorus Siculus in the 1. booke of his Histor Library sayes that the God of Moses was called IAΩ II. But even God himselfe giveth himselfe this name I am or he who is as if in comparison with God other things had no being Which learning Plato following calleth God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 him that hath being Whose words are cited by Eusebius in the 11. of his Evangelicall Preparat Cap. 8. out of his bookes of the Lawes where Plato sets downe two things the one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which alwayes is never is made to wit God the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which alwayes is made but never is to wit Time whose parts past are not that which is to come is not yet but that which is present is not time but a fleeting moment Wherupon Numenius a Pythagerean discourseth many things excellently in the same Eusebius Lib. 11. Cap. 10. III. In the Porch of the Temple at Delphos was inscribed in capitall letters of Gold this word El which with us is thou art with this title of praise would some wise man have God to be illustrated as if he alone had existence Vpon which word Plutarch hath written a Booke where amongst many other admirable things of Gods eternall immutability hee hath these words most remarkeable and divine God sayes he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Being one doth in one instant make compleat his Eternity Which words being drawne out of the secrets of more sublime Divinity Plurarch being a man most ignorant in divine things did not understand buthad culled some where else and inserted in his worke IV. The name of Adonai is also very frequent in the Scripture it signifies Lord which name I see to be used also by Greeke Authors for Father Liber the Sonne of Iupiter Belus who raigned very farre in the East is by Poets called Edoneus Hor. Carm. Lib. â— Non ego sanius bacchabor Edonis And in Euschius his 14. Booke of Evangelicall Preparat Cap. 14. Wee have Verses of Empedocles a most ancient Poet in which Edoneus is relaâ—ed to be one of the prime principles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. lupiter life bringing Iuno and Edoneus And the Paramouâ— of Venus of Syria who is called Astarte was named Adonis that is Lord. v. The Scripture sayes that the Devill being precipitated and excluded from heaven brought discord into the Earth This hath Homer described in most elegant verses which was first observed by Iustine Martyr in his exhortation to the Greekes There Homer relateth that Iupiter caught Ate that is the Goddesse of revenge and discord by the haire and cast her downe from Heaven withall swearing that it should be for ever interdicted for her to come thither againe Forthwith hee addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. This said he her from the bright Heaven did throw And shee soone came into mens workes below VI. Iustine Martyr in his Exhortation to the Greekes and Eusebius in the 9. Booke of Preparation doe speake of an Oracle of Apollos who being demanded what men are truly wise made answere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The Hebrewes and Chaldeans are The men true wisedome doth adorne Who for their God doth serve and seare A King that of himselfe was borne VII But we will run over the most principall Chapters of the Mosaical History for we shall find some evident foot-steps thereof in the Bookes of the Heathen In the beginning sayes Moses God made the Heaven and the Earth and the Earth was without forme and void The Ceptuagint translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is invisible and without order This is that Chaos of Hefied of which Ovid speaketh much in the beginning of his Metamorphosis where he cals it a rude and indisposed masse c. VIII Moses goes forward and darknesse were upon the face of the deepe and God said Let there bee light This is the very selfe-same which Hesiod sayes in his Theogonia The first of all was Chaos and a little after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Of Chaos Erebus and night were borne Of Night faire Æther and the beautious morne Hee could not more plainly say that darknes did over spread the earth and that darknesse was before light and that light was brought forth of darknesse IX The Creation of Man out of the clay or dust tempered with water was not unknowne to Heathens Hor. Carm. 1. bâ—oke 3 Ode Calleth the first