and bracelets are tokens of loue whose true proofe is the worke saith S. GREGORIE and is not the worke signified by the arme and hand the principall instruments of operation Now in euery well-ordered marriage the Bride receaues some dowrie of the Bridegroome whervpon in this great Sacrament of IESVS CHRIST and his Church and the faithfull Soule which is a member of this Church the misticall body of our Sauiour the Doctors doe assigne dowries to the soule which enters into Glorie according to that doctrine of ISAIE our Lord hath clothed me with garments of saluation and hath adorned me with a chayne as his Spouse And that of S. IOHN in his Apocalipse who compares the triumphant Hierusalem to a Bride well deckt being so adorned by her spouse And touching those dowries in particular they reduce them to three heades conformably to the three powres of the Soule and to the three Diuine vertues which God infuseth herebelow into the hearts of the faithfull Faith Hope and Charitie For they say that the Memorie is endowed with the possession of God which doth referre to Hope The vnderstanding with vision or knowledge in reward of Faith and the Will with the Diuine Fruition in recompence of Charitie This is the triple band which in Heauen shall inseparably tye vs to God a heauenly band which can neuer be broken Touching the qualities of the glorified bodies LIV. LEt 's now make a passage Athanasia from the interiour to the exteriour from the felicitie of the Soule to that of the body and let vs say that to those dowries which I haue deciphered in the former stroke admirable qualities shall be adioyned which without distroying the beeing of the bodie shall worke wonderfull changes and make them far more noble then they are in this mortall life We shall all rise againe saith the Apostle that is as well the Elect as the Reprobate but all shall not experience this happie change for the bodies of the dāned shall remayne passible heauie grosse and darke but the bodies of the Blessed shall become impassible subtile light and resplendant And to these foure qualities it is that the Doctors haue reduced the dowries of the glorious bodies Impassibilitie is a qualitie which shall make the body of an incorruptible temper not obnoxious to change exempt from hungar thrist cold heate greife infirmitie and from euery thing that can subiect vs to death or paine Glorified bodies cannot burne nor suffer in the fire nor be drowned in the water In a word nor can the tooth of Tyme nor any other force distroye them They shall enioy a continuall youth like to a flowre that cannot fade a vigorous health against which sicknesse can attempt nothing a qualitie of the heauenly bodies that suffer no alteratiō Which made the Apostle say that that which was sowen in corruption he meanes the corps layed in the graue shall ryse incorruptible and that which is mortall shall put-on immortalitie And againe the dead shall rise to incorruption The second dowrie is subtiltie which shall indewe the body as it were with a spirituall qualitie I doe not say that it shall become spirit for that is the errour of some auncient Heretikes refuted by S. AVGVSTINE in his bookes of the Citie of God nor yet that the glorious body shall be made aire an Heresie which S. GREGORIE in his Morales ascribes to EVTICHIVS Bishope of Constantinople but I say its subtiliti◠shall be so great that it shall passe through another body as through Heauen and earth which the Maisters tearme Penetration of dimensions And of this dowrie is vnderstoode that of the Apostle this sensible body shall rise againe spirituall that is resembling the spirit in sundrie things yet in such a spiritualitie as shall not depriue it of its palpabilitie according to that saying of our Sauiour to his disciples after his resurrection touch and see a spirit hath nether flesh nor bones as you see me haue And the same Sauiour did shew the subtiltie of his glorious body while he issued out of his Tombe not opening it and entred into the Hall where the Apostles were the gates being shutt The third qualitie shall be an incredible Agilitie and such as S. AVGVSTINE teacheth that the body shall be where the Spirit desireth not that this motion saith S. THOMAS is performed in an instant and without a meane but that the swiftnes of the passage shall be in a sort imperceptible and like to that of fire or lightning as saith the wiseman For the rest saith ISAIE they run without labour and trauell as far as they list without being wearie at all because this body sowen in infirmitie shall rise againe saith the Apostle in such vigour a vigour which S. THOMAS takes for Agilitie or Mobilitie that it shall be indefatigable and shall performe in a smale tyme an incredible iorney The fourth and most noble dowrie shall be Brightnes of which it is said in S. MATHEW that the Iust shall shine like the Sunne in the Kingdome of their heauenly Father and againe that they should flie like sparkes as it is in the wiseman And S. PAVLE writing to the Corinthians assures them that that which is sowen in infirmitie shall rise vp in glorie that is in brightnes according to S. THOMAS his interpretation grounding vpon the same Apostle who saith presently after as one starre differs from another in brightnes so shall the glorious bodies differre after their resurrection And the same Apostle speaking to the Philippians tells thē that our Lord will reforme the body of our humilitie and will cōforme it to his brightnes a brightnes wherof he gaue a proofe in his Transfiguration vpon the Mount-Thabor of his Agilitie by walking vpon the waters of his subtiltie in his birth and of his impassibilitie escapeing often tymes without hurt out of the hands of the Iewes who one while would stone him at another tyme would throw him headlōg downe while as yet the tyme of his suffering death for our sake was not arriued The pleasure of the Senses LV. THe glorious bodie being in this sort as it were transformed by the foure qualities which I haue touched in the former stroke O Athanasia iudge you how exquisite the pleasures of the senses shall be which they shall enioy in Organes so perfectly well disposed It is a delightfull question in Diuinitie to know whether the dowrie of impassibilitie shall exclude the act of the senses which S. THOMAS deneyes by no lesse solide then subtile arguments and shewes contrariwise that the perfection of those qualities shall render the pleasures of the Senses more pure and their delightes more excellēt He seemes to make some exception of the Sēse of tasteing for that the Kingdome of Heauen being nether meate nor drinke but ioy and Peace in the Holy Ghost and the beatified body stāding in no neede of foode to sustaine it he thinkes that this Sense made to relish meates remaynes vnprofitable and he would
onely inuested with them but ouer-inuested not onely full but ouer-heaped so that next to the humanitie of thy adorable Sōne who was conceaued by the Holy Ghost of her pure blood there is no created obiect in Heauen that dare approach her beautie It was written of ESTER that she was extreamely faire incredibly gracefull meruellously amiable and gracious in the eyes of euery one But nothing below was powerfull enough to gaine the Heart of the Heauenly ASSVERVS saue onely the Diuine Maries perfections O vessell of Election choyce peece of the massiue gold of faire and pure dilection beset with all the precious stones of vertues what a ioy shall it be to the Elect thy litle children sith thou art the mother of their Sauiour and Father to liue eternally in thy happie compaignie What sense of obligation shall they testifie vnto thee who by thy powrefull prayers receaued so many sundry graces in earth Yea that which is the toppe of all graces their admittance into the Pallace of immortalitie what a delight shall it be to be associated to the troopes of Angells whose conuersation is intirely sweete and deuoyd of bitternesses and to be made partakers of their splendour and beautie yea to become like to them according as it is written the Elect shall be as the Angells of God which is easie to be beleeued since that in some sort they shall be made like vnto God when they shall see him face to face and such as he is What a glorie shall it be to be made an eternall Citizen of that delightfull Hierusalem built as a Citie to be participant of the same freedome which the Saintes of God enioy without all feare of falling from it or of being euer banished from that Residence of permanēt and eternall abode And if in the tyme of the Triumphant Rome it was reputed so greate a priuiledge to be made free Denisan of that famous Citie as then LADY CONQVERESSE of a great part of the world And if while Hierusalem florished vnder SALOMON's reigne it was so wishfull a thinge to liue there and to haue a share in the delightes and triumphes which were there ordinarie O heauenly Societie where God raignes in and amongst his Saintes eternally where triumphes and pleasures are perpetuall and that in a life that shall neuer pay tribute to death how much more art thou to be desired The Excellences of this holy Societie LIX BVt let vs not contēt our selues Athanasia with a generall sight of this holy compaignie but that we may take more gust and reape more fruite from this speculation let vs walke our thoughtes amidst the particular excellences therof and let vs waigh it as we ought in the waightes of the Sanctuarie If earthly Cities be esteemed for the multitude of their inhabitants as was the great NINIVE of old since that ROME CONSTANTINOPLE and now the incomparable PARIS who for the abundance of her riches and the number of her inhabitants seemes in deede as in name an Abridgement of Paradice What esteeme is to be made of the numberlesse number of the heauenly Hierusalem No saith IOB the number of God's Champions vpon whom the light of his countenāce doth shine cannot be counted A thousand thousand Angells saith DANIEL serue him and tenne thousand milliō assiste before his throne And if the first quire of Angells surpasse the number of men and that Quire be the lest in number as in all other qualities how great must the number of the eight former quires needs be if according to the opinion of S. THOMAS followed by DENIS THE CARTHVSIAN the number of Angells doth as much outstripe that of men who haue bene now are or shall be as heauenly bodies doe put downe the elementarie in quantitie As for the Elect who are to succeede in the vacante Seates and to repaire the ruines of the Angells Apostataes they shall be in so great abundance that S. IOHN saith in his Reuelatiōs that their number cannot fall vnder the lawes of Arithmetike Counte if thou canst the starrs in the Heauens and the sands on the Sea shoare said our Lord of old to ABRAHAM and know that thy posteritie shall be yet more numerous In what number shall the children of the God of ABRAHAM ISAAC and IACOB be who could out of stones raise the children of that great Patriarke the Father of the faithfull and beleeuers O Lord grant that I may be enrowled in the booke of life which shall contayne all their names new names which shall proceed from thy mouth and that I may cōfesse thee in that great Church and triumphant assemblie and that I may blesse the amongst that people full of grauitie And it is an excellencie no lesse gratefull to contemplate the fine distinction of rankes in that incredible multitude without all diuision or iealousie For if in the Babilone of the Reprobate there be a horrible confusion and disorder in this Hierusalem Mother of the Elect there is a well gouerned Order by the Diuine wisdome a thousand tymes fairer then that which we dayly behold in the compositiō of this great vniuerse There are many Mansions in my Fathers house saith our Sauiour CHRIST The Angells are diuided therin into three principale Hierarchies and each of these Hierarchies into three orders which make vp nine Quires of all those heauenly Spirits Thus are the troopes of the Armie of the God of Hostes ranged of which it is said in the Sacred Canticle speaking of the Spouse of the great and Heauenly SALOMON what can you espie in the Sulamite but troopes of Soldiers well ordered whence she is terrible as an Armie put into Battaile araye And though the Elect Associates of the felicitie of Angells as being their brothers be disposed of according to the diuerse degrees of their Quires yet shall they keepe their owne particular titles by which they shall be distinguished from one another and knowen for such as they were in the seruice of God in his Church Militant Thus shall the Quires of PATRIARKES PROPHETES APOSTLES EVANGELISTS MARTIRS VIRGINS CONFESSORS and all the rest of the Faithfull who euen in the world ouercame the world be seene in a goodly order Other excellencies LX. THis multitude and Order is accompained with another excellencie which consistes of an admirable vnion and correspondancie proceeding from one and the same spirit to witt the spirit of God which doth animate and gouerne this heauenly companie There DAVID would haue iuster reason then here below to sing ô how good and pleasant a thing it is to see brothers liue vnanimously together Their accord and vnion doth resemble the oyle of the high Priest AARON which runing downe from his heade spredd it selfe vpon his beard and from thence fell vpon his coller or as others say to the hemme of his garments The sweete and peaceable Societie of Doues Bees Pismires sheepe and of Cities and Comō wealthes well gouerned is but a weake and vnworthy draught of the agreeable intelligence
reuelations represent vnto vs this heauenly Sion as a Citie all of gold and precious stones these being but shadowes of its true greatnes since the Heauens which we discouer with the Sunne and all the other starrs are but the pauement of the eternall firmament the inhabitants wherof treade vnder their feete the front of the brightest starrs All this vniuers the obiect and wonderment of the beholding eye and all this great world which hath so many louers and admirers is but a miserable stable full of dunge and durt in comparison of this seate of glorie of God's elect the God of the Elect. O great Apostle how good reason thou hadst in contemplation of this eternall Felicitie which consists in the sight of the true God and of that IESVS which he sent to esteeâ—â— all the rest durt and dung These visible heauens which in so high a strayne sing the glorie of their maker These nights and dayes which doe proclame his prayses through all the earth and so many wonderfull works which doe rayse our mynds by sense towards the greatnes of this Architect who sustaines this great bulke with three fingars are but the footstooles of the Throne of the eternall SalomoÌ„ and stayres onely by which we mount to his glorie If we should here giue bridle to our consideration and permit our mynd to walke through the multitude of different creatures which by their varietie doe so beautifie the face of the vniuers doe you not thinke Athanasia that it would be a course of too long a breath and such as was a subiect to so many the pens of antiquitie amongst others S. BASILS S. AMBROSES and ORIGENS in their Exam. and the Expounders of Genesis Let vs content our selues to draw from this spacious prospect this inference If the world a place of Nature be a Stage wherin is presented so many pleasant things how rauishing shall those beauties be which God shall manifest vnto his friends in the Mansion of his glorie the Paradice of his delightes If he permit the wicked his enemies such as offend him to inioy in this visible world so many delightes and pleasures what will he coÌ„municate to those whom he daignes to crowne with his heauenly and eternall fauours in the State of glorie A Stoicall Philosopher speaking of the felicitie of blessed soules according to the light of nature obscured with the shadowes of Paganisme could say that as much difference as there is betwixt the dungeon of a womans wombe and this great world so much is there betweene the wonders of this heaueÌ„ly beatitude of vertuous soules departed from their bodies and the greatest beauties which are seene in heauen and earth To what length are we to driue this dissimilitude we that are enlightened with the light of fayth and taught by so many faithfull promises as are contayned in the Scripture touching this blessed and vnconceauable Eternitie O Israel how goodly are thy tabernacles how delightfull thy Pauillions gardens watered with floods and fountaines are not so florishing nor are the vallies abounding with fruite so aboundant These are the words of a Prophete who yet doth but sparingly expresse the delightes of this happie Abode where the light is continuall and the dayes without nightes by reason of Gods presence who is wholy light and who doth not suffer those that doe follow and adore him to remayne in darknesse Wherevpon the spirits which doe serue before his Throne are called Angells of light It is a resplendant Residence not standing in need of those tortches the Sunne and Moone which are onely made to giue light to this low and elementarie world the heauenly Lambe being the Lampe which doth lighten the eternall Sion A Residence where the flowres doe continually accompaignie the fruites and where the extreamitie of heate and cold are banished to make place to an agreeable temperature and farr other then that earthly Paradice a garden of delight wherin were placed our first Parents created in originall Iustice A Residence in conclusion wholy constant and of an eternall durance From whence death is excluded and the qualities subiect to bring in alteration and change are banished and where all the inhabitants shall in some sort be made participant of the immutabilitie of God This stabilitie is in my opinion as it were the crowne of this faire place euen in that name farr differing froÌ„ the figure of this world which incessantly slides away not vnlike to ones shape in a mirrour which in an instant is both form'd and past according to S. IAMES O Citie of peace ô triumphant Hierusalem ô Court of the eternall Salomon when shall we come when shall we appeare before the face of this King of glorie when shall we be led into his Cellers when shall we passe through thy peaceable gates gates dearer to God then all the Tabernacles of IACOB O delightfull Abode ô wishfull Residence if euer I forgett thee let me not onely forget my right hand but euen my selfe for if I loose thee am I not eternally lost without all hope of redresse or mercy Of the essentiall happines of the blessed XLIII BVt you will aske me Athanasia what will be the highest point of the glorie of those that doe inhabite this place of delightes O my deare soule if neuer mortall ey saw what they see how doe you thinke I shall be able to expresse it with tongue or pen Is it in your opinion any thing which can fall within the compasse of a discours or can be put downe vpon paper Howbeit we will declare vnto you that which we haue discouered by the obscure light of faith rather in a glasse after a darke sort then openly face to face which is reserued for the next life as a reward for hauing beleeued it without seeing it It is therfore the constant doctrine of the Catholike Church that the essence of the eternall glorie doth consiste in the sight of the soueraigne well-beloued in the loue of the soueraigne well-beholden doe you vnderstand these few words well Athanasia which doe lay open vnto you all that you are to beleeue in this matter of the essentiall felicitie of the Blessed For leauing a part all the thornie disputes and contestations of the schoole vpon this point of the vision of the vnderstanding or of the fruition of the will the principall faculties of the soule wherin doth reside the happinesse of this supreme glorie whose obiect is God Omitting I say their debate who will place Beatitude in an act of the vnderstanding and theirs that will haue it to consist in an Act of the will we will follow the comon consent of Doctors and all the schooles who reiecting in this behalfe all partialitie haue now for a comon Maxime That it consistes in two actes of the vnderstanding and will grownding therin vpon the Scripture which now assignes the one now the other and somtymes both together As when we reade that eternall life is to know one onely God And againe
That we see now obscurely but in glorie face to face And in S. IOHN we shall see him such as he is which doth sufficiently proue that supreme felicitie consisteth in the intimate vision of God When againe we marke this passage thy Elect ô Lord shall be drunk with the aboundance of thy house and thou shall giue them to drinke of the torrent of pleasure And in the Ghospell enter into the ioy of thy Lord. And againe your ioy shall not be taken from you by which is sufficiently showen what part the will is to haue in the essentiall glorie And who would not gather hence that it consisteth in the vision and fruition of the two faculties God who is infinitly greater then our harts filling them both with vnimaginable delightes being in qualitie of Soueraigne Truth the obiect of our vnderstanding and as he is the Soueraigne Good the obiect of our will its repose and Center But when the Psalmist sings Taste and see how sweete is our Lord doth he not ioyne them both together being no lesse proper to the will to taste then to the vnderstāding to see and herein we follow the interpretation of the learned HVGH OF S. VICTOR And yet after the same Diuine Psalmist had said thou shall giue them to drinke of the torrent of pleasure doth he not add and in thy light we shall see light This opinion is cōfirmed by a Bull of Benetts the twelueth who defines that the soules of the Elect are blessed by these actes of seeing and enioying And the Romane Cathechisme put out by the Councell of Trents order placeth essentiall Beatitude in the vision and fruition of God It were an easie thing to show that the auncient Fathers of the Church placed the essentiall beatitude sometymes in the one sometymes in the other Power and sometymes also ioyntly in both but the breuitie which I proposed vnto my selfe from which I doe insensibly stray makes me cut of many peeces of those great Oracles which would wonderfully beautifie this stroke Le ts soberly content our selues with this smale reason If the Blessed soule did not imbrace the heauenly Spouse in his glorie with both her armes which are the vnderstanding and will doubtlesse she would not be wholy satisfied for who knowes not euen by experience that the will is not carried with lesse bent toward Good then the vnderstanding towards the Truth Whence I gather that necessarily her desire must be replenished with all sorts of good things according as the Scripture doth teach vs and the ensuing strokes will giue vs more amply to vnderstand Therfore to speake properly essentiall Beatitude doth consiste in the perfect vnion of the soule to God being made as the Apostle tearmes it one selfe same spirit with him which is done in the soule by Gods inward penetration called by the Diuines nor can we expresse it in any other terme an illaps which me thinkes vpon necessitie we may make vse of in our tongue as well as of the word Relaps finding that nether more rude nor more improper then this which is receaued and authorised by custome Now this illaps of God into the soule doth replenish it with the glorie of God himselfe and doth as it were deifie it according as S. IOHN speakes we know that we shall be made like vnto him when we shall see him as he is So that the soule shall be filled and replenished with God as the Moone when she is perfectly full with the light of the Sunne or as a sponge when it is throughly wett and filled with liquor And God vniting himselfe vnto her as the fire is vnited to the burning iron following the Contēplatiues ordinarie similitude shall be ioyned vnto her and shall vnite her so inly to himselfe that she shall be as it were transformed into God who shall be as saith the Spouse in the Canticles intirely hers as she againe shall be intirely his Which caused S. BERNARD to pronounce those holy and louing words our Beatitude and our reward is to see God to liue with God to liue of God and in God to be with God and in God who shall be all in all Now where this soueraigne Good is who can doubt but there is also the soueraigne ioy and Felicitie true Libertie perfect Charitie eternall Assurance and assured Eternitie In God is true Gladnes compleat Knowledge perfect Beautie continuall Peace Pietie Bountie Light Vertue Honestie Sweetnes true Life Glorie Praise Repose gracious Friendshipp and greatfull Concord Hitherto are the words of this mellifluous Doctor The happines of the point of the soule XLIV BVt perfectly to vnderstand in what this essentiall glorie doth consiste we must call to mynd Athanasia the diuision of the bodie and the soule wherof the Prophete speakes administring an occasion to misticall Diuines to diuide man's soule into three degrees the inferiour superiour and supreme Or if you had rather into three portions the lowest the highest and the middle And they seate Appetite in the lowest region the powres in midle but in the highest the point of the mynd the flowre vnitie or essence of the soule the Latines Mens the Grecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Hebritians Nesamah for all these words doe but signifie one and the same thing Now to speake onely in this place of the highest God being Spirit a most pure Act and most-one essence although in glorie he be vnited to euerie blessed soule yet is his vnion more excellent and eminent in this highest portion of the soule then in those below euen as we obserue in mans soule which is all in all the body and all in euery part therof yet is more nobly that is it doth more nobly exercise its functions in the head then in the other members of the bodie So say the Mistikes that this highest portion of man's soule is the Spouse his bed Salomon's coutch his Cabinet and the place of his more particular delights Ther is the Diuine essence vnited to the essence of the soule there the spirituall marriages marriages the fullnesse of our eternall felicitie celebrated wherof so much mention is made in the holy Scripture For as the Bridegroome and Bride are two in one flesh by the sacred band which doth tye them together so the Blessed soule by this vnion with her Principle and application to her end becomes one spirit with him through the excesse of that Charitie which is the band of all perfection Thus is the soule transformed and transfigured into light by the spirit of God made participant of the Diuine nature and conformable to the liknesse of his Maiestie T is true that we are by nature made to the liknesse and similitude of God whose picture is so liuely exprest in the soule which is one in Essence and trine in faculties Yet much more by grace which makes vs as it were certaine looking-glasse wherin that glorioule Sunne makes the rayes of his light and loue meete while he expresseth his perfections therin