Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A31765
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The Charitable Samaritan, or, A short and impartial account of that eminent and publick-spirited citizen Mr. Tho. Firmin who departed this life on Monday Dec. 20, 1697 / by a gentleman of his acquaintance.
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Gentleman of his acquaintance.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing C2067; ESTC R25982
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20,066
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27
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Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are One and there are three that bear Witness in Earth the Spirit the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one The Alexandrine Manuscript has only these Words There are three that bear Witness the Spirit c. so have all the Ancient Greek Copies as also the Syriac the Arabic the Aethiopic and Latin Interpreters in the oldest Manuscripts that if the Words according as we find them in our Editions are extant in any of the Ancient Books they are Written in the Margin and not in the Text and generally in a later Hand That as several learned Annotators have observed 't is plain that many of the Fathers did not read the above mentioned Passage about the Witnesses in Heaven as now we do because they never make use of it in their Disputes with the Arians although they cite the other about the Witnesses in Earth as is evident from the case of Gregory Nazianzen that tho' in answer to this it may be objected that St. Cyprian read this passage as our Bibles now have it because in his Book de Vnitate Eccles he has these words De Patre Filio Spiritu Sancto scriptuâ—… est hi Tres unum sunt Yet F. Simon in his Critical History of the New Testament c. 18. has well observed it is not probable St. Cyprian read the Words so and yet St. Austin should never employ them against the Arians of his Time and therefore that learned Critick not without good grounds supposes that St. Cyprian adapted the Words of the 8th Verse Et hi tres unum sunt for so the Vulgar Latin reads it to the Father Son and holy Ghost and 't is certain that St. Cyprian frequently cites several Passages out of the Bible with the same assurance as if he had cited the very express Words That however it came about the same variety of Reading is to be found in several other Texts as for example the third Verse in the first Epistle of St. John c. 4. which the Greek Copies as likewise the Syriac and Arabic Versions read with us Every Spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh is not of God the Vulgar Translation as also Irenaeus l. 3. c. 18. Tertullian l. 5. contra Marcionem c. 16. and Socrates l. 7. Hist Eccles c. 32. read it Omnis Spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo non est That thus in the fourth Verse of St. Jude the Word God is not in the Alexandrine MS. nor in two of Beza nor in five others mention'd in the Oxon. Edition nor in the Latin Interpreter That in the Epistle to the the Romans c. 9. v. 5. Christ is called God blessed for ever whereas St. Cyprian l. 2. adversus Judaeos and Hilary upon the Second Psalm omit the Word Deus and St. Chrysostom seems to have read it so That likewise in the first Epistle to Timothy c 3. 16. where we read it God made manifest in the Flesh the same Word is left out in the Latin and Syriac Version which Lection is confirm'd by the Clermont MS. and by another cited in the Oxford Edition upon which Place Erasmus supposes it to have been added by the Orthodox to stop the mouths of the Arians but Beza that it was designedly omitted by those that denied the Divinity of our Blessed Saviour That thus in Acts Ch. 20. v. 28. where our Bibles read it the Church of God the Alex. the Greek and Latin Interpreter and three Oxford MSS. read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lord others in the same sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Arabic following the latter the Syriac the former reading and this being one of those Places which the Nestorians and Eutyçhians made use of in their Controversies it is not so much to be ascribed to the negligence of the Copier as to the Design of some Persons that endeavoured to make St. Paul of their Party That not to insist upon the Variety and Corruption of the several Texts which the Orthodox and Unorthodox equally cite for themselves the Ancient Divines and principally the Schoolmen sometimes out of necessity but oftner out of design seldom keep to the received definitions of Words from whence proceeds the great obscurity of their Writings and endless Contentions about Terms while speaking the same things in other Words they don't or will not understand one another That the old Controversies between the Eutychians and Nestorians seem to have arose from this defect for while Eutyches call'd that Nature which others call'd Person and on the other hand Nestorius meant that by the Word Personae which others did by Naturâ—… the whole Eastern world was set in a Flame by those People who as far as we can guess by their Writings at this Interval of Time meant the very same thing That St. Austin himself in his Book De Trin. c. 9. where he wou'd perswade the Reader that the thing thô incomprehensible may be understood but that the Divines want Words to express what they understand fairly owns that nothing is said all this while by the Words they use Dictum est tamen tres persona non ut aliquid diceretur sed ne taceretur That the Citations which Rittangel and others bring out of the Jewish Authors to prove the belief of this Mystery amongst that People seem to be as suspicious as the Testimonies alledg'd by Galatinus a Minorite of the Church of Rome out of Rabbi Cahana Rabbi Judas and Rabbi Simeon and lately by that Turn-coat of Putney Mr. Sclater to prove the monstrous Doctrine of Transubstantiation or if they are true they may probably be supposed to be borrowed out of Platonic Writings with which 't is certain the Jews from the time of the Lagidae and Seleucidae were not unacquainted That what has been urg'd of the Nations most renown'd for Antiquity and deep Speculation that they fell upon the same Doctrine of a Trinity of Hypostases in one Divine Essence either comes not up to the matter in hand as what is said of the Persians who as Plutarch affirms believ'd a good and a bad Being together with one of a middle Nature or else is utterly false as what has been pretended out of Porphyry and Jamblious of the old Aegyptians That long before the Coming of our Saviour Plato asserted three Principles the first of which he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Cause of all things the second 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word and Governour of things present and to come the third 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Soul or Spirit of the World and that he held the second Principle to be begotten or created by the first and the third by the second That 't is a Matter of great difficulty to know whether St. John used the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the same sence as Plato and his Disciples used it for if we
upon them by that most admirable Man the present Bishop of Worcester he lamented it as an unsurmountable Obstacle to the Conversion both of the Jews and Mahometans The Doctors of the Roman Church indeed by their subtile Distinctions of two Greek Words endeavour to mince the matter but after all their pains to wash the Blackamoor Idolatry is no better nor worse than Idolatry and will be so to the end of the Chapter If we look into their Rituals and judge of their Belief by their Practice we shall find that they pay to a whole Almanack full of Saints of their own making the same Ceremonies in the very same words accompanied with the same Prostrations as they do to God Almighty They directly offer their Prayers make Vows and Consecrate Temples to them nay what is more for Superstition has no Bounds they offer our Blessed Lord and Saviour to them and yet they think to come off with their Terminative and Relative These new made Free-men of the Calendar are Worshipt from Lapland to Japan are invoked in a thousand places at once and the Beatific Looking-Glass must solve all this the Dream of some idle Sot of a Schoolman without the least warrant from Scripture or Reason They pretend good manners for this and tell us that God Almighty must not be rudely approached but that the Petition must be delivered in by some Favourite I wonder that these Gentlemen that Pray thus by Proxy shou'd not manage every thing else after this wise rate and when they are to take Physick that they don't employ a Friend to take the Dose of Pills or Electuary in their stead He was for a plain intelligible Theology such as our Saviour and the Apostles left it behind them and such as it continued for some time till the Jewish and Grecian Converts but especially the Philosophers for different ends Debauch'd it with Ceremonies and Muffled it up in Mystery And since Religion was Calculated for reasonable Creatures he thought that Conviction and not Authority ought to influence Mankind for this Reason he looked upon those Men to have no small share of Vanity Laziness or Weakness in their Composition that suffer themselves tamely to be imposed upon by magnificent Souuds and numerous Citations Plutarch in Solon's Life tell us That that famous Legislator inserted a Verse into Homer to prove That the Island of Salamis belonged of right to the Athenians and who knows what strange Interpolations have been made in the Ecclesiastical Monuments by Men that valued the Interest of their Party more then the Truth especially if we consider that before the invention of Printng few Copies of Books cou'd be Published at a time and those fell into few hands and might easily be supprest or corruptted to which Temptation I cou'd heartily wish those we call the purest Ages of the Church had never been exposed An unintelligible or absur'd Proposition is to be never the more respected for its having travel'd far or wearing the Venerable Badge of Antiquity That former Ages were so prodigiously cautious and honest as neither to be imposed upon themselves nor suffer any Errors to be transmitted to their Posterity is a Metaphysical Contemplation with which superstitious People may amuse or delight themselves in their Closets but is never to be urged to such Persons that have examined these matters with more impartiality and care This naturally leads me to that part of his Character which I confess I would conceal from the rest of the World if it lay in my Power as it does not since it is no Secret to those that knew him but as I have pretended to give an impartial Account of our Friend I find my self obliged to take some notice of it before I conclude He was then and I wish once more I cou'd conceal it he was not so Orthodox as I cou'd have wished he had been in his Opinion about the Holy Trinity and the satisfaction of our Saviour according to the common Explications I don't pretend in the least to Vindicate him in either only give me leave to add that as few Men in the World have been without their Errors I cou'd instance if I pleas'd in some of the best and learnedest Fathers of the Church so I think a charitable Construction ought to be given of them where the Person mistaking was of no Obstinate refractory Temper but show'd in the whole Tenour of his Life that he aim'd at nothing more than to find out the Truth so that if he mist it in the pursuit it should only be ascribed to humane Imbecillity from which the greatest Men are not exempt It ought to be consider'd too that when he first appear'd in the World he found the Nation involved in a Bloody Civil War and the Church divided by several Schisms as the state was distracted by different Factions The Laity at that time looked upon themselves to be ill used by the Leaders of both Churches who did not seem to contend for the purity of Religion so much as they did who should have the Rod in their hands to jerk the poor People that were under their Power and as it is natural for Men to run out of one extream into another they imagin'd a cheat put upon them even where there was no reason to suspect one He was naturally inquisitive and devoted as much time to Reading as a life so taken up as his but generally employ'd in the service of others would well permit He had observed how inconsistent with themselves and how different from us the Fathers of the Church were before the Nicene Council in their Explications of the Trinity which extorted this Confession from the Learned Grotius Constat mihi Patres in explicatione harum rerum plurimum dissensisse etiamsi vocum quarumdam sono inter se conveniunt That to give an instance or two of their strange confusion or uufairness Theophilus Antiochenus speaking of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the second Person of the Trinity calls him the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Holy Ghost which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 descended upon the Prophets that Hermas a Writer in the Apostolical Times uses the word Spiritus Sanctus in the same sense with Mens Humana that St. Barnabas or some body under his Name Cap. 12. quotes Isaias for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christo meo Domino instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyro as the LXX and we have rightly Translated it that it is often difficult to know whether a word is to be taken in the figurative or proper sense as the Word Elohim so much used in this controversy among the Jews in its primary meaning signifies the Supream and only God but that it is frequently applied in Holy Writ to Angels and Princes that as for the famous passage in St. John Cap. 5. v. 7 8. which our Bibles after the Manuscripts of a more modern date read thus There are three that bear Record in Heaven the