in living creatures but by division and that that same could happen but two wayes viz. either by dividing the matter from the forme or by dividing the matter within it selfe they inferred thence that since both these wayes were incompatible with the soule shee was not capable of a reall change and consequently not of death which of all others is the greatest not the first because that shee is immateriall nor the second because she is a pure forme and that all formes are by their being so incapable of division of increase or diminution according unto these two Maxims among them forma non suscipit majus minus and this other in indivisibili non fit mutatio Upon the same grounds also they inferred that all the resolutions or judgments and all those Sciences and Arts whether speculative or practicke which are in the soule during this life shall remaine also in her after her seperation from the body these being things which depend onely on her and which are in a kind part of her selfe so as without them she would lose something of the perfection of her being And to conclude because they saw nothing among all the workes of Nature which did not at some time or other unlesse t' were hindred by exteriour causes attaine unto a fulnesse and maturity wherby it was enabled to reach that end for which it was ordained and found the reasonable soule alone which hath for the object of her understanding the truth of all naturall causes and their effects was not able at any time during this life wherein shee is united with the body to comprehend the utmost truth may bee discovered in any art or science whatsoever they thence inferred that shee was to enjoy a being after the dissolution of the body wherein she might at freedom exercise the power of reasoning wherwith shee is endued and not onely retaine those sciences shee hath acquired heere but also bee able to conceive all other truth and knowledge whatsoever which may bee deduced out of them by that concatenation and dependance which the verity of one proposition hath upon that of another I have delivered these speculations of the Philosophers with this brevity without setting downe the many arguments used by them for proofe of their assertions and answer of the objections have beene framed in opposition to them wherewith whole volumes might bee filled because they have beene since the most part of them confirmed unto us by the tenets of Christian Religion the truth whereof being revealed by God himselfe is not to bee disputed by mankind and I have taken this short view of the condition of our soules onely to this intent that in the sequell of the ensuing Discourse wee may upon these grounds bee able the better to discover how farr the ordinary working of naturall causes doth cooperate with the Divine justice in the reward of vertuous and the punishment of vitious persons For the clear understanding whereof wee must know that all living creatures whatsoever except man being destitute of reason suffer themselves without repugnance to bee directed by the rules of Nature That is the ordinary power used by God in governing the world which doth sweetly guide them to the performance of those actions and the obtaining of that end whereunto they are ordained But man whose portion is a reasonable soule assumes the conduct of himselfe and blinded by selfe love or overweaning pride forsakes the generall end of other things which is the honour and glory of their Maker to pursue his owne particular good and follow the inordinate affections of his owne corrupted Nature the true cause of which mistake is this that followes Those who have curiously searched into the composition of man observe that he may be considered in a triple capacity according unto every one of which hee hath a severall good that hee proposeth unto himselfe and endeavoureth to attaine unto during this life The first is that of a living creature composed of a materiall body and a forme that doth communicate unto it life and motion The second as he is indued with a reasonable soule capable of Discourse and knowledge participating thereby of the Nature of intellectuall spirits which plaseth him in a ranke above all the materiall creatures of this inferior world And the third as hee is the workemanship of God created by him out of nothing after his owne likenesse that hee might serve him with obedience and perseverance during his temporall being and be the witnesse and pertaker of his glory in Eternity The chiefest good of man according to the first are riches and corporeall pleasures called by the Apostle Concupiscentia carnis oculorum Concupiscence of the flesh and eyes According to the second the vanity of humane knowledge accompanied with the forgetfulnesse of God or the ambitious desire of obtaining Power Honour and command called by the same Apostle superbia vitae pride of life those who consider him according to the third capacity esteeme their chiefest good to consist in the uniting of their wills with God and in procuring the advancement of his glorious Name Now the vast distance there is betweene these ends which men proposâ—… unto themselves causeth the great diversity wee see dayly betweene them in the direction and conduct of their lives each one desiring to obtaine the object of his wishes by actions suitable unto it Those of the first rank abandoning themselves to sensuall lusts forget the dignity of humane Nature and abase themselves into the ranke of beasts Those of the second denying to acknowledge him from whom they have received all those advantages wherein they glory imitate the Divels in their pride ungratitude and rebellion against their maker Those onely of the third ranke entring into the true knowledge of themselves and of the end for which they were created submit their wills unto Almighty God and endeavoring to imitate the Angells in their prompt obedience make themselves during this life fit to enjoy their society after the dissolution of their bodies From the great contrariety of mens judgments resolutions and of the actions and habits that flow from and are acquired by them ariseth the different condition of our soules when they are seperated from our bodies The Corall we see daily growes in the Sea and I have read that being under water it may by reason of its softnesse bee moulded into any shape or figure whatsoever but being once exposed unto the open aire it forthwith hardens and is no more capable of change and alteration the like happeneth unto our soules who while they do continue in this Sea o' th' world are susceptible of the different affections of good and bad according to the severall appearances of things which working on our fancies incline our wills unto the following or forsaking of them but having once finished their voyage heere must alwayes weare the dresse of those affections they have at parting hence and reape their harvest in Eternity
yet found out the way of fixing Mercury which is the caus they fail in their attempts of making gold notwithstanding the many laborious and chargeable experiments have beene used for the effecting of it and all that have endeavoured to establish their contentment in the perishable goods of this inferiour world have found themselves deluded by their hopes because they were not able to fixe the fleeting instants of the present time whose continuall motion is of all other things most destructive unto the happinesse of life What an uncomfortable voyage would that man have who were bound out in quest of some particular wave i' th middest of the Atlanticke Ocean how improbable that hee should make discovery of what hee sought for and how impossible to settle there considering the perpetuall agitation of the waters in that restlesse Element And yet such is the fatall blindnesse which possesseth the greatest part of humane kind that wee consume our lives in seeking to find out a permanent blisse amid the various diversity of worldly things though all our predecessors for above fifty ages past who have preceded us in that designe have perished in it without being able to informe us any thing save onely this that they have met with nothing in their severall wandrings but vanity nor reaped ought but the vexation of their spirits and that times course as certain though not so rapid as that of the Ocean faileth not to ravish from us all those pleasing objects in the pursuit of which wee entertaine our lives and fancy in the obtaining of them a contentment which is no where to bee found but in the happy region of Eternity That harmelesse innocence which is the precious treasure of our Childhood is violently snatched from us by the heat of youth that inconsiderately ingageth us to seeke contentment in satisfaction of our lustfull appetites and when the accesse of yeares and judgement at mans estate hath made us see the vanity of that employment ambition pride and covetousnesse present us with the specious baits of honour power and riches and traine us by those sweet allurements from contemplation of Eternity to employ the strength and vigour of our age in purchase of them as if they could bestow true happinesse on their possessors untill at last if death prevent us not before wee finde our selves arrived at the utmost period of life old age where though experience discover to us the true nature of those transitory things wee first admired yet we can reape no other fruit of all her counsels but only sorrow and dispaire when we consider the grosnesse of our errours and miscarriages for the time past and the impossibility of amending them in that to come And hence it is the royall Prophet David takes occasion to reproach mankind of dulnesse and heavinesse of heart that forsaking the onely necessary thought and study of Eternity give themselves over unto the love of vanity and the pursuit of lies filii hominum usque quo gravi corde ut quid diligitis vanitatem et quaeritis mendacium as who should say you sons of men how long will you permit your hearts and your affections to bee waighed downe by the inordinate sollitude for earthly things behold the pleasures which you love and court for satisfaction of your youth are onely vanity and those more sollid imployments you search after for the entertainment of your elder yeares are but a lie promising contentment and giving nought but care vexation and repentance If Julius Caesar could have foreseene that all his victories and triumphs whereby hee subjected unto himselfe the Roman State That proud mistresse of the knowne world would but have served to make him fall a glorious victime in the Senate house hee had not prosecuted certainly with so much ardour as hee did the cutting off all those who opposed themselves to the accomplishment of his ambitious designes King Pirrhus had sure followed the councell of his friend and betaken himselfe unto the quiet pleasures of a peacefull life had he beene well informed that all his thoughts of conquests and the inlargment of his Empire should perish together with himselfe by the hands of a weake woman in the attempt hee made to surprise the Citty Argos Saladine that great victorious Sultan of the East would not have spent his life amid the toile and dangers that attend a martiall employment had he but thought at first as hee did afterwards at the houre of death that hee should carry nothing of all the spoiles and riches hee had gotten away with him but onely a poore shirt to shroud his carkasse The rich man in the Gospell would not have joyed in his full barnes and store houses sufficient for the expence of many yeares had hee but knowne that hee should never live to see the birth of the succeeding morne In fine the businesse of the world would cease and we should looke with horror and aversion upon those gilded follies and pleasing vanities in quest whereof wee spend our lives disturbe the Elements and alter the whole frame of nature were but their maske pulled off and wee made sensible of that which is confirmed unto us by the experience of all our predecessors to wit that there is nothing in this inferiour world can give a satisfaction to our soule whose frame is equall unto that of the celestiall spirits and that allthough by an excesse of bestiallity wee could so plunge our soules into the masse of our terrestiall bodies as to set up our rests upon the enjoyment of those things which are the object of our senses yet age and sicknesse would like unbidden guests trouble the mirth of all our entertainments and time the absolute commander of all sublunary things consuming by degrees the matter of them would violently snatch us from their embraces and put in execution that irrevocable decree pronounced by God against materiall things to wit that whatsoever is composed of dust and ashes shall againe returne unto it So that if wee examine the true cause of things wee must conclude that the ill conduct of our lives and all the miseries vices and disorders that flow from thence are an effect of the continuall motion of time which representing unto us these exteriour objects under severall disguises keeps us from penetrating into the true Nature of them and suggesting to our deluded mindes vaine hopes and feares doth by those false alarmes disturbe our reason and brings upon us a forgetfullnesse of what is past a mistake of what is present and a grosse negligence in not providing of our selves for what 's to come For remedy heereof antiquity was used to set up trophies and monuments of all great and vertuous actions as also to expose the bodies of Malefactors who were executed unto the publicke view on poles or gibbets that so posterity being put in minde of what had past might be invited to imitate the one and avoid the other King Phillip Father of the great Alexander gave
that shee hath beene enabled to discover some little glimps of those admirable perfections of her Creator the sight whereof hath ravished all her Powers so that enamored on his Celestiall beauty she hath conversed during her union with the body onely in Heaven all her thoughts wishes and affections being continually present there where she had placed her onely treasure Death whose grim visage affrights the most couragious spirits is welcome to her and shee doth quit with joy the base attire of flesh and of corruption that she may put on immortallity Let us a little consider the blessednesse of her condition in this state of seperation Knowledge whose object is the true Nature and cause of things is so hard to be attained unto during this life that the Philosophers who have imployed themselves in search of it have a great part of them despaired of being able to find it out The Academicks a sect of them much renowned in antient time pronounced boldly that there was nothing whatsoever could be knowne the Scepticks proceeding something more warily held that no demonstration could bee made and did therefore continue doubtfull denying their assent unto the truth of any proposition And those Philosophers who following Aristotle have established in our Schooles a forme of learning doe by a tyranny they exercise over our reason command us to admit without proofe so many grounds or principles upon which they establish the Doctrine they deliver that divers of our choicest modern wits have thence taken occasion to dispute against them and to endeavour the overthrowing of all that structure they have built upon them This inextricable laberinth wherein truth is shut up being impervious by mortall men caused Socrates after all his study in search of her conclude that hee was ignorant of all things else save onely this that hee knew nothing and the despaire of being able to find her out made Aristotle throw himselfe headlong into the Ocean after hee had long sought in vaine to find the reason of its Ebbs and flowings But she who doth so carefully conceale her selfe from those that live exposeth freely all her beauties to bee viewed over by this seperated soule and fills her with the fulnesse of that knowledge in one instant whose smallest portion wee scarcely gaine by the continuall study of many ages the contemplation whereof is a contentment infinitely surpassing all those pleasures which wee are capable of during this life The Queene of Sheba upon the fame onely of Salomons great wisedome thought it well worth her labour to quit the pleasures of her Court and exposing her selfe unto the trouble toile and dangers incident to a long voyage came from the farthest part of all the East to finde him out that she might have the satisfaction to become a hearer of it Alexander the great prised at so high a rate those notions of Philosophy he had received from Aristotle during the time he was his Pupill that he was used to say hee had a greater obligation to his Tutor then to his Father Phillip and yet he had from him received his being power sufficient to make himselfe the wonder of succeeding ages by reason of his glorious victories and conquests and Archimedes the great Artist had all his powers and faculties so wholly taken up by the contentment hee found in speculating of those demonstrations he had invented touching the Symetry and proportion of bodies that all the rage and fury was practised at the taking in of Siracusa the destruction of these innocent inhabitants which peopled that unlucky City whereof himselfe was one could not divert him from the pleasure of it or once afford him leasure to make answer unto a Souldier who asked his name with an intention to have presreved him If this small dawne of knowledge hath appeared unto the eyes of the beholders with so glorious a luster as made it preferrable before the sumptuous magnificences of a splendid Court the glittering brightnesse of a Crowne and Scepter or life it selfe what shall we say of that excesse of pleasure wherewith this soule is filled when shee enjoyes the fullnesse of all knowledge and clearely sees the causes Nature properties and qualities of all the workmanships of God when she beholds his admirable Wisdome Power and Providence exercised in the continuall upholding of this huge fabrick and how from the great contrariety and strife there is betweene the parts whereof it is composed he drawes the preservation of the whole by a perpetuall Series of generation and corruption how death which seemes to bee ordained for destroying the society of humane kinde is the maine Basis whereupon it restes because the feare thereof witholds vitious persons from falling headlong into the depth of wickednesse and the hope of it animates vertuous men to persist constantly in the rough craggy wayes of good and vertue Those rare effects of Nature that puzzle all our choicest wits in searching out their hidden causes are then made easie to her and shee doth plainly understand whether the fluxes and refluxes of the Ocean are guided by the motion of the Moone or the impulse of that continuall winde raised under the Equator by the Sunne whether that constant inclination of the Loadstone towards the North whereby wee are enabled to make discoveries of the remotest creekes and corners of the Sea is caused by an attractive quallity residing in the poles of the earth which being somwhat different from those wee fancy in the Heavens produceth that small variation we observe dayly in the Compasse or by those streames of atomes drawne by the Sunnes great heate betweene the Tropickes which flowing ever more from North to South and penetrating all the subtile pores whereof the stone is full while it remaines within the Earth in that position doth in continuance of time beget this property which wee can imitate by often heating of an iron and placing it to coole while yet the porâ—… thereof are opened by the fire dâ—â—… North and South Or lastly whether that quallity together with the power whereby the same is by a touch communicated to the needle and that whereby it attracts iron to it selfe depend on causes whereof as yet mankinde is ignorant whose knowledge is by providence reserved to the discovery of posterity in that age which shall succeede us as the experience was to those in that which went before us Whether the cherefull light which wee see darted by the Sunne from East to West is but a quallity communicated by him in an instant to all the aire throughout the vast extent of our horison or is the body of the fire it selfe which being the most active Element and flowing from the Sunne as from its fountaine into the liquid Element of aire prevents by its vast distance from us huge expansion and active swiftnesse our feeling and our sight from being sensible of any thing which might informe our understanding touching the measure of its heat and motion Whether the never