Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A40406
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The history of brutes, or, A description of living creatures wherein the nature and properties of four-footed beasts are at large described / by Wolfgangus Franzius ... ; and now rendred into English by N.W.; Historia animalium sacra. English
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Franz, Wolfgang, 1564-1628.; N. W.
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1670
(1670)
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Wing F2094; ESTC R20699
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139,929
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266
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e. they differ in judgement and opinion notwithstanding all makes for the ruine of the Church Sampson therefore gathereth the Foxes together i. e. to shew that they are all agreed to trouble the Church Neh. 4. 8. We read that when the Jews returned from Captivity and began again to build the Temple and the Heathens their Enemies hearing of it said Even that which they build if a Fox go up he shall even break down their stone wall Thus as the Enemies of the Jews thought that the wall which they built was so weak that they might easily be laid waste even by Foxes c. Thus the Enemies of the Church if they see that our Sanctum Sanctorum is likely to be built i. e. that by the preaching of the Gospel many shall be converted they think it an easie matter by subtil disputations to overthrow and ruine this we see hapned in the primitive Church which appears by those many and long disputations which we see the Fathers had with the Philosophers of those times Take us the little Foxes which spoyl the Vines Cant. 2. 15. false Prophets and Hereticks are compared to Foxes Ezek. 13. 4. O Israel thy Prophets are like the Foxes in the Desarts that is a remarkable place in the Canticles of the little Foxes that spoyled the Vines Origen by the Foxes understandeth Devils for as Foxes are fed with clusters of Grapes that is they spoyle the Vines while young and their tender branches but just grown out thus the Devil hideth himself in Dens but on purpose to entrap young Christians and with evil thoughts to extinguish the flower of virtues as soon as budded and but beginning to appear but especially in young men when they have but just begun to lead an honest life I could by many examples shew how young men are in love with vice as Drunkenness filthy and obscene songs immodest pictures c. so that it was too truly said by some of the Fathers that the youthful age of most is sacrificed to the Devil the best part of most men are spent in the worst things no one can take this little young Fox but Christ therefore we ought earnestly to implore him that he would govern and enlighten our youth by his Holy Spirit the best time to take this Fox is while young we ought betimes to stop the first beginnings of vice before they become a habit as we use to say principiis obsta Fot in the forecited place of the Canticles it is faid that these Foxes live to be taken when the Winter is past and the showers are over when the voice of the Turtle is heard c. Hence some of the Holy Fathers understand by these little Foxes Hereticks that lay waste and destroy the Vineyard that is the Church and as in that place there is no mention made of Lions Tygers Leopards Bears c. because the Church never receiveth such hurt from open Enemies though they shed much blood but rather by such perfecutions it is the more increased and groweth the better according to those Verses Sanguine succrevit Ecclesia sanguine coepit Sanguine fundata est sanguinis finis erit As those little Foxes which lye hid under ground do most mischief to the Vines thus the greatest Enemies of the Church lye in her very bosome for the Church in all ages hath been like Joseph sold by her own Brethren and like Sampson betrayed by his own Wife thus Christ was betrayed into the hands of his Enemies by his own Disciples thus the Church chiefly suffereth by those meâ— that are maintained by her as Joseph preserved the life of his Brethren that destroyed him and no less doth it suffer from those men whom it defendeth and who know all her secrets so Judas knew the Garden where Christ was wont to pray And as Foxes by their craftiness do great mischief to Vines and Gardens so the Church never suffereth more than from subtilty of arguments by which young men are easily deceived not being able to perceive the fallacy of them We might illustrate this by the example of several Hereticks in all ages who have used all wiles and stratagems to deceive and as Foxes have several waies to their holes so do wicked men turn and wind themselves alwaies to deceive and as the Fox if he be necessitated to it by hunger will seem to be tame so do these deceivers seem to imitate the true Church an eminent instance of this we have in Ecclesiastical History of Arrius who seemed to be one of the true Church and agreed with all Orthodox men and said that he would subscribe to the Nicene Creed the rest of the Decrees of that Councel using these words What I have subscribed â— give my consent to but under his doublet he had a paper wherein was written another thing but these Foxes are to be taken they are to be confuted with strong arguments and that while they are young before their opinions get too big a head before they have cast their urine and dung about before their breath becometh rank and their teeth venomous that is before they have by their false doctrine poysoned and infected mens judgements they make those places barren where they are i. e. they lay waste the Church and as the Foxes have a kind of friendship with the Crow and Serpent thus have Hereticks a correspondency and a great love for the Devil and his Agents it is worthy our observation to consider how Ministers are compared to the Hunters of Foxes who must be crafty and industrious to find them out the little Foxes are only to be taken for none can take the great one but the Son of God who is described in the forecited place of the Canticles the Germanes have this Proverb Eines Haas une inchs sein he that is once overcome by an Enemie shall never be at quiet they have another Proverb to the same purpose almost which is this Ber einen inchs fangen wil der mus einen schops hinder das Garn stellen it is a difficult thing to find out an Army that lyeth in ambush with which Proverb we shall conclude our Discourse of the Fox CHAP. XVIII Of the Cat. IN former times Cats were not so tame as to live in Houses and be familiar with us as they are now for they used formerly to live only in Woods and were exceeding cruel and venomous making a prey of Foxes and Rabbets c. but yet doubtless their nature was the same then as it is now for God at the first creation gave every creature those properties which afterwards it retained but yet I do not deny but that about Helvetia there are wild Cats now and as Conradus Gesner saith are very good food the Cat in former times was one of the Aegyptian Gods as Diodorus Siculus telleth us and Strabo in his 27 th Book saith that in the Reign of Tiberius there were above 7000 Romans slain in Aegypt for the killing of one