Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	holy_a	son_n	trinity_n	8,730	5	10.2166	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A22701	Saint Augustine his enchiridion to Laurence, or, The chiefe and principall heads of all Christian religion a most profitable booke to all those which desire to haue a most compendious briefe of Augustines doctrine, out of Augustine himselfe, when he was old, being repurged, by the old manuscript, of many faults and vnusuall wordes, wherewith it formerly flowed.	Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo.	1607 (1607)	STC 921.5; ESTC S1512	82,205	310

other things againe by historicall obseruation and in those things also which they do appropriate to their owne inuention they do in most matters rather guesse at them then knovv them certainly It is enough for a Christian to beleeue that the cause of all things which bee created either in heauen or vpon earth visible or inuisible is not othervvise then of the goodnesse of the Creator which is the onely and true God and that there is no nature which either hee himselfe is not or else is not deriued from him himselfe beeing the Trinitie that is to say the father and the sonne begottē of the father and the Holy Ghost proceeding from the same father hovvebeit one and the selfe same spirit as vvell of the father as of the sonne CHAP. 10. All things were created good of God howbeit not without their mutation or change ne yet absolute nor of one correspondencie amongst themselues OF this absolute correspondent vnchangeable good Trinitie all things vvere created beeing yet in themselues neither absolutely semblably or vnchangeably good hovvbeit euery one of them particularly good and beeing also vnited they are likevvise in that vniuersall body or masse of all-together exceeding good Because of this generalitie and all-together that vvonderfull beauty of the vvorld is composed CHAP. 11. The reason why God doth suffer euils to raigne in the world That euill is none other thing then a priuation of naturall goodnesse which priuation is not a thing of it selfe IN which matter that also which is called euill beeing vvell marshalled and rightly placed doth more visibly commend those things which be called good to the end they might be more plausible and commendable beeing compared vvith those things which be euill For neither vvould the omnipotent God which the infidels also doe confesse in as much as himselfe is vniuersally good by any meanes suffer any euill to bee in his ovvne vvorkes but that also his omnipotency and goodnesse is such as that he maketh that e-euill to be beneficiall vnto vs. For God either in reforming or in punishing of the integritie of nature beeing corrupted and vitious doeth turne it to the good of man By which meanes consequently that which is euill shall not be a perpetuall blemish because it is not any thing when it is purged remooued For what other thing is that which is called euill than a priuacion of that which is tearmed good For it fareth as it is in the bodies of liuing creatures wherein to be infected vvith diseases and hurtes is nothing els but to vvāt health Neither doeth it fall out when there is a remedie applied that those euils which had gotten possession of the bodie that is to say diseases and hurts should remooue from thence and remain or be else-where but rather that they should haue no beeing at all For that which is called a disease or hurt is not any substance or matter of it selfe but rather a corruption or infection of a carnall substance Seeing therefore flesh is onely that which is called substance certainely there is some good whereunto those euils be accidentall that is to say priuations of that good which is called health Euen so whatsoeuer faults be in the minde they bee the priuations of naturall goodnesses Which when they be cured they be not translated to any other place but they which had a locall beeing haue now no beeing at all seeing they shall not haue any place or abode in that which is cured and made whole CHAP. 12. Albeit all creatures as they be natures be made good by God yet because they be not immutably good certain of them may bee corrupted And that their corruption or vice is nothing els but a losse or depriuation of that good which God did graft in them insomuch is wheresoeuer there is left no sparke of naturall goodnesse there likewise is there abiding no corruption neither is sin or vice predominant solely remaining ALl natures therefore because God their creator is absolutely good and perfect bee also good Howbeit because they be not like as their maker is absolutely and vnchangeably good therefore may that good which is in them be both decreased increased But that diminution of good is that which is called euill although notwithstāding howsoeuer it bee diminished something consequently remaineth and is abiding still if nature be not vtterly extinguished whereof it hath a beeing and is nature still For howsoeuer and in what quantitie or measure soeuer nature is yet liuing that good which is called nature cānot be vtterly consumed vnlesse nature her selfe be vtterly extinguished and consumed therefore is nature worthily commended Further if that be incorruptible then without all question is shee much more praise-worthy Now when it is corrupted that corruption therof maketh it therefore euill because it depriueth and spoileth it of all goodnesse whatsoeuer For if it bereaue it not of any good it is not consequently obnoxious or hurtful but it is hurtfull in depriuing it of that which is good As long therefore as nature is corrupted so long is it possessed of a good whereof it is againe dispossessed By which reason if there bee a dramme of good remaining which cannot be cleane put out then without all doubt is nature also incorruptible And againe if it be subiect to continuall corruption there is also a permanent good whereof that corruption hath a power to depriue it Which naturall facultie if that which is called euill shall vtterly and wholy consume by that reason there shall bee no good at all abiding because nature also is dead and extinguished Corruption therefore cannot vtterly abolishe and consume that which is good but by the consumption also of nature All that which is called nature therefore is good beeing great and diuine if it canot be polluted and on the other side little and weake if it be subiect to infection and yet can it not be absolutely denied to be good without note of folly and ignorance Which thing called nature i●ut bee vtterly extinguished by corruption neither can that corruption also haue any continuance as hauing no being where no nature is left to harbour or entertaine the same CHAP. 13. Two strange positions maintained contrary to the vulgar opinion the one that there can bee no euill said to be there where there is not any good and the other that good is called euill that is to say one and the selfe same thing is both good and bad BY this agument there is not any euill if there be not any good But good which is void of euill is absolutely good On the other side in whom euill hath gotten a possession in that person good is either more or lesse polluted neither can there bee by any means any euill where ther is no good at all There is a great mysterie therefore herein as wherein because all nature in as much as it is nature is of it selfe good it can haue none other meaning or construction

earnestly I desire to haue thee wise howbeit not in the number of them of whom it is said Where is the wise mā where is the scribe and where the searcher or disputer of this world For did not God make the wisdome of the world meere foolishnes But of the number of those of whom it is said The number of the wise is the worlds health and preseruation also of that quality which the Apostle desireth to be in men to whom he saith Verely I would haue you wise in that which is good and simple in that which is euill For as no man can bee his owne maker so can hee not be wise of himselfe but by the illumination of him of whom it is written A● wisdom is from God CHAP. 2. Pietie to be true wisedome which is more aptly called in Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 PIetie therefore or religion is the wisdome of man Which thing is verified in the booke of holy Iob for there is read that Wisdom her selfe saith to man Behold Pietie is wisdome Now if you aske what Pietie he meaneth in that place you shall find it more distinctly in the Greeke worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the worship or seruice of God For in Greeke it is called Pietie and otherwise also in the same tongue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which name is meant true worship albeit also that worship is chiefly referred to the seruice of God But there is no name more significant than that whereby the 〈◊〉 of God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pressed as namely when it is signified thereby what should be the wisdome of man Seekest thou to haue anything more briefly deliuered who requirest at my bāds a compendious narration of weighty matters Or doest thou perhapps desire that this one point may be briefly laid open and gathered into a short speech declaring in what manner God is to bee worshipped CHAP. 3. Of the worship of God the parts thereof and what the matter and obiect of true Pietie That the worship of God is comprehended in these three things namely Faith Hope and Charitie HEre if I should answer that God is to be worshipped by Faith Hope and Charitie no doubt you would say That the answer were shorter than you would haue it And then againe you would presse mee farther with a briefe explication of all things which pertained to the sense and vnderstanding of euery of these three words namely what that is which is to be beleeued to be hoped for and to bee loued Which when I haue performed then are you answered to all the questions proposed in your Letter The copie whereof if you haue lying by you it is an easie matter to reuolue and read it againe And if you haue it not you may reduce it to memorie by the helpe of this my remembrance CHAP. 4. By the explication or definition of Faith Hope and Charity wee learne what is to be followed in Christian religion and what is to bee eschewed The vnderstanding whereof is partly to be apprehended by humane reason and partly by faith alone WIll you therefore that I make a Booke for you as you write which may be an Enchiridion vnto you as it is called and neuer be out of your hands containing in it your desires that ●s to say What is chiefly to be followed and what againe in respect of diuers heresies retained is principally to bee shunned How farre-forth reason fighteth for religion or wherein reason and faith bee repugnant What first and what last to bee embraced and held ●hat is the summe of the totall definition and what the summe and proper foundation of Catholike faith All these things which you require you shall vndoubtedly knowe by learning diligently what is to be beleeued hoped for and loued For all these be chiefly nay solely to be sought 〈◊〉 〈…〉 ed in the course of religion Which things whoso doth contradict or denie is either not to bee called by the name of a Christian or else is a flatte Heretique And these things be also to be maintained by reason as beeing either deriued from the senses of the bodie or else found out and conceiued by the light of the mind And those things which we neither can perceiue by the sense of the body nor yet vnderstand by the light of the mind then are they without all doubt to be bēleeued in respect of those witnesses by whom that which deserueth to be called holy scripture is written who were able either to see or foresee those mysteries either corporally or spiritually beeing therein assisted by the spirit or reuelation of God Of Faith and Hope what they are and what difference agreement there is betweene them CHAP. 5. The first thing in Christian religion is Faith and the last is the full sight of Gods presence Iesus Christ beeing the end of Faith WHen the minde is first of al seasoned with faith which worketh by charity it proceedeth by good life at length to come to a visible knowledge and sight of God in which place to the godly and pure in heart there is a knowen and vnspeakable beauty the full sight and contemplation whereof is accounted the highest happinesse And this is that indeede which may satisfie you in your desire to know What is the first and what the last in religion which hath his beginning in faith and consummation in Christ This is also the summe and effect of the generall definition of religion And to know Christ is the true and proper foundation of Catholike faith For an other foundation saith the Apostle No mā can lay other then that which is already laid which is Christ Iesus Neither is this therefore to be denied to be the proper and onely foundation of Catholike faith because some heretiques are deemed to holde vpon the same ground that we doe For if those things which pertaine to Christ bee diligently considered Christ is to bee found in all Heretickes but onely in name who would bee called Christiās though Christ indeed dwelleth not in them Which to demonstrate is too long a worke because all kinds of heresies were then to be specified either those that were they which now bee or else might bee vnder the title of a christian And so should it be also tedious to discourse of the truth it selfe particularly and in all points thereof Which disputation would make so many volumes as it would seeme infinite and endlesse CHAP. 6. Sound doctrine may with more facility and breuity be deliuered than heresies confuted THou therefore desirest at my hands an Enchiridion that is to say a thing which may bee comprehended in your hands and not load a Librarie To returne therefore to these three things namely Faith Hope and Charitie by which we affirmed that God was to be worshipped it is easily declared what it is wee must beleeue what wee must hope for and what wee are to affect or loue But how it may bee

that it is not in him that willeth but in God that sheweth mercy because the wil of man doth not simply and alone accomplish that worke why is it not of the contrary truely inferred that it is not in God that sheweth mercy but in mā that willeth because Gods mercy doeth not solely performe that action Furthermore if no Christiā dare affirme that it is not in God that sheweth mercy but in man that willeth lest hee should most plainly gainesay the Apostle it followeth thē that we take this his saying Viz. That it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercy to be true in as much as the whole work is to be attributed vnto God who both prepareth that good will which is in man as standing in neede of his assistance and afterwards also helpeth the same beeing so prepared For the good will or will to doe good in man goeth before many of Gods gifts but it is not precedent to all And when it followeth commeth after Gods gifts yet is it a companion amongst them For it is both waies read in holy scripture viz. Both his mercy shall goe before me also his mercy shall follow me It preuenteth or goeth before him that is backward to make him willing and followeth him that is forward and willing lest his will become frustrate For why are we admonished to pray for our enemies beeing of themselues vnwilling to liue vertuously but onely that God would worke a will in thē to doe well Wherefore also are we willed to ask at Gods hands to the end we may obtaine but that our petition may bee performed by him to whom we are petitioners By whom also it is wrought that we will or desire that which wee pray for We pray therefore for our enemies that Gods mercy may preuent and goe before them as it hath done before vs. We pray also for our selues that his mercy may attend vpon vs. OF CHRIST THE MEdiator CHAP. 33. That Christ is our Mediator peace-maker with God because he maketh him our friend by the oblation of that sole sacrifice which is himselfe MAnkinde therefore was detained in the state of iust damnation and all were the children of wrath of which wrath it is written Because all our daies are in declination and we our selues are fallen into thy displeasure our yeares are folded vp as a Spiders webbe Of which wrath Io● also saith For man which is borne of woman is short of life and his daies full of sorrow Of which wrath also our Lord Iesus saith He that beleeueth in the sonne he shall inioy euerlasting life but he which doth not beleeue in him is not in the state of saluation but Gods wrath and indignation abideth vpon him Hee saieth not It shall come vpon him but it abideth vpō him With this euery mortall creature is borne Whereupon the Apostle saith For wee were also by nature the children of Gods wrath euen as others were Seeing therefore all mortall creatures were by originall sinne in this displeasure of God the same lying so much the more heauily vpon vs by how much our own sins added therunto did also aggrauate the same by their greatnesse and aboundance a mediator in this case was behoouefull and necessarie that is to say a reconciler who pacified Gods wrath by the oblation of that sole sacrifice whereof all the sacrifices of the Law and Prophets were but shadows Wherupon the Apostle saith For if when wee were enemies we were recōciled to God by the death of his son much more now beeing reconciled shall himself by his blood-shedding be a protection vnto vs against his wrath and indignation For when God is angry the perturbation which is in him is not such as is in the minde of a man when hee is offended But the word being borrowed from the passion which is in mortall creatures Gods reuēge which of it self is neuer but iust putteth on the appellatiō of anger or wrath Inasmuch therefore as we are reconciled vnto God by a Mediatour receiuing the holy Ghost whereby we are made friēds of foEs for that how many soeuer be sanctified by the spirit of God become the sonns of God this recōciliatiō cōmeth of the meere mercy of God thorough Iesus Christ our Lord. CHAP. 34. That Christ who is the word of God to the end he might be our mediator peace-maker with God did take flesh and was incarnate of the virgin Marie OF which Mediator to speak in that ample manner as the matter it selfe doeth deserue would aske a long discourse yet could not worthily bee expressed by the pen of any man For who could with fit words set forth this onely thing namely that the word was made flesh and dwelled in vs to the ende we should beleeue in the onely sonne of God the father beeing omnipotent borne of the holy Ghost and the virgin Marie and that the word was so made flesh as although the flesh was begotten by his diuinitie or deitie yet was there not any mutation or change of his diuinitie or deitie into the flesh Moreouer in this place we are to take this word Caro which is flesh to bee homo that is man the speech figuratiuely signifying the whole by the part which for example this saying doeth demonstrate namely Because by the workes of the lawe all flesh that is to say euery man shall not be saued For we may lawfully say that in this susception or incarnation there was no defect in the humane nature the same nature beeing yet voide of all sinnefull copulation not such as is begotten betweene man and woman in carnall concupiscence wrapping vs in the bond of sinne the staine of which originall guilt is washed away by regeneration but such as was fit to bee borne of a virgin beeing a thing conceiued in the faith not in the lust or sinnefull appetite of the mother For if in the birth of him that was borne her integritie had beene blemished then should he not haue beene borne of a pure virgin and the whole Church should also vntruly confesse which God forbid that hee was borne of a virgin which Church following the example of Christs mother doth daiely bring forth members of that mysticall body and yet notwithstanding is a virgin still Read if you list my Letters touching the virginity of Saint Mary writtē to that renowmed man Volusianus of whome I doe here make mention with all reuerence and loue CHAP. 35. That Christ who consisteth of two natures namely diuine and humane is notwithstanding but one in subsistence CHrist Iesus therefore the son of God is both God and man God before all worlds and man in this age or world wherin we liue God because hee is the word for God was the word and man because to make an vnitie of the person a reasonable soule and the flesh were adioyned to the word Wherfore as he is God he and the father be one