Five sermons upon severall occasions preach'd at Pauls Crosse, and at Saint Maries, in Oxford. By Humphry Sydenham, Mr. of Arts, and fellow of Wadham Colledge in Oxford. Sermons. Selected sermons Sydenham, Humphrey, 1591-1650? 1627 Approx. 387 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 102 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2012-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 2). A13264 STC 23563 ESTC S100999 99836826 99836826 1115

To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.

Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A13264) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 1115) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 1190:07) Five sermons upon severall occasions preach'd at Pauls Crosse, and at Saint Maries, in Oxford. By Humphry Sydenham, Mr. of Arts, and fellow of Wadham Colledge in Oxford. Sermons. Selected sermons Sydenham, Humphrey, 1591-1650? [10], 43, [5], 38, [4], 35, [9], 26, [4], 26 p. Printed [by Eliot's Court Press] for Iohn Parker, London : 1626 [i.e. 1627] A reissue, with added general title page and preliminaries, of "The Athenian babler", London, 1627; "Jacob and Esau", London, 1626; "The arraignment of the Arrian", London, 1626; "Natures overthrow and deaths triumph", London, 1626; and "Moses and Aaron", London, 1626. Printer from STC. Reproduction of the original in the Yale University. Library.

Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford.

EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO.

EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org).

The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.

Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.

Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.

The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.

Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).

Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.

eng Sermons, English -- 17th century. 2020-09-21 Content of 'availability' element changed when EEBO Phase 2 texts came into the public domain 2011-09 Assigned for keying and markup 2011-09 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2011-12 Sampled and proofread 2011-12 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2012-05 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

FIVE SERMONS, VPON SEVERALL OCCASIONS PREACH'D AT PAVLS CROSSE, AND AT SAINT MARIES, IN OXFORD.

BY Humphry Sydenham, Mr. of Arts, and Fellow of WADHAM Colledge in OXFORD.

LONDON, Printed for IOHN PARKER. 1626.

TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE, HENRY, LORD DANVERS, BARON OF DANCY, AND Earle of DANBY; The glory of both Ages. MY GOOD LORD,

THat ſeruice is moſt free of inſinuatiō, which is ſo of attendance; whil'ſt others onely looke on your vertues, with your fortunes, and admire them, I both weigh, and contemplate, and ſo honor you more than they by how much a iuſt ſpeculation exceedes an outward and partiall ſuruey of men, and of their actions. 'Tis my beleefe in that hath arm'd my reſolution in this bold tender of my labours, which though I acknowledge vnworthy either of your iudgement, or acceptance, yet the noble incouragements and faire interpretations you haue giuen thoſe formerly deliuer'd in your eare, haue taught me a confidence that you will entertaine theſe alſo offer'd to your eye; a Judge more ſeuere than the other, becauſe more ſubtle, and (what is more) more deliberate; howeuer, did I not beleeue they would paſſe the mercy of an honourable peruſall, I ſhould neuer haue expos'd them to the criticiſme and comment of a cenſorious Age, which vnderualues moſt things becauſe they are common, and many things, becauſe they are good. Though mine can lay no title to the latter in reſpect of their frame and ſtructure, they may of the ſubiect, that is ſacred, and ſhould at leaſt inuite acceptance, if not inforce it. As they are (moſt Noble Lord) vouchſafe them entertainment; they were publiſht at the importunities of ſome priuate, but reall friends, to whom they addreſſe thēſelues only for ſuruey, to you (now) for patronage, they may incourage my proceedings, but greatneſſe muſt protect them; your countenance they beg which if you daine to afford, you no leſſe crowne them, than the Author, who in all humilitie deuotes himſelfe

Your Lordſhips vnfeined honourer and loyall ſeruant, HVM: SYDENHAM.

The ATHENIAN Babler.

A SERMON PREACHED AT St. MARIES in Oxforde, the 9. of Iuly, 1626. being ACT-Sunday.

By Humphry Sydenham, Maſter of Arts, and Fellow of WADHAM-Colledge in Oxon.

LONDON. Printed by B.A. and T. FAVVCET, for IOHN PARKER. 1627.

TO THE HOPEFVLL EXPECTATION, BOTH OF HIS NAME, AND Countrey, Sir HVGH PORTMAN, BARONET, this. MY HONOVR'D Sr.

HOweuer the publiſhing of other Labours may entitle mee to Oſtentation, this cannot but touch vpon Humilitie, ſince I haue expoſed that to the Eye onely of a Nation, which I had formerly to the Eare of a World, a Vniuerſitie; a World more Glorious then that which inuolues it, by how much it exceeds the other, in her Iudgement, in her Charitie, and (what is Noble, too) her incouragement; of the latter, I had ſome taſte in the deliuery of this, when I was a fitter object of her Pitie, then approbation, whether ſhee reflected on Minde, or Body, my Diſcourſe, or Mee. But that was the extenſion of her goodneſſe, nothing that my weakeneſſe could expect, or point at, but the Mercy of my worthyer Friends, amongst whome, as, you were then pleaſed to approue it, ſo, now vouchſafe both to peruſe and Countenance; In that you ſhall glorifie the endeauours of him, who lookes no higher, then the honour of this title,

Your Friend that euer ſerues you HVM: SYDENHAM.
THE ATHENIAN BABLER. Text. ACTS, 17. Verſ. 18.

Some ſaid; what will this Babler ſay?

THe Life of a true Chriſtian the Apoſtle calls a continuall warfare; The life of a true Apoſtle the Chriſtian calls a continual Martyrdome; Each act of it hath a bloody ſceane, but not a mortall; A few wounds cannot yet terminate his miſery, though they begin his glory. There are diuers tough breathings required to the Coeleſtiall race; many a bleeding ſcarre to the good Fight, ſweatings, wreſtlings, tuggings numberleſſe to the crowne of Glory. PAVL had long ſince begun the courſe and finiſht it, and can ſhew you a platforme of all the ſufferings; the ſcrowle is ready drawne with his owne hand,Verſ. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. you may peruſe it if you pleaſe, 2. Corinth. 11. where crueltie ſeemes to bee methodicall, and torment accurate, perſecution tumbles on perſecution, as a billow on a billow, this on the necke of that; one ſeales not the truth of his Apoſtleſhip,Act. 14. v. 10.19. Act. 16.18.23. many ſhall. Hee was but now at Lyſtra, where hee cured a Cripple, and hee is ſtoned for it; by and by at Philippi hee caſts out a Diuell, and hee is ſcourged. Heere's not all; ſufferings of the body are not load enough for an Apoſtle; if hee loue his Lord and Maſter (as hee ought) hee muſt haue ſome of reputation too; hee that hath beene ſo long acquainted with the Laſh of the hand, muſt now feele that of the tongue too: Buffettings are not ſufficient for Diſciples, they muſt haue reuilings alſo for the name of IESVS. PAVL therefore ſhall now to Athens (the eye of the learned world and ſeate of the Philoſopher) where hee meets with language as peruerſe as the Religion, and amongſt many falſe ones, findes no entertainment for the true; The mention of a IESVS Crucified ſtands not with the Faith of an Athenian, nor a ſtory of the Reſurrection with his Philoſophie. The Altar there conſecrated to the vnknowne will not ſo ſoone ſmoake to the jealous God. Act. 17.23. The glorious Statues of Mars and Jupiter, cannot yet bee tranſlated to the forme of a Nazarite. 'Tis not a bare relation can plant CHRIST at Athens, it muſt bee Reaſon, the ſinew and ſtrength of ſome powerfull Argument, and to this purpoſe PAVL was but now in hot Diſputation with the Iewes there in the Synagogue. Act. 17. v. 17. By this time he hath diſpatcht; for loe yonder where hee ſtands in earneſt diſcourſe with the people in the Market? The tumult is inlarged, and the Athenian already tickled with the expectation of ſome noueltie; Anon, the Gowne beſets him, and all the rigid Sects of the Philoſophers; as the throng increaſes, ſo doth the Cry; On that ſide, Cenſure, — Some ſayd hee was a ſetter forth of ſtrange Gods, on this ſide, Preiudice, — And ſome ſaid, what will this Babler ſay?

In the diuiſion of which tumult wilt pleaſe you to obſerue mine.

1. The perſons Prejudicate, maskt heere vnder a doubtfull Pronoune, Quidam - ſome, - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , - ſome ſayd. - 2. The perſon prejudic'd, cloathed in a terme of obloquy and diſhonour, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 - Babler, - What will this Babler ſay? Thus the Field ſtands pitcht where wee may view the parts, as the perſons, In a double ſquadron, no more. PAVL and his Spirit in one part of the Battalio; Epicures, Stoickes with their Philoſophie, in the other, the reſt are but lookers on, no ſharers in the conflict. Heeres all; All that's naturall from the words, and not wreſted; For (mine owne part) I'le not pull Scripture into pieces, digging for particulars which are not offred, for that were to torment a Text, not diuide it. I affect nothing that is forc'd, loue Fluentneſſe, and (what the maieſtie of this place may (perchance) looke ſowre on) plainneſſe. Howeuer, at this time, I haue a little endeuoured that way, that thoſe of Corinth and Epheſus may aſwell heare PAVL as theſe of Athens. I come not now to play with the quaint eare but to rubbe it, nor to cheriſh the dancing expectation of thoſe Athenians which cry - Newes, Act 17. v. 21. Newes, - but to foyle it. And this is well enough for a Babler, that's the doome at Athens, mine, now, and juſtly too. I may not expect a greater mercy of the tongue thence, then an Apoſtle had, eſpecially when a Stoicke raignes in it. Whoſe Religion (for the moſt part) is but ſnarling, and a maine peece of his learning, Cenſure; But let's heare firſt what hee can ſay of the Babler, next, what the Babler will ſay. I begin with the perſons preiudicate, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Some ſayd.

Pars 1. Some? what ſome? The front of this verſe preſents them both in their qualitie, and number; Philoſophers. What of all Sects? No. -Verſ. 17. Certayne Philoſophers - of old, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſince, by the modeſtie of PYTHAGORAS a little degraded of that height, as if it trenched too neere vpon ambition to entitle themſelues immediatly vnto Wiſdome, but to the loue of it,In cap. 17. Act. and therefore now, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , yet ſtill of venerable eſteeme amongſt the Athenians. ARETIVS calls them their Diuin •• ; BRENTIVS, their Patriarkes and their Prophets, Each word they ſpake was as canonicall as Text, and they themſelues both Maſters of it, and of the people. Of theſe there were diuers Sects, two (heere) ſpecified. Epicures, Stoickes; theſe were extreames in the rules both of their life, and tenent; Aretius in cap. 17. Act. the Epicure in the defect, the Stoicke in the exceſſe. Betweene them both were the Peripateticks and the Academicks, better mixt and qualified in their opinion, ſtooping neyther to the looſeneſſe of the one, nor the auſteritie of the other; but of theſe no mention in the Text. The Areopagites (intimated in the foot of this Chapter) were not Philoſophers, but the Athenian Iudges, ſome ſay, others, their Conſuls, or their Senatours: In the ſtreet of Mars (where the Athenians brought PAVL,Act. 17. v. 22. and enquired of his Doctrine) was their Tribunall, where they ſate vpon their more weighty affaires, and, Gen. not. ibid. of old, arraigned SOCRATES and condemned him of impietie. But I haue no quarrell to theſe, ſince I finde they had none to the Apoſtle; The Stoicke and the Epicure are the ſole incendiaries and ringleaders of the tumult, whom the very Text points out in this, - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 - ſome ſayd, - men as oppoſite in their opinion, as to the truth; one ſeated his chiefe happineſſe in the pleaſure of the Body, the other in the vertues of the Mind. The Epicure attributed too much to voluptuouſneſſe, Aretius in cap. 17. Act. the Stoicke to the want of it; that would haue a vacuitie of griefe both in mind, and ſence; this taught his - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 - a nullitie of all affections in eyther. Theſe are the broad and common Differences in their opinion, and ſuch as heere tread oppoſite to the Doctrine of Saint PAVL; but there are others more cryticall and nice, which not finding touch'd by the pen of the Holy Ghoſt, I preſum •• to enquire after in their owne Schooles, in Zeno's Stoä for one, and in Epicurus Garden for the other. A trauaile ſomewhat vnneceſſary for Athens amongſt Philoſophers, where they are daily canuaſt. Yet (perchance) there may bee - ſome Nobles heere of Bereä,Verſ. 17. Verſ. 4. and Chiefe women of Theſſalonica, which haue receiued PAVL with all willingneſſe - which know them not. I ſhall bee onely your remembrancer, their informer.

Epicures (for I begin with them, they haue the precedence in the Text) challenge both name, and pedigree, from EPICVRVS the founder, and Father of that Sect. Hee was borne at Athens ſeauen yeares after the Death of PLATO, where he liued, taught, dyed. Hee wrote 300. Bookes in his owne Art, without reference to a ſecond Pen, and (what is ſtrange) obſeruation; no ſentence, no precept of Philoſopher, but his owne; thoſe of DEMOCRITVS, de Atomis, and of ARISTIPPVS, de Ʋoluptate, Lib. 2. Hiſt. DIONISIVS HALICARNASSEVS cals his. His deportment and way of carriage in matters of Moralitie was very remarkeable.Lib. de Epicur. In Parentes pietas, in Fratres Beneficentia, in Seruos manſuctudo. ('Tis the triple commendation LAERTIVS giues him,) And in lieu of theſe, and the like vertues, his Countrey afterwards erected many brazen Statues, and ATHENAEVS wrote certayne Epitaphes to the perpetuall embalming both of his name and honour. Hee was one it ſeemes more irreguler in his tenent, then his life, abſtenious hee was, moderate, in his repaſt,A Fero ſic in Locum. in his deſires, - Oleribus vtens exiguis, HIEROME ſayes, and hee confeſſes himſelfe in his Epiſtles, that Temperance was his Feaſt, the loweſt ſtayre of it,Allexand ab Alex. lib. 3. Genalium Dierum. Cap. 11. Parcemonie: Aquâ contentus & polentâ. His place of teaching was in Gardens, and the manner not onely to the capacitie, but the Diſpoſition of his hearer.

The whole Fabricke of his precepts hee builds vpon this double ground; The one on Mans part, that hee is compoſed of a double ſubſtance, a Body, and a Soule, and both theſe mortall; yea, the Soule vaniſht ſooner then the Body; For when the Soule is breathed out, the Body yet remaines the ſame and the proportion of parts, perfect. Anima mòx vt exierit veluti fumus vento diuerberata, diſſoluitur, But the Soule is no ſooner ſeperate then blowne away, like ſmoake ſcattered by the wind. So S. AVGVSTINE relates the opinion in his Tract. De Epic. & Stoic. 5. Cap. On this foundation was raiſed their great opinion, that Mans chiefeſt happineſſes conſiſted in the pleaſure of the Body. The rest of that was the end of all Bleſſedneſſe, For to this purpoſe doe wee all things, In Epiſtol ad Herodotum. that wee may neyther bee diſturbed nor grieued, ('tis EPICVRVS owne Doctrine.) Yet euery pleaſure is not ſo magnified, as that of the Pallate by ſuperfluitie, of the Body by effeminateneſſe; But, when after-a-long tolleration of ſorrow a greater pleaſure enſues, when the Body is no more beaten with griefe, the Mind vntost and free from all waues of perturbation, there was the true Happineſſe. Hee was bleſſed that enjoyed thoſe Delights in preſent; future, they neither beleeued, nor cared for, Death was the ſlaughterman of all: And therefore SENECA calls the Schoole of the Epicures; Delicatam, Senec. lib. 4. de Benefic. & vmbraticam, apud quos virtus voluptatis miniſtra. For if the Soule alſo periſheth with the Body, the dirge and requiem that they ſing, is Ede, Bibe, Lude, Eate and Drinke, for to morrow wee ſhall Dye; and after Death what pleaſure? And therefore wee find their vſuall Epicaedium 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , - Death is nothing to vs, for what is diſſolued wants ſence, Lib. 3. Pyrron. Hypotyp. cap. 24 and what wants ſence is nothing to vs. For if Man bee compoſed of Body and Soule, and Death bee the diſſolution of both, the burthen of their ſong runnes inſtantly, Cùm ſumus, nòn eſt mors, cùm autèm mors eſt, non ſumus, ſo SEXTVS EMPIRICVS; Moreouer, they would haue the Soule a kind of body, otherwiſe (ſay they) it would neyther doe nor ſuffer. Incorporeum, with them, is all one with Ʋacuum; and therefore, the Soule (they ſayd) was compoſed of Atomes, and when the Atoms in a man were diſſolued, then the Soule dyed, as EPICVRVS himſelfe in his Epiſtle to HERODOTVS.

The other foundation is on Gods part, for the Epicure grants there is a GOD, but denies his Prouidence; howbeit, vnder a glorious colour - Deum ad Coeli cardines obambulare, Gualt. in Locum & nulla tangi mortalium curâ, as if, forſooth, it would not ſtand with the maieſtie of the world to regard what is done in thoſe ſublunary parts,Jn Apolog. aduerſ. gentes. cap. 24. and ſo make God (as TERTVLLIAN complaines) Otioſum, & inexercitum neminem in humanis rebus, - happely conceiting it might detract ſomewhat from his delight and pleaſure, to moleſt himſelfe with the care of this nether World. Aboue all things this moued him moſt, - Homines Religioſos, - that the moſt Religious men were moſt of all afflicted, whereas thoſe which did eyther wholly neglect the Gods, or ſerue them but at their pleaſure, came into no misfortune, or at leaſt no misfortune like other men. And, in fine, Ipſa etiàm Templa fulminibus conflagrari, - hee obſerued that the Temples alſo rayſed for the honour of the Gods, and dedicated to their ſeruice were oftentimes burnt with fire from Heauen. Out of which premiſſes the ſilly Heathen gathers this deſperate Concluſion:Allexand ab Alex. lib. 3. Genalium Dierum. Cap. 11. Surely the Almighty walketh in the height of Heauen, and judgeth not; Tuſh, GOD careth not for thoſe things.

Stoickes (ſo deriued from Stoä where ZENO taught, the Maſter of that Sect) were of a more ſowre and contracted brow; their ſeuerity drew their name into a Prouerbe, Stoicum ſupercilium, grauitas Stoica: their Precepts were for the moſt part but a Syſteame of harſh and auſteere paradoxes. A wiſeman is then bleſt, Tull. 5. de Finibus & 1. Academ. when vnder the greateſt torments. Metellus liues not more happily then Regulus. A wiſeman is free from all paſſions. Hee is a foole that doth commiſerate his Friend in diſtreſſe; Lypſius in maenuduct ad Stoitam Phyloſoph. Mercy and Pitie are diſeaſes of the minde, and one with the species and perturbations of griefe, Mentall ſickneſſes diſturbe no wiſe mans health. Hee can neyther erre, nor bee ignorant, nor deceiue, nor lye. Hee is alone to bee reputed rich, a Maſter of his owne libertie, a King, without ſinne, equall to GOD himſelfe; Hoc eſt ſummum bonum, quod ſi occupas, incipis Deorum ſocius eſſè, non ſupplex, it is SENECA'S Stoyiciſme, in his 31. Epiſtle. In all Vertues they held a paritie,Tull. 1. de not. Deorum. and ſo in Sinnes too, Hee no more faultie that kills a Man, then hee that cuts off a Dogs necke. Touching GOD and the nature of him, they ſtrangely varyed. Some thought him - an immortall liuing Creature, Tull. lib. 1. de nat. Deorum. a perfect rationall and a bleſſed; others granted him a Beeing and Prouidence; but this Prouidence they vaſſall to their Stoyicall fate, Diogen. Laert. in vita Zenō. lib. 7 and make Gods gouernment not free and voluntary, but neceſſitated and compelled. Ʋt Deus ipſe ſati neceſſitate conſtrictus cum Coeli machina violenter ferretur, (ſo CALVIN.In 17. cap. Act.) Touching Man, they taught that his chiefeſt Happineſſe was placed in the Minds vertue, which opinion though it ſhew faire and glorious,In Locum. tends but to this - Quemvis mortalem faelicitatis ſuae artificem eſſe poſſe, (ſayes BVLLINGER.) Euery man ſhould bee the contriuer and ſquarer out of his owne Happineſſe; and thus weake man is hereby blowne vp with a proud confidence, that, being vertuous he ſhould bee adorned with the ſpoyles of God, - Eſt aliquid quo ſapiens antecedat Deum, ille naturae beneficio, non ſuo ſapiens est. I forbeare to tranſlate the proud Blaſphemy, it is SENECA'S in his 53. Epiſtle. But me thinkes this vaunting Stoicke might eaſily haue beene taken downe by his owne Principles, for aske but any of them, how long their ſoule ſhall enioy that ſuppoſed happineſſe. TVLLY makes anſwere for them, 5. de Finibus. - Diù manſuros aiunt animos, ſemper negant, - Like long-liued Crowes, they laſt out ſome yeares after the bodies Death; but by their owne confeſſions grow old continually, and dye at laſt; and then wherein may the Stoicke bragge more then the Epicure? In this, little. They both held,Laert. lib. de Epicur. the Soule was of it ſelfe a body; the Stoicke did extend it a little further, and then, obnoxious to corruption, too. And yet ANTIPATER, and POSSIDONIVS (chiefe members of that Sect) ſayd, the Soule was a hot ſpirit, for this made vs to moue and breath; And all ſoules ſhould endure till that heate were extinguiſht, CLEANTHES ſayd,Sextus Emper. Pyrron. Hypol. cap 24. lib. 3. but CHRYSIPPVS, onely wiſe-mens. Thus ſome are as giddy in their opinions, as ſottiſh; others, as deteſtable, as giddy; one dotes on the world, and would haue it to bee - Animal rationale, - The vniuerſe muſt haue a Soule, that immortall, and the parts thereof, Animantium animae. A ſecond falls in loue with Vertues, and would haue them to bee glorious liuing Creatures; but this foole SENECA laſhes with an - O triſtes ineptiás, ridiculae ſunt, in his 113. Epiſtle. A third adores the Starres, and would haue them nouriſht, the Sunne from the Sea, the Moone from the leſſer waters. A fourth growes ſalacious, and hot, and would haue a communitie of Wiues, to Wiſe-men, of Strumpets, to the reſidue. A fifth, yet more diueliſh, will haue a libertie of Bed from the Father to the Daughter, from the Mother to the Sonne, from the Brother to the Siſter, and ſo backe againe: and to make all compleatly heatheniſh (and I tremble to breath it in a Pulpit) A Sonne may participate of the body of his liue Mother, and eate the fleſh of his dead Father, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 deteſtabile; Cryes SEXTVS EMPERICVS - Zeno approbat quod apud nos Sodomitae, - in his 3. Booke Pyrroniarum Hypotyp ſi v. Cap. 24.

Thus, with as much breuitie as I could, I haue traced out the principall poſitions of theſe diuided Sects. Worthy ones no doubt, to bandy againſt the ſacred Fundamentals of an Apoſtle, yet if it now pleaſe you to follow them, - E stoä, & hortis, in Synagogam, - From their Gallery and Garden where they taught, into their Synagogue, you ſhall ouertake them there all flocked together about S. PAVL,Act. 17. v. 17. and (as the Text deſcribes it) encountring him. Heere is juſt matter for obſeruation, if not for wonder. Epicures, Stoickes, men which jarre aſmuch as any that beare the name of Philoſophers can doe amongſt themſelues, are ready (neuertheleſſe) to meet in a tumult and joyne forces againſt an Apoſtle, ſtrange, did wee not know that the wiſedome of this world were enmitie againſt GOD, and that - CHRIST vnto the Jewes a ſtumbling Blocke, 1. Cor. 1.23. vnto the Grecians fooliſhneſſe. What the ground was which ſhould occaſion this aſſault, S. AVGVSTINE coniectures to bee (and it is not repugnant to the drift of the Text) Quid faciat beatam vitam? What might make a man moſt happie? The Epicure hee anſwers; Voluptas corporis, the pleaſure,Caluin. in Locū. but with this limitation, the honeſt pleaſure of the body. The Stoicke hee ſayth, - Virtus, - The vertue of the mind;Auguſt. Tract. de Epicur. & Stoicis, cap 7. the Apoſtle replies - Donum Dei, it is the guift of GOD: LYRA addes, that from thence the ſequele led them to the Reſurrection. Lyra in cap 17. Act. For the Epicures joy could laſt no longer then his ſubiect; his bliſſe muſt dye with his body; and the Stoickes foreſaw not the Soules immortalitie, and therefore could not promiſe euerlaſting Happineſſe. But the Apoſtle hee preacheth a Reſurection of body and ſoule, and by that Eternall life,Act 17.18. and ſo by conſequence euerlaſting Happineſſe through CHRIST, both of Soule and Body. This ſeemes to haue been the ſubiect of their Diſpute, but their Arguments I can by no meanes collect; Be like they were ſo ſilly, that they were not thought worthy to bee enrolled amongſt thoſe more noble Acts of the Apoſtles, onely their impudence, that is ſo notorious that it may not bee omitted. For on what ſide ſoeuer the victorie goes, theirs is the tryumph; the cry runnes with the Athenian, the Philoſopher hath non-pluſt the Diuine, and the Apoſtle bables. Thus the wicked haue bent their bowe and ſhot their arrowes, euen bitter words, bitter words againſt the Church and her true members in all Ages. The naturall man led on by the dull light of reaſon, making Philoſophie his Starre, endeauours with thoſe weake twinklings thoſe leſſer influences to obſcure the glory of the greater light, that of Diuine truth; ſo it was in the firſt dawne and riſing of the Church. IANNES and IAMBRES, the great Magitians of Aegipt, withſtood MOSES working miracles before PHARAOH. But all the ſpels of Magicke with their blacke power, neuer wrought ſo miſchieuouſly againſt the Church as the ſubtle inchantments of the Philoſopher. Chriſtianitie neuer felt ſuch wounds, as from the Schoole of the Athenian. The Seminarie of the wrangling Artiſt; the Epicure, Stoicke, Platoniſt; they were Philoſophers, that's enough; they not onely ſtrugled to oppoſe Fundamentals of Faith, but to deſtroy them. Euery age of the Church, and almoſt euery place of it will giue vs a world of Inſtances; one Alexandria affoords an Aetius and a Demophylus, againſt CHRIST; one Conſtantinople, a Macedonius, and an Eurox, againſt the Holy Ghoſt; One Epheſus, an Anthemius, and a Theodore, againſt the Virgin MARY; One Athens (heere) an Epicure, and a Stoicke, againſt PAVL; Nay, the ſophiſtry of one peruerſe but nimble Diſputant, hath coſt more liues then are now breathing in the Chriſtian world, and opened ſuch a ſluce and Arch through the body of the Eaſterne Church, which was not ſtopt againe almoſt in the current of 300. yeares, when downe it blood ran ſwiftly from the butcheries of Valens & Conſtantius, and the limbes, the thouſand limbs of ſlaughtered Infants ſwam with the violence of the Torrent, euen then when Chriſtianity groaned vnder the mercileſſe inuentions and various tortures of the Arrian Maſſacre and perſecution. Philoſophers were the firſt Patriarchs of that Hereſie,Socrat. lib. 1. cap. 5. and hence I ſuppoſe was that Edict of Conſtantine, that as a badge and character of their profeſſion, they ſhould bee no more called Arrians, but Porphirians, the venemous brood of their curſed Maſter, and one that then blew the coale to moſt combuſtions of the Primitiue Church; For at the Councell of Nice (the place, and meanes ordayned by that good Emperour for the ſuppreſſion of Arrius, Sozom. lib. 1. cap. 17. Anno Chriſti, 325.) ſome, if not of his name yet of his profeſſion, (for they were Phyloſophers) trooped thither in droues and multitudes, not onely to oppoſe the Biſhops, but to vpbraid them. Odio imflammati quod ſuperſtitioſa Gentilium religio antiquari caeperat, - as Ruffinus, lib. 1. cap. 3. And before that (in the Apoſtles time) about the yeare of CHRIST 75. they went about from Citie to Citie with this pretext onely to reforme publique miſdemeanors, and to that purpoſe had certayne Sermons to the people, for rectifying their Conuerſation in morrall cariages, and ſo ſeemed induſtrious to reduce them to a better forme, but the maine proiect was to confront the Apoſtles doctrine, and eſtabliſh them more immoueably in the former ſuperſtition of the Gentiles, thus did Dyon, Apollonius, Euphrates, Demetrius, Muſonius, Epictetus, Lucian, and others, as Baronius in his firſt Tome 777. pag. nay,Ad Annū. 75. the very dregs of them (ſayth the Antiquarie) the Cynicke; and the Epicure, ſo violent (heere) againſt PAVL. Hos prae caeteris infestos ſenſit Chriſtiana religio. - Theſe were the heathen Ianizaries, the chiefe Souldiers and ſpeare-men againſt the Chriſtian Faith, when at Rome the ſides of that Religion were ſtrucke through with their blaſphemous Declamations, Et petulantiū eorum calumnijs & dicterijs miſerè proſcindebatur, Baron. Ad Annum, 164. the ſame Baronius in his ſecond Tome, pag. 154. Thus all violent oppoſitions of Chriſtian truth had their firſt conception in the wombe of Philoſophie; The Fathers which traffick't with the tumults of thoſe times, ſaid in effect as much, - Omnes haereſes ſubornauit Philoſophia, - MARCION came out of the Schoole of our Stoicke, CELSVS, of the Epicure, VALENTINVS, of that of PLATO; all hereſies were the flouriſhings and trimmings of humaine Learning. Inde Aeones, & formae neſcio quae, & Trinitas hominis apud Ʋalentinum. Thence thoſe Aeones (I know not what Idaeas,) and that triple man in Valentinus, hee was a Platonist. Thence Marcions quiet God, it came from the Stoickes; And the Soule ſhould be made ſubiect to Corruption, - is an obſeruation of the Epicures, and the deniall of the Reſurrection, the joynt opinion of their whole Schooles.Lib. de Praeſcript. aduerſ. Haereſ. And when their - Materia prima is matcht with God, it is Zeno's Diſcipline, and when God is ſaid to bee a fiery Subſtance, Heraclitus hath a finger in it,Comment. in Nahū. ad cap. 3. thus Tertullian. S. Hierome keepes on the Catalogue - inde Eunomius prefert. Thence Eunomius drew his poyſon againſt the Eternitie of the Sonne of God, For whatſoeuer is begotten and borne before it was begotten, was not; Thence Nouatus blockes vp all hope of pardon for offences on Gods part, that hee might take away repentance and all ſuite for it, on ours. Thence Manichaeus double God, and Sabellius fingle perſon; and to be ſhort - De illis fontibus vniuerſa dogmata argumentationum ſuarum riuulos trahunt: - Menandrians, Saturnians, Johan. Baptist. Chriſpus de Ethnic. Philoſ. Caute Legend. Quinar. 1. Baſilidians, Ammonians, Proclians, Iulians, and the reſidue of that curſed Rabble, had from thence their conception, birth, nouriſhment, continuance. Hereupon the great Doctor of the Gentiles, writing purpoſely of their Wiſedome, alledgeth no other reaſon why they were not wiſe vnto Saluation, but the wiſedome of this World. The world through Wiſedome knew not God. 1. Cor. cap. 1. verſ. 20. And therefore hee preſcribes the Colloſſians a - Cauete nè vos ſeducat, Coloſ. 2.4. - Take heed leaſt any man ſpoyle you through Philoſophie and vaine deceit. Fuerat Athenis, De Praeſcript. aduerſ Haereſ. S. PAVL had bin at Athens (ſayth Tertullian,) and knew by his often encounter there, how deſperately ſecular and prophane Knowledge wounded Diuine truth. Inſomuch, that the Father is of opinion. Ʋnâ hac ſententiâ omnes haereſes damnari, in his 5. Booke againſt Marcion, 19. Chapter.

But whileſt wee goe about to vindicate our Apoſtle, let vs not bee too iniurious to the Philoſopher; The Epicure and the Stoicke had their Droſſe and rubbiſh, yet they had their Siluer too, which had paſt the fornace, tryed and purified enough for the practice of a Chriſtian. Though they had Huskes and Acornes for their Swine, yet they had Bread for Men. It was not their Philoſophie was ſo peſtilent, but the vſe of it; our Apoſtle reprehends not the true, but the vaine; no doubt there is that which is Sanctified, as well as the Adulterate, otherwiſe the Fathers would neuer haue ſtiled Diuinitie, Philoſophie; That is a glorious ray ſent downe from Heauen by the Father of Light; This but ſtrange Fire, ſome Prometheus ſtole thence, and infuſed into a peece of babling clay which circumuents weake men, and vnder a ſhadow and pretext of Wiſedome, oftentimes carries away probabilitie for truth. And it was this latter that inflamed the youth of AVGVSTINE to the ſtudy of it; but he was ſoone cool'd when hee deſcried the other; Cap. 4. then - Nomen Chriſti non erat ibi, - in the 3. of his Confeſſions. And the words - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 were not now to bee read in the great Peripateti que . - Inſomuch, that that former aſſeueration of his - Phyloſophos tantùm extuli, quantùm impios non oportuit, - hee recants in the firſt of his Retractations; Cap. 1. and againſt the Academicks hee is at once zealous and peremptorie. - Hujus mundi Philoſophiam ſacra noſtra meritiſſimè detestantur, Lib. 3. cap 19. - Our ſacred Diſcipline vtterly deteſts Philoſophie; But what? The Philoſophie of this world, which I know not whether it hath more conuinced, or begotten errour, or improued vs in our knowledge, or ſtaggered vs.In Col. cum Trypho Indaeo. And therefore Juſtin Martyr, after his Conuerſion from the Philoſopher to the Chriſtian, complayned hee was deluded by reading Plato; and Clemens Alexandrinus reports of Carpocrates and Epiphanes, who reading in PLATOES Common-wealth that - Wiues ought to bee common, taught inſtantly their owne to follow that vertuous principle,Ad Annū. 120. it is Baronius Quotat. in his 2. Tome, pag. 76. Thus the Gold which SALOMON tranſports from Ophyr, hammered and poliſhed as it ought, beautifies the Temple, but if it fall into the hands of the Babilonians they worke it to the Ruine of the Citie of GOD.

And by this time PAVL hath paſt his encounter, and begins now to ſuſpect the cenſure of the Philoſopher. Hee that enters the Synagogue at Athens is to expect nimble Eares, and ſharpe Tongues. If hee Diſpute, hee muſt hazard an abſurditie; if he Preach, hee Babbles. What hee doth on the one ſide leſſe affectedly, and plaine, the Epicure wreſts inſtantly to the cenſure of a Bull, what more tierſely, and polite; on the other, the Stoicke to a ſtrong Line. Thus betweene the acuteneſſe of the one, and the ſuperciliouſneſſe of the other, PAVL ſhall not ſcape his laſh; but the comfort is, except that the Paralell (heere) exceeds the patterne, our Criticks are not numberleſſe; onely, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 - ſome ſayd; and theſe ſome (too) very probably, but Philoſophers; that is, - Gloriae animalia & popularis aurae at que rumoris venalia mancipia, as HIEROME characters them. Creatures that will bee bought and ſold for popular applauſe; and when thoſe factions are thus met, that is the iſſue? All they leaue behind is but a meere ſaying, - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , - ſome ſayd, - and not ſaid onely of late, but done too, done violently againſt PAVL, not onely at Athens, in the Synagogue, Act. 17. v. 22. but in the hill of Mars too, the place of their conſultation, where if the rude Epicure and the Stoicke cannot cry him downe enough, at Corinth, Iewes ſhall riſe againſt him, and bring him to the judgement ſeate before Gallio the chiefe Deputie, for doing things otherwiſe then the Law; but maugre all their ſpight, it was found (ſaid the Text) but a - cauill of names and wordes, Act. 18.5. - and hee is diſmiſt the Tribunall with conſent of the judge, and little glory to the Perſecutor; The ſtory you may finde in the 18. of this Booke, the application neerer home, thus. There is an out-ſide auſteritie which lookes grim vpon offences, and pretends ſtrangely to publique Reformation; but the heart is double, and the deſigne baſe, when it is not out of zeale to the common cauſe, but enuy to the perſon. There are ſome which can harbour cleanly an inueterate grudge, and like cunning Apothecaries guild handſomely their bitter Pills; but when occaſion of Reuenge is offred, like Wind that is crept into the Cauernes of the earth, it ſwells and ſtruggles, and ſhakes the whole maſſe and bulke till it hath vent, which not finding cloſe enough by their owne perſons, they ſet their Pioners a digging, and their Moles are heauing vnder earth, thinking to blow vp all vnſeene. There is no malice ſo deſperate as that which lyes in ambuſh, and with her fangs hid, that proiect is euer mercileſſe, though the ſtroake miſcarrie.

Beloued, if Athens bee thus an enemy to Athens, and will nurſe vp Snakes in her owne boſome, and vultures for her owne heart, what can ſhee expect from the lippes of Aſpes, and venome of ſharpe ſet Tongues, which cry of her as they did ſometimes of Ieruſalem, - Downe with it euen to the ground? - The Ʋirgin daughter is become an Harlot, the rendeuouz of the Epicure, the Synagogue of Lewdneſſe, the Pappe of exorbitancie, - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , - Some ſayd it. Some, that not onely went out from vs, but were of vs too, but whileſt heere little better, then profeſt Epicures, at Rome (lately) bold Stoickes, and in a beardleſſe auſteritie, cry downe the Diſcipline of Athens in open Senate; There are ſome ſo ambitious of the thing called Honour, (indeed but a meere tympanie, and ayre of true Honour) that they will venter for it through the jawes of Periurie, forgetting the loyaltie they owed to their ſometimes Mother, and the fearefull engagements made her by way of Oath for the vindicating of her honour; but theſe haue ſayd, and had they ſaid truely, it had beene in ſuch a high iniuſtice, and in ſonnes too broadly diſcouers their little truth of affection, and leſſe of iudgement. As for thoſe ignorant cryes, the monſter multitude caſts vpon Athens, heere, ſhee hath made the obiect both of their ſcorne, and pitie. The wounds, the vnnaturall wounds from her owne NERO ſo touch our AGRIPPINA.

And now the Epicure, and the Stoicke, haue ſayd, ſayd, and done what they can, againſt PAVL, and againſt Athens; you haue heard their violence; pleaſe you now turne your attentions from the Philoſopher to the Diuine, and heare - What the Babler will ſay.

What will this Babler ſay?

A GOD, at Myletum? at Lyſtra, Pars 2. Act 28. verſ. 6. & Cap. 24, 12. MERCVRIE? and at Athens, a Babler? Sure mens cenſures vary with the place, and as the Clime is ſeated, ſo is the opinion: Had they ſteept all their malice and wit in one head-piece, and vented it by a tongue more ſcurrilous then that of RABSHEKEY, they could not haue prophaned the honour of an Apoſtle with a terme of ſuch barbarouſneſſe and derogation. Babler; A word ſo foule and odious, of that latitude, and various ſignification in the originall, that both Tranſlators, and Expoſitors,H ſichius - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . - Leonardus Aretinus. Beza in locum, Vetus lectio. haue beene plunged ſtrangely and deuided in the apt rendring it in a ſecond Language; to omit the vulgar ones of - Nugator, Rabula, Garrulus, Blaterator, - as of thoſe which follow the heele and tracke of the Letter, meerely; others, which more cloſely purſue the Metaphor giue it vs, by - Seminator - verborum, - a ſower of words;Eraſmus in locum. others - Semini - verbius - a ſeeder of them, a third ſort, - Seminilegus, - a gatherer of ſeedes, - and this latter ſeemes to Kiſſe and affie neareſt with the nature of the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,Caietan in locū. an Atticke one, (ſayes Cajetan) metophorically applyed (heere) and hath reference to thoſe 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,Aretius in locum. certayne Birds (Aretius tells vs) ſo called, - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 - from gathering of Seedes, or - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 - from ſowing of Speeches, - though this latter deriuation affect not ſome, as doubly peccant, in the Etymon, and the Metaphor; for then 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 had beene more genuine,Beza vt ſupra. ſo Beza. Birds they were of vile eſteeme amongſt the Athenians, vſeleſſe, neyther for food, nor ſong, - Sed garritu perpetuo laborantes, - ſo continually Chattering, that they did racke and perplexe the eares of all that heard them, inſomuch that it grew prouerbiall amongſt the Atticks, Athanaeus citatur ab Eraſmo in locum. that hee that was loude in his diſcourſe, or impertinent or profuſe, was inſtantly - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which ſeemes to ſound one with that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Athanaeus touches, - 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 - quoted by Eraſmus. The firſt (for ought I reade) that euer made vſe of the word in this diſgracefull way was Demoſthenes, Aretius & Eraſmo in locum. and hee flung it vpon Aeſchines, who being an Athenian, dropt it (be like) afterwards amongſt ſome of the Philoſophers, and a Stoicke takes it vppe and beſtowes it heere on an Apoſtle. It was well ſhoulder'd from the Philoſopher to the Diuine; but, me thinkes it ſhould not ſticke there. Babling ill becomes the lippes of the Leuite; and it cannot hang truely vpon that tongue which hath beene toucht with a Coale from the Altar; and ſure juſtice cannot put it on vs, it muſt bee malice, or preiudice, or both, and both haue done it, not onely on vs, but that great Apoſtle PAVL himſelfe, though choycely verſt in all wayes of Learning, a knowne Scholler, a profeſt Diſputant, a great Doctor of the Gentiles, brought vp at the feet of Gamaliell, one that had done ſo many Myracles to the Conuerſion of many, aſtoniſhment of all, yet hee cannot paſſe an Athenian without his laſh, a Philoſopher without his Quip, - where the Gowne is ſo frequent hard baulking the Cryticke; Lyuie will not like Trogus, nor Caligula, Lyuie; Athanaeus, Plato, or a third Athanaeus; Tully, Demoſthenes, or the Lypſiaen, Tully; ſo many fancies, ſo many cenſures, - no auoyding them at Athens. Nay, were PAVL a ſecond time to arriue it, hee might yet perchance meete with an Epicure or a Stoicke, would haue a fling at him with his Quìd vult Seminilegus iste? What will this Babler ſay? And this Venome towards PAVL ſwells not onely at Athens, but at Dirbe, and Lyſtra, and the chiefe Cities of Lycaonia; ſcarce one in a Kingdome but would jerke at a Paul; and if hee chance to come before Foelix the Gouernour, ſome black-mouthed Tertullus will bee bawling at the barre ready bill'd with a falſe accuſation,Act. 24.5. - This man is a mouer of Sedition, goes about to pollute the Temple, a chiefe maintayner of the Sect of the Nazarites. - Thus ſecular malice (through all ages) hath oppoſed the true members of the Church, and if it cannot diſparage the honour of their title, it will ſpitefully plot the traducement of their honour. - Ʋp thou Baldpate, 2. King. 2.23. Vp thou Baldpate, Children can cry at Bethell; - and, Hee is factious, hee is vnconformable, hee is a Babler, at Athens, is the popular and common Ʋogue. Heere is a large Field offered me through which I might trauell, but this is not my way, it is too trodden; euery Hackney rodes it, I haue found out as neere a cut, though the paſſage may ſeeme more ſtony and vneuen; thither bend I, where I ſhall ſhew you, how in Diuine matters wee may bee ſaid to Babble? how in Secular? in eyther how not? The Symptomes of that Lip-diſeaſe, the danger, the judgement on it, the cure. Let the Epicure, and the Stoicke, (awhile) lay by their cenſure, and heare, now - What this Babler will ſay? -

Hooker, lib. 5. Eccleſ. Pol. Speech is the very image whereby the Mind and Soule of the ſpeaker conueyeth it ſelfe into the boſome of him that heareth.Charron, lib. 3. Wiſedome. The Sterne and Rother of the Soule which diſpoſeth the hearts and affections of men, like certayne notes to make vp an exact harmony. But this muſt bee ſoft and gentle then, not ouerſcrued; It is with Speech, as it is with Tunes, if keyed too high, racke no leſſe the Inſtrument then the eare that heares them, when thoſe which are lower pitcht make the harmony both full, and ſweeter; your tumid and forced language harrowes the attention, when the facill and flowing ſtile doth not ſo much inuite applauſe, as command it; it is a gaudy, but an emaſculate and weake eloquence, which is dreſt onely in a pompe of wordes, and glories more in the ſtrength of the Epythet, then the matter; this is the Body, the other but the Garment of our diſcourſe, which wee ſhould ſuite as well to euery ſubiect, as occaſion; ſometimes more liberally, ſometimes more contractedly, leaſt wee be ſaid to Babble, Heccatus. - for it is true what Archidamus told the Orator of old, - They which know how to ſpeake well, know alſo their times of ſilence. - And (indeed) to ſpeake appoſitely and much, is not the part of one man,Eccluſ. 21.25. I am ſure, not of a wiſe-man. - The wordes of him which hath vnderſtanding, are weighed in the ballance. - Marke - weighed, in the Ballance. - Heere is deliberation of ſpeech, euenneſſe - Pone Domine cuſtodiam ori meo, Pſal. 141.3. - was the Prayer of Dauid, - ſet a watch before my lippes. And in the Law of Moſes, the Veſſell that had not the couering faſtened to it was vncleane; and therefore the inner-Parts of a Foole are reſembled to a broken veſſell, which hath neyther part entire, nor couering, Hee can keepe no knowledge while hee liueth, Eccluſ. 21.14.Plutar. Hereuppon thoſe more nobly bred amongſt the Romans learned firſt to hold their peace, and afterwards to ſpeake.De 3. plici Cuſtodia: ling. man. ment. - For Vnde illi cura Cordis (ſaith Bernard) cui ne ipſa quidèm adhùc oris circumſpectio? Hee is an ill treaſurer of his owne thoughts, that keepes not the doores of his lippes ſhut; and that heart is neuer lockt faſt vpon any ſecret, where a profuſe tongue layes intereſt to the Key.

And therefore, Nature hath prouided well by fortifying this member more then any part of the Body, ſetting a garriſon of the ſtrong and ſtout men about it, Eccleſ. 12. doubly intrenching it with lippes and teeth, not ſo much to oppoſe a forraine inuaſion as to allay mutinies within, for the tongue is an vnruely member; and ſides much with the peruerſneſſe of our will; and therefore Reaſon ſhould keepe ſtrict ſentinell vpon it, and as well direct, as guard it. Nature hath proportioned vs a double Eare and Eye to a ſingle Tongue, and Reaſon interprets inſtantly - Wee ſhould heare and ſee twice, ere wee ſpeake once. And indeed our Tongues would follow our ſence (ſayes Auguſtine) and not our will,Ad Fratres in Erem. ſerm. 2. and the Father puts the Foole handſomely vpon him, - Qui non priùs verbum ducit ad linguam rationis, quàm educat ad linguam oris. -

Let Reaſon (ſaith the Sonne of Syrach) goe before euery enterprize and counſaile to euery Action,Eccluſ. 37.16. - to euery vertuous action,Ariſtotle Elluc. lib. 3. (beſides the latter of theſe) the Philoſopher allowes a double Aduerbe, - Scientèr, Conſtantèr. - So that euery diſcreet deſigne muſt haue beſides Reaſon, Knowledge, Counſaile, Conſtancy; Reaſon and Knowledge, the pole and card to direct it; Counſaile, Conſtancie, to ſteere and ballace it. Hence it is that the tongue of a Wiſe man is in his heart,Eccluſ. 21. and where the heart of a Foole is, no ignorance ſo womaniſh but tels you.

So that the obſeruation of S. Bernard comes ſeaſonably heere,Bernard vt ſup. - Nòn perſonam tibi velim ſuſpectam eſſe, ſed linguam, praeſertim in ſermocinatione communi, - In common talke wee are not to heed the perſon ſo much as the tongue, for by the babling of that wee may roue at the weight or weakneſſe of the Maſter; for commonly hee that nothing but talkes, talkes nothing, nothing of bulke or ſubſtance, ſhells onely and barkes of things without their pith or kernell.

To auoyd then this diſeaſe of Babling and profuſe emptying of vaine words,Marke, 9. the Diſciples were preſcribed,Leuit 12.13. Coloſ. 4.6. - their - Habete Sal in vobis; - and Salt (you know) was commanded of old, not only to Men, but to Sacrifices and Words. Ad Fratres in Erem. ſerm. 2. That to words (not ſauoured aright) S. Augustine calls; - Sal inſatuatum ad nullum condimentum, - it ſeaſons nothing as it ſhould doe, euery thing reliſhes amiſſe it toucheth. For the Babler doth not meaſure words by their weight, but by their number, neyther regards hee what he ſpeakes, but how much; Thus whiles he labours to perſwade the eare, hee wounds it, and to inuite his hearer, he torments him. In the Leuiticall Law, the man that had - Fluxum ſeminis, - was vncleane; - And Gregorie turnes the Allegorie, on the diſpencers of holy Myſteries. - GODS Word is the Seed, the Preacher the Sower of it;Auguſt. in Parab. ſemi an. or, as The Father hath it on the Parable, - Cophinus ſeminantis, - the Seedeſmans basket. - If hee bee then - Jncautè loquax, - vnpremeditately babling. - Non ad vſum generis, ſed ad immunditiam ſemen effundit, - and ſuch a one in Primitiue times was called - Semini-verbius, Greg lib. 2. Paſt. cap. 4. - the Father tels vs in the 2. part of his Paſtorals, 4. Chapter. And no doubt hee that ſowes ouermuch by the Tongue ſhall ſeldome fructifie, except the ſeed bee choice and orderly diſpoſed,Charron. lib. 3. Speech being the more exquiſite communication of Diſcourſe and Reaſon, which as it ſhould not bee too courſely open, ſo not inuolued;Themiſtocles. - Hence the Athenian compared it to a rich piece of Arras drawne out in varietie of Stories, which diſplayed, opened both delight and wonder, but folded vp, neyther; For, it is with Speech as with ſome Aromaticks and perfumes, which in the maſſe and role ſmell little, but beaten abroad fill the roome with fragancy. Matter wound vp in obſcuritie of language growes to the nature of a Riddle, and is not ſo properly Speech, as Myſterie; Things that hammer onely on our eares, not our interlectuals, are no more words, but ſounds, meere - babling - ayre (onely,) beaten with diſtinctleſſe and confuſed noyſe, nothing of ſubſtance in it for matter, or for forme; And the man that affects ſuch marticulateneſſe, heare how Gregory playes vpon,Nazian. in Praefat. Apol. - Ego ſolertiae nomine admiror, ne dicam, ſtultitiae. A Wiſe-man (ſayes the Philoſopher of old) when hee openeth his lippes,Socrates. as in a Temple wee Behold the goodly ſimilitudes and images of the Soule, - And indeed that Eloquence that is made the obiect of our ſence, and intellectuals carries with it both maieſtie and imitation, when that which runnes in a myſt or vayle, Cenſure for the moſt part, ſometimes, Pitie. Let the Babler then that thus ſpeakes in a Cloud, - Pray that hee may interpret, 1. Cor. 14.13.1. Cor. 14.13. it will require a Comment from his owne induſtry; others, are too dull to vndertake a taske of ſuch an endleſſe trauaile. It is a prepoſterous way of interpretation, when the gloſſe growes obſcurer then the Text; Sermons which were firſt intended for the illumination of the vnderſtanding, are at length growne like thoſe anſweres of the Oracles, both intricate and doubtfull, They will require the heate of a ſublimated braine, eyther to apprehend their raptures, or to reconcile them. But why at Athens ſuch prodigies of Learning? Such monſters of affectation? Why this elaborate vanitie? This induſtrious Babling? Let it no more touch the grauitie of the Typpet, or the Scarlet, as fitter for a Deske then a Pulpit, and a laſh, then a reproofe. But, ſoft Stoicke. Let me not bee cenſured heere too haſtily a Babler. I am not ſo much a friend to the ſlouenly diſcourſe, as to loath that which hath a decent and modeſt dreſſe; wordes apt and choyſe, I hate not, onely thoſe tortured, and affected ones; I preferre S. Auguſtines golden Key before his wooden, though this may vnlocke Myſteries as well as that; yet would I not giue way to the kick-ſhawed diſcourſe, where there is commonly more ſauce then meate; or, as Quintillian ſpake of Seneca, - Chalke without Sand, - more of luſtre then of weight; It is the well wouen and ſubſtantiall piece taskes mee, yet that too, not without the flouriſhings and intermixtures of diſcreet language. For it is heere as it is in Needle-workes, where wee allow light colours, ſo the ground bee ſadde. The Breſtplate of Iudgement which Aaron wore was made with embroydered workes,Exod. 28.15. and in the Ephod, there were as well diuerſities of colours as of riches, - Blew ſilke, and Purple, and Scarlet, and fine Linnen. - That then of Epiphanius is worthy both of your memory and imitation, - whoſe workes were read of the ſimple for the wordes, of the Learned for the matter. - So, - hee that will not runne the cenſure of a Babler, muſt haue as well his deepes for the Elephant, as his ſhallowes for the Lambe; Knowing that ſome are tranſported with heate of fancy, and others with ſtrength of judgement, and it is in the choyce of eyther, as in that of Stuffes, which ſome buy for the roundneſſe and ſubſtance of the threed, others for the lightneſſe of the colour. Matter not cloathed in handſomeneſſe of wordes is but duſted treaſure, and like ſome Gardens where there is fatneſſe of earth, no Flower. Your embelliſht phraſe without ſollidneſſe of matter, but - Copioſa aegestas (as Saint Auguſtine ſtiles it) a gaudie pouertie, and like ſome vnhappy Tillages, where there is more of Poppie and Darnell, then good Corne; But, where the materials are cleane, the language keem'd, there is the workmanſhip of an exact Pen-man; If they are both well mixt and cemented, there is a choyce maſter-piece, Apelles himſelfe hath beene there.

And howeuer, the diſcourſe that is ſo bruſht and ſwept others haue thought too effeminate for the Pulpit, yet, in ſome it is no way of affectation, but of knowledge. High fancies cannot creepe to humble expreſſions, and the fault is oftentimes in the preiudice or weakeneſſe of the receiuer, not in the elaborateneſſe of the Pen-man. Sermons are not to bee meaſured by their ſound, or the haſte and vncharitableneſſe of a dull organ; the Eare is a deceitfull one, full of winding and vncertayne doores, and often carries falſe meſſages to the Sence, the Eye as it is a more ſubtle organ, ſo a more certayne, and though that bee ſometimes deceiued too when it is not maſter of the diſtance, yet vpon ſtricter peruſall of the obiect, it giues you vncorrupt intelligence, when wordes paſſe (for the moſt part) by our eares like tunes in a double conſort, which wee may heare, not diſtinguiſh.

And yet notwithſtanding, though at Athens amongſt Philoſophers, this polite way of diſcourſe may bee paſſable, and draw on ſometimes approbation, ſometimes applauſe; yet at Epheſus (where PAVL is to encounter Beaſts) it is but meere Babling; Act. 26.13. And to what purpoſe thoſe loftie varieties, in ſprinkled Congregations? Raptures and high viſions are for Ceſarea, Act. 28.14. when PAVL is to ſpeake before Agrippa, thinner exhortations will ſerue the Brethren at Puteoli. - And when all thoſe deſcants and quauerings of the plauſible and harmonious tongue ſhall looſe their volubilitie and ſweetneſſe, and forget to warble (as the time will come (the Preacher tels vs) when all thoſe Daughters of Muſicke ſhall bee brought low) the plaine long muſt take at laſt,Eccleſ. 12. that which is ſet to euery capacitie and eare; and yet will affoord you, as well her varieties of ſatisfaction, as delight; to the judicious ſollid fluentneſſe, to apprehenſions lower-roofed wayes more troden to aduiſe, and comfort; to the weake and Soule-ſicke, the ſtill voyce, to the obſtinate, and remorſeleſſe, lowder ſounds; perchance this thunderclap may breed a ſhower, that ſhower, a ſun-ſhine. Teares and Comfort are the ſucceſſory children of reprehenſion, ſometimes, the twinnes; Let the ſword of the Spirit then cut both wayes, but more to reproofe, then menacing; maſter thy Vineger with Oyle, ſo thou ſhall not ſo much ſharpen the heart of the Sinner, as ſupple it; ſome grow more refractary by rebuke, and ſome more flexible; For, it is with the word of a Preacher, as it is with Fire, which both mollifies and hardens Steele, according to the varietie of heates. If wee deriue onely from one Throne coles of fire, and hot Thunderbolts, wee kindle diſpaire in him wee teach, not reformation; It is the temperate and gentle fire ſparkles into zeale, when that which is too high and turbulent growes at an inſtant both flame and aſhes. Let the Righteous ſmite mee friendly (ſayes the Kingly Prophet) but let not their precious balmes breake my head. Pſal. 141.5. - I allow reprehenſion a Rod, but not a Fleyle, a hand to (laſh the tranſgreſſions of the time, not as ſome doe to threſh them.

PAVL will preſcribe the Spirituall combatant a Sword, but not a Speare;Achillis. except hee had the Grecians, - which would both wound and cure. Marah may haue bitter waters, but Gilead muſt haue balme too for the broken heart. Where ſinnes are full kern'd and ripe, I deny not a Sickle to cut them downe, but the ſinner, whither as Corne for the Barne, or Chaffe for the fire, I leaue to the diſpoſall of the great Harueſtman.

In the apparition of GOD to Eliah, on Mount Horeb, (you know the Text,1. King. 19.11.12. and therefore gueſſe at the alluſion.) A ſtrong winde rent the Mountaines, and brake in pieces the Rocke, before the Lord; but the Lord was not in it, and there was a great Earthquake and a Fire, but the Lord was not in it. And in thoſe windes and fires, and earthquakes which are both ſeene and heard on our Horeb heere, the Lord oftentimes is not in them, for then the mountainous and rockie heart would bee cleft a ſunder, now it is vnbattered and rib'd with Adamant proofe againſt perſwaſion,

Knowing that theſe are but Men of Thunder, counterfeit thunder too, and there is a GOD that rules the true, his hot bolts and coles of Fire they quake and tremble at, not thoſe fire-workes, and ſquibs, and flaſhes heere below, which ſpleenaticke men fling about (as they thinke) to terrour, but they returne by ſcorne.Be nard de tripl ci Cuſtod. It is true (ſayes Bernard) - Sermo est Ventus, but it is not alwayes, - Ventus vrens, - ſurge Aquilo, veni Auſter, perfla hortum meum, & fluant Aramata illius, - Ariſe O North, and come O South (the one (you know) is moyſt, and the other cold) yet both of theſe muſt blow on the garden of the Spouſe, that the Spices thereof may flow out,Cant. 4.6. Cant. 4.6. In the Song of Moſes, did not Doctrine drop as the raine? and Speech ſtill as dew? as the ſhower vpon Hearbes? and as the great raine vpon the Graſſe ?Deut. 32.2. I confeſſe, on Synay once there was a thicke Cloud, Lightning and Thunder, and the mountayne ſmoaked;Exod. 20.18. but the Text ſayes, - The people fledde from it. - But on mount Tabor, the Cloud was bright, the Sunne cleere, and a Voyce heard in ſtead of Thunder, and then the Diſciples cry, - Edificemus Domine, Mat. 17.2.4, 5. - Let vs build heere.

Amongſt the numberleſſe Gods the Heathens had, and the diuers wayes of Sacrifice they appeaſed them with, the Romaines had their - Hoſtiam Animalem, - in which the Soule onely was conſecrated to GOD, 〈◊〉 the Hoſt they offered muſt bee pure and choyſe, not of Bulls or Swine, as creatures fierce and vncleane, but of Kids and Lambes, more innocent and milde, and of theſe too, ſuch as were not lame, or diſeaſed, or had - Caudam aculeatam, or, - Linguam nigram, Alexand. ab Alex. lib. 3. cap. 12 - ſayes my Antiquary. You ſee ſtings in the tayle, and blackneſſe in tongue are exempted heere and thought vnfit for this ſacrifice of the Soule.

Let the virulent Babler leaue the Letter and take the Allegorie, and hee hath applyed; - For venemous and foule language doth exaſperate and obdure euen thoſe which the modeſt and gentle pierces. Let Billowes beate againſt a Rocke, they fall backe without wounding it, yet if moderate and gentle drops fall on a Stone they hollow it, not by violence,Jn Praefat. Apolog. but the often Diſtillation. Sheepe (ſayes Nazianzene) are not to bee gouerned by rigour, but perſwaſion; all thoſe impulſions of neceſſitie and force, carry with them a ſhew of tyrannie, and hold neyther with Nature nor obſeruation,Idem Ibid. - Non ſecùs ac planta per vim manibus inflexa, - ſayes the Father. Bend a Plant (and it is with moſt men as it is with plants) it turnes againe. There was neuer diſpoſition, not cowardly and baſe, that violence could worke vpon. Ingenuitie if it bee not alwayes voluntary, it may bee ledde ſometimes, but neuer drawne; And therefore Peter feeds his Flocke, not by conſtraint, but willingly, and (as your common Bablers neuer doe) not for filtby Lucre, but a ready minde. 1. Peter, 5.2.1. Pet. 5.2. And indeed it is this filthy-Lucre - hath occaſioned ſo many Bablers in our Church, thoſe that will ſay any thing for the inhauncement of their profite, the improuing of their Stipend; Brey at Vniuerſities for a morſell of bread; giue blowes againſt Learning, make ſcarres in the face of Knowledge, cry downe the vſe of Arts, or what is curiouſly ſtrung in ſecular Learnings, abandon them from the lippes of the Preacher, and confine him onely to a ſacred dialect without intermixture of prophane Knowledge, or ſleeke of humane Eloquence; No marrow of the Father, no ſubtilty of the Schoole-man, no grauitie of the Philoſopher, no policie of the Hiſtorian; thereby depriuing the Church of varietie of Guifts, and manacling and pinning the Holy Ghoſt to a defect of all outward ornaments, as if that winde which bloweth where it liſt were forbad to breath any where but in their new-fangled and braine-ſicke endeauours.

Hence it is, that the diſtribution of holy Myſteries growes ſo to contempt, the diſpencers of them entitled to tearmes of obloquy and ſcorne, expoſed to the Paraphraſe and Comment of the jeering aduerſary. Our Athens diſparaged, Learning of no price and value, Preaching, Babling, and the mayne reaſon and inducement why the whole body of Arts thus reeles and wauers. I haue at length met the Babler, I deſired to grapple with, and wee muſt exchange a few blowes ere wee part, in which I ſhall bee home without much floriſh. Stoicke, once more forbeare. Stand aloofe till wee haue paſt this Duell, then let thy cenſure fall, as the wounds doe, Iuſtly. Suppoſe we then a man harneſſed and clad with all the glories and habiliments of Nature, beſides the rich dowrie and treaſure of Art and Knowledge, yet ſay I not that this man without a ſupernaturall light from the Scripture, is able to vtter thoſe Myſteries as hee ought, eyther in their ſtrength, or decencie. Doubtleſſe, the beſt of ours, eyther for depth of Knowledge, or ſublimitie of Inuention, or accurateneſſe of Compoſure, or cleanneſſe of Zeale, are comparatiuely meere Bablings, and fall many bowes ſhort of thoſe inſpired ones of old; neyther are they Gods word (ſayes Hooker) in the ſame manner that the Sermons of the Prophets were,Lib. 5. Eccleſt. Polit. no they are ambiguouſly tearmed his Word,Doct. Cowels Defence, in the Chapter of Preaching. and are no more the ſame, then is the Diſcourſe the Theame, or the Line the Rule, by which it is drawne; yet haue they a peculiarity both of vertue and ſucceſſe; ſtrange prerogatiues ouer the ſodaine paſſions and affections of moſt men, whom they not leade onely but entangle, and not fetter barely, but entraunce; in a word, they raigne ouer vs and eſtabliſh a violent empire and command ouer our very Soules. Diuinitie we confeſſe the ſoueraigne Lady and Queene of all Sciences, Arts (if you approue the ſtile) her Maydes of honour. Are wee not ſacriligious then to the ſtate of Soueraigntie when wee rob it of her trayne? The chiefeſt complement of Greatneſſe is the retinue, take away her equipage you diſnoble it. Barre ſacred Learning of the attendance of that which is ſecular, Arts, Sciences, you diſrobe it, ſtrip it of its glory. Diuinity (ſaith Baſill) is the fruit, Arts as the leaues, and leaues are not onely for ornament but ſuccour. * Certaine truths in her cannot fully bee diſcouered without ſome meaſure of Knowledge in them all. The Axiomes and principles of Humanitie though they a little runne by thoſe of Diuinitie, yet they doe not thwart them, there may bee difference, no contrarietie, no not in thoſe things which ſeeme to carry a ſhew of contrariety. Reaſon our Miſtreſſe tels vs, - Verum vero conſonat, - and Truth ſtands diametrically oppoſed to Falſhood, not to a ſecond truth; for - Vero nil verius, - Philoſophicall truths challenge the ſame ſowrce and pedigree Theologicall doe, the ſame fountaine, and Father, GOD, and are of the like Truth, though not of the like Authority.

Hence flowes that admirable conſent and harmony between the naturall patefactions of GOD, and the ſupernaturall;Amand. Polan. lib. 2. Logic. fol. 213. for from God is both Reaſon and Scripture, and Reaſon being obſcured by Sinne, and blemiſhed by her many errours, the Scripture doth vnſcale and beames againe, and ſo ſets her free from her former obliquities and digreſſions,De Fuga ſaculi. Cap. 3. the light of Nature being dimmed (ſaith Ambroſe) was to bee cleared by the Law, the wreſts of the Law by the Goſpell, ſo that Grace doth not aboliſh Nature, but perfect it, Auguſt. in Pſal. 10 . neyther doth Nature reject Grace (ſaith Auguſtine) but imbrace it. Nay, my Author (and I haue gleaned I confeſſe ſome few eares of Corne from his more plentifull crop) quotes Tertullian too very appoſitely,Theolog. Logic, pag 200. (and 'tis like Tertullians both for the marrow and the reach.) - God firſt ſent Nature to bee our Schoolemiſtreſſe, being after to ſend Propheſie, that thou being firſt the Diſciple of Nature, mighteſt afterwards the more eaſily bee induced to beleeue Propheſie. Wee may not thinke then the Ipſe Dixit of the Philoſopher, or the weighty depoſitions of prophane Authors, to bee meere Chimaeraes, fruitleſſe Fancies, Bablings of no conſequence; though ſome of them were not true Viſions, yet they were not all ſtarke Dreames, PAVL then would neuer haue confuted the Idolaters of Athens with their owneAct. 17.28. Text, - Some of your owne Poets haue ſayd it; There may bee much Hay and Stubble amongſt them, but there is ſome Gold, and precious Stones; try them, if they indure not the touch, throw them by as mettals too courſe and droſſie; but if there be rich Oare mixt with veynes of Earth, why not ſeparated? Why not purged by the fire of Gods word? Why may not this ſtranger to Iſraell, her head ſhauen, and the haire of her eye-browes cut bee admitted into the Sanctuary? If one Copernicus bee troubled with the Vertigo, and would haue the earth runne round as his head does, ſhall a whole Sect of Ariſtotelians bee lyable to a diſeaſe of giddineſſe? Though a Stoicke or an Epicure oppoſe PAVL, yet at Athens there were Academickes, and Peripatetickes, Philoſophers too, without their tumult, and for ought the Text caueat's mee to the contrary, they were his Conuerts too. And it is euident that the Apoſtles, and after them the Fathers,Doct. Cowell. made Arts the Chiefe weapons againſt the Enemies of the Church, for as ſome opinions would not bee conuinced without humane Learning,Auguſt. ſo others affections would not bee perſwaded without that eloquence, thus they wounded the Hereſies and Apoſtaſies of their times, when the Reuolted Iulian was impelled to ſay;Greg. Nazian. - We are ſtrucke through with our owne Darts. - All Science whatſoeuer is in the nature of good; and good is good, whereſoeuer I finde it.Auguſt. de Baptiſt. contra Dotiſt. l b. 6. cap. 2. Ʋpon a withered branch (ſayes Auguſtine to his Donatiſt) a Grape ſometimes may hang, ſhall I refuſe the Grape becauſe the ſtaulke is withered? If on a tempeſtuous ſhore I meete by chance a rich piece of Amber, or richer Pearle, amongſt oare, and ſhels, and froath, and ſands, ſhall I refuſe eyther for the ſtench of the place or the companions? I haue ſeldome read of any thing but a fooliſh Cocke that refuſed Treaſure, though on a dunghill. I know Heathens had their ſlime and mud, and ſome of their ſtreames ranne impurely, yet they had their Chriſtall fountaynes too, eſpecially the Platoniſts, of which wee might draw, and drinke, and drinke our fill, and drinke as our owne, too, (Auguſtine ſayes) they being in the tenure of vniuſt poſſeſſors.Auguſt. lib 2. de Doct. Chriſtiana cap. 40. For as the Iſraelites (it is the Fathers ſimilitude) tooke from the Aegyptians their Idols, and Rings, and ſiluer, & Gold, and beſtowed the ſame vpon the adorning of the Lords Tabernacle, which they had abuſed by pride and ryot, to the beautifying of the Temples of their falſe Gods, and did this - Non auctoritate propriâ ſed praecepto (ſayes the Father) not by the inſtigation of their owne will, but by mandat, ſic Doctrinae omnes Gentilium, non ſolum ſimulata & ſuperſtitioſe figmenta, &c. So all thoſe Doctrines of the Gentiles (their ſuperſtitious fictions expunged and layd by) their liberall Diſciplines and Precepts of manners (which were their Gold and Siluer) may bee reduced to the vſe of ſacred Learning, and a Chriſtian may challenge them - Ad vſum juſtum praedicandi Euangelij, - they are the Fathers owne wordes. - Howeuer hee puts in a caueat by the way - a - ſed hoc modo inſtructus, - the Diuine that is thus accommodated when hee ſhall addreſſe himſelfe to the vſe and ſearch of theſe heathen treaſures, - Illud Apoſtolicum cogitare non ceſſet, 1. Cor. 8. - Scientia inflat, charitas aedificat, - in his Lib. 2. de Doct. Chriſtian. 40. Cap. I neuer yet read that the true vſe of ſecular Learning tooke from the glory of that which was Diuine, I haue, that it hath added, nor that any thing gleaned and pickt, and culled with a cleane hand was diſtaſtfull vnto GOD, I haue that it was approued. I know there is a Ʋenomous eloquence (as Cyprian wrote of that of Nouatus) and this perchance the Babler himſelfe vſes,Epiſt. ad Cornel. when hee leades ſilly Creatures captiue, but it is odious both to GOD and Man, and hath beene the maine Engine in all Ages by which Schiſmes and Hereſies haue wrought. In thoſe Sacrifices of old, Leuit. 4.5. You know whatſoeuer was vncleane, was an abomination vnto the Lord; the Offering it ſelfe muſt bee without blemiſh, the Altar ſeuen dayes cleanſed before it was layd on, the Prieſt too waſhed before the Congregation, ere hee dared to immolate; and why not ſo in this Holocauſt and Sacrifice of the lippes? Why not the Offering without blemiſh, the Altar cleanſed, the Prieſt ſo in his Diſcourſe too, that what is kindled heere may burne as a ſweet Incenſe vnto the Lord? ſmells that are vnſauoury neuer touch his noſtrils, ſounds harſh and jarring, neuer his eares; and therefore, the Bells of Aaron were of pure Gold,Greg Nazian. Apolog. - Ne ſubaeratum aliquod tinniat in Sacerdotio, - ſaith Gregory.

It is a ſullenneſſe, or rather policy, moſt in our age haue got, that what is in a way of eminence and perfection, they cenſure as a piece of affectation or curioſitie, when (God knowes) it is but to colour ſome ſiniſter pretence, and for a fairer varniſh of their owne weakneſſes. You know the ſtory of the Painter and the Cocke, and the Boy that kept the liue ones from his ſhop leaſt comming too nigh, the vnskilfulneſſe of that hand ſhould bee diſcouered, which had drawne the other at ſo rude a poſture.

There is a malicious ignorance poſſeſſeth many, by which they vnder-value all things aboue their ſpheare, and cry downe that induſtry or Art in others, which is beyond rhe verge and fathome of their owne abilities. But why ſhould Moles repine that other ſee? Or Cripples murmure that others halt not? Tolle quod tuùm est & Vade. Hierom. ad Colphurnium. Yet loe how euen thoſe laſt and gaſping times keepe vp with the manner of thoſe of old, both in their ſpleene and weakeneſſe. There bee (ſaith the Father to his Marcellinus) that account inciuilitie of Manners and rudeneſſe of Speech, true Holineſſe,Hieronimus. - and with ſuch, - Quis non Ʋicus abundat? Would I could not ſay, - Quae Academia? Theſe Cynickes are in euery Tub, theſe Stoickes heere at Athens. But why ſhould the talke of ſuch bee a burthen in our way? Learning vnto a Wiſe-man is as an ornament of Gold, and like a bracelet on his Arme,Eccleſ. 21.15. but Fetters about the feete, and Manackles about the hands; of whom? of him that (but now) was the burthen in the way, the Foole, Eccluſ. 21.21. whom leaſt wee ſhould leaue without his companion, Syracides brings home to the gates of the Babler, and I will leaue him there, - As a houſe that is deſtroyed, Eccluſ. 21.18. ſo is Learning to a Foole, and his Knowledge is but talke without ſence, Eccluſ. 21.18. the tayle of the Verſe carryeth the ſting; for much of our Bablers knowledge is little better then - Sermo ſine ſenſu, Wordes without Salt, Speech without Ballace. And yet (good Lord) how theſe lampes burne in our Tabernacles, theſe Bells ſound in our Sanctuary? They are the thunderbolts of our Congregations, the Hotſpurres of our Pulpits. Againſt the ſinnes of the time they clacke loude, and often, but it is like Mills driuen by a haſty torrent, which grinde much, but not cleane; And indeed it is not much they grinde neyther, in ſubſtance, but in ſhew, neyther is the labour ſo ſuperlatiue, as the noyſe. Some that haue been conuerſant in the trade, ſay, that Corne that is cleane and maſſie, will lye long in the wombe and body of the Mill and requires all the induſtry of ſtone and water, and will not bee deliuered without ſome time and trauaile, when graines which are mixt and courſe, runne through with leſſe difficultie, and more tumult. The Babler will apply. Thus wee ſee empty veſſels ſound much, and ſhallow ſtreames runne ſwift and loude, but on barren grounds, when thoſe deeper ones glide ſlowly, as with more grauitie, ſo more ſilence, yet on fat ſoyles, and ſo the neighbouring Fields grow fertile with their abundance. If all truth of Religion raigned in the Tongue, and the ſubduing of our manifold rebellions in the mortification of the Looke, there were no ſanctitie but here. - But the heate of this mans zeale, is like that of Glaſſe, which will bee blowne into any forme according to the fancy of him that blowes it, ſometimes into that of a Serpent, ſometimes of a Doue, but more often of a Serpent, then of a Doue, not for the wiſedome of it, but the venome. Euery word is a ſting againſt the Church, her Diſcipline, truth of Gouernment, Hee Babbles ſhrewdly againſt each Inſtitution of it, State, Ceremonies, makes them adulterate, the dreſſes of the Great whore, and ſets all without the walls of reformation, which Wheele and Role not with the giddineſſe of his tenents. The Golden-mouthed Homilist in his fourth vpon the Acts, Chryſoſt. ſpeaking of that miraculous way of the Holy Ghoſts deſcent vpon the Apoſtles in the day of Penticost, obſerues nimbly, thus; - There came a ſound from Heauen, - As it were - of a Ruſhing and mightie winde, and there appeared to them Clouen tongues, - As it were - of Fire, - Rectè vbi que additum est, - Ʋelut - nequid ſenſibile de Spiritu ſuſpicareris, - ſayes the Father. - And indeed, in thoſe phanaticke Spirits, though the Tongues bee fiery, and the voyce as the Windes, ruſhing; yet in themſelues there is nothing ſenſible; For as thoſe which appeared to the Apoſtles, were but - Ʋelut igneae, Chryſoſt Homil, 4. in Act. - and Ʋelut flatus, - ſo this orall vehemency is but - Velut Zelus, and Velut Indignatio, - Falſe fire, or, at beſt, but ſome hot exhalation in the braine ſet on fire by continuall motion and agitation of the Tongue, and there it burnes ſometimes to the madneſſe of the Profeſſour, moſt times, of the Diſciple. Againe, theſe Tongues are ſaid to ſit vpon the Apoſtles, - Sedendi verbum ſtabilitatem ac manſionem denotat, the ſame Father - ſitting preſuppoſes Stabilitie and Manſion, but moſt of theſe haue neyther, eyther in their opinion, or courſe of life, but as the contribution ebbes or flowes; ſo they hoyſe, or ſtrike ſayle, eyther way, ſometimes for the wide mayne, ſometimes for the next harbour. Againe, the Apoſtles are ſayd there, to bee filled with the Holy Ghost. - Rectè repleti, nòn enim vulgaritèr acciperunt gratiam Spiritus, ſed eoſque vt implerentur, the Father ſtill. - Where the Spirit powres out it leaues no part emptie, it doth fill, fill vp euen to the brim, giues power of ſpeaking roundly, and fully; where it doth giue power, - no Rhumaticke Enthuſiaſmes, no languiſhing ejaculations, but ſuch as the Spirit indeed haue dictated, ſuch as flow from lippes immediately touched with the true Cherubin, and a Tongue ſwolne with inſpiration. Againe, the Tongues which ſate vpon the Apoſtles were clouen Tongues, Vide Geneua Notes in 2. chap. Acts. other tongues, Verſ. 4. and S. Marke calls them new Tongues. They were not confined then to a ſingle dialect to Babling meerely in our Mother tongue, but the Text ſayes they had diuers Tongues, of the Parthian, and Mede, and Elamite, Phrygian, and Pamphilian, and of thoſe of Lybia which is beſide Cyrene, And in thoſe and (other Tongues too) they ſpake the wonderfull workes of God. Act. 2.11. Laſtly, this Viſion they ſaw when they were in the Temple, not in a Cloyſter, a Barne, a Wood, a Conuenticle, and they were in the Temple with one accord too, with one Office, one Spirit, one Minde, one Faith; not heere a Separatist, there a Brownist, yonder a Familist, neere him an Anabaptist, but as their Faith was one, ſo was their life, and (if brought to the teſt) their death too. That was not Religion with them which was deuided,Plin. lib 18. cap. 2. nor that not vnity of opinion which they would not burne for. Some Heathens haue ſhewed ſuch reſolution and truth euen in their falſe Religion; ſuch were thoſe - Aruales Sacerdotes - of olde amongſt the Romaines, Caeſar. lib. 3. Galli. the Solduni amongſt the Aquitans; the Aegiptians alſo had their 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſo called, becauſe, promiſcuouſly enioying each others benefites, as in one Religion, ſo in one Loue, they would dye together;Alex. ab Alex. Lib. 1. Cap. 26. & Cap. 12. lib. 3. ſuch were the Hunnes, Hyberi, Cantabri, and others, which were joynt-ſharers of each others miſeries, and fortunes; and if one by diſaſter or diſeaſe met with Calamitie, or Fate, the other ſought it. —

— Placìdam que petunt pro vulnera mortem.

If in matters therefore as well Morrall as Diuine, there was ſuch reciprocation of old; and not onely in Religions, which were tainted, and ſmelt not of the true GOD, but in that too which hath beene touched and influenced by the Spirit of the Almightie, there was ſuch punctuall correſpondence then, why ſuch combuſtion now? Why thoſe dayly ſcarres and wounds both by the Tongue, and Penne? Why ſo much gall in our Pulpit, ſuch wormewood at the Preſſe? Why thoſe Ciuill-warres in our owne tenents? Such ſtabbings in particular opinions? Such heart-burnings in our Brethren? to the great diſquiet of our Mother, Church, and her Sonne they ſo labour to diſinherit, the Proteſtant, the wounded Proteſtant, who hath beene now ſo long Crucified betweene the - non - Conformiſt and the Romanist, that at length hee is inforced to flye to Caeſar for ſanctuary, and in the very reſcue and Appeale, like the poore man betweene Jeruſalem, and Jerico, hee falls into the hands of Thieues, two deſperate cut-throates and enemies to the Truth, and him, the Pelagian and the Armixian. But no more (beloued) of thoſe Daggers and Stillettoes to our owne breſts by the cruelty of our owne Tribe; Know, diſſention is the very gate of ruine, and the breach at which deſtruction enters. Ciuill-warres are as dangerous in matters of Religion as State, and proue the Earth-quakes both of Church and Common-wealth. The ſtory of the Romanes ſhafts is both old, and troden, but very pertinent; in the Bandle they neuer felt injury of hand, one by one were the conqueſt of a finger, and Tacitus ſpeakes of Apronius Souldiers; - Satìs validi ſi ſimul, &c. as long as they marched in their combined rankes they ſtood aloofe all danger, but, theſe deuided, they grew the prey and ſlaughter of the Aduerſary; and thus - Dùm ſinguli pugnunt, vniuerſi vincuntur. A mutiny or rent in an Army is the Souldiers paſſing-bell, Death followes, or diſpaire of victory, when thoſe which are knit-vp in one heart of courage and affection trample on diſtruſt as if they had already worne the palme and glory of their Tryumph. A •• it ſpeeds no better in a deuided Church, where Sciſmes and Factions like ſo many rents and breaches, haue hewed-out, a way to her ouerthrow and ruine. No more ſtruglings then by vnnaturall twinnes in the wombe of our Rebecca. No more warre in her members, no more Bablings in their tongue, no more venome in their Penne, to the great aduantage of the Aduerſary, whoſe artillery is ready, his bow bent, the arrow on the ſtring and malice leuelling at the very boſome of the Church, (I pray God, not of the State too) and waites onely opportunity to looſen it. But let vs with all humbleneſſe of mind, meekeneſſe, Epheſ. 4. ver. 2.3 4.5.6. long ſuffering (ſupporting one another through loue) endeauour to keepe the vnity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, knowing there is one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptiſme, one GOD, and Father of all, who is aboue all, through all, and in you all.

And now PAVL hath bin at Athens, paſt his bickerings with the Epicure, and the Stoicke, had their cenſure, - Hee is a Babler. - He is now rigged for Corinth, and by this time arriued there, where I leaue him - Jn earneſt Diſputation with the Graecians in the Synagogue. Act. 19.5. The Stoicke is returned to his Porch too, the Epicure to his Garden. But heere is an Athens too, though no PAVL, or at leaſt no ſuch Paul; and yonder ſits a Stoicke and hee whiſpers to his Epicure, - What will this Babler ſay? He ſayes - Glory to GOD on high, in Earth peace, goodwill towards men. Hee ſayes, hearty and true Allegeance to his Soueraigne, - wiſhes the budding and continuance of a temporall Crowne heere, and the aſſurance of an immortall one hereafter. - Hee ſayes, floriſhing to his Church, his Common-wealth, his People; ſwift and fierce deſtruction to his Enemies foraigne, and (if hee haue any ſuch) domeſtique. - Hee ſayes courage to his Nobility, vnity to his Clergie, loue to his Gentry, loyaltie to his Commonalty. In fine; Hee ſayes proſperity to Athens (heere) vnanimity, true brotherhood, happie ſucceſſe to your ſtudies, to your deſignes; and The grace of our Lord IESVS CHRIST to you all, and with you all. Amen.

Gloria in excelſis Deo.
FINIS.

IACOB and ESAV: Election. Reprobation.

OPENED AND DISCVSSED BY WAY OF SERMON AT PAVLS CROSSE, March 4. 1622.

BY Humphry Sydenham Mr. of Arts, and Fellow of WADHAM Colledge in OXFORD.

Auguſt. lib. 7. de Trinitate.

Qui videt haec, vel ex parte, vel per ſpeculum in aenigmate, gaudeat cognoſcens Deum, & gratias agat, qui verò non, tendat per pietatem fidei ad videndum, & non per caecitatem ad calumniandum.

LONDON, Printed for IOHN PARKER. 1626.

TO MY MOST HONOVR'D FRIEND William Brouncker Eſquier, This. Sir:

WHere I owe a iuſt ſeruice, and would publiſh it, I leſſe feare the cenſure of vain-glory, than of vnthankefulneſſe; you know the age is both tart, and nimble, in her Paraphraſe on thoſe which would be Men in Print; I haue found it; yet will rather hazard the imputation of a weake man, than an vngratefull: Howeuer, I deſire not ſo much to expoſe my labours to the world, as my loyaltie, that others might take notice how much you haue beene mine in your cheriſhing of thoſe, and how I am euer yours in my expreſsions of this. He that doth but tacitely acknowledge the bounties of a noble friend, in a manner buries them, when he that proclaimes them, hath in a part requited; he hath repayed his honour, and therefore him, and ſo hath ſatisfied, though not reſtored. If this publike thankfulneſſe of mine, for thoſe daily fauours, ſhall meet with ſo mercifull an interpretation of yours, I eſteeme not any rigid one of the times; I cannot gloze with them, nor you, yet ſhall endeuour to be reputed one of thoſe who vnfeinedly honours you, and will doe, whilſt I weare the name, and title of

Your euer friend, and ſeruant HVM: SYDENHAM.
IACOB and ESAV. ROM. 9.18.

He will haue mercy on whom he will haue mercy; and whom he will, he hardeneth.

THe Text holds ſome Analogie with the Times we liue in, fraught with no leſſe ſubtilty, than danger; and as an vndiſcreeter prouidence is ſoone oreſhot in thoſe, ſo in this too. We are not here then to cheat our Auditory with a thin diſcourſe; Myſterie is our Theame and ſubiect, the very Battlement and Pinacle of Diuinity, which he that too boldly climbes, falls headlong into errour. A taske, though perchance diſproportionable to youthfull vndertakings, and may from ſuch challenge the cenſure of a vaine-glorious enterpriſe: yet giue me leaue to returne, though not ſatisfaction, anſwer. In ſacred Riddles what wee cannot reſolue, giue vs leaue to contemplate; and what not comprehend, admire: where our pencill failes vs to limme in ſo curious a Portraiture, weele play Timanthes, and ſhadow with a vaile; and when our reaſon is once non-pluſt, we are huſht in a contented wonder. Where we may behold the Almighty (in a full ſhower) powring downe his bleſſings vpon ſome, ſcarce deawing or ſprinkling them on others; ſoftning this Wax, and hardening that Clay, with one and the ſelfe-ſame ſunne, (his will) and yet that will not clouded with iniuſtice. Here is that will not onely ſtagger, but entrance a carnall apprehenſion; Not a circumſtance which is not equally loaded with doubt and amazement, and whoſe diſcuſſing will no leſſe inuite than command attention. That which in common paſſages of Diuinity doth but tranſport our thought, in thoſe more myſticall will captiuate: Euery word is knotty, and full of brambles, and requires the hand of an exact induſtry.

It behoues vs then to be wary of our choice, how either we traffique here with corrupt antiquity (where but to taſte were to ſurfeit) or with that moderne Nauie of Expoſitors, where mixture of opinion will rather cloy than feed, and confound than informe our vnderſtanding. I deſire not to paraphraſe on a reuerend errour, nor to chaſtiſe there where I beg information. I ſhall onely requeſt gray haires thus farre to diſpence with me, that where their Candle burnes dimly and uncertainly, I may borrow light of a more glorious flame. Not then to beguile time and ſo noble an attention with quaintneſſe of preamble, or diuiſion; The parts here are, as the perſons, and their condition, Two, Mercy for whom he will, and they are Sheepe; Hardening for whom he will, and theſe are Goats. Let vs firſt put them on the right hand, and we ſhall finde a Venite Benedicti. Come ye bleſſed, here is mercy for you; After, theſe on the left hand, and we ſhall meet with an Ite maledicti, Goe ye curſed, here is hardening for you: Both which, when wee haue in a carefull ſeparation orderly diſtinguiſhed, we ſhall make here the will of the Almighty as free from iniuſtice, as there his cenſure, He will haue mercy on whom he will, &c.

PART. I. He will.

THat the will of God is the principall efficient cauſe of all thoſe workes which he doth externally from himſelfe, ſo that there is no ſuperiour or precedent cauſe mouing and impelling it, ſhines to vs no leſſe from the eternity of his will, than the omnipotency; for with that double attribute Auguſtin doth inueſt it in his 2. booke contra Manichaeos, cap. 2. And ſeeing there is nothing before his will, as being eternall; nothing greater, as being omnipotent; we inferre with that learned Father, that Neque extra, vel vltra illam cauſa inquirenda; There is no cauſe either without, or beyond it, that being the ſource and fountaine of all cauſes, as by a more particular ſuruey of Gods workes we ſhall diſcuſſe hereafter. For illuſtration. In his eternall decree, why are ſome marked out as inheritours of his Sion? others againe expulſed, and baniſhed thoſe bleſſed Territories? they as veſſels of mercy, for the manifeſtation of his goodneſſe; theſe of furie, for the promulgation of his iuſtice? Doubtleſſe the wil, & the bene-placitū of the Almighty as the primary & immediate cauſe, whereof if there be any more ſubordinate, they haue all alliance and dependancy on it, Tanquam à principali intentione primi agentis. Like inferiour Orbes which haue their influence & motion from a higher mouer. I need not trauaile far either for proofe or inſtance; our Chapter is bountifull in both. What was the cauſe that God did chuſe Iacob and reiect Eſau? The mediate and ſecondary cauſe, was, becauſe he loued Iacob, and not Eſau. But why is his loue incommunicable, and as it ſeemes, in a partiall reſeruation, peculiar to that more than this? I know not a more plauſible and higher motiue than his will. Inſiſtendum ergò in particulas, cuius vult, & quem vult. Our enquiry here muſt be cautelous, and ſlow of foot, leſt wee run violently into errour. Here is a cuius vult onely for him that hee hath mercy on, and but a quem vult for him he hardens; vltra quas procedere non licèt, ſaith Caluin. Here is the vtmoſt Verge & Pillar where reaſon durſt to coaſt; what is beyond is either vnknowne, or dangerous; how euer ſome vain-glorious braines (ambitious of myſterious and abſtruſer knowledge) haue inſcribed here their Multi pertranſibunt, & augebitur ſcientia. But in ſo ſtickle & dangerous a torrēt, how are they o'rewhelmed at laſt? and whilſt they ſo ventrouſly climbe this ſteeper turret, throwne deſperately into hereſie? For mine owne part, I haue euer thought curioſity in diuine affaires but a quaint diſtraction, rather applauding an humble (yet faithful) ignorance, than a proud and temerarious knowledge. And had ſome of the Fathers beene ſhot-free of this curious inſolence, they needed not haue retreated from former Tenents, & ſo much indeared poſterity, no leſſe in the reuiew than retractation of laborious errors: Amongſt whom S. Auguſtine (though ſince entituled Malleus Haereticorum) ſhared not a little in the 83. of his Queſtions, and 68. Where expounding our place of the Apoſtle, would thus vindicate the Almighty from iniuſtice; that God foreſaw that in ſome, Quo digni ſunt iuſtificatione; that in others, Quo digni ſunt obtuſione; ſo making Gods will to depend on a foreſeene merit. A poſition that doth not onely repugne the diſcipline of holy ſtorie, but thwarts the maine tide & current of orthodox antiquity, as in a fuller diſcourſe we ſhall diſplay anon: and therefore in his 7. Booke de Praedeſtinatione Sanctorū, cap. 4. he doth chaſtiſe his former tenents with a Deus non elegit opera, ſed fidem in praeſcientiâ; That God did not elect Iacob for foreſeene workes, but faith. But becauſe in ſaith there is as well a merit, as in workes, he once more rectifies his opinion in the firſt of his Retractations and 23, where he doth peach his ſometimes ignorance, and ingeniouſly declares himſelfe, that—Nondum diligentius quaeſiuit, nec inuenit myſteria, he had not yet throughly ſifted that of the Apoſtle, Rom. 11.5. That there was a remnant according to the election of grace, which, if it did flow from a foreſeene merit, was rather reſtored than giuen, and therefore (at laſt) he informes his owne judgement, and his Readers thus; Datur quidem fideli ſed data eſt etiam prius ut eſſet fidelis; Grace is given to the faithfull, but it is firſt given that he ſhould be faithfull, Hence Lumbard in his 1 booke, 41 diſtinction, pathetically, Elegit quos voluit Deus gratuitâ miſericordiâ, non quia fideles futuri erant, ſed ut eſſent, nec quià crediderant, ſed ut fierent credentes. God out of the prerogatiue of his will, and bounty of his goodneſſe, hath choſen whom he pleaſed, not becauſe they were faithfull, but becauſe they ſhould be, and not of themſelues beleeuing, but made ſo. And therefore, that Ʋt ſim fidelis, 1 Cor. 7.25. beares a remarkable emphaſis. I haue obtained mercie that I might be faithfull, not that I was. Here the Pelagian ſtartles, & lately backt with a troope of Arminians, takes head againſt this truth, fancying and dreaming of certain cauſes without God, which are not ſubſiſting in God himſelfe, but externally mouing the will of God to diſpoſe and determine of ſeuerall euents, laying this as an unſhaken principle, Fidem eſſe conditionem in obiecto eligibili ante electionem; That faith and obedience (foreſeene of God in the Elect) was the neceſſary condition and cauſe of their election. I intend not here a pitcht field againſt the vpſtart Sectarie, for I ſhall meet him anon in a ſingle combat: my purpoſe now is to be but as a ſcout, or ſpie, which diſcouers the weakneſſe of his aduerſary, not ſtands to encounter. And indeed both the time and place ſuggeſt me rather to reſolue, than debate; and convince, than diſpute an errour. That faith then, or any praeexiſting merit in the perſon to be elected, was the cauſe of his election, is neither warrantable by reaſon nor primitiue Authoritie. For God could not foreſee in the elect any faith at all, but that which in after times he was to crowne them with, and therefore not conſiderable as any precedent cauſe of election, but as the effect and fruit, and conſequent thereof.

The primary and chiefe motive then is that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Epheſ. 1.5. the good pleaſure of Gods will, which, prompted of it ſelfe, without any reference to praeexiſting faith, obedience, merit, as the qualities, cauſe, or condition of it, hath powred grace on this man more than that; Non ſolum in Chriſto, Synod. Dort. ſed per Chriſtum. And therefore (as that late venerable Synode hath awarded it) Non ex illis conditionibus facta eſt, ſed ad illas; That election was not fram'd of theſe conditions, but to them, as to their effect and iſſue. And if we commerce a little with paſſages of holy ſtory, we ſhall find that our election points rather to the free will of God in his eternall councell, than to any goodneſſe in vs which God foreſaw: ſo Acts 13.48. where we read of the Gentiles, that many beleeued becauſe they were ordained to eternal life, and not therefore ordained becauſe they formerly beleeued. And if we will not ſuffer our minds to bee tranſported either with ſcruple or noueltie, the text is open, Epheſ. 1.4. He hath choſen vs before the foundations of the world were laid, that we might be holy, not that we were. And in this very Chapter, verſe 23. The veſſels of mercy are firſt ſaid to be prepared to mercy, then cald: and therefore Saint Auſtin in his 86. Tract upon Iohn, out of a holy indignation, doth check the inſolence of thoſe, Qui praeſcientiam Dei defendunt contra gratiam Dei; Which in matters of ſaluation, obſcure and extenuate the grace of God with the foreknowledge of God: for if God did therefore chuſe vs, becauſe he did know, and foreſee that wee would be good, he did not chuſe vs to make vs good, but wee rather choſe him, in purpoſing to be good, which if it did carry any ſhew either of probabilitie, or truth, we might queſtion our Apoſtle, who in his 8 here, and 29. no leſſe perſwades, than proues, that thoſe which God foreknew he did predeſtinate to be conform'd to the image of his ſonne, and therefore God did not chuſe vs, becauſe before election there was a conformitie in vs, but becauſe from all eternitie he did elect vs, in time he made us conform'd to the image of his Sonne. Whereupon St. Auguſtine in his fift booke, contra Iulianum, 3. chapt. thus, Nullum elegit dignum, ſed eligendo effecit dignum. God in the choiſe of his Elect, found none worthy, but in the chuſing made them worthy. Moreover, our election, which is of grace (as I yonder proued) could not ſtand if workes and merits went before it. Haec quippè non inuenit merita, ſed facit; Grace doth not find works in vs, but faſhions them, according to that of the Apoſtle, 2 Theſ. 2.13. God hath from the beginning choſen you through ſanctification of the ſpirit, and not of works. Nay, ſome here ſo much aboliſh and wipe off all claime of merit, that they admit not Chriſt as the meritorious cauſe of our election. Indeed, ſay they, the Scripture is thus farre our Schoolemaſter, That we are iuſtified by the blood of Chriſt,Synod. Dort. and reconciled to God by the death of his Sonne: but where are we informed that we are elected through his bloud, or praedeſtinated by his death? Indeed, in the 3 of Iohn 16. we finde a —ſic Deus dilexit,—God ſo loued the world that he gaue his Sonne. So that, not becauſe Chriſt died for vs, God loued, and choſe vs, but becauſe God loued and choſe us, therefore Chriſt died for vs. For ſo Rom. 5.8. God ſetteth out his loue towards vs, that whilſt we were yet ſinners, Chriſt died for vs. In matters therefore of election, we acknowledge not a cauſe more claſſicke than the Cuius vult here ſpecified, He will haue mercy on whom he will. Inſomuch that in the parable of the houſholder, Matth. 20. I finde but a ſic volo, as a ſufficient and iuſt cauſe of his deſignes. I will giue to this laſt as much as to thee; & yet this Will ſo clothed with a diuine iuſtice, that God is not ſaid to will a thing to be done, becauſe it is good, but rather to make it good, becauſe God would haue it to be done. For proofe whereof, a ſweet ſinger of our Iſrael inſtances in thoſe wonderfull paſſages of creation, where 'tis firſt ſaid that Deus creauit, God created all things, and the Valdè bonum comes aloofe, he ſaw that they were all good, and the morall portends but this, That euery thing is therefore good, becauſe it was created, and not therefore created becauſe it was good; which doth waſh, and purge the will of the Almighty from any ſtaine, or tincture of iniuſtice; for though that be the chiefe mover and director of all his proiects, as the prime and peremptory cauſe, doing this, becauſe hee will, yet we finde not onely ſanctitatem in operibus, but juſtitiam in vijs. The Lord is righteous in all his wayes, and holy in all his workes. Hereupon that great treaſurer of Learning and Religion, Zanchius in his 3 booke, de Natura Dei, and 4 chapter, diuides betweene the cauſe of Gods will, and the reaſon of his will: That though there be no ſuperiour cauſe of it, yet there is a iuſt reaſon, and a right end and purpoſe in it.Morl. Clean. Lep. Hence S. Ierome, Deus nihil fecit quia vult, ſed quia eſt ratio ſic fieri; God doth nothing becauſe hee will, but becauſe there is a reaſon of ſo doing, in regard whereof it is not ſimply called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the will of God, but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the good will of God, Epheſ. 1.11. So that in his ſacred reſolutions and deſignements, though we meet (ſometimes) with paſſages, wound vp in darkened terrour, the cauſe whereof wee may admire not ſcan; yet the drift and maine ends of the Almighty haue been ſo backt with ſtrength of a iuſt reaſon, that we may rather magnifie his goodneſſe than tax his power; and applaud the calmneſſe of an indulgent mercie, than repine at the laſhes of an incenſed iuſtice. Equitie and goodneſſe are children of one burden, both the lawfull iſſue of his will, which though foule mouthes of libertines haue ſtrangely baſtardized, making that the throne of tyranny, which is the rule of iuſtice, yet let them know that of Auguſtine to his Sixtus; Iniuſtum eſſe non poteſt, quod placuit Iuſto. To be God, and to be vniuſt, is to be God and not God. So faire a goodneſſe, was neuer capable of ſo foule a contradiction, and therefore (as the ſame father proſequutes) Iniquitatem damnare nouit, non facere: God knows how to iudge, not to commit a crime, and to diſpoſe, not mould it, and is often the father of the puniſhment, not the fact. Hence 'tis, that the dimneſſe of humane apprehenſion conceaues that (oftentimes) a delinquency in God, which is the monſter of our own frailty; making God not onely to foreknow, but predeſtinate an euill, when the euill is both by growth, and conception ours, and if ought ſauour of goodneſſe in vs, Gods, not ours, yet ours too, as deriuatiue from God, who is no leſſe the Patron of all goodneſſe, than the Creatour, and 'tis as truly impoſſible for him to commit euill, as 'twas truly miraculous to make all that hee had made good. And therefore Tertullian, in his firſt booke de Trinitate, makes it a Non poteſt fieri, a matter beyond the liſt and reach of poſſibilitie, that he ſhould be Artifex mali operis, the promoter & enginer of a depraued act, who challengeth to himſelfe the title no leſſe of an vnblemiſhed Father, than of a Iudge. Our thoughts then ſhould not carry too loftie a ſaile, but take heed how they cut the narrow ſtraights, and paſſages of his will. A buſie prying into this Arke of ſecrets, as 'tis accompanied with a full blowne inſolence, ſo with danger; Humilitie (here) is the firſt ſtaire to ſafetie; and a modeſt knowledge ſtands conſtantly wondering, whilſt the proud apprehenſion ſtaggers, and tumbles too. Here's a Sea vnnauigable, and a gulfe ſo ſcorning fathom, that our Apoſtle himſelfe was driuen to his 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , O depth, and in a rapture, more of aſtoniſhment, than contemplation, he ſtiles it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , voluntatis ſuae myſterium, or (as Beza tranſlates it,) Sacramentum, the Sacrament, and myſterie of his will, being ſo full of vnknowne turnings, and Meanders, that if a naked reaſon hold the clue, we are rather inuolued, than guided in ſo ſtrange a Labyrinth.

To enquire then the cauſe of Gods will, were an Act of Lunacie, not of Iudgement; for every efficient cauſe is greater than the effect, now there's nothing greater than the will of God, and therefore no cauſe thereof. For if there were, there ſhould ſomething praeoccupate that will, wch to conceiue were ſinfull, to beleeue blaſphemous. If any then (ſuggeſted by a vaine-glorious enquirie) ſhould aske why God did elect this man, and not that? we haue not onely to reſolue, but to foreſtall ſo beaten an obiection: Becauſe he would. But why would God doe it? Here's a queſtion as guiltie of reproofe, as the author, who ſeekes a cauſe of that, beyond, or without which there is no cauſe found, where the apprehenſion wheeles, and reaſon runs giddy in a doubtfull gire: Compeſcat ſe ergò humana temeritas, Auguſt. & id quod non eſt non quaerat, ne id quod eſt non inueniat. Here a ſcrupulous and humane raſhneſſe ſhould be huſht, and not ſearch for that which is not, leſt it finde not that which is. For as the ſame Father, in his 105 Epiſt. Cur illum potiùs, quàm illum, liberet, aut non, ſcrutetur (qui poteſt) iudiciorum eius tam magnum profundum, ſed caueat praecipitium—. Let him that can, deſcry the wonders of the Lord in this great deep, but let him take heed he ſinke not; and in his anſwer to the ſecond queſtion of Simplician: Quare huic ita, & huic non ita, homo tu quis es qui reſpondeas Deo? & cur iſti ſic, illi aliter? Abſit vt dicamus Iudicium luti eſſe, ſed figuli. Why God doth to this man ſo, and to that not ſo, who dare expoſtulate? and why to this man, thus, to that, otherwiſe? farre be it, that we ſhould thinke it in the iudgement of the clay, bur of the potter. Downe then with this aſpiring thought, this ambitious deſire of hidden knowledge, and make not curioſitie the picklocke of diuine ſecrets; know that ſuch myſteries are doubly barred vp in the coffers of the Almighty, which thou maiſt ſtriue to violate, not open. And therefore if thou wilt needs treſpaſſe vpon deity, dig not in its boſome; a more humble aduenture ſutes better with the condition of a worme, ſcarce a man, or if ſo, expoſed to frailtie.

'Tis a fit taske and imployment for mortalitie, to contemplate Gods workes, not ſift his myſteries, and admire his goodneſſe, not blurre his iuſtice; And it hath beene euer the practice of primitiue diſcipline, rather to defend a diſparaged equitie, than to queſtion it, for ſo that reuerend Father (who euer mixt his learning with a deuout awe) in his 3 booke, cont. Iulianum, and 18 chapter, Bonus eſt Deus, iuſtus eſt Deus, poteſt aliquos ſine bonis meritis liberare, quia bonus eſt, non poteſt quemquam ſine malis damnare, quia iuſtus eſt. God is equally good and iuſt, he can ſaue ſome without reference to deſert, becauſe he is good, he cannot damne any man without a due demerit, becauſe he is iuſt: Nay had God deliuered all mankinde into the iawes of deſtruction, we could not touch him with iniuſtice, but rather admire ſo darke and inueſtigable an equitie, which we may illuſtrate by worldly paſſages and humane contracts. If I were bankrupt of inſtance, S. Auguſtine could relieue me. A great man (ſaith he) lends two ſummes of money, to two ſeuerall men, who can tax him of obdurateneſſe, or iniuſtice, if at time of repayment he forgiue this man his debt, and require ſatisfaction of that? for this liues not in the will and diſpoſall of the debtor, but of the creditor. So ſtands the caſe betweene frailty and omnipotencie. All men (which through Adam became tributaries to ſin and death) are one maſſe of corruption, ſubiect to the ſtroake of diuine iuſtice, which, whether it be required or giuen, there is no iniquitie in God, but of whom required, and to whom giuen, 'tis in ſuch debtors inſolence to iudge, leſt God returne their ſaucineſſe with a —Non licet mihi quod volo facere? as the houſholder did the murmuring labourers in his vineyard. Is thine eie euill, becauſe I am good? And indeed I diſplay not a higher cauſe of election, and reprobation than diuine goodneſſe, which that learned Schoole-man, Part. 1. quaeſt. 23. art. 5. doth not onely illuſtrate but proue no leſſe by ſimilitude, than argument. For God (ſaith he) made all things for his goodneſſe ſake, that in things by him made, his goodneſſe might appeare, but becauſe that goodneſſe is in it ſelfe, one, and ſimple: and things created cannot attaine to ſo diuine a perfection, it was neceſſary that that goodneſſe ſhould be diuerſly repreſented in thoſe things, and hence 'tis that to the complement and full glory of the vniuerſe, there is in them a diuerſitie of degrees required, of which ſome poſſeſſe a lower, and ſome a higher roome; and that ſuch a multiformitie may be preſerued in nature, God permits ſome euils to be done, leſt much good ſhould be anticipated: —Voluit itaque Deus in hominibus, quantum ad aliquos, quos praedeſtinet, ſuam repraeſentare bonitatem, per modum miſericordiae, parcendo illis, quantum verò ad alios, quos reprobet, ſuam oſtendi bonitatem per modum iuſticiae, puniendo eos. God in thoſe hee elects, would ſhew his goodneſſe by way of mercie in ſparing theſe, in others he reprobates, his goodneſſe too, by way of iuſtice in puniſhing them. And therefore our Apoſtle here not onely magnifies the riches of his glory vpon veſſels of mercie, verſ. 23. but his long patience too, to veſſels of wrath, verſ. 22. So that in his houſe there are not onely thoſe of gold and ſiluer, but of wood and earth too, and ſome to honor, ſome to diſhonor, 2 Tim. 2.20. Of wch if any mutinous or ſawcy ignorant deſires a reaſon beyond Gods will, I haue no anſwer but that of Auguſtine, in his 22 Sermon, de verb Apoſt. Tu ratiocinare, ego mirer, tu diſputa, ego credam: altitudinem video, ad profundum non peruenio; Diſpute and reaſon he that durſt, while my thought and beleefe ſtand at a bay, and wonder; I ſee there is a height, but cannot reach it, and know this gulfe, not fathome it. For as in things naturall (it is Aquinas ſimilitude) when all the firſt matter is vniforme, why one part of it ſhould be vnder the forme of fire, another vnder the forme of earth, there may be a reaſon aſſigned, that there might be a diuerſity of ſpecies in things naturall: but why this part of matter ſhould be rather vnder the forme of fire, and that vnder the forme of earth, depends only on the ſimplicity of Gods will; & as it hangs too on the wil of the Architect, that this ſtone ſhould be rather in this part of the wall, and that in another, although reaſon and art require that other ſtones ſhould be in one part of the Edifice, & other in another. Neither is there for this iniquity in God, that he doth not proportion his gifts in a ſtrict equality, for it were againſt the reaſon and truth of iuſtice, if the effect of Praedeſtination ſhould be of debt, and not of grace; for in thoſe thing which are of an vnreſtrained freedome, euery man (out of the iuriſdiction of his owne will) may giue to whome he will, more or leſſe, without the leaſt diſparagement of iuſtice: And therefore to thoſe recoiling diſpoſitions wch mutter at a free bounty, heaped on others without referēce to deſert, I wil vſurpe that of the Parable, Tolle quod tuum eſt, & vad . And yet notwithſtanding though the will of God be the independent prime cauſe of all things, ſo that beyond it there is no other cauſe, and without it there is no reaſon of Gods actions; yet it is not the ſole and particular cauſe, for there are many ſecondary concurring with the firſt, by the mediation whereof, the will of God brings his intendments to an iſſue. As in matters of our ſaluation the will and working of man ſhakes hands with that of God, for though without him we finde a Nil poteſtis facere, Ioh. 15.5. Ye can doe nothing; yet aſſiſted by his will, and the powerfull and effectuall operations of his grace, our will cooperates with Gods. Elſe how could Dauid pray to him to be his helper, vnleſſe he himſelfe did endeauour ſomething? or how could God command vs to doe his will, except the will of man did worke in the performance of it?Lumb. lib. 1. diſtinct. 42. It is true (ſaith S. Auguſtine) we finde a Deus operatur omnia in omnibus, but we no where finde a Deus credit omnia in omnibus. Noſtrum itaque eſt credere, & velle, illius autem dare credentibus, & volentibus facultatem operandi: To will, and to beleeue is ours, but to giue the faculty of operation to them that will and bleeue, is Gods. I haue laboured more than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God with me, 1 Cor. 15.10. Why God therefore doth ſaue ſome men, there is more to be alleaged than this, God would haue them to be ſaued; for if this laurell doe beautifie our triumph we muſt encounter, hee that will haue this Crowne muſt tug for it, and this prize, muſt wreſtle, Qui creauit te ſine te, non ſaluat te ſine te. He that hath created thee without thy ſelfe, will not ſaue thee without thy ſelfe. And therefore thoſe whom God from all eternity hath deſtined to ſaluation, hee hath in a like priuiledge deſtined to the meanes: But why thoſe meanes, not communicable to all, many a buſie endeauour hath ſtrugled for a reaſon, not compaſt it. Out of more than a double Iurie of Interpreters, which I haue (not with a little diſtraction) obſerued, wauing here in doubtfull opinion, Hugo de Sancto Ʋictore giues thus his verdict. Gods grace is indifferently exhibited to all men, to the elect and reprobate, but all doe not equally lay hold on it. Some no leſſe neglect, than repulſe Gods grace, and when its comfortable beames ſhall ſhine vpon them, they ſhut their eies againſt it, and will not behold it, and God in iuſtice with-drawes his grace from theſe men, becauſe they with-draw themſelues from his grace. Eſt enim in gratiâ quemadmodum in ſolis radio (ſaith he) There is a proportion betwixt the raies of the Sunne, and the eie, and betwixt the ſoule of man, and the grace of God. The eie is ordained by nature to be the organ of the ſight, and yet the eie cannot ſee except the Sunne enlighten it; neither can the Sunne make any thing elſe ſee but the eie in man, for it may ſhine vpon our hand or foot, neuertheleſſe the hand or foot ſhall ſee nothing: ſo the ſoule hath a poſſibility to merit by her naturall abilities, but that poſſibility ſhall be vaine and fruitleſſe, vnleſſe it be quickned by the powerfull operation of Gods grace, which grace, if it ſhall once actuate it, then the ſoule will be able to attaine to that double life of grace here, of glory hereafter. Ʋnde totum eſt ex gratiâ, ſic tamen vt non excludatur meritum. Whence he would haue all to hang on grace, yet ſo that wee exclude not merit. But this inference is many ſtories aboue my reach, and in the greenneſſe of my iudgement, there is little truth in the conſequence, and palpable contradiction in the conſequent. For how can the merits of man challenge any thing, if all flow from the grace of God? Yes (ſaith Hugo) euen as a weake child which cannot yet goe alone, ſhould be led by the Nurſe, a man cannot ſay that the childe goeth of himſelfe, but by the aſſiſtance of the Nurſe; and yet the Nurſe could not make the childe goe, vnleſſe he were naturally inclinde to that motion: ſo the ſoule of man is ſaid to merit by the aid of grace, and by her owne naturall inbred ability, but all the glory of the merit muſt be aſcribed to God, becauſe the ſoule can doe nothing without the ſupport and grace of God. Whence I can gather no truth but this, that in ſolo homine ſit petentia logica ad ſalutē. That a man only maybe ſaued without apparant contradiction; no vnreaſonable creature is capable of that euerlaſting bleſſedneſſe and beatificall viſion; and the ſoule of a beaſt is no more able to ſee God, than a ſenceleſſe ſtocke to behold a viſible obiect. For man onely hath a paſſiue power to ſaluation, and man before his conuerſion hath a paſſiue power only. And therefore the ſimilies afore propoſed, if they be referred to the ſoule before the conuerſion, are falſe, and beare no proportion, for then the ſoule is ſtarke blinde, and dead in treſpaſſes, and cannot looke on the grace offered, or moue one iot in the courſe of Chriſtianity: But after the conuerſiō when God ſpeaks Ephata to the ſoule, be opened, when the vnderſtanding is illuminated, and ſcales of errour once drop from the eies, then it may hold ſome correſpondency with truth. As therefore in matters of our conuerſion, ſo of election too, all hangs on Grace, and this grace in a holy reſeruation limited to a narrow Tribe, for the cuius vult here inſinuates no more, and He will haue mercy on whom he will, ſounds in a direct aequiualence with this, He will haue mercy onely on ſome; of which ſome there is a definite and ſee number, vncapable of augmentation, or diminution, howeuer thoſe new ſprung Sectaries,Arminians. out of a turbulent braine and thirſt of cauillation, blaſpheme the eternity of Gods decree, making our election mutable, incompleat, conditionate, ſubiect to change and reuocation, and what other ſtranger birth and prodigie of opinion, which I conceiue not without a holy impatience and indignation. And whereas our Fathers of old haue maintained, euen to the ſword and fagot, the decree of election to be no leſſe eternall than irreuocable, theſe would faine lull our beleefe with innouation of vpſtart diſcipline, altering no leſſe the number than the condition of the elect into the ſtate of reprobate, and of the reprobate into the elect. And (as the Deuill did to Chriſt) they vrge Text and reaſon for it. For God (ſay they) cannot giue grace to whom he doth giue grace, which if hee ſhould doe an elect may be damned; and hee can giue grace to him he doth not giue grace too, which if he doe, a reprobate may be ſaued, and ſo a reprobate may become an elect, and an elect a reprobate. Thus they ſhoot by an indirect aime, and ſaile by a wrong Compaſſe, for wee enquire not here of Gods power, but of his will, not what he can doe, but what he hath reſolued to doe. Againe, it ſeemes no conſequence, God can ſaue or damne a man, therefore this man can be ſaued or damned,Hugo de Sancto Victore in cap. 9. ad Rom. Non enim poſſe Dei ſequitur poſſe noſtrum, Gods power ſtands not in relation to ours; as if God would otherwiſe redeeme mankinde than by the death of his Sonne. (As there was another meanes poſſible (ſaith Auſtin) but not more conuenient.) That therefore mankinde could otherwiſe be redeemed; and if God had this in his power, that it ſhould be therefore in mans too? Could not God (if he would) haue ſaued Iudas? doth it therefore follow that Iudas could be ſaued? No, for though this be too ragged and ſtonie for a popular capacity to digge through; yet if wee looke backe a little into the myſteries of Gods decree, wee ſhall finde that which will no leſſe relieue our vnderſtanding, than remoue our ſcruple; where things from euerlaſting haue ſuch a doome, which is not malleable either by change or reuocation, For the Lord of hoſts hath determined, and who can diſanull it? and his hand is ſtretched out, and who can turne it away? Iſay 14.27. Seeing then that election is from eternity, and that not obnoxious to mutability or corruption, we neither curtaile the elect of their primatiue glory, nor of their number. Which though they be a little flocke, (in reſpect of that herd and large droue of the damned) yet in thoſe ſacred volumes of Gods diuiner Oracles, we finde them numberleſſe. So Apoc. 7.9. Theſe things I beheld, and loe, a great multitude which none could number of all nations and kinreds, and people, and tongues, ſtood before the throne, and before the Lambe, cloathed with long white robes, and palmes in their hands. Whence thoſe Factors for the Romiſh See, would hew out a way to vniuerſall grace; making our election generall, manifolde, indefinite, and would haue Chriſts death no leſſe meritorious, than propitiatory for the ſinnes of the whole world. A quaere long ſince on foot betweene Auguſtine and Pelagius, and ſince in a fiery skirmiſh betweene the Caluiniſt and the Lutheran, out of whoſe mud and corruption there hath beene lately bred the Arminian, a Sect as poiſonous as ſubtill, and will no leſſe allure than betray a flexible and yeelding iudgement. For our own ſafety then, and the eaſier oppugning of ſo dangerous a ſuggeſtion, let vs examine a little of the extent & bounds of this grace, which Diuines cut into theſe three ſquadrons, in Gratiam Praedeſtinationis, vocationis, & iuſtificationis. Gratia Praedeſtinationis, is that of eternity, the wombe and Nurſery of all graces, whereby God loued his elect, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Gratia vocationis, a ſecondary grace, by which God cals vs, and by calling preſcribes the meanes of our ſaluation. And this grace hath a double proſpect. Either to that which is externall, in libro Scripturae, or creaturae, where God did manifeſt himſelfe as well by what he had made, as by what he had written; or to that which is internall, of illumination, or renouation, of that in the intellect only, which a reprobate may lay claime to, of this in the heart, which by a holy reſeruation and incommunicableneſſe is peculiar to the elect. Gratia iuſtificationis, which is not a grace inherent, but beſtowed, and ſtands as a direct Antipode to humane merit. Yet not that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 which the Schooles chriſten with a gratia gratis data, any gift which God out of his free bounty hath beſtowed vpon vs beyond our deſert, as Prudence, Temperance, and the like; for in theſe the heathen had their ſhare, whoſe ſingular endowmēts haue made poſterity both an admirer, and a debter; but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Gratia gratum faciens, a gift perfect, and ſanctified, which doth ſo qualifie the receiuer, that hee is not onely acceptable, but glorious in the eyes of the beſtower, as Faith, Hope, & the third ſiſter Charity, which no leſſe reconcile than iuſtifie vs before God.

We conclude then, that the externall grace which the creature affordeth vs, is not limited to a priuate number, but to all; yet we denie the power and vertue of ſaluation in it. We allow a ſufficiencie of redargution for conuicting the heathen, who when they knew God, worſhipped him not as God, and therefore are both deſperate and inexcuſable. Moreover the grace which the Scripture affordeth vs, as it is not vniuerſall, ſo not of abſolute ſufficiency for ſaluation, but onely in genere mediorum externorum, (as the Schooles ſpeake) becauſe it doth preſcribe vs the meanes how we may be ſaued, but it doth not apply the meanes that we are ſaued. Againe, that grace of Illumination is more peculiarly confined, and if by the beames of that glorious Sunne which enlightneth euery man that comes into the world, we attaine to the knowledge of the Scripture, yet the bare knowledge doth not ſaue vs, but the application. But the grace of regeneration is not onely a ſufficient, but an effectuall grace, and as 'tis more powerfull, ſo 'tis more reſtrained; they onely partake of this bleſſednes, whom God hath no leſſe enlightned, than ſanctified, and pointed out, then ſealed, men inueſted in white robes of ſinceritie, whoſe delinquencies, though ſometimes of a deepe tincture, are now both diſpēſed with, & obliterated, not becauſe they were not ſinfull, but becauſe, not imputed: ſo inuolucrous, and hidden are Gods eternall proiects, that in thoſe he relinquiſheth, or ſaues, his reaſon, is his will; yet that as farre diſcoaſted from tyranny, as iniuſtice. The Quare we may contemplate, not ſcan, leſt our miſpriſion grow equall with our wonder. And here in a double ambuſh dangerouſly lurke the Romaniſt and the Arminian, men equally ſwolne with rancor of malice, and poſition: and with no leſſe violence of reaſon, than importunitie, preſſe the vertue of Chriſts death for the whole world. Alas! we combat not of the price and worth of Chriſts death, but acknowledge That an able ranſome of a thouſand worlds; but the ground of our duell tends to this, whether Chriſt dying propoſed to himſelfe the ſaluation of the whole world. We diſtinguiſh then —inter 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Chriſti, & gratiam Chriſti. The merits of Chriſt and the gracious application of thoſe merits. His merits are able to allay the fury of his incenſed Father, and reconcile vnto him the very reprobates: but the application of thoſe merits are reſtrained to the Elect, for they onely are capeable of ſo great a bleſſedneſſe. For proofe wherof we haue not only that venerable Bench and Councell of Fathers and Schoole-men, but alſo a higher court of Parliament to appeale vnto, the Regiſters and penmen of ſacred Chronicles, Euangeliſts, & Apoſtles, wch punctually inſinuate Chriſts death onely for his own, for his Church, for his Brethren, for thoſe whoſe head hee was, laying down his life for ſome, and ſhedding his blood for ſome, for his ſheepe, his little flock, his peculiar Prieſthood, his tabernacle, body, ſpouſe, his Canaan, Sion, Ieruſalem, his Ambaſſadors, Saints, Angels, in a word this Cuius vult, The Elect. I'le not beat your eares with a voluminous citation of text and Fathers, I'le draw only one ſhalt out of this holy quiuer, and direct it to the Roman aduerſary, wch if he ſhall repell or put by, I'le proclaime hereafter a perpetuall truce. The maine and chiefe cauſe that impeld Chriſt to die, was his loue, Iohn 15. But Chriſt loued not all, but his own Eph. 5. Therefore Chriſt died not for all, but for his owne. The Ieſuite here retraicts, and we haue none now left to encounter vs but the Arminian; who (like a cunning Fencer) hath many a quaint flouriſh, and with a falſe blow ſometimes ſtaggers, not wounds his aduerſary. The part moſt indangered, is the eie of our intellect, and iudgement which he thus dazzels with a ſubtile nicety. Moulin in his Anatomy of Arminianiſme. That Chriſt hath obtained reconciliation for all, for Saul and Iudas, but not as they were reprobates, but as they were ſinners; For God (ſaith he) did equally intend, and deſire the ſaluation of all, and the reaſon why they were not ſaued was their incredulitie, and miſapplying of this gracious reconciliation and attonement. Thus they would betray weakneſſe into the hands of errour; and for a fairer gloſſe, and gilding of this their treachery, they diſtinguiſh —inter Impetrationem, & applicationem; Pretending that Chriſt did impetrate reconciliation for all, but the application of that leanes wholly to the elect. How crazy and ill tempered this poſition is, wee'le declare briefly. Firſt, wee deny that Chriſt by his death hath impetrated reconciliation for all, for Saul, or Iudas: Neither can our thought, much leſſe our beleefe giue way to ſo ſtrange a Paradox,Idem ibidem. That remiſſion of ſinnes is obtained for thoſe whoſe ſinnes are not remitted, or that ſaluation was purchaſed for thoſe whom God from all eternity had decreed to condemne. Againe, we acknowledge Chriſts death ſufficient for all, all bel euers, nay all, if they did beleeue. But that Saul or Iudas or the reſidue of that curſed Hierarchy ſhould reap the benefit of his Paſſion, we vtterly diſclaime as erronious and hereticall. For if Chriſt by his death hath reconciled Iudas, how i'ſt that Iudas ſuffers for his ſinnes? for we cannot without impeachment both of his mercy, and iuſtice too, ſay that Chriſt ſuffered for Iudas his ſins, yet Iudas is damned for thoſe ſinnes; And ſince Chriſt as he is God, hath from euerl ſting deſtined Iudas to damnation, how i'ſt that the ſame Chriſt, as he is man, and mediator betweene God and man, ſhould reconcile Iudas whom from eternity he had reprobated? Againe, if Chriſt hath obtained reconciliation for all men, then none ſhall be borne without the couenant of Chriſt, ſo that of the Apoſtle will be falſe: That, By nature we are all borne the children of wrath Epheſ. 2. And can we truely be ſtiled the children of wrath, if reconciliation be obtained for all men without exception? And if all infants borne without the couenant are reconciled, Cur non clementi crudelitate in cunis ingulauimus? (ſaith the learned Moulin) why doe we not in a mercifull cruelty murther them in their cradles? for then their ſaluation were ſealed; but if they ſuruiue, they are nouriſhed in Paganiſme, infidelitie, which are the beaten roades and highwayes to deſtruction. And if we ſcan (ſaith he) the nicety of theſe words, the obtaining of reconciliation to be applied, and the application of reconciliation obtained, wee ſhall finde it a meere curioſitie to barrow and perplex the braine, and torture the vnderſtanding, ſince Chriſt hath neuer obtained that which he hath not applied, neither hath he applied that which he hath not obtained. Yet theſe men either of a head-ſtrong opinion, or learned madneſſe, are ſo violent in the proſecution of their tenents, that no ſtrength of anſwer will ſatisfie their obiection, nor modeſtie of language ſuppreſſe their clamour, but a foule mouthed Forſterus will bray out his witty ſpleene with an —Error, & furor Zuinglianorum. His reaſons are as ſlender as they are many (the vertigoes and impoſtures of a giddie braine) fitter for ſilence, than rehearſall, and for ſcorne than confutation. Wee apply then; Is grace vniuerſally bountifull, and mercy open-breſted vnto all? What meane then thoſe Epithites of outcaſt, curſed, damned, and that triple inſcription of death, hell, and damnation? are they either of pollicie or truth? Are they things reall, or fancied onely to bug-beare and awe mortalitie? What would the Throne portend? Iudge, aduerſarie, Sergeant, priſon, or thoſe horrid tones of worme, fire, brimſtone, howling, gnaſhing? Is the Scripture the Anuill of vntruth, or are theſe things no more than faigned and imaginary? What will thoſe flames of your threatned purgatory proue at laſt, but the Chimaera and coinage of a phantaſticke braine? And a 500 yeares indulgence, but the ſharke and legerdemaine of your Lord God the Pope? Either your opinion is ſandy, or your priſon, both which muſt fleet with your holy Fathers honour, if the armes of mercie be expanded to all. Againe, are the merits of Chriſt appliable to all? Sweare, whore, drinke, prophane, blaſpheme, and (if there be in that Alcharon, and curſed rolle, a ſinne of a fairer growth) baffle the Almighty at his face. Thinkeſt thou that heauen was euer guiltie of ſuch treaſon againſt her Soueraigne? or that it will euer entertaine a gueſt ſo expoſed to the height of diſſoluteneſſe and debauſhment? No, thou muſt know that one day there will be a dreadfull ſummons, either at thoſe particular accounts, at the houre of Death, or at the generall audit of the laſt trumpe, when thou ſhalt meet with a new Acheldema and vale of Hinnom, places no leſſe of terror than of torment, the fiery dungeon, and the burning Tophet, where the fury of the great Iudge reaks in a floud of brimſtone, and his reuenge boiles in a firy torrent, limitleſſe, and vnquenchable. On the other ſide happily maiſt thou ſlumber, without howle, or skreeke of conſcience, thou wounded and deiected ſpirit; Thou whoſe glorious ornaments are but ſackcloth and aſhes, and thy choiſeſt fare but the bread of ſorrow and contrition. Know there is balme of Gilead for the broken-hearted ſinner, and oile of comfort for thoſe which mourne in Sion. Behold, how thy Sauiour comes flying downe with the wings of his loue, and ſweepes away thy ſinnes that they ſhall neither temporally ſhame thee, nor eternally condemne thee. Who ſhall wipe off all teares from your eyes, and lodge you in the boſome of old Abraham, where there is bliſſe vnſpeakeable for euer. And thus I haue ſhewed you the happineſſe of ſheepe vnder the ſtate of mercie; Time bids me now to reflect on the miſery of Goats, as they are vnder the condition of hardening.

PART. II. He hardeneth.

WHat? he that is rich in goodneſſe, and his mercies aboue all his workes? he that mournes in ſecret for our offences, and vowes that he deſireth not the death of a ſinner, will he harden? How can this ſtand either with his promiſe, or mercy, or iuſtice? Gods vnreuealed proiects are full of wonder, which if our apprehenſion cannot diue to, our beliefes muſt ſound. Occulta eſſe poſſunt, iniuſta non poſſunt, fraught they may be with ſullen and darker riddles, neuer with iniuſtice. Let vs firſt then take a ſuruey of Mans heart, and ſee to what miſeries the hardneſſe of it hath expo de our irregular predeceſſors, and after try whether we can make prouidence the mother of ſo deformed an iſſue. And here awhile let vs obſerue S. Bernard tutoring his Eugenius, Cordurum, a heart, which the ſofter temper of Gods working ſpirit leaues to mollifie, and its owne corrupt affections begins once to mould. Like that of Naball, to be all ſtone, becomes at laſt ſo cauterized, Vt ſemetipſum non exhorreat quià nec ſentit, that it is ſo farre from ſtarting at its owne vglineſſe, that it is non-ſenſible of deformity. And hence Theodoret defines it to be prauam animi affectionem, a corrupt and depraued affection of the minde, which if man once giue way to, hee is ſo ſcreen'd both from Gods mercy and truth; that though it be about him, and in the maſterdome and dominion of his beſt ſenſe, Non ceruit tamen, nec intelligit, yet his eyes are as blinde intelligencers to belieue, as his vnderſtanding. And againſt ſuch that ſweet ſinger of Iſrael breakes out into his paſſionate complaint, Ʋſquè quò filij hominum, vſquè quò? O ye ſonnes of men, how long will ye turne my honour into ſhame, how long? and that of the Protomartyr Stephen, in his Oration to the refractary Iewes. Durâ ceruice, O ye ſtiffe-necked and vncircumcized of heart and eares, yee doe alwaies reſiſt the holy Ghoſt. And indeed ſuch hearts are but the Wardrobes and Exchequers of future miſchiefe, whoſe keyes are not in the cuſtodie of the Almighty, but thine owne boſome. For ſo that great Doctor of the Gentiles, Secundum impoenitens cor tuum theſauriſas iram: According to the impenitency of thine owne heart, thou treaſureſt vp wrath (to thy ſelfe) againſt the day of wrath. How then can that eye which ſhould be fixed either on the tenderneſſe or mercy of his Creator, glance ſo much on his iniuſtice, as to make that the Midwife of ſo foule a progenie? Obduration was neuer the childe of goodneſſe, neither can a ſinne of ſo baſe a deſcent lay claime to omnipotencie. It ſtands not (I dare ſay) with Gods power, I am ſure, his will, to reconcile two enemies in ſuch an extremity of oppoſition. Doe ſweet water and puddle flow immediatly from one and the ſelfe-ſame ſpring? light and darkneſſe from the ſelfe-ſame Sunne? I know there is a ſtiffe-necked and blind-fold Tribe, which God hath left, not made the ſtorie of his vengeance; whoſe affections are too dull and drouſie in his ſeruice. Men creſt-fallen in deuotion, whoſe hearts are ſo dead in their allegeance to him, that they ſeeme ſpiritleſſe, hauing all the powers & faculties of their ſoule benummed, and their conſcience without pulſe or motion. And of theſe the Prophet, Inoraſſatum eſt cor populi. Their heart is as fat as brawne. Theſe ſticke not to belch open defiance in the face of the Almighty, and with thoſe Miſcreants in Iob, are ready to expoſtulate with eternity. Quis eſt omnipotens vt ſeruiemus ei? Who is the Lord that we ſhould ſerue him? Such haue forehead of braſſe, which no ſhame can bore through: and (as the Prophet ſpake of Iuda) a face of whoredome which refuſeth modeſty. But Saint Gregory in his 10. Homily vpon Ezechiel, hath proclaimed their doome. Frontem cordis in impudentiam aperit culpa frequens, vt quo crebrius committitur, eò minus de illa committentis animus verecundetur: Frequency of ſinning doth fleſh vs in immodeſty, aſſiduity, in impudence. Offences that are cuſtomarie are not eaſie of dimiſſion, and if thou once entertaine them as thy followers, they will quickly intrude as thy companions. Sinnes that are fed with delight, with vſe, are as dangerous as thoſe of Appetite: which oftentimes proue no leſſe inſeparable, than hereditary; to doe well is as impoſſible to theſe, as not to doe ill; So can aſſiduity make a ſinne both delightfull, and naturall. Can the Aethiop change his skinne, and the Leopard his ſpots? then may yee alſo doe well which are accuſtomed to doe euill. That ſinne then is irrazable which is ſo ſteeled with cuſtome, and may vndergoe the cenſure of that ſometime Citie of God; Inſanabilis eſt dolor tuus: Thy ſinne is written with a pen of iron, and with a claw of a Diamond is engrauen on the table of thy heart. How then can wee without ſacriledge, and robbing of diuine honour, make God the father of ſo foule and vnwaſhed a crime? Obduration is the iſſue of thine owne tranſgreſſion. Perditio tua ex te, ô Iſrael: If deſtruction dog thee, thanke thy corrupt affections, not blame thy maker, for he doth but leaue thee, and they harden. To lay then (with ſome depraued libertines) the weight and burden of our ſinnes on the ſhoulder of Predeſtination, and make that the wombe of thoſe foule enormities, may well paſſe for an infirmity, not for excuſe, and indeed thus to ſhuffle with diuine goodneſſe, is no leſſe fearefull, than blaſphemous. For, though God from eternity knew how to reward euery man, either by crown, or puniſhment—.Nemini tamē aut neceſſitatē, aut voluntatem intulit delinquendi, yet he neuer enioyned any man either a neceſſity, or a will to ſinne. If any then fall off from goodneſſe, hee is hurried no leſſe with the violence of his owne perſwaſion, than concupiſcence; and in thoſe deſperate affaires, Gods will is neither an intermedler, nor compartner, Cuius ope ſcimus multos, ne laberentur, retentos, nullos, vt laberentur, impulſos (ſaith Auguſtine.) By whoſe hand of prouidence wee know many to be ſupported that they might not fall, none impeld that they ſhould. And in his anſwer to that 14. Article falſly ſuppoſed to be his, Fieri non poteſt, vt per quem à peccatis ſurgitur, per eum ad peccata decidatur: for one and the ſelfe-ſame goodneſſe, to be the life and death of the ſelfe-ſame ſinne, is ſo much beyond improbability, that it is impoſſible. If any then goe onward in the true rode of diuine graces, no doubt but the finger of the Almighty points out his way to happineſſe; but if he wander in the by-pathes of a vicious and depraued diſſoluteneſſe, his owne corrupt affections beckens him to ruine. To loue then his children, and neglect his enemies, doth neither impaire Gods mercy, nor impeach his iuſtice. But why God ſhould loue this as his childe, neglect that as his enemy, Nec poſſible eſt comprehendere, nec licitum inueſtigare—, is beyond all lawfulneſſe of enquirie, all ken of apprehenſion. Let this then ſatisfie our deſire of knowledge, Et ab illo eſſe, quod ſtatur, & non eſſe ab illo, quod ruitur: That his prouidence is the ſtaffe and crutch on which we ſo leane that we yet ſtand; our corrupt affections, the bruzed and broken reed on which, if wee doe leane, we fall. If any ſtagger at thoſe vnfathomed myſteries, and his reaſon and apprehenſion be ſtrooke dead at the contemplation of Gods eternall, but hidden proiects, let him ſeaſon a little his amazement with adoration, and at laſt ſolace his diſtempered thoughts with that of Gregory, Qui in factis Dei, &c. In the abſtruſe and darker myſteries of God, he that ſees not a reaſon, if he ſees his own infirmity, he ſees a ſufficient reaſon why he ſhould not ſee. Me thinkes this ſhould cloy the appetite of a greedy inquiſition, and ſatisfie the diſtruſt of any, but of too querulous a diſpoſition, which, with the eye of curioſitie prying too nicely into the cloſet of Gods ſecrets, are no leſſe dazeled than blinded; if not with profanation, hereſie. Diuine ſecrets ſhould rather tranſport vs with wonder, than prompt vs to enquiry, and bring vs on our knees to acknowledge the infiniteneſſe both of Gods power and will, than ranſacke the boſome of the Almighty, for the reuealing of his intents. Is it not bleſſedneſſe enough that God hath made thee his Steward, though not his Secretarie? Will no Manſion in heauen content thee, but that which is the throne and chaire for omnipotency to ſit on? No treaſury, but that which is the Cabinet and ſtore-houſe of his own ſecrets? Worme, and no man, take heed how thou ſtrugleſt with thy Maker; expoſtulation with God imports no leſſe peremptorineſſe, than danger; and if Angels fell for pride of emulation, where wilt thou tumble for this pride of inquiry? As in matters therefore of vnuſuall doubt, where truth hath no verdict, probability finds audience, So in thoſe obſtruct and narrow paſſages of his will, where reaſon cannot informe thee, beleefe is thy beſt intelligencer, and if that want a tongue, make this thy interpreter; ſo thou maiſt euade with leſſe diſtruſt, I am ſure, with more ſafety.

And at laſt when thou haſt ſcan'd all, what either ſcruple or inquiſition can prompe thee to, in a deiected humiliation, thou muſt cry out with that Iewiſh penitent; Lord I beleeue, helpe thou my vnbeleefe. Yea, but how ſhall we here cleare God from this aſperſion, when the Apoſtle is the Herauld to his guilt? whom he will he hardens: Indurat is an actiue, and doth alwayes preſuppoſe a paſſiue; And if there be a ſubiect that muſt ſuffer, there muſt be a hand too that muſt inflict. How then can we quit the Almighty of the ſuſpition either of tyranny or iniuſtice, ſince he is ſaid to ſend on ſome the ſpirit of errour, 2 Theſſ. 2. and that great Trumpet of Gods diſpleaſure, Eſay in his 63. brings in the Iewes, no leſſe muttering than expoſtulating with God, Quare errare nos feciſti Domine? Lord why haſt thou made vs to erre from thy wayes, and hardened our hearts from thy feare? Theſe inſtances (at the firſt ſuruey,) beare terrour in their looks, and like ſophiſticated lights in a darke roome, make things ſeeme more vgly than they are; and are but falſe bils, preferred againſt a ſpotleſſe innocent, which, without ſearch, may conuince of publique crime, but narrowly ſcan'd, abſolue him, no leſſe from the act, than the thought of guilt. How God therefore in this is liable to cenſure and miſpriſion, and how both a beholder, an intermedler of depraued actions; vouchſafe me a little your attentiue patience, and I doubt not, but I ſhall informe the vnderſtanding of the ſhallow, and to the portion of my weake Talent, will ſtriue to ſatisfie the waueringly iudicious. Whom he will he hardens. Some (too nicely tender of the honour of their maker) haue giuen way to an interpretation more modeſt, than authenticke, and interpret —indurare— for duritiam manifeſtare, ſo that God is not properly ſaid to harden the heart, but rather to manifeſt how hard it is, And to this opinion Saint Auguſtine is a cloſe adherent in his 18 Queſtion vpon Exodus. But this holds not with the purpoſe of God, nor with the ſcope and meaning of the Text, which if we compare with others of that nature, wee ſhall finde that Gods will hath rather a finger in this, than his promulgation: for ſo in the 10 of Ioſua we reade, that 'twas the will and the ſentence of the Almighty, that the Canaanites ſhould be hardened, that they might deſerue no mercie, but periſh. Others there are (whoſe opinions border neerer vpon truth) which would haue God to be ſaid to harden —non effectiue, ſed permiſſiuè; Not by way of Action, but permiſſion, and ſo Damaſcen in his third booke de fide Orthodoxâ, cap. 20. Where his words run thus. Operaepretium eſt agnoſcere—. 'Tis a matter no leſſe worthy of knowledge, than obſeruance, that 'tis the cuſtome of the Scripture to call Gods permiſſion, his action. So we reade that God ſent his enemies the ſpirit of ſlumber, which is not to be aſcribed to God as an agent, but as a permitter. This gloſſe ſutes well with the approbation of Saint Chryſoſtome; who ſpeaking occaſionally of that of the firſt of the Romanes, Deus tradidit illos—God gaue them vp vnto vile affections, hee there expounds —tradidit, by permiſit, which he thus illuſtrates by a ſimilitude—; As the Generall of an Armie, in the ſweat and brunt of a bloudy day, if he withdraw his perſonall directions from his ſouldiers, what doth he but expoſe them to the mercie of their enemies? not that he led them into the iawes of danger, but becauſe they were not back't by his encouragement: So God in this ſpirituall conflict, he deliuers vs not into the hands of our arch-enemie, he leaues vs to our owne ſtrength, and our corrupt affections drag vs thither with a witneſſe. And hence that dicotomy of Caietan claimes his prerogatiue, that God doth harden Negatiuely, but not Poſitiuely, wch diſtinction though it be ſound & Orthodox, yet it doth not exempt vs from ſcruple, for God hath more in the ſtiffeneckt and peruerſe, than a naked and bare permiſſion, otherwiſe we ſhould too weakly diſtance obduration from a leſſer ſinne, for euery ſinne God permits, and as Saint Auguſtine in his Enchir. 96. cap. Nihil fit niſi omnipotens fieri velit, vel ſinendo vt fiat, vel ipſe faciendo. There's nothing done without the conſent and approbation of the Almightie, and that either by his perſon or ſubſtitute. If God therfore be only ſaid to harden man becauſe he permits him to be hardened, why ſhould he not be likewiſe ſaid to ſteale, becauſe he permits man to ſteale? No doubt therefore but God hath a greater ore in this ſinne of hardneing, than in offences of a leſſer bulke. And therefore Saint Auguſtine in his 3. lib. cont. Iulianum, 3. cap. with many a ſinewed allegation proues, that God doth concurre to the excaecation and hardening both of the minde and heart,—Non ſolum, ſecundum patientiam, & permiſſionem, ſed potentiam, & actionem. Not according to his patience and permiſſion onely, but his power and action: Which poſition hee thus (after) qualifies with a diſtinction. Obduration is not onely a ſinne, but a puniſhment of a ſinne. Now, that which is in obduration meerely of ſinne hath it's pedegree and originall from man onely; but that which is of puniſhment for that ſinne, from God. And therefore I cannot but approue of that of Iſiodore, Qui iuſti ſunt, à Deo non impelluntur, vt malifiant, ſed dùm mali iam ſunt, indurantur, vt deteriores exiſtant,— According to that of Paul, 2 Theſ. 2. For this cauſe God ſhall ſend them ſtrong deluſions, that they might beleeue a lie, that all might be damned that beleeue not the truth, but haue pleaſure in vnrighteouſneſſe. I haue as yet but toucht the barke and skinne of the controuerſie, the pith and the kernell is yet vnchewed, and that is,—Whether God here (as hee is ſaid to harden) be the cauſe of our tranſgreſſions. Which quaere admits a three-fore diſtraction, and difference of opinion. Two of them are extremes, and by hot oppoſition each of other, they haue both loſt the truth, the third runnes in a midway, and euer directs to ſafety. Florini (whoſe opinion poſterity records as the monument of a ſeduced errour) with no leſſe peremptorineſſe than blaſpemy hath arraigned the Almighry, and made him not onely the permitter, but the Author of our ſins. The Seleuciani, after him, were poiſoned with that hereſie, & the Libertines laboured in the defence therof. Manes, and his diſciples, dreampt of a ſummum malum, and vpon that phantaſie grounded their aſſertion, that God the ſummum bonum, is to be ſeene onely in our good actions, but euery depraued Act had its deriuation from their ſummum malum. But thoſe of a more ſolid and well tempered iudgement, whom the influence of the Spirit had taught a moderatiō, or the danger of Inquiſition forbad curioſity, dare not with Florinus impute (here) ſinne vnto God, yet maintaine againſt the Manichees, that God is not a bare and idle ſpectator, but powerfull ouer, although no actor in the ſinne, Not in the ſinne, as it is meerely a ſinne, but in the ſinne as 'tis a puniſhment of ſinne. And therefore in euery tranſgreſſion of ours, there are foure thing, remarkeable, 1 Subiectum, ſeu materiale, he ſubiect in which ſinne ſubſiſts, and that is two-fold. 1 Subſtantia, the ſubſtance, or rather the faculties of the reaſonable ſoule, in which originall ſinne is ſo riueted, that the naturall man can by no meanes purge himſelfe of that hereditary contagion, or Actio bona, on which all our actuall ſinnes are grounded. 2 Formale, the formalitie, or obliquity of the action. For euery ſinne is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the tranſgreſſion of the Law, and in the ſinner there's nothing ſinne but this. 3 Reatus, The guilt of this enormitie, which makes vs liable to eternall death. 4 Poena, the puniſhment inflicted vpon the guilty, whether temporall, or eternall, or both. Now wee may not charge God with the obliquitie of the action, for that proceedes from a peruerſe, and a ſeduced will, but the ſubſtance of the action (as the Schoolemen ſpeake) that hath its originall from God. And therefore we conſider ſinne, either vt malum culpae, as 'tis a violation of Gods law, or vt malum poenae, as a puniſhment laid vpon vs for the violation of that Law: So Rom. 1.25. The Gentiles turned the truth of God into a lye, There's malum culpae. And it followes immediatly at the 26 verſe, For this cauſe God gaue them vp into vile affections, There's malum poenae. Now God is author of the ſecond, not the firſt. If miſts ſtill hang on the eyes of clouded errour, I thus diſpell them with that of Hugo de Sancto Victore— Deus malis poteſtatem ſolam tribuit, non voluntatem, quià licet ex ipſius permiſſione ſit, quod malum poſſunt, ex inſpiratione tamen non eſt quod malum volunt. God onely giues power to the wicked, not will, that although it be by his permiſſion that we can doe euill, yet it is not by his inſpiration that we will doe euill. And therefore as the Schooles doe commonly diſtinguiſh of the decree of God, ſo muſt wee of the execution or that decree, which is either pe efficientiam; when the diuine power doth worke any thing with, or without the creature, or ſecundum permiſſionem, when the creature hath leaue to worke without the guidance of that power. Neither will it ſauor of impertinence, if we inſert here that diſtinction of Gods prouidence in efficientem & deſcrentem: Into a releeuing and forſaking prouidence, for whenſoeuer God withdrawes his eſpeciall aid and aſſiſtance from vs, man is hurried where his owne corrupter appetite, not Gods grace carrieth him. Adam fell as ſoone as the influence of Gods grace ceaſed, and without the ſupportance of the ſame grace we all fall, with no leſſe certainty of perill, than danger of reſtitution. When the Sunne ſets, we ſee darkneſſe followes immediatly vpon the face of the earth, and yet the Sunne is not the efficient cauſe of darkneſſe, but the deficient; ſo when the Sunne of righteouſneſſe ſhall forſake vs, the darkneſſe of errour, muſt needs poſſeſſe the vnderſtanding, and the will muſt miſtake in her choice and execution. She muſt nec ſſitate conſequentia, non cònſequè is. The neceſſitie is grounded on a conſequent in Logicke, not any influence in Nature. And here we may borrow a true glorie for that in the 2 Acts, where it is ſaid that Chriſt was deliuered into the hands of the wicked, by the determinate counſell & fore-knowledge of God. We muſt not thinke that God was the letter in this villany, that he conſpired with Iudas in his treaſon, or with Pilate in his bloudy ſentence: But that he only gaue way to their attempts, and offered them to crucifie the Lord of glory. Yea, but why did not God curbe them in their cruell proceedings: Why ſhould his conniuence betray the bloud of innocence? Saint Auſtine ſhall anſwer for me. Qui mel ••• iudicauit de malis beneifacere, quàm mala nulla eſſe permittere. To extract good out of euill was peculiar onely to omnipotency and goodneſſe; and therefore no leſſe ſolid than charitable is that caueat of Du. Bleſſes—Malè quaeritur, vnde malum officiatur. It is an ill curioſity to ſeeke an efficient cauſe of ill. Let this then ſatisfie modeſt enquiry that it is with the ſinner as with an vntuned Inſtrument, and the Muſician, the ſound is from the finger of him that toucheth it, but the arring from the Inſtrument.

That our diſcourſe then with the time may draw towards a Period, we inuolue and wrap vp in this one diſtinction the very iuice and ſubſtance of the controuerſie. Sinne is conſiderable two waies, ante commiſſionem, before the Commiſſion, Sic ſe Deus habet negatiuè, tum reſpectu voluntatis, tum productionis. God doth neither worke with vs, nor countenance vs in the act of ſinning. Poſt commiſſionem, after the Commiſſion, ſic Deus determinat, & ordinat peccatum. God ſets bounds to the malice of wicked men, and ſo mannages the diſorder in ſin, that contrary to the nature of ſinne, and the intent of the ſinner, it ſhall redound to his glory.

We inculcate then, that God is not the author, but the orderer of ſinne. Hee cauſeth the worke, not the fault; the effect, not the delinquencie, working by, not in miſchiefe. Wherein, according to the rules of Logicke, the finall and impulſiut cauſes euer ſo diſtinguiſh the actions, that two doing the ſame thing to a diuers intent, are notwithſtanding ſaid not to doe the ſame. So God gaue his Sonne, and Chriſt himſelfe, and Iudas Chriſt, (ſaith Auguſtine) why is God here holy, and man guilty? Niſi in re vnâ quam fecerunt, non eſt cauſa vna ob quam fecerunt. I ſhut vp all with that ſtate of Fulgentius in his firſt booke ad Mancinum cap. 1 . Where hauing long houered ouer this queſtion, An peccatafiant ex praedeſtinatione? He at laſt thus reſolues it. Potuit Deus, ſient voluit, pradeſtinare quoſdam ad gloriam, queſdam ad poenam, ſed quos praedeſtinauit ad gloriam, praedeſtinauit ad iuſtitiam, quos autem praedeſtinauit ad poenam, non praedeſtinauit ad culpam. God when hee ſaues any man doth predeſtinate him as well to the meanes, as to the end. But in the reprobation of a ſinner, God deſtines the ſinner onely to the puniſhment; foreſeeing, but not determining thoſe ſinnes which ſhall in time draw Gods puniſhments downe vpon him.

Doe our corruptions harden then, and God puniſheth? Take heed you Pharaohs of the world, you which perſecute the poore Iſraelite in his way to Canaan, ſpurre not the goodneſſe of the Almighty to reuenge, or iuſtice. Laeſa patientia ſit furor—, trample too much on the necke of patience, you will turne it to fury. It is true, God hath leet of Lead (clemency intermixt with ſlowneſſe of reuenge) but he hath hands of iron, they will grinde and bruiſe into powder, when they are dared to combat.

Sera venit, ſed certa venit vindicta Deorum.

Procraſtination of diuine iuſtice is euer waited on no leſſe with a certainty of puniſhment than ruine. What ſhall wee doe then (wretched, miſerable that we are) or to whom ſhall we flie for ſuccour? The good S. Auguſtine tells vs, —à Deo a o, ad Deum placatum—, from the tribunall of his iuſtice, to his throne of mercy, and compaſſion. That of Anſelmus was moſt admirable —Et ſi Domine ego commiſi vnde me damnare potes, tu tamen non amiſiſti, vnde noc ſaluare potes—. O bleſſed Ieſus, though I haue committed thoſe tranſgreſſions for which thou maiſt condemnemed, yet thou haſt not loſt thoſe compaſſions by which thou maiſt ſaue me. If our ſoules were in ſuch a ſtraight, that wee ſaw hell opening her mouth vpon vs, like the red ſea before the Iſraelites; the damned and vgly fiends, purſuing vs behinde, like the Egyptians, on the right hand, and on the left; death and ſea ready to ingulſe vs, yet vpon a broken heart, and vndiſguiſed ſorrow would I ſpeake to you in the confidence of Moſes — Stand ſtill, ſtand ſtill, behold the ſaluation of the Lord. Thou then which art oppreſt with the violence and clamour of thy ſinnes, and wanteſt an aduocate either to intercede, or pitty, heare the voice of the Lambe, —Cry vnto me, I will heare thee out of my holy hill. Is any heauily loaden with the weight of his offences, or groanes vnder the yoke and tyrannie of manifold temptations? —Come vnto me, I will refreſh thee—. Doth any hunger after righteouſneſſe? behold, I am the bread of life, take, eat, here is my body. Doth any thirſt after the waies of grace? loc, I am a liuing ſpring, come; drinke here is my bloud, my bloud that was ſhed for many for the remiſſion of ſinnes; for many, not for all. Hath ſinne dominion ouer thee? or doth it reigne in thy mortall heart? are the wounds of thy tranſgreſſions ſo deepe that they cannot be ſearched? or ſo old, that they corrupt and putrifie? where is the Samaritan that will either binde them vp, or powre in oyle? But art thou not yet dead in treſpaſſes? are not thy vlcers paſt cure? are there any ſeeds of true life remaining? is there any motion of repentance in thy ſoule? will thy pulſe of remorſe beare a little? haſte thou but a touch of ſorrow? a ſparke of contrition? a graine of faith? know there is oyle of comfort for him which mournes in Sion. Not a teare drops from thee with ſincerity which is either vnpittied, or vnpreſerued, —God puts it into his bottle. On the otherſide, is there a Pharaoh in thee? an heart vnmollified? a ſtone that will not be bruized? a flint vnmalleable? I both mourne for it, and leaue it: But is this heart of ſtone taken away, and is there giuen thee a heart of fleſh? is it ſoft and tender with remorſe? truly ſacrificed to ſorrow? know there is balme of Gilead for the broken heart, balme that will both refreſh and cure it. Thou then which groaneſt in the ſpirit, and are drawne out, (as it were) into contrition for thy ſinnes; thou which haſt waſht thy hands in innocence, goe cheerefully to the altar of thy God, vnbinde thy ſacrifice, lay it on. But haſt thou done it ſincerely? from thy heart? lurkes there no falſhood there? is all ſwept cleane and garniſhed? doth the countenance of that ſmile as cheerefully, as the other ſeemes to doe of the outward man? if ſo. thy fire is well kindled, the Altar burnes clearly, the ſauour of thy incenſe ſhall pierce the clowds. But is this repentance diſguized? hath it a touch of diſſimulation in it? is not thy olde rank or cleane diſgorged, but muſt thou againe to thy former vomit? hypocrite, thy Altar is without fire, thy incenſe without ſmoke, it ſhall neuer touch the noſtrils of the Almighty, thy prayers in his eares ſound like braſſe, and tinkle like an ill-tuned Cimball; all this formality of zeale is but a diſeaſe of the lip: giue me thy heart my ſonne, I will haue that, or none, and that cleane too, waſht both from deceit, and guilt. That ſubtill fallacy of the eye pointing towards heauen, that baſe hypocriſie of the knee kiſſing the earth, that ſeeming auſterity of the hand martyring thy breaſt, gaines from me neither applauſe, nor bleſſing; the example of a Phariſee could haue chid thee to ſuch an outſide of deuotion, — Qui pectus ſuum tundit, & ſe non corrigit, aggrauat peccata, non tollit, ſaith Auguſtine, where there is an outward percuſſion of the breaſt, without remorſe of the inward man, there is rather an aggrauation of ſinne, than a releaſe; theſe blanchings, and guildings, and varniſhings of externall zeale, are as odious in the eie of God, as thoſe of body in a true Chriſtian; this gloſſe, this paint of demureneſſe ſpeakes but our whoredomes in religion, & the integrity of that man is open both to cenſure and ſuſpition, that is expoſed either to the practiſe of it, or the approbation. A villaine is a villaine howſoever his garbe or habite ſpeake him otherwiſe, and an hypocrite is no leſſe, though ſleeked ouer with an externall ſanctity, & dreſt in the affectations of a preciſer cut. Let vs be truely that what we ſeeme to be, and not ſeeme what we are not; let there be dores & caſements in our breaſts that men may ſee the loyalty twixt our heart and tongue, and how our thoughts whiſper to our tongue, and how our tongue ſpeakes them to the world. Away with thoſe Meteors and falſe-fires of Religion, which not onely by path vs in a blinded zeale, but miſleade others in our ſteps of errour. Let vs put off the old man in our pride, vaine glorie, hypocriſie, enuy, hatred, malice, and (that foule diſeaſe of the times, and vs) vncharitableneſſe; and let vs put on the new man in ſinceritie, faith, repentance, ſobrietie, brotherly, kindneſſes, loue, and (what without it diſparages the tongue both, of men, and Angels) charitie; then at length all teares ſhall be wiped away from our eyes, and we ſhall receiue that euerlaſting benediction. —Come yee children, inherit the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world.— To which, the Lord bring vs for Chriſt Ieſus ſake, to whom be praiſe and power aſcribed now, and for euermore. Amen.

Gloria in excelſis Deo.
FINIS.

THE ARRAIGNMENT OF THE ARRIAN.

His Beginning. Height. Fall.

In a Sermon preached at Pauls Croſſe, Iune 4. 1624.

Being the firſt Sunday in Trinitie Terme.

BY Humphry Sydenham Mr. of Arts, and Fellow of WADHAM Colledge in OXFORD.

LONDON, Printed for IOHN PARKER. 1626.

TO MY APPROVED WORTHY FRIEND Mr. Francis Croſsing; This. SIR;

I Was neuer yet ſo prepoſterous in my reſpects, as to value the worth of him I ſerue, by the title, but the diſpoſition; He is noble to me, that is ſo in his actions, not his deſcent; thoſe high-ſwolne priuiledges of bloud and fortune are (for the moſt part) tympanies in greatneſſe, pricke them, and they proue windes of honour, not ſubſtances. Had I beene ambitious of a high Patronage, this weake peece I ſend you might haue worne an honourable inſcription, but I haue that within me which chides thoſe inſolencies, and tells me that the name of friend ſounds better than of Lord, and hee is leſſe mine that doth onely countenance me, than he that feeds me; He onely deſerues to be a protector of my Labours which hath beene a cheriſher of my fortunes; to you then this at once flies for Patronage, and acceptance, deſiring you to receiue it as a monument of his thankfulneſſe, who euer deuotes himſelfe

Your moſt-moſt reſpectiue HVM: SYDENHAM.
THE ARAIGNMENT OF THE ARRIAN. IOHN 8.58.

Before Abraham was, I am.

NEuer age afforded a perfection of that eminencie which was not expoſed to enuie, or oppoſition, or both. Truth is the childe of vertue; and, as the inheritreſſe of all her glories; ſo, her ſufferings. Now, vertue growes by vniuſt wounds, & ſo doth truth too; and like ſteele that is be ••• , ſpringeth the other way. She ſhewes her beſt luſtre vpon encounter, and like the Sunne ſhines brighteſt betwixt two clowds, malice, errour; both (here) conſpire to ouercaſt and darken the glory of thoſe beames which enlighten euery man that comes into the world, the ſunnes of righteouſneſſe. It hath euer beene the ſtratagem and proiect of that Arch-enemy of man, for the aduancement and ſtrengthening of his great title—The Father of lies—, either to ſtrangle truth in the conception, or ſmother it in the birth. If he miſcarry in his owne particular vndertakings, hee will ſuborne his Factors, Scribes and Phariſees; and theſe not onely to queſtion; but to oppoſe a deity, fit agents put vpon ſuch a damned deſigne, for it is theirs no leſſe by debt, than parentage; —Ye are of your Father the Deuill, v. 44. He hath bequeathed you a prodigiouslie, and you would faine practiſe it on the Sauiour of the world, labouring to nullifie his acts, blemiſh his deſcent, impoſture all his miracles. Where were they euer ſeconded, but by the finger of a God? or, where contradicted, but by the malice of a Iew? could the powers of the graue, and the ſhackles and bands of death be diſſolued, and broken by the meere hand of Beelzebub? or a dead and ſtinking carkaſſe, enliued and quickened by a Samaritan and his deuill? could the kingdome of darkneſſe, and all thoſe legions below, fetch a ſoule out of the boſome of your Abraham, and re-inthrone it in a body foure daies entombed? no, that —Magnus hiatus inter te, & nos—, returnes the lie vpon all helliſh power, and the prince thereof. —Betweene you, and vs, there is a great gulfe fixed, Luke 16.26. Why then exclaime you on the iniuſtice and falſhood of his teſtimonies? Opera que ego facie—, the workes which I doe beare witneſſe of me. Looke on them, and if they vnſcale not your wilfull blindneſſe, the axioms and principles of your owne law will conuince you. It is written in your Thalmud, —That the teſtimony of two men is true—. Behold then out of your own bloud, and Nation, two ſtrong euidences againſt you, Iewes both, and both ſpeake him a true God, —A virgin ſhall conceiue and bring forth a Sonne, and his name ſhall be called Emmanuell, God with vs, Iſa. 7.14. This is our God, and there ſhall be none in compariſon of him, Baruch 3.36. Why then are ye ſo ſtartled at his naming Abraham? or why doth your indignation ſwell, that he ſaies he is before him? Abraham reioyced to ſee my day, and ſaw it, and was glad, verſ. 56. (My day of eternity, and my day of incarnation, with the eie of faith.) Why enquire you into the number of his yeeres? a whole age to him is as an houre, two thouſand yeeres but as a minute, and all the wheeles and degrees of time within his ſpan, and as a nunc or inſtant; before Abraham was, before the world, before all time I am. Iew, take his word, it is orthodox, or if not, his aſſeueration: and if that be too ſlight and ſingle, loe, hee doubles it, Verily, verily, I ſay vnto you, before Abraham was, I am.

And now thou that ſitteſt in the chaire of Moſes, heare what S. Auguſtine tells thee, —Appende verba, & cognoſce myſterium—, the words (indeed) are of a narrow circuit, yet they ſhrine and inuolue a myſtery, and carry with them both maieſty and depth, like rich ſtones ſet in Ebonie, where though the ground be darke, yet it giues their luſtre and beauty clearer; learne here then both propriety, and weight of language, and how to criticke between a God, and thy owne frailty.—Intellige, fieret, ad humanam facturam, ſum verò, ad diuinam pertinere ſubſtantiam?—Was, points onely to a humane conſtitution, —I am, to a diuine ſubſtance, and therefore the originall hath a — 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 — for Abraham, & an — 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 —for Chriſt. Diuinity is not cloiſtered or confined to time, either paſt, or future, but commands all as preſent; and therefore not —I was, but —I am. Neither doe the Latines giue Abraham an —eſſet, but a —fieret, nor Chriſt a —fui, but a —ſum. Hereupon the full tide of Expoſitors, beſidesEgo latius extendo, Cal. in 8.10. M. Caluine, and his Marlorate, (who though they a while diuide the ſtreame, yet at length they meet in the ſame channell, and ſo make the current a little fuller) waue this way, and ſend vs to that —I am, of Exodus, in the 3. chap. 14. verſ. where wee finde the roote with an •• ieh, Aſher Ehich, which though the Chaldee renders, — Ero qui ere, I will be that I will be — (which indeed is the genuine ſignification of the originall) yet the vulgar Edition giues it in the preſent, —I am that I am— and the Septuagint 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,—I am he that is- (it being both frequent and neceſſary with the Hebrewes to place the future for the preſent) and by this they imply —Gods eternall and vnchangeable being in himſelfe. The Thalmudiſts alſo (whoſe authority muſt paſſe for current, where there is no power to contradict, or ſcanne) allow this, —Ehieh— as much as —S •• —F i—ere- the comprehenſion of three times, paſt preſent, and to come: So the Rabbins in Elleſhemoth Rabbi vpon this Text, reade;—I that haue beene, and I the ſame now, and I the ſame for time to come. Howeuer the Chaldee Paraphraſt labours an indifferency, and hath charity enough to afford both interpretations,—He that was, and hereafter will be.—Ad de notandam aeternitatem eias (ſaith Ionathan) to ſhew the eternall being of him who alone can ſay —Sum, ero- I am, and I will be; for he is the very ſource and fountaine of all life and eſſence, In whom we liue, and moue, and bene our being—, and by reaſon of this riplicity of time, and power, Ʋatablus would deriue Ihehouah from this word —E ich (though ſome of the Hebrew Doctors fetch the pedigree a little higher) from —Hanah, —He was, and tels vs that by the firſt letter is ſignified, he wil be, and by the ſecond—Ho,—He is; & to this Rabbi Bechai ſeems to aſſent, in his 65. page vpon Exodi . But howeuer they war a little in the deriuation, they do not in the ſubſtance, proportioning both this triple priuiledg, & where there is ſuch an immenſity, we cānot but make a God, & where ſuch a God, eternitie. All things beſides him once were not, and being, are limited in their natures, neither could poſſibly perſiſt, vnleſſe God preſerued them; many alſo haue loſt or ſhall looſe their proper eſſence, and whilſt they remaine are obnoxious to daily fluctuations; only God eternally —Is— without beginning, limitation, dependance, mutation, end, conſiſting onely of himſelfe, and all other creatures of him, and therefore this —Ehieh— I am— is a peculiar attribute of omnipotencie, not determining any other, but indeterminatlie ſignifying all manners of being, for ſo it imports —The very immenſitie of Gods ſubſtance,— and to this with an vnanimous conſent all interpreters ſubſcribe, and the whole quire of Fathers. I haue now brought —Ehieh— cloſe up with Iehouah, this —I am— with him that is -Firſt- and Laſt, ſo that we may here rather challenge than borrow that of the Apoſtle; Ieſus Chriſt yeſterday, and to day, and the ſame for ever. Where S. Chryſoſtome will put Chriſt vpō that triple prerogatiue to make him a compleat God, too.—A yeſterday, for time paſt, -to day- preſent- for euer, to come, though I meet here (as I ſhall in euery cranny and paſſage of my diſcourſe) a violent oppoſer, Eniedinum Samoſatenianus, who limits the Apoſtles —Heri— and Hodie—ad Rem nuperam, & recentem-, ſo in Iob (he ſaies) men are called —Heſterni— by the Greekes, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 yeſterday- and to day— for their breuitie of life; but this interpretation is no leſſe bold than deſperate, and that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 —which followes in the originall, will cut off all comment and gloſſe of tranſitorineſſe —The ſame for euer—and therefore we find him cloathed with peculiar titles of the Almighty, and by Saint Iohn foure ſeuerall times fronted with an 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,—from him that was, and is and is to come;— ſo that if any murmuring vnbeleeuer ſhould recoile in the acknowledgement of Chriſts diuinitie; he beats on againe, a third & a fourth time, that if he cannot pierce the ſtonie heart by a ſingle perſwaſion, he will batter it by inculcation. Howeuer the malice or peruerſeneſſe of moſt ages haue brought this truth not onely vpon termes of ſcruple, but oppoſition, ſo that now it is growne diſputable, whether Chriſt ſuffered more in his body by the fury and violence of the hand, or in his diuinitie by the ſcourge and ſting of venomous and deprauing tongues? one would haue him, no God, another no man; this againe would haue him a meere man, and that denies him a true bodie; one ſtrips him quite of fleſh, another cloathes him with it, but makes it ſinfull; this would haue him an Angell, that little better than a deuill, or at leaſt that he vſed one. One, no bodie, another (I beleeue) nothing—Eſt illud mirabile (ſaith Athanaſius) Cum omnes haereſes inuicem pugnent, in falſitate omnes conſentire—.

Euery head is frantike with a ſtrange opinion, and that with ſome wilde fancie, which all meet in the ſame Improbabilitie and (which it euer breeds) falſhood. Errour and infidelitie may blow on diuine truth, and ſhake it too, but not ouerthrow it; 'tis founded on ſuch a Baſis and ſure ground-worke as is ſubiect neither to battery nor vndermining. The Rocke, Chriſt. The Iew and the Arrian lay on fiercely here, not onely to deface this goodly ſtructure, but to demoliſh it, and ruine (if poſſible) his diuinitie; but lend me a while your noble attention, Ile ſhew you with what weakneſſe they come off, what diſhonour. In the trauerſing of which giue mee leaue to make vſe of that Apologie which in the ſame ſubject Saint Ambroſe did to Gratian, —Nolo argumento credas (ſancte Imperator ) & noſtrae diſputationi; ſcripturas interrogemus, interrogemus Apoſtolos, Prophetas, Chriſtum. Leane not ſo much to my ſtrength of Argument and diſputation, as to a ſacred authoritie & proofe, Let vs aske the Scriptures, Patriarchs, Prophets, Euangeliſts, Apoſtles, Chriſt; let me adde (for ſo both my taske and induſtrie require) Fathers, Councels, Rabbins, Schoolemen, Hiſtories ſacred and prophane, let's giue antiquitie her due, and not in a lazy thirſt drinke of the ſtreame, (which is either troubled or corrupt) when wee may haue our fill at a cleere fountaine; to traffique here at home with a few moderne Syſteames, is no ſmall ſinne of the age onely, but our profeſſion too, if we can fleyle downe the tranſgreſſions of the time in ſome few ſtolne Poſtelliſm s, and peece a ſacred line with a worme-eaten Apophthegme, ſo it be done in a frequent and haſty zeale, we are the Sages and the Patriots of the time, and the lights no doubt of this vnder firmament; but our diſcourſe grouels not ſo low; we are here to tread a maze, and threed a Labyrinth, ſometimes on hils of ice, where, if we ſlip in the leaſt punctum, we tumble into haereſie; ſometimes with Peter in the deepe, that if the hand of Chriſt did not a little ſuccour vs, we ſhould ſinke into infidelity. I will ballaſſe my diſcourſe with as much cautelouſneſſe as I may, and where I meet with difficulties which are ſtony and vntrodden, if I cannot fairely maſter them, I will oppoſe them with my beſt ſtrength, and if not finde a way ſmooth to ſatisfaction, dig on; I may perchance awaken haereſies, but I will lull them againe in their own ſlumber, I will onely pull aſide the veile and ſhew you their vglineſſe, and ſhut them vp in their owne deformities. I know I am to ſpeake to an Auditorie, as well ſeaſoned with faith, as vnderſtanding, and yet (perchance) not without ſome mixture and touch of weakneſſe. Here are ſhallowes then for Lambes to wade, and deepes for Elephants to ſwimme, paſſages which lie leuell with humble capacities; others which will venture to ſtand vp with riper iudgments, if they ſtoop ſomtimes and ſeeme too low for theſe, and mount againe and proue too high for others, it was euer my deſire to keepe a correſpondence with the beſt, and ſo to make vſe of that of Auguſtine,—Non fraudabo eos qui poſſunt capere, dum timeo ſuperfluus eſſe auribus eorum qui non poſſunt capere—. Yet come I not to fill thoſe eares which are pickt and dreſt for accurateneſſe I am ſo farre from labouring to pleaſe ſuch, that I intend to vex them; if any charitable eare bee prone to a foure diſcourſe, pitch that attention heere one houre, and I ſhall make good my promiſe out of the words of the Text.

Before Abraham was, I am.

And here we are firſt to enter liſts with that capitall and Arch-enemy of Chriſt, the vexation of the Fathers, and the incendiary and firebrand of the Eaſtern Church, the Arrian, who out of an enuious pride is at once bountifull and iniurious, willing to inueſt Chriſt with the title 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but diſrobes him of that glorious, and his owne 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , granting him a like eſſence with the Father not the ſame: equall to him in power, not eternitie; but giue me leaue to ſtrip one heriticke to cloath another, and put on ours what Tertullian did on Marcion —Quid dim idias mendacio Chriſtum? why doſt thou thus peece-meale and mince a deity, and halfe god (as it were) the Son of the Almighty? —Totus veritas, he is the ſpirit of truth, and oracle of his Father, the brightneſſe of his glory, in whom are hid all the treaſures of Wiſedome, knowledge, by whom God made the world.

It were too bold a ſoleciſme to ranke tranſitorineſſe with what is ſacred, or that which is fleeting with euerlaſtingneſſe, what below eternall dare we make compatible with omnipotencie?

An eternall Intellect, moſt perfect, and ſuch is God, requires an obiect equally perfect, and eternall, which from God, holding a relation to God, can be nothing but God it ſelfe; and ſeeing that no Intellect can conceiue without the image of that obiect which it conceiues, it will follow of neceſſitie that God, ſince from all eternitie he knew himſelfe moſt perfect, ſhould conceiue and bring forth in himſelfe a moſt perfect image of himſelfe, his Sonne. There is no act of vnderſtanding without imagination, which naturally preſents an image, by ſo much the more perfect, by how much the obiect, whoſe image it is, is more diuinely excellent. And this is that the Apoſtle glanc't at, when he ſtiled Chriſt, —Characterem hypoſtaſis patris— the expreſſe image of his Fathers perſon, a ſonne ſo begotten of and in the ſubſtance of the Father, that there can be nothing from it, diuers, or repugning. Seeing then, in God to vnderſtand and to be are not ſo much parallels, as equals.Keck. Syſt. Theol. l. 1. ca. 2. Intelligi autem ſit ipſum filij eſſe—as the Schoole ſpeakes— ſtrength of conſequence will induce, that the ſubſtance of Father and Sonne, ſound one both in power and euerlaſtingneſſe; in fine, for as much as the vnderſtanding of God is from eternitie, actiue, nay, the very act eternall, and that vnderſtanding cannot be without an Image, It followes that this Image which was conceiued, the Sonne, was equall to that which did conceiue, the Father, ſo that the eternitie of God the Sonne, and his equalitie with God the Father doth ariſe from that eſſentiall Identitie of both, for where two perſons ſhall agree in the ſame eſſence, if the one be infinite, the other muſt riuall in the ſame eternitie.

Here is the Rock then on which we build our Church, and the ſure Baſis where we foot and faſten our beleefe. —The Sonne is begotten of the eſſence of the Father, and alwayes begotten, Tom. 2. hom. 6. in Ierem.Non quòd quotidiè renouetur illa generatio, ſed quia ſemper eſt,—ſaith Origen, not becauſe it is dailie renouated, but becauſe it euer —Is— or rather —Was. For Saint Gregory in the 29 of his Morals, the firſt Chapter, plaies as well the Criticke, as the Diuine, and is no leſſe nice, than ſolid,—Dominus noſter Ieſus Chriſtus in eo quòd virtus & ſapientia Dei eſt, de patre ante tempora natus eſt, vel potius quia nec coepit naſci, nec deſijt, dicam verius, ſemper natus, non poſſumus, ſemper naſcitur, nè imperfectus eſſe videatur— Our Lord Ieſus Chriſt in that he is the power and wiſedome of God is ſaid to be borne of the Father before all times, or rather becauſe there was no beginning or end of his generation, we may ſpeake more congruouſly, he was alwayes borne, not -Is-, for that preſuppoſes ſome imperfection, and as the ſame Father proſecutes.Vt aeternus deſignari valeat, & perfectus, & ſemper dicimus & natus, quatenus, & natus ad perfectionem pertineat, & ſemper ad aeternitatem. That we may declare him both perfect and eternall, we allow him as well a -ſemper- as a -Natus- for as much as -Natus- hath reference to perfection, -ſemper-, to eternitie. Howeuer S. Auguſtine in his expoſition of that of the Pſalmiſt, —Ego hodiè, genui te- Thou art my Son, this day haue I begotten thee, Pſal. 2. ſayes that -Hodiè- praeſentiam ſignificat and in eternitie, neither is the time paſt any thing, as if it ſhould ceaſe to be, nor time to come, as if it were not yet, but onely the time preſent, Becauſe whatſoeuer is eternall alwaies -Is- yet at length hee vnderſtands that place —de ſempiterna generatione ſapientiae Dei— And Lombard deſcants on it in his firſt booke ninth diſtinction, who would haue the Prophet to ſay -Genui- nè nouum putaretur, -hodiè ne praeteritae generatio videretur: I haue begotten thee, leſt it ſhould be thought new, to day, paſt, and thence out of the authoritie of the Text or the interpretation concludes a perpetuall generation of the Sonne from the eſſence of the Father.

But here the Hereticke interpoſes, and thus ſubtilly beates at the gates of reaſon. A thing that is borne, cannot be ſaid that it was euer, for in this reſpect it is ſaid to bee borne, Lib. 12. de Trin. that it might be. S. Hillarie, by a modeſt anſwer or confutation rather, limits his propoſition to things meerely ſecular, which borne here in the courſe of nature, muſt neceſſarily call on time, and tell vs they ſometimes were not, it is one thing then to be borne of that which alwayes is not, another of that which alwayes was, for that is temporary, this eternall.

If then it be proper to God the Father, alwayes to be Father, it muſt be to God the Sonne, alwaies to be Sonne, ſo the Euangeliſt.Ioh. 1. v. 31.In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and that word was God, and the ſame was from the beginning; erat, erat, erat, erat, en quater erat, vbi impius inuenit quod non erat? Saint Ambroſe in his firſt to Gratian 5. c. & indeed it was not without a myſterie when in that glorious transfiguration on Mount Tabor, Peter ſaw Chriſt with Moſes, and Elias (when his face did ſhine as the Sunne, and his raiment was white as Snow) what did that viſion portend?Ambroſ. vt ſupra. Niſi vt appareret nobis quod lex & Prophetae cum Euangelio congruentes ſempiternum dei filium quem annunciauerant, reuelarent. But that it ſhould appeare vnto vs that the Law and the Goſpell going hand in hand with Euangelicall truth (for vnder Chriſt and Moſes and Elias, Aug. in orat. ad Catech. cap. 6. Saint Auguſtine alſo ſhrines thoſe three) ſhould reveale vnto vs the euerlaſting Sonne of God, whom they had both foretold and ſhowne. And loe yet, as if theſe were not Oracles loude enough for the promulgation of ſuch a Maieſtie, the voice of the Almightie fils it vp with a -Hic eſt meus Dilectiſſimus- This is my beloued Sonne, My Sonne of eternitie, —Ego ex vtero ante Luciferum genui te—. Pſal. 34. And a ſonne of mine owne ſubſtance, —Ex ore Altiſſimi prodiui— Wiſ. 7. —primogenitus—before the day was, I am he, Eſay 43.13. — Ʋnigenitus— A iuſt God, and a Sauiour, There is none beſide me, Eſay 45.21. A Sonne begotten, not created, not of grace, but nature, before, not in time.

Hereupon Chriſt taking his farewell of his Diſciples, Iohn 20. ſhewes them this Interuallum and diſtance of generation and adoption: I goe to my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your, not to our Father, but to mine and yours. This ſeparation implies a diuerſitie, and ſhewes that God is his Father indeed, but our Creator; and therefore he addes. My God and your God; Mine by a priuiledge of nature, yours of grace; Mine out of the wombe (as it were) of euerlaſtingneſſe; yours out of the iawes of time. Yet the Heretique would faine ſell vs to vnbeleefe and errour, by cheating Chriſt of an eternall birth-right, toſſing it on the tides of time, and ſo make him a creature, and no God.

Heere to diſſent meerely were both perfunctory and dull, ſuch a falſhood merits rather defiance, than deniall, —Negamus? Amb. vt ſupra. potius horremus vocem-. Errours that are ſo inſolent are to be explos't, not diſputed, and ſpit at rather than contrould. Confutation ſwayes not heere, but violence, and therefore the Apoſtle driues this blaſphemy to the head, Coloſſ. 1.15. Where we finde Chriſt ſtiled primogenitus vniuerſae Creaturae, The firſt-borne of euery creature; not the firſt created, —Vt genitus pro Natura, & primus pro perpetuitate credatur—. ſaith Ambroſe; borne preſuppoſes diuine nature- Firſt, perpetuitie, and therefore when the pen of the Holy Ghoſt ſets him out in his full glory, he giues him this title —haeredem omnium—, Col. 1. -The heire of tall things, by whom God made the world—,Amb. 1. de ſi. ad Grat. cap. 2. To make the world, and to be made in it, how contradictory? Quis Authorem inter opera ſua deputet vt videatur eſſe quod fecit? ſaith the Father. Was there euer malice ſo ſhod with ignorance, which could not diuide the Artificer from his worke, the Potter from his clay, the Creator from the thing created? heare him ſpeak in whoſe mouth there was no guile. -Ego & pater vnum ſumus, Ioh. 10. I and the Father are one. Ʋnum- to ſhew a conſent both of power and eternitie, -Sumus- a perfection of nature without confuſion. Againe, -Vnum ſumus- not -vnus ſum- (ſo Auguſtine deſcants) - Ʋnum- to confute the Arrian, Orat. ad Catech. cap. 5. -Sumus- the Sabellian, the one diſiointing and ſeuering the times of Sonne and Father, the other confounding their perſons. -Vnum- than, to ſhew their eſſence one, -Sumus- the perſons diuers.

I could wiſh that we were now at truce, but with theſe there is neither peace nor ſafety, but in victory; wee are ſtill in the Front and violence of our Aduerſary, who puts on here as Philip did to Christ, with a —Domine oſtende nobis-Lord ſhew vs the Father, and it ſufficeth vs, but obſerue how the Lord replies, and in his reply controules, and in his controulement cure's? Haue I been ſo long time with thee, and haſt thou not knowne me Philip? I came to reconcile thee to the Father, and wilt thou ſeparate me? Why ſeekeſt thou another? he that hath ſeene me, hath ſeene my Father alſo. Audi Arriane quid Dominus? (ſaith Auguſtine) ſi erraſti cum Apoſtolo, redi cum Apoſtolo- Hearke Arrius how the Lord rebukes him, and if thou haſt digreſt with an Apoſtle, returne with an Apoſtle, ſo his checke ſhall be thy conuerſion. But whilſt we thus ſhoulder with the Arrian, the Sabellian lies in ambuſh, who now comes on like lightning and thunder, but goes off like ſmoake; for looking backe to thoſe words of our Sauiour, he runnes on boldly to his owne paradox, and by this harmony of Sonne and Father would perſwade vs to a confuſion of their perſons; but the Text beares it not, and one little particle ſhall redeeme it from ſuch a prepoſterous interpretation; for it runnes not with a —Qui me videt, videt patrem, — He that ſees me, ſees my father, as if I were both father and ſonne, but with a- Qui me vìdet, videt-&-patrem,- He that ſees me, ſees my father alſo. Vbi interpoſitio vnius ſillabae, &, patrem deſcernit, & filium, teque demonſtrat, neque patrem habere, neque filium, Auguſt. in his contra 5. hoſt. genera cap. 6. It is a rare opinion that hath not ſomething to hearten it either in truth or probability, otherwiſe it were no leſſe erroneous, than deſperate. But here there can be no colour or pretence for either, where both Diuinity and Arts breathe their defiance; that two natures ſhould diſſolue into one perſon, religion contradicts; two perſons into one nature, reaſon; but two perſons into one perſon, both reaſon & religion. —Dixit Dominus Domino meo— ſaith the Pſalmiſt, The Lord ſaid vnto my Lord, ſit at my right hand. Harke Sabellius, here is a Lord and a Lord, two then, not one; where is now thy confuſion of perſons? Ego Deus ſolus, & non alius extra me, Deut. 32.12. I am God, and there is none beſide me-. Arrius where is thy God of eternity, and thy God of power, thy God of time, and operation, and thy God from the beginning? Audi Iſrael, Dominus noſter Deus vnus—, The Lord our God is God onely, no riuall, no ſharer in his omnipotency, for if temporary, how a God? if a God, how not eternall? if eternall, how not one? Thou alloweſt him the power of God, but not the eternity, the operation, not the time; what prodigy of errour? what dearth of reaſon? what warre of contradiction? what is this but to be God, and no God? temporary, and yet euerlaſting? Opinion once ſeeded in errour, ſhoots-out into hereſie, and after ſome growth of time, blaſphemy. Who (beſides an Arrian) could haue thus molded two Gods out of one? except a Tritheite, or a Maniche? Who (ſcarce ſo groſſely neither) denie them not an equality of time, but condition, coeternall, but this good, and that euill. Thus men ouer-borne with the ſtrength of a ſelfe-conceit, are ſo precipitated and drawne on with the ſwindge of an vnruly fancy, that leauing the road and vſuall wayes of truth, they run into by-paths of errour, and ſo at length looſe both their iudgement, and their faith. Some haue beene ſo buſie with ſtarres, that they haue forgotten him that giues them influence; and like curious Lapidaries, dally ſo long with ſparkling obiects, that they looſe the light of that organ which giues life vnto their Art. Learning (indeed) in many is a diſeaſe, not a perfection, a meere ſurfeit, rather vomited, than emptied, nothing paſſeth but what is forced, and as ſometimes with a fit of weakneſſe, ſo of pitty. A greedy knowledge feeds not our vnderſtanding, but oppreſſeth it, and like a rauenous appetite chewes more to poiſon, than to nouriſhment. Were I to drinke freely of what is ſacred, I ſhould deſire that which flowes, not that which is pumped for, waters that are troubled yeeld mud, and are oftentimes aſwell the bane of the receiuer, as the comfort. A Pioner or bold myner which digs on too farre for his rich veine of Ore, meets with a dampe which choakes him; and we may finde ſome diſpoſitions rather deſperate than venturous, knowne more by a heady reſolution, than a wiſe cautelouſneſſe, whom we may reſemble to that ſilly and ſtorme-toſt Seaman, who diued ſo long for a piece of his ſhipwrackt treaſure, that either want of aire, or ponderouſneſſe of water depriued him at once of life and fortune. Arrius hath been ſo long conuerſant in the ſchoole of Philoſophy, that he forgets hee is a Prieſt, and now makes that the Miſtreſſe of Diuinity, which was before the handmaid. S. Auguſtine therefore in his Oration ad Catechum. expoſtulates with the hereticke, and by way of Proſopopeia doth catechize him thus, — Credis in Deum patrem omnipotentem? Doſt thou beleeue in God the father Almighty, & in his ſonne Ieſus Chriſt our Lord? I beleeue, thou ſayeſt: here, then thou art mine againſt the Pagan, and the Mahometan. Doſt thou beleeue that the God and man Chriſt Ieſus was conceiued of the holy Ghoſt, and borne of the Virgin Mary? I beleeue; thou art yet with me againſt Photinus, and the Iew. Doſt thou beleeue the father to be one perſon, and the ſonne another, yet father and ſonne but one God? and this alſo; here thou art mine too againſt the Sabellian. — Age ſi mecum es in omnibus, quare litigamus? ſaith the Father, if wee are one in all theſe, why contend we? Let there be no ſtrife betweene thee and me, for we are brethren. But it will fall out here anon as betweene Lot and Abraham, by reaſon of our ſubſtance we cannot dwell together, wee muſt part anon. Tell me then how is the ſonne equall to the father, in operation or beginning, in power or eternity, or both? In operation and power, the heretique allowes, but not eternitie; for how can that which was begotten be equall to that which was not begotten? Yes, eternitie, and greatneſſe, and power in God ſound one, for he is not great in one thing, and God in another, but in this great, that hee is God, becauſe his greatneſſe is the ſame with his power, and his eſſence with his greatneſſe. Seeing then the ſonne is coequall in reſpect of power, he muſt be coeternall too in reſpect of euerlaſtingneſſe. Here the Arrian is on fire, and nothing can allay or quench theſe flames but that which giues them an vntimely foment, Reaſon. To proue a principle in nature is both troubleſome and difficult, but in religion without the aſſent of faith, impoſſible: In matters of reaſon, it is firſt diſcourſe, then reſolue, but in theſe of religion, firſt beleeue, and the effect will follow, whether for confeſſion of the truth, or conuiction of errour, or both. The greateſt miracles our Sauiour did in way of cure or reſtauration was with a—ſi credas-, and that to the liuing, and the dead, and betweene thoſe, the ſicke. To the Centurion for his ſeruant with a —ſicut credis-, As thou beleeueſt, ſo be it vnto thee, Matth. 8.5. To the Ruler of the Synagogue for his daughter, with a-Crede- too, —Feare not, but beleeue, Mar. 5.36. To all that are dumbe, or blinde, or lame in myſteries of Diuinity, as to thoſe dumbe, or blinde, or lame in bodie, with a -Vtrum creditis? Doe you beleeue theſe things? then your faith hath made you whole, Matth. 9.28. but if wee meet with vnweildy diſpoſitions, ſuch as are not onely vntractable, but oppoſite to the waies of faith, we ſhall rather drag than inuite them to beliefe; howeuer the Father labours here by a powerfull perſwaſion, and where hee failes in the ſtrength of proofe, he makes it out by way of alluſion, which he illuſtrates by a ſimilitude of fire & light, which are diſtinct things, one proceeds from another, neither can the one be poſſibly without the other, the father he reſembles to the fire, the ſonne to the light, and endeauours to deriue it (though obliquely ſomewhat) from ſacred ſtorie in Deut. 4.24. God is called a fire, —Thy God is a conſuming fire; in Pſal. 8. Chriſt the light, Thy word is a light vnto my ſteps: With this double ſtone he batters the forehead both of the Sabellian, and the Arrian; firſt of the Sabellian, for here are two in one, fire and light, yet two ſtill not one, why not ſo with Sonne, and Father? The Arrian next, for here alſo is one borne of another, yet the one not poſſibly to be borne without the other, neither of them firſt or laſt; fire and light coeuall, Father and Sonne, ſo too. The ſimilitude iarres onely in this, thoſe are temporarie, and theſe eternall, —pater ergò & filius vnum ſunt (ſaith the Father) —Sunt-dico, quia pater & filius, -vnum- quia Deus; dualitas in prole, vnitas in deitate, cum dico filius, alter eſt, cum dico Deus, vnus eſt. cont. 5. hoſt. genera cap. 7. What more obuious and trodden to the thinneſt knowledge, than that there is here -alius and -alius, but not -aliud-, as in bels of equal magnitude, and dimenſion (pardon the lowneſſe of the ſimilitude) which though framed out of the ſame maſſe, and Art, where the ſubſtance and workmanſhip are one, yet the ſound is diuers; for though of Sonne and Father the ſubſtance be one as God, yet the appellation and ſound is diuers, as Sonne and Father.

The Heretique either impatient of this truth, or ignorant, once more makes reaſon his vmpire, but how ſiniſterly, how iniuriouſly? that which ſhould be the miſtreſſe of our ſence, and the Sterne and arbitreſſe of all our actions, muſt now be a promotreſſe and baud to error. It is bold expoſtulation that runnes vs on theſe ſhelues of danger, and hath been the often wracke of many a blooming and hopefull truth. There are errours beſides theſe deſperate, of will, of vnderſtanding, which ſometimes are rather voluntary, than deliberatiue, and ballaced more by the ſuggeſtions of a weake fancy, than any ſtrength of iudgment; If our thoughts thē ſtill lie at Hull in thoſe ſhallowes of nature, where we coaſt daily about ſence and reaſon, how can we but daſh againſt vntimely errours? but if we keepe aloofe in principles of Religion, where thoſe winds of doubt and diſtruſt ſwell and bluſter not, faith will be at laſt our waf er vnto truth. Let's not then any longer root our meditations in vallies vnder vs, but looke vp to thoſe hills from whence our ſaluation commeth. Let's conuerſe a little with Prophets and Euangeliſts, and thoſe other Regiſters and Secretaries of the Almightie. -In te eſt Deus, & non eſt Deus praeter te, Eſay 45.5. Infidell, either deny a diuinity of Father, or Sonne, or confeſſe an vnitie of both; for one thou muſt doe; of the Sonne thou canſt not, for there is a God in him, the Father, Pater qui in me manet ipſe loquitur, the Father that is in me he ſpeaketh, and the works which I doe he doth, Ioh. 10. of the Father thou dar'ſt not, there is a God in him the Sonne, -I am in the Father, and the Father in me, Ioh. 14. Here then is both a proprietie of nature, and vnitie of conſent. God in God, yet not two, but one, fulneſſe of diuinitie in the Father, fulneſſe in the Son, yet the Godhead not diuers, but the ſame, ſo that now there is no leſſe a ſingleneſſe of name than operation. And therefore thoſe words of the Apoſtle, though in the firſt encounter and ſuruay, they offer a ſhew of contradiction, yet ſearched to the quicke and kernell, are not without a myſterious weight, Rom. 8.32. It is ſaid of the Father, -Filio proprio non pepercit, ſed pro nobis tradidit. He ſpared not his owne Sonne but gaue him for vs all to death; yet Epheſ. 5. It is ſaid of the Sonne, -Tradidit ſemeteipſum pro nobis—, —He gaue himſelfe for vs—, Heere is a double —Tradidit—an a —pro nobis—, and a —ſe pro nobis-, if he was giuen of the Father, and yet gaue himſelfe, how can it follow, but that there muſt be both a ſimpathy of nature and operation? And indeed it were a meere ſacriledge and robbery of their honour, to depriue them of this ſo ſacred a correſpondence. We allow to all beleeuers but one ſoule and one heart, Acts 4 to all thoſe that cleaue to God one ſpirit 1 Cor. 16. to husband and wife one fleſh, to all men in reſpect of nature, but one ſubſtance; If in ſublunary matters (where there is no alliance or reference with thoſe more ſacred) Scriptures approue many to be one, ſhall we riffle the Father and the Sonne of the like Iuriſdiction, and deny them to be eternally one, where there is no iarre of will, or ſubſtance? Heare how the Apoſtle doth chalke out a way to our beleefe, by the rules of diuine truth, 1 Cor. 8.6. There is one God which is the Father, of whom are all things, and we of him, and one Lord Ieſus Chriſt by whom are all things, and wee by him. Here is -Deus- and -Dominus-, a God and a Lord, and yet no pluralitie of Godhead, and an -ex quo- and a -per quem, -of whom and by whom, yet a vnitie of power, for as in that he ſayes one Lord Ieſus Chriſt, he denied not the Father to be Lord, ſo by ſaying one God the Father, he denied not the Sonne to be God. —In te igitur eſt Deus per vnitatem naturae, & non eſt Deus praeter te propter proprietatem ſubſtantiae. Ambroſ. lib. 1. de fide ad Gratian 2. cap. With what ſacred inſcriptions do we find him blazoned, the ingrauen forme of his Father, the image of his goodneſſe, the brightneſſe of his glory? and with theſe three of an Apoſtle,Eſay 9.6. a Prophet rankes other three not ſubordinate in maieſtie, or truth; as if the ſame inſpiration had dictated both matter and forme. Counſellor, the Almighty God, the euerlaſting Father, the euerlaſting Father in a double ſence, either as he is author of it, as Iuball was ſaid to be the Father of Muſicke when he was but the Author or inuentor, or in reſpect of his affection, becauſe hee loues with an euerlaſting loue; yet ſome leaning on the word of the Greeke Interpreter 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which the vulgar renders, —Pater futuri ſeculi— would reſtraine it onely to the life to come,In cap. 9. Eſay. but Caluine extends it to a perpetuity of time and continued Series of all ages; And the Chal dee tranſlation (which with the Hebrew is moſt authentique) ſeemes not onely to aſſent to it, but applaud it too. -Nomen eius ab antè mirabilis conſilio, Deus fortis, permanens in ſaecula ſaeculorum. Howeuer the Septuagint (terrified with the maieſtie of ſo great a name) giue it vs by —Magni conſilij Angelus—; which words though they haue no footing in the originall, yet both Auguſtine and Tertullian approue the ſence, taking —Angelus— for —Nancius—, ſo that Chriſt tooke not vpon him the nature of an Angell (as ſome would iniuriouſly foize upon Origens opinion) but the office, by which as a Legate or mediator; rather he appeared to thoſe Patriarches of old, Abraham and the reſt, Gen. 18.3.

I haue once more brought Chriſt as farre as Iacob and Abraham, but the Text tolls me a little farther, and ſo doth my aduerſary too, till I haue verified in Chriſt the ſtrength of that voice, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Iacob. We may not leaue him here with the bare title of an Angell, we muſt goe higher, to that of the Son of God, where we ſhal lagain meet our implacable Arrian in his violent oppoſition. If there be a Son, he muſt be borne, if borne, there was a time when there was no Sonne, for to be borne, preſuppoſes a beginning, and that time. Saint Auguſtine diuided (as it ſeemes) betweene pity and indignation, anſweres. Qui hoc dicit non intelligit etiam natum eſſe, deo ſempiternum eſſe—. To be borne with God, is to be eternall with God, and he opens himſelfe by his old ſimilitude, Sicut ſplendor qui gignitur ab igne, as light which is begotten of fire, and diffuſed, is coeuall with the fire, and would be coeternall too if fire were eternall, ſo the Sonne with the Father, this being before all time, the other muſt kiſſe in the ſame euerlaſtingneſſe. The Father thinking his reaſon built too ſlenderly doth buttreſſe (as it were) and backe it with the authoritie of an Apoſtle,1 Cor. ſuch an Apoſtle as was ſometimes a perſecutor, and therefore his authoritie moſt potent againſt a perſecutor, where he ſtiles Chriſt, the power and wiſedome of God. If the Sonne of God be the power and wiſdome of God, and that God was neuer without power and wiſedome, how can we ſcant the Sonne of a coeternitie with the Father? For either we muſt grant that there was alwayes a Sonne, or that God had ſometimes no wiſedome, and impudence or madneſſe were neuer at ſuch a growth of blaſphemie as to belch the latter. If the reuerend allegation of a learned Prelate, or thoſe more ſacred of an Apoſtle, cannot bung vp the mouth of a malicious Heretique, heare the voice of a Prophet, & a Father warbling vpon that too. Before me there was no other God, and after me there ſhall be none, Eſay. 43.10. Quis hoc dicit, pater, an filius? (ſaith Ambroſe) who is here the ſpeaker, the Father or the Sonne (he comes ouer him with a ſubtill Dilemma:) if the Sonne, thus he ſaith, —before mee there was no other God, if the Father,—After me (ſaith he) there ſhall be none, for both the Father in the Sonne, and the Sonne in the Father muſt be knowne, when thou nameſt a Father, thou haſt alſo deſigned a Sonne, becauſe no man is a Father to himſelfe; when thou nameſt a Sonne, thou confeſſeſt alſo a Father, for no man is ſonne to himſelfe, the Sonne therefore can neither ſubſiſt without the Father, nor the Father without the Sonne, the one being from euerlaſting, we may not depoſe the other from the like omnipotency. If truth thus twiſted in a triple authoritie of Prophets, Apoſtles, Fathers, cannot allay the turbulency of a contagious heretique, heare the voyce of him who ſpake as neuer man ſpake; neuer Father, Apoſtle, Prophet, (if at length ſuch an authoritie be paſſable with an Arrian) the Lambe of God; O Father glorifie me with thine owne ſelfe, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, Ioh. 17.5. Heareſt thou Infidell? a Sonne, and glorified, with the Father before the world? what chinke now, what by-path for euaſion where thou art compaſſed with ſuch a cloud of witneſſes?

Tell me deuill (for hereticke is to cheape and low an attribute, when thou art growne to ſuch a maturity and height of prophanation) was there a time when omnipotent God the Father was not, and yet was there a God? Gird now vp thy loynes, and anſwer if thou canſt, for if he began to be a Father, then he was firſt a God, and after made a Father, how is God then immutable, how the ſame, one, when by acceſſe of generation he ſhall ſuffer change? Grant mee then a God eternall, and thou muſt a Father, and if a Father, a ſonne too, they are relatiues, and cannot digeſt a ſeparation either in reſpect of time, or power. And this thou didſt once ſubſcribe to (and I know not what deuilliſh ſuggeſtion wrought thy reuolt) in an Epiſtle to Euſebius, if the authority of Brentius will paſſe for claſſicall, where thou couldſt afford him the ſtile of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , plenus Deus, vnigenitus- and a little before that he had his beginning, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ante tempora, ante ſaecula, why ſhouldſt thou now then rip vp the wombe of Deity, and enquire how he was begotten? how borne? and when? as if thou labouredſt to baſtard his deſcent, and make it temporary. Doe not, doe not out of the cuſtome of humane generation tie eternity to time, or manner, and ſo at once vomit errour and blaſphemy. Heare the voice of the Lord thundring vnto thee, Cui me ſimilem exiſtimas? who is like vnto mee, or to whom is the arme of the Lord reuealed? Me ante montes generauit Dominus, before the mountaines were ſetled, or the hills raiſed, I was brought forth.Ambroſ. 1. de fide, cap. 5. Habeat ergo generationis inuſitatae gloriam, qui habet poteſtatis inuſitatae gratiam. He that hath an vnwonted Iuriſdiction in reſpect of power, it were a derogation too capitall to leſſen his prerogatiue in way of birth; obſerue what pompe he carrieth of antiquity, what deſcent, how deriued? by Heraulds of no meane ranke, a King, & a Prophet, and a Prophet that's a King, I was ſet vp of old, from euerlaſting, Prou. 8.24. His goings forth haue beene from euerlaſting, Mich. 5.2. Thy throne is eſtabliſhed of old, thou art from euerlaſting, Pſal. 93.2. Harke, from euerlaſting, from euerlaſting, from euerlaſting, one ecchoing to another, as if the ſame pen had beene as well the directrix of the languages, as the truth. If thou ſhalt then hereafter ball an eternity with a—quando, or a—quomodo natus? Amb. vt ſupra. I goe one with the Father ſtill, Quid te iſta quaeſtionum tormenta delectant? Audis Dei filium, aut dele nomen, aut agnoſce naturā?—Quaeres that are to nice rather torment the vnderſtanding, than informe it, and are more apt to puzzle our Iudgement, than to rectifie it. Subtilty of queſtions (I know not whether) it hath more conuinced, or begotten errour, or improued vs in our knowledge, or ſtaggered vs. And hence I ſuppoſe was the ſubſtance of the Apoſtles aduice to the Romanes, He that is weake in faith receiue you; but not to doubtfull diſputations, Cap. 14.1. Curioſities of queſtion haue euer beene the engines and ſtales to hereſie, and therfore ſome of the Fathers haue nicke-named Philoſophers with an —Haereticorum Patriarchae—It is no leſſe a policy than right in ſadder learning to giue Diuinity the chaire,Tertull. for if Arts with their ſubtle retinue once inuade it, ſence and reaſon will hiſſe faith out of doores. And therefore we finde the ſame Apoſtle vehement in his—Canote ne vos ſeducat, Beware leſt any man ſpoile you through Philoſophy and vaine deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Chriſt, Coloſſ. 2.4. In matters of faith he that plaies either the Philoſopher, or the criticke diſplaies neither his Iudgement, nor his Religion, for the kingdome of God is not in word, but in power, 1 Cor. 4.20. Conſidera (ſaith Auguſtine) quod voceris fidelis non rationalis, Faith, not reaſon, is our anchor in this depth, and beleefe, not ſcruple is our ſteerſman to our port. Wiſdome, I meane that which is worldly and feathered (as it were) with tranſitorineſſe, muſt now ſtoope to ſimplicity, ſtrength to weakneſſe. How doth the Apoſtle iumpe with vs? Hee hath choſen the fooliſh things of this world to confound the wiſe, and the weake things the mighty, 1 Cor. 1.27. Hence it is that the kingdome of heauen belongs vnto children, Matth. 19.13. And God hath hid it from the prudent, and reuealed it to babes, Matth. 11.25. And therefore S. Auguſtine makes a proud knowledge ſtrike ſaile to a modeſt ignorance in his 188. Serm. de Temp. —Meum eſt piè ignorantiam confiteri, quam temere mihi ſcientiam vendicare. In ſacred matters your nimble Cryticiſmes are as obnoxious to deſperatneſſe, as danger; to be curious (here) is to be quaintly madde, and thus to thruſt into the bed-chamber of the Almighty is a franticke ſawcineſſe. Who can vnlocke thoſe Coffers of omnipotency,Eſay 45.2. but he that breakes in peeces the gates of Braſſe, and cuts in ſunder the barres of Iron? Who thoſe Cabinets of abſtruſer knowledge?Jdem, ibid. but he that giues thee the treaſure of darkneſſe, and hidden riches of ſecret places? How can our low built apprehenſions but flag in the expreſſion of ſuch a birth, when we finde a Prophet ſo tranſported with contemplation of it, that he dares the world with an Interrogation, —Generationem eius quis enarrabit? Who ſhall declare his generation, Eſay 53. Yet we haue met with ſome ſupercilious and daring wits, which venture here to vntwiſt this myſterie of generation, as if they would calculate an eternall birthright, leaning vpon the authority of S. Hierom in his Commentaries vpon Eccl. 1. where he aſſeuers, that in ſacred Scriptures—Quis oftentimes is not put for an impoſſibility, but a difficulty. And hee inſtances in this —Quis—of Eſay, Generationem eius quis enarrabit? Lib 1. diſt. 19. But Lumbard doth both vindicate and interpret the Father, thus, —Non dicit quod generatio filij aeterna.—He ſaies not that this eternall generation of the ſonne of God can deſcend to any mortall capacity in an abſolute and full knowledge; but in ſome meaſure and degree, for ſo the Apoſtle doth peece-out our perfection here, We are happy in part, and know onely in part, not a haire,Orat. contra Arrianos. not a feather as we ſhould. Dic mihi (ſaith Auguſtine) altitudinem Coeli, profundum Abyſſi, &c. Shew me the height of Heauen, and the depth of Hell, number (if thou canſt) the ſands of the Sea, the drops of raine, or the haires of thine owne head. Plane mee out by ſome perfect demonſtration the truth of thoſe things which grouell here below, and I will beleeue thy knowledge may aſpire to thoſe which are aboue; but thou haſt no power of compaſſing the one, nor poſſibility in the atchieuement of the other. For when all thy faculties of vnderſtanding, will, haue fluttered ſo high as the wings of nature can eleuate and mount them to, yet thou wilt at laſt make vp the ſtorie of Icarus, and finde that theſe are but waxen plumes, and will melt at the preſence of thoſe glorious beames, and ſo thy fall will be as diſhonourable as thy attempt was peremptory; for if the great Doctour of the Gentiles (rapt vp into the third Heauen) ſaid that hee heard words vnexpreſſable, which no tongue dared to vtter, how canſt thou diſſolue and vntie —Paternae generationis Arcana—(as Ambroſe ſtiles them) thoſe knots and Riddles of eternall generation, which can neuer bore a humane intellect, nor lie within the verge of mortall apprehenſion? Mihi enim impoſſibile eſt generationis ſcire ſecretum (ſaith the Father) mens deficit, vox ſilet, non mea tantum, ſed & Angelorum, ſupra poteſtates, & ſepra Cherubin, & ſupra Seraphin, & ſupra omnem ſenſum, in his 1. de fide ad Gratian. c. 4. It is not then ſo much ambition in our deſire, as madneſſe, to attempt the knowledge of that where there is an impoſſibility of reuelation. Thoſe enterprizes are temerarious and ouer-head-ſtrong, which put on where there is not onely danger, but a deſpaire of conqueſt. How can reaſonable man but lie buried vnder the weight of ſuch a myſterie, at which thoſe grand pillars of the Church haue not onely ſhooke but ſhrunke? How muſt wee be ſtrucke dumbe when the tongues of Saints and Angels ſtutter? How our mindes entranced, when the glorious hoaſt of Heauen, and all thoſe feathered Hierarchies ſhal clap their wings? All reaſons tongue-tied, all apprehenſion non-pluſt, all vnderſtanding darkened; ſo that I may now ſpeake of this metaphoricall depth, as Iob did of that other naturall, —Thou haſt made a cloud the garment thereof, and thicke darkneſſe a ſwadling band.

Myſteries carry with them ſuch an awe and Maieſtie, as if they would be obeyed, not diſputed, and aſſented to, not controuerſt. In ſecrets without bottome (ſuch as carry the ſtampe of ſacred) except faith holds vs vp like children we ſwimme without bladders, and muſt either dabble to the ſhore, or ſinke, reaſon hath not an hand to lend vs. Faith and reaſon in reſpect of myſterie, are as a wheele and a bucket at a deepe well; faith hath both the power and ſafetie of deſcent, and nimbly fathoms it, whilſt reaſon wheele's, and rounds it, and is ſtrangely giddied in a diſtracted Gyre. And indeed who durſt laue ſuch an Ocean,Eſay 44 7. but he that ſayes to the deepes be drie? or can ſhut vp the ſeas with doores, that they breake not out, and ſay, Iob 38.8. hither ſhalt thou come, no farther, there ſhall thy proud waues ſtay? What eye that lookes on the Sunne, and dazels not,Ecclus 10.19. but he that ſees from euerlaſting to euerlaſting? & ſends out lightning that they may come and goe, and ſay, here we are? The ſtar-gazer and bold figure flinger are at a ſtand here, why lookeſt thou vp thou proud Aſtrologer? you men of Galilee, why gaze you into heauen? Thus ſaith the Lord of hoaſts, he that form'd thee from the wombe:Eſay 44.24, 25. I am the Lord that maketh all things, that ſtretcheth out the heauens alone, that fruſtrateth the tokens of lyars, and maketh diuiners mad, that turneth wiſemen backwards, and maketh their knowledge fooliſhneſſe. Thou, O Lord, ſhalt haue them in deriſion, thou ſhalt laugh the heathen to ſcorne, for the ſinne of their mouth, and the words of their lips they ſhall be taken in their pride, as the duſt (O Lord) ſhalt thou driue and ſcatter them, and in thy wrath thou ſhalt conſume them, that they may know, that it is God that ruleth in Iaacob, and to the end of the world.

Arrius is now in his pompe and height of glory, and flouriſheth like a greene bay-tree, anone looke after him, and hee is no where to bee found. Hee is vp yet, but it is with the proud man in the Pſalmes, in ſlippery places, and (anone) with him, how ſuddenly deſtroyed, periſhed, and brought to a fearefull end? The whole Eaſterne Church is now in a ſtrange combuſtion, and he muſt kindle it, by and by thoſe flames ſhall light him to his owne ruine. Hereſie may root and bud, and branch, and grow to a goodly height, but the hand of vengeance houers ouer it, and when it ſtrikes, it fels it at a blow, and it comes downe like a pine from a ſteepe mountaine, which in the fall ſhatters both the branch, and bodie. It is heere, as with miſts and fogges which we ſee firſt riſe as in a thin ſmoake from a low Fen or Valley, but gathering ſtrength climbe the mountaine, and at laſt ſo thicken in one body of vapours that they ſeeme to dare the Earth with a ſecond night, till the Sunne (recouering height and power) by the vertue and ſubtiltie of his beames doth diſſipate and open them, and they are ſeene no more.

Will you haue a preſident? we find Arrius at firſt a meane Prieſt of Alexandria in Aegypt, a man keene and ſubtill, as well in wit as learning, Specie, & forma magis, Lib. 1. quàm virtute religioſus, ſed gloriae, & nouitatis improbè cupidus, (ſaith Ruffinus) In vertue not ſo much refined as in the deportment of the outward man, which promiſed a ſet grauity, though no truth of Religion, in a thirſt and purſuit of honour and noueltie, ſtrangely violent,—Dulcis erat in colloquio, perſuadens animas, & blandiens. In his diſcourſe no leſſe ſweet, than powerfull, and where he gaines no conqueſt by perſwaſion, he mines by flattery; Thus by the ſorceries and enchantments of a voluble tong, ſimplicity is betrayed, and vnder a pretext of truth, ſilly women (who are euer moſt affected with leuity and change) are firſt led captiue; and theſe for the enhancement & propagation of their new doctrine, commerce with their allies, and theſe tickled with new fancies, applaud the deſigne, entertaine the noueltie, conuenticles are both conſulted on, and ſummoned, and in a ſhorttime,Aduerſ. Haereſ. -Septingent as virginitatē profeſſas in vnam contraxit— So Epiphanius—. Their Religion is yet in the blade, and greene onely in a few ſhe diſciples, anone it growes by their league with others, Eudoxius, Eunomius, Amb. 1 de ſide cap 4. Aetius and Demophilus, plura nomina, ſed vna perfidia-; Coheires though not to the ſame title, the ſame villany; ſo that thoſe dangerous tumults in the body of the Church could not but now ſtartle the head and gouernour. Conſtantine is informed of thoſe pernicious and deſperate proceedings, who calls a Councell of 318. Biſhops for the condemnation of the heretique. Some conuerſant in ſubtiltie of queſtion (as there was neuer opinion ſo deformed, but found a Champion to propugne it) fauoured Arrius; but at length moſt of them decreed with one mouth Chriſt to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 17 a while ſticke faſt to the opinion of the Heretique, 11 whereof by the menacing of the Emperour ſubſcribed, Manu ſolum, non mente, and the other 6 are now with Arrius vpon termes of exile; they betake themſelues to Paleſtina, where partly by ſtrength of Argument, partly by the inſinuations of a ſmooth tongue, they gaine other Biſhops to their opinion; Anon, Conſtantius, and Valens Emperours; ſome they ſeduce by ſubtilty, ſome by gifts, ſome by power, ſome by cruelty; thoſe that affied conſtantly to the profeſſion of Chriſts diuinity, they inuade by perſecutiō, & all the witty tortures that malice or tyranny could deuiſe, are now put in practiſe, for the torment of thoſe profeſſors; inſomuch that the hearts of their very enemies, could not but thaw into pitty to heare the cries, but conſtancy of little children vnder the barbarous hands of their mercileſſe tormentors. Chriſtianus ſum, Chriſtum verum Deum, credo, & adoro, as the author in his hiſtoria tripartita de perſequutione Ʋandalorum.

This hereſie now is full blowne, and at the growth; one Act more makes it ripe, and ready for the ſickle. Alexandria is yet infected, and foule dregs of Arrianiſme reigne not onely here, but in the neighbour Prouinces; Inſomuch that Alexander (then Biſhop) daily peſtered with thoſe damned innouations, on a Sunday, (for ſo my Antiquary tels me) earneſtly prayed that God would either take him away leſt he ſhould be defiled with the like contagion, or that he would ſhew ſome miracle,Epiphanius. either for the conuerſion or confuſion of the Heretique. Not long after the deſires of the holy man were accompliſhed, and in ſuch a way of iudgement, that the relation would ſute better with a ring of Scauengers than a noble throng, his bowels burſt, as ſometimes Iudas did, Et ſic finem adeptus eſt, in loco immundo & graneolenti, -his death was equally odious with his life, and that with the place he died in, no ſad retinue or pompe of exequy to embalme him, no hearſe or winding ſheet, but his owne intrailes, and grau'd vp with excrements, inſteed of earth, an end as odious, as vntimely, as if it proceeded from the hand of vengeance, and not Fate.

And ſo Saint Ambroſe dilates on it —Non eſt fortuita mors vbi in ſacrilegio pari, poenae parile proceſſit exemplum, 1 de fide cap. 5. vt idem ſubirent ſuppliciū, qui eundem Dominum negauerunt & eundem Dominum prodiderunt—. It is no caſuall, but a deſtinated end, that in a like ſactiledge, there ſhould be a like example of puniſhment, and ſo both meet in one way of ruine which had denied and betrayed their Maſter.

I haue now brought this hereſie to her graue, but the funerall of this is the reſurrection of another, and the reintertainment of that of a third. No part of Chriſt (either in reſpect of his diuinitie, or manhood) but is the mint of a new hereſie, which (if I ſhould indeuour (heere) either to confute or open) would proue an vndertaking fitter for a volume, than a diſcourſe, and for a Library, than a volume. It coſt the houres of an intire age, and the ſweat and elaborateneſſe of all the Fathers. Thoſe few ſands which are now in their conſtant courſe will be runne out in the very nomination of Marcionites, Valentinians, Hebionites, Apollinarians, and the reſidue of that curſed rabble, and ſo I ſhall be caſt vpon your cenſures, if not as I haue been weake, yet as I haue beene tedious. I will then open the mouthes of very heathens, and they ſhall both ſpeake, and confirme this truth, and no leſſe appoſe our aduerſaries, than conuince them, an authority I know not how vnſauory or vnſeaſonable to a diuided Auditory, where a prophane quotation ſounds ſometimes as heatheniſh as a tradition, which in the very name is cri'de downe as apocryphall, and Romaniſh; but I muſt put that vpon the hazard, not eſteeming the froth either of popular cenſure or approbation.

Heathens indeed are little aboue the condition of beaſts, if that onely actuate a man which animates a Chriſtian, the ſoule of faith; yet if God pleaſe to caſt his pearles before theſe ſwine, wherefore hath hee made vs Lords ouer them, but to vindicate thoſe hallowed and pretious things from the hands of vniuſt poſſeſſors? Praeclara Ethnicorum dicta Theologica abijs, tanquàm iniuſtis poſſeſſoribus, in vſum noſtrum transferenda. It is Auguſtines in his ſecond booke De doctrina Chriſtiana. 4. chap. Diuine truth in Heathen mouthes is like the Iewels in Egyptian hands, their wants no Alchimiſt to refine the mettle, onely ſome diſcreeter Iſraelite to transferre the vſe; he that was brought vp at the feet of Gamaliel preaching to the ignorant Idolaters of Athens, concludes againſt them from the mouth of their owne Poets, — 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as ſome of your owne Poets haue ſaid, Acts 17.28. Text enough to gaine, I ſay, not authoritie, but applauſe to his diſcourſe, and to conuince the Heathens ſhame, if not their faith. Diue with me a little farther into their ſecrets, and we ſhall find amongſt much Hay and Stubble, ſome Gold and Pretious ſtones, doctrines which want no truth to make them ſound, onely diuine authoritie to make them authentique. It was not impoſſible that the true light which ſhines on euery man that commeth into the world, ſhould glimpſe into thoſe that ſate in darkneſſe, and in the ſhadow of death; For old Simplicianus in S. Auguſtines Confeſſions 8. Booke 2. Chapter, giues incouragement to a particular enquiry, and concludes in certaine books of the Platoniſts —Deum inſinuari, & eius verbum—. And of this God, and the Word, the very Philoſophers were not ignorant, for wee meet with a Hermes, and a —Zenon, ſtiling the maker & orderer of the Vniuerſe— 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 The Word—which they inlarge with other attributes of —Fate, neceſſity, God— & what ſauours a little of a heatheniſh relique—Animū Iouis—taking—Iupiter—in the ſence that they doe God as Lactantius in his 4. booke de vera Sapient. cap. 9.

But why doe we rob them of their maiden honour, and take their ſayings vpon Tradition meerly? let them ſpeake themſelues in their peculiar and mother-tongue. Numenius, a famous Pythagorian (one, who twixt Plato and Moſes, put no difference but of Language, calling Plato-Moſen, Attica Lingua Loquentem, —Moſes ſpeaking the Atticke Dialect) Deus primus (ſaith he) in ſeipſo quidem exiſtens, eſt ſimplex, propterea quòd ſecum ſemper eſt, nunquam diuiſus; Secundus, & tertius eſt vnus: The firſt God is alwaies exiſtent in himſelfe, ſimple, indiuiſible, the ſecond and third one; and a little after, he calls this firſt God —Creantis Dei patrem,—The father of the creating God. Had they all adored what he here acknowledged, a Trinity in vnity (ſo to be worſhipped) I ſhould then propoſe their precept not onely to be embraced, but their practice to be imitated. Search on, and loe that rich mine of Truth is not yet at her droſſe, or bottome, for Heraclitus next, one who was wont to call S. Iohn, Barbarian, that Euangeliſt to whom belonged the Eagle, as well for ſublimity of Stile, as Contemplation; he —cenſet verbum Dei in ordine Principij, atque dignitate conſtitutum, apud Deum eſſe, & Deum eſſe, in quo quicquid factum ſit, fuerit viuens, & vita, & ens, tum in corpora Lapſum, carnemque indutum, hominem apparuiſſe, oſtendens etiam tunc naturae ſuae magnitudinem: Harke how the Frog chaunts like the Nightingale, (It is Maximilians, Ethnici audiendi, non tanquam Philomelae, ſed Ranae) and curiouſly counterfeits her in euery ſtraine? How cloſely this obſcure Heathen followes not onely the Goſpels truth, but the phraſe too? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and was God, all things were made by him, euery liuing Creature, life, and thing, then this Word was made fleſh, and appeared man, & euen then ſhewed the glory of his nature. How ſweetly he warbles with his Barbarian, as if by an eaſie labour of Tranſlation hee had bereft him both of Truth and Eloquence? I maruaile not now at that Teſtimony of Baſil the Great, vpon thoſe words, In principio erat verbum—Hoc ego noui, multos etiam extra veritatis rationem poſitos— I haue knowne many (ſaith he) and thoſe put without the pale and liſt of diuine Truth, men meerely ſecular, aduancing and magnifying this peece of Scripture, and at length bold to mixe it with their owne decrees and writings. And S. Auguſtine ſeconds it with an inſtance,—Quidam Platonicus,—A certaine Platoniſt was wont to ſay that the beginning of S. Iohns Goſpell was worthy to be written in letters of gold, and preached in the moſt eminent Churches and Congregations, in his 10 book de Ciuitate Dei, c. 29. O the diuine raptures and infuſions, that God doth ſometimes betroth to his very enemies! who can but conceiue that as the very worſt of men haue knowledge enough to make them inexcuſable; ſo the beſt of Heathen had enough to make them Saints, were their faith that he ſhould be their Sauiour, as great as their knowledge, that he was the Sonne of God. With what rich Epithites they bedecke and crowne him. —Mentis Germen, Verbum Lucens, Dei Filius, (it is his ſaying, who (I know not by what ſearch) found out almoſt all Truth, Mercurius Triſmègiſtus) the mindes bloſſome, the word that gaue light, the ſonne of God. What elſe did S. Iohn adde, but that the word was light? And S. Auguſtine giues this farther teſtimony of that heathen, that he ſpake many things of Chriſt in a propheticke manner—eadem veritate, licèt non eodem Animi affectu— with the ſame truth the Prophets did, but not with the ſame affection —pronunciabat illa Hermes, Dolendo, pronunciabat haec Propheta, Gaudendo— in his 8. booke de Ciuitate Dei, 23. chapter. And why ſhould we barre ſome of their Philoſophers of a propheticke knowledge, when a Poet ſhall fill his cheekes with a —Chara Deum Soboles, Magnum Iouis incrementum—? And if wee looke backe to thoſe Oracles of old, the Sybills ſacred Raptures, we ſhall finde them more like a Chriſtians Comment, than a Heathens Prediction.

Tunc ad mortales veniet, mortalibus ipſis In terris ſimilis, natus Patris omnipotentis Corpore veſtitus—

Whereof if we enquire a little into the originall, Saint Auguſtine will tell vs that the Greeke coppies giue vs 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Ieſus Chriſt, the Sonne of God, In oration. contra Arrian. the Sauiour; and it is not onely probable, but euident, that the Gentiles had a knowledge of Chriſt as he was the Word, as it appeareth by that of Serapis vnto Thulis, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. King of Egypt. And it is ſtrangely remarkeable: what wonderfull Titles, and inſcriptions, the Platoniſts dedicate to his name and memory, with which as (with a wreath and Lawrell) they girt & beautifie his Temples, -Dei verbum, Mundi Opifex, Idaea boni, Mundi Archetypum, moderat or Diſtributor, Imago primi entis, rationalis Creaturae exemplar, Paſtor, Sacerdos, vlna bumens, Lux, Sol, coelumque candens, mentis germen Diuinae, verbum Lucidum, filius primog nitus, primi dei ſemper viuentis vmbra, vita, ſplendor, virtus, candor lucis, character ſubſtantiae eius, and the like, which could not but flow from a heart diuinely toucht, and a tongue ſwolne with inſpiration, as Roſſélus tels vs in his Triſmegiſti Pimandrum, 1 booke, 107 page. For theſe and the like ſayings, ſome of the ancient Fathers haue coniectured that Plato either read part of diuine ſtory, or whilſt he trauelled in Egypt, had a taſte of ſacred truth, out of the ſayings of the Hebrewes by an Amanuenſis, or interpreter; For then many of the Hebrewes (the Perſians reigning) wandered in Egypt.

Moreouer, Ariſtobulus the Iew who flouriſhed in the time of the Machabees, writing to Ptolomy Philometora, King of Egypt, reports that the Pentateuch before the Empire of Alexander the Great, and the Perſian Monarchie was Tranſlated out of Hebrew, into Greeke, part whereof came to the hands of Plato and Pythagoras; and he is after peremptory, that the Peripateticks out of the bookes of Moſes, and the writings of the Prophets drew the greateſt part of their Philoſophy, and it may ſeeme ſtrange what the Iewiſh Antiquary traditions of Clearchus (the moſt noble of that Sect) who in his firſt —De ſomno— brings in his Maſter Ariſtotle relating that he met with a certaine Iew, a reuerent and a wiſe man, with whom he had much conference concerning matters both naturall & diuine, and receiued from him ſuch a hint and ſpecialty of choicer learning wch did much improue him in his after knowledge, eſpecially in that of God, as Ioſephus lib. 1. contra Appionem, & Euſebius in his 11 de praeparat. Euangelica. 6.6. Clement. Alexandrin. 5. Stromaton-.

And thus I haue at length (though with ſome blood and difficultie) trauerſed the opinions of the ancient, and ſhewed you the errours of primitiue Times in their fouleſt ſhapes. I haue opened the wiles and ſtratagems of the aduerſary, and how defeated by the chariots of Iſrael, and the horſemen thereof; what Bulwarkes and Rampires the Fathers raiſed for propugning of Chriſts diuinitie, and how beſieged by curſed hereſies, with what ſucceſſe, what ruine.

Let vs now returne where we began, and place Chriſt where we found him, before Abraham, before the world, where (me thinkes) he now ſtands like a well rooted tree in a rough ſtorm, where though winds blow on him ſo furiouſly, that he is ſometimes forced to the earth (as if he were meerely humane) yet he bends againe, and nods towards heauen (to ſhew that hee is diuine, and but a plant taken thence grafted in our Eden here) where though toſt vp and downe with blaſts of Infidelity, yet when the enuy of their breath is ſpent (as we ſee a goodly Cedar after a tempeſt) he ſtands ſtrait, vn-rent, as if he ſcorned the ſhocke of his late churliſh encounter, and dared his bluſtring Aduerſary to a ſecond oppoſition.

Gloria in excelſis Deo. FINIS.
Errata in the Babler.

PAge 6. line 9. reade irregular. ibid. l. 11. r. abſtemious; in the margent in the ſame page, r. Alexand. in marg. p. 8. r. Alexand. p. 7. l. 16. r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 8. l. 25. r. auſtere. p. 14. l. 3. r. Ianiſaries. p. 23. l. 27. r. ſhould. p. 33. l. 35. r. miſts. p. 37. l. 18. r. others. p. 41. l. 7. r. per vulnera. p. 13. l. 27. r. morall.

Errata in Moſes and Aaron.

PAge 25. line 7. reade Lure. p. 24. l. 31. r. and. ibid. l. 32 r. hauing. ib. l. 34 r. are. p. 21. l. 21. r. crime. p. 18. l. 25. r. from. p. 19. l. 14. after the words Rabbi, Rabbi, reade on out of the Text, viz. they Binde heauie, &c. p. 18. line 8. reade ſo.

Errata in Iacob and Eſau.

PAge 2. line 11. reade theſe. p. 6. l. 10. r. quality. ib. l. 28. r. hereupon. p. 11. l. 32. r. become. p. 12. l. 32. r. ignorance. p. 19. l. 22. r. both diſpenſt with. ibid. l. 35. r. duel. p. 33. l. 24. r. conſequence.

NATVRES OVERTHROW, AND DEATHS TRIVMPH.

A SERMON PREACHED AT THE FVNERALL OF SIR IOHN SYDENHAM, Knight, at Brimpton, the 15. of December. 1625.

BY Humphry Sydenham Mr. of Arts, and Fellow of WADHAM Colledge in OXFORD.

Studeat quiſque ſic delicta corrigere vt post mortem non oporteat poenam tolerare.

Auguſt. lib. de verâ & falſa poenitentiâ.

LONDON, Printed for IOHN PARKER. 1626.

TO MY MVCH RESPECTED KINSMAN, Iohn Sydenham, Eſquire, This. SIR;

THere is as well an obedience in matters of deſire, as command, and with me a requeſt hath euer been of larger authoritie than a Mandate. You were pleas'd (formerly) to importune me for a tranſcript of this Sermon; now, for the impreſsion of it; I haue obeyed you in either; but I feare 'twill looſe ſome of the luſtre in the peruſall, which it found in the deliuery. I am not ſo happy a maſter of my Pen, as of my tongue, nor you (perchance) of your eare, as of your eye, that, ſome tinckling fancies may (at once) take and delude: this, is more ſubtle, and perſpicacious, and will not be gull'd with the barke and ſhell of things, but pierces the very kernell, and the marrow; 'Tis ſometimes with the eare, and eye of a Schollar, as with his fancy, and his iudgement; the one hath many a cheate put vpon it by weake impoſtures, which the other both diſcouer's, and reiects, and ſometimes (as it doth here) pittie's. What you ſhall meet with of vigour, and ſolidity, entertaine, cherriſh, 'tis yours; yours firſt in the birth, and occaſion; now, in the protection, nouriſhment; what, more languiſhing, and abortiue, lay on the author, 'tis mine, like me, I'le father it; Howeuer, 'twill implore your charity, the charitie of your faire interpretation, not of your beneuolence; which if yov ſhall vouchſafe, you haue nobly rewarded the endeauours of

Your affectionate kinſman, HVM: SYDENHAM.
NATVRES OVERTHROW, AND DEATHS TRIVMPH. ECCLES. 12.5.

Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners walke about the ſtreets.

MOrtality loue's no deſcant; your plaine ſong ſutes beſt with blacks, that which is grauly ſet to compunction, ſorrow, tun'd heauily, to ſighes, and lamentations. What ſhould warbling aires with darted boſomes, & vnbalmed hearts? what your quaint and youthfull raptures, when—Mourners walke about the ſtreets? If Zion be wept for, harpes muſt be hung vpon the willowes; ſad obiects require furrowes in the cheeke, and riuers in the eie, and we then moſt honour the exequies of our friends, when we embalme the deceaſed with our teares. Away then with eares wanton'd to looſer Sonnets; offend not with vnchaſt attentions theſe hallowed anthemes, here's broken harmony; dirges as ſullen, as they are ſacred; panting and heart-broke elegies, ſuch as ſhould be rather groan'd, than ſung. Aske the Preacher (heere) and he will tell you.Eccles. 12.41.The daughters of Muſicke are brought low, and the yeares draw nigh, when we ſhall ſay, we haue no pleaſure in them. He ſtorie's of a Sunne, verſ. 2. and Moone, and Starres which are obſcur'd, and of clouds that returne not after raine; as if the world were at her laſt pang, and gaſpe, and ready for her funerall. Behold! the little world is —The keepers of the houſe haue trembled, Verſ. 3. the ſtrong men bowed themſelues, the grinders ceaſed, and thoſe that looke out of the windowes, darkned; the Almond tree doth flouriſh, and the graſhopper is a burden, and deſire ſhall faile. —Becauſe— Man goeth to his long home, .3. and mourners walke about the ſtreets.

Without any racke, or violence to the words, they offer themſelues to this diuiſion.Diuiſion. 1 the ſubiect, Man. 2 his condition, tranſitory condition, expreſt by way of pilgrimage—, —Goeth—. 3 the non vltra, or terminus ad quem, of this his pilgrimage—. To his home- enlarged with an epithet —Long home—. 4 the ſtate and ceremony, it there meets with.—And the mourners walk about the ſtreets—. Pars 1. Of theſe in their order: firſt of the ſubiect, Man.

To dwell with circumſtances, and ouerſlip the maine, was euer an embleme of negligence, if not of weakeneſſe; each fabuliſt will tell you of a dog, and a ſhadow, and what they moral. He that iangles (meerly) about nominalls, where matters of realitie and ſubſtance fleet by, may ſpeake himſelfe a Grammarian, or a Sophiſter, ſcarce a Diuine. Of the name of Man, its ſource, and pedegree, I liſt not to diſcourſe; not an ignorance ſo vntaught, or vnderſtanding dull'd, but would foreſtall me, or ſhould I (by chance) meet with ſome intellectuals, ſo thin and tender, that could not (as it is a chance I ſhould) ſcarce an obiect but would be both your ſpokeſman, and remembrancer; yonder ſad ſpectacle, that earth, this ſtone would tell you —Homo ab humo, from the ground, Adam ab Adamah, from the earth, red earth, not that more ſolid part of it, but the brittleleſt, duſt, ſo the curſe runnes, —Duſt thou art, and to duſt thou ſhalt returne—. In the word Man, in the various acceptation of the word Man,Am. Pol. c. 35. Syntag. (wherein ſome ſyntagmaticall Diuines haue vnprofitably toil'd) Ile not curiouſly or impertinently trauaile, but without any figuratiue, or metaphoricall ſence, take it properly, and literally, as the Text giues it me,—Man— that is, a reaſonable liuing creature, or rather a reaſonable liuing ſoule, for ſo the Spirit of God Chriſtens it, —The man was made a liuing ſoule, Gen. 2.7. and the ſame periphraſis the Apoſtle vſes too, 1 Cor. 15. The firſt man Adam was made — 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in animam viuentem, or anima viuens—A liuing ſoule—verſ. the 45. yet in the 44 of the ſame Chapter, hee cals him, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a liuing body. Either cote he is iuſtly blazoned by, ſo we giue the difference, rationall, a difference ſo ſpecificall, and proper, that it diuides him from any other; for reaſon is an intellectiue power, peculiar to man onely, and not communicable to a ſecond creature; by which 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or (as the Scholeman termes it) diſcurrit; out of one thing he deduces another, and orders this, by that, both in method and diſcretion. Hence it is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the worke or office of it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,Jdem, vt ſupra. diſcurſus—propter animae celeritatem—, for the volubilitie and nimbleneſſe of the ſoule, by which it trauerſes & moues from one obiect to another, from effects to cauſes, and backe againe, from all things to euery thing, and from that (almoſt) to nothing. And as man was prerogatiu'd aboue others, in reſpect of perſpicacitie, ſo of Empire, and dominion,Fer. in Gen. for whereas in other paſſages of creation, we find a kind of commanding dialect, -with a -fiat lux, and a -producat terra-. Let there be light, let the earth bring forth, Gen. 1.27. In that of Adam, words more particular, of deliberation, and aduice. —Let vs make man—, Man, a creature of thoſe exquiſite dimenſions, for matter of body, of thoſe ſupernaturall endowments, of ſoule, that now omnipotencie bethinkes it ſelfe, and will conſult. The priuy Counſell of Sonne, and Holy Ghoſt, is required to the moulding and poliſhing of this glorious peece.Contra Philo. Angels may looke on, and wonder; touch, or aſſiſt, they may not; no, not ſo much as to temper or prepare the mettle. Here is worke onely for a Trinitie. A taske for Iehouah himſelfe,Pur. Pilg. for Iehouah Elohim, the Father, by the Son, in the power of the Spirit. No doubt, ſomewhat of wonder was a proiecting, when a compleat Deity, was thus ſtudying, it's perfection, ſomewhat, that ſhould border vpon euerlaſtingnes, when the finger of God was ſo choicely induſtrious, and loe what is produced? Man, the maſter-peece of his deſigne and workmanſhip, the great miracle and monument of nature, not only for externall tranſcendencies, but the glory and pompe of inward faculties, ſtampt and engrauen to the image of his God, through the righteouſneſſe of an immortall ſoule; beſides, a bodie ſo ſymmetriouſly compoſed as if nature had loſt it ſelfe in the harmony of ſuch a feature. Man, the abſtract, and modell,Greg. Naz. and briefe ſtory of the vniuerſe, —the vtriuſque naturae vinculum—, the cabbonet and ſtore-houſe of three liuing natures,Beaſts. Angels. Men. ſenſuall, intellectuall, rationall, the Analyſis, and reſolution of the greater world into the leſſe, the Epitome, and compendium of that huge tome, that great Manuſcript and worke of nature, wherein are written the characters of Gods omnipotencie, and power, framing it, diſpoſing it, all in it, to the vſe and benefit of man, of man, eſpecially, of man, wholly; other creatures paying him an awfull obedience, as a tribute, and homage, due to their commander in all things, ſo neere kinne to Deity, that Melanthon, makes him a terreſtriall tranſitory God: hauing little to diuide him from a -Numen-, but that one part of him was mortall, and that not created ſo, but occaſion'd, miſerably occaſion'd, by diſobedience.

A little forbidden fruit (from the hand of a fraile creature) ſhall diſinherite it of an eternall priuiledge, and man is now thruſt out of the doores of his euerlaſting habitation for two pretty toyes, an Apple, and a Woman; howeuer death hung not on the fruit, (ſaith Chryſoſtom) but the contempt, which was not ſo voluntary, as ſuggeſted; fond man, that is thus cheated of an aſſurance of immortality, by a falſe perſwaſion that he ſhall be immortall, that -critis ſicut Dij— hath dampt all; the Serpent perſwades him, —if he doe but taſte, hee ſhall be as God, when hee hath taſted, findes himſelfe worſe than man; a worme indeed, no man. Thus he is at once fool'd out of euerlaſtingnes, and the fauour of his Maker: the anger of the Lord is now ſore kindled, and his furie ſmoaks in a double curſe againſt him, and what he was framed of, earth; that which hath (hitherto) voluntarily preſented her fruitfulneſſe, in hearbes, and plants, and all things requiſite for his ſuſtenance; now, vndreſt, and not watered in the bubble and ſweat of an induſtrious brow, affords him nothing but thornes, and thiſtles; iuſt reward of diſobedience, barrenneſſe, and death. Lamentable felicity, which (at height) is but conditionary, & then fatall. There is no miſery ſo exquiſite, as the ſence of a loſt happineſſe. Calamity is ſupportable enough, where there is not felt, or ſeene, a more honourable condition; but, to be tumbled from a bliſſe we were ſometimes maſter of, is a punctuall wretchedneſſe. Man, but now on the pinacle and ſpire of all his glory, in a moment ſhamefully throwne from it, and with him, all poſterity. But loe, there is mercy euen in iuſtice, and life in the very ſentence and iaw of death. —The ſeed of the woman ſhall breake the Serpents head—. She that was (ere-while) a chiefe inſtrument in his fall, ſhall be now a maine agent in his reſtauratiō, not to that ſtate wherin he was created, but to that wherein he ſhall be glorified. The ſoule (through faith, and grace) ſhall ſtill be preſerued immortall, but the body muſt leſſen of it's primitiue condition, the ſoule as a Sunne that is eclips'd, or clouded, ſhall ſhine againe, the body, like ſome meteor, for a time exhal'd, falleth to the earth from whence it came; and as ſome mettals (laid for a ſpace in the boſome of the ground) grow more refined, and purified, ſo ſhall the body, interr'd a naturall one, riſe a glorious. In the Interuallum, as a puniſhment for tranſgreſſion, it ſhall reſolue into what it was made of, and it muſt goe to its long home, the graue; where wee haue now brought it, & would haue laid it in, but that the captious hereticke violently withſtands it, and thus he interpoſes. If man returne into earth, as he is earth, then he was mortall before he ſinned, and ſo death ſeemes to be of nature, and not puniſhment. —It is not anſwered by deniall, but diſtinction, and we muſt (here) criticke betweene mortale, mortuum, and mortiobnoxium, mortall, dead, and liable to death. We call that dead which is actually depriued of life; ſubiect to death, what is within the fathome and command of deaths power, and tyranny for ſinne, though not actually, yet in time. Mortall, two wayes, either for that which by a neceſſity of nature ought to die, or for that which as the merrit and reward of ſinne, can die. The body of Adam (before ſinne) was of it ſelfe mortale (as mortall is taken in the laſt ſence) becauſe mutabile, and that is mutable, which of it ſelfe can ſuffer change, although it neuer doe, as the good Angells, and God onely is immutable, —Per ſe, & natura (as Auguſtine ſpeakes in his booke de vera Relig. cap. 13.) But the body of Adam was not moriturū, to die, if he had not ſinned, but by a glorious change, without death, had beene tranſlated by God into an euerlaſting incorruptibility. It was ſinne then that made man obnoxious to the ſtroks of death, not any condition, or neceſſity of nature, and therefore I know not whether I may call it an errour of the Pelagian, or a blaſphemy, who would haue Adam (had he not tranſgreſſed) die by the law of nature. Hence he might inferre, that death was not a puniſhment for ſinne, and ſo by conſequence, Chriſt not died for it; but wee finde this (by a Councell) long ſince doomed for an hereſie, & an heauy Anathema laid on the Patron of that tenent in Concilio Mileuitano cap. 1. and more particularly by Auguſtine in his firſt booke de Peccatorum meritis & remiſſione cap. 2. You ſee then that death and all corporall defects, were ſcourges following the diſobedience of the firſt man, not occaſioned by any impulſion or languiſhment of nature, and Aquinas will reaſon it thus, —If a man for an offence be depriued of ſome benefit that is giuen him, the wanting of this benefit, is the puniſhment of that offence. To Adam in his ſtate of innocency there was this boone conferr'd from Heauen, that as long as his minde was ſubiect vnto God, the inferiour powers of the ſoule ſhould be obedient vnto reaſon, and the body vnto the ſoule. But, becauſe the minde of man (by ſinne) did recoile and ſtart backe from this diuine ſubiection, it followed, that thoſe inferiour powers alſo would not be totally ſubiect vnto reaſon; whence grew ſo great a rebellion of the carnall appetite, that the body (too) would not be totally ſubiect to the ſoule. Vpon this breach death enters, and all that pale band of diſeaſes, and corporall infirmities, for the incollumity and life of the body conſiſts in this, that it be ſubiect vnto the ſoule, —Sicut perfectibile ſuae perfectioni,— as the Schooleman ſpeakes, as a thing perfectable to its perfection. On the other ſide, death and ſickneſſe, and languiſhments of body, haue reference to the defects of the true ſubiection of the body, to the ſoule. And therefore neceſſity of conſequence will induce, that, as the rebellion of the carnall appetite to the ſpirit, was a puniſhment of our firſt fathers ſinne, ſo, mortality, and all corporall imperfections too, as the Schooleman punctually in his 2a. 2ae. 164. quaeſt. 1. Artic. The curſe then due to the lapſe of our firſt Parents houers not ouer the ſoule onely, but, for it, the body; the body (before) in a bleſſed way of incorruptibility, but, not of it ſelfe, but from the ſoule, ſo Auguſtine tells his Dioſcorus, —Tam potenti naturâ Deus fecit animam, vt ex eius beatitudine, redundet in corpus, plenitudo ſanitatis, & incorruptionis vigor—in his 56 Epiſtle. His body then was not indiſſoluble by any vigor of immortality exiſting in it ſelfe, but there was (ſupernaturally) a power in the ſoule, diuinely giuen, by which man might preſerue his body from all corruption, as long as it remained ſubiect vnto God. And the Schooleman hath good ground for it; for, ſeeing the reaſonable ſoule doth exceed the dimenſions and proportion of corporall matter, it was conuenient, that, in the beginning, there ſhould be a vertue giuen it, by which the body might be reſcued from all infirmities, and conſerued aboue the nature of that corporall matter, as the ſame Aquinas par. 1. quaeſt. 97. Art. 1. The whole man then (mixt of body and ſoule) was in the creation in a glorious ſtate of immortality, but it was with a —Quodammodò— (as Auguſtine tells vs, de Geneſ. ad Lit. lib. 6. cap. 25.) not abſolutely, —Ita vt non poſſet mori, —but conditionally —poterat non mori—. It is true, he had a power not to dye, if he had not ſinned; but it was a neceſſity he ſhould die, when he had; otherwiſe God had beene as vniuſt to his promiſe, as hee was ſeuere in his command, for ſo the charge runnes, Geneſ. 2.At that day thou eateſt thereof thou ſhalt die the death—. Hee hath eaten, therefore he muſt die— But from whence commeth this death? from God or from himſelfe? or both? originally from neither; not from God, he cannot be the cauſe of it, death being a priuation onely, hauing name (ſaith Auguſtine) but no eſſence; beſides it is an Omen, and an ill to nature. Whatſoeuer God made, had an eſſence, was a ſpecies, good; the Text tells vs ſo, ſix times tells vs ſo, in one Chapter, Geneſ. 1. God made the firmament, and it was good, Hee made the earth, and it was good; in a word, he ſaw all that he had made, —Et erant valde bona— they were very good—.Geneſ. 1. vlt. We may not thinke then that God therfore created man, that he ſhould die; or, becauſe death followed his diſobedience, God was the cauſe of it. Death may be an inſtrument of his iuſtice, not an effect of his producing. It is one thing to giue the ſentence of death, another to be the authour of it. Indeed Auguſtine ſayes (lib. 1. Retract. cap. 21.) that death (as a puniſhment) hath reference to God, not, as an obliquity; Aquinas. and the Schooleman is at hand too, with a diſtinction for a two-fold death, one, as an ill of humane nature, or a defect incident from mans tranſgreſſiō, that, he dares not lay on the Almighty, the other, as it hath ſome ſpecies or reſemblance of good, to wit, as it is a iuſt penance for his rebellion, this he doth in his 2a. 2ae. 164. quaeſt. Art. 1.

As therefore in the creation of the world God is ſaid to make light, and to ſeparate it from darkneſſe, Geneſ. 1. not to make darkneſſe, as if that were of it ſelfe ſome blinde maſſe and Chaos, and therefore God chid light out of it; ſo in the creation of man God is ſaid to make life (God breathed into him the breath of life) not death, nay he doth ſeparate that light from this darkneſſe, and doth chide life not out if it, but from it, with a—Caue ne manducas— take heed thou eat not, for if thou doſt, —morte morieris—thou ſhalt die the death. That therefore of the wiſe man will vindicate the Almighty from this miſpriſion, —God made not death, Wiſdome 1.13, 14. neither hath he pleaſure in the corruption of the liuing, for he created all things, that they might haue their being, and the generations of the world were healthfull, & there was no poiſon of deſtruction in thē.

The wombe then of this great plague of man the Apoſtle rips vp, —When luſt hath conceiued, it bringeth forth ſinne, and ſinne when it is perfected, bringeth forth death, Iam. 1.15. The birth then of ſinne is through a conception of luſt, and the ſtrength of death through a perfection of ſinne. Loe then the cauſe of this great calamity diſcouered! but how came that? originally from the man? no. How then? —Through the enuie of the deuill came death into the world, the 2. Chapter of the ſame booke,Aug. in locum. verſ. 24. And therefore Saint Auguſtine calls it,—mors-à morſu— from the biting of the Serpent. And our Sauiour tells vs, —Ille homicida ab initio, Iohn 8.—He was a murderer from the beginning; whence perceiuing man (by his then obedience) aduanc'd to that place from which he was headlong'd, now diſſolues, and breakes into ſecret enuie; this enuie wrought deceit, deceit concupiſcence, that, diſobedience, diſobedience, ſin, ſinne, death. So that the enuie of the deuill is the ſource and ſpring-head, deceit, the Conduit, concupiſcence, the pipe, the waters conueied in it, diſobedience, ſinne, the Channell or Ciſterne into which they fall, death. Tell Adam then of the forbidden fruit, he layes it on his wife, —The woman gaue it me. Aske the woman, ſhe puts it on a third,—The Serpent ſeduced me—.Aske the Serpent, there it ſtayes, and in ſtead of an anſwer, we finde a curſe, —Becauſe thou haſt done this, Geneſ. 3. vpon thy belly thou ſhalt creepe, and duſt thou ſhalt eat all the daies of thy life. The man then all this while growes not obnoxious in reſpect of ſeduction, but aſſent, the woman of both; ſo the Apoſtle —Adam was not deceiu'd, —ſed mulier in praeuaricatione ſuâ—the woman being deceiu'd was in the tranſgreſſion, 1 Tim. 2.14. If God then aske Adam —num comediſti? Haſt thou eaten of that tree of which I commanded thee thou ſhouldeſt not eat? He anſwers not with a—Mulier ſeduxit,—the woman hath ſeduced me, but onely with a —dedit—ſhe gaue me, and I did eat. If hee aske Euah, —Quid feciſti? Woman, what is this that thou haſt done? ſhe as empty of any other euaſion, as of ſtrength, layes all on the ſhoulders of the ſeducer, —with a—Serpens ſeduxit me,—the Serpent ſeduced me. God inquires no farther, but ſentences,Vt ſupra.I will put enmity betwixt her ſeed and thy ſeed, it ſhall breake thy head, and thou ſhalt bruiſe his heele, as it is nimbly obſerued on the 2.Egidius de Roma. booke of the Sentences, diſtinct. 22.

Thus, with ſome bloud, and trauaile, I haue ſhewed you man, in his originall, height, fall; how created, in what glory thron'd, how ſuncke, what the ſinne, the occaſioner, the puniſhmēt; whence he was, what he is, whither hee muſt; earth, from earth, to it; thither hee ſhall without repriuall, the ſentence is paſt, the executioner ready, and hee muſt goe, for —Man goeth, that's my ſecond part, his tranſitory condition expreſſed by way of pilgrimage. Goeth.

PARS II. Man goeth—.

RAre expreſſion of his frailty here, if it may not be more properly ſaid —he is gone, then that hee goeth. Our daies (ſaith the Kingly Prophet) are gone euen as a tale that's told, Pſal. 90. A tale, of no more length than certainty. Againe, they are dayes, not yeeres, as if our being (here) depended vpon moments, more than time, or if time, that which is preſent, not in future; Daies are enough, and yeeres, too much, or had we both, loe, they are gone, gone euen as a tale that's told, a tale, as momentary, as vaine. Seneca tells his Polybius onely of three parts of life anſwerable to thoſe of time, paſt, preſent, to come, What we doe, God knowes is ſhort; what we ſhall doe, doubtfull; what we haue done, out of doubt; ſo that our beſt peece of age is either tranſitory, or dubious; and where a wiſe man diſcouers either, he will at leaſt ſuſpect change, if not ſlight it. Pitch man at higheſt, ranke him with Kings, Prophets, Prieſts; and wee ſhall there finde him on his hill of ice, whence hee doth not ſlip ſo properly, as tumble: one ſaies hee is a ſhadow, another a ſmoake, a third a vapour, braue reſemblances of his ſtation (here) and durability, when the beſt commendation we can beſtow on either, is—they paſſe, or elſe they fade,—As if it were a ſinne to ſay, they Are, but they Haue beene. The Graecian then ſcarce ſhot home to the frailty of man, when he calls him 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 A creature of a day, —he did, that nam'd him —Heſternum—yeſterday—, We are but as yeſterday, and know nothing, Iob 8.9. Alaſſe poore man, no better than a watriſh Sunne betweene two ſwolne clouds, or a breathleſſe intermiſſion between two feuers, miſery, and fatc. Loe how they kiſſe? Man that is borne of a woman hath but a ſhort time to liue, and is full of miſery: accurate calamity; in method, borne, a ſhort time to liue, full of miſery; and to make frailty compleat, the thing Woman is inſerted too.-Man that is borne of a woman, &c. Dauid was too prodigall in his ſimilitude, when he beat out the age of man to the dimenſions of a ſpan; an inch, a punctum, had beene bountifull enough, the leaſt Atome types out his glory here, his glory of life here, 'tis breath on ſteele, no ſooner on than off; Sunne-burnt ſtubble, at once flame, and aſhes. Wee are at a good key of happineſſe, when we can ſay—we are tranſitory—we haue ſcarce (ſometimes) ſo much life as to know we die, euen in the very threſhold and porch of life, death ſtrangles vs; as if there were but one doore of the Sepulchre, and the wombe; ſo that man is but a liuing ghoſt, breathing duſt, death cloath'd in fleſh and bloud.

He goeth, vaniſheth rather, vaniſheth like lightning, which is ſo ſudden, and ſo momentary, that wee more properly ſay we remember it, than that wee ſee it. How is't then, that life is ſometimes ſpunne to the crimſon, and ſometimes the ſiluer thread, from the Downe and tender wooll in childhood, to the Scarlet in the manly checke, and the tinſell and ſnow in old age? Indeed, the white head, and the wrinkled countenance, may reade you the Annals of threeſcore and ten, perchance calculate our life to a day longer; what is beyond is trouble, and ſo was that, and yet hath not this man liu'd long? -diu fuit, De breuit. vitae cap. 3. non diu vixit-, Seneca replies, How canſt thou ſay he hath ſailed much, whom a cruell tempeſt takes immediately, as ſoone as he is of the Hauens mouth? and after many a churliſh aſſault, of wind, and billow, much trauerſing his way, wau'd, and ſurg'd to many a danger, he is at length driuen backe the ſame rode, but now he went out by? this man hath not ſailed much, but hath beene much beaten. And indeed we haue here but our -tempeſtuoſa interualla-, 'tis not life truly,Idem Ibidem. but calamitie. A well gloſs'd miſery, gaudy vnhappineſſe, glorious vanitie, a troubled Sea, tormented with continuall ebbes, and flowes; ſometimes we are ſhipwracked, alwaies toſs't, and thus expos'd to daily bluſtrings, we finde no Hauen but in death. Heereupon the Grecian call'd the firſt day of mans life, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , -a beginning of conflicts-; So that we ſhall meet with more troupes of ſorrow, (heere) than we haue meanes either to reſiſt, or to appeaſe them.

Conſidereſt thou not (ſaies that graue Philoſopher) what a kinde of life it is nature preſents vs with, Seneca ad Lucit. Epiſt. 70. when ſhee would teares ſhould be the firſt preſages of our condition in this world? How pretily Auguſtine embleames it in his tender infant, —Nondum loquitur, & tamen Prophetat, cryes are the firſt Rhetorick he vſes, by which e're he can ſpeake, he propheſies; and by a dumbe kinde of diuination, waile's out the ſtory of mans ſorrowes heere. And now his odours, ſauours, laſſitudes, watchings, humours, meats, drinks, repoſe, all things, without which he could not liue, are but the occaſion of his death. And therefore that famous Romane, receiuing ſudden tidings of the death of his onely Sonne, anſwered without diſtraction nobly. —I knew when I begat him he ſhould die—, life being nothing elſe but a iournie vnto death, a going to the long home. It is a little part of it we liue, the whole courſe of our age, being not life, but time rather; wch we cannot recall being ſpent, or cauſe it for preſent, not to ſpend, but it treades by vs, without noiſe, and ſo ſwiftly, that it is here when we expect it comming, and gone by vs, when we thinke 'tis at vs. Man goeth—, Goes as ſome curious watch does, wound vp (perchance) for an houre, at moſt, for a day, and then, 'tis downe; which time, if it minute right, it is a rare peece; ſometimes, by diſtemper, it runnes too faſt, ſometimes ſet backe, by the prouidence of the keeper, ſometimes, againe, it beates ſlow, like a dying pulſe, by and by, it ſtands ſtill, as if the whole machine languiſhed; anon ſome wheele's amiſſe, or a ſpring broken, and then we ſay it is not downe, but diſordered, ſo diſordered, that 'tis beyond our Art of rectifying, it muſt be left to the skill of the maker; who, to ioint it the better, ſunders it, and to make it more firme, for a while deſtroyes it. The great Enginer and framer of the world, will haue it ſo done to our fleſhly tabernacles, who by the workmanſhip of death, ſhall take the whole fabricke of the body into peeces, and for a time, lay it by in the graue, till againſt the great and appointed day, hee ſhall new wheele and ioint it, and ſet it more gloriouſly a going, by the vertue of the reſurrection. So that man not onely goeth, (as I told you) but is gone, twiſe gone, diſſould, by the frailty of the body, to the captiuitie of a graue, rebodied with the ſoule, to the honour of a reſurrection. You ſee then, man is ſtill in a place of fluctuation, not reſidence, and he is ſaid to ſoiourne in it, not to inhabit. Seneca Epiſt. 70. ad Lucilium. We ſaile by our life my Lucilius, (ſaies that Diuine Heathen, let no ſquemiſh eare cauill at the title, for it belongs to Seneca.) And as in the Seas the ſhores and Cities flie; ſo in this ſwift courſe of time, wee firſt looſe the ſight of our childhood, and then of our youth, and at length diſcouer the ſtraits of old age, at which whether we ſhall arriue, or no, it is doubtfull; and when we haue, dangerous. That late famous (but vnfortunate Hiſtorian) who had runne through all ages of man,Hiſtory of the world, lib. 1. and almoſt all conditions in them; ſpeakes heere not like a ſpeculatiue, but a practicke and experienced man, and reſembleth his ſeuen ages, to the ſeuen planets; whereof, our Infancy is compared vnto the Moone, wherein we ſeeme onely to liue, and to grow as plants doe. Our ſecond age to Mercury, in which we are tutor'd and brought vp in our firſt Alphabet and forme of diſcipline. Our third age, to Venus, the dayes of our loue, daliance, vanitie; the fourth to the Sunne, the ſhining, beautifull, glorious age of man. The fift to Mars, in which through fields of bloud, wee hew out a way to honour and victory, and wherein our thoughts trauaile to ambitious ends. Our ſixth age to Iupiter, wherein we begin to take a ſtrict calculation, and account of our miſpent times, and bud, and ſprout vp to the perfections of our vnderſtandings. The ſeuenth, and laſt, to Saturne, wherein our dayes are ſullen, and ouercaſt, in which we finde by troden experience, and irrepairable loſſe, that our golden delights of youth, are now accompanied with vexation, ſorrow; our lackies and retinue, are but ſickneſſes, and variable infirmities, which whiſpering vnto vs our euerlaſting habitation, and long home, we at length paſſe vnto it, with many a thorny meditation, and perplexed thought, and at laſt by the induſtry of death, finiſh the ſorrowfull buſineſſe of a tranſitory life.

Seeing then our bodies are but earthen cottages, houſes of duſt, & tenemēts of clay, the anuils wch diſeaſes & diſtempers daily hammer, & beat on; ſince our life doth paſſe away as the trace of a cloud, Wiſd. 2. and is diſperſed as a miſt driuen by the beames of the Sun, why doe we crowne our dayes with roſe buds? why do we fill our ſelues with voluptuouſnes, coſtly wines, and ointments? why ſay we not to rottenneſſe, Iob 17.14. then art my father? to the worme, thou art my mother, and my ſiſter? Why doe we pamper, and exalt this iournie man of corruption? this drudge of frrailtie? this ſlaue of death? why doe we not remember the impriſonment of the ſoule? and that which Cyprian cals, her gaole-deliuery? why call we not our actions to the barre? arraigne them? checke them? ſentence them? why doe we not ſomething that may entitle vs to Religion, while it is called to day? Foole, this night ſhall thy ſoule be taken from thee, this houre (perchance) this minute, nay this punctiſtitium of it. Who would not ſpeedily draw water out of a riuer, which he knew would not continue long in it's running? Who would not ſuddenly extract ſomewhat from thoſe wholeſome fountaines which ſhould cheriſh and refreſh the thirſtie and barren ſoule?Seneca Epiſt. 7. ad Lucilium. why doe we gaſpe, and pant, and breathe for a little aire, wch nature (for a time) fann's vpon vs, and takes off at her pleaſure in a moment? why ſteere we not with deſire to our long home? why prepare we not for our progreſſe, ſince we muſt needes thither? why cruſh we not this cockatrice in the egge,M rs. and ſo foreſtall the venome of that eye whoſe darting is ſo fatall? Shall I beleeue (ſaies Seneca to his Lucillius) that fortune hath power in all things ouer him that liueth, Epiſt. 71. and not ſuppoſe rather it can doe nothing to him that knoweth how to dye? 'Tis not good to liue, but to liue well; and therefore a wiſe man liueth as much as he ought, not as much as he can. We ſee the frailty of others hourely brought vpon the Sceane, and how the daily traffique of diſeaſe with vs prompts vs our mortalitie. Thoſe glorious bulwarkes, and fortreſſes of the ſoule, are but ſanctuaries of weakeneſſe; languiſhing, crazie, and batter'd conſtitutions, but natures warning peeces, the watch-words of a fraile body, which keepe ſtrict Sentinell or'e the ſoule, leſt it ſteale from it, vnawares, and ſo the great enemie both inuade, and ruine it. How frequent euen amongſt Pagans haue been their —memento mori'es—? and a deathes head (you know) was a chiefe diſh at an Aegyptian feaſt. So ſhould that (yonder) to euery recollected Chriſtian, but ſuch preſents (as thoſe) haue beene of late no great dainties with vs, a ſervice of euery day, almoſt of euery place (the whole land being little better than a Charnell-houſe) and we cannot but ſee it, and chew on't too, if we be not duſt already, and that flie in our eyes, and blind vs, and ſo the complaint of Cyprian whip vs home —Nolumus agnoſcere, quod ignorare non poſſumus.

Why ſhould then this ſad tole of mortalitie diſhearten vs? groanes, and ſighes, and conuulſions, are the bodies paſſing-bels, no leſſe cuſtomary, than naturall; and, more horrid in the circumſtance, than the thing. —Pompa mortis magis terret quàm mors ipſa—, the retinue and complement of death, ſpeake more terrour, than the act. The Aduerſary, the Iudge, the ſentence, the Iailor, the executioner, more daunt the malefactor, than the very ſtroke, and cleft of diſſolution. Seneca ad Lucil. Epiſt. 52. Are we ſo fooliſh (ſaies the good Heathen) to thinke death a rocke which will daſh or ſplit vs in the whole; no, 'tis the Port which we ought one day to deſire, neuer to refuſe; into which (if any haue beene caſt in their younger yeares) they need repine no more than one which with a ſhort cut hath ended his Nauigation. For there are ſome whom ſlacker windes mocke, and detaine, Idem Ibidem. and wearie with the gentle tediouſneſſe of a peaceable calme; others ſwifter wafted by ſudden guſts, whom life hath rather rauiſh't thither, than ſent; which had they a time delai'd, by ſome flattering intermiſſions, yet at length, muſt of neceſſitie ſtrooke ſaile to't. Quae nunc abibis in loca, pallidula, rigida, nudula? Some faint-hearted Adrian will (to his power) linger it, and fearefully expoſtulate with a parting ſoule, as if the diuorce from the body were euerlaſting, and there ſhould not be (one day) a more glorious contract; when an heroike Cannius ſhall rebuke the teares in his friends cheeke, and thus brauely encounter death, and him —Why are you ſad? enquire you whether ſoules be immortall? I ſhall know preſently. Braue reſolution, had it beene as Chriſtian-like, as 'twas bold.

Againe, ſome effeminate Rhodian will rather languiſh vnder the grindings of a tyrant, than ſacrifice the remainder of a famin'd body, to an honourable death, when a confident Hilarion, ſhall dare all thoſe griſly aſſaults, —Soule get thee out, thou haſt ſeuentie yeares ſerued Chriſt, and art thou now loath to die? Once more, ſome ſpruce Agag, or kem'd Amalakite would be palſieſtrooke with an —amaramors—, Death is bitter, death is bitter, 1 Sam. 15.32. When a Lubentius, and a Maximinus haue their breaſt-plate on, with a —Domine parati ſumus—, We are ready to lay of our laſt garments, the fleſh—. And indeed (ſaith Auguſtine) Boughes fall from trees, and ſtones out of buildings, and why ſhould it ſeeme ſtrange that mortals die? Some haue welcom'd death, ſome met it in the way, ſome baffel'd it; in ſickneſſes, perſecution, torments. I inſtance not in that of Baſil to the Arrianated Valens, ('tis too light) that of Ʋincentius was more remarkeable, who with an vnabated conſtancy, thus ſtunn's the rage of his mercileſſe executioner. —Thou ſhalt ſee the Spirit of God ſtrengthen the tormented more, than the diuell can the hands of the tormenter. And that you may know a true Martyrdome, is not daſh't either at the expectation, or the ſenſe of torture, a Barlaam will hold his hand ouer the very flame of the Altar, and ſport out the horridneſſe of ſuch a death with that of the Pſalmiſt. —Thou haſt taught my hands to warre, and my fingers to battell. Seeing then we are compaſs'd with ſuch a cloud of witneſſes, what ſhould ſcare a true Apoſtle from his—Cupio diſſolui—? Let vs take his reſolution, and his counſell too, —lay aſide euery waight, and the ſinne that doth eaſily be ſet vs, and let vs runne with patience the race that is ſet before vs, Heb. 12.1. There is no law ſo inuiolable, as this of Nature, that of the Medes and Perſians was but corrupt, to this—Statutum eſt omnibus ſemel mori—Euery true Chriſtian knowes it, and feares it not ſo much out of opinion, as nature; and why ſhould nature doe it, ſince 'tis call'd our home, our long home, whither 'tis as certaine we ſhall goe, as doubtfull, when; and therefore I muſt now preſſe you with Pauls Obſecro vos tanquàm aduenas—, I beſeech you as ſtrangers, and pilgrimes vpon earth, looke not backe to the onions, and fleſh pots here; put forward for your laſt habitations, know you muſt at length to them, there is no by-way to auoid them, for —Man goeth to his long home—, that's my third part, the —terminus ad quem—, of this his trauaile. —His long home.

PARS. III. His long home.

LOng home. A periphraſis not of death ſo properly, as the graue, the bed-chamber of the body when 'tis dead; or rather, the bed it ſelfe (for ſo Iob ſtiles it) —Thou haſt made my bed ready for me in the darke, deaths withdrawing roome, corruptions tyring houſe, natures Golgotha, her exchequer of rotten treaſures, hid there till the day of doome, Regia Serpentum, (as the Sonne of Syracke call's it) the randeuouz of creeping things, and beaſts, and wormes, Ecclus 10. and 11. verſe.

Come hither then, thou darling of the world, thou great fauourite of fleſh, and bloud; thou whoſe honours (here) are as blooming, as the Lillies, and roſes in thy youthfull cheeke; know, Image, though thy head be of gold and thy body of ſiluer, thy feet are but of clay, and they will leade downe to this chamber of death, where thou maiſt behold the glory of thy anceſtors, as Auguſtine did at Rome, that of Caeſars in his ſepulchre. —An eyeleſſe, cheekeleſſe, worme-gnawne viſage; nought but rottenneſſe, and ſtench, and wormes, and bones, and duſt, and now —Vbi Caeſaris praeclarum corpus (ſaies the Father) vbi diui iarum magnitudo? vbi caterua Baronum? vbi actes militum? vbi apparatus delictarum? vbi thalamus pictus? vbi lectus Eburneus? vbi regalis thronus? vbi mutatoria veſtimentorum? vbi magnificentia? vbi omnia? Sibi pariter defecerunt, quandò defecit ſpiritus, & eum in ſepulchro, trium brachiorum, reliquerunt cum faetore, & putredine—, in his 48 Sermon,Si ſaltem opus illud ſit Auguſtini. ad fratres in eremo. Crowne, and Scepter, and Robes, and Treaſure, and Sword, and Speare, and Valour, and Youth, and Honour, and (what the world could not (but now) either maſter or containe) his body, trencht in a graue of ſix cubites, no more, there Caeſar lies in earthen fetters; and ſo ſhall all diſſolued bodies too, till that fearefull arraignement at the great aſſiſes. In the meane time, the ſoule ſhall bee either wafted hence into Abrahams boſome, or elſe hurried to that caue of darkeneſſe, and euerlaſting horror; no third place, to purge, and refine it, after death; no Romiſh trapdoore (through which a brib'd indulgence may preſume to fetch it of at the pleaſure of a cheating Conſiſtory) but it hath heere —ſuum Purgatorium—, One of their Purgatory-mongers tells me ſo, nay tels a Cardinall ſo, and bids him pray with Auguſtine, Cupraeus de 4. hom. nouiſſimis. Ser. 3. pag. 56. Domine hic vre, hic ſeca, vt in aeternum parcas.

Thus you ſee, Man is now brought to his —long home—, his ſoule gone to it's place of reſt; but wee may not yet interre the body; that we ſhall doe, anon; ſome ceremony remaines to be perform'd firſt; for loo, how the Mourners walke about the ſtreets? That's my laſt part; the ſtate, and ceremony man meetes with: in the conſummation of his pilgrimage. —The mourners walke, &c.

PARS IIII. The mourners, &c.

THe triumph, and honour, death challenges in the ſolemne interment of the deceaſed, hath beene a ceremony no leſſe venerable, than ancient.Demptis 306. Annis. Salomon enim vixit anno mundi- 2930. Ioſiah, Anno mundi. 3324. Iacob 2108. Chyt aeus in Chronol. 'Twas almoſt 3000 yeares agoe, the Mourners (here) walk't about the ſtreets; after them thoſe of Hadadrimmon, in the valley of Mogiddo, when all Iudah and Ieruſalem, mourned for Ioſiah, 2 Chron. 35. before both for Iacob, in Goren Atad, beyond Iordan —where they mourned (ſaith Moſes) with a great, and ſore lamentation, Gen. 50.10. Such a pompe of ſorrow as was a preſident to all poſteritie; forty dayes the body was embalm'd, than threeſcore and ten more, mourned for, before the Funerall, ſeuen after; againſt the day of interment, all the tribes muſt be ſummon'd, their families, their allies, and their retinue; onely their heards, and their little ones, left in Goſhen. I reade of no wife, or daughter abſent, no tricke of Religion, or pretence of retired ſorrow, to keep them of theſe publique exequies, to whine a dirge or requiem in a corner. No doubt they ſadly followed the hearſe euen to the ſepulchre, thinking a teare wrung ouer a parting bed not halfe ſo emphaticall, as that which is dropt into the graue. Beſides, Ioſeph himſelfe muſt be ſent for out of Aegypt; no imploiment at court keepes him of theſe great ſolemnities, but he goe's vp to Canaan, with all the ſeruants of Pharaoh, and all the Elders of his houſe, and all the Elders of the land o Aegypt, and all his brethren, and his fathers houſe, and his owne too; and they buried him (ſaies the Text) in the ca •• of the field Machpela, which Abraham bought of Ephron th Hittite, before Ma •• e, Gen. 50.13. And indeed, 'twa a religious prouidence the old Patriarches had, in purchaſing a poſſeſſion place for their buriall, and poſteritie (a long time) kept it vp, euen to ſuperſtition, thinking their bones neuer at reſt, till they were laid in the Sepulchre of their fathers, which honourable way of interment, in theſe tympa ous and ſwelling times of ours, (wherein we warre more about matters of title, than religion) were a good meanes to preſerue our names from rottenneſſe; if our contention, and pride, and riot, haue left ſo much of a deuour'd inheritance as will ſerue the dimenſions of a dead body.

Some noble manſions of the kingdome (heretofore) haue now, ſcarce, that happineſſe. A greene turfe, or a weather-beaten ſtone, will couer that body, which (ere while) a whole Lordſhip could hardly cloathe; and that life which ſwome in Tiſſues, and Imbroideries, in death (ſcarce) findes a blacke to mourne for't about the ſtreets. Sad Hearſe that hath nothing to wait on't to the graue, but the ruines of a familie, nought to weepe ore't, but the blubbrings and languiſhments of a gentile bloud, farre more wounding & deplorable, than the conditiō of ſome noble caitife, who rather than hee will allow death the leaſt triumphs in his funeralls, will haue his treaſure, honour, religion too (if he had any) earth'd vp together in his—Long home:—a ditch were fitter, and ſome vnnaturall, gouty fiſted heire would like it well; ours doth not, you ſee, the —Mourners haue walkt about the ſtreet—'Tis well, and an act no leſſe of dutie, than religion; and thoſe which haue beene zealous in't heretofore, haue worne the two rich Epithetes of charitable, bleſſed,—Bleſſed are ye of the Lord, 2 Sam. 2.5. (ſaith Dauid to the men of Iabeſh Gilead) that you haue ſhew'd ſuch charity to your maſter Saul, and buried him. Buried him, is not enough, 'tis too naked and thin a ceremony, except theſe Mourners too walkt about the ſtreets. My Sonne (ſaith Tobit) when I die, burie me honeſtly, Tob. 14.10. And Iaakob (on his deathbed) coniur'd, his Sonnes to interre him in a preſcript ſolemnity, and therefore the Text ſaith, —They buried him as they had ſworn vnto their father, Gen. 50.6, 12. And indeed thoſe —Officia poſtremi muneris- (as Auguſtine calls them) thoſe ſolemne rites which wee ſtrew on the funeralls of our deceaſed friend are no effect of courteſie, but debt, and from an able ſucceſſour, no leſſe expected, than required. —My ſonne (ſaith Syracides) poure thy teares ouer the dead, and neglect not their buriall, Eccluſ. 38.66.

And therefore thoſe diſpoſitions are little below barbarous, which ſnarle at a moderate ſorrow, or decent interment of the dead, and had neuer ſo much learning, or at leaſt ſo much charity, as to interpret that of the Apoſtle, —Let all things be done decently, and in order, 1 Cor. 14. Had not our Sauiour all the Ceremonies of this -Long home? the cleane linnaen cloathes? the ſweet ointments? the new Sepulchre? theſe Mourners (too) about the ſtreets? He then that in a wayward opinion ſhall diſallow of either, may well deſerue the honour of Icholakims funerall, which is not to be named without pitty, and ſome ſcorne,Ier. 22.19. for the Text ſaith —he was to be buried like an Aſſe—. And, for my part, I wiſh him the happineſſe of an Anchoret, his Cell be his Church, and he himſelfe both Prieſt and Graueſman, not a teare to traile after him to his long home, nor a Mourner -ſeene- about the ſtreets.

It hath beene a cuſtome of ſome barbarous Nations (but in this not ſo deſpicable) to howle their dead to their long home; others dropt them in with a teare onely, no more—In ignem poſta eſt, fletur (ſaith the Comicke.) That of the Romanes was too gaudy a ſorrow, and comes well home to the exceſſe of pompe in the fate of great ones, now, who though in their life time haue ſlau'd themſelues to the world by an ignoble retrait to obſcurity, and miſerable thrift, yet at their farewell, and Going hence, to giue the times a reliſh and taſte of their generouſneſſe, the -Mourners ſhall walke about the ſtreets. A monument muſt be built, a ſtatue rais'd, Eſcutcheons hung, for the embalming of his honour, whoſe name (ſometimes) deſerues more rottenneſſe, than his carkaſſe.

That worth is canonicall, and ſtraight, which is inrol'd, and regiſtred in the impartiall hearts and memories of the people, not in a perfidious Tombe-ſtone, or periur'd Epitaph. A vertuous life is a mans beſt Pyramide.

Be thy actions vnblemiſh'd, ſquar'd out to Religion, vertue, Euery heart's a Tombe, and euery tongue an Epitaph. And thus ballac'd thou need'ſt not feare any flotings of the times, any moth or gangrene either on thy ſtate, or name; but when death ſhall take downe thoſe rotten ſtickes wherewith thy earthly tent is compos'd, thy gray haires ſhall go in peace to their long home, and the —Mourners ſhall walke about the ſtreets.

They haue walk't now, and done their deuoyer in their laſt way of ceremony. But where's the bodie I promis'd you to interre? ſure ſome Diſciple ſtole't away by night, and laid it in its long home, where it is now vnder the bondage of corruption. But there is ſomewhat left behinde which I would willingly preſerue from rotteneſſe, his name: to which, though I may lay ſome challenge in reſpect of bloud, little of acquaintance; that, being as great a ſtranger to me, as the paſſages of his life, or death; ſo what I ſhall ſpeake, is both traditionary, and ſhort, very ſhort, thus.

Hee was a man of more reſeruedneſſe than expreſſion, both in his act, and word, and of the two, hee had rather doe courteſies, than profeſſe them. His outward deportment, and face of carriage (where not knowne) ſowre, and rough. In his paſſions (for which the remainder of their age in a diſcontented contemplation of their misfortunes; and (I pray God) not in murmuring againſt his Church. And this hath occaſion'd a maine reuolt and apoſtaſie of ſome from the boſome of this our Mother, where not finding ſhelter vnder thoſe wings which had bred them, flutter abroad in other Prouinces, & at length train'd vp to the Romiſh Cure; witnes thoſe many Proſelytes they haue gain'd from vs (not for matter of conſcience, but of fortune) who now ſteeping their pens in Wormewood, and whetting their tongues keener than any Razor, haue wounded & ſtruck through the ſides of their ſometimes Mother, to her great preiudice & diſhonor. Where the fault lies, he that hath but ſlē derly traffiquc't with the occurrences of the time, may iudge. Spiritual promotions are ſlow of foot, & come for the moſt part haltingly, or in a by-way. A calamity wch beſt ages haue beene obnoxious to (thoſe of the Fathers) but by them cried downe with as great violence, as deteſtation. (S. Ambroſe will tell with what iuſtice,Ambroſ. de dign. Sacerd. cap. 5. I cannot, it makes me tremble) — Ʋideas in Eccleſia paſſim quos non merita, ſed pecuniae ad presbyteratus ordinem prouexerunt, nugacem populum, & indoctum, quos ſi percunctari fideliter velis quis eos praefecerit Sacerdotes, reſpondent mox & dicunt, Epiſcopus, & aes dedi, quod ſi non dederim hodie non eſſem—. The words are broad enough in their Mother tongue, they need no renderer, but an applier, if there be any guilt here ſo paſt bluſhing, that can doe it, let it thaw into horrour to reade-on the Father in his —de dignitate Sacerdotali cap. vlt.

I haue beene too tedious here, you will ſay, too bold; but I haue done nothing but what Moſes ſhould, followed the commandement of my God, he bad me goe, I haue obeyed him, and he hath promiſed to aſſiſt me, for he will be in my mouth, that's my ſecond circumſtance, —Goe, and I will be in thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou ſhalt ſay.

And here I ſhould ſay more, but time hath ſilenc'd mee; a ſecond opportunity may perfect all, in the meane time, I ſhall beg Gods bleſſing for you, and your charity to theſe. To God the Father, &c.

Gloria in excelſis Deo. Amen.
FINIS.

MOSES and AARON OR THE AFFINITIE OF Ciuill and Eccleſiaſticke power.

A SERMON INTENDED for the Parliament held at Oxon, Auguſt. 7. 1625.

But by reaſon of the ſudden and vnhappy diſſolution, then, not preach't, but ſince vpon occaſion, was; at St. MARIES in Oxford, the 26. of February. 1625.

BY Humphry Sydenham Mr. of Arts, and Fellow of WADHAM Colledge in OXFORD.

LONDON, Printed for IOHN PARKER. 1626.

TO MY MVCH DESERVING FRIEND AND BROTHER, FRANCIS GODOLPHIN, Eſquire, This. MY DEARE SIR;

WHil'ſt others declaime (too iuſtly) againſt the dull charities of the times, and the coldneſſe of affection in their Allies, and bloud, I cannot but magnifie their worth, in you, where I haue met a vertue, ſcarce exampled by a ſecond, friendſhip in a brother. I thought it a high iniuſtice to ſmoother ſuch a miracle, and therefore haue heere ſet it vpon record; that, as the age may bluſh at her other prodigies, ſo glory heere, that ſhe hath (at length) brought forth one who hath not loſt either his Nature to his alliance, or piety to his Countrey. A goodneſſe ſeldome paralell'd in theſe dayes of ours, theſe degenerate dayes of ours, when we may finde a more naturall correſpondence, a liuelier heat of affection, amongſt thoſe of ſauage and barbarous condition, than in the boſome of our owne Tribe and Nation. But I may not taxe, when I am to ſalute, 'tis out of the roade of gratulation; this is intended ſo, A meere declaration of my thankfulnes for all thoſe your noble Offices of a reall brotherhood, which though I haue not power (as yet) to ſatisfie, I ſhall haue euer will to acknowledge, and in that loyaltie I perſiſt,

Your moſt reſpectfully engag'd, HVM: SYDENHAM.
Moſes and Aaron OR The affinitie of Ciuill and Eccleſiaſticke power. EXOD. 4.12.

Goe, and I will be in thy mouth, and teach thee what thou ſhalt ſay.

HOw ſtrangely God compaſſes what he proiects for his, by the hands of an obſcure Agent?Cap. 3. v. 9.10. Iſrael hath beene long enough vnder the groanes of Egypt, it ſhall bee now vnyoakt from that heauie ſeruitude; and this muſt bee done by no troden meanes, or ordinary inſtrument, But one that Iſrael and Egypt too ſhall ſtand amaz'd at to ſee in ſuch a power of ſubſtitution, A ſhepheard. Cap. 3.8. Moſes a feeding his fathers flocke, not farre from Horeb, the mountaine of the Lord,Cap. 3.1. Cap. 3.4. when ſuddenly a voice doth at once aſtoniſh and inuite him, Moſes, Moſes. 'Tſhould ſeeme the affaires were both of neceſſitie and diſpatch, when the perſon to be imployed was thus preſt by a double ſummons:Cap. 4 18. what ſhall he doe now? His flocke muſt bee left with Iethro in Midian, and he ſhall to Court, there to ranſome an engag'd and captiu'd Nation, from the ſhackles of a Tyrant;Cap. 2.17. A ſimple deſigne for one ſeaſon'd in the courſe conditions of an Hebrew and a Midianite: Men knowne more by the largeneſſe of their folds, than any eminence for matters of ſtate, moſt of them being heardſmen, or ſhepheards. But ſee how God will extract wonders out of improbabilities, and miracles out of both: Moſes ſhall firſt ſee one,Cap. 3.2. Cap. 3.3. & then, do many. Behold an Angell of the Lord in a flaming fire in a buſh, the buſh burned (ſaith the Text) and the Buſh was not conſumed. A viſion as ſtrange as the proiect he is now ſet vpon, and doth not ſo much take, as ſtagger him. That it burned and conſumed not, rauiſhes his eies only, how it ſhould burn & not conſume, his intellectualls; So that he is now doubly entranced, in the ſenſe, & in the thought. But there is more of myſtery inuol'd here than the Prophet yet dreames of or diſcouers. God in his affaires requires both heat, and conſtancie: men of cold and languiſhing reſolution are not fit ſubiects for his imploiments, but thoſe which can withſtand the ſhocke of many a fiery triall; they whoſe zeale can burne cheerfully in the ſeruices of their God and not conſume. Moſes, therfore ſhall now to Pharaoh, with as many terrours as meſſages.Cap. 5. verſ. 6, 7, 8, 9. Ten times hee muſt bid the Tyrant let Iſrael goe: euery Iniunction ſhall find a repulſe, euery repulſe, a plague, and euery plague, a wonder. Somewhat a harſh embaſſie to a King, and cannot be welcom'd but with a ſtorme, whoſe diſpoſition is as impatient of rebuke, as not inur'd too't. Thoſe eares which haue been ſleekt hitherto with the ſupple dialect of the Court, (that oile of Sycophants and temporizers) will not be roug'ht now with the courſe phraſe of a reproofe, much leſſe, of menacing. There's no dallying with the eye of a cockatrice; I am ſure none, with the paw of a Lion; Ruine ſits on the brow of offended Soueraigntie, each looke ſparkles indignation, and that indignation, death. Moſes is now ſtartled at the imployment,Cap. 3.11. and begins both to expoſtulate and repine. —Who am I that I ſhould goe vnto Pharaoh? I am not eloquent, Cap. 4.10. but of ſlow ſpeech and of a ſlow tongue—? Good Lord! In a Prophet what a piece of modeſtie with diſtruſt? will God employ any whom he will not accommodate? Hee hath now thrice perſwaded Moſes to this great vndertaking, The other as often manifeſts his vnwillingneſſe by excuſe, as if he would either diſpute Gods prouidence, or queſtion his ſupply. We find therefore this diffidence check't with a new inſinuation of rectifying all defects.Cap. 4.10.Who hath made mans mouth, or who makes the dumbe or the deafe, or the ſeeing, or the blinde, haue not I the Lord? Why ſhould any further ſcruple or doubt aſſaile thee? I that am the God of the Hebrewes will protect thee; let no wauerings of Iſrael, or terrours of Egypt any way diſmay thee: particular infirmities in thine owne perſon I will mould anew to perfection,Cap. 14.14. or if thoſe vacillations and ſtutterings of the tongue yet diſhearten thee, Loe Aaron the Levite is thy brother, I know that he can ſpeake well, take him with thee, and this rod too, wherewith thou ſhalt doe wonders as dreadfull as vnpattern'd. Deliuer Pharaoh roundly my commands, if he will not vndeafe his eare vpon their firſt Alarum, I will bore it with my thunder. Why ſtandeſt thou then any longer ſo diuided? Goe now, and I will be in thy mouth, and teach thee what thou ſhalt ſay—.

Moſes, is diſpatch't now, hath his commiſſion ſeal'd, each particle of his meſſage punctually deliuered him, wherein (as in all ſaecular and ſubordinate Embaſſies) we finde A command, Diuiſion. A direction, and a Promiſe. The command, Goe; The Promiſe, I will be in thy mouth; The Direction, teach thee what thou ſhalt ſay. So he that is ſingled out to any ſeruice of his God for the aduantage of his Iſrael, muſt not giue backe or wauer, Goe—. If a willing obedience ſecond this command, God promiſes to aſſiſt, I will be in thy mouth; if there, be not daſh't at the ſlowneſſe or vnprouidedneſſe of thy ſpeech, I will teach thee what thou ſhalt ſay. Once more is there a retyred worth, which deſires to ſit downe to obſcurity, and ſeemes vnwilling to the publike ſeruices of his God, heareſt thou not this proficiſcere from heauen? Goe. But haſt thou once vndertooke them? be not diſcourag'd, here's an —aperiam, too—. I will be in thy mouth; but am I welcom'd there with reuerence, and awe? ſpeake boldly then, for, Ego inſtruam, I will teach thee what thou ſhalt ſay—, Goe then. But let's firſt cleare the paſſage. 'Tis not my intent to ſhew you Moſes here in the ſtormes and troubles of the Court and State, but of the Church. I may not bee too buſie with the riddles and Labyrinth's of the two firſt; the times are both rough and touchie, I will onely ſhew you a farre off, how this Proteus and that Camelion vary both their ſhape and colour. Moſes was indeed forty yeares a Courtier, and the better part of his life a Stateſman, yet he was a Prieſt too (and ſo I follow him) if you dare take the authoritie of Saint Auguſtine, who though on his ſecond booke on Exod. 10. quaeſt. giues Moſes barely Principatum, Aug. lib. 2. in Exod. quaeſt. 10. Aug. in Pſal. 98. and Aaron miniſterium, yet in his Commentaries on the 98 Pſalm, he thus interrogates, Si Moſes Sacerdos non erat, quid erat? numquid maior Sacerdote? and the ſweet ſinger of Iſrael, put's Samuel among them that call vpon Gods Name, and Moſes and Aaron amongſt the Prieſts, Pſal. 99.6.— I haue now remou'd all rubs and obſtacles, the way is ſmooth and paſſable, what ſhould then hinder Moſes any longer, Goe,—.

Command and obedience are the bodie and ſoule of humane ſocietie, the head and foote of an eſtabliſh't Empire, Pars 1. Command ſits as Soueraigne and hath three Scepters, by which it rules, Authoritie, Courage, Sufficiencie.

Obedience, as 'twere the ſubiect, and beares vp it's allegiance with three pillars, neceſſitie, profit, willingneſſe. Sometimes command growes impetuous and rough, and then 'tis no more Soueraigntie but Tyrannie—. Againe, Obedience, vpon diſtaſt, is apt to murmure, and growes mutinous, and ſo 'tis no more a ſubiect, but a Rebells where they kiſſe mutually, there is both ſtrength and ſafetie; but where they ſcold and iarre, all growes to ruine and combuſtion. And this holds not onely in matters Ciuill, but in thoſe more ſacred. Command frō heauen preſuppoſes in vs an obedience no leſſe of neceſſitie, than will, and in God, infallibilitie both of power, and incouragement. Faintneſſe of reſolution, or excuſe, in his high deſignements, are but the Teltales of a perfunctory zeale, howeuer they pretend to baſhfulneſſe, or humilitie.Ier. 1. I cannot ſpeake Lord, or, I am vnworthy, were but courſe apologies of thoſe that vſed them,Rom. 1. Exod. 3. when God had either matter for their emploiment; or time; And the Quis ego Domine? of Moſes, here, finds ſo little of approbation, that it meetes a checke; the Text will tell you in what heate and tumult, with an — Accenſus ſuror Iehouae, Cap. 4.4. the anger of the Lord was kindled againſt Moſes, and it ſhould ſeeme, in ſuch violence, that Abulenſis, after much trauerſe,Toſt. in cap. 4. Exod. and diſpute makes that tergiuerſation of his little leſſe than a mortall ſinne, & ſome of the Hebrewes haue ſtrangely puniſh't it, with the loſſe of Canaan, perſwading vs, the maine reaſon why he came not thither, was his backwardneſſe in obeying this —proficiſcere, Goe. Perer. in Exod. But that's a Thalmudicall and wilde fancie, fitter for ſuch giddy enrolements, than the eares of a learned throng. And as Moſes may not but obey when God layes his command on him, ſo hee muſt not goe without it. Matthew muſt be called from his receipt of cuſtome; Mat. 9.9. Gal. 1.5. & he is not honor'd with a true Apoſtleſhip, who wants his —vocatus ſicut Aaron. That of God to the Pſeudo-prophets, was a fearefull Irony, —I ſent them not, Ier. 14. but they ranne—, voluntaries (it ſhould ſeeme) find here neither countenance, nor entertainement, but whom God hath preſt and ſealed to this great warfare; yet the other, notwithſtanding, in the field, and ſeaſoned once in battell, the retrait is more dangerous, than the aduenture.

Eſay cap. 6.We finde Eſay more actiue and forward than any of the Prophets, & yet that ſpontaneouſneſſe not chid; who (as if he would anticipate the care and choiſe of God in his owne affaires) makes a haſty tender of his ſeruice,5 with an —Ecce ego, 8 mitte me; yet, he had his former convulſions, and pangs too of feare, and diffidence; Woe is me, 5 for I am a man of polluted lips. But ſee how God hammers and workes what he intends to file, either in perſon,7 or by ſubſtitute? an Altar muſt be the Forge, and a Seraphin the workeman, who with his tongs ready, and his coale burning, ſhall both touch thoſe iniquities, and purge them, and then, and not till then, heere am I, Lord, ſend me. As therefore to ſtand ſtill, when God ſends out his proficiſcere, argues a ruſtie and ſullen lazineſſe, ſo to runne when he ſends not, arrogancie, and preſumption. That zeale is beſt qualified, which hath the patience to expect God's ſummons, and then the boldneſſe to doe his errand.

Aqui. 2a. 2ae. qu. 185. art. 1.The Schooleman in his 2a. 2ae. 185. queſtion, being to deale of religious perſons, ſtraines not the Myter from his diſcourſe, but moderates the quaere by diuiding it, and thinkes to take away all ſcruple by making two, whether it be lawfull to deſire Eccleſiaſticall honour (Epiſcopall hee Epithites) or to refuſe it being enioyned? Greg. de Val. in loc. Aqui. diſt. 10. q. 3. par. 2. Gregorie de Valentia (his Amanuenſis here) turnes the perſpectiue from the obiect vpon the Agent, viewing as well the partie deſiring as the thing deſired, where, though hee deſcrie height of ſufficiency in perſonall endowments: Quaer. 1. one Cap-A-Pe, in all points canonicall, yet he allowes not a baite for his eager appetite to feed on; a diſopinion'd vnder-valued man may not deſire it for the dignity, nor he that's fortunetroden for the reuenue. Be the perſon otherwiſe ne're ſo compleatly accommodated, yet the irregularity in his appetite ſtrangles his other eminencies, and ſo he is (at once) vnworthy, and vncapable. Reaſon and conſcience, will betroth Honours to deſert, which yet they diuorce from the immodeſty and heate of the deſire; for, if ſuper-intendencie be in the appetite more than the office, 'tis preſumption. Aquinas doth cenſur't ſo,Aquinas vt ſup. a common practiſe of the Gentiles, reproou'd in the Diſciples; Ye know their Princes loue to dominere, Mat. 20. if the honour be ſuperiour, 'tis ambition, and ſo meerely phariſaicall, —They loue the vppermoſt roomes at feaſts, and chiefe ſeats at Synagogues, Matth. 23. If the reuenue, it allies to couetouſneſſe, Matth. 23. and differs from the ſinne of Simon Magus thus, he proffer'd money for the gifts, theſe couet the gifts for the money.

On the other ſide, Quaer. 2. to reiect the Ephod wherewith authority would inueſt thee, checkes doubly the refuſer, in waies of charity, humility. Charity ſeekes no more her own, Aquin. & Greg. vt ſup. than her neighbours good; now the charity we owe vnto our ſelues, prompts vs to ſearch out —Otium ſanctum (as Auguſtine phraſes it) a holy vacancie from theſe publike cures, but that to the Church bindes vs to vndergoe.—Negotium iuſtum, Aug. 19. de Ciuil. D i cap. 19. the impoſition of any iuſt employment, —quam ſarcinam ſi nullus imponit, intuendae vacandum eſt veritati, ſi autem imponitur, ſuſtinenda eſt propter charitatis neceſſitatem, the Father in his 19. de Ciuit. Dei. cap. 19. Againe, humility tie's vs in obedience to Superiours, ſo that as often as we diſobey them we doe oppugne it, and this (in reſpect of God) is not meekneſſe, but pertinacy, Magn Gregor. 1. pars Paſt. cap. 6 Tunc ante Dei oculos vera eſt humilitas, cum ad reſpuendum hoc quod vtiliter ſubire praecipitur, pertinax non eſt—, Gregory 1. part of his Paſtorals 6. Chapter.

To auoide then all occaſions of publike ſeruice for the Church, vnder a pretence of humility or recluſeneſſe, ſpeakes (too broadly) the delinquent, refractarie. Your Anchoret that digges his graue in ſpeculation meerely, and your Moale that is earth'd wholy in an affected ſolitarineſſe, are not liable ſo properly to obſcurity, as death; ſuch elaboratnes tends not to perfection, but diſeaſe; & we finde an Apoplexy, and ſleepe, no leſſe on their endeauours than in their name; all knowledge is duſted with them, and 'tis no more a nurſerie of vertues, but a Tombe. And (indeed) ſuch Silkewormes ſpin themſelues into Flies, diſanimate, heartleſſe Flies, life neither for Church, nor Common-wealth. The Laurell and honour of all ſecular deſignes is the execution, and the happineſſe of thoſe ſacred ones is not intail'd barely to the knowledge of them, but to the fac & viues. And that, not at home onely, in thy particular intendments, but abroad alſo in thy ſeruices for the Church; ſo that he that retraits at any Alarum or ſummons of his God, for the common affaires of the Church, to hugge and enioy himſelfe in his ſolitary ends, runnes himſelfe on the ſhelues of a rough cenſure, that of the Father to his Dracontius, Athan. in Epiſt. ad Drac. Epiſc. fugient. pars 2. editio vltima. Ʋereor ne dum propter te fugis, propter alios ſis in periculo apud Dominum. To ſtand by, and giue aime onely, whil'ſt others ſhoote, and thou thy ſelfe no markman, proclaimes thy lazineſſe, if not thy impotency. What a nothing is thy arme? thy bowe? thy ſhaft? if not practiſed, not bent, not drawne vp? or if ſo glorious a marke, the Church? why not leueld at? either ſhe muſt be vnworthy of thy trauell, or thine of her. If therefore this thy Mother implore thy aide (ſo Auguſtine counſels his Eudoxius) on the one ſide,Auguſt. Epiſt. 81. hand not with ambition; on the other, leane not to a lazie refuſall, weigh not thine owne idleneſſe with the neceſſities and greatneſſe of her burthens, to which (whiles ſhe is in trauell) if no good men will adminiſter their helpe, Certè quomodo naſceremini non inueniretis; God muſt then inuent new waies for our new birth: the Father in his 81. Epiſtle ad Edoxium.

You ſee then our Moſes may not haſtily thruſt himſelfe vpon thoſe weighty deſignes without authority and commiſſion from his God, and yet once ſummon'd, not recoile; but thus hauing his Congedeleere and warrant from aboue, wee muſt now account him in the place of God, God indeed, with a—ſicut—the Text tels vs ſo, thrice tels vs ſo, God to Aaron, God to Iſrael, God to Pharaoh. Exod. 3.4, 5. 'Twere then too high a ſacriledge to rob him of any title or prerogatiue, which ſhould waite on the greatneſſe of ſuch a perſon. Let's giue him (what all ages haue) Eminency of place, Office, their attendants, Honour, Reuenue. I ſhall dwell my houre with the two firſt, with the latter only, in Tranſitu, and vpon the by, they being inuolued in the two former. And that I may punctually go on, I will touch firſt (where I ſhould) with the Eminency—Goe.

Which as it was ſacred in the firſt inſtaulement,Eminen. 1. par. ſo in the propagation moſt honourable to the times of Heathens. Tert. de Coron. militis cap. 10. For Tertullian (ſpeaking of the magnificence and pompe which attended their ſuperſtitions) tels vs, that their doores, and Hoaſts, and Altars, and dead, and (what glorifies all) their Prieſts were crown'd: in his Corona militis cap. 10. And the firſt crowne which the Romanes vſed, was their ſpicea Corona, giuen as a religious enſigne in honour of their Prieſts,—Honoſque is, Pliu. lib. 8. cap. 2. non niſi vita finitur, & exules etiam, captoſque comitatur—ſayes my Hiſtoſtorian, nought but death could terminate this honour, which was their companion both in exile, and captiuity. They wore the name of Aruales Sacerdotes, Alex. ab. Alex. lib. 1. cap. 26. firſt inſtituted by Romulus, and Acca Laurentia, his Nurſe, who, of her twelue Sonnes hauing loſt one, he himſelfe made vp the number with that title. But here's not all, —Terminorum ſacrorum, & finium, iurgijs terminandis praeerant, & interuenicbant, they were the peace-makers of the time, and fate as Arbitrators in matters of conteſtation betweene man and man,Plin. vt ſup. as the great Naturaliſt in the 18. booke of his Hiſtory, 2. chapter. And who fitter for ſuch a morall office than the Prieſt? an honour which theſe worſt of times allow him, though with ſome turbulency,Numb. 16.3. and indignation: Moſes and Aaron, you take too much vpon you, was the crie of a Iew once, ſo 'tis now, who would manacle and confine them onely to an Eccleſiaſticke power, and deueſt them quite of any ciuill authority, though Moſes here had both. But 'twas not without ſome ſhew of myſterie, that in the robes of Aaron (I inſtance now in him, leſt perchance they ſhould cauill with his brother Moſes) there was a crowne ſet vpon the Myter, Exod. 29.6. moralizing a poſſible coniunction at leaſt of Miniſter and Magiſtrate in one perſon. 2 Tim. 2. Chyt. de ordin. miniſt. pag. 506. And Chytraeus hath a patheticall obſeruation from the Apoſtles 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 deuide aright, that the Metaphor was firſt taken from the manner of cutting or deuiding the members of the hoſt, Leuit. 7. where the fat and kidneies were burnt as a ſacrifice to God, but the breaſt and the ſhoulder were giuen to the Prieſts: the Allegorie carries with it both weight and maieſty, here's a breaſt for counſell, and a ſhoulder for ſupportation in matters of gouernment. And no doubt in times of old (euen theſe of the Fathers) the Sacerdot all power, was at a great height, in equall ſcale with that of their honour,Si Regum fulgori & principum Diademati inferius eſt quam ſi plumbi metallum ad auri fulgorem compares, Ambr. ibid. which was ſo eminent, that Saint Ambroſe rankes not the Myter with the Diadem, but in a zealous Hyperbole (pardon the Epithite) preferres it, and makes this comparatiuely to the other as a ſparkle to a flame, or dull Lead to burniſht Gold, in his de dignitate Sacerdotali cap. 2.

I may not follow the Father in his prieſtly Panegiricke, 'tis too high, and borders too much on the diſcipline of the triple crowne, ſuch a crowne as ne're yet girt the temples of King or Prieſt, but of him that tramples on the necke of both; let ſuch inſolence inuade the right of Potentates, and ſpurne their Crownes and Scepters in the duſt, whil'ſt we ſeate our Aaron at the becke of Moſes, but the people too at that of Aaron: Let the Prieſthood doe obeyſance, and kiſſe the feet of Soueraignty; but let not the Laity turne the heele, and kicke againſt the ſacredneſſe of Prieſthood. S. Auguſtine vpon theſe words of God to Moſes, —Tu eris illi in ijs quae ad Deum. —Hec ſhall be to thee in ſtead of a mouth, Exod. 4.16. and thou ſhalt be to him in ſtead of God, ſeemes entranc'd awhile, and bringing them to the ballance,Aug. lib. 2. Exod. 10. quaeſt. and weighing preciſely euery ſcruple, cries out, Magnum Sacramentum cuius figuram gerat, as if Moſes were a medium betweene God and Aaron, and Aaron betweene Moſes and the people. The morall is plaine, Soueraignty ſtands betweene God and the Prieſthood, and the Prieſthood betweene Soueraignty and the people. Howeuer the Ceremonies due to either heretofore, in matters of Inſtaulement, ſtood not at ſuch enmity as we can ſay they differ'd, they were both anoynted, and both crown'd; and though the authority were vnequall in reſpect of place, yet not of employment, Yee are full of power by the ſpirit of the Lord, Micah. 3.8. And Eliſha could once tell the King, He ſhould know there was a Prophet in Iſrael, 2 King. 5.8. And in matters of preſeruation God was as zealous for the ſafety of theſe as them,—Touch not mine anointed, and doe my Prophets no harme, Pſal. 105.

But let not my zeale to the Prieſt diſpriuiledge my alleagiance to my King. I ſpeake not this to ſet vp Moſes in competition with Pharaoh, or riuall the dignity of the Prieſthood with that of Soueraignty; but to mind you in what luſtre it ſometimes ſhin'd, & how the times now conſpire to cloud that glory.

The dayes haue beene, when the Laicke was ambitious, not onely of the title of a Prieſt, but the office: for Euſebius examples in many of them, who thruſting vpon Biſhops of primitiue times, Statim concionandi munus obierunt, in his lib. 6. cap. 15. And Tertullian (ſpeaking of the inſolencies and taunts which the Laity then put vpon the Prieſthood) tells vs that they iuſtified their malice & iniuries to the Prieſt, by vſurping the name, or prophaning rather,Tort. lib. de Monog. cap. 12. Quum extollimur & inflamur aduerſus clerum, tunc omnes Sacerdotes, quia Sacerdotes nos Deo, & Patri fecit, quum ad peraequationem diſciplinae Sacerdotalis prouocamur, deponimus infulas, & pares ſumus; in his booke de Monogamia, cap. 12.

It ſhould ſeeme then the office and name paſt honourably through all ages, euen thoſe of Infidels, though the perſon were ſometimes expoſed to the perſecutions of the time, and ſuffered vnder the blaſphemies of vnchriſtian tongues; but now the very title growes barbarous, and he thinkes he hath wittily diſcountenanced the greatnes of the calling, that can baffle the profeſſour with the name of Prieſt. But theſe, whil'ſt they intend to wound, they honour vs, and wee account them no ſcarres, but glories. Let ſuch children mocke on the Prophet, the euent (I beleeue) will proue as horrid as that of old, will you tremble to heare it ſpoken? you may reade it then, and look pale too, in 2 King. 2.24.

Office 2.May it pleaſe you now, turne your eyes from the dignity, and reflect vpon the office. The office, a taske indeed, ſuch a one as ſhould rather prouoke our endeauours, than appetites. If any man deſire the office of a Biſhop (let's awhile leaue the word Prieſt, and faſten vpon this, the authority may beare it out the better) deſires a good worke, 1 Tim. 3.1.1 Tim. 3.1. Lib. 19. Ciuit. Dei cap. 19. Quia nomen operis eſt, non honoris (as Auguſtine gloſſes it) 'tis a name of worke, not honour; a worke no leſſe fearefull, than laborious, no where better figur'd than by Moſes, here, to Pharaoh, repriuing Iſrael from Egypt, from which 'tis ſcarce any way differenc'd, but in the difficulty, and therein it exceeds the type; difficulty worthy the trauells of the beſt, were not thoſe labours ſhoulder'd and thruſt on by vaine-glory.Greg. de Val. in 2a. 2ae. disp. 10. 43. part. 2. Iſtaec cathedra cupientem ſe, & audacter expetentē, non requirit, ſed ornatum, ſed cruditum—. So Valentia vpon Aquine. —This chaire of Moſes is no ſeat of ambition, but deſert, it hates either an intruder, or purſuer; He that gaines it by couetouſneſſe, or bold deſire, doth not poſſeſſe, but inuade it, and 'tis not ſo much his by right of inheritance, as vſurpation.

Theſe honors fawne onely vpon humble worths, men clad & harneſſed with double eminencie, of life, of learning, thoſe whoſe vertues haue aduanc'd them aboue the ordinary leuell and pitch of popularity. Yet to theſe neither without this proficiſcere— to Moſes, Goe. Clemens in his firſt Epiſtle, will perſwade you: 'tis the concluſion of Saint Peter. Auguſtine goes farther,Lib. 19. de Ciuit. Dei, cap. 19. Locus ſuperior ſine quo populus regi non poteſt, et ſi adminiſtretur vt decet, tamen indecenter appetitur—. Suppoſe the man worthy of this place of Eminencie, & comes home in matters of adminiſtration, yet he is to blame in thoſe of appetite, Greg. de Val. vt ſupra. for the deſire laies open his vnworthineſſe, and the Schoolman will not flatter him, but concludes it plainely for a mortall ſinne. And if we may gueſſe at the child by the parent, it beſt countenanceth leuity, or arogance, neuer read to be the proper ſeedes of any vertue. Notwithſtanding this deſire (ſometimes) comes not within the compaſſe of preſumption,Part. 1. Paſtor. cap. 8. if the worke be the obiect of our appetite, and not the honour, or, if the honour, not the reuenew, —Appetere colſitudinem Epiſcopalem, non eſt ſemper praeſumptio, ſed appetere Epiſcopatum, ratione celſitudinis, appetit enim celſitudinem, ſupra dignitatem— Gregorie will haue it ſo. Howeuer,1 Tim 3.1. if it pleaſe you to glance on my former quotation from the Apoſtle, 'twill not ſo much whet your appetite, as grauell it;Beza in locum. for firſt Beza limits the deſire, If any man deſire? and 'tis not meant —de ambitu— of the appetite, or ambition to get the See, but de animo, of the earneſt deſire to benefit the Church, or admit the words will carry that interpretation, yet the commendation which is annexed truces with the worke, not the deſire,—Bonum opus de ſiderat—, not —benè deſiderat—, though it be good what he deſires, yet hee doth not well to deſire it. Men vnworthy of what they ſue for, onely becauſe they ſue for it. And this in Primitiue times hath occaſioned in many no leſſe a modeſtie than vnwillingneſſe in thoſe ſacred vndertakings, when the Fathers, with a kind of reluctancie and feare, were towed on to theſe high imployments. Nay ſome, whether through maieſtie of the place, or roughneſſe of the times, or guilt of their owne weakeneſſe, haue panted and breath'd ſhort in their deſires to this great enterpriſe, and at length exchang'd the honour for an exile.Greg Naz in praefat. Apol. Athan. in epiſt. ad Draconi. Epiſc. fug: vt Gl ſſ. in prim. Euan. Marc. Nizianzen flies into Pontus; Dracontius, into the skirts of Alexandria: and it is tradition'd me by Aquinas, (and he quotes Saint Ierome for it) that Saint Marke cut off his thumbe, Ʋt Sacerdotio reprobus haberetur— They are the Schoolemans owne words in his 2a. 2ae. quaeſt. 185. Artic. 1. But 'twill not be amiſſe here to take Saint Ambroſe —quamuis notandum— with vs; that theſe things were done in the Churches great extremities, when he that was —primus in preſbyterio, Part. 2. paſt. c. 3. was —primus in Martyrio. 'Twould require the temper of a braue reſolution, and a better zeale, to deſire this Bonum opus, when 'twas made the touchſtone and furnace of mens faith and conſtancie, not only in leading others to the ſtake, but their own ſuffering where they were to be a voluntary Holocauſt, and ſacrifice to the Church, there to remaine a monument of their Religion, and others tyranny. 'Tis true, Hiſtories haue furniſht vs with examples of ſome which haue renounc'd an Empire, and (which is ſtrange) a Popedome; Diocleſian did one, and Celeſtinus, t'other. The times (we may ſuppoſe) were bluſtring, and the reuenewes thin at Rome, when the honor of the chaire, was at once not deſir'd and ſcorn'd. No proiect now vnſifted, no ſtratagem vndig'd for; no reach of policie vnfathom'd for the compaſſing of that great See, though by ſyniſter, though by diuelliſh attempt, nay, that's the chiefe engine by which it works. Tiberius could once tell a Prince of the Celts, that Rome had a ſword for her conqueſt, not an Apothecaries ſhop; now they are both too little; Sword, and poyſon, and maſſacre, and Piſtoll, and knife, and powder, for the purchaſe (or at leaſt the ſtrengthening) of the triple crowne.

And I would Mach auell had rendeuouz'd only in Ieſuited Territories, and not knockt at the gates of Proteſtant Dominions; 'tis to be fear'd he hath Factors neerer home, thoſe which not onely know the backdoores to the Staffe, and Myter, but are acquainted with the locke, which if they cannot force or picke by the finger of policie or greatneſſe, they turne with that golden key which at once opens a way to a purchas'd honour, and a ruine.

Ambition whither wilt thou? nay, where wilt thou not? to the pinacle of the Temple for the glory of the world, though thou tumble for it to thy eternall ruine.

The Greeke Philoſopher will beg of the gods, that he may behold the Sunne ſo neere, as to comprehend the forme, Eudoxus. beautie, greatneſſe of it, and afterwards he cares not if hee burne, as if there were no ſuch Martyrdome, as what Ambition fires. Occidar modò imperet—,Tacit. Annals. was the reſolution of Agrippina for her Nero; but loe, how the euent crownes the vnſatiateneſſe of her deſires? He gaines the kingdome, and firſt dig'd out thoſe bowels which had foſtered him, and then that heart which was the throne of ſuch an aſpiring thought; cruelty ſhall I call it, or iuſtice, when the vaine glory of the mother was penanc'd with the vnnaturalneſſe of the ſon. Thus loftie mindes (furniſht with a ſtrong hope of the ſucceſſe of their deſignes) haue embark't themſelues into great actions, and propoſing humane ends, as ſcales to their high thoughts, haue bin waſted into ſtrange promotions, but after they haue (a while) ſpangl'd in that their firmament of honour, they become falling ſtarres, and ſo the ſucceſſe prooues as inglorious as the enterpriſe was bold, and deſperate. We haue ſeldome met with any eminency that was ſodaine and permanent: Thoſe which in their dawne of Fortune breake ſo gloriouſly, meet with a ſtorme at noone, or elſe a cloud at night. The Sunne that riſes in a grey and ſullen morne, ſets cleareſt; and indeed ambition is too haſtie, and is hur d violently to the end it aimes at without cautelouſneſſe and circumſpection to the meane; but humilitie hath a calme and temperate pace, and ſtoopes it along in a gentle poſture, yet at length attaines her marke, but ſlowly, as if it went vnwilling to honour, and ſlighted thoſe proffers which others ſue for. I enuie Scipio Africanus, and Marcus Portius (you know whoſe 'tis, Traianus to Plutarch) more for contempt of offices, than the victories they haue wonne, becauſe a conquerour for the moſt part is in Fortunes power, but the contempt of offices liu'd in prudence. Will you heare the paraphraſe? Tacitus giue's it, Sapientibus cupido gloriae nouiſſima, exuitur—. Wiſemen are ſo little in the drift of honor that they loath the ſent, 'tis the vanitie, they laſt put off, and there was a time when a modeſt refuſall of them, was no by-way to them; for this ſhadow once followed, flies, but fled,Chryſ. Hom. 35. in Matth. followes—primatus fugientem deſiderat, deſideratum horret, ſaies the Father. 'Tis a tricke of primacie to fawne where 'tis not croocht too, but looke coy where it's ouer courted, like ſome weather-cocks which in a conſtant and churliſh wind beake fairely towards vs, but in a wanton blaſt, turne taile.

Hence it is that in matters of authoritie, and preheminence, pride hath for the moſt part the foile, humilitie the conqueſt, that ſtoopes baſely to the title, or the profit, and looſes either, This in a modeſt diſtance keepes a looſe, till worth inuite it, and at length gaines both; ſo that it is in wayes of promotion, as in ſome water-works, where one Engine raiſes it to make it fall more violently, another beats it downe that it might mount higher. The aduiſe then of S. Peter comes ſeaſonably here,1 Pet. 5.6.Humble your ſelues vnder the mighty hand of God, that hee may exalt you in due time. The words are not without their ſtrength of emphaſis, here is an —humiliamini— crown'd with an —vt exaltet, humble your ſelues, that he may exalt, as if humilitie were ſo neceſſary a diſpoſition to preferment, that without it God might not exalt. But ſoft, Impoſtor; Thou which iugleſt both with God and with the times, I call not that humility which is typ'd in the downefall of the looke, or the affected crindge and poſture of the bodie, but the knee of the inward man, wch the Wiſeman of old called the character of an holy ſoule, leading noble harts ſlowly to the feaſts of friends, but ſpeedily to their ſuccour in calamities; So that true meekeneſſe is retinu'd with a double worth, charity, reſolution; And the Philoſopher will tell you,Plato in Timaeo. 'tis A vertue belongs to the couragious part of the ſoule, ſeated betweene two baſe extreames, Puſillanimity, Arrogance, No Buffone, and yet no Bafler, ſupporting ſometimes iniuries, not out of cowardice, but Patience, allaying all tumults and inſtigations of the ſoule to reuenge or choller, not expos'd to any violence of paſſion, but as temperate in diſpoſition, as ſetled; no waue in her deſigne, nor tempeſt in her thought; ſhe is all calme, not a wind ſo rough as to moue a ſtorme either in her minde or action. But there is a ſquint-eiea humilitie, which caſts one way, and points another; the looke is deiected, ſtill groueling towards the earth, and with ſuch a dreſſe of mortification, as if it deſired no more of it, than would ſerue it for a graue; when the thought meaſures out a Dioceſſe, or labours on ſome greater proiect, which gain'd the countenance is chear'd, the bodie droopes not, and he can now ſafely i ſt it with that old Abbot, Quaerebam prius claues monaſterij, Quibus inuentis, nunc rectus incedo.

And this ſubtle Nauigator neuer ſteeres as he ſets his compaſſe; the looke (haply) points you to a formall meekeneſſe, but the thought ſtill coaſts vpon Ambition; yet this gluttonous deſire ſeldome anchors any where, but goes on ſtill with a full ſaile, till 't'ath compaſſed the cape tis bound for,Seneca.Habet hoc vitiumomnis ambitio, non reſpicit, The thirſt of Eminencie is headſtrong, and runs with a looſe bridle. 'Tis to ſee much below ſatietie, that it ſtill deſires, nay 'tis hungry euen in ſurfet, and is ſharpen'd with the fruition of that it coueted; ſo that the birth of this title is but the conception of another, one honour roomes not the greatneſſe of his thought, our Aaron is not contented with an Ephod, the rod of Moſes, would doe well too; Authoritie is ſleighted, diſcipline falne, and corruption crept ſtrangely into the times, but

Iumen. Sat. 1. O fortunatam me conſule, Romam. What ſhould a mercifull worth doe with a Conſulſhip? 'tis a place for thunder, not clemencie, one that can ſtrike dead exorbitancie with the furrowes of the brow, and quell all vice with the tempeſt of a looke, one that can both vnſheath the ſword of authoritie, and brandiſh it, if not to reformation, yet to ruine; Thus he would make gouernment the ſtale both of his pride and Tyranny, his proiects are loftily cruell, ſo are his actions too, yet ſtill in a hot ſent of promotion, wch (if they want a trumpet for others commendation) ſhall borrow one from his owne, and ſo at once applaud his deſignes, and iuſtifie them. And indeed this titillation and itch of honour, if it once finde in the boſome of the receiuer a faire admittance, doth ſmoothly inſinuate and cheat vpon the powers of Reaſon, But when 'tis throughly ſeated and enthron'd there, 'tis no more a gueſt but a Tyrant, and leaues the poſſeſſor, not a maſter, but a captiue, and in this caſe, I know not whether Saint Auguſtine will pittie his Aurelius, or excuſe him,Aug. Epiſt. 64. ad Aurel.Et ſi cuiquam facile ſit gloriam non cupere dum negatur, difficile eſt ea non delectari cum offertur— in his 64 Epiſtle. Howeuer the Father ſeemes there to pleade onely for the delight in glories offer'd, not in the vniuſt proſecution of thoſe denied. But our humble-arrogant walkes not to his temple of honour by that of vertue, but inuaſion; and of ſome of his colleagues, the Fathers complain'd of old, Qui nequaquam diuinitus vocati, Greg. part. 1. paſt. cap. 2. ſed ſua cupiditate accenſi, culmen regimini. rapiunt potiùs, quàm aſſequuntur 'Tis Saint Gregories line, and a ſtrong one too, ſuch a one as the Prophet once laſh't Iudah with,Hoſ. 8.4. Ho. 8.4. They haue ſet vp a King but not by me, they would make a Ruler, I knew it not. Mat. 23. Would you haue a more punctuall character, that of the Phariſees is moſt appoſite: They loue greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi, Matth. 23.7. Deuout cruelty, Religious arrogance (the Father will make it out) Ob pietatem miſeri, ob ſplendorem infaelices, Greg. Naz. in praefat. Apol. edict. lat. in his Apologie firſt Oration 44. pag.

But I haue followed Moſes too long as a Magiſtrate, I muſt now a while as a Prieſt, and (what I exchang'd him for) a Biſhop. I ſhall not trauell farre, e're I deſcry them both in a full careere, not farr from the roade I left the Magiſtrate, Ambition, but in a more couert, and vntroden way; a way, howeuer doubly obnoxious to the paſſenger, becauſe vnwarrantable, becauſe forbidden; no authoritie for his progreſſe, no Letters patents from heauen, no proficiſcere from his God, Goe, yet he runnes, runnes without command, nay againſt it, trebly againſt it, againſt that, non dominantes in clerum—, feed,1. Pet. 5.3. Iam. 3.1. But not as Lords ouer Gods heritage, but enſamples, and againſt that nolite magiſtri, be not maſters, knowing you ſhall receiue the greater condemnation; nay againſt the direct prohibition of Chriſt to his Diſciples,Matth 20.27.Will there be any great among you—, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , let him be your ſeruant. 'Tis high time then this bladder were a little prickt, and this impoſtume launc'd. The body of the Church deſire's it, cries for't, ſhee is ſicke, ſicke euen vnto death, yet no Phyſitian in Iſrael will adminiſter, will? durſt not; Wee are growne ſo emaſculate, and palſie-ſtrooken, in waies of reprehenſion, the times ſo cenſorious, and in a luſt of noueltie, that this mount of God which was wont to ſend out lightnings and thunder to the Iſraelites below, is now growne a terrour to the Moſes that ſhall climbe it. And whereas the Pulpit hath beene formerly our Tribunall to iudge and ſentence the lapſes and deprauations of the people, they haue made at length a bar for our own arraignement, & their doome or mercy paſſes on vs, as we ſhall pleaſe or not pleaſe, but the verdict runnes much to the fancy of the cenſurer, which is commonly as barbarous and wilde, as he that giues it. Diſcourſes (and I am ſorry I cannot call them Sermons) are ſo ſleeke, and wooing for applauſe, the eares of the times ſo coy, and pickt for accurateneſſe, that to be plaine or home, entitles the ſpeaker to rudeneſſe or ſtoiciſme, each offer'd annotation is a barbariſme, and euery reproofe a libell. The hewing downe of a glorious vice, or the whipping of a ſinne in ſcarlet, Praemunires him that doth it, and hee growes a tributary and ſlaue to the frownes and diſhonours of the time,Iuuen. Sat. 1. Vnde illa priorum—ſcribendi quodcunque animo flagrante liberet—Simplicitas? 'Tſhould ſeeme Antiquitie had a priuiledge of venting any thing that proceeded from the ſimplicitie and truth of an honeſt breaſt; But the thoughts of aftertimes were choak't with a —non audeo dicere—, ſincerity was turn'd bankrupt, and truth an exile, plaine-dealing, pertinacie, and zeale, madneſſe. But what, ſhall Moſes here be tongue-tyed, ſhall he ſtutter in the Meſſages of his God? —Quid refert dictis ignoſcat Mutius annon? Iu. ibid. Puſillanimity and deiectedneſſe of ſpirit in the imployment of thy Maker, is the baſeſt degree of cowardiſe; for my part, I haue ſet vp my reſolution with that of S. Bernard: Ad Fulc. Epiſt. 2. Quid me loqui pudeat, quod illis non puduit facere? ſi pudeat audire quod impudenter egerunt, non pudeat emendare quod libenter non audiant. Let me tell howeuer this child of vaine-glory, that no touch of malecontentedneſſe, or ſpirit of inuection puts me on the iuſtice of theſe complaints; But that which the deuout Abbot cals, patient anger, humble indignation —euen that charity wherewith he catechiz'd his ambitious pupill, —Quae tibi condolet, quaemuis non dolenti, B rn. ad Fulc. epiſt. 2. quae tibi miſeretur, licet non miſerabili, & inde magis dolet, quod cum ſis dolendus, non doles, & inde magis miſeretur, quod cùm miſer ſit, miſerabilis non es, vult te tuum ſcire dolorem, vt iam non habeas vnde dolere, vult te tuam ſcire miſeriam, vt incipias miſer non eſſe, in his 2 Epiſtle, Ad Fulconem—.

I neuer yet enuied the proſperity of any, I haue ſometimes wond'red at their waies of aduancement, and now haue trac't them, and finde a double ſtaire by which they aſcend, zeale, policie,—(pleaſe you to tranſlate the termes, you may, they will beare the chriſtning) Faction, Simony—, one of the chiefe meanes to gaine preferment, is, to crie downe the way to it. And he that will haue three liuings, muſt firſt preach violently againſt two. Non-reſidency muſt be a capitall and indiſpenſable crimes. Pluralities, damn'd, till they be either offer'd, or poſſeſt, when the fiſh is caught, what makes the net here then? away with it; the queſtion is ſtated on to'ther ſide. A double Benefice is but one liuing, and that ſwallowed with as little reluctation, as 'twas but now thundred againſt, with all the bitterneſſe that the power of virulence could ſuggeſt; all's well now, the conſcience is at peace, and (what is ſtrange) the tongue too. Ere long, Non-reſidency hangs not in the teeth, but that is eaſily put off, for the honour of Nicodemus,—To be a great Maſter in Iſrael, Sueton.Si violandum ſit ius, regnandi caus â violandum,—what matter's it for iuſtice ſo we gaine an Empire? or for equity ſo we may inſult? The application needs no skrew, 'twill come home of it's owne accord to the murmurings of the guilty boſome; In the meane time it much ſtaggers mee, to ſee the reconcilement of two vertuous friends with a baſe aduerſary? a Saint in the countenance, an Angell in the tongue, with an Hypocrite at the heart.

Thus (beloued) vpon eaſie enquiry wee may as well deſcrie an equiuocation in the looke, as in the word, and he that can art it handſomely in wayes of diſſimulation, hath not ſo much two tongues, as two faces; one lookes towards the world, where demureneſſe laies on her paint and colour, and this oftentimes deludes, ſhamefully deludes; the other towards heauen, and that's but courſely dawb'd in reſpect of it, for the eye of the Almighty cannot be dazell'd, that will deſcrie her furrowes and deformities, and at length giue her a reward anſwerable to the defert, her portion with the Hypocrite, and there I leaue it.

This fruitleſſe and pernicious branch prun'd, and lopt off, t'other buds, no leſſe dangerous than that, and yet more flouriſhing, it ſprouts now to ſuch a bredth and height, that it hath almoſt ouerſhadowed the body of the Church, inſomuch, that the Foules of the aire lodge in the branches thereof. No Vulture or Rauen (emblemes of rapine and greedineſſe) though they deuoure and hauock it (ſo they haue a tricke of merchandizing) but neſts and perches there; nay ſcarce an Owle or Buzzard (now the metaphors of dulneſſe and ſimplicity) but hoots and reuels there. Times more than calamitous, when the inheritance and patrimony of the Church, ſhall be thus leas'd out to auarice and folly, when thoſe her honors wch ſhe entailes vpon deſert, ſhall be heaped vpon a golden ignorant, who rudely treades on thoſe ſacred prerogatiues, without any warranted proficiſcere frō God or man. We find Moſes trembling here, though encourag'd both by the perſwaſion and command of the Almighty, —Et infirmquiſ que vt honoris onus ſuſcip at, anhelat, Greg. par. 1. paſt. cap. 7. & qui ad caſum valde vrgetur ex proprijs, humerū libenter opprimen ū ponderibus ſubmittit alienis—. 'Tis Gregories complaint in the 1. part of his Paſtorall, chapter 7.

Strange monument of weakneſſe! hee that reeles vnder his owne burthen, ſtoopes to be oppreſt with the weight of others, and loe how he tumbles to a mortall ſinne (The Schoolemen doth ſtile it ſo) directly oppoſite to a paire of vertues, iuſtice, charity; vniuſt, that the reuenues due to worth ſhould be pack't vpon bulckleſſe and vnable perſons,Greg. de Val. in 2a. 2ae. Aqui. diſt. 10. q. 3 punc. 2. and vncharitable for him to vndertake the guidance and paſturing of a flocke who was neuer train'd vp in the conditions of a ſhepherd. Neither is he an enemy onely of a double vertue, but a companion of two ſuch ſinnes which ſeeme to braue, and dare the Almighty to reuenge on the prophaner, Intruſion, periurie; firſt, in ruſhing on the profeſſion not legitimately call'd, then in purchaſing her honours. Yet there are which can ſay with the Diſciple —Maſter, we haue left all and followed thee— our birth-right for the Church; left did I ſay? ſold it, exchanged the poſſeſſions of our Fathers (their vineyard) to purchaſe thine; and in ſtead of that peny which thou giueſt in liew of a Crowne and recompence to thy labourer, we haue giuen thouſands to be poſſeſt one, and ſo, thou not hiring vs, wee haue, it. But heare S. Bernard ſchooling his Eugenius, and doe not ſo much bluſh as tremble,—Quis mihi det, Bern. epiſt. 238. ad Euge. ante quam moriar videre eccleſiam Dei ſicut in diebu antiquis quandò Apoſtoli laxabant retia in capturam, non aurd, ſed animaerum! quàm cupio te illius hareditare vocem cuius ad ptus es ſedem? Pecunia tua tecum in perditionem—. O vex tonitrui! The Abbot goes on deuoutly in the 238. Epiſtle ád Eugenium.

If that Father be too calme and modeſt in his reproofe, and cannot rouze bloud in the cheekes of the delinquent: S. Ambroſe ſhall ſtartle it, or elſe ſcare you with the viſion of Simon Magus, Amb. de dign. ſacerd. cap. 5. or Gehazi,—Qui non timentes illud Petri, aut Elizei, Sacerdotalem defamant honorem, ſanctique Epiſcopatus gratiam pecunijs coemerunt; in his de dignitate Sacerdotali cap. 5.

And indeed, in waies of ſufficiency and worth, 'tis the —ſi nil attuleris—damp's the preferment; The age can inſtance, in ſome languiſhing and weake in their intellectuals, men without ſap or kernell, who (hauing their ſtore-houſe well fraught with that white and red earth) haue ſtumbled on the glories of the time, as if fortune would make them happy in deſpight of vertue; when others of Chriſts followers (were truely his Diſciples) are ſent abroad with their—ite & praedicate—bare-footed, without bag or ſcrip, but their Commiſſion large —Omni creaturae—the wide world is their place of reſidence, no particular roofe to ſhelter them, or place of retiredneſſe to lay their head in. Nay ſome that haue ſeru'd a triple Apprentiſhip to Arts and Sciences, and ſpent in theſe our Athens the ſtrength of their time and patrimonie, men throughly ballac'd for thoſe high deſignes, well kern'd both in yeeres and iudgement, lie mouldring for non-employment, and daſht for ſlowneſſe of promotion; when others of cheape and thin abilities, men without growth or bud of knowledge, haue met with the honours of aduancement, and trample on thoſe deiected bookewormes which diſſolue themſelues into induſtry for the ſeruice of their Church, yet meet neither with her pompe, nor her reuenue; nay, ſome that haue waſted their Lampe, are burnt their Taper to an inch of yeeres, haue ſpent thoſe fortunes in the trauailes of Diuinity, wch would largely haue accommodated them for more ſecular courſes, and enforced to retire themſelues to the ſolitarineſſe of ſome ten-pound Cure, and ſo ſpin out 〈…〉 he hath ſuffer'd ſtrangely in the cenſures of the world) ſomewhat windy, & tempeſtuous, but ſuch as had authority onely from the tongue, not the heart, and as ſoone ore-blowne, as occaſion'd, nought elſe but a greene leafe in a flame, crack't, ſparkled, and ſo out. His rule of friendſhip the beſt, not popular, but choice, & there too, where it found truth, no gloſſe; there vnſhooke, nobly-conſtant, his, both in his heart, & in his purſe; not in his purſe, (as Seneca writes of Sicilius, where nought could be extracted but an hundred vpon a hundred) or as your Hackney Mynt-men for the moſt part doe, ten vpon the ſame number, but that trebled, many times, for nothing, as the clemency of ſome vnperſecuting ſcroles can teſtifie. His contribution, and beneuolence in way of almes, rather powr'd out, than giuen, as if pouerty had beene the obiect of his profuſeneſſe, not of his releefe; yet that without froth of oſtentation, without reference to merit, on the grounds of a true charity. His Religion (wherein the world thought hee had wau'd and totter'd) vpon his accounts to God, and his inlargements and declarations to his friends, on his death-bed, faſt to the Church of England; which, (though in the laſt act) was beleager'd by ſome emaſculate ſuggeſtions, yet, bleſſed be the circumſpection of a carefull Sonne, it ſtood vnbatter'd, and in that loialty, and ſtrength, he penitently gaue vp his ſoule into the hands of his Redeemer.

And now hee is gone, let his imperfections follow, and the memory of them rot, and moulder with his body; hee had many, ſome preualent; and (good Lord) which of vs haue nor in a large proportion! But they are our earthy and duſty, and aſhy part, ſo they were his; let them then be buried with him; ſhouell them into his graue; earth to earth, aſhes to aſhes, duſt to duſt; let them ſpring no more, to the ſoyling and diſhonour of his name, or our owne vncharitableneſſe, but let his aſhes reſt in peace; for hee is now—Gone to his long home, and the mourners haue walkt for him about the ſtreets.

Gloria in excelſis Deo. Amen. FINIS.