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<DATE>2011-09-21</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Did text and markup review.</ITEM>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]80923999</BIBNO>
<VID>192035</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1">
<P>TRACTS THEOLOGICAL.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. A&s;ceticks, or the Heroick Piety and Vertue of the Ancient Chri&s;tian <HI>Anchorets</HI> and <HI>Coenobites.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. The Life of St. <HI>Antony</HI> out of the <HI>Greek</HI> of St. <HI>Athana&s;ius.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>III. The Antiquity and Tradition of <HI>My&s;tical Divinity</HI> among the <HI>Gentiles.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>IV. Of the Guidance of the Spirit of God, upon a Di&s;cour&s;e of Sir <HI>Matthew Hale</HI>'s concerning it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>V. An Invitation to the <HI>Quakers,</HI> to rectifie &s;ome Errors, which through the Scandals given they have fallen into.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed, and are to be Sold by <HI>Dan. Brown,</HI> at the <HI>Black-Swan</HI> and <HI>Bible</HI> without <HI>Temple-Bar:</HI> And <HI>Rich. Smith,</HI> at the <HI>Angel</HI> without <HI>Lincolns-Inn-Gate,</HI> near the Fields, 1697.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>ADVERTISEMENT.</HEAD>
<P>THE Liturgy of the Ancients repre&s;ented in <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Forms; with a Preface con|cerning the Re&s;titution of the mo&s;t Solemn part of the Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip: And divers other Papers and Tracts by the &s;ame Author. Sold by <HI>Dan. Brown</HI> and <HI>Rich. Smith.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<GROUP>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="2">
<P>ASCETICKS: OR, The Heroick <HI>Piety</HI> &amp; <HI>Virtue</HI> OF THE Ancient Chri&s;tian ANCHORETS AND COENOBITES.</P>
<P>PART I. <HI>Exemplary A&s;ceticks.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Authour, 1696.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="3">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="4">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>IT hath been a u&s;ual, &s;ubtile and wicked Policy of the Devil and Evil Men, first to render <HI>Names</HI> Odious; and then by affixing them to <HI>Per&s;ons</HI> and <HI>Things,</HI> thereby to render them &s;o too, with the vulgar; whom, by that means, they impo&s;e upon, and make their Tools. By &s;uch means have not only the <HI>Chri&s;tians of Old,</HI> but al&s;o &s;ome of the chief <HI>Principles of Chri&s;tianity</HI> been much injured and abu&s;ed: And few <HI>Parties</HI> there are, who have not one time or other &s;marted by it. That the <HI>well-meaning Reader</HI> therefore may not be &s;o abu&s;ed and impo&s;ed upon in his Judgment of the things here put together for the Benefit of all, who can receive them, by the Odious Names of <HI>Monkery</HI> and <HI>Popery,</HI> it is to be ob&s;erved, that though <HI>POPERY,</HI> taken properly for the Abu&s;es and Corruptions of the <HI>Bi&s;hops</HI> and <HI>Church of Rome,</HI> may de&s;erve all the Odium ca&s;t upon it, yet may most vile and wicked Abu&s;es be committed by Pretence and Imputation of that Odious Name: And in &s;ome things it is hard to &s;ay, Whether the People have been more abu&s;ed by <HI>Popery</HI> it &s;elf, or by the <HI>Odium</HI> and <HI>Imputation</HI> of the <HI>Name?</HI> And not only the People, but the Go&s;pel it &s;elf: I may add,
<PB REF="5">and the <HI>Reformation</HI> too. For, while Chri&s;tian Truths have been mi&s;-repre&s;ented, and expo&s;ed to Contempt and Odium under the Name of <HI>Popery,</HI> the <HI>Cau&s;e</HI> on the &s;ide of <HI>Popery</HI> is &s;upported, &s;trengthened, and made &s;o much the more defen&s;ible by the intermixture of &s;o much Truth; and the <HI>Cau&s;e</HI> on the &s;ide of the <HI>Reformation</HI> &s;o much the more weakened and di&s;paraged by the intermixture of &s;o much indefen&s;ible Error. Whereas, if they were only things inexcu&s;able in them which were que&s;tioned, as Cha|rity doth require, they must have &s;unk in the Cau&s;e long before this; but an indi&s;creet Affectation of Reformation and uncharitable &s;eeking Occa&s;ions, have made a <HI>Refor|mation</HI> now as needful on the one &s;ide, as the other. In|&s;tances of this might be &s;hewed in divers particulars; but I need not &s;tep out of my way for that, the other Name mentioned may &s;erve for that purpo&s;e here.</P>
<P><HI>MONKERY</HI> is not only rendered Odious, as of it &s;elf, but al&s;o as a part of <HI>Popery.</HI> And, indeed, if we imagin all that is believed or practi&s;ed by the <HI>Church of Rome</HI> to be <HI>Popery,</HI> it may be &s;o: but then we &s;hall leave little of true Chri&s;tianity for the <HI>Reformation:</HI> But if what is <HI>true Chri&s;tianity</HI> be not <HI>Popery,</HI> than neither is <HI>Monkery,</HI> as &s;ome are plea&s;ed to call the <HI>Mona&s;tick Life;</HI> And that it is not only true Chri&s;tianity, but the Practice of it in the greatest Perfection that Mortals are capable of, I am apt to think will be very plain to any who will con&s;ider what here follows with an unprejudiced and competent Judgment. And therefore I &s;hall not need to &s;ay more here, but only de&s;ire the Reader to &s;u&s;pend his Judgment till he hath peru&s;ed and con&s;idered it well.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="5" REF="5" MS="y">
<HEAD>THE Beginning and Progre&s;s OF Contemplative Living, AND Religious Societies.</HEAD>
<P>THAT there are in the very Nature of Man &s;ome <HI>Principles of Inclination to Religion,</HI> which, if not corrupted by <HI>Evil Education,</HI> or other unhappy Occurrences, do in&s;en&s;ibly grow and increa&s;e in Strength and Vigour, and in due time exert them&s;elves in Action; though for &s;ome time they lie dormant as it were, and do not appear; even as &s;ome others, which in all Animals are manife&s;tly mo&s;t Natural, and yet appear not till after &s;ome growth toward Maturity; hath been ob&s;erved, believed, and a&s;&s;erted, by Men of greate&s;t Reputation for Learning and Wi&s;dom, both in Ancient times, and to this Day.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="6" MS="y">
<P> The&s;e Principles have among Man-kind been, in many much <HI>corrupted and &s;tifled</HI> by Evil Education, or Conver&s;ation with Evil Per&s;ons, and by the Impre&s;&s;ions, Energy, and In&s;tigations of Evil Spirits; but in others again much <HI>che|ri&s;hed and improved,</HI> not only by Good Education and Conver&s;ation, and by Con&s;ideration of the Works of Nature; but moreover, and e&s;pecially, by the kind Influences of the Divine Maje&s;ty, and of his Good Mini&s;tring Spirits.</P>
<P>From hence, in all Ages, and in all Parts of the World, have been produced and rai&s;ed up Phi|lo&s;ophers, and Wi&s;e, and Holy Men and Women, who have been as Lights and Examples to the re&s;t, of &s;everal &s;orts, according to their <HI>different Ways of Living;</HI> &s;ome living a Life of <HI>Civil Conver&s;ation</HI> with others, but &s;trictly con&s;cien|tious, <HI>walking in all the Commandments and Or|dinances of the Lord, blamele&s;s,</HI> as is &s;aid of <HI>Za|charias</HI> and <HI>Elizabeth, Luk.</HI> 6. or, to &s;peak more comprehen&s;ively, <HI>living in all Good Con&s;cience before God,</HI> as St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith of him&s;elf, <HI>Act.</HI> 23.1. or according to the Character of <HI>Job, Perfect, and &V;pright, fearing God, and e&s;chewing Evil,</HI> Job 1.1. Others living a more ab&s;tracted Life of <HI>Retirement</HI> and <HI>Contemplation;</HI> ab&s;tracted not only from Bu&s;ine&s;s in the World, but al&s;o from ordinary Conver&s;ation with Men, that they might without Di&s;traction conver&s;e with God, and his ble&s;&s;ed Mini&s;tring Spirits: and others
<PB N="7" REF="6" MS="y">again living a kind of mixt or middle Life be|tween the&s;e two, avoiding unnece&s;&s;ary Bu&s;ine&s;s and Incumberances, and exerci&s;ing <HI>Recollections</HI> and <HI>Ab&s;traction,</HI> as much as their Occa&s;ions would permit, and even in, and amid&s;t their Bu&s;ine&s;s.</P>
<P>Of tho&s;e Three Ways of Living, that more &s;trict and <HI>Contemplative Life</HI> is believed, by divers Learned Men, to have been begun by <HI>ENOS,</HI> or in his time; and not without rea&s;on: For, as the Principles before-mentioned were apt to produce &s;uch an Effect, &s;o there &s;eems to be &s;omething &s;ingular noted concerning <HI>Religion,</HI> or &s;ome <HI>Religious In&s;titution</HI> or <HI>Practice</HI> in that Sacred Record, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4. <HI>ult.</HI></P>
<P>But of the more ancient Times, not only be|fore the Flood, but al&s;o for &s;ome Ages after the Flood, we know but very little: But in the Times of which, we have &s;ome more Know|ledge, be&s;ides PRIESTS, and profe&s;&s;ed PHILOSOPHERS, there have always been both <HI>&s;ingle Per&s;ons,</HI> and <HI>compleat</HI> or <HI>formed Societies of People,</HI> who, di&s;cerning the Vanity and Emptine&s;s of Earthly things, and Solidity and Perminence of Heavenly things, withdrew them&s;elves from tho&s;e of the Earth, as much as their Mortal State could bear, and applyed them|&s;elves intirely to the Contemplation and Pro&s;e|cution of tho&s;e of a more excellent Nature, living an <HI>Ab&s;tracted</HI> and <HI>Angelick Life</HI> in Mortal Fle&s;h,
<PB N="8" REF="7" MS="y">in Holy Conver&s;ation, and Favour with God and his ble&s;&s;ed Mini&s;tring Spirits. And &s;ome did actually and expre&s;sly con&s;ecrate them&s;elves by <HI>Vow</HI> unto the &s;pecial Service of God.</P>
<P>Of which Sort were tho&s;e among the <HI>Jews,</HI> called NAZARITES, becau&s;e they did &s;o &s;eparate them&s;elves from among Men, to attend upon God. The Sacred Hi&s;tory, <HI>Numb.</HI> 6. is a Record, not of the Original, but of the Divine Approbation of <HI>Nazarites,</HI> which, though that be very ancient, yet were much more ancient, and more ancient than any Man can tell: And God's Ordering of the <HI>Rites</HI> and <HI>Circum&s;tances</HI> of their Con&s;ecration and Ob&s;ervations for that People, is a manife&s;t Indication of his Divine Approbation of the thing it &s;elf, which had been in u&s;e long before.</P>
<P>All do agree that they were <HI>of Two &s;orts;</HI> &s;ome, only for certain time; others, perpetual for their whole Life; and tho&s;e may again be di&s;tingui&s;hed into Three &s;orts, <HI>viz.</HI> Such as were call'd or appointed by God, as <HI>Sam&s;on,</HI> a <HI>Nazarite unto God from the Womb,</HI> Judg. 13.5, 7: 16.17. and as St. <HI>John the Baptist,</HI> con|&s;ecrated effectually, and <HI>filled with the Holy Spirit even from his Mother's Womb,</HI> Luk. 1.15. Such as were dedicated by their Parents, as <HI>Samuel</HI> by his Mother, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 1.10, 28. And &s;uch as did freely offer them&s;elves: And this <HI>Free-will Offering of them&s;elves,</HI> though but for
<PB N="9" REF="7">a certain time, God did accept no le&s;s than the Free-will Offerings of their Goods, or any thing they had, <HI>v. Lev.</HI> 22.18, 21, 23: 27.2. and therefore ordered the Rites and Circum&s;tances of their Con&s;ecration and Ob&s;ervations, as was &s;aid before. And, on the contrary, the Cala|mities of <HI>Nazarites</HI> is reckoned as a part of the Puni&s;hment of the People, by <HI>Jeremiah</HI> the Prophet, <HI>Lam.</HI> 4.7. But it is reckoned by God among his Divine Favours to that People, that he rai&s;ed up <HI>Nazarites</HI> among&s;t them; and reckoned with his bringing them up from the Land of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and rai&s;ing them Prophets a|mong&s;t them. <HI>Amos</HI> 2.10, 11. <HI>I rai&s;ed up of your Sons for Prophets, and of your Young Men for Nazarites.</HI> Though they might freely offer them&s;elves, yet it was God that did &s;ecretly in|&s;pire and incline their Wills. And therefore the&s;e were <HI>Holy,</HI> as <HI>Origen</HI> hath well ob&s;erved, <HI>Hom.</HI> 11. <HI>in Levit. If any one devotes him&s;elf to God, if any one intangles him&s;elf in no &s;ecular Bu&s;ine&s;s, that he may plea&s;e Him, to whom he hath approved him&s;elf; if any one is &s;eparate from the re&s;t of Men, who live Worldly Lives, and are obliged in &s;ecular Bu&s;ine&s;s, not &s;eeking the things which are upon Earth, but which are in Heaven, he is de&s;ervedly called HOLY, or SAINT.</HI> And after much to this purpo&s;e, he concludes in the&s;e Words: <HI>From all which it is clear, how every one of us, who will be Holy, ought to be con&s;ecrated to
<PB N="10" REF="8">God, and thenceforth be imployed in no Bu&s;ine&s;s or Acts which relate not to God.</HI></P>
<P>So likewi&s;e the <HI>Colledges or Schools of the</HI> PROPHETS, though we meet with no ex|pre&s;s mention of them till in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.5. yet certain it is, that they were much more an|cient, who, under the Name of <HI>Prophets,</HI> lived very ab&s;tracted Lives. The very change of the Denomination, mentioned in the chap. next fore|going, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 9.9. is an Evidence of that, <HI>viz.</HI> That he, who was then call'd a <HI>Prophet,</HI> was afore-time call'd a SEER; and therefore when one went <HI>to inquire of the Lord,</HI> they &s;aid, <HI>Come, and let us go to the Seer.</HI> And if <HI>to inquire of the Lord,</HI> was <HI>to go to the Seer,</HI> than that leads us back to the time of <HI>Rebecca, Gen.</HI> 25.22. for <HI>Seers;</HI> and how much farther back no Man knows: for that certainly was no new thing then. Nor doth it appear that the <HI>Schools of the Prophets</HI> were fir&s;t in&s;tituted by <HI>Samuel:</HI> But that they lived &s;uch <HI>ab&s;tracted Contempla|tive Lives,</HI> is undeniable, both from the Na|ture of their Profe&s;&s;ion, and from the Particulars of the Matter of Fact of their Conver&s;ation men|tioned in the Holy Scriptures.</P>
<P>Nor were there <HI>Men</HI> only, but WOMEN al&s;o, who did very anciently, leaving the World, apply them&s;elves to Matters of Devotion, though perhaps not with &s;o &s;olemn Con&s;ecration; &s;uch as <HI>Anna,</HI> a Prophete&s;s, who having lived &s;even
<PB N="11" REF="8">years a Wife, lived afterwards a Widow till eighty four years of Age, and departed not from the Temple, but &s;erved God with Fa&s;tings and Prayers Night and Day. For of this &s;ort of <HI>Religi|ous Women</HI> were there many among the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> as anciently as the Tabernacle in the Wilderne&s;s, as we are informed by the <HI>Jews,</HI> and the mo&s;t learned Criticks of this Age; as <HI>Mun&s;ter, Fagius, Vatablus,</HI> and others, upon <HI>Exodus</HI> 38.8. And this, it is very probable, was a great Aggrava|tion of the Sins of the Sons of <HI>Eli,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.22. that the Women, whom they abu&s;ed, were &s;uch as the&s;e, <HI>who a&s;&s;embled at the Door of the Tabar|nacle,</HI> as learned Criticks inform us. And put|ting all the&s;e Notices together, it &s;eems that &s;uch Religious Devout Women there were a|mong the <HI>Jews,</HI> at lea&s;t from the time of their fir&s;t abode in the Wilderne&s;s, while they had the Temple &s;tanding among&s;t them.</P>
<P>And if &s;o, Why not long before, even while in <HI>Egypt?</HI> Had they not received Religious In|&s;tructions from their Ance&s;tours? or, Did they retain none of them? or, Did they &s;ee nothing of Religion practi&s;ed among the <HI>Egyptians?</HI> and, Had they not the &s;ame Natural Propen&s;a|tion to Religion, which is common to all Men? We &s;ee how ready and expert all the Women were at the Red-Sea, <HI>Exod.</HI> 15.1, 20. with <HI>Miriam,</HI> a Prophete&s;s, to an&s;wer <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and the Men; and, Can we imagin that all Religion
<PB N="12" REF="9">had been extingui&s;hed, or lain dormant in their Abode in <HI>Egypt?</HI> No certainly; their hard Servitude, though it might hinder their more Solemn Wor&s;hip, yet it could not hinder, but did rather excite and provoke to more retired and &s;ecret Devotion. And indeed, that Servi|tude with Rigour and hard Bondage, was not till a little before their Deliverance; and even then do we find that generous Magnanimity, even among the <HI>Hebrew</HI> Women, the <HI>Midwives,</HI> as to obey God rather than Man, <HI>Exod.</HI> 1.17.</P>
<P>The Companies of the PROPHETS, mentioned 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.10. and 19.20. &s;uch as el&s;e-where are call'd <HI>the Sons of the Prophets,</HI> 1 <HI>King.</HI> 18.4: 20.35. 2 <HI>King.</HI> 2.3, 5, 7, 15: 4.38: 6.1, 2: 9.1. were a &s;ort of Religious Per&s;ons, who lived Ab&s;tracted Contemplative Lives; many of them plainly <HI>Coenobitical Lives,</HI> and &s;ome <HI>Anachoretical</HI> or <HI>Hermete Lives,</HI> as St. <HI>Antony,</HI> and others among the Chri&s;tians did, as <HI>Elias,</HI> 1 <HI>King.</HI> 17.1. and <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> 1 <HI>King.</HI> 19.6. So that St. <HI>Hierom</HI> &s;aid very truly, <HI>Every Order or In&s;titution of Life hath its Principals</HI> or <HI>Lea|ders;</HI> and then after divers In&s;tances in others, he adds; <HI>Our Leaders are &s;uch as</HI> Paul, <HI>as</HI> Antony, <HI>as</HI> Julian, <HI>as</HI> Hilarian, <HI>as the</HI> Macerius<HI>'s: And to return to the Authority of the Scriptures, our Prince or Leader was</HI> Elias, <HI>was</HI> Eli&s;ha; <HI>our Lea|ders were the Sons of the Prophets, who dwelt in Fields, and De&s;erts, or Solitary Places, and made
<PB N="13" REF="9">them&s;elves Tabernacles or Cells by the River of</HI> Jordan: <HI>Of this Company were al&s;o the Sons of</HI> Racab, <HI>&amp;c. Ep.</HI> 13. <HI>ad Paulin.</HI> p. 34. and el&s;e|where, <HI>The Sons of the Prophets, whom we read to have been Monks in the Old Te&s;tament, did build them&s;elves Cottages or Cells near the River of</HI> Jor|dan, <HI>and leaving the Crowds of the Cities, lived on Barley-Cakes and Field-Herbs,</HI> Ep. 4. ad Ru|&s;ticum. <HI>pa.</HI> 11. And if &s;ome of them lived in Cities, that doth no more invalidate what St. <HI>Hierom</HI> &s;aith, than <HI>Mona&s;teries</HI> being brought into Cities by St. <HI>Ba&s;il,</HI> is an Argument again&s;t their being Monks, who have dwelt in &s;uch ever &s;ince. Such Cavils do only prove the Partiality and Di&s;ingenuity of the Authours, and &s;ignifie no more to any Per&s;on of Judgment and Candour; &s;ince they cannot deny, but are forced to con|fe&s;s, <HI>That the Prophets,</HI> Samuel, Elias, <HI>and</HI> Eli|&s;ha, <HI>did in&s;titute Colledges, in which many Di&s;ciples did live together.</HI> So then they lived a <HI>Coeno|bitick Life:</HI> and, What was their Food and Ray|ment? Was it co&s;tly and delicious, or poor and mean? and, What was <HI>their Imployment?</HI> Can we imagin it to have been other, than Studying the Scriptures, after <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his time, and the large Book of Nature, the Works of God, of Creation, of Providence, Prayers, P&s;alms, and Divine Contemplation, and Works and Labours about what was nece&s;&s;ary for them, and no more? And if we con&s;ider the admirable Graces
<PB N="14" REF="10">of the <HI>Ancient Chri&s;tian Monks,</HI> it will be an hard matter for an hone&s;t Man to find any difference between the <HI>Chri&s;tian Monks</HI> and the <HI>Jewi&s;h Pro|phets,</HI> more than in Name. And for the Anti|quity of the&s;e, Is it any Argument that there were none before, if we do not read of any be|fore? How and by whom did they <HI>inquire of the Lord?</HI> Was <HI>I&s;rael</HI> only without Prophets? Was <HI>Balaam</HI> the fir&s;t in his Nation, or any o|ther? or, Were there Prophets, who did not ordinarily live Prophetick Lives? or, if they did, What was the Difference? But &s;uch Pro|phane Spirits as have too long contemned and in&s;ulted upon the mo&s;t Heroick Profe&s;&s;ors of Chri&s;tianity, and abu&s;ed the People with their Sophi&s;try, mu&s;t an&s;wer for their Pre&s;umption, Ra&s;hne&s;s, Temporizing, and incouraging of Sacri|ledge before God, though the Degeneracy of the Modern Monks had provoked his Judgments up|on them; and among Men their Names will be little regarded hereafter. But all are not alike, and therefore I will here add a Note of <HI>Peter Martyr</HI>'s, concerning this Matter, upon 2 <HI>King. We will moreover ob&s;erve,</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that the Di&s;ciples of the Prophets did live together with their Preceptors; For &s;o they &s;ay;</HI> The Place where we dwell with thee, is too &s;trait for us. <HI>It &s;eems to have been a kind of Mona&s;tick Life, but free without Vows or Super&s;titions.</HI> (But <HI>Vows</HI> we find approved by God in the <HI>Nazarites,</HI>
<PB N="15" REF="10">and practi&s;ed by St. <HI>Paul,</HI> and others; and that they were not in u&s;e among the&s;e, is more than any one can prove: but he goes on:) <HI>They ex|erci&s;ed them&s;elves in Divine Scriptures and Hymns; and al&s;o in Holy Prayers: They were often &s;ent to edifie the People, and to confirm Holy Men, who lived among&s;t Idolaters in &s;ound and true Reli|gion. They &s;eem moreover to have exerci&s;ed &s;ome Arts, working with their Hands to get a Main|tenance for them&s;elves,</HI> &amp;c. And &s;o much for this.</P>
<P>At the &s;ame time with <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> lived <HI>Jonadab</HI> the Son of <HI>Rechab,</HI> 2 <HI>King.</HI> 10.15. who in&s;ti|tuted another Order of Religious Per&s;ons, called after his Father's Name, RECHABITES. The&s;e were not of any of the Tribes of <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> but <HI>Kenites</HI> de&s;cended of <HI>Jethro, Mo&s;es</HI> his Fa|ther-in-Law. <HI>v.</HI> 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 2.55. <HI>Jud.</HI> 1.16. who was Prie&s;t of <HI>Midian, Exod.</HI> 2.16: 3.1: 18.1. and one who wor&s;hipped the true God: for he ble&s;&s;ed God, when he heard the Relation of what he had done for the <HI>I&s;raelites, Exod.</HI> 18.10. and in the u&s;ual Form in &s;uch Ca&s;es, ju&s;t as <HI>Melchizedeck</HI> did long before, upon the Victory of <HI>Abraham, Gen.</HI> 14.20. but they are reckoned among them of the Tribe of <HI>Juda,</HI> 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 2.55. becau&s;e they came up with them out of the Wilderne&s;s, <HI>Jud.</HI> 1.16. and for that rea&s;on, and becau&s;e they dwelt in Tents, are thought to be call'd <HI>the Tents of Juda,</HI> Zech.
<PB N="16" REF="11">12.7. But they are call'd, the <HI>Families of the Scribes,</HI> 1 Chron. 2.55. And therefore both from their De&s;cent, and from their Quality of <HI>Scribes,</HI> and from their In&s;titution, and from the very Form of God's Promi&s;e to them, we may rea&s;onably conclude them to have been <HI>a Reli|gious Order.</HI> And indeed, that alone is &s;ufficient to demon&s;trate it was &s;ome &s;pecial Service to God, they were imploy'd in: for it is expre&s;&s;ed in the &s;ame terms, which are u&s;ed concerning the <HI>Tribe of Levi,</HI> when the Lord &s;eparated them to his &s;pecial Service, <HI>viz. to &s;tand before the Lord,</HI> Deut. 10.8. <HI>v.</HI> 2 Chron. 29.11. Ezek. 44.11, 15. And though we have little more Account of them, than only in <HI>Jer.</HI> 35. yet there have we a plain Account of the&s;e <HI>Three great things concerning them.</HI> 1. The In&s;titution of their Progenitor. 2. Their Religious Ob&s;ervance for Three Hundred Years pa&s;t. And, 3. the Approbation of both by Almighty God. The In&s;titution may be thought very &s;evere; and the more, becau&s;e without any &s;pecial manife&s;t Rea|&s;on: and, by con&s;equence, their &s;o punctual Ob|&s;ervance rather Super&s;titious than Rea&s;onable; and yet both are greatly approved by God: Whence it is very plain, that &s;uch In&s;titutions, and the &s;trict Ob&s;ervance of them, are lawful, and well-plea&s;ing to God; and therefore that it is great Pre&s;umption and Incon&s;ideratene&s;s to cen&s;ure them as Super&s;tition. But the Evidence
<PB N="17" REF="11">of Truth hath extorted this Confe&s;&s;ion from an Adver&s;ary, and as Sini&s;ter an Interpreter of the&s;e things, as he could well tell how to be; <HI>viz. That their Father gave them the&s;e Precepts for this very purpo&s;e, that thereby he might &s;et them free from the Cares and the Plea&s;ures of the World, that &s;o they might, with the more lei&s;ure, imploy them&s;elves in the Study of the Scriptures, and of Divine Matters:</HI> Which was the very Bu&s;ine&s;s of the Chri&s;tian Monks. And if they conti|nued in Being at the De&s;truction of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> as is believed; (as well it may, if we believe the Promi&s;e of God to them;) and that <HI>Simeon,</HI> who &s;ucceeded <HI>James,</HI> Bi&s;hop there, was one of them; there is no doubt but many of them re|ceived the Chri&s;tian Faith, and retained the In|&s;titutions of their Progenitor, there being no|thing incon&s;i&s;tent between them. Some of the <HI>Jews</HI> under&s;tand that of <HI>Zechar.</HI> 12.7. <HI>The Lord &s;hall &s;ave the Tents of Juda fir&s;t;</HI> of this People, becau&s;e they lived in Tents, came up with that Tribe out of the Wilderne&s;s, and are reck|oned among them, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 2.55. and that <HI>the Lord &s;hall &s;ave them fir&s;t,</HI> becau&s;e to them the Me&s;&s;iah &s;hall fir&s;t be di&s;covered. And whe|ther the <HI>Therapeuts,</HI> of whom <HI>Philo</HI> writes, and the fir&s;t Converts by St. <HI>Mark</HI> about <HI>Alexan|dria,</HI> might not be of tho&s;e People, may be con&s;idered.</P>
<PB N="18" REF="12">
<P> It is true, we have no mention of them in the Go&s;pel; nor have we of the ESSEANS, who yet are known to have been a Religious Sect among the <HI>Jews,</HI> of great Antiquity, though not once mentioned in all the Scriptures; a People, who lived a Religious Ab&s;tracted Life: But of them I &s;hall &s;ay no more in this place, becau&s;e I intend the full Relations both of <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> and of <HI>Philo,</HI> concerning them hereafter.</P>
<P>Nor &s;hall I here &s;ay any thing of the THE|RAPEUTS, another Religious Society of the <HI>Jews,</HI> as <HI>Philo</HI> &s;aith, not only for that rea|&s;on, becau&s;e I intend <HI>Philo</HI>'s Relation of them hereafter; but becau&s;e I conceive this no proper place for it: For I am well &s;atisfied that they were &s;ome of tho&s;e who were fir&s;t con|verted to Chri&s;tianity, probably of the <HI>Jews,</HI> and po&s;&s;ibly of the <HI>E&s;&s;eans,</HI> notwith&s;tanding all the Cavils which &s;ome di&s;ingenious and preju|diced Per&s;ons have, in the&s;e la&s;t Ages, &s;trained their Wits to rai&s;e again&s;t it; though they might retain &s;ome Sentiments and Practices peculiar to them&s;elves for &s;ome time; as did they at <HI>Jeru|&s;alem,</HI> as may be under&s;tood from <HI>Act.</HI> 15.1, 5. <HI>Gal.</HI> 2.4, 12. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> For, it is certain, they were never heard of before that time, nor any &s;uch &s;ince, but <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> who, from that time, in|habited the &s;ame places; and from thence, after the Per&s;ecution cea&s;ed, were the <HI>A&s;cetick Commu|nities</HI> propagated to <HI>Pale&s;tin,</HI> and tho&s;e parts fir&s;t, and afterward into <HI>Europe.</HI></P>
<PB N="19" REF="12">
<P> The Precur&s;or to our Saviour, St. <HI>JOHN BAPTIST,</HI> according to the Prediction of the Angel, <HI>Luk.</HI> 1.15. was filled with the Holy Gho&s;t even from his Mother's Womb, and drank neither Wine nor &s;trong Drink; had his Ray|ment of Camels Hair, and a Leathern Girdle about his Loins; and his Meat was Locu&s;ts and wild Honey, <HI>Mat.</HI> 3.4. and was in the De&s;ert till the day of his Shewing unto <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> Luk. 1.80. but in the Fifteenth Year of the Reign of <HI>Tiberius Coe&s;ar, Annas</HI> and <HI>Cajaphas</HI> being the High Prie&s;ts, the Word of God came unto him in the Wilderne&s;s, <HI>Luk.</HI> 3.1, 2. and being &s;ent of God, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1.6. he preached and baptized in the Wilderne&s;s, <HI>Mat.</HI> 3.1. <HI>Mar.</HI> 1.3. and the People from <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> and all <HI>Judea</HI> went out to him, and were baptized of him, <HI>Mat.</HI> 3.5, 6. This was a <HI>Life</HI> not only of <HI>Retirement</HI> and <HI>Ab&s;traction</HI> from the World, &s;uch as was al&s;o that of the <HI>Coenobites,</HI> who lived in Religious Communities, but plainly an <HI>Eremetick,</HI> or <HI>Her|metick Life.</HI> And this being by one fill'd with the Holy Gho&s;t from his Mother's Womb, and therefore by one rai&s;ed up by Him, who had rai&s;ed up the <HI>Nazarites</HI> before; with good cau&s;e do the ancient Chri&s;tian Writers repute Him a Prince of the Monks and Hermites rai&s;ed up a|mong the Chri&s;tians; and &s;o good cau&s;e, that they who oppo&s;e it, may &s;eem to oppo&s;e not only the Sentiments and Opinions of Men, but,
<PB N="20" REF="13">out of Prejudice and mi&s;guided Zeal, the very Acts of God, very di&s;ingeniou&s;ly and incon&s;i|derately to &s;erve a Party.</P>
<P>And for our <HI>SAVIO&V;R</HI> Him&s;elf, though we have no particular Account of his Life till about the Thirtieth Year of his Age, yet we cannot que&s;tion but he did practice Him&s;elf what he did recommend to others; and that it was a Life of the Highe&s;t Perfection: The only particular of his Life before, that is left upon Record, is, That when he was Twelve Years Old, he tarried behind at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> at the Fea&s;t of the <HI>Pa&s;&s;over,</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> and his Mother knew not of it; and after Three Days was found in the Temple &s;itting in the mid&s;t of the Doctors, both hearing them, and asking them Que&s;tions; and that all who heard him were a&s;toni&s;hed at his Under&s;tanding and An&s;wers: and when his Mother asked him, why he had thus dealt with them; and told him, that they had &s;ought him &s;orrowing; he reply'd, <HI>How is it that ye &s;ought me? Wi&s;t ye not that I mu&s;t be about my Father's Bu&s;ine&s;s?</HI> and that he went down with them, and came to <HI>Nazareth,</HI> and was &s;ubject to them. At his <HI>Bapti&s;m</HI> we &s;ee how careful he was to <HI>fulfill all Righteou&s;ne&s;s</HI> Afterwards he declared to the <HI>Jews,</HI> That he <HI>&s;ought not his own Will, but the Will of the Father,</HI> who &s;ent him; and to his Di&s;ciples, That it was his Food to do the Will of him who &s;ent him
<PB N="21" REF="13">and to fini&s;h his Work, (<HI>Joh.</HI> 5.30: 4.34.) That he lived a Life of <HI>Poverty</HI> from his Birth, is very plain in the Evangelical Hi&s;tory; and that by his own choice, certainly no ingenuous Per&s;on will deny; and therefore of voluntary Poverty. And that he lived al&s;o a Life of <HI>Cha&s;tity,</HI> is not to be que&s;tioned. Much le&s;s that it was a Life of <HI>Ab&s;traction, Recollection,</HI> and continual Adherence to, and Communion with the Father. And all this being put together, and well con&s;idered, what was it other than a mo&s;t perfect <HI>A&s;cetick Life;</HI> the Great Exemplar &s;o generou&s;ly and heroickly Exemplified by tho&s;e many and numerous Choires of Holy <HI>Chri&s;tian Nazarites,</HI> of whom the World, e&s;pecially this Lazy, Tepid, Unprofitable, Sen&s;ual Generation, which de&s;pi&s;eth the Memory, and reproacheth the Common Name heretofore with them, and others venerable, is not worthy.</P>
<P>And this Life which he lived Him&s;elf, he did recommend to others, as by his own Illu&s;trious Example, &s;o al&s;o by his Doctrin: though he in|joyned it to none, e&s;pecially in that high degree. For <HI>Cha&s;tity</HI> and <HI>Celebacie,</HI> he doth not barely approve it, but &s;peaks of it as a &s;pecial Gift of God, <HI>Mat.</HI> 19.11. which <HI>all cannot receive, &s;ave they to whom it is given.</HI> And when he had &s;aid, <HI>There be Eunuchs, who have made them|&s;elves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heavens &s;ake;</HI> he adds, <HI>He that is able to receive it, let him
<PB N="22" REF="14">receive it:</HI> in both &s;peaking of &s;omething more excellent than ordinary; and be&s;ides, in the&s;e Words, <HI>There be Eunuchs, who have made them|&s;elves Eunuchs,</HI> &amp;c. he plainly affirms, that it was a thing in U&s;e and Practice at that time, (as it had been long before) which he &s;o ap|proved and recommended to all, who could re|ceive it. And concerning <HI>voluntary Poverty,</HI> to the Young Man, who de&s;ired to know what he &s;hould do that he might have Eternal Life; and had kept the Commandments from his Youth up; he replyed, one thing thou lacke&s;t; if thou wilt be <HI>Perfect,</HI> go and &s;ell what&s;oever thou ha&s;t, and give to the Poor, and thou &s;halt have Trea&s;ure in Heaven; and come, take up the Cro&s;s, and follow me, <HI>Mat.</HI> 19.21. <HI>Mar.</HI> 10.21. <HI>Luk.</HI> 18.22. And <HI>For&s;aking all,</HI> he maketh an indi&s;pen&s;ible requi&s;ite to the being his Di&s;ciple: <HI>Who&s;oever he be of you who for&s;aketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my Di&s;ciple,</HI> Luk. 14.33. As to <HI>Religious Obedience, and voluntary Subjection to the Order and Determina|tion of another well experienced in the Ways of God,</HI> for an Exerci&s;e of an intire Subjection of the Creature to the Creator, What el&s;e is it but a very proper and u&s;eful Mean and Expedient for the acquiring the Habit, and a continual Ex|erci&s;e of that great Doctrin of our Saviour, of <HI>Self-denyal,</HI> and taking up the Cro&s;s, <HI>Mat.</HI> 16.24. <HI>Mar.</HI> 8.34. warranted and approved by God
<PB N="23" REF="14">in the <HI>Recabites,</HI> and by our Saviour in his Sub|jection to <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> and his Mother? Which, though <HI>Self-denial</HI> be a Precept, is a voluntary Act of the nature of a Rea&s;onable Free-will Offering; and a doing it daily, as is expre&s;&s;ed, <HI>Luk.</HI> 9.23. a Living in it, and a continual Rea|&s;onable Sacrifice of the prime Faculties of the Soul for the Service of God. And the whole Bu&s;ine&s;s of <HI>an ab&s;tracted A&s;cetick Life,</HI> What is it but a rea&s;onable, religious and devout Exerci&s;e of our Saviour's Doctrin, in his Admonition to <HI>Martha,</HI> Luk. 10.41, 42. again&s;t being careful and troubled about many things, when it was only for a &s;hort Entertainment of Him&s;elf; and that One thing is needful; and that <HI>Mary</HI>'s Choice was of the better part? In his Sermon upon the Mount, of taking no thought for our Life, <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.25.&mdash;34. In his Parable of the Sower, concerning the Cares, and Riches, and Plea&s;ures of this Life; the Thorns which choak the Seed of the Word, that it bringeth no Fruit to Perfection, <HI>Luk.</HI> 8.14. and concerning Watching, that we be not &s;urprized, <HI>Mat.</HI> 24.42: 25.13. <HI>Mar.</HI> 13.35. <HI>Luk.</HI> 21.36.</P>
<P>And now, if any one plea&s;e, as many have done, to make any que&s;tion concerning the meaning of our Saviour, or the Interpretation of any part of this, what more Authentick Evi|dence of that can be rea&s;onably de&s;ired than what the wi&s;e&s;t of Men have always approved
<PB N="24" REF="15">and had recour&s;e to in &s;uch Ca&s;es, U&s;age and Practice afterward; which daily Experience in the Con&s;truction of Laws, and ancient Records and Deeds, doth &s;ufficiently confirm. The APOSTLES certainly practi&s;ed all this, as far as was con&s;i&s;tent with their Circum|&s;tances and Bu&s;ine&s;s they were imployed in; and Preached it, and recommended it by their Do|ctrin too, as far as the Circum&s;tances of the People and the Times would bear. They for|&s;ook all; not one of them Married any Wife afterward, though they might have done it; and were &s;o far ab&s;tracted from all Diver&s;ions and Di&s;tractions of the World, that they ordered Deacons for other nece&s;&s;ary Works, that they might give them&s;elves continually to Prayer, and to the Mini&s;tery of the Word, or to Preach|ing. And the effect of their Preaching, and of the powerful Operation of the Holy Spirit upon the People, was, that <HI>they continued &s;tedfa&s;tly in the Apo&s;tles Doctrin, in Communion in breaking Bread, and in Prayers. And all that believed were to|gether, and had all things Common; and &s;old their Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions and Goods, and parted them as every Man had need,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Act.</HI> 2.42. And again, <HI>Act.</HI> 4.32. <HI>The Multitude of them that believed, were of one Heart, and of one Soul; neither &s;aid any of them, that ought of the things which he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, was his own, but they had all things Common:</HI> For <HI>as many as were Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of Lands or Hou&s;es, &s;old them,
<PB N="25" REF="15">and brought the Prices of the things that were &s;old, and laid them down at the Apo&s;tles Feet.</HI></P>
<P>What is here briefly &s;aid of the <HI>fir&s;t Converts</HI> and <HI>Primitive Chri&s;tians</HI> at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> agrees &s;o well, all things con&s;idered with what <HI>Philo</HI> more largely relates concerning tho&s;e about <HI>Alexan|dria,</HI> whom he calls THERAPEUTS, who were never heard of before, nor after, un|der any Denomination, unle&s;s of that of <HI>Chri|&s;tians;</HI> which began early at <HI>Antioch,</HI> and was &s;oon &s;pread over the World where any Di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t were, and took place of all others, that, as the Ancients do affirm, we al&s;o have great rea&s;on to re&s;t &s;atisfied, that they were indeed &s;uch, notwith&s;tanding all the Cavils of &s;ome of the la&s;t Age, which have &s;ince been &s;ufficiently refuted. It is true, they did not long appear in that form of Communities; for they were di&s;|&s;olved at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and di&s;per&s;ed into divers Regions by that great Per&s;ecution, after the Death of <HI>Stephen,</HI> and, doubtle&s;s, by like Occa|&s;ions in other Places: But the Example and Doctrin of our Saviour and his Apo&s;tles could not but provoke many, e&s;pecially among the <HI>Jews,</HI> before well-di&s;po&s;ed for it, to for&s;ake the World, and betake them&s;elves to a retired, ab|&s;tracted, Contemplative Life. The Natural Inclination in them was excited and fortified by the various Examples which were common a|mong them before; and then receiving &s;uch
<PB N="26" REF="16">further Encouragement from our Saviour and his Apo&s;tles, both directly and indirectly, from &s;everal Doctrines of the Go&s;pel, concerning <HI>Self-denyal, Mortification, Contempt of the World, Heavenly-mindedne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. this could not but mightily affect them generally with an Heroick Contempt of the World, and of the Body, and all Earthly things: The very <HI>Doctrin, Promi&s;es,</HI> and <HI>Miracles,</HI> with which they were confirmed, were apt, of their own Nature, to produce all this; but much more, being accompanied with &s;uch a Spirit and Power, as the Preaching of the Apo&s;tles and the Primitive Chri&s;tians then was. And certainly they wanted nothing but Op|portunity, even then in the Apo&s;tles times, to have &s;ettled in <HI>Coenobitical Societies;</HI> which as &s;oon as the commom ob&s;tacle, the Per&s;ecutions, was removed, by the Providence of God, in rai&s;ing <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> to the Throne of the Empire, they pre&s;ently began to do, fir&s;t in <HI>Egypt,</HI> where, 'tis probable, were many de&s;cended from the <HI>Recabites</HI> and <HI>E&s;&s;eans,</HI> and in no long time after in mo&s;t other Parts. Concerning tho&s;e in <HI>Egypt</HI> in his time, St. <HI>John Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> gives us this Account: <Q>Should any one come now to the De&s;erts of <HI>Egypt,</HI> he would &s;ee all the Wilder|ne&s;s altogether more excellent than a Paradice, and innumerable Companies of Angels &s;hining in Mortal Bodies. For there is to be &s;een &s;pread over all that Region the Camp of Chri&s;t, and
<PB N="27" REF="16">the admirable Royal Flock, and the Conver|&s;ation of the Heavenly Powers illu&s;triou&s;ly &s;hining upon Earth. And this you may &s;ee mo&s;t &s;plendid, not in MEN only, but al&s;o in WOMEN. Heaven it &s;elf doth not &s;o &s;hine with various Con&s;tellations of Stars, as <HI>Egypt</HI> is be&s;et and illu&s;trated with innumerable Convents of Monks and Virgins:</Q> But of this more hereafter.</P>
<P>The&s;e things being well con&s;idered, it will be very plain, 1. That they who have derived the&s;e Religious In&s;titutions from our Saviour and his Apo&s;tles, by their Example and Doctrin, and the In&s;piration of the Holy Spirit, had a good Foundation of Truth to maintain their A&s;&s;ertion. 2. That they who have rai&s;ed &s;uch Prejudice in the Minds of the People again&s;t &s;uch Holy, Reli|gious Societies in general, as to beget in them an Odium again&s;t all; if they did it in &s;impli|city, and meerly through the Prejudice they them&s;elves had conceived from the Scandals of tho&s;e of their time, yet did they very ra&s;hly and incon&s;iderately in &s;o doing: but if they did it to temporize and ingratiate them&s;elves with Princes and Great Men, who had inriched them|&s;elves with the Spoils of the Mona&s;teries, and the Revenues of the Church, they did very wickedly and impiou&s;ly. We mu&s;t not deny or que&s;tion the Ju&s;tice of the Judgment of God upon them: but, Who are they by whom
<PB N="28" REF="17">the Righteous God doth u&s;ually execute &s;uch Judgments? And at this time we have great rea&s;on to take that for a Warning to our Selves. Were they ca&s;t out for their Lazine&s;s and Cor|ruptions? What then have we to expect? Suppo&s;e ye that they were Sinners above all that have &s;ucceeded them? <HI>I tell you, Nay; but ex|cept ye Repent ye &s;hall all likewi&s;e peri&s;h.</HI> God is able to re&s;tore them again: <HI>The Vineyard &s;hall be taken from you, and given to other Husband-men, who &s;hall render him their Fruits in their Sea&s;ons.</HI></P>
<P>I Thought I had done here: For though I know many have written very bitterly a|gain&s;t <HI>Monks</HI> and <HI>Monkery,</HI> I thought them not worth the looking into: becau&s;e I believed the Truth, which I have a&s;&s;erted, will &s;tand as an impregnable Rock again&s;t all their Bla&s;ts. Yet, at la&s;t, it coming into my mind, that an excel|lent Per&s;on of great Learning, Judgment, Piety and Candor, of this Church of <HI>England,</HI> had written &s;omething to like purpo&s;e, I thought fit to look into him; and finding, to my Sorrow for him, but great Satisfaction in this Ca&s;e, how un|worthy of him&s;elf, and of how little weight it is, which he hath &s;aid again&s;t them, I intended to have &s;pared his Name, and to have pa&s;&s;ed it over with a &s;hort Note that it needed not, nor de&s;erved an An&s;wer. But con&s;idering that that is only the way of the World; that we ought to &s;acrifice all E&s;teem of Men, whether our &s;elves
<PB N="29" REF="17">or others, to the Truth, and to the Service of God, and of Men too, for their Admonition; and that the Holy Scriptures &s;pare not to record the Failings of Holy Men; I re&s;olved to do the like. To be plain therefore, that Excellent Per|&s;on, Mr. <HI>Jo&s;eph Meed,</HI> having concluded <HI>the Apo|&s;tacy of the latter times,</HI> fore-told, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.1. to be the Wor&s;hip of Saints introduced into the Chri&s;tian Church, through the Hypocri&s;ie of Lyars, forbidding to Marry, and commanding to ab&s;tain from Meats; to make good his In|terpretation of that fir&s;t part of the Prediction, and make it compleat, concludes the latter part to be under&s;tood of <HI>Monks,</HI> that they were the chief Advancers of Saints Wor&s;hip: And to prove this, he produceth the Te&s;timony of <HI>Chemnitius,</HI> a known Adver&s;ary to them, who lived about 1200 Years after the time he &s;peaks of; and <HI>Eunapius,</HI> (a known Enemy not only to them, but to all Chri&s;tians) whom he calls <HI>wretch|ed Catiffe, and damned Dog.</HI> And why &s;o? Why, becau&s;e he <HI>bla&s;phemes the Saints and Servants of Christ, who loved not their Lives unto Death, the Dust of who&s;e Feet he was not worthy to lick up.</HI> Competent Witne&s;&s;es indeed; and a &s;pecial Te|&s;timony this: but he adds: <HI>Yet may we make a &s;hift to gather hence,</HI> &amp;c. But without Shifts we may &s;ee plainly to what Shifts his unadvi&s;ed and prepo&s;terous Zeal had reduced him, thus to expo&s;e the Weakne&s;s of the Cau&s;e he had under|taken,
<PB N="30" REF="18">when all his Learning, Diligence, and Inquiry, and all Antiquity, could afford him no better Evidence; and to expo&s;e him&s;elf to the &s;ame Cen&s;ure he had de&s;ervedly given to his own Witne&s;s. Had they been Monks and only Monks, who had been guilty of this, had it been fair to ca&s;t an A&s;per&s;ion upon all? and, Was it fair, within a dozen Lines after, to print <HI>Bi&s;hops</HI> and <HI>Monks</HI> in different Characters, while both were under the &s;ame Circum&s;tances? At this rate, What Calumnies might not be rai&s;ed again&s;t the People of God in all Ages; the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> the <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> the very <HI>Apo&s;tles</HI> them|&s;elves, and &s;uch as pretend mo&s;t of all to <HI>Re|formation?</HI> The Devil hath always &s;owed his Tares, and mo&s;t indu&s;triou&s;ly among&s;t the be&s;t. But upon this Evidence, there is no que&s;tion but the Accu&s;ed will be acquitted by all impartial Judges.</P>
<P>As to what St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> &s;aith of <HI>&s;ome Hypocrites rambling about in the Habit of Monks,</HI> it is very di&s;ingeniou&s;ly, not to &s;ay di&s;hone&s;tly, alledged concerning <HI>Monks in general.</HI> But St <HI>Au&s;tin</HI>'s Mind concerning the <HI>Monks of his time</HI> is &s;o plain in what follows, that I need &s;ay no more of it in this place. And for further an&s;wer to this Abu&s;e of his Te&s;timony, they who plea&s;e may peru&s;e it in his own Words upon <HI>P&s;.</HI> 99. <HI>&amp;</HI> 132. and <HI>Ep.</HI> 137. And the &s;ame may be &s;aid con|cerning <HI>Gregory of Towers.</HI> v. <HI>Ca&s;&s;ian. Coll.</HI> 18. <HI>c.</HI> 16.</P>
<PB N="31" REF="18">
<P> He had unhappily concluded before, that tho&s;e Words of St. <HI>Paul</HI> are a De&s;cription of <HI>Monkery;</HI> and when that Conceit was once fixed in his Mind, it pre&s;ently &s;et all his Parts and all his Learning to work to prove it to others; and gave ea&s;ie admittance to all that might &s;eem to fa|vour it. Hence it was that he imagins <HI>Ab&s;taining from Meats</HI> may comprehend <HI>Renouncing of Po&s;&s;e|&s;&s;ions.</HI> Nor could he otherwi&s;e have thought that the <HI>Monks</HI> did any more<NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot">It was <HI>Conc. Chalced.</HI> did that, <HI>c. 15.</HI> to them, not to all.</NOTE> forbid <HI>Marriage,</HI> than St. <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf did; nay, than our <HI>Saviour</HI> him&s;elf did: Nor have &s;et him&s;elf (<HI>Di&s;c.</HI> 28.) to derogate from that Obedience of the <HI>Recabites</HI> to the In&s;ti|tutions of their <HI>Progenitor,</HI> which <HI>God</HI> him&s;elf had &s;o highly approved, and te&s;tified his Approbation of by &s;o gracious a Promi&s;e: Nor have imagined that the Law of <HI>Nazari&s;m</HI> was ever impo&s;ed upon any; much le&s;s that it is one of the things expre&s;sly named, which the Apo&s;tles decreed at the Council of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> &s;hould not be impo&s;ed upon the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> who believed in Chri&s;t; or that <HI>Act.</HI> 21.25, did prove any Prohibition of that, whereby the Apo&s;tles decreed the <HI>Gentiles</HI> &s;hould ob&s;erve no &s;uch thing. There is a great difference between a Prohibition of Impo&s;itions, and a Prohibition of a free and voluntary Act. But how doth Prejudice blind Mens Minds! That a Man of his Parts, of his Learning, of his Judgment, Candor, and Genero&s;ity in a&s;&s;erting the Truth in other matters, &s;hould be &s;o affected
<PB N="32" REF="19">with a meer Imagination of his own, as to main|tain that, to do &s;uch an Indignity to &s;o glorious a part of the Chri&s;tian Church, which St. <HI>Gregory Nazianzen</HI> calls <HI>the mo&s;t Choice and Wi&s;e&s;t part of the Church;</HI> and St. <HI>Hierom, the Flower of the Church,</HI> which produced &s;o many Glorious Saints of &s;o great Virtue, and adorned with &s;uch va|rious and illu&s;trious Graces; produced &s;o many Bi&s;hops, innumerable, and among&s;t them the mo&s;t illu&s;trious Lights of the Church, both for Virtue and Learning; was &s;o much re&s;pected not only by the People, but by the be&s;t of the Chri|&s;tian Emperours, and approved and favoured by the mo&s;t Eminent Bi&s;hops of the Church, and hath &s;o many Te&s;timonies of their Excellence by Per&s;ons of the greate&s;t Credit and Reputation, and de&s;erved &s;o well in many re&s;pects; that &s;uch a Man, for the &s;ake of a Phan&s;ie of his own, &s;hould &s;et up a <HI>Chemnitius,</HI> a prejudiced Adver|&s;ary to them; and <HI>Eunapius,</HI> a Pagan Adver&s;ary to the Chri&s;tians, again&s;t &s;uch a Cloud of Wit|ne&s;&s;es, and &s;o wre&s;t &amp; &s;train the Holy Scriptures, and thereby &s;o expo&s;e him&s;elf to ju&s;t Cen&s;ure, is one of the mo&s;t remarkable In&s;tances of the Mi&s;chief of Prejudice that I can think of: an Edifying in&s;tance to make all Men, good Men, learned Men, and wi&s;e Men, jealous of them|&s;elves, and cautious that they do not impo&s;e upon them&s;elves; not to do God Service: for he needs no &s;uch Shifts, nor is at any time plea&s;ed with them.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="1" REF="19">
<HEAD>OF THE ESSEANS, OUT OF JOSEPHUS.</HEAD>
<P>THERE are <HI>Three Sects</HI> of Philo&s;ophers among&s;t the <HI>Jews,</HI> [of long Conti|nuance and Antiquity.] One, is that of the <HI>Phari&s;ees;</HI> another, of the <HI>Sadduces;</HI> and the third, of the <HI>E&s;&s;eans,</HI> which is the mo&s;t Fa|mous of the Three. The <HI>E&s;&s;eans</HI> are <HI>Jews</HI> born, but live in the greate&s;t <HI>&V;nion</HI> together imagin|able: They con&s;ider all <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> as Vices that are to be avoided; and e&s;teem <HI>Continence</HI> and Victory over <HI>Pa&s;&s;ions,</HI> as the greate&s;t Virtues. They reject <HI>Marriage,</HI> and account other Mens Children put to them to be taught, whil&s;t young, as their own Kin&s;men; whom they diligently in&s;truct in their Manners and Opinions; not
<PB N="32" REF="20"><GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="1" REF="20"><GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="2" REF="21">for that they condemn Marriage and Propaga|tion of Mankind, but to avoid Womens In|continence: for they think that none of them keep them&s;elves true to one Man. Al&s;o, they contemn <HI>Riches,</HI> and all things with them are <HI>Common,</HI> and no Man among&s;t them is Richer than other. And they have a <HI>Law</HI> among&s;t them&s;elves, that who&s;oever will embrace their Sect, he mu&s;t make his Goods Common: for &s;o, neither any among&s;t them &s;eems abject for Poverty, nor any great for Riches; but they have, as it were, all equal Patrimonies, like Bre|thren.</P>
<P><Q>This is a Cu&s;tom worthy Admiration, and &s;uch as is not to be found among&s;t any other, either <HI>Greeks,</HI> or <HI>Barbarians,</HI> that make ac|count of Vertue, which they have <HI>practi&s;ed from all Antiquity.</HI></Q></P>
<P>They account it a Shame <HI>to anoint the Body</HI> with Oyl; and if any Man, though again&s;t his Will, be anointed therewith, they u&s;e all di|ligence to wipe it away: And they account them&s;elves fine enough, if their Cloaths be white.</P>
<P>They have among&s;t them <HI>Stewards</HI> to over&s;ee all things for their Common Benefit; who are cho&s;en from among&s;t them&s;elves by a Common Con&s;ult. Their <HI>Revenue</HI> is di&s;tributed accord|ing to the Need that every one hath. They have not one certain City, but are di&s;per&s;ed in
<PB N="3" REF="21">many <HI>Cities;</HI> and if any of their Sect, though a <HI>Stranger,</HI> come to them from another Place, they give him any thing they have, as if he were their ancient Acquaintance. In like man|ner they go boldly to tho&s;e whom they never, in their Lives, &s;aw before, as though they were familiarly acquainted with them: And there|fore when they take a Journey, they only arm them&s;elves again&s;t Thieves, and carry nothing with them el&s;e. In every City there is one ap|pointed, who&s;e Office is [to entertain Strangers] to <HI>receive</HI> and <HI>lodge</HI> tho&s;e of their Sect that come thither; and to &s;ee that they neither want Cloaths, nor any thing el&s;e nece&s;&s;ary for them. All <HI>Children</HI> under Government, brought up by them, go apparelled alike; and they never change their <HI>Apparel</HI> nor Shoes, except they have worn out their fir&s;t Apparel. Among&s;t them&s;elves they neither Buy nor Sell; but every Man that hath any thing which another want|eth, giveth him it, and taketh that of him which him&s;elf needeth; yea, every one of them may take any thing he hath need of, from whom he plea&s;eth, without any Change.</P>
<P><Q>Above all, towards God they are very Re|ligious. They attribute to Him the Govern|ment and Di&s;po&s;ition of all things. They &s;ay that the <HI>Souls</HI> of Men are immortal; and all the uttermo&s;t of their Endeavour and Delight is to maintain Ju&s;tice and Equity. They &s;end
<PB N="4" REF="22">their <HI>Offerings</HI> unto the Temple, yet <HI>Sacri|fice</HI> they not with other Men, by rea&s;on they u&s;e more &s;acred and different Ceremo|nies; for which they are &s;ecluded out of the Common Temple, and Sacrifice apart. Otherwi&s;e, they are Men of mo&s;t compo&s;ed Behaviour.</Q></P>
<P><HI>Before the Sun ri&s;e</HI> they &s;peak of nothing but Holy things, and then they make certain <HI>Vows</HI> and <HI>Prayers,</HI> after the Cu&s;tom of their Countrey, as it were, praying that God would plea&s;e to make it ri&s;e upon the Earth.</P>
<P>After this, every one is di&s;mi&s;&s;ed to <HI>work,</HI> or practice the <HI>Art</HI> he knoweth: And when every one hath diligently laboured till <HI>Eleven</HI> a Clock, they all <HI>meet together</HI> again, and being covered with Linnen Cloaths, they <HI>wa&s;h</HI> their Bodies with cold Water; and having thus purged them&s;elves, they go to their Cells, into which no Man that is not of their Sect is admitted. And then they come to <HI>the Refectory,</HI> as into a Holy Temple, where, all &s;itting down with <HI>Silence,</HI> there is &s;et before every Man, in order, a Loaf of <HI>Bread</HI> and a little Me&s;s of <HI>Pottage,</HI> all of one &s;ort. Before they eat, a Prie&s;t giveth Thanks, and no Man may eat any Meat till his Prayer be made to God. Likewi&s;e, when Dinner is ended they pray again; for both before and after they give Thanks to God, the Giver of all: And then putting off the Apparel, as Sacred, they apply
<PB N="5" REF="22">them&s;elves to their <HI>Work</HI> till Evening. At <HI>Sup|per</HI> they do, as before, cau&s;ing their Gue&s;ts to &s;up with them, if by fortune any come. Their Hou&s;e is never troubled with Cries or Tumults; for every one is appointed to &s;peak in his turn; &s;o that their Silence produceth re&s;pect in Stran|gers. The Cau&s;e of this Moderation, is, their continual Sobriety, and that every one is limited how much to eat or drink.</P>
<P>And although that in all other Matters they are ruled by their <HI>Superiour,</HI> yet in the&s;e two, to wit, <HI>Compa&s;&s;ionating</HI> and <HI>Helping,</HI> they may do as they think good: for every one may, when he plea&s;es, help tho&s;e whom he thinketh de&s;erve Help; and, when he plea&s;eth, give Meat to them that are in Need. Yet may they not give any thing to their <HI>Kindred,</HI> without the Leave of their Superiour.</P>
<P>They take great care to &s;uppre&s;s their <HI>Anger;</HI> they keep their <HI>Promi&s;e,</HI> and maintain <HI>Peace;</HI> and People account every Word they &s;peak of as much force, as if they had bound it with an <HI>Oath:</HI> And they &s;hun <HI>Oaths</HI> wor&s;e than Perjury; for they e&s;teem him a Lyar, who is not to be believed without he call God to witne&s;s. They &s;tudy diligently <HI>Ancient Writers,</HI> chiefly gather|ing out of their Writings what is mo&s;t conve|nient for the Soul and the Body: Out of them they learn Remedies for Di&s;ea&s;es, and the Virtues of Herbs, Stones, and Metals.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="23">
<P> Tho&s;e who are de&s;irous <HI>to be of their Order,</HI> do not &s;trait-way conver&s;e with them; but, for a Year before, live out of the College, and have the &s;ame Diet, a little Hatchet, and &s;uch a Girdle as is before &s;poken of, and a white Garment: But, at the Years end, if they perceive &s;uch a Per&s;on to be continent, they give him a Diet more agreeing with their own, and he is per|mitted to wa&s;h him&s;elf in cold Water, to the end to purifie him&s;elf; yet he is not admitted in common among&s;t them, till for Two Years more they have ob&s;erved his Life and Manners: And, at la&s;t, when he is thought worthy, he is admitted to their common Company. But be|fore he is received to the common Table, fir&s;t he is <HI>to prote&s;t</HI> &s;olemnly to honour and &s;erve God with all his Heart; to ob&s;erve Ju&s;tice and Fidelity towards all Men; never willing to hurt any Man, nor injure any for another Man's Command; but always to hate the Wicked, and a&s;&s;i&s;t the Good; to keep his Faith to all, but e&s;pecially to his <HI>Superiours;</HI> becau&s;e they hold their Power from God. To which they add, that if he be put in Authority over others, he never will abu&s;e it, to the Prejudice of tho&s;e who are under him, and neither exceed the re&s;t in Apparel, nor any other ambitious Pomp: that he will always love the Truth, and &s;everely reprove Lyars: and that he will keep his Hands and Soul pure from all Theft and unju&s;t Gain:
<PB N="7" REF="23">and that he will not conceal any My&s;teries, or Secrets of their Religion, from his Companions, nor reveal them to any Strangers, although he &s;hould be threaten'd thereto by Death. Adding moreover, that he will never deliver any Doctrin, &s;ave that which he hath received; and dili|gently pre&s;erve the Books, as well as the Names, of tho&s;e from whom they received it. The&s;e <HI>Prote&s;tations</HI> they oblige tho&s;e to take &s;olemnly, who enter into their Order, to the end to forti|fie them again&s;t all Vices.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e of the Society who tran&s;gre&s;s noto|riou&s;ly, they <HI>thru&s;t out of their Company:</HI> And who-ever is &s;o puni&s;hed, for the mo&s;t part dieth a mi&s;erable Death; for, it being not lawful for him to eat with any Stranger, he is reduced to feed on Gra&s;s, like Bea&s;ts, and &s;o he peri&s;heth through Famine. For which cau&s;e oftentimes they are moved with Compa&s;&s;ion to receive ma|ny into their Order again, when ready, by Fa|mine, to yield up the Gho&s;t; judging them to have endured Penance enough for their Offences, who, with Famine, were almo&s;t brought to Death's door. They are very &s;evere and ju&s;t in <HI>their Judgments;</HI> and to decide any Matter, there is never fewer of them than an Hundred, and that which is by them agreed upon is irre|vocable. Next after God they reverence <HI>their Law-giver,</HI> in&s;omuch, that if any one revile him, they forthwith condemn him to Death.
<PB N="8" REF="24">They take it for a great Duty <HI>to obey their Elders,</HI> and what is appointed by many; &s;o that if Ten of them &s;it together, no Man of them mu&s;t &s;peak, without he be licen&s;ed thereto by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">e of the Company. They account it a great <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">ivility</HI> to be in the mid&s;t of <HI>the A&s;&s;embly,</HI> or on their right hand.</P>
<P>And they are more &s;evere than any other <HI>Jews</HI> in ob&s;erving the <HI>Sabbath;</HI> for they do not only ab&s;tain from dre&s;&s;ing Meat (which they dre&s;s the Evening before) that Day; but al&s;o, they may not remove any Ve&s;&s;el out of its place, nor &s;atisfie the Nece&s;&s;ities of Nature.</P>
<P>Upon other Days they dig a Pit, a foot deep in the Ground, with the Hatchet which (as we before &s;aid) every one, at his Entrance into their Order, hath given him; and then covering them&s;elves diligently with their Garment, as if they feared to be Irreverent to the Light of Heaven; in that Pit they ea&s;e them&s;elves, and then cover their Ordure with the Earth they took out of the Pit: and this they do in the mo&s;t &s;ecret places. And though this purging of their Bodies be natural, yet do they, by wa&s;h|ing, purifie them&s;elves after it, as after great Uncleanne&s;s.</P>
<P>Furthermore, among&s;t them&s;elves they are divided into <HI>Four Orders,</HI> according to the time which they have continu'd this Exerci&s;e of Life: and they that are Juniors bear &s;uch re&s;pect to
<PB N="9" REF="24">their <HI>Seniors,</HI> that if they do but touch one of them, they are obliged to purifie them&s;elves, as though they had touched a Stranger.</P>
<P>They are <HI>long liv'd,</HI> &s;o that mo&s;t of them live an Hundred Years; which I judge is, by rea&s;on of their well-ordered Diet, and their Tem|perance.</P>
<P>They contemn <HI>Adver&s;ity,</HI> and by Con&s;tancy and Fortitude triumph over Torments. They preferr an honourable Death before Life. The Wars which the <HI>Jews</HI> made again&s;t the <HI>Romans</HI> &s;hew'd what invin&s;ible <HI>Courage</HI> and Hardine&s;s they have in all things; for they &s;uffered the Breaking of the Members of their Bodies, Fire and Sword, and all kind of Tortures, rather than be brought to &s;peak the lea&s;t Word again&s;t their Law-giver, or to eat Meats forbidden. They could not be forced to any of the&s;e, neither would they entreat the Torturers, nor &s;hew any Sorrow amid&s;t their Torments. Yea, in the mid&s;t of their Pains they &s;coffed at their Tor|mentors, and joyfully yielded up their Souls, as though they hoped to pa&s;s to a better Life.</P>
<P>For it is an <HI>Opinion</HI> among&s;t them, That the Body is mortal and corruptible, but the <HI>Souls</HI> remain ever immortal; and being of a mo&s;t pure and etherial Sub&s;tance, wrap them&s;elves in Bo|dies, as in Pri&s;ons, being drawn thereunto by &s;ome natural Inclination: But when they are delivered out of the&s;e carnal Bonds, then pre|&s;ently,
<PB N="10" REF="25">as freed from a long Bondage, they joy|fully mount into the Air. And of the Good Souls they &s;ay, as did the <HI>Grecians,</HI> that they live beyond the Ocean in a place of Plea&s;ure, where they are never mole&s;ted with Rain, nor Snow, nor Heat; but have always a &s;weet and plea&s;ant Air. But the Wicked Souls (as they &s;ay) go into a Place very tempe&s;tuous, where there is always Winter Weather, always Lamentations of tho&s;e who for ever are to be puni&s;hed. For I judge that the <HI>Greeks</HI> are of this Opinion, when they &s;ay there is an I&s;le for the Virtuous, whom they call <HI>Heroes</HI> and <HI>Half-Gods;</HI> and that the Souls of the Wicked go to a Place in Hell, where it is feigned, that &s;ome are tormented, as <HI>Sy&s;iphus, Tantalus, Ixion,</HI> and <HI>Titius.</HI> Tho&s;e <HI>E&s;&s;eans</HI> al&s;o believe that they are created Immortal, that they may be induced to Vertue, and averted from Vice; that the Good are rendred better in this Life, by the Hope of being Happy after Death; and that the Wicked, who imagin they can hide their Evil Actions in this World, are puni&s;hed for them in the other with Eternal Torments. This is the <HI>E&s;&s;eans</HI> Opinion, touch|ing the Excellence of the Soul; from which we &s;ee very few of tho&s;e depart, who have once em|braced it.</P>
<P>There are al&s;o &s;ome among them, who pro|mi&s;e <HI>to foretell things to come:</HI> which Faculty is obtained as well by the Study of Holy Books
<PB N="11" REF="25">and Ancient Prophecies, as by the Care they take of &s;anctifying them&s;elves: And their <HI>Pre|dictions</HI> &s;eldom fail.</P>
<P><Q>They are, at lea&s;t, <HI>Four Thou&s;and</HI> in Num|ber, who have neither <HI>Wives</HI> nor <HI>Slaves;</HI> &s;uppo&s;ing that <HI>Women</HI> are the occa&s;ion of Inju&s;tice, and <HI>Slaves</HI> do cau&s;e In&s;urrections; and living apart by them&s;elves, they &s;erve one another; and chu&s;e out certain upright Men among the Prie&s;ts, to gather the Fruits and Revenues of the Land, to the end they may be maintained and nouri&s;hed thereby. In a Word, they follow the &s;ame Cour&s;e of Life that they do, who are called <HI>Pli&s;ti</HI> among the <HI>Danes.</HI></Q></P>
<P>There is <HI>another &s;ort of E&s;&s;eans,</HI> agreeing with the former, both in Apparel, Diet, and kind of Life, and Ob&s;ervance of the &s;ame Laws and Ordinances; only they differ in the Matter of <HI>Marriage:</HI> Affirming, that to ab&s;tain from Mar|riage tends to aboli&s;h Man-kind. For (&s;ay they) if all Men &s;hould follow this Opinion, pre&s;ently all Man-kind would peri&s;h. Notwith|&s;tanding, the&s;e People u&s;e &s;uch Moderation, that for Three Years &s;pace they ob&s;erve the Women they intend to Marry; and then, if they appear &s;ound enough to bear Children, they Marry them. None of them lye with their Wives when they are with Child; to &s;hew that they do not Marry to &s;atisfie Lu&s;t, but to have
<PB N="12" REF="26">Children. When their Wives wa&s;h them&s;elves they are covered with a Garment, as the Men are: And this is the Manner and Cu&s;tom of this Sect.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>OF THE ESSEANS, OUT OF PHILO.</HEAD>
<P>'TIS a &s;trange and lamentable thing to con&s;ider, what a continual <HI>Faintne&s;s,</HI> and how much <HI>Li&s;tle&s;sne&s;s,</HI> we find in our &s;elves to tho&s;e things which we &s;hould pro&s;ecute with the greate&s;t <HI>Vigour,</HI> as being the neare&s;t <HI>related to</HI> us, and mo&s;t <HI>proper for</HI> us: 'Tis this <HI>Slug|gi&s;hne&s;s</HI> which putrefies all the Seeds of <HI>Integrity,</HI> that are in our Natures. On the contrary, we have an un&s;atiable <HI>longing after</HI> and <HI>de&s;ire</HI> of tho&s;e things of which 'tis fitting we &s;hould be deve&s;ted. Hence it is that both the <HI>Sea</HI> and <HI>Land</HI> are full of <HI>Wealthy,</HI> and <HI>Vain-glorious,</HI> and <HI>Voluptuous</HI> Men. Whereas the Number of <HI>Wi&s;e,</HI> and <HI>Righteous,</HI> and <HI>Good</HI> Men, is very &s;mall. But though that which is &s;mall is rare, yet it is
<PB N="13" REF="26">not quite not exi&s;ting in Nature. This both <HI>Greece</HI> and the <HI>Barbarous</HI> Countries can atte&s;t: For, in <HI>Greece</HI> did flouri&s;h tho&s;e who were truly call'd the <HI>Seven Wi&s;e Men,</HI> (be&s;ides whom, others al&s;o, as is very probable, flouri&s;h'd, both before and &s;ince them) who&s;e Memory, ina&s;|much as they were the <HI>Ancienter,</HI> has not va|ni&s;h'd; though, the Memory of the <HI>later</HI> of them, through the great Neglect of their <HI>Con|temporaries,</HI> lies in Ob&s;curity. And in other Kingdoms were many <HI>Ancients,</HI> venerable both for their <HI>Actions</HI> and <HI>Di&s;cour&s;es,</HI> even numerous <HI>Armies</HI> (if I may &s;o &s;ay, becau&s;e of the diffi|culties of Vertue) of Good and Excellent Men. Such among the <HI>Per&s;ians</HI> are the <HI>Magi,</HI> who diving into the Works of Nature for the Know|ledge of the Truth, are quietly, by much Lei&s;ure and Opportunity, in&s;tructed in Sacred things; and do al&s;o teach others the Divine Virtues by clearer Demon&s;trations. Such al&s;o among the <HI>Indians</HI> are the <HI>Gymno&s;ophites,</HI> who, be&s;ides <HI>Na|tural Philo&s;ophy,</HI> apply'd them&s;elves to <HI>Moral</HI> Philo&s;ophy; and made their whole Life a De|mon&s;tration of Vertue.</P>
<P>Neither does <HI>Pale&s;tine</HI> and <HI>Syria</HI> want their &s;hare of <HI>Excellent</HI> Vertue; for there no &s;mall part of a Numerous &s;ort of <HI>Jews</HI> does dwell: for there are &s;ome there which are called <HI>E&s;&s;eans,</HI> in Number (as I think, for I cann't be exact) above <HI>Four Thou&s;and:</HI> They have
<PB N="14" REF="27">their Denomination from <HI>Holine&s;s,</HI> in the <HI>Greek</HI> Dialect; for although they have the be&s;t and mo&s;t <HI>Wor&s;hippers,</HI> yet they &s;acrifice no Crea|tures; but they are ambitious to prepare their Minds &s;o, as that they may pre&s;ent their Thoughts in a fit Temper to be con&s;ecrated, and as becomes Holy Men.</P>
<P>They dwell only in little <HI>Villages,</HI> avoiding <HI>Ci|ties</HI> and great <HI>Towns,</HI> becau&s;e of the Immoralities of the Inhabitants of &s;uch Places, being very &s;en|&s;ible that <HI>Souls</HI> receive an incurable Wound from the <HI>Conver&s;ation of &s;uch</HI> Men; ju&s;t as our <HI>Bodies</HI> imbibe a <HI>Di&s;ea&s;e</HI> from <HI>corruptive</HI> Air. Some of them Till the Ground, and others follow &s;uch Arts and Trades as are of u&s;e in Times of <HI>Peace,</HI> and by which they may be helpful to their Neighbours.</P>
<P>None of them hoard up Gold and Silver, or po&s;&s;e&s;s great E&s;tates of Land out of Co|vetou&s;ne&s;s of Revenues; but they are all contented with what will ju&s;t &s;upply the Ne|ce&s;&s;ities of Life. The&s;e are the Per&s;ons that, of <HI>almo&s;t</HI> all Men, keep them&s;elves <HI>Monyle&s;s</HI> and <HI>E&s;tatele&s;s.</HI> The&s;e are very <HI>Rich</HI> by their Indu|&s;try, and, indeed, more <HI>Wealthy</HI> by their wi&s;e In|&s;titution, than 'tis po&s;&s;ible that tho&s;e who&s;e Minds &s;tand in need of the Favour of Fortune &s;hould be, or their own voluntary choice of only what is ju&s;t nece&s;&s;ary can make them Poor. The&s;e are they who look upon a Temper, which makes
<PB N="15" REF="27">a Man need very little, and be &s;oon &s;atisfy'd, to be true Affluence, and a brave E&s;tate; as indeed it is.</P>
<P>You cann't find a <HI>Gun-Smith,</HI> or a <HI>Cutler;</HI> not one that makes <HI>Arrows,</HI> or <HI>Darts,</HI> or <HI>Javelins,</HI> or <HI>Daggers,</HI> or a <HI>Head-piece,</HI> or a <HI>Brea&s;t-plate,</HI> or a <HI>Shield,</HI> or, indeed, any of tho&s;e Trades a|mong&s;t them which work upon <HI>Arms,</HI> or <HI>any In&s;truments</HI> which belong to <HI>War;</HI> or upon any of tho&s;e things which promote or tend to the Promotion of <HI>Vice</HI> in <HI>Peace.</HI> They own no U&s;e to be in <HI>Merchandi&s;e,</HI> or <HI>Taverning,</HI> or keep|ing <HI>Publick Hou&s;es,</HI> or <HI>Navigation;</HI> for they avoid all Provocations of Covetou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>There is not one among&s;t them a <HI>Ser|vant;</HI> but they are all Free-Men, and wait upon one another mutually by turns; and they condemn <HI>Ma&s;ters,</HI> not only as <HI>unju&s;t</HI> Per&s;ons that lay Holine&s;s wa&s;t; but as <HI>impious</HI> ones too, who de&s;troy the E&s;tabli&s;h'd <HI>Law of Nature;</HI> for &s;he, like a <HI>common Mother,</HI> hath brought us forth, and bred us all up alike, as <HI>Natural Brethren,</HI> having made us not only <HI>Nominally,</HI> but <HI>Really</HI> Brethren. But that treacherous Principle, <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> (which prompts us ea&s;ily to overlook one another) has made a Breach in this <HI>&V;niver&s;al Allyance,</HI> and wrought in us <HI>Strangene&s;s</HI> in&s;tead of <HI>Famili|arity,</HI> and <HI>Enmity</HI> in the place of <HI>Friend&s;hip.</HI></P>
<P>They re&s;ign the <HI>Logical</HI> part of Philo&s;o|phy, as being not nece&s;&s;ary in order to the Ac|qui&s;ition
<PB N="16" REF="28">of Vertue, to <HI>Word-Hunters;</HI> and the <HI>Phy&s;ical</HI> part of it, (&s;o much only excepted as proves the <HI>Exi&s;tence</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> and the <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> of the <HI>&V;niver&s;e,</HI>) as that which exceeds the Com|prehen&s;ion of Humane Nature to tho&s;e who affect to prattle at random about <HI>Sublime things.</HI> But they take a great deal of pains in cultiva|ting the <HI>Moral</HI> part thereof, making great u&s;e of &s;ome <HI>Traditional</HI> Laws of their <HI>Fathers,</HI> which encourage the Soul mightily in its pro&s;ecution of <HI>Heroick Vertue:</HI> and, indeed, they are &s;uch Laws, as 'tis impo&s;&s;ible for a Humane Soul to di&s;cern and think of without &s;ome <HI>Divine</HI> In|&s;truction. The&s;e they teach on <HI>Seventh Days,</HI> (be&s;ides other times) with extraordinary Care, and in very excellent Methods; for the Seventh Day is reckoned <HI>Holy</HI> by their Laws; and in it they ab&s;tain from all other Bu&s;ine&s;s, and go to their <HI>Sacred</HI> Places, (which they call <HI>Syna|gogues</HI>) where the <HI>Young</HI> Men &s;it in their Orders, according to their different Ages, below the <HI>Elders,</HI> and hear attentively and reverently with all befitting Decency. When they are &s;ate, one of them takes the Books and reads; and then another of the mo&s;t <HI>Experienc'd</HI> reads, pa&s;&s;ing by tho&s;e things which are not &s;o practical and thorowly known: Part of their <HI>Philo&s;ophy</HI> they communicate by <HI>Signs,</HI> [or <HI>Riddles,</HI>] [or <HI>Hie|roglyphicks,</HI>] in Imitation of an ancient Cu&s;tom. The Subjects of their In&s;truction are, <HI>Sanctity,
<PB N="17" REF="28">Righteou&s;ne&s;s, Oeconomy, Polity,</HI> the <HI>Knowledge</HI> of <HI>Helps</HI> to, or <HI>Hindrances</HI> of the <HI>Truth,</HI> the Differences between things really <HI>Good,</HI> and re|ally <HI>Bad,</HI> and things that are <HI>Indifferent;</HI> the <HI>Choices</HI> of things which ought to be cho&s;en, and <HI>Avoidances</HI> of contrary things; making u&s;e herein of Three general <HI>Terms</HI> and <HI>Canons, (viz.)</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, or the <HI>Love of God;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, or the <HI>Love of Vertue;</HI> and <GAP DESC="foreign">, or the <HI>Love of Man.</HI> Of the fir&s;t they give infinite Demon|&s;trations, Namely, a continued Series of <HI>Cha&s;tity</HI> through the whole Life, refraining from <HI>Oaths</HI> and <HI>Lies,</HI> and a &s;teddy Belief that the <HI>Deity</HI> is the Authour of all Good things, but of nothing that is Evil. For Evidences of their <HI>Love of Vertue,</HI> (which was their Second general <HI>Canon</HI>) they pre&s;crib'd <HI>Freedom</HI> from <HI>Love</HI> of <HI>Money, Freedom</HI> from <HI>Love</HI> of <HI>Glory,</HI> and <HI>Free|dom</HI> from <HI>Love</HI> of <HI>Plea&s;ure, Continence,</HI> and <HI>Pa|tience;</HI> al&s;o <HI>Needing</HI> but <HI>little, Simplicity, cheap</HI> and <HI>&s;pare Diet, Freedom</HI> from <HI>Swellings</HI> of the <HI>Mind, regular Obedience,</HI> and <HI>Stability,</HI> and all other <HI>Habits</HI> of the like Nature. For Indica|tions of their <HI>Love of Man,</HI> (which was their third general <HI>Canon</HI>) they taught <HI>Bene|volence, Equality,</HI> (which is better than the highe&s;t Pretences in Words) and having all things <HI>Common;</HI> of which it may not be un&s;ea|&s;onable to &s;peak briefly.</P>
<PB N="18" REF="29">
<P> In the fir&s;t place then, you mu&s;t know, no one has a <HI>Hou&s;e</HI> of his own, but what does as equally belong to all; for, becau&s;e of their co|habiting together in Multitudes, their Hou&s;es are open to all Comers from other Parts, in ca&s;e they are tho&s;e that like the &s;ame way of Living. They have all one <HI>Refectory,</HI> common <HI>Banks</HI> and <HI>Expences,</HI> and common <HI>Cloaths,</HI> com|mon <HI>Victuals,</HI> and common <HI>Lodgings.</HI> One common united <HI>Roof,</HI> and one and the &s;ame common <HI>Diet</HI> and <HI>Table,</HI> is what you can't find among&s;t any others [of them,] and perhaps no where el&s;e at all.</P>
<P>In the Evening, when they have received their <HI>Hire,</HI> they don't keep it to them&s;elves, but bring it and ca&s;t it in, in the mid&s;t, before all, for the common Benefit of tho&s;e who want to make u&s;e of it. Tho&s;e al&s;o that are <HI>Sick</HI> are not neg|lected, becau&s;e they are not able to help them|&s;elves, having <HI>common Banks</HI> laid up in readine&s;s for the <HI>Healing the Sick,</HI> &s;o that they may be at extraordinary Expence on &s;uch extraordinary Occa&s;ions without fear. They revere, honour, and take great Care of their <HI>Elders,</HI> maintaining and cheri&s;hing them in their <HI>Old Age</HI> by their Manual Labour, and many other means, in all Plenty and Security.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="19" REF="29">
<HEAD>OF THE THERAPEUTS. OUT OF PHILO.</HEAD>
<P>HAving &s;poken concerning the <HI>E&s;&s;eans,</HI> who were zealous of, and &s;tudiou&s;ly exercis'd in an <HI>Active</HI> Life, more exactly than all, or, to &s;peak indeed more tolerably, than very many others: I come now, keeping clo&s;e to the thread of my De&s;ign, to &s;peak as much as is <HI>true</HI> and <HI>pertinent</HI> concerning tho&s;e who have embrac'd a <HI>Contemplative</HI> way of Living: And here I &s;hall add nothing of my own to &s;et off my <HI>Narrative,</HI> as <HI>Poets</HI> and <HI>Ora|tours,</HI> who&s;e ends of Writing are mean, and who are at a lo&s;s for good and excellent Matter: 'Tis Truth, and that only, which I unfeignedly love and &s;alute, how unwelcome &s;oever this Method may be to the <HI>Artificial</HI> Speaker. But in my <HI>Entrance</HI> on this Subject, I find a great <HI>Conte&s;t</HI> with my &s;elf; however, the Greatne&s;s of the Vertue of tho&s;e Men ought not to be the
<PB N="20" REF="30">Cau&s;e of Silence in tho&s;e, who don't think it fair that what is admirable &s;hould be conceal'd.</P>
<P>What the Purpo&s;e of the&s;e <HI>Philo&s;ophers</HI> was, their very Name di&s;covers; for they are called <HI>Therapeuts</HI> and <HI>Therapente&s;&s;es,</HI> from <GAP DESC="foreign">, either from <HI>Healing,</HI> and more truly than other <HI>Phy&s;icians,</HI> &s;ince they profe&s;s a nobler <HI>Medicinal</HI> Art than that profe&s;s'd in the City; for that only heals <HI>Bedies,</HI> but this cures <HI>Souls</HI> of Di&s;ea&s;es very &s;evere and hard to be cur'd; Souls beleagur'd and oppre&s;s'd with <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> and <HI>Lu&s;ts, Griefs</HI> and <HI>Fears, irregular De&s;ires,</HI> and <HI>Follies,</HI> and <HI>Iniquities,</HI> and an infinite Multitude of other <HI>Pa&s;&s;ions</HI> and <HI>Vices:</HI> Or from <HI>Wor&s;hipping,</HI> becau&s;e they have been taught by Nature and Holy Laws to wor|&s;hip the <HI>Being</HI> which is <HI>Better</HI> than <HI>Good,</HI> and <HI>Smpler</HI> than <HI>One,</HI> and <HI>Ancienter</HI> than <HI>&V;nity.</HI></P>
<P>Tho&s;e that enter upon the <HI>way of Living</HI> which the <HI>Therapeuts</HI> u&s;e, don't do it out of Cu&s;tom, or at the In&s;tigation of any Per&s;ons; but becau&s;e they are ravi&s;h'd with an <HI>Heavenly</HI> Love, and &s;truck powerfully by the Deity, and feel Spiritual Exultations of Joy in their Souls, and will not be at re&s;t till they &s;ee the Object they long for: Wherefore, becau&s;e through their de&s;ire of an Immortal and Ble&s;&s;ed Life, they reckon them&s;elves Dead to this Mortal Life, they <HI>leave their E&s;tates</HI> to their Sons, or Daugh|ters, or any other Relations, making them their Heirs cheerfully, and with a free Mind: Tho&s;e
<PB N="21" REF="30">of them which have not Relations, leave them to their Friends and Acquaintance. The <HI>Greeks</HI> celebrate <HI>Anaxagoras</HI> and <HI>Democritus,</HI> becau&s;e they, being &s;mote with the <HI>Love</HI> of <HI>Philo&s;ophy</HI> let their E&s;tates be devour'd by Sheep. I ad|mire tho&s;e Men, becau&s;e they them&s;elves were above Riches: But, How much better were tho&s;e, who, not &s;uffering their E&s;tates to be de|vour'd by Cattle, apply'd a Remedy to the Needs of Men, and made the Indigent Rich? for that was an incon&s;iderable (not to &s;ay Mad) Act, for which <HI>Greece</HI> admir'd tho&s;e Men: But this is a &s;ober Cu&s;tom, which &s;hews much Con&s;i|deration, Prudence, Humanity, and Sweetne&s;s of Di&s;po&s;ition. What can Enemies do more than devour and make the Countries of their Enemies bare of <HI>Corn, Fodder,</HI> and <HI>Trees,</HI> that being brought into the &s;traits of Nece&s;&s;ity, they may yield. Ju&s;t thus did <HI>Democritus</HI> &s;erve his Kindred, contriving, as it were, with his own Hands Streights and Poverty for them, not de|&s;ignedly perhaps, but by not fore-ca&s;ting and having in his Eye the Benefit of others: How much better are the&s;e, though the Efforts of their Affections for Philo&s;ophy were not le&s;s than his. The&s;e preferr'd an exten&s;ive Concern and Genero|ro&s;ity of Mind before Contempt of their Friends, benefitting others with their E&s;tates, and not ma|king a corrupt u&s;e of them, that they might benefit both them&s;elves and others; others, by
<PB N="22" REF="31"><HI>ample E&s;tates;</HI> them&s;elves, by <HI>Philo&s;ophizing;</HI> becau&s;e the Cares of <HI>Money</HI> and <HI>Lands</HI> devour much Time: But 'tis an excellent thing to be frugal of Time, &s;ince, as the Phy&s;ician <HI>Hippo|crates</HI> &s;aid, <HI>Life is &s;hort, but Art long.</HI> But to proceed in our Narration.</P>
<P>When they quit their E&s;tates, and are no longer caught by any Baits, they depart with|out ever turning back, and <HI>leave their Brethren, Children, Wives, Parents, numerous Relations, friendly Intimacies</HI> and <HI>Engagements,</HI> and the <HI>Countries</HI> in which they were bred and born; becau&s;e <HI>Cu&s;tom</HI> and <HI>Familiarity</HI> are very attract|ing, and have the greate&s;t Power to en&s;nare. And when they do thus, they do not remove into another City, like mi&s;erable, unfortunate Servants, who, in&s;tead of Exchanging <HI>Slavery</HI> for <HI>Liberty,</HI> only exchange their Ma&s;ters; for, indeed, &s;uch are they, who part with one E&s;tate, to purcha&s;e another in &s;ome other City; for every City much inhabited (though it be govern'd by Good Laws) is full of un&s;peakable Tumults and Hurries, which any one that is once led by Wi&s;dom can't away with: But they live and exerci&s;e them&s;elves without Walls, in Gardens and By-Fields, &s;eeking after <HI>Solitude,</HI> not out of a moro&s;e affected Di&s;gu&s;t again&s;t Men; but becau&s;e they are &s;en&s;ible Mixtures are unprofitable and hurtful, by rea&s;on of the Di&s;-agreeablene&s;s of their Manners.</P>
<PB N="23" REF="31">
<P> This &s;ort of Men are <HI>in all parts</HI> of the ha|bitable World; and, indeed, 'twas but fitting that both <HI>Greece</HI> and the <HI>Barbarous World</HI> &s;hould partake of this perfectly good Sect.</P>
<P>They abound in <HI>Egypt</HI> in every one of their Provinces, and e&s;pecially about <HI>Alexandria:</HI> But the <HI>principal of them</HI> retire, as to their own Countrey, <HI>from all Parts,</HI> to a <HI>Colony</HI> of <HI>Therapeuts,</HI> at a commodious Place about the Lake <HI>Maria,</HI> &s;ituate upon a little ri&s;ing Hill, and very convenient both for <HI>Security,</HI> and good <HI>Temperature of Air.</HI> As for Security, that Place is be&s;t which is &s;urrounded with Neighbouring Villages and Cottages: And as for good, well-tempered Air, continual Gales, which proceed from a Lake that lies open to the Sea, and that part of the Sea which is nigh furni&s;h them with that; for the Sea &s;ends fine, thin Gales, and the Lake, which lies open to the Sea, thick, fat Gales; which two, &s;o curiou&s;ly mingled toge|ther, make a very Healthy Air.</P>
<P>The <HI>Hou&s;es</HI> in which they live together are very mean and &s;light, and ju&s;t &s;erve for Defence again&s;t two very nece&s;&s;ary things, the <HI>Scorching</HI> of the <HI>Sun,</HI> &amp; the <HI>cold Crudene&s;s</HI> of the <HI>Air:</HI> But they are not near together, as the Hou&s;es in the Cities; for Neighbourhoods are trouble&s;ome and un|grateful to tho&s;e who court Retirement: Nei|ther are they far di&s;tant from each other; be|cau&s;e they love Communion and Society toge|ther,
<PB N="24" REF="32">and that they may help one another if they &s;hould be &s;et upon by <HI>Thieves.</HI></P>
<P>In every Hou&s;e they have an <HI>Oratory</HI> to them|&s;elves, call'd a <HI>Sanctuary</HI> and <HI>Mona&s;try;</HI> in which, alone by them&s;elves, they celebrate the <HI>My&s;te|ries</HI> of a <HI>Sacred</HI> Life, never bringing thither any &s;uch thing as Meat, or Drink, or any other things el&s;e which are nece&s;&s;ary for the Repairs of Nature's Decays; but only <HI>Laws,</HI> and <HI>in&s;pired Oracles,</HI> which were &s;poken by the <HI>Prophets,</HI> and <HI>Hymns,</HI> and other things by which <HI>Knowledge</HI> and <HI>Piety</HI> are encrea&s;ed and perfected. They always pre&s;erve an uninter|mitted <HI>Remembrance of God;</HI> &s;o that even in their <HI>Dreams</HI> their Fancies form and pre&s;ent them with no other Images, but the Beauties of the Divine Powers. Hence many &s;peak out in their <HI>Sleep,</HI> and whil&s;t they are dreaming do in|terpret the venerable Decrees of the Holy Phi|lo&s;ophy. They are us'd to <HI>Pray</HI> twice every Day, <HI>viz. Morning,</HI> and <HI>Evening:</HI> When the Sun ri&s;es, begging due <HI>Compo&s;edne&s;s, Illumination,</HI> and <HI>Gentlene&s;s of Mind,</HI> and that their <HI>Mind</HI> may be fill'd with <HI>Heavenly Light:</HI> When it &s;ets, they beg that the <HI>Soul</HI> may be quite eas'd of the <HI>Tu|mour</HI> and <HI>Vanity</HI> of the Sen&s;es and Objects of Sen&s;e, and that being fix'd in her own Sanhedrim and Con&s;ultory, &s;he may trace the Tracts of Truth. All the &s;pace of Time between the Morning and Evening, they give them&s;elves to
<PB N="25" REF="32">Exerci&s;e: For reading the mo&s;t <HI>Holy Scriptures</HI> they Philo&s;ophize, <HI>Allegorizing</HI> the Philo&s;ophy of their Ance&s;tours: For they interpret the Compo&s;ure of a plain literal Sen&s;e, as the Symbols [or Signatures] of a &s;ecret or concealed Nature, by probable Conjectures. They have al&s;o Com|po&s;ures of Ancient Men, who, being the prin|cipal Promoters of this Sect, have left Monuments of this Model in their Allegories, which they make u&s;e of as certain <HI>Archetypals,</HI> imitating the Manner of their De&s;ign; &s;o that they don't only contemplate. Moreover, they al&s;o make <HI>Songs</HI> and <HI>Hymns</HI> upon God, of all &s;orts of Mea&s;ures and Tunes, to which they are obliged to prick the Graver &s;ort of Notes. <HI>Six Days</HI> together every one of them apart Philo&s;ophize by them|&s;elves in their Cells, never going over the thre&s;hold, nor &s;o much as peeping out; but on the <HI>Seventh Days</HI> they meet together in a common Body and &s;it down together in Order, according to their Age, in a very decent Po&s;ture, keeping their Hands out of &s;ight; to wit, their right Hand between the Brea&s;t and their Chin, and the left Hand upon the Cavity of their right Side: The Elde&s;t and Experte&s;t of them, when he is come, di&s;cour&s;es to them with a fix'd Eye, and a &s;teddy Voice, with Rea&s;oning and Wi&s;|dom, not affecting out of O&s;tentation Excel|lency in Words, like <HI>Oratours</HI> and <HI>Sophi&s;ters;</HI> but with great Searchingne&s;s of Thought, and
<PB N="24" REF="33"><GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="25" REF="33"><GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="26" REF="34">Accuracy of Interpretation, which does not &s;it upon the tip of the Ears, but by hearing goes into the Soul, and continues its fix'd Dwelling-Place there. All the re&s;t hear the Exhortation with Silence, &s;ignifying their Approbation only by Motions of their Eye or Head.</P>
<P>The common <HI>Temple,</HI> in which they meet together on <HI>Seventh Days,</HI> has Two Inclo&s;ures; one being alotted for the <HI>Men,</HI> call'd <GAP DESC="foreign">; the other for <HI>Women,</HI> call'd <GAP DESC="foreign">; for the Women ordinarily hear together with them, ha|ving the &s;ame Emulation and Purpo&s;e. The Wall which parts the Enclo&s;ures is built about three or four Cubits high from the Pavement, like a Fortre&s;s, being higher up open to the top. By this Contrivance the Female Sex pre&s;erve that Mode&s;ty which becomes them, and hear well enough as they &s;it in the Auditory, becau&s;e nothing hinders the Voice of the Speaker.</P>
<P>They fir&s;t lay <HI>Temperance</HI> in the Soul, as it were for a Foundation, and rai&s;e a Super&s;tructure of other Vertues upon that. Not one of them u&s;es any Meat or Drink before Sun-&s;et; for they reckon the Exerci&s;e of Philo&s;ophy worthy of the Day; but Bodily Nece&s;&s;ities to belong to Darkne&s;s: Wherefore, they be&s;tow their Days upon that, and &s;ome &s;mall part of the Night upon the&s;e. Some of them having a peculiar De&s;ire after Knowledge rai&s;ed in them, forget to <HI>Eat</HI> for Three Days together: And others
<PB N="27" REF="34">are &s;o luxuriou&s;ly and deliciou&s;ly cheered and fea&s;ted by Wi&s;dom, &s;upplying them li|berally with Sentiments, that they with|&s;tand their Appetites double that time, and hardly ta&s;te the lea&s;t nece&s;&s;ary Food for Six Days together, being us'd (as they &s;ay of a certain &s;ort of <HI>Gra&s;hoppers</HI>) to be fed by Air; for their Singing makes Want very ea&s;ie.</P>
<P>And becau&s;e they reckon the <HI>Seventh Day</HI> all Holy and all Fe&s;tival, they vouch&s;afe it a pecu|liar Honour; for after the Care of the Soul, they anoint the Body al&s;o, allowing it Re|laxation, ju&s;t as they do their Cattle, from con|tinual Toyl. They <HI>eat</HI> nothing that is co&s;tly, but feed upon <HI>cheap</HI> Bread, and Salt: Tho&s;e of them that live <HI>deliciou&s;ly,</HI> dre&s;s it with Hy&s;&s;op. Their <HI>Drink</HI> is Spring-Water. Thus they ap|pea&s;e tho&s;e Two <HI>Tyranne&s;&s;es,</HI> Hunger and Thir&s;t, which Nature hath placed over [or under] the Mortal kind, bringing no|thing to allure them, but only &s;uch things as are needful, without which 'tis not po&s;&s;ible to live. For this Rea&s;on they eat that they may not be hungry, and drink that they may not thir&s;t; but they avoid <HI>Fulne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Satiety,</HI> as the Enemy and Traitour both of Soul and Body.</P>
<P><HI>Covering</HI> being of Two kinds, namely, <HI>Cloaths,</HI> and a <HI>Dwelling-Place;</HI> (having acquainted you that their <HI>Dwellings</HI> are mean, made without Art, of what-ever comes to hand, and only for
<PB N="28" REF="35">u&s;e) I come now to acquaint you, that their <HI>Raiment</HI> al&s;o is very mean, worn only for Defence again&s;t Cold and Heat: They have a <HI>thick Cloak</HI> over &s;ome <HI>rough Skin</HI> or other, in Winter; and in Summer, a lighter &s;hort Garment over their Shoulder, or <HI>Linnen.</HI> They al&s;o exerci&s;e them&s;elves to a perfect Freedom from all Arro|gance and Vanity, knowing very well that Fal&s;hood is the beginning of Tumour, and that Truth is the Source of the Avoidance of vain Pomp and O&s;tentation; and that both the&s;e have the Nature of their different Spring and Foun|tain; for from Fal&s;hood flow numerous and divers <HI>Idea's</HI> [or kinds] of Evils; but from Truth, a great Abundance of both Humane and Divine Goods.</P>
<P>The manner of their <HI>Fea&s;ting</HI> is thus; For Seven Weeks together they a&s;&s;emble toge|ther, which they do not only out of Re&s;pect to the Number <HI>Seven,</HI> but al&s;o to the Power of it; for they know it to be a cha&s;t and Virgin Num|ber. This Fe&s;tival is a Preparatory to the great|e&s;t Fea&s;t, <HI>(viz. Penteco&s;t,)</HI> &s;o called for its belonging to the Number <HI>Fifty,</HI> which is the mo&s;t Holy and Natural Number, becau&s;e of the Power of a right-angled Triangle, which is the Principle of the Production of all things. When they are met together, array'd in White, as &s;oon as the <HI>Ephemereuts</HI> (for that is the Name they call their Beadles by) give the Sign, all
<PB N="29" REF="35">of them, before they &s;it down to eat, &s;tanding in a very decent Order, with all Gravity, do, with their Eyes and Hands lifted up to Heaven, (their Eyes, becau&s;e they have been taught to &s;ee things &s;o worthy of Veneration; their Hands, to &s;ignifie that they are not guilty of Eating any Food before, out of pretence of Nece&s;&s;ity) pray to God that their Banquetting may plea&s;e Him, and be according to his Mind, or [accord|ing to under&s;tanding.] The <HI>Seniors</HI> &s;it down according to their <HI>Admi&s;&s;ions;</HI> for they don't reckon tho&s;e who have liv'd many Years, and are very Ancient, the Seniors there; but, on the contrary, they look upon them as Young Chil|dren, if they have but lately been enamour'd with that way of Living; but they count tho&s;e who began betime, in the Flower of their Age, to betake them&s;elves to the <HI>Contemplative</HI> part of Philo&s;ophy (which, indeed, is the be&s;t and Divine&s;t part) their Seniors, though their Youth be not yet expir'd. The <HI>Women</HI> al&s;o are at the Fea&s;t with them, many of which are very Ancient, and Virgins out of pure Love to <HI>Purity,</HI> not out of Nece&s;&s;ity, as &s;ome of the Prie&s;te&s;&s;es among&s;t the <HI>Greeks,</HI> who live &s;o upon that Account, rather than out of free Choice: No; the&s;e live &s;o becau&s;e of a true Zeal for, and de&s;ire of Wi&s;dom; for, having a fervent de&s;ire to live by Wi&s;dom, they make no account of Bodily Plea&s;ures; neither do they de&s;ire <HI>Mortal,</HI>
<PB N="30" REF="36">but <HI>Immortal</HI> Off-&s;prings, which only a Soul that truly loves God is able to bring forth out of its &s;elf; for 'tis God who has &s;hed into it the <HI>Intellectual</HI> Rayes of the <HI>Father,</HI> by which 'twill be able to contemplate the Decrees of Wi&s;dom. When they &s;it together, the Men &s;it on the Right hand, and the Women on the Left. If any one &s;uppo&s;es that &s;ofter <HI>Seats</HI> than ordinary (though not &s;o co&s;tly) were prepared for &s;uch Noble, Virtuous Exerci&s;ers of Vertue; let him know, that they have cheap &s;ort of Carpets made of &s;ome Leaves and Barks of Trees that grow there, on which they lean a little; for they remit &s;omething of the hard way of Living that the <HI>Lacedoemonians</HI> u&s;e; though, in all re|&s;pects, they &s;tudy <HI>Frugality,</HI> and have a &s;trong <HI>Antipathy</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Philtres</HI> of Plea&s;ure. They are not waited upon by <HI>Slaves;</HI> for they look upon the keeping of Servants to be a Cu&s;tom again&s;t Nature; for &s;he made and brought forth all Men free. But the Iniquity and un|rea&s;onable Covetings of tho&s;e who have affected <HI>Inequality,</HI> the Ring-leader of all Mi&s;chief, have brought Camps into the World, and &s;et the &s;tronger Men on Fire, to exert their Strength again&s;t the Weak. Here, as I &s;aid, is no Servant; but Free-Men give all nece&s;&s;ary Attendance, which they do heartily, and with all readine&s;s, even to the Prevention of Reque&s;t; for the Ju|niors of the Company, which are appointed
<PB N="31" REF="36">from Meal to Meal, do, with all Diligence, &s;erve tho&s;e who have arrived to a great pitch of Ver|tue, (ju&s;t as Natural Sons do, with great Plea|&s;ure and Emulation, &s;erve their Parents) reckon|ing the&s;e their common Parents to be nearer related to them than their Parents by Blood, &s;ince nothing is nearer than <HI>Integrity</HI> to tho&s;e who have right Minds. Tho&s;e that wait come with their Garments loo&s;e about them, le&s;t there &s;hould be the lea&s;t Appearance of Servility a|mong&s;t them at this Fea&s;t. I know &s;ome will laugh at the Hearing of this; but they are &s;uch as do tho&s;e things for which they ought to weep and lament. At tho&s;e Fea&s;ts no <HI>Wine</HI> is brought in, but only very clear <HI>Water;</HI> cold Water for the mo&s;t, and warm Water for the Tendere&s;t of the Old Men. Their Table is pure from all <HI>Bloody Creatures;</HI> Loaves are their <HI>Meat,</HI> and Salt is their <HI>Sauce.</HI> The mo&s;t dainty of them, indeed, make it more palatable with <HI>Hy&s;&s;op;</HI> for Right Rea&s;on charges them, like <HI>Prie&s;ts,</HI> to &s;acrifice <HI>Sacrifices</HI> without Wine, and to live upon them; for <HI>Wine</HI> is an incentive of Folly, and <HI>chargable Di&s;hes</HI> provoke Lu&s;t, which is the mo&s;t In&s;atiable of all Bea&s;ts. And &s;o much for the Fir&s;t part.</P>
<P>After the Gue&s;ts are &s;at in the Orders fore|mentioned, the <HI>Waiters</HI> do &s;tand decently in Order, ready to &s;erve. There is no <HI>Drink</HI> brought, but every one calls for it as he wants
<PB N="32" REF="37">it; and, which is more than any thing already mentioned, no one dares <HI>Belch,</HI> or fetch his Breath indecently: But &s;ome body either offers a Query upon &s;ome place of the <HI>Holy Scriptures,</HI> or &s;olves &s;omething propos'd by another without any Solicitude about the manner of the Solu|tion; for not one among&s;t them de&s;ires Fame by fine <HI>Speaking:</HI> But every one loves to &s;ee another more exact; and when they &s;ee him &s;o, not to envy him, though they are not &s;o accute them&s;elves. They have all the like De&s;ire to learn. Sometimes one of them takes more time when he teaches, repeating and dwelling upon what he &s;ays, that he may imprint his Notions on their Souls; for, many times, the Mind of the Auditors being not able to keep pace with the Interpretation of one that &s;peaks too clo&s;ely, or too fa&s;t, falls &s;hort of comprehending what is &s;aid; the re&s;t look with their Faces upright upon him who &s;peaks, in one and the &s;ame Po|&s;ture, and give Notice of their Under&s;tanding and Comprehending what they hear by a Nod, or a Look. They di&s;cover their Commendation by the continued Cheerfulne&s;s of their A&s;pect; but a Doubt is &s;ignify'd by a &s;tiller Motion of the Head, and their Right hand's little Finger. The <HI>Juniors</HI> al&s;o that wait give no le&s;s Attention than tho&s;e that &s;it at Table. Their Expo&s;itions of the <HI>Holy Scriptures</HI> are Allegorical Hints; for the whole Con&s;titution of their Law &s;eems to
<PB N="33" REF="37">them like an Animal; in which the literal Ex|pre&s;&s;ions, are the Body; and the invi&s;ible Sen&s;e infolded in the Words, the Mind; wherein the Rea&s;onable Soul begins di&s;tinctly to con&s;ider the Properties thereof, as through the Per&s;pective of the Names, after it (having beheld the admi|rable Beauties of the Notions, and unveil'd the Symbols) has brought to light the deeper [or more recondite] Sen&s;e to tho&s;e, who, from a &s;mall hint, are capable of tracing ob&s;cure Truths by the Light of tho&s;e that are manife&s;t. After the <HI>Pre&s;ident</HI> &s;eems to have made a &s;ufficient Di&s;cour&s;e, &s;o as that his <HI>Applications</HI> &s;ucce&s;sfully hit what he aim'd at, and the <HI>Attention</HI> of the Auditours perceive his meaning, they all give an <HI>Humm,</HI> thereby &s;ignifying that they are plea&s;ed, and choo&s;e, for the future, to put his Advice in Execution.</P>
<P>After this, he ri&s;es up, and &s;ings an <HI>Hymn</HI> in Prai&s;e of God, which is either of his own, or &s;ome ancient Poets compo&s;ure; for their Poets have left them Mea&s;ures and Songs of all &s;orts; <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Trimetres;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Introits,</HI> [or <HI>Pro|ce&s;&s;ional;</HI>] <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Laudatory;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Sacri|fical;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Altar-Songs;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Stationary;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Choiral</HI> with <HI>Stanza's</HI> of various Mea&s;ures; &s;ome of which are us'd with their Faces turn'd from, and others with their Faces turn'd to|wards the Altar: After whom the others, ac|cording to their Orders, in a very decent manner,
<PB N="34" REF="38">do al&s;o &s;ing, the re&s;t hearing with deep Silence, except when the la&s;t Lines, or the &s;hort <HI>after-Hymns,</HI> are to be &s;ung; for then they all &s;ing out, both Men and Women.</P>
<P>When every Precentor has fini&s;h'd his Hymn, the Juniors bring in the Table, as was ju&s;t above-mentioned; upon which they have all their <HI>Ho|ly Loaf</HI> of Bread leavened with Salt and Hy&s;&s;op mingled together. They have Hy&s;&s;op in the <HI>Hall-Loaf,</HI> out of Reverence to their <HI>Holy Table</HI> in the Church-Porch; for on this Table they have Loaves and Salt without Sauces; the Loaves unleaven'd, and the Salt unmix'd: For 'twas fitting that the &s;imple&s;t and pure&s;t things &s;hould be allotted to the Principal part of the <HI>Sacra,</HI> as the Reward of the Mini&s;tration; and that others &s;hould imitate the &s;ame, and ab&s;tain from tho&s;e Loaves, that their betters may have them as their Prerogative.</P>
<P>After <HI>Supper,</HI> they keep a <HI>Holy Vigil</HI> all Night. They keep the <HI>Vigil</HI> thus: They all ri&s;e toge|ther, and in the middle of the Hall make two Choirs; one of Men, and the other of Women; each choo&s;ing their Eminente&s;t per&s;on for <HI>Mu|&s;ick</HI> for a Precentor; and then they &s;ing &s;ome Hymns made in the Prai&s;e of God, with variety of Mea&s;ures and Stanza's, &s;ometimes &s;inging all together, and &s;ometimes alternately, with pe|culiar Ge&s;tures, and dancing about, as tho&s;e who are &s;truck with a <HI>Divine Fury.</HI> Sometimes they
<PB N="35" REF="38">&s;ing <HI>Proce&s;&s;ional,</HI> &s;ometimes <HI>Stational</HI> Hymns, altering their Po&s;tures with re&s;pect to the <HI>Altar,</HI> as they &s;ee occa&s;ion: Then when each of them has been &s;eparately and by them&s;elves entertain'd, ju&s;t as though they had been drinking &s;ome Divine Wine, they both mingle together, and make one Choir, in imitation of the Choir at the <HI>Red-Sea,</HI> upon the account of the <HI>Miracles</HI> wrought there, which exceeded the Thought and Hope of the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> and made them all in one Company exult, as though they were be&s;ide them&s;elves, and &s;ing <HI>Euchari&s;tical</HI> Hymns to God their Deliverer; the <HI>Prophet Mo&s;es,</HI> being the <HI>Mens Precentor;</HI> and <HI>Miram</HI> the <HI>Prophete&s;s, Pre|centre&s;s</HI> to the <HI>Women:</HI> The Choir of the <HI>Thera|peuts</HI> and <HI>Therapeute&s;&s;es,</HI> is ju&s;t like it, &s;inging with different Notes; for the treeble Voice of the Women mingled with the Ba&s;e of the Men, makes a lovely and truly Mu&s;ical Harmony. Their <HI>Thoughts</HI> are truly fine, their <HI>Words</HI> are fine, and their <HI>Choiri&s;ters</HI> are comely: <HI>in &s;hort,</HI> the Thoughts, the Expre&s;&s;ions, and Choiri&s;ters, are all pious and devout. After they have continu'd their Holy Tran&s;port till the Morning, they do <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> feel their Heads di&s;order'd, or their Eyes heavy; but they are more wakeful than they came; and as &s;oon as they &s;ee the Sun ri&s;e, with their Eyes and their whole Body towards the Ea&s;t, and their Hands lifted up towards Heaven, they pray for <HI>Light&s;omne&s;s of Mind,</HI> and <HI>Truth,</HI> and <HI>Ratio|nal
<PB N="36" REF="39">Quick-&s;ightedne&s;s.</HI> After the&s;e Prayers every one of them retreat to their own <HI>Oratories,</HI> to cultivate and traffick in their u&s;ual Philo&s;ophy.</P>
<P>Since therefore the <HI>Therapeuts</HI> have embrac'd the <HI>Theory</HI> of Nature, and liv'd together with one <HI>Soul,</HI> and were <HI>Citizens</HI> both of <HI>Heaven</HI> and <HI>Earth,</HI> and were truly commended and con|formed to the Father and Maker of all things by <HI>Vertue,</HI> which procur'd them that Friend&s;hip which is the true&s;t Honour; do thou, by ap|plying thy Mind to a Pro&s;ecution of Vertue, which is better than all Pro&s;perity, reach the Top and Perfection of Felicity.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="37" REF="39">
<HEAD>The Judgment and Ob&s;ervations of <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Cae&s;area,</HI> (in his <HI>Eccl. Hi&s;t.</HI> l. <HI>2.</HI> c. <HI>16.</HI>) and other <HI>Ancient Writers,</HI> concerning <HI>Philo</HI>'s Book of the <HI>Therapeuts,</HI> and that they were <HI>Chri&s;tians.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>MARK</HI> (the Evangelift) going into <HI>Egypt,</HI> is reported to have been the fir&s;t Publi&s;her there of the <HI>Go&s;pel</HI> he had written, and to have &s;ettled <HI>Churches</HI> in the very City of <HI>Alexandria.</HI> And furthermore, that &s;o great a Multitude both of Men and Wo|men, who there embraced the Faith of <HI>Christ,</HI> profe&s;&s;ed from the very beginning &s;o &s;evere and &s;o Philo&s;ophical a <HI>Cour&s;e of Live,</HI> that <HI>Philo</HI> vouch&s;afed in his Writings to relate their <HI>Conver&s;e,</HI> their <HI>A&s;&s;emblies,</HI> their <HI>Eating</HI> and <HI>Drinking</HI> together, and their whole <HI>manner of Living.</HI></P>
<PB N="38" REF="40">
<P> It is reported that this <HI>Philo,</HI> in the times of <HI>Claudius,</HI> came to be familiarly acquainted with <HI>Peter</HI> at <HI>Rome,</HI> who then Preached the Word of God there: neither is this unlikely. For that Work of his, of which we &s;peak, being by him elaborated a long time after, does manife&s;tly contain all the <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Rules</HI> which are to this pre&s;ent ob&s;erved among us. And &s;eeing he de&s;cribes evidently the <HI>Lives</HI> of the <HI>A&s;cetae</HI> among&s;t us, he does make it &s;ufficiently per|&s;picuous that he did not only &s;ee, but al&s;o very much approve of and admire the Apo&s;tolical Men of his time, who being, as it is probable, originally <HI>Jews,</HI> upon that account did then ob|&s;erve, in a great mea&s;ure, the <HI>Judaical</HI> Rites and Cu&s;toms.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all therefore, in that Book which he intituled, <HI>Of Contemplative Life;</HI> or, <HI>Of Sup|pliants,</HI> having profe&s;&s;ed that he would in&s;ert nothing di&s;agreeable to Truth, or of his own Head into that Account which he was about to give, he &s;ays, That the Men were called <HI>Thera|peutae,</HI> and the Women that were conver&s;ant among them <HI>Therapeutriae:</HI> And he adjoyns the rea&s;on of that Appellation, either becau&s;e, like <HI>Phy&s;icians,</HI> they healed the Minds of tho&s;e that re&s;orted to them, curing them of their vi|tious Affections; or becau&s;e they wor&s;hipped the <HI>Deity</HI> with a pure and &s;incere Service and Adoration.</P>
<PB N="39" REF="40">
<P> Further, whether <HI>Philo</HI> him&s;elf gave them this Name, devi&s;ing an Appellation agreeable to the Manners and Di&s;po&s;itions of Men; or whether they were really &s;o called from the be|ginning, the Name of <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> not being every where &s;pread and diffu&s;ed, it is not nece&s;&s;ary po&s;itively to affirm or contend about it. But he atte&s;ts that, in the fir&s;t place, they part with their Goods, &s;aying, <Q>That as &s;oon as they betake them&s;elves to this cour&s;e of Philo&s;o|phizing, they put over their Wealth and Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions to their Relations. Then, ca&s;ting away all Care of Wordly matters, they leave the Cities, and make their Abode in Gardens and &s;olitary Places; well knowing the Con|ver&s;ing with Men of a different and di&s;agree|ing Per&s;wa&s;ion to be unprofitable and hurtful.</Q> Which thing the Chri&s;tians of that time &s;eem to me to have in&s;tituted out of a generous and mo&s;t fervent Ardour of Faith, endeavouring to emu|late the Prophetical &s;evere Cour&s;e of Life. Therefore in the <HI>Acts</HI> of the Apo&s;tles (which contain nothing but the perfect Truth) it is &s;hewed, That all the Di&s;ciples of the Apo&s;tles &s;elling their Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions and Goods, divided the Price among the Brethren, according as every one had need, that &s;o there might not be any indigent Per&s;on among&s;t them. For as the Word &s;ays, <HI>As many as were Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of Lands or Hou&s;es &s;old them, and brought the Prices of the
<PB N="40" REF="41">things that were &s;old and laid them down at the Apo&s;tles feet: and Di&s;tribution was made unto every Man according as he had Need.</HI></P>
<P>After <HI>Philo</HI> has atte&s;ted the very &s;ame things with the&s;e, of the <HI>Therapeutae,</HI> he adds thus much farther concerning them, word for word, &s;aying, <Q>This &s;ort of Men, indeed, is diffu&s;ed far and wide over the whole World. For it was requi&s;ite that both <HI>Greeks</HI> and <HI>Barbarians</HI> &s;hould be partakers of &s;o excellent a Benefit. <HI>Egypt</HI> e&s;pecially is full of them, throughout all its Divi&s;ions; but mo&s;t of all about <HI>Alexan|dria.</HI> But from all places, the principal of them retire them&s;elves into a mo&s;t commo|dious place above the Lake <HI>Maria,</HI> &s;ituate upon a little ri&s;ing Hill, excellently well &s;eated both for Whol&s;omene&s;s of Air, and Conveniency of Abiding, as into the Country of the <HI>Therapeutae.</HI></Q></P>
<P>Then, after he has de&s;cribed their <HI>Hou&s;es,</HI> after what manner they were built, he &s;peaks thus of the <HI>Churches</HI> they have in divers Places. <Q>In every Hou&s;e there is a Chappel, called a <HI>Semnaeum,</HI> and <HI>Mona&s;terium,</HI> in which, alone by them&s;elves, they perform the My&s;teries of an <HI>Holy Life.</HI> They bring in thither neither Meat nor Drink, nor any Corporal Provi&s;ions or Nece&s;&s;aries; but only the Law, and the divine Oracles of the Prophets, and Hymns, and &s;uch like; whereby Knowledge and Piety are increa&s;ed and perfected.</Q></P>
<PB N="41" REF="41">
<P> And a little while after, he &s;ays: <Q>All the interval of time, from Sun ri&s;ing to the Even|ing, they &s;pend in <HI>Meditations of Philo&s;ophy:</HI> For reading the Holy Scriptures, they Philo|&s;ophize after their Countrey way, and expound Allegorically. For they &s;uppo&s;e that the Words are only Notes and Marks of &s;ome things of a My&s;tical Nature, which are to be explained Figuratively. They have <HI>Writings</HI> of &s;ome ancient Per&s;ons, who have been here|tofore famous Leaders of their Sect, and have left them many Monuments of that Learning, which con&s;i&s;ts in dark and &s;ecret Expre&s;&s;ions, which they, u&s;ing as original Platforms, do imitate thereby that Cour&s;e of Study.</Q></P>
<P>The&s;e, certainly, &s;eem to be the Words of &s;uch a Man as had heard &s;ome of our Religion ex|pounding the Holy Scriptures. And it is very likely that the Writings of tho&s;e ancient Per|&s;ons, which he &s;ays they had, were the Go&s;pels and Writings of the Apo&s;tles, and certain Ex|po&s;itions of the ancient Prophets, of which &s;ort many are contained both in other Epi&s;tles of <HI>Paul,</HI> and al&s;o in that written to the <HI>Hebrews.</HI></P>
<P>Afterwards <HI>Philo</HI> thus writeth concerning the <HI>New P&s;alms</HI> compo&s;ed by them. <Q>They do not only &s;pend their time in Contemplation, but they compo&s;e Songs and Hymns to the Prai&s;e of God of all &s;orts of Meeter and Mu&s;ical Ver&s;e, which they write in grave and &s;eemly Rhymes.</Q></P>
<PB N="42" REF="42">
<P> He relates many other things of them in that Book I mentioned: But I judged the&s;e fitte&s;t to be &s;elected and pickt out, in which certain Marks of <HI>Church Di&s;cipline</HI> are propo&s;ed.</P>
<P>But if any one &s;hould think what <HI>Philo</HI> here &s;ays to be in no wi&s;e proper to the Evangelical Politie, but may be adapted to others be&s;ides tho&s;e I have mentioned; he will certainly be convinced by <HI>Philo</HI>'s following Words; in which, if he &s;hall duly weigh the Matter, he will re|ceive a mo&s;t undoubted Te&s;timony of this thing. Now he writes thus: <Q>Having fir&s;t laid Tem|perance, as a certain foundation, they build thereupon the other Virtues. For none of them takes either Meat or Drink before Sun|&s;et: for they hold it requi&s;ite to &s;pend the Day in the Study of Philo&s;ophy, and the Night in making nece&s;&s;ary Provi&s;ion for the Body. Therefore they allot the whole Day to &s;tudy, but allow a very &s;mall portion of the Night for Bodily Provi&s;ion. Some of them forget to eat for Three Days together, &s;o great is the de&s;ire of Knowledge that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es them. But &s;ome others of them are &s;o well plea&s;ed with, and feed &s;o richly and deliciou&s;ly upon the Banquets of Wi&s;dom, which &s;ets before them whol&s;ome Precepts, as a mo&s;t &s;umptuous Fea&s;t, that they are wont &s;carce to ta&s;t any ne|ce&s;&s;ary Food in twice that &s;pace, <HI>to wit,</HI> in Six Days time.</Q></P>
<PB N="43" REF="42">
<P> We &s;uppo&s;e the&s;e Words of <HI>Philo</HI> to be evi|dently, and without all doubt, &s;poken concern|ing tho&s;e of our Religion. But if, after all this, any one &s;hall &s;till per&s;i&s;t in a peremptory denyal of the&s;e things; he will, at length, recede from his ob&s;tinate difficulty of Belief, being per&s;waded to &s;ubmit to &s;uch manife&s;t Demon&s;trations as are no where to be found but in the Chri&s;tian Religion, compo&s;ed according to the Rule of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P><HI>Philo</HI> &s;ays further therefore, <Q>That among the&s;e Men, <HI>of whom we &s;peak,</HI> there are certain Women conver&s;ant, many of which continue Virgins being old; not out of Nece&s;&s;ity, like &s;ome of tho&s;e among&s;t the <HI>Grecian</HI> Prie&s;ts, but voluntarily pre&s;erving their Cha&s;tity out of an ardent Affection to and De&s;ire of Wi&s;dom; in the Embraces and Familiarity whereof they earne&s;tly affect to &s;pend their Lives; having de&s;pi&s;ed all Bodily Plea&s;ures, and de&s;iring ear|ne&s;tly not a Mortal I&s;&s;ue, but an Immortal; which that Mind only that loves, and is beloved of God, can of it &s;elf bring forth.</Q></P>
<P>After many other Expre&s;&s;ions, he &s;peaks yet more plainly thus; <Q>Their Expo&s;itions of <HI>Holy Writ</HI> are figurative, by way of Allegories. For the&s;e Men &s;uppo&s;e the whole Law to be like a Living Creature; the bare Words where|of are, as it were the Body, and the invi&s;ible Sen&s;e, that lies hid under the Words, re&s;embles
<PB N="44" REF="43">the Soul. Which &s;ence this Sect have and do make it their Religion earne&s;tly to &s;earch into and contemplate, beholding in the Words, as in a Gla&s;s, the admirable beauty of the Mean|ing.</Q></P>
<P>There is no nece&s;&s;ity of adding farther here an account of their <HI>A&s;&s;emblies,</HI> of the <HI>di&s;tinct Apartments</HI> of their Men and Women, and of their <HI>&s;everal Studies</HI> and <HI>Holy Exerci&s;es,</HI> now in u&s;e among&s;t us, more e&s;pecially about the Fea&s;t of our <HI>Lord's Pa&s;&s;ion,</HI> when we are wont to practi&s;e them in Fa&s;tings, Watchings, and attentive Reading of Holy; Scriptures. All which the Man we have &s;o often mentioned, does relate in his Writings accurately, after the &s;ame manner in which we only at this time ob|&s;erve them: E&s;pecially he mentions the <HI>Vigils</HI> of the great Solemnity, the <HI>Holy Exerci&s;es</HI> there|in, and the <HI>Hymns</HI> we are wont to recite. And how, when one has begun to &s;ing a P&s;alm har|moniou&s;ly and gravely, the re&s;t, &s;ilently hearken|ing, do after &s;ing out in <HI>Chorus,</HI> the latter parts only of the Ver&s;es. <Q>And how throughout tho&s;e Days, lying in Straw upon the Ground, they wholly ab&s;tain from Wine, <HI>(as he has &s;aid in the&s;e expre&s;s Words)</HI> and eat nothing that has Blood in it: <HI>Water</HI> is their only Drink, and their Food is <HI>Bread</HI> with <HI>Salt</HI> and <HI>Hy&s;&s;op.</HI></Q></P>
<PB N="45" REF="43">
<P> Farther he de&s;cribes the Order and Degrees of their <HI>Governours, to wit,</HI> tho&s;e who perform the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Offices; then the Mini&s;tra|tions of the <HI>Deacons;</HI> and, la&s;tly, the <HI>Epi&s;copal Pre&s;idency</HI> over all. He that de&s;ires to know the&s;e things more accurately, may be therein informed from the fore-mentioned Hi&s;tory of <HI>Philo.</HI></P>
<P>It is therefore apparently evident to every one, that <HI>Philo</HI> writing thus, did mean thereby tho&s;e fir&s;t Preachers of the <HI>Evangelical Doctrin</HI> and <HI>Di&s;cipline,</HI> at the beginning delivered by the Apo&s;tles.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>Epiphanius, <HI>Bi&s;hop of</HI> Cyprus, <HI>concerning the &s;ame,</HI> Har. 29. &sect; 5.</HEAD>
<P><HI>HAving &s;aid that the</HI> Chri&s;tians <HI>were at fir&s;t called</HI> Nazarens, <HI>as</HI> Act. 24.5.2.22. <HI>and for &s;ome time</HI> Je&s;&s;eans, <HI>whether from the Name of</HI> Je&s;&s;e, <HI>or from the Name of our Lord</HI> Je&s;us, <HI>be|cau&s;e they were his Di&s;ciples, he adds:</HI> But thou may'&s;t find this in the Writings of <HI>PHILO,</HI> in the Book by him intituled, <HI>Of the Je&s;&s;eans,</HI> who de&s;cribing their Politie and Commenda|tions,
<PB N="46" REF="44">and recounting their Mona&s;tries near a|bout the Lake <HI>Maria,</HI> he relates it of no other than of <HI>Chri&s;tians.</HI> For he, when he was in that Region, called <HI>Mariotis,</HI> and was by them them&s;elves conducted to the Mona&s;tries of that place, got much Profit by it. For, being there in the Days of <HI>Ea&s;ter,</HI> he &s;aw both their Lives, and how &s;ome lived without Eating all the Holy Week of <HI>Ea&s;ter,</HI> &s;ome Two Days, and &s;ome until the Evening. But all the&s;e things were done by this Man for the treating of the Subject concerning the <HI>Faith</HI> and <HI>Manners</HI> of the Chri|&s;tians.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD><HI>St.</HI> Hierom <HI>concerning the &s;ame, in his Book</HI> de Scriptoribus Eccle&s;ia&s;ticis.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PHILO</HI> the <HI>Jew,</HI> Born at <HI>Alexandria,</HI> of the Race of the <HI>Prie&s;ts,</HI> is therefore by us placed among the <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Writers,</HI> becau&s;e writing a Book of the fir&s;t Church of <HI>Mark</HI> the Evangeli&s;t at <HI>Alexandria,</HI> he di&s;cour&s;eth in Prai&s;e of our People, (the Chri&s;tians there) recount|ing that they were not only there, but al&s;o in
<PB N="47" REF="44">many other Provinces, and calling their Habi|tations Mona&s;tries. Whence it appears, that &s;uch was the Church of the fir&s;t Believers in Chri&s;t, as now the Monks endeavour and de&s;ire to be, that nothing may be any ones own, <HI>that is,</HI> that none claim a Propriety in any thing, that there be none among&s;t them Rich, none Poor, their Patrimonies be divided among tho&s;e who need; that they all attend to Prayer, and P&s;alms, al&s;o to Doctrin, and to Continence, &s;uch as <HI>Luke</HI> relates were the fir&s;t Believers at <HI>Hie|ru&s;alem.</HI> It is reported, that under <HI>Caius Caligula</HI> he was in &s;ome Danger at <HI>Rome,</HI> whither he was &s;ent Legate for his Nation: that when he came a &s;econd time to <HI>Claudius,</HI> he there, in the &s;ame City, &s;pake with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> and held Friend&s;hip with him; and for this Cau&s;e al&s;o wrote in Prai&s;e of the Followers of <HI>Mark,</HI> the Di&s;ciple of <HI>Peter</HI> at <HI>Alexandria.</HI></P>
<P><HI>A little after, recounting the Works of</HI> Philo, <HI>among the re&s;t, he puts in</HI> One Book concerning the Lives of our People, <HI>that is,</HI> concerning Apo|&s;tolick Men, of which we have &s;poken before, which he intituled, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>viz.</HI> becau&s;e they did contemplate Heavenly things, and prayed continually.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="48" REF="45">
<HEAD>Johannes Ca&s;&s;ianus <HI>concerning the &s;ame, lib.</HI> 2. de In&s;titut. <HI>cap.</HI> 5.</HEAD>
<P>IN the Beginning of the Faith there were indeed but few, but tho&s;e mo&s;t approved Per&s;ons, reckoned under the Denomination of Monks, who, as from <HI>Mark</HI> the Evangeli&s;t, of Ble&s;&s;ed Memory, who fir&s;t pre&s;ided Bi&s;hop in the City of <HI>Alexandria,</HI> they received their Rule of Living, did not only retain tho&s;e Great things which we read in the <HI>Acts</HI> of the Apo&s;tles, that the Church, or Crowd of Believers, at fir&s;t made &s;o famous, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The Multitude of them, who believed, were of one Heart, and of one Soul; neither &s;aid any of them that ought of the things, which he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed were his own; but they had all things Common [Neither was there any among them that lacked:] for as many as were Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of Land or Hou&s;es &s;old them, and brought the Prices of the thing which were &s;old, and laid them down at the Feet of the Apo&s;tles; and Di&s;tribution was made unto every Man according as he had need.</HI></P>
<P>But they even built up more &s;ublime thing upon them. For retiring into the mo&s;t &s;ecret parts of the Suburbs, they lead a Life of &s;o great
<PB N="49" REF="45">Rigour of Ab&s;tinence, that &s;o &s;evere a Profe&s;&s;ion of Life was an amazement to others. For they applied them&s;elves with &s;o much Fervour to the Reading of the Divine Scriptures, and to Prayer, and to the Work of their Hands, Day and Night, that neither the Appetite, or Memory of Meat, unle&s;s after two or three Days, did interrupt them by Hunger of the Body. And they re|ceived Meat and Drink, not as what they de|&s;ired, but what was nece&s;&s;ary, and not that nei|ther before Sun-&s;et, that they might conjoyn the time of Light with the Studies of Spiritual Medi|tations, but the Care of the Body to the Night; and other things did they effect more &s;ublime than the&s;e: concerning which, he who is not &s;ufficiently informed by the People of the Coun|trey, may &s;atisfie him&s;elf in the <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Hi&s;tory.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>Sozomen <HI>concerning the &s;ame,</HI> 1 Hi&s;t. Eccl. <HI>c.</HI> 12.</HEAD>
<P><HI>HAving &s;poken of the Glory of the</HI> Chri&s;tian Religion, <HI>by rea&s;on of the Virtue of its Profe&s;&s;ors, and of the Confe&s;&s;ors then living, and of the Famous Bi&s;hop</HI> Spiridion, <HI>he adds:</HI> But
<PB N="50" REF="46">mo&s;t of all did they illu&s;trate the Church with their Virtues, and propagated the Chri|&s;tian Doctrin, who exerci&s;ed the Mona&s;tick Di&s;cipline. For this kind of PHILO|SOPHY coming from God, with the greate&s;t Benefit to Men, de&s;pi&s;eth indeed many <HI>Sciences,</HI> and the Artifice of Logick as a matter of Curio&s;ity, and by which the Exerci&s;e of better things is &s;upplanted; nor is any thing of Advantage for a right kind of Life conferred by it; and with a more <HI>natural Prudence,</HI> void of Curio&s;ity, teacheth tho&s;e things which re|move wholly Vitiou&s;ne&s;s, and effect better things; but the Middle things between Vertue and Vice it reputes not among the Good; but delights in only Good things, and holds him for <HI>an ill Man,</HI> who, although he ab&s;tains from Evil, yet doth no Good. For it doth not make &s;hew, but exerci&s;eth Vertue, and makes no ac|count of the <HI>Glory,</HI> which is of Men, re&s;i&s;ting the Affections of the Mind with great Fortitude; nor doth it yield to the Nece&s;&s;ities of Nature, nor &s;toop to the Infirmities of the Body; but having obtain'd the Powers of a Divine Mind, it looks perpetually at the Creator of all, whom it wor&s;hippeth Day and Night, and appea&s;eth with Prayers and Supplications: But having begun a pure Religion, with Purity of Mind, and the Exerci&s;e of Good Deeds, it makes light of Wa&s;hings, and &s;uch like [Purifications.] For
<PB N="51" REF="46">it judgeth Sins only to be Impurities, and being Conquerour of tho&s;e things which happen from without, and, as I may &s;o &s;ay, Mi&s;tre&s;s of all, is not diverted from her purpo&s;e, neither by the Confu&s;ion of tho&s;e things which fill the Lives of Mortals, nor by any Nece&s;&s;ity; neither is it provoked with Contumelies; nor being inju|red, doth it revenge it &s;elf; nor doth it &s;ink, being pre&s;&s;ed either with Sickne&s;s, or with Penury of Nece&s;&s;aries; but doth rather triumph over tho&s;e, in which &s;he exerci&s;eth Patience, and Meekne&s;s, and Contentation of Mind all the Life long; and, as far as is po&s;&s;ible to Humane Nature, becomes near to God; u&s;ing this pre&s;ent Life as in a Pa&s;&s;age, is neither anxious for the acque&s;t of Earthly things, nor doth &s;o much as think of things pre&s;ent, even in urging Nece&s;&s;ity; but perpetually prizing a Life frugal, and di&s;charged of temporal Furniture, re&s;pects the Felicity which it hath from thence, and is always di&s;po|&s;ed for a Ble&s;&s;ed End: But ince&s;&s;antly breathing out Piety towards God; it abhors the Defile|ment of filthy Speaking, not &s;o much as enduring in Speech tho&s;e things which in Fact it hath bani&s;hed from its Cour&s;e of Life, and by degrees contracting the Nece&s;&s;ities of Nature, and com|pelling the Body to be content with mean things; it doth with Temperance, overcome Prodiga|lity; Inju&s;tice, with Ju&s;tice; and corrects Lying, with Truth; and in right order keeps
<PB N="52" REF="47">Moderation in all things, and orders its Method of Life in keeping Concord and Communion with Neighbours: It provides for Friends and Strangers, communicates its Good to tho&s;e who want, confers upon every one what are com|modious for them; not being trouble&s;ome to tho&s;e who rejoyce, but admini&s;tring Comfort to tho&s;e who are &s;ad: But in all &s;tudiou&s;ly reaching after the <HI>True Good,</HI> di&s;cour&s;ing with &s;ound Speeches, and wi&s;e Thoughts void of Elegance and Rudene&s;s, as with certain Medi|cines, doth cure its Auditors with Decency and Re&s;pect, without Contention, Scorn, or Anger: For &s;ince it is furni&s;hed with rea&s;on, it refu&s;eth every unrea&s;onable Motion, and compleatly rules the Affections both of the Body, and the Mind.</P>
<P>This mo&s;t Excellent <HI>Philo&s;ophy</HI> was <HI>be|gun,</HI> as &s;ome &s;ay, by <HI>Elias</HI> the Prophet, and <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t; but <HI>PHILO,</HI> the <HI>Pythago|rean,</HI> writes, <Q>That the mo&s;t Excellent of (his Nation) the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> being a&s;&s;embled from all Parts in a certain place at the Lake <HI>Maria,</HI> did Philo&s;ophize in a little Hill thereunto ad|jacent: but de&s;cribes their <HI>Habitation, Living,</HI> and <HI>Conver&s;ation;</HI> &s;uch as we al&s;o now &s;ee a|mong&s;t the Monks now living in <HI>Egypt.</HI> For he writes, that they who began to Philo|&s;ophize for&s;ook their E&s;tates, and renounced both Things and Per&s;ons belonging to them
<PB N="53" REF="47">and lived without the Walls in &s;olitary Fields and Orchards; then that their Hou&s;es were Sacred, which they called <HI>Mona&s;teries;</HI> that they did devoutly wor&s;hip God with P&s;alms and Hymns, nor did touch any Food till Sun|&s;et; that &s;ome among them ab&s;tained for three days together or more, and lay certain days upon the Ground; but Wine, and Things that have Blood, they never at all u&s;ed; but their Meat was Bread, and Salt, and Hy&s;&s;op, and their Drink Water: That ancient Women and Virgins dwelt among them, and for the Love of <HI>Philo&s;ophy,</HI> (or <HI>Wi&s;dom</HI>) of their own choice ab&s;tained from Marriage.</Q></P>
<P>And <HI>Philo</HI> writing to this purpo&s;e &s;eems to intend the <HI>Jews,</HI> who, in his time, imbracing <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> lived a little too much after the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Manner, and ob&s;erved the Rites of their Nation. For among no others is that kind of Life to be found: from whence I conjecture, that this Philo&s;ophy hath, from that time, flou|ri&s;hed in <HI>Egypt:</HI> But others think that the <HI>Per|&s;ecutions</HI> of tho&s;e times gave Occa&s;ion to this Religion; For, becau&s;e tho&s;e who e&s;caped by Flight lived in Mountains, and De&s;arts, and Woods, they contracted a Habit of this kind of Living.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="54" REF="48">
<HEAD>This of St. <HI>HIEROM</HI> being omitted in its proper place, <HI>(pag. 46.)</HI> it was thought fit to in&s;ert it here.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MARK,</HI> the Di&s;ciple and Interpreter of <HI>Peter,</HI> intreated by the Brethren at <HI>Rome,</HI> wrote a &s;hort Go&s;pel, according to what he had heard <HI>Peter</HI> relate. Which when <HI>Peter</HI> had read, he approved it, and by his Authority gave it to the Church to be read, as writeth <HI>Clemens in &s;exto</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>libro,</HI> and <HI>Papias</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Hierapolis.</HI> Of this <HI>Mark</HI> doth <HI>Peter</HI> al&s;o make mention, under the Name of <HI>Babylon,</HI> figuratively &s;ignifying <HI>Rome: The Church which is in</HI> Baby|lon <HI>&s;alutes you, and</HI> (&s;o doth) <HI>Mark, my Son.</HI> Wherefore, taking the Go&s;pel, which he had compo&s;ed, he went to <HI>Egypt,</HI> and fir&s;t Preaching <HI>Christ</HI> at <HI>Alexandria,</HI> he founded the Church (there) with &s;uch Doctrin and Continence of Life, that it enforced all Followers of Chri&s;t to their Example. At length <HI>Philo,</HI> the mo&s;t Elo|quent of the <HI>Jews,</HI> &s;eeing that fir&s;t Church at <HI>Alexandria</HI> yet <HI>Judaizing,</HI> wrote a Book concern|ing their <HI>Manner of Living,</HI> as in Prai&s;e of his own Nation. And as <HI>Luke</HI> relates, that the Believers at <HI>Hieru&s;alem</HI> had all things Common, &s;o doth al&s;o he, what he did &s;ee done at <HI>Alexandria</HI> under <HI>Mark,</HI> commit to Memory. He Died in the Eighth Year of <HI>Nero,</HI> and was Buried at <HI>Alex|andria, Anianus</HI> &s;ucceeding him.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="55" REF="48">
<HEAD>Of the Ancient MONKS of Egypt, And their Original; A <HI>Relation of</HI> Piammon, <HI>an An|cient</HI> Egyptian <HI>Abbot, and a</HI> Presbyter <HI>or</HI> Prie&s;t <HI>of great Grace and Virtue, even to the doing of Miracles,</HI> Ca&s;&s;ian. <HI>Coll.</HI> 18. <HI>cap.</HI> 4.</HEAD>
<P>THERE are in <HI>Egypt Three &s;orts of Monks,</HI> whereof Two are excellent, but the Third tepid and &s;loathful, and by all means to be avoided. The fir&s;t is of the <HI>Coenobites,</HI> who living together in a Religious Society, are governed by the Judgment (and Order) of One Elder, (or Superior) of which &s;ort a very great number of <HI>Monks</HI> are re&s;ident throughout
<PB N="56" REF="49">all <HI>Egypt.</HI> The &s;econd, is of the <HI>Anchoretes,</HI> (or <HI>Hermites</HI>) who being fir&s;t in&s;tructed in the Mona&s;teries, and become already perfect in their Conver&s;ation, have cho&s;en the Secrets of the De&s;art: of who&s;e Perfection we al&s;o wi&s;h to be Partakers. The third, the reprehen&s;ible one of the <HI>Sarabaits.</HI> Of all which we &s;hall di&s;cour&s;e &s;everally more fully in order.</P>
<P>The Di&s;cipline of the <HI>Coenobites</HI> took its be|ginning from the time of the Preaching of the Apo&s;tles. For &s;uch was that whole Multitude of Believers at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> which, in the <HI>Acts</HI> of the Apo&s;tles, is thus de&s;crib'd:</P>
<P><HI>The Multitude of them, who believed, were of one Heart, and of one Soul; neither &s;aid any of them that ought of the things, which he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, were his own; but they had all things Common. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of Land or Hou&s;es, &s;old them, and brought the Prices of the things which were &s;old, and laid them down at the Feet of the Apo&s;tles; and Di&s;tribution was made unto every Man according as he had need.</HI></P>
<P>Such, I &s;ay, was then the whole Church, as it is now difficult to find a very few in the Mo|na&s;teries. But when, after the Apo&s;tles decea&s;e, the Multitude of the Believers began to grow Tepid, and that mo&s;t of all, which came into the Faith of Chri&s;t of Foreigners and divers Nations, of whom the Apo&s;tles, according to their Rudi|ments
<PB N="57" REF="49">of Faith, and inveterate Cu&s;tom of <HI>Genti|&s;i&s;m,</HI> did require no more, but that they &s;hould ab&s;tain from Fornication, and from things &s;trangled, and from Blood; and that Liberty which was indulged to the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> by rea&s;on of the Infirmity of their fir&s;t Belief, began by degrees to contaminate the Perfection even of that Church, which was &s;ettled at <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> and the Number daily increa&s;ing, either of Na|tives, or of Foreigners, the Fervour of that fir&s;t Faith began to cool; not only tho&s;e who came flowing in to the Faith of Chri&s;t, but even they who were the Principal of the Church were re|laxed from that Strictne&s;s. For &s;ome thinking that, which they &s;aw conceded to the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> by rea&s;on of their Infirmity, to be lawful al&s;o for them&s;elves, believed they &s;hould &s;uffer no De|triment, if they did, with their Goods and E&s;tates, (retaining them in Propriety to them&s;elves) follow the Faith and Confe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t. But others, in whom the Apo&s;tolick Fervour did &s;till abide, mindful of that ancient Perfection, depar|ting from their Cities, and from the Company of tho&s;e who believed the Negligence of a more remi&s;s Life to be Lawful for them&s;elves, or for the Church of God, began to re&s;ide in places, without the Cities, and more &s;ecret, (or retir'd) and to exerci&s;e privately and apart the things which they remembred to be in&s;tituted by the Apo&s;tles generally throughout the whole Body
<PB N="58" REF="50">of the Church: And &s;o did that Di&s;cipline, which we have mentioned, of the Di&s;ciples, who &s;eque&s;tred them&s;elves from the Contagion of the re&s;t, come to a Settlement. Who, in pro|ce&s;s of time, by degrees, being &s;eparate from the Crowds of Believers, becau&s;e they did ab&s;tain from Marriage, and withdrew them&s;elves from the Company of their Parents, and the Conver|&s;ation of the World, were called <HI>Monachi,</HI> or <HI>Monazontes,</HI> for the Strictne&s;s of their &s;ingle and &s;olitary Life. Whence it follow'd, that, from the Communion of their Company, they were called <HI>Coenobitae,</HI> and their Cells and Habitations <HI>Coenobia.</HI> This therefore alone was the mo&s;t Ancient kind of <HI>Monks,</HI> which was the prime, not only in Time, but al&s;o in Grace (and Ver|tue,) and which continued inviolable for very many Years, even to the Age of Father <HI>Paul,</HI> or <HI>Antony;</HI> the Foot&s;teps whereof we even now &s;ee remaining in the &s;trict <HI>Coenobia,</HI> (or Mona&s;te|ries, as now called.)</P>
<P>Of this number of Perfect ones, and, as I may &s;ay, fertile Root, were produced after the&s;e al&s;o the Flowers and Fruits of the <HI>Holy Anchoretes,</HI> (or <HI>Hermites;</HI>) of which Profe&s;&s;ion, we know, tho&s;e, whom we a little before remembred, <HI>viz.</HI> Holy <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Antony,</HI> to have been the Principal, or fir&s;t Beginners. Who betook them&s;elves to the Secrets or Retirements of Solitude, not as &s;ome, through Pu&s;illanimity, or the Di&s;ea&s;e of
<PB N="59" REF="50">Impatience, but out of De&s;ign of more &s;ublime Advancement, and Divine Contemplation, al|though the former of them is &s;aid to have gone into the Wilderne&s;s under pretence of Nece&s;&s;ity, while, in the time of Per&s;ecution, he avoids the Snares of his Relations. Thus from that Di&s;ci|pline, which we have mentioned, proceeded ano|ther kind of Perfection, the Followers of which are de&s;ervedly named <HI>Anachoretae,</HI> that is, Retir'd, becau&s;e not content with this Victory, whereby they have avoided the &s;ecret Snares of the Devil among Men, de&s;igning to encounter the Devils in an open Combat and manife&s;t Conflict, they fear not to enter into the va&s;t Rece&s;&s;es of the Wilderne&s;s, in imitation of <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t, who remained in the Wilderne&s;s his whole Life; and of <HI>Elias</HI> and <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> and of tho&s;e whom the Apo&s;tle makes mention of thus: <HI>They wandred about in Sheep-skins, and Goat-skins, being de&s;ti|tute, afflicted, tormented: Of whom the World was not worthy, wandering in De&s;arts, and in Mountains, and in Dens, and in Caves of the Earth,</HI> Heb. 11.37, 38.</P>
<P>And when the Chri&s;tian Religion did flouri&s;h in the&s;e two Profe&s;&s;ions of Monks, but this Or|der al&s;o began to decline, there aro&s;e up after tho&s;e, that wor&s;t and unfaithful kind of Monks, or rather, that Evil Plantation reviving grew up, which, by <HI>Ananias</HI> and <HI>Sapphira</HI> &s;prouting out in the beginning of the Church, was cut down by
<PB N="60" REF="51">the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter;</HI> which, among the Monks, was judged dete&s;table and execrable, nor by any other more u&s;ed, &s;o long as the Fear of that &s;trict Sentence remained with them fixed in the Me|mory of the Faithful, with which the Ble&s;&s;ed Apo&s;tle not &s;uffering the afore-&s;aid Leaders of that New Crime to be cured with any Penitence, or any Satisfaction, did cut off the perni|cious Sprout with &s;udden Death. But that Example, whereby with Apo&s;tolical Severity it was puni&s;hed in <HI>Ananias</HI> and <HI>Sapphira,</HI> being, through long Incon&s;ideratene&s;s, and the obliter|ing nature of Time, by degrees, &s;ub&s;tracted from the Contemplation of &s;ome, there aro&s;e that &s;ort of the <HI>Sarabites;</HI> who from thence that they did &s;eque&s;ter them&s;elves from the Congregation of the <HI>Coenobites,</HI> and did &s;eparately provide for their own Occa&s;ions, in the propriety of the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Language were named <HI>Sarabites,</HI> pro|ceeding out of the Number of tho&s;e, whom we mentioned before, who choo&s;e rather to &s;imulate the Evangelical Perfection, than to embrace it in Truth and Reality; being provok'd with an Emulation, or by the Commendation of tho&s;e, who preferred the compleat Nudity of Chri&s;t before all the Riches of the World. For the&s;e, while either with a weak Mind they affect a Matter of the highe&s;t Virtue, or are by Ne|ce&s;&s;ity compelled to come to this Pro&s;e&s;&s;ion, while they are eager only to be reckoned under
<PB N="61" REF="51">the Name of <HI>Monks,</HI> without any Emulation of their Studies or Endeavours, they do not at all &s;eek after the Di&s;cipline of the <HI>Coenobites,</HI> nor are they &s;ubject to the Will and Ordering of the Seniors or Superiors, nor being in&s;tructed by their Traditions, do they learn to overcome their own Wills, or receive any Rule of Di&s;cre|tion by a regular Erudition, but renouncing (the World) in outward Appearance, <HI>that is,</HI> to the &s;ight of Men, they either continue in their Hou&s;es under the Priviledge of this Name, obliged to the &s;ame Occupations; or building Cells for them&s;elves, and calling them <HI>Mona&s;te|ries,</HI> they abide there in their own Power and Liberty, not at all &s;ubmitting to the Evangelical Precepts, <HI>viz.</HI> that they be imployed in no So|licitude for daily Food, in no Di&s;tractions of Family Concerns; which they only u&s;e without Infidel doubting, who being &s;et free from all the Goods of this World, do &s;o &s;ubject them&s;elves to the Pre&s;idents of the Mona&s;teries, that they do not &s;o much as own them&s;elves to be Lords of them&s;elves. But they, who declining, as we &s;aid, the Strictne&s;s of the Mona&s;tery, re|&s;ide two or three together in Cells, not content to be govern'd by the Care and Government of the Abbot, but principally procuring this for them&s;elves, that being &s;et free from the Yoke of the Superiors, they may have the Liberty of ex|erci&s;ing their own Wills, and of going out, and
<PB N="62" REF="52">gading where, or doing what they plea&s;e, even more in their daily Works than tho&s;e, who live in the Mona&s;teries, are (indeed) con&s;umed (and wa&s;ted) Day and Night, but not with the &s;ame Faith, and the &s;ame Purpo&s;e (of Mind.) For this they do, not that they may &s;ubject (or commit) the Fruit or Product of their Labour to the Judgment of the Steward; but that they may acquire Money, which they may lay up. Between which, what <HI>Difference</HI> there is, I pray you ob&s;erve.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e not thinking any thing of the Morrow, do offer to God the mo&s;t grateful Fruits of their Labour. But the&s;e extending their Infidel So|licitude not only to the Morrow, but even to the Terms of many Years, believe God either a Lyar, or a Beggar, who either cannot, or will not, afford them his promi&s;ed Sufficiency of daily Food and Rayment. Tho&s;e, with all ear|ne&s;tne&s;s, de&s;ire that they may attain Nudity of all things, and Poverty: The&s;e, that they may obtain an Affluence of all Goods: They &s;triving with one another, labour to exceed in their daily Works the &s;tated Rule, for this purpo&s;e, that what is redundant above the Holy U&s;es of the Mona&s;tery, may be given to the Pri&s;ons, or to the Ho&s;pitals, or to the Poor, at the Plea&s;ure of the Abbot: The&s;e, that what remains of their daily Gluttony, may &s;erve either for a more pro|fu&s;e Gratification, or be hoarded up through the
<PB N="63" REF="52">Sin of Covetou&s;ne&s;s. <HI>La&s;tly,</HI> To grant that the&s;e things, which are with none of the be&s;t Pur|po&s;es hoarded up, may al&s;o, by them, be better di&s;po&s;ed of than we have &s;aid; yet even &s;o do they not a&s;pire to the Worth of the Virtue and Perfection of the others. For they bringing &s;o great Revenues to the Mona&s;tery, and daily re|nouncing them them&s;elves, do per&s;evere in &s;o great Humility of Subjection, that they are de|prived of the Power, as of them&s;elves, &s;o al&s;o of tho&s;e things which, with their Sweat, they have acquired, continually renewing the Fervor of their fir&s;t Ab-renunciation, while they do daily &s;trip them&s;elves of the Fruits of their own La|bour. But the&s;e, even in that which they give to the Poor, being puff'd up, do daily fall head|long. Tho&s;e, the Patience and Strictne&s;s, with which they &s;o devoutly hold out in this Pro|fe&s;&s;ion, which they had once imbraced, that they never fulfill their own Wills, makes them daily crucified to the World, and living Mar|tyrs: but the&s;e, the Tepidity and Lukewarm|ne&s;s of their own Wills &s;inks down alive into Hell.</P>
<P>There is al&s;o another, <HI>a fourth &s;ort,</HI> which we &s;ee lately to have ri&s;en in the&s;e, who flatter them&s;elves with the Shew and Image of <HI>Ancho|retes,</HI> and who, in their Beginnings, did &s;eem with a kind of &s;hort Fervour to de&s;ire the Per|fection of the <HI>Coenobites,</HI> but pre&s;ently being
<PB N="64" REF="53">cool'd, while they refu&s;e to cut off their former Manners and Vices, nor are content long to bear the Yoak of Humility and Patience, and di&s;dain to be &s;ubject to the Government of the Seniors, or Superiors, they require &s;eparate Cells, and de&s;ire to &s;it Solitaries, <HI>viz.</HI> that &s;o, they being provoked by none, they may be thought Pa|tient, Meek, and Humble, by Men. Which In|&s;titution, yea, Lukewarmne&s;s, whom it once in|fects, it never permits to arrive at Perfection. For, by this means, their Corruptions are not only not cured, but &s;trengthened for the wor&s;e, while they are provok'd by none; as a certain deadly inte&s;tine Poy&s;on, by how much the more it is conceiled, &s;preading &s;o much the deeper, makes the Di&s;ea&s;e incurable to the Party.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>St. <HI>Hierom</HI> concerning the &s;ame, Epi&s;t. <HI>22. ad Eu&s;toch.</HI> c. <HI>15.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THERE are in <HI>Egypt Three &s;orts of Monks:</HI> the fir&s;t, <HI>Coenobites,</HI> which they, in the Language of their Countrey, call <HI>Sauces,</HI> we may &s;ay living in Common: The &s;econd, <HI>Ancho|retes,</HI> who live alone &s;eparately throughout the
<PB N="65" REF="53">De&s;arts, and from thence that they have retired far from Men, are &s;o called. The third, that which they call <HI>Remoboth,</HI> a very bad and di&s;|e&s;teemed kind, and that which, in our Province, is either &s;ole, or the fir&s;t. The&s;e inhabit two or three, and not many more, together, living at their own Plea&s;ure and Command, and of what they have wrought, bring all together for com|mon Maintenance. They dwell, for the mo&s;t part, in Cities and Towns, and, as if their Art, not their Lives, were Holy, what-ever they &s;ell is at a greater Price (than ordinary.) There are often Squabbles among them, becau&s;e living of their own Provi&s;ions they do not &s;uffer them&s;elves to be &s;ubject to any one. They are wont, in truth, to contend about Fa&s;tings; and what is matter of Secre&s;ie, they make it matter of Victory (or Triumph.) Among them all things are affected, their Sleeves large, their San|dals flopping, their Garment thicker, and frequent are their Sighs, vi&s;its of Virgins, and detraction of the Clergy; and if a Fea&s;t-Day come, they fill them&s;elves till they vomit. The&s;e therefore being ca&s;hiered, as very Pe&s;ts, let us come to tho&s;e who are more in number, and live in Common, <HI>that is,</HI> tho&s;e whom we have &s;aid are called <HI>Coenobites.</HI></P>
<P>The fir&s;t Confederation, or mutual Agree|ment among&s;t them, is, to obey their Superiors, and to do what-ever they command. They
<PB N="66" REF="54">are divided into Decennaries, (or Tithings) (as our Ance&s;tors call'd them) and Cente|naries; &s;o that One of Ten doth pre&s;ide over the other Nine, and over tho&s;e Ten Pre&s;idents the Centenarie, or Hundreder. They abide &s;e|parate, but in Cells joyned together, until the ninth hour; according to their In&s;titute, none goes to another, except the&s;e Decanes or Deans, whom we mentioned, that if, perhaps, any of them hath any doubtful Thoughts, he may be comforted by his Di&s;cour&s;es. After the ninth hour they come together in common, where P&s;alms are &s;ung or chanted, the Scriptures read, as accu&s;tomed, and the Prayers being done, and all &s;itting down, he in the middle, whom they call the Father, begins to di&s;cour&s;e; while he is &s;peaking, there is great Silence, (and Com|po&s;edne&s;s) that no one dares to look a&s;ide, or to hawk and &s;pit. The Excellence of the Speaker appears in the Weeping of the Auditors: &s;ilent Tears trickle down their Faces, but their Com|punction doth not &s;o much as break out into Sighs. But when he comes to &s;peak concerning <HI>the Kingdom of Christ, and of the future Beatitude and Glory to come,</HI> you may &s;ee all, with a mo|derate Sigh, and Eyes lift up to Heaven, &s;ay, <HI>Who will give me the Wings of a Dove, and I will fly away, and be at re&s;t?</HI> After this the A&s;&s;embly is di&s;mi&s;&s;ed, and each Tithing or Decennary, with their Father, go to their Table, where they
<PB N="67" REF="54">&s;erve every Week by turn. There is no Noi&s;e at their Meal, none, while eating, &s;peaks: They live upon Bread, Pul&s;e, and Herbs, which are &s;ea&s;oned only with Salt. Wine only Old Men take, who with Children have their Meal to|gether, that the &s;pent Age of &s;ome may be &s;u|&s;teined, and the tender Age of others not de|&s;troyed. Then they ri&s;e together, and having &s;ung an Hymn, retire to their Stalls. There, until Evening, each with his Companions di&s;|cour&s;ed to this purpo&s;e: Did you &s;ee &s;uch an one, and &s;uch an one? What Grace in him? What Silence? What decent Comportment? If they &s;ee one weak, they comfort him; if fervent in the Love of God, they incourage him to Indu&s;try. And becau&s;e in the Night, out of the time of publick Prayers, each doth watch in his own Couch, they go about to every one of their Cells, and laying their Ear to them, di|ligently li&s;ten what they do. Whom they ap|prehend more remi&s;s, they do not pre&s;ently re|prove; but, di&s;&s;emble what they hear, vi&s;it him more often; and Beginners they rather provoke at fir&s;t, than compel to Prayer. The Work of the Day is &s;ettled, and being delivered to the Decane or Tithing-Man, is after carried to the Steward, who him&s;elf al&s;o doth every Month, with great Reverence, give account to the (General) Father of all. By whom al&s;o the Provi&s;ions, when made ready, are ta&s;ted;
<PB N="68" REF="55">and becau&s;e none may &s;ay I want a Coat, or a Ca&s;&s;ock, or a Mat, he &s;o orders all things, that none &s;hould ask, none &s;hould want. But if any begin to be Sick, he is carried to a larger Room, and is &s;o taken Care of by the Mini&s;tery of the Old Men, that he de&s;ireth not the Delicacies of Cities, or the Affection of his Mother. Upon the <HI>Lord's-Day</HI> they apply them&s;elves only to Prayer and Reading; which indeed they do at all times when their Work is done: They do every Day learn &s;omething out of the Scriptures. Their <HI>Fa&s;t</HI> is alike all the Year, except <HI>Lent,</HI> in which only it is permitted them to live more &s;trictly. From <HI>Ea&s;ter</HI> to <HI>Whit&s;ontide</HI> their Suppers are changed into Dinners, whereby both the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Tradition is ob&s;erved, and they do not charge their Stomach with a doubled Portion of Food. Such doth <HI>Philo,</HI> an Imitator of the <HI>Platonick</HI> Stile; &s;uch <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> the <HI>Greek Livie,</HI> in the &s;econd Hi&s;tory of the <HI>Captivity of the Jews,</HI> relate the ESSEANS to be.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> concerning the &s;ame.</HEAD>
<P>UPON <HI>John</HI> 10.11. <HI>I am the Good Shep|herd.</HI> But there in <HI>Egypt,</HI> how he is the Good Shepherd, tho&s;e who know, do confe&s;s; tho&s;e who know not, let them inquire how
<PB N="69" REF="55">Great a Flock he hath there together, how Great a Number of Holy Men and Women, wholly contemning the World, he there hath. That Flock hath &s;o increa&s;ed, that it hath ex|pell'd <HI>Super&s;tition</HI> even from thence; all the Su|per&s;titions of Idols, which were &s;o powerful there, hath it expell'd. <HI>Serm.</HI> 50. <HI>de Verb. Dom. c.</HI> 10.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> concerning the <HI>An|chorets,</HI> and <HI>Coenobites,</HI> and <HI>Holy Nuns</HI> of his time.</HEAD>
<P>DE&s;ervedly ha&s;t thou (O Catholick Church, the mo&s;t True Mother of Chri|&s;tians) &s;o many Ho&s;pitable People, &s;o many Officious, &s;o many Merciful, &s;o many Learned, &s;o many Cha&s;t, &s;o many Holy, &s;o many &s;o In|flamed with the <HI>Love of God,</HI> that in the great|e&s;t Continence and incredible Contempt of this World they are delighted with the De&s;art. What, I pray you, is it that they &s;ee, who cannot not love Man, and yet can (live and) not &s;ee Man? Truly that, what-ever it is, is more ex|cellent than Humane things, (or any thing of Man) in the Contemplation of which, a Man can live without (the Sight of) Man. (<HI>This of</HI> Anchorets, <HI>and then, a little after, of the</HI> Coenobites.</P>
<PB N="70" REF="56">
<P> Who knows not that a Multitude of Chri|&s;tians, of mo&s;t exqui&s;ite Continence, are daily more and more diffu&s;ed throughout the whole World, and e&s;pecially in the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> and in <HI>Egypt,</HI> which you can by no means be igno|rant of. I'll &s;ay nothing of tho&s;e, whom I men|tioned a little before, who being mo&s;t retired wholly from all &s;ight of Men, are content with Bread alone, which at certain times is brought to them, and Water, inhabit the mo&s;t barren De&s;arts, enjoying Communication with God, to whom they adhere with pure Minds, and are ble&s;&s;ed with the Contemplation of his Beauty, which cannot be perceived but by the Intellects of Saints. I &s;ay I will &s;ay nothing of the&s;e: for they &s;eem to &s;ome to have for&s;aken Humane Affairs more than they ought, who under&s;tand not how much their Minds do profit in Prayer, and their Lives for Examples to others, who&s;e Bodies we are not permitted to &s;ee. But I think it long and &s;uperfluous to di&s;cour&s;e of this: For this &s;o great a height of Sanctity, who doth not of his own accord think it to be admir'd and honoured, who by our Speech can think &s;o? Only they are to be admoni&s;hed, who vainly boa&s;t them&s;elves, that the Temperance and Con|tinence of the mo&s;t Holy Chri&s;tians of the Ca|tholick Faith hath proceeded &s;o far, that it may &s;eem to &s;ome that it &s;hould be re&s;trained and recalled within Humane Bounds: So far above
<PB N="71" REF="56">Men are their Minds thought to have a&s;cended by tho&s;e who are di&s;plea&s;ed at it.</P>
<P>But if this exceeds our Ability to bear, who will not admire and applaud tho&s;e, who, having con|temned and for&s;aken the Allurements of this World, are congregated into a common, mo&s;t cha&s;t and mo&s;t holy Life, &s;pend their Days to|gether, living in Prayers, Le&s;&s;ons, Conferences, not puffed up with any Pride, nor trouble&s;ome with any Ob&s;tinacy, nor pining with any Envy; but mode&s;t, ba&s;hful, quiet, do offer up to God their Lives mo&s;t agreeable among them&s;elves, and mo&s;t firmly adhering to Him, from whom they received this Power, a mo&s;t grateful Pre|&s;ent. None po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es any thing of his own; None is burthen&s;ome to any one. They work tho&s;e things with their Hands, with which their Body may be &s;upplied, and they not be hindered from God. But the Work it &s;elf they deliver to tho&s;e whom they call <HI>Deans,</HI> becau&s;e they have the Over-&s;ight of Tens, that none of them may be touch'd with any Care of their Body, neither in Food or Rayment, nor any thing el&s;e needful for daily Occa&s;ions, or for any change of Health, if it happen, as is common. But tho&s;e Deans di&s;pen&s;ing all things with great Care, and making ready what-ever that Life doth, by rea&s;on of the Imbecility of the Body, require, do yet deliver all over to one, whom they call <HI>the Father.</HI> But the&s;e Fathers are not only mo&s;t
<PB N="72" REF="57">holy in their Manners, but mo&s;t excellent in Divine Doctrin, eminent in all things: They direct without any Pride tho&s;e, whom they call Sons, with great Authority of Command, and with great Readine&s;s of Obedience in them. They meet all at the end of the Day every one out of their Cells, while yet Fa&s;ting, to hear that Father. And they meet before each of the Fa|thers, at lea&s;t <HI>Three Thou&s;and Men:</HI> for many more live under one. They <HI>hear</HI> with incre|dible Attention, and deepe&s;t Silence, &s;ignifying the Affections of their Mind, as the Speech of him who &s;peaks moveth them, either with Sigh|ing, or with Weeping; but Mode&s;t, and without Noi&s;e. Then they refre&s;h their Bodies &s;o much as is &s;ufficient for Health and Salubrity, each re&s;training his Appetite, le&s;t it be greedy even of tho&s;e few and mean things which are pro|vided. In like manner they ab&s;tain, not only from Fle&s;h and Wine, for &s;ufficient allay of Lu&s;ts, but al&s;o from tho&s;e things which do &s;o much the more excite and provoke the Appetite of the Stomach and of the Palate, by how much they may &s;eem to &s;ome more clean: Under which pretence, a filthy De&s;ire of exqui&s;ite Di&s;hes, without Fle&s;h, is wont to be ridiculou&s;ly and filthily defended. Truly, what-ever is redundant above nece&s;&s;ary Provi&s;ion; for there is much redundant by the Work of their Hands, and the Strictne&s;s of their Meals; it is with no
<PB N="73" REF="57">le&s;s Care di&s;tributed to the Poor, than with what it was earned by them who di&s;tribute it. For they do by no means endeavour that the&s;e things &s;hould abound with them, but by all means are diligent, that what doth abound may not remain with them; in&s;omuch, that they &s;end even Ships laden to tho&s;e places where indigent People dwell. There's no need to &s;ay more of a thing &s;o well known.</P>
<P>This is al&s;o <HI>the Life of the</HI> WOMEN, who &s;erve God with Carefulne&s;s and Cha&s;tity, who are &s;eparated and removed from Men as far as is decent, joyned to them only in pious Charity, and Imitation of Virtue; to whom Young Men have no acce&s;s at all, nor the Ancient neither, although mo&s;t Grave and Approved, further than to the thre&s;hold, for the &s;upplying them with the Nece&s;&s;aries which they need. They do both exerci&s;e and &s;u&s;tain the Body, by making Cloth, and deliver the Garments them&s;elves to the Brethren, receiving of them again what is nece&s;&s;ary for their Maintenance.</P>
<P>The&s;e <HI>Manners,</HI> this <HI>Life,</HI> this <HI>Order,</HI> this <HI>In|&s;titution,</HI> if I would prai&s;e it, I am not able to do it as it de&s;erves. And I fear le&s;t I &s;hould &s;eem to think that of it &s;elf barely related it would not plea&s;e, if I &s;hould think fit to add to the Sim|plicity of a <HI>Reporter</HI> the Flouri&s;hes of an <HI>Orator. lib.</HI> 1. de Moribus Eccle&s;iae Catholicae. <HI>cap.</HI> 30, 31.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="74" REF="58">
<HEAD>The <HI>Direction</HI> of <HI>Piammon,</HI> to &s;ome Foreiners, who came to his Mona&s;tery.</HEAD>
<P>WHo-ever de&s;ires to obtain the Skill of any Art, unle&s;s with all Care and Vigilance he oblige him&s;elf to the Studies and Labors of that Di&s;cipline, which he de&s;ires to learn, and ob&s;erves the Precepts and In&s;titutions of the mo&s;t compleat Ma&s;ters of that Art or Science, he doth in vain, with vain De&s;ires, wi&s;h to be like them, who&s;e Care and Indu&s;try he refu&s;eth to emulate......</P>
<P>Wherefore, if the Cau&s;e of God, as we believe, drew you to an Emulation of our Knowledge, you mu&s;t, abdicating the Prejudices of your Education, with all Humility, ob&s;erve what-ever ye &s;hall &s;ee your Seniors (or Superiors) do or pre&s;cribe. Nor let it move you, or withdraw and divert you from that Imitation, although, at pre&s;ent, the Rea&s;on or Cau&s;e of any Thing or Fact (which you &s;ee) be not manife&s;t to you. For to tho&s;e who think well and &s;imply of all things, and do more &s;tudy to imitate than ex|amin
<PB N="75" REF="58">what they &s;ee pre&s;cribed or done by the Ancients, by their own Experience doth the Knowledge of all things come to them. But he will never enter into the <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> of the <HI>Truth,</HI> who begins to learn with que&s;tioning things: For the Enemy &s;eeing him rather confiding in his own, than in the Judgment of the Fathers, doth ea&s;ily drive him to that, that even tho&s;e things which are mo&s;t profitable and whol&s;ome for him, &s;hall &s;eem to him &s;uperfluous and hurtful: And &s;o doth the crafty Enemy impo&s;e upon his Pre|&s;umption, that he per&s;wades him, pertinaciou&s;ly adhering to his unrea&s;onable Determinations, that that only is Holy which he, in the Error of his Ob&s;tinacy, thinks Right and Ju&s;t. <HI>Ca&s;&s;ian. Coll.</HI> 18. <HI>cap.</HI> 2, 3.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>An Excellent Exhortation of <HI>Pi|nuphius</HI> to a Novice, upon his Admittance into his Mona&s;tery. lib. <HI>4. de Vit. Pat.</HI> cap. <HI>31. ex Ca&s;&s;ian.</HI></HEAD>
<P>SON, thou knowe&s;t after how many Days waiting before the Doors, thou art this Day received. Of which difficulty (of thy Reception) thou oughte&s;t, in the fir&s;t place, to under&s;tand the Cau&s;e: for it may advantage thee much in this Life, which thou de&s;ire&s;t to
<PB N="76" REF="59">enter into, if, under&s;tanding the Rea&s;on of it, thou do&s;t accordingly come to the Service of Chri&s;t, and as thou oughte&s;t to do. For as in|finite Glory is promi&s;ed hereafter to tho&s;e, who faithfully &s;erve God, and do adhere to Him ac|cording to the In&s;titution of this Rule: &s;o mo&s;t grievous Pains are prepared for them, who &s;hall perform the &s;ame coldly and negligently; and &s;hall neglect to produce congruous Fruits of Sanctity, according to what they do profe&s;s, or by Men are believed to be. For it is better not to Vow, than to vow, and not perform: and <HI>Cur&s;ed is he who doth the Work of the Lord ne|gligently.</HI> Therefore, for this cau&s;e, wa&s;t thou long refu&s;ed by us, not that we do not de&s;ire, with all our Hearts, to promote the Salvation of thee, or of all, [or do not wi&s;h, even afar off, to meet tho&s;e who de&s;ire to come to Chri&s;t] but le&s;t, being too ha&s;tily received, we &s;hould make both our &s;elves guilty before God of Le|vity, and thee of the greater Puni&s;hment, if, at pre&s;ent, ea&s;ily received, and, not under&s;tanding the weight of this Profe&s;&s;ion, thou &s;houlde&s;t af|terward prove either a (total) De&s;erter, or a tepid (Profe&s;&s;or.)&mdash; Know therefore that this Day thou art dead to this World, and that, ac|cording to the Apo&s;tle, <HI>thou art crucified to the World, and the World to thee.</HI>&mdash; But perhaps thou wilt &s;ay, How can one that is Living be Crucified? Hear briefly the Rea&s;on.</P>
<PB N="77" REF="59">
<P> Our <HI>Cro&s;s,</HI> is <HI>the Fear of the Lord:</HI> for as one Crucified, hath not the power thereafter to move or turn his Members any way at the plea|&s;ure of his own Mind; &s;o we al&s;o ought to apply our Wills and De&s;ires, not to that which plea&s;eth us at pre&s;ent, but according to the Precept of the Lord, as it obligeth us. And as he who is fixed to the Tree of the Cro&s;s, doth not then regard the things of this World, nor think of his Affections, is then moved with no de&s;ire of Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, and while he is yet living in the Body, reckons him&s;elf dead to all Earthly things; &s;o we al&s;o, by the Fear of God, ought to be crucified to all carnal Vices, and there always to have the Eyes of our Minds fixed, whether we ought every moment to hope to arrive. We mu&s;t therefore beware that we do not at any time re&s;ume any of tho&s;e things, which, at our Renouncing (the World) we have for&s;aken. For the crafty Serpent doth always watch our Steps, <HI>that is,</HI> he lays Snares for our going out, and even to the end of our Life doth always en|deavour to &s;upplant us: and therefore to have begun well profits nothing, if it be not well fini&s;hed. Wherefore, according to the Deter|mination of the Scripture, being entred into the Service of the Lord, &s;tand in the Fear of the Lord, and prepare thy Soul, not for Ea&s;e, not for De|lights, but for Temptations and Streights: for we mu&s;t through many Tribulations enter into
<PB N="78" REF="60">the Kingdom of God; <HI>For narrow is the Gate, and &s;traight is the Way, which leads to Life, and few there are who find it.</HI></P>
<P>The Beginning therefore of our <HI>Salvation,</HI> is <HI>the Fear of the Lord:</HI> For by this, is both the beginning of our Conver&s;ion, and the Pre|&s;ervation of our Virtue obtained; which, when it has once pierced into the Mind of Man, it produceth a Contempt of all (the&s;e) things, and begets an abhorrence of the World; and by Contempt, and for&s;aking of our Riches, is <HI>true Humility</HI> obtained. And Humility is proved by the&s;e Tokens: 1. If the Religious per&s;on have in him all his Wills mortified. 2. If he conceil not his Acts nor his Thoughts from his Superior. 3. If he commit all to his Judg|ment, (and re&s;erve) nothing to his own Di&s;|cretion. 4. If in all things commanded he keep the Meekne&s;s of Obedience, and Con&s;tancy of Patience. 5. If he do Injury to none, and al&s;o bear patiently tho&s;e done to him. 6. If he do nothing be&s;ides the Exemplar of his Rule. 7. If to all things commanded him, he judgeth him|&s;elf as an ill and unworthy Workman. 8. If he declare him&s;elf inferior to all. 9. If he hold his Tongue, and be not forward to &s;peak. 10. If he be not apt to Laughter. By &s;uch Tokens is true Humility di&s;cerned.</P>
<P>And the&s;e things al&s;o be nece&s;&s;ary for thee to be ob&s;erved in the Congregation, <HI>viz.</HI> That,
<PB N="79" REF="60">according to the Declaration of the <HI>P&s;almist,</HI> thou bee&s;t as one Deaf, not Hearing; and one Dumb, not opening his Mouth: que&s;tioning nothing, judging nothing of the&s;e things, which &s;hall be commanded thee. Wherefore thou oughte&s;t not to hope to obtain thy Patience from the Virtue of others, <HI>that is,</HI> that thou then only po&s;&s;e&s;s it, when thou art provoked by no Body.</P>
<P>The beginning of our Salvation, (as hath been &s;aid) is, <HI>the Fear of our Lord.</HI> Of the Fear of our Lord, is &s;ound Compunction begot|ten; From Compunction of the Heart, proceed Contempt and Nakedne&s;s of all Riches; From that Nakedne&s;s, Humility proceed; Of Humi|lity, is begotten Mortification of our Wills; And by Mortification of our Wills, are all Vices ex|tirpated; By the expul&s;ion of Vices, do Virtues fructifie and grow up; And by the growth of Virtues, is Purity of Heart acquired; And by Purity of Heart, is the Perfection of Apo&s;tolical Charity po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed. <HI>Ca&s;&s;ian.</HI> 4. <HI>In&s;tit. cap.</HI> 32.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>The Advice of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> an Ancient <HI>Egyptian Abbot,</HI> for the ob|taining true <HI>Di&s;cretion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>TRUE <HI>Di&s;cretion</HI> is not acquired but by true <HI>Humility.</HI> Of which Humility, this
<PB N="80" REF="61">is <HI>the fir&s;t Proof,</HI> if all things, not only which are acted, but even which are thought, be re|ferred to the Examination of the Elders, &s;o that the Per&s;on, not tru&s;ting to his own Judgment, do, in all things, acquie&s;s in their Determina|tions, and learn what he ought to judge Good or Evil by their Teaching. Which In&s;truction will not only teach a Young Per&s;on to walk in the right path by the true Way of Di&s;cretion, but will al&s;o pre&s;erve him unhurt from all the Frauds and Snares of the Enemy. For he can by no means be deceived, who-ever lives not after his own Judgment, but after the Manner of the Ancients: Nor will the Crafty Enemy be able to impo&s;e upon his Ignorance, who doth not cover any of the Thoughts ari&s;ing in his Heart with a pernicious Ba&s;hfulne&s;s, but doth either reject or admit them upon mature exa|mination of the Elders. For immediately after a malignant Thought is di&s;covered, it withers; and before the Judgment of Di&s;cretion be pro|nounced, the filthy Serpent, being, as it were, by the virtue of Confe&s;&s;ion drawn out of his dark &s;ubterraneous Den into the Light, and in a manner expo&s;ed and detected, withdraws him|&s;elf. For &s;o long do his noxious Sugge&s;tions prevail in us as they are conceiled in the Heart, and no longer. <HI>Ca&s;&s;ian. Coll.</HI> 2. <HI>ca.</HI> 10. <HI>v.</HI> 4. <HI>In&s;tit. cap.</HI> 9, 39. <HI>Ba&s;il. A&s;cet. Qu.</HI> 26. <HI>Con&s;t. cap.</HI> 19.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="81" REF="61">
<HEAD><HI>The</HI> In&s;truction <HI>of the Ancient</HI> Egyptian Abbot, Ne&s;tero, <HI>concerning</HI> Spiritual Know|ledge, <HI>Ca&s;&s;. Coll.</HI> 14.</HEAD>
<P>THERE are many kinds of Sciences in this World: For as great Variety there is of them, as (there is) of Arts and Di&s;ci|plines: But though all of them are either alto|gether unprofitable, or &s;erviceable only for the Commodities of this Life; yet is there none of them, which hath not a proper Order and Me|thod of its Teaching, by which it may be at|tained by tho&s;e who de&s;ire it. If therefore tho&s;e Arts are directed to be attained by certain and proper Methods, how much rather doth the Di&s;cipline and Profe&s;&s;ion of our Religion, which tends to the contemplating of the Secrets of Invi&s;ible My&s;teries, and &s;eeks not the Retribu|tion of a temporal Gain, but of Eternal Re|ward, con&s;i&s;t in a certain Order and Method: Of which, the Science is two-fold: the fir&s;t, <HI>Practical;</HI> that is, Actual, which is performed in the Amendment of Manners, and the Pur|gation of Vices: the other, is <HI>Theoretical;</HI> that is, which con&s;i&s;ts in the Contemplation of Di|vine
<PB N="82" REF="62">things, and the Knowledge of mo&s;t Sacred Sen&s;es. (<HI>cap.</HI> 1.)</P>
<P>Who-ever therefore would attain to the <HI>The|oretick,</HI> (or Contemplative) it is nece&s;&s;ary that with all Study and Indu&s;try he acquire fir&s;t the <HI>Actual Science.</HI> For this Practical may be po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed without the Theoretick; but the Theore|tick without the Practick cannot be throughly apprehended: For there are certain Steps &s;o ordered and di&s;tingui&s;hed, that the mean E&s;tate of Man may a&s;cend to the top: If they &s;ucceed one another in the Order which we have &s;aid, one may by them come to the top; to which, if the fir&s;t be taken away he cannot fly up. He doth therefore in vain endeavour to &s;ee God, who doth not avoid the Infection of Vices: <HI>For the Spirit of God flies that which is feigned, nor will it dwell in a Body &s;ubject to Sins.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 2.)</P>
<P>But this Actual Accompli&s;hment con&s;i&s;ts of two Branches; The fir&s;t, the Knowledge of the Nature, and of the Cure of Vices: The &s;econd, the Knowledge of the Order of Virtues; and the Accompli&s;hment of the Mind with them; &s;o that it may not &s;erve them by the Compul|&s;ion of a forcible Regiment, but be as it were fed and delighted (with them) as with a Good natural to it, and a&s;cend that hard and narrow Way with Delight. (<HI>cap.</HI> 3.)</P>
<P>If your Concern be to attain to the Light of <HI>Spiritual Knowledge,</HI> not out of vain O&s;tentation,
<PB N="83" REF="62">but from the Grace of Reformation, you mu&s;t fir&s;t be affected with a De&s;ire of that Beatitude, of which it is &s;aid, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the pure in Heart, for they &s;hall &s;ee God:</HI> that ye may al&s;o arrive to that, concerning which the Angel &s;aid to <HI>Daniel: But they, who are in&s;tructed, &s;hall &s;hine as the Splendor of the Firmament; and they, who in&s;truct many to Righteou&s;ne&s;s, as the Stars for ever and ever.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P>Wherefore, continuing that Diligence of Reading, which I perceive you have, make ha&s;t with all Indu&s;try, as &s;oon as may be, to learn compleatly the Actual, that is, <HI>the Moral Di|&s;cipline;</HI> for without this cannot be under&s;tood that Contemplative Purity, which I mentioned, which they alone obtain, as a Reward after the Expence of many Labours and Pains, who become perfect, not by the Words of other Teachers, but by the Virtue of their own Actions.&mdash; If ye will prepare a Sacred Ta|bernacle in your Heart for Spiritual Knowledge; purge your &s;elves from the Contagion of all Vices, and deve&s;t your &s;elves of the Cares of this Life: For it is impo&s;&s;ible for a Soul which is bu&s;ied but a little in Worldly Affairs, to ob|tain the Gift of Knowledge, or to be fruitful in Spiritual Sen&s;es, or retentive of Sacred Le&s;&s;ons. Ob&s;erve therefore in the fir&s;t place, le&s;t your Study in Reading, and Labour of your De&s;ire, be fru&s;trated by vain Elation, that you impo&s;e
<PB N="84" REF="63"><HI>Silence</HI> on your Tongue: For this is the fir&s;t Entrance of Actual Di&s;cipline;&mdash; and that you receive the In&s;titutions and Sentences of all the Seniors with Attention and Silence; and laying them up in your Heart, make ha&s;t more to pra|ctice them your &s;elves, than to teach them to others: For from this, will grow a pernicious Pre&s;umption of Vain-Glory; but from that, the Fruit of Spiritual Under&s;tanding. Do not dare therefore to utter any thing in a Conference of the Seniors, but what either an hurtful Igno|rance, or the Cau&s;e of nece&s;&s;ary Knowledge doth compel, as &s;ome, who, fill'd with the Affection of Vain-Glory, pretend to enquire what they know very well: For it is impo&s;&s;ible that he, who, out of de&s;ign to gain the Applau&s;e of Men applies him&s;elf to the Study of Reading, &s;hould obtain the Gift of <HI>true Science.</HI> For, of nece&s;&s;i|ty, he who is fettered with this Pa&s;&s;ion, mu&s;t be bound al&s;o with other Vices, and e&s;pecially of <HI>Pride;</HI> and &s;o failing in the Actual and Moral Undertaking, he cannot at all attain to <HI>Spiritual Knowledge,</HI> which &s;prings from it. Neither pre|&s;ume to teach to any in Words, what you have not fir&s;t practi&s;ed in Deeds: For this Order hath our Lord, by his Example, taught us to ob&s;erve, of whom it is &s;aid, &mdash;<HI>Which Je&s;us be|gan to do, and to teach.</HI> Beware therefore, le&s;t leaping out to Teach, before Practice, you be reputed in the Number of them, of whom, in the
<PB N="85" REF="63">Go&s;pel, our Lord &s;ays to his Di&s;ciples: <HI>What they &s;ay to you, ob&s;erve and do; but according to their Works, do not: for they &s;ay, and do not,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>c.</HI> 9.</P>
<P>If therefore you would attain to the true Knowledge of the Scriptures, you mu&s;t make ha&s;t fir&s;t to obtain a &s;ettled <HI>Humility</HI> in your Heart; which will lead you, not to that which puffs up, but to that which gives Light of Un|der&s;tanding, or illu&s;trates Knowledge by the Perfection of Charity. For it is impo&s;&s;ible that an unclean&s;ed Mind &s;hould obtain the Gift of Spiritual Knowledge, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 10.)</P>
<P>Moreover, this is by all means to be endea|voured, that having expell'd all Earthly Solici|tude and Thought, you give your &s;elf conti|nually to Sacred Le&s;&s;ons, until continual Medi|tation tincture your Mind, and form it to the Likene&s;s of it &s;elf, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 10.)</P>
<P>But it is impo&s;&s;ible, as I &s;aid before, that any one unexperienced &s;hould either under&s;tand or teach the&s;e things: For he who is not capable &s;o much as to conceive them, How &s;hould he be fit to teach 'em? Of which, if notwith|&s;tanding he &s;hould pre&s;ume to teach any thing, his Speech, without doubt, would be ineffectual and unprofitable, reach only to the Ears of the Auditors, but not pierce the Heart. (<HI>cap.</HI> 14.)</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="86" REF="64">
<HEAD>Abbot Mo&s;es, <HI>concerning the</HI> End <HI>and</HI> Scope <HI>of a</HI> Mo|na&s;tick Life, <HI>Ca&s;&s;ian. Coll.</HI> 1.</HEAD>
<P>THE <HI>End</HI> of our Undertaking, according to the Apo&s;tle, is <HI>Life Eternal:</HI> &s;o he &s;aith <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.22. <HI>Having your Fruit unto Ho|line&s;s, and the End Everla&s;ting Life:</HI> But the <HI>Scope</HI> Purity of Heart, which he de&s;ervedly calls <HI>Holine&s;s</HI> or <HI>Sanctification;</HI> without which the afore-&s;aid End cannot be attained.&mdash; Which <HI>Scope</HI> he el&s;ewhere expre&s;sly mentions: <HI>Forget|ting tho&s;e things which are behind, and reaching forth to tho&s;e things which are before, I pre&s;s to|ward the</HI> (Scope or) <HI>Mark, for the Prize of the high Calling of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> Phil. 3.&mdash;What|ever therefore guides us to this Mark, <HI>that is,</HI> Purity of Heart, it is to be followed with all our Might: but what-ever doth withdraw us from it, is to be e&s;chewed as pernicious and noxious. For, for <HI>this</HI> do we undergo and act all things: For <HI>this</HI> are <HI>Parents, Countrey, Dignities, Riches, Delights of this World,</HI> and all <HI>Plea&s;ure,</HI> contemned, <HI>to wit,</HI> that perpetual Purity of Heart may be retained. This De&s;ign therefore being re&s;olved upon, our Acts and Thoughts &s;hall always be rightly di|rected
<PB N="87" REF="64">to the obtaining of it. Which if it be not continually &s;et before our Eyes, it will not only make all our Labors vain and in&s;table with|out Profit, but al&s;o all our Thoughts varying and contrary to them&s;elves. For, of nece&s;&s;ity, the Soul, which hath not whether to have re|cour&s;e, and where principally to re&s;t, mu&s;t every moment be changed, according to the variety of its Occurrences; and by tho&s;e things which happen without, be continually transformed in|to that State which next pre&s;ents its &s;elf. (<HI>cap</HI> 5.)</P>
<P>For this Cau&s;e therefore are all things to be done and &s;ought after by us: for <HI>this,</HI> is the <HI>De|&s;ert</HI> to be cho&s;en; for <HI>this, Fa&s;tings, Watchings, Labors, Nakedne&s;s, Readings,</HI> and other Exerci&s;es of <HI>Virtue,</HI> we know, are by us to be undertaken; <HI>to wit,</HI> that by them we may prepare and keep our Heart unhurt from all noxious Pa&s;&s;ions; and by treading tho&s;e &s;teps a&s;cend to the Per|fection of Charity. &mdash;They are not Perfecti|on, but the In&s;truments of Perfection: for in them doth not con&s;i&s;t the End of this Di&s;ci|pline; but by them is the End arrived to. &mdash;What-ever therefore may di&s;turb that Purity and Tranquility of our Mind, although it may &s;eem Profitable and Nece&s;&s;ary, is to be avoided as noxious. (<HI>cap.</HI> 7.)</P>
<P><HI>This</HI> ought therefore to be our principal en|deavour, <HI>this</HI> the unmoveable De&s;ign of our Heart continually to be de&s;ired, that our Mind
<PB N="88" REF="65">many continually adhere to God and Divine things. What-ever differs from that, how-ever great, is to be judged of an inferior Nature, or of the meane&s;t, or certainly noxious. The Fi|gure of this Mind or Action is very finely repre|&s;ented in the Go&s;pel in the Per&s;ons of <HI>Martha</HI> and <HI>Mary.</HI> &mdash;In which you &s;ee that our Lord placed the principal Good in the Theory, <HI>that is,</HI> in Divine Contemplation. Whence the other Virtues, though we declare them nece&s;&s;ary, yet we re&s;olve them to be reckoned in the &s;e|cond degree; becau&s;e all are &s;ought for the &s;ake of this alone. For our Lord &s;aying, Thou art &s;olicitous, and art troubled about many things; but there is need (but) of a few, or even One; he placed the Chief Good, not in an actual, though commendable Work, and abounding in many Fruits; but in Contemplation of Him&s;elf; which is indeed &s;imple, and (but) One, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 8.)</P>
<P>To attend unce&s;&s;antly to God and Divine Contemplation, is impo&s;&s;ible for Man incom|pa&s;&s;ed with this Infirmity of the Fle&s;h. But it behoves us to know, where we ought to have the Intention of our Mind fixed, and to which de|&s;ign we may always apply the Pro&s;pect of our Mind, which when it can obtain, it rejoyceth; and from which, being di&s;tracted, it grieves and &s;ighs; and doth &s;o often feel her &s;elf to have departed from her chief Good, as &s;he doth find
<PB N="89" REF="65">her &s;elf &s;eparated from that Pro&s;pect, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 13.)</P>
<P>Therefore is frequent Reading, and continual Meditation of the Scriptures, that from thence we may have occa&s;ion of remembring Spiritual things. Therefore is frequent Singing of P&s;alms, that daily Compunction may thence be obtained. Therefore is Diligence u&s;ed in Watchings, Fa&s;t|ings, and Prayers, that the Mind, being refined, may not &s;avour Earthly things, but contemplate Heavenly: Which again cea&s;ing, through Ne|gligence creeping in, of nece&s;&s;ity the Mind, waxing gro&s;s with the Filth of Corruptions, mu&s;t &s;ink and fall into the Carnal part. (<HI>cap.</HI> 17.) <HI>v. Col.</HI> 9. <HI>cap.</HI> 26.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>Abbot Daniel, <HI>concerning the</HI> triple State <HI>of</HI> Souls, <HI>Ca&s;&s;. Coll.</HI> 4. <HI>cap.</HI> 19.</HEAD>
<P>ACcording to the Doctrin of the Scripture, there are <HI>Three States of Souls:</HI> the fir&s;t, <HI>Carnal;</HI> the &s;econd, <HI>Animal;</HI> the third, <HI>Spiritual;</HI> which we read thus noted-out by the Apo&s;tle: for concerning <HI>the Carnal</HI> it is &s;aid, <HI>I have given you
<PB N="90" REF="66">Milk to drink, not Meat; for then ye were not able, neither yet indeed are ye; for ye are yet Carnal,</HI> 1 Cor. 3. And again; <HI>While there is among you Emulation and Contention, are ye not Carnal? ibid.</HI> Concerning <HI>the Animal,</HI> it is thus mentioned; <HI>The Animal Man perceives not the things of the Spirit of God; it is Fooli&s;hne&s;s to him,</HI> 1 Cor. 2. But of <HI>the Spiritual; But the Spiritual judgeth all things, but is judged of none. ibid.</HI> And again; <HI>Ye, who are Spiritual, in&s;truct tho&s;e who are of that &s;ort in a Spirit of Gentlene&s;s,</HI> Gal. 6. And therefore we mu&s;t be diligent, that when, by our Renunciation, we have cea&s;ed to be Carnal, <HI>that is,</HI> have begun to &s;eparate our &s;elves from the Conver&s;ation of Worldly People, and to cea&s;e from that manife&s;t Pollution of the Fle&s;h, we &s;trive pre&s;ently, with all our Might, to acquire the Spiritual State; le&s;t flattering our &s;elves becau&s;e we &s;eem, ac|cording to the outward Man, to have renounced the World, or to have for&s;aken the Contagions of Carnal Fornications, as if by this we had gotten the top of Perfection, we &s;hould thence|forth become more remi&s;s toward the Emunda|tion of other Pa&s;&s;ions, and more &s;lothful; and, being detained between both, not be able to at|tain to the degree of Spiritual Profit; &s;uppo&s;ing that it is abundantly &s;ufficient for us for Per|fection, that in the outward Man we &s;eem &s;e|parated from the Conver&s;ation and Delights of
<PB N="91" REF="66">this World; or that we are &s;et free from Carnal Corruption and Mixture: And &s;o being found in that <HI>Tepid State,</HI> which is reckoned the <HI>Worst,</HI> we &s;hall under&s;tand that we are to be vomited out of the Mouth of the Lord, ac|cording to his Sentence, &s;aying; <HI>I would thou wert Hot or Cold; but (becau&s;e) thou art now Tepid,</HI> (or Lukewarm) <HI>I will begin to &s;pue thee out of my Mouth,</HI> Rev. 3.15. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD>Abbot I&s;aac, <HI>concerning</HI> PRAYER, <HI>Ca&s;&s;. Col.</HI> 9.</HEAD>
<P>THE End of every Monk, and Perfection of his Heart, tends to a continual and un|interrupted <HI>Per&s;everance in Prayer,</HI> and, as far as is permitted to Humane Frailty, &s;trives after an unmoveable Tranquility, and perpetual Purity of Mind. For the Enjoyment of which we un|weariedly &s;eek, and continually exerci&s;e as well Labour of the Body, as Contrition of Spirit: And there is between the&s;e a certain reciprocal and in&s;eparable Conjunction. For as the Stru|cture
<PB N="92" REF="67">of all Virtues doth tend to the Perfection of Prayer; &s;o unle&s;s all the&s;e be bound and com|pacted together by the toping of it, they can by no means hold out firm and &s;table. For as without them cannot this perpetual and conti|nual Tranquility of Prayer, of which we &s;peak, be acquired and perfected; &s;o neither can tho&s;e Virtues, which prepare for it, without the Continuance of it, be accompli&s;hed. Where|fore, neither can we rightly treat of the <HI>Effect of Prayer,</HI> or enter to the principal End of it, which is accompli&s;hed by the Employment of all Virtues, by a ha&s;ty Di&s;cour&s;e, unle&s;s fir&s;t all the&s;e things, which for the obtaining of it are either to be cut off, or to be prepared, be in order enumerated and di&s;cu&s;&s;ed; and according to the In&s;truction of the Parable in the Go&s;pel, tho&s;e things, which belong to the Building of that Spiritual and more &s;ublime Tower, be counted and diligently prepared for it. Which, notwith&s;tanding, will neither profit, being pre|pared; nor rightly admit tho&s;e high topings of Perfection to be built upon them, unle&s;s fir&s;t all refu&s;e of Vices being ca&s;t out, and all dead rub|bi&s;h of Pa&s;&s;ions dug up, the mo&s;t firm Founda|tions of <HI>Simplicity</HI> and <HI>Humility</HI> be laid upon the &s;ound and &s;olid Earth of our Heart, that Evangelical Rock, upon which this Tower to be built, with the Employments of all the Spi|ritual Virtues, may be both unmoveably e&s;ta|bli&s;hed,
<PB N="93" REF="67">and rai&s;ed up to the highe&s;t Heavens by the Con&s;i&s;tence of its own Firmne&s;s.&mdash; (<HI>cap.</HI> 2.)</P>
<P>And therefore, that the Prayer be made with that Fervour and Purity it ought, the&s;e things are by all means to be ob&s;erved. <HI>First,</HI> The Solicitude of Earthly things in general, is to be cut off: Next, not only the Care, but not &s;o much as the Memory of any Bu&s;ine&s;s or Cau&s;e is to be admitted: Detractions, idle Talk, much Talk, Je&s;tings, are likewi&s;e al&s;o to be cut off: Anger above all things, or the Perturba|tion of Sadne&s;s, are to be throughly rooted out: The pernicious Food of Carnal Concupi&s;cence, and the Love of Money, is to be plucked up by the Roots: and the&s;e and the like Vices, which are vi&s;ible even to the Eyes of Men, being cut off and wholly thru&s;t out, and &s;uch a clean&s;ing of the Rubbi&s;h, which is perfected in the Purity of Simplicity, (or Singlene&s;s of Heart) and Innocence fir&s;t made, the un&s;haken Foundations of a profound Humility, which may bear a Tower reaching to the Heavens, are fir&s;t to be laid; then is the Super&s;truction of Spiritual Virtues to be built upon it: and from all Di&s;|cour&s;e, (or Rea&s;oning) and light Wandering, is the Mind to be re&s;trained, that &s;o it may, by degrees, be elevated to God, and to Spiritual Intuition. For what-ever our Soul conceives before the <HI>Hour of Prayer,</HI> of nece&s;&s;ity it will occur to us while we pray, by intru&s;ion of our
<PB N="94" REF="68">Remembrance. Wherefore, &s;uch as we would be found while we Pray, &s;uch ought we to pre|pare our &s;elves to be before the time of Prayer. For from the precedent State is the Mind form|ed in Prayer, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 3.)</P>
<P>The Quality of the Soul is not unfitly com|pared to a light Feather, which, if it be not &s;poiled by &s;ome wet from without happening to it, by the levity of its own Sub&s;tance, with the help of a gentle Breath, is as it were naturally rai&s;ed up on high, and to the Heavens: But if it be aggravated with the Acce&s;&s;ion of any wet, it is not only not rai&s;ed up to any Aerial Flights by its natural Mobility, but will be depre&s;&s;ed down to the very Earth by the weight of the Wet received. So al&s;o our Mind, if it be not aggravated with contracted Vices and Worldly Cares, or corrupted with the Humour of nox|ious Lu&s;t, being lifted up, as with the natural Advantage of its Purity, will, with the lea&s;t Breath of Spiritual Meditation, be elevated on high; and for&s;aking low and Earthly things, will be tran&s;ported to tho&s;e which are Heavenly and invi&s;ible. So that we are very properly admo|ni&s;hed by our Lord's Precepts: <HI>See that your Hearts be not at any time over-charged with Gluttony, Drunkenne&s;s, and the Cares of the World,</HI> Luk. 21.34. And, therefore, if we would our Prayers &s;hould pierce, not only the Heavens, but what are above the Heavens, let us take Care
<PB N="95" REF="68">to rai&s;e our Mind purged from all Earthly Cor|ruptions, and clean&s;ed from all Dregs of Pa&s;&s;ions to its natural Sublimity, that &s;o our Prayer may a&s;cend to God di&s;-burthened of all Weight of Corruption. (<HI>cap.</HI> 4.)</P>
<P>The Intention of a Monk ought always to be fixed in God; by whom even a &s;mall Separation from that Chief Good is to be accounted a pre&s;ent Death, and mo&s;t pernicious De&s;truction. And when the Mind comes to be &s;ettled in &s;uch a Tranquility, or loo&s;ed from the tyes of all Car|nal Pa&s;&s;ions, and the Intention of the Heart doth mo&s;t tenaciou&s;ly adhere to that One Chief Good, then doth it fulfill that of the Apo&s;tle; <HI>Pray without Intermi&s;&s;ion,</HI> 1 The&s;&s;. 5.17. and, <HI>In every place lifting up pure Hands without Anger or Di&s;putings,</HI> 1 Tim. 2.8. For the Sen&s;e of the Mind, if I may &s;o &s;ay, being drench'd in this Purity, and reformed from the Earthly Filth to a Spiritual and Angelick Likene&s;s, what-ever it receives into its &s;elf, what-ever it handles, what-ever it doth, will be a mo&s;t pure and &s;incere Prayer. (<HI>cap.</HI> 6.)</P>
<P>The <HI>various Species of Prayer,</HI> I judge, can|not be comprehended without mighty Contrition of Heart, Purity of Mind, and Illumination of the Holy Spirit.&mdash; For according to the mea&s;ure of Purity, in which every Soul doth proceed, and the quality of the State, in which, either by Occurrences &s;he is lowered, or by her
<PB N="96" REF="69">own Indu&s;try renewed, &s;he her &s;elf is every mo|ment new formed. And therefore it is certain, that Prayers are by none always made of the &s;ame form, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 8.)</P>
<P>They who having the penal thorn of Con|&s;cience pluck'd out of their Heart, are <HI>&s;ecure,</HI> ruminating the Favours and Mercies of the Lord, which he hath either in time pa&s;t given, or at pre&s;ent doth give, or hath prepared for the future, with a mo&s;t pure Mind, are tran&s;ported with a mo&s;t fervent Heart to that ardent Prayer, which cannot be expre&s;&s;ed with the Tongue of Men, or comprehended. Yet &s;ometimes a Mind, which hath profitted to that true effect of Purity, and hath now begun to be rooted in it, is wont, conceiving all the parts of Prayer at once together, and like an incompre&s;&s;ible and de|vouring Flame &s;preading over all, to pour out to God ineffable Prayers of a mo&s;t pure vigour, which the Spirit it &s;elf interceeding with inex|plicable Groans, we being ignorant, doth &s;end forth to God, conceiving in that moment &s;o great things, and pouring them out ineffably in Supplication, as it cannot at another time; I will not &s;ay, repeat with the Mouth, but not &s;o much as recollect with the Mind, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>cap</HI> 15.)</P>
<P>The higher and more &s;ublime State (of Prayer) is formed by the Contemplation of God alone, and the Fervour of Charity, by which the Soul being ca&s;t down, and melted into Love
<PB N="97" REF="69">of him, doth very familiarly di&s;cour&s;e to God, as its own Father, with a peculiar Devotion. Which State that we ought diligently to de&s;ire, the Form of the LORD's-PRAYER doth in&s;truct us, &s;aying;</P>
<P><HI>Our Father.</HI> When therefore we do con|fe&s;s with our own Mouth the God and Lord of the Univer&s;e to be our Father, we do indeed profe&s;s our &s;elves to be adopted to be the Sons of God out of a State of Slavery: adding there|unto, <HI>Who art in Heaven;</HI> that flying from the abode of the pre&s;ent Life, which we live upon Earth, with much horror, as a Pilgrimage, and &s;eparating us far from our Father, we may ha&s;ten rather with our utmo&s;t de&s;ire to that Re|gion, in which we confe&s;s our Father liveth; and may admit nothing of that kind which may render us unworthy of this our Profe&s;&s;ion, and of the Nobility of &s;uch an Adoption; or make us incurr his Di&s;plea&s;ure: To which Order and Degree being promoted, we &s;hall continually be inflamed with that Devotion, which is in good Children, that now we &s;hall imploy all our Affection, not for our Commodities, but for the Glory of our Father. Saying to Him, <HI>Hol|lowed be thy Name,</HI> &amp;c. (<HI>cap.</HI> 18.)</P>
<P><HI>And after a brief but excellent Explication of all the parts of this Prayer, he adds:</HI></P>
<P>You &s;ee therefore, what Model and Form of Prayer is propo&s;ed to us by the Judge him&s;elf,
<PB N="98" REF="70">who is to be intreated by it; in which is no Petition of <HI>Riches,</HI> no Remembrance of <HI>Digni|ties,</HI> no Prayer for <HI>Power</HI> or <HI>Strength,</HI> no men|tion of <HI>Corperal Needs,</HI> or of <HI>Temporal Life</HI> con|tained. The Creator of Eternity will have no|thing fading, nothing vile, nothing temporal, to be implored of him. And therefore he will do a very great Injury to his Magnificence and Mu|nificence, who-ever pa&s;&s;ing by the Petition of Eternal things, will rather ask any thing tran&s;i|tory or fading; and by the Vilene&s;s or Mean|ne&s;s of his Prayer, will rather incurr the Offence, than obtain the Favour of his Judge. (<HI>cap.</HI> 24.)</P>
<P>This Prayer therefore, though it may &s;eem to contain all plenitude of Perfection, becau&s;e either in&s;tituted or e&s;tabli&s;hed by the Authority of our Lord him&s;elf, yet doth it promote tho&s;e of his Family to that higher State, which we mention|ed before, and lead them, in a more eminent degree, to that fervent, ineffable Prayer, known or experienced by very few, which tran&s;cending all humane Sen&s;e, is not di&s;tinctly delivered by any manner of Words or Expre&s;&s;ions, but which the Mind, illu&s;trated by the infu&s;ion of that Coele&s;tial Light, doth, not &s;ignifie by humane and narrow Eloquence, but pour out abundant|ly, as out of a full Fountain, in full compacted Sen&s;es, and ineffably utter to the Lord, pro|ducing &s;o great things in that little point of time, as the Mind can neither ea&s;ily utter, nor
<PB N="99" REF="70">recovering it &s;elf particularly remember. (<HI>cap.</HI> 25.)</P>
<P>And that you may perceive the Affection of a true Prayer, I will produce to you, not my own, but St. <HI>Antony's</HI> Sen&s;e of it: Whom we have known to have &s;ometimes &s;o per&s;i&s;ted in Prayer, that he frequently praying in an Exce&s;s of Mind, when the Sun began to ri&s;e, we have heard him, in fervour of Spirit, cry out; <HI>Why do&s;t thou hin|der me, O Sun, who do&s;t now ri&s;e to withdraw me from the Splendor of this true Light?</HI> Who&s;e al&s;o was this Coele&s;tial and more than humane Sentence, concerning the End of Prayer: <HI>It is not</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>Perfect Prayer, in which a Monk doth under&s;tand</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot">By <HI>Prayer,</HI> the&s;e Men under&s;tand an Elevation of the Soul to God; and they who have ob&s;erved how much the Soul may be affected and taken up in the Contemplation of much inferior Objects, will not &s;o confidently cen&s;ure this, though they never had Experience of any &s;uch thing in them&s;elves. It is no more than <HI>Plato</HI> hath &s;aid of <HI>Oratory in Menon.</HI></NOTE> <HI>even this it &s;elf that he pray|eth.</HI> (<HI>cap.</HI> 31.)</P>
<P>They only with mo&s;t pure Eyes do behold the Divinity of Je&s;us, who a&s;cending from low and Earthly Works and Thoughts, do retire with him into the high Mount of Solitude; who being free from the Tumult of all Earthly Thoughts and Perturbations, and &s;eparate from all mixture of Vices, elevated with a mo&s;t pure Faith, and Eminence of Virtues, doth reveal the Glory of his Countenance and the Image of his
<PB N="100" REF="71">Clarity to tho&s;e, who are meet to behold Him with pure A&s;pects of Soul, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> (<HI>Coll.</HI> 10. <HI>c.</HI> 6.)</P>
<P>This is <HI>the De&s;ign of a Solitary,</HI> this ought to be all his Intention, that he may come to po&s;&s;e&s;s in this Body an Image of future Beatitude, and begin in this Ve&s;&s;el to fore-ta&s;t the Earne&s;t of Heavenly Conver&s;ation and Glory. This, I &s;ay, is the End of all Perfection, that the Mind, &s;o extenuated (or refined) from all Carnal Du&s;t, may be daily elevated to Spiritual things, till all its Conver&s;ation, all its volutation of Heart, may become one continual Prayer. <HI>And, as I &s;aid a little before:</HI> All our Love, all our De&s;ire, all our Study, all our Endeavour, all our Cogitation, all that we &s;ee, all that we &s;peak, all that we hope, may be God; and that Unity which now is of the Father with the Son, and of the Son with the Father, may be transfu&s;ed into our Sen&s;e and Minds; <HI>that is,</HI> that as he loves us with a pure and indi&s;&s;oluble Charity, we al&s;o may be joyned to Him in a perpetual and in|&s;eparable Charity. (<HI>cap.</HI> 7.)</P>
<P><HI>For the Attaining and Practice of this, he re|commends, from Experience of the Seniors, the con|tinual or frequent mental repetion of that ver&s;e,</HI> P&s;al. 70. Deus in adjutorium meum intende; Domine ad adjuvandum me fe&s;tina; <HI>in our Li|turgy, <HI>O God make &s;peed to &s;ave us; O Lord make ha&s;t to help us:</HI> and largely &s;hews the u&s;e of it at all times, and upon all &s;pecial occa&s;ions.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="101" REF="71">
<HEAD>Abbot Theodore, <HI>concerning the</HI> right Knowledge <HI>of the</HI> Scriptures, <HI>Ca&s;&s;ian. lib.</HI> 5.</HEAD>
<P>HE was indowed with very great Sanctity and compleat Science, not only in the <HI>Active Life,</HI> but al&s;o in the <HI>Knowledge of the Scriptures:</HI> which he acquired, not &s;o much by Study of Reading, or Humane Learning, as by Purity of Heart: for he could hardly either un|der&s;tand or pronounce &s;o much as a few <HI>Greek</HI> Words. When he &s;ought the Explanation of a certain ob&s;cure Que&s;tion, he per&s;i&s;ted indefati|gably in Prayer &s;even Days and Nights, until he knew the Solution of the Que&s;tion propo&s;ed, by the Revelation of the Lord. (<HI>cap.</HI> 33.)</P>
<P>When certain of the Brethren, admiring his eminent Light of Knowledge, <HI>inquired of him the Sen&s;e of certain Scriptures; he &s;aid,</HI> A Monk de&s;iring <HI>to attain to the Knowledge of the Scriptures,</HI> ought by no means to imploy his Pains upon Books of Commentators, but rather re&s;train and keep all the Indu&s;try of his Mind and beat of his Heart to the purifying of his Carnal Affecti|ons;
<PB N="102" REF="72">which being expell'd, pre&s;ently the Eyes of his Mind, the Veil of his Pa&s;&s;ions being once removed, will begin as it were naturally to contemplate the My&s;teries of the Scriptures. For they are not publi&s;hed to us by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, that they &s;hould be unintelli|gible and ob&s;cure; but they become ob&s;cure by our Fault, the veil of Sins over-clouding the Eyes of our Mind; which being again re&s;tored to their Natural Sanity, the Reading of the Holy Scriptures will even alone abundantly &s;uffice to the Contemplation of true Knowledge; nor will they need the In&s;tructions of Commentaries, as the&s;e Eyes of Fle&s;h need the Doctrin of none to &s;ee, if they be free from Suffu&s;ion and Dimne&s;s of Sight. For therefore is there &s;o great Va|riety and Errors ari&s;en among&s;t Interpreters them&s;elves, becau&s;e the mo&s;t running to Inter|pret them, without u&s;ing any Diligence toward the Purgation of the Mind, by rea&s;on of the Gro&s;s|ne&s;s or Uncleanne&s;s of their Heart, thinking things divers or contrary, either to Faith, or to them&s;elves, they could not comprehend the Light of Truth. (<HI>cap.</HI> 34.)</P>
<P><HI>For this &s;ee in</HI> Smith<HI>'s</HI> Select Di&s;cour&s;es, <HI>The true Way and Method of attaining to Divine Know|ledge.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="103" REF="72">
<HEAD>Abbot Serapion <HI>of</HI> Di&s;cre|tion, <HI>Ca&s;&s;. Coll.</HI> 2. <HI>cap.</HI> 11.</HEAD>
<P>WHEN I was a Child, and lived with Abbot <HI>Theon,</HI> this bruti&s;h Cu&s;tom was impo&s;ed upon me by the Enemy, that after I had eaten with him at the ninth hour, I did every day &s;ecretly convey one Bisket into my Bo&s;om, which I did after, without his know|ledge, eat in &s;ecret. Which Theft, though I did con&s;tantly, through my accu&s;tomed Incon|tinence, commit; yet when I had gratified my Appetite, coming to my &s;elf, I was more tor|mented with the Guilt of my Theft, than &s;a|tisfied with what I had eaten. And when I was every day compelled, to the grief of my Heart, to perform that mo&s;t trouble&s;ome work, im|po&s;ed, as it were, by <HI>Pharaoh</HI>'s Task-Ma&s;ters in&s;tead of Bricks upon me, nor could extricate my &s;elf from this their mo&s;t cruel Tyranny, and was a&s;hamed and confounded to di&s;cover the &s;ecret Theft to my Senior; it came to pa&s;s, by the Hand of God, who was plea&s;ed to re&s;cue me out of the Yoak of this Captivity, that cer|tain Brothers de&s;ired to come to the Cell of the Senior for Edification &s;ake. And when they were refre&s;hed, and a Spiritual Conference was begun, the Senior an&s;wering to their Que&s;tions
<PB N="104" REF="73">di&s;cour&s;ed of the Vice of <HI>Ga&s;trimargy,</HI> or Glut|tony, and of the Domination (and Slavery) of Thoughts kept &s;ecret, and did explain their Na|ture and mo&s;t di&s;mal Power &s;o long as they were concealed: I by the power of this Conference being prick'd, and terrified with an accu&s;ing Con&s;cience, as believing that the&s;e things were &s;poken for that Cau&s;e, that the Lord had re|vealed the Secrets of my Heart to the Senior, I began fir&s;t &s;ecretly to &s;igh; then, the Com|punction of my Heart increa&s;ing, breaking out into Sighs and Tears, I pull'd the Bisket, which by that evil Cu&s;tom I had &s;ecretly &s;tolen to eat, out of my Bo&s;om, where it was conceal'd, and pro|ferring it to them, I did pro&s;trate upon the ground with Supplication for Pardon, confe&s;s how I did every day eat in &s;ecret, and with abun|dance of Tears did implore them to beg my Ab&s;olution from this hard Bondage of the Lord. Then &s;aid the Senior; <Q>Be of good Comfort, Child; Thy Confe&s;&s;ion hath obtained thy Ab&s;olution, though I hold my Tongue: For thou ha&s;t this day gotten the Victory of thine Enemy, more powerfully beating him down by thy Confe&s;&s;ion, than thou thy &s;elf wert ca&s;t down by him through thy Concealment. Whom not at all checking either by thy own or any others Reprehen&s;ion, thou did&s;t &s;uffer to domineer over thee till now. But now, after this thy Confe&s;&s;ion, that wicked Spirit
<PB N="105" REF="73">&s;hall not be able to di&s;quiet thee; nor &s;hall the filthy Serpent any longer hold a hiding place in thee, being drawn-out into the Light, out of the Darkne&s;s of thy Heart, by a &s;alutary Confe&s;&s;ion.</Q> The Senior had not fini&s;hed the&s;e Words, and behold a Burning Lamp, proceeding from my &s;ide, &s;o filled the Cell with the &s;mell of Brim&s;tone, that the Stink of it would not &s;uffer us to remain in it. And the Senior re|&s;uming his Admonition; <Q>Behold, &s;aith he, our Lord hath vi&s;ibly proved to thee the Truth of my Words, that thou &s;houlde&s;t &s;ee with thy Eyes the In&s;tigator of thy Affection driven out of thy Heart by a &s;alubrious Confe&s;&s;ion; and &s;hould&s;t know that the detected Enemy &s;hould no longer at all have place in thee, by his manife&s;t Expul&s;ion.</Q> And &s;o it is, according to the Sentence of the Senior, the Domination of that diabolical Tyranny in me is, by the Virtue of this Confe&s;&s;ion extinct, and for ever layed; &s;o that the Enemy never after attempted to inject &s;o much as the memory of this Concupi&s;cence, nor have I ever after felt my &s;elf a&s;&s;aulted by any In&s;tigation of that thievi&s;h de&s;ire.</P>
<P>In this manner therefore may we mo&s;t ea&s;ily come to the Science of <HI>true Di&s;cretion,</HI> if follow|ing the tract of the Seniors, we pre&s;ume neither to act any thing new, nor to determin it by our own Judgment; but walk in all things as their
<PB N="106" REF="74">Tradition, or Probity of Life &s;hall inform us. In which In&s;titution being &s;ettled, any one may, not only come to the perfect rea&s;on of Di&s;cretion, but remain &s;afe again&s;t all the Snares of the Enemy. For by no other Vice doth the Devil draw a Religious per&s;on &s;o headlong to De&s;tru|ction, as when he doth per&s;wade him, neglecting the Advice of the Seniors, to confide in his own Judgment, and Determination or Doctrin. For &s;ince all Arts and Di&s;ciplines found out by humane Ingenie, and which are of no more benefit than for the Commodities of this temporal Life, though they may be handled with the Hand, and &s;een with the Eyes, yet can they not rightly be comprehended by any one without the Teaching of an In&s;tructor; How improper is it to believe that this only &s;hould not need a Teacher, which is invi&s;ible and occult, and which is not &s;een|through but with a mo&s;t pure Heart, wherein an Error produceth not a temporal Damage, nor what is ea&s;ily repaired, but perdition of Soul, and perpetual Death? For it hath a Con|flict Day and Night, not again&s;t vi&s;ible, but invi&s;ible Enemies; and not again&s;t one or two, but again&s;t innumerable troops, a Spiritual Combat, the Ca&s;e of which is &s;o much the more pernicious to all, by how much both the Enemy is more mi&s;chievous, and the Encounter more &s;ecret. And therefore is the Trace of the Seniors always to be followed with the utmo&s;t
<PB N="107" REF="74">Diligence, and to them are all things, which ari&s;e in our Hearts, taking away the Veil of Ba&s;h|fulne&s;s, to be related. (<HI>cap.</HI> 11.) <HI>v. &s;up.</HI> p. 79.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<HEAD><HI>Abbot Cheremon,</HI> concerning the Wonderful things which the Lord doth, in a &s;pecial man|ner, operate in his Saints, <HI>Ca&s;&s;. Coll. 12. cap. 12.</HI></HEAD>
<P>GREAT indeed and wonderful are the things, nor throughly known to any Man, except only to tho&s;e who have experience of them, which the Lord with ineffable Liberality gives to his Faithful ones, even in this Ve&s;&s;el of Cor|ruption. Which the Prophet viewing in Purity of Mind, as well in his own Per&s;on, as in the Per&s;on of tho&s;e, who come into this State and Affection, cryed out; <HI>Great are thy Works; and that my Soul knoweth very well.</HI> Otherwi&s;e could not the Prophet be thought to have &s;aid any rare or great matter, if he be thought to have pro|nounced this either with other affection of Heart, or concerning other Works of God: For there is no Man, who doth not acknowledge the Works of God to be wonderful, even from the very Va&s;tne&s;s of the Creation. But of tho&s;e
<PB N="108" REF="75">things, which by his daily Operation he doth produce in his Saints, and with a &s;pecial Bounty doth pour out unto them, no other can be &s;en|&s;ible but the Soul of them who enjoy it, which, in the &s;ecret of its Con&s;cience, is &s;o the only Judge of his Favours, that it not only cannot with any Speech relate them, but not &s;o much as in Sen&s;e and Thought comprehend them; when de&s;cending from that inflamed Fervour, it &s;inks down to material and terrene Pro&s;pects. For, Who would not admire the Works of God in him&s;elf, when he &s;ees the in&s;atiable <HI>Greedine&s;s</HI> of the Stomach, and the co&s;tly and pernicious <HI>Luxury</HI> of the Palate, &s;o re&s;trained in Him, that he &s;eldom (and unwillingly) takes &s;carce &s;o much as a little, and that very mean Food? Who would not be amazed at the Works of God, when he feels that fire of <HI>Lu&s;t,</HI> which he before believed to be natural, and in a manner inex|tingui&s;hable, to become &s;o cool'd, that he doth not feel him&s;elf incited &s;o much as with a &s;imple motion of his Body? How could any but re|vere the Power of the Lord, when he &s;hould &s;ee Men, before fierce and de&s;perate, who were pro|voked even by officious (or well-meant) Service to the greate&s;t Fury of <HI>Anger,</HI> to have come to &s;o great Lenity and Gentlene&s;s, that now they not only are not moved with any Injuries, but even, when any are done them, do with great mag|nanimity rejoyce? Who would not plainly ad|mire
<PB N="109" REF="75">the Works of God, and with his whole Heart cry out, <HI>I have known that great is the Lord,</HI> when he &s;eeth him&s;elf or another of <HI>Gree|dy,</HI> become Liberal; of <HI>Prodigal,</HI> Frugal; of <HI>Proud,</HI> Humble; of <HI>Nice</HI> and <HI>Curious,</HI> Carlele&s;s and Homely; and even choo&s;ingly enjoying Want and Scarcity of temporal things? The&s;e indeed are the wonderful Works of God, which the Souls of the Prophets and &s;uch (experienced Per&s;ons) do know in a peculiar manner, being amazed with the Intuition of &s;o wonderful a Contemplation. The&s;e are the Prodigies which the Lord hath plac'd upon Earth, which the &s;ame Prophet con&s;idering, calls all People to the admiration of them: <HI>Come and &s;ee the Works of God, the Prodigies which the Lord hath placed upon the Earth,</HI> &amp;c. For what can be a greater Prodigy, then, in a very little moment, for Men of <HI>greedy Publicans,</HI> to become Apo&s;tles; of <HI>fierce Per&s;ecutors,</HI> mo&s;t patient Preachers of the Go&s;pel, &s;o as to propagate that <HI>Faith,</HI> which they did per&s;ecute, even with the Effu&s;ion of their Blood. The&s;e are the Works of God, which the Son declares that he, with the Father, daily doth work, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Concerning this &s;aving Work of God, the Prophet prays to the Lord, &s;aying; <HI>Confirm, O God, this which thou hast wrought in us.</HI> And, to pa&s;s by ab&s;condite Di|&s;pen&s;ations of God, which the Mind of all the Saints doth every moment perceive peculiarly
<PB N="110" REF="76">exerci&s;ed within them&s;elves, that Coele&s;tial In|fu&s;ion of Spiritual Rejoycings, in which a de|jected Mind is rai&s;ed with the Alacrity of an unexpected Joy, and tho&s;e unknown Exce&s;&s;es of Heart, and as ineffable as unheard-of Solaces of Joys; with which &s;ometimes drooping in a li&s;tle&s;s Stupidity, we are rai&s;ed, as out of a deep Sleep, to mo&s;t fervent Prayer; this, I &s;ay, is the Joy of which the ble&s;&s;ed Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>Which Eye hath not &s;een, nor Ear heard, nor hath come into the Heart of Man;</HI> that is, of him, who is &s;till a Man &s;tupified with Earthly Vices, and &s;ticks in Humane Affections, and perceives nothing of tho&s;e Gifts of God. At la&s;t the &s;ame Apo&s;tle adds, as well concerning him&s;elf, as tho&s;e like him, who have departed from Humane Conver&s;ation; <HI>But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit.</HI> v. <HI>Cyp. Ep.</HI> 2.</P>
<P><HI>THe&s;e things I thought fit to collect out of much of this kind, to give a Ta&s;t of the</HI> Man|ners <HI>and</HI> Spirit <HI>of the&s;e</HI> Holy People: <HI>and le&s;t tho&s;e who are little acquainted with the&s;e things &s;hould imagin that they were the meer Phan&s;ies of</HI> Melancholy Monks; <HI>I will here add a Ta&s;t of the Sentiments of &s;ome others; and in&s;tead of many, of two Eminent Bi&s;hops, Men of greate&s;t Reputa|tion both for</HI> Learning <HI>and</HI> Virtue; <HI>St.</HI> Gregory Nazianzen, <HI>and St.</HI> Au&s;tin, <HI>Bi&s;hop of</HI> Hippo: <HI>But fir&s;t to begin with St.</HI> Gregory Nazianzen, <HI>it will not be ami&s;s to add here, to tho&s;e before,</HI> his Cha|racter of the Holy Monks of his time.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="111" REF="76">
<HEAD><HI>St.</HI> Gregory Nazianzen, <HI>con|cerning the</HI> Lives <HI>and</HI> Exer|ci&s;es <HI>of</HI> MONKS <HI>in his time.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Orat. 9. to <HI>Julian,</HI> the Comptroller of the Cu&s;toms, <HI>upon the Di&s;charge of the</HI> Monks.</HEAD>
<P>MY Speech pre&s;ents to you the <HI>Poor,</HI> the whole <HI>Choir of Prie&s;ts,</HI> the <HI>Choir of Phi|lo&s;ophers, [Monks]</HI> who are tied down by no Band; who po&s;&s;e&s;s only their Bodies, nor them wholly; have nothing for <HI>Coe&s;ar,</HI> but all for <HI>God;</HI> Hymns, Prayers, Watchings, Tears, a Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion not to be &s;eized on, <HI>viz.</HI> to be dead to the World, alive to Chri&s;t; to have <HI>killed</HI> the Fle&s;h; to have drawn the Soul from the Body: Sparing the&s;e, or rather purely re&s;toring to God the Wor&s;hip|pers and <HI>Di&s;ciples</HI> of God, and <HI>Contemplators</HI> of Coele&s;tial things, the fir&s;t Fruits of our kind, the Pillar, the Crown of Faith, the precious Pearls, the Stones of that Temple who&s;e Foundation and Corner Stone is <HI>Christ,</HI> the noble Accompli&s;h|ments of the Church; mo&s;t nobly indeed, both for them, and for thy &s;elf, and for us all ha&s;t thou taken Care. And &s;uch Riches &s;hould I rather
<PB N="112" REF="77">wi&s;h thee from us, than Trea&s;ure of much Gold and Silver now appearing, and after a little while not being at all.</P>
<P><HI>But what he ob&s;erved in them, he el&s;e-where ex|pre&s;&s;eth more copiou&s;ly, as with great Approbation, Applau&s;e, and even Admiration, in the&s;e Particulars;</HI> Watchings, Fa&s;tings, Prayers, Tears, brawny Knees, knockings of the Brea&s;t, deep Sighs, no|cturnal Stations, travel of the Soul to God, &s;oft Weepings at Prayers, a Medicine of Compun|ction to tho&s;e who hear it; Singing, Glorify|ing, Meditating on the Law of the Lord day and night; carrying Exaltations of God in their Mouths: And al&s;o tho&s;e noble Te&s;timonials and Indications of a Life according to God, &s;ilent Preachers: Hair foul and uncombed; Feet na|ked, and like the Apo&s;tles, wearing nothing dead; decent Shaving; Rayment reproving Arrogance; a Girdle becoming an undeck'd Body, keeping the Coat from hanging loo&s;e, but &s;o as though it did not gird it; an even Pace; an unwandering Eye; a plea&s;ing &s;ort, or rather powerful way of Smiling, which checks the Exce&s;s of Laughter; Di&s;cour&s;e guided by Rea|&s;on; Silence more venerable than Speech; Commendations &s;ea&s;oned with Salt, not to flatter but to excite to Proficience; a &s;ort of Reprov|ing, more defirable than Prai&s;e; a Mean in Com|punction and Relaxation, and a Mixture and Temperature of both Lenity with Authority
<PB N="113" REF="77">and Authority with Mode&s;ty, &s;o that neither is deba&s;ed, but rather recommended by the other; due Mea&s;ures of Conver&s;e and Retirement; of Conver&s;e, to help others; of Retirement, to get in&s;ight into the My&s;teries of the Spirit; a Con|ver&s;e pre&s;erving Solitude (or Recollection) in Society; and Retirement retaining Brotherly|kindne&s;s and Charity in Solitude: And which are yet Greater and Sublimer things than the&s;e: Riches in Poverty; Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion in Pilgrimage; Glory in Di&s;grace; Power in Weakne&s;s; Fruit|fulne&s;s in Celebacie, if Divine Off-&s;prings be better than what have beginning from the Fle&s;h. They are &s;uch as live deliciou&s;ly, by refu&s;ing Delights; and Mean, for the &s;ake of Heavenly things; have nothing in the World, and (yet) are above the World; who are out of the Fle&s;h, and (yet) in the Fle&s;h. Who&s;e Portion is the Lord; who are Poor, for the &s;ake of a Kingdom, and Kings for their Poverty. The&s;e, my Wealth and Banquets, while pre&s;ent, made me exult for Joy; and if ab&s;ent, &s;topp'd the brisk Circulation of my Blood.</P>
<P><HI>Thus far his Character of the&s;e Holy Men: And now for a Ta&s;t of his Contemplation, of which we have a Touch here, where he &s;ets out the</HI> End of Retirement, <HI>to get In&s;ight into the</HI> My|&s;teries of the Spirit.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="114" REF="78">
<HEAD><HI>St.</HI> Gregory Nazianzen, <HI>con|cerning</HI> Divine Contem|plation. <HI>Orat.</HI> 42.</HEAD>
<P>I <HI>Will Stand,</HI> &s;aith the admirable <HI>Habak|kuk, upon my Watch;</HI> and I with him to day upon the <HI>Power</HI> and <HI>Speculation</HI> given me by the Holy Gho&s;t, and will contem|plate and know what is &s;hewed, and what is &s;poken to me.&mdash;</P>
<P>I being to &s;peak of the great Sacrifice, and of the greate&s;t of Days, cannot but have recour&s;e to God. Here will I begin, and purge ye me your Mind, and Hearing, and Under&s;tanding, who-ever reli&s;h the&s;e things; for as much as a Speech of God is Divine; &s;o &s;hall ye depart with a Savour of things which do not fade.&mdash;</P>
<P>God <HI>Was</HI> always, and <HI>Is,</HI> and <HI>Shall be;</HI> or rather <HI>Is</HI> always: For <HI>Was,</HI> and <HI>Shall be,</HI> are fragments of Time with us, and of a fading Na|ture. But he always <HI>Is,</HI> and &s;o doth he name Him&s;elf, &s;peaking to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in the Mount. For he containing All in Him&s;elf hath a Being nei|ther beginning, nor cea&s;ing, as a certain Ocean of E&s;&s;ence, immen&s;e and boundle&s;s, exceeding all
<PB N="115" REF="78">conception both of Time and Nature, repre|&s;ented with the Mind alone, and that but very faintly and ob&s;curely, not from what are in Him, but from what are about Him, one Conception being collected after another into &s;ome one I|mage of the Truth, flying before it be laid|hold-on, and running away before it be appre|hended, <HI>illu&s;trating only the Principal part of us,</HI> and that <HI>purified,</HI> as the Lightning &s;trikes the Sight without remaining; that, as it &s;eems to me, he may with what is comprehen&s;ible draw us to Him&s;elf; (for what is altogether incom|prehen&s;ible, is neither hoped nor attempted) and with what is incomprehen&s;ible, may become admired; being admired, may be the more de|&s;ired; being de&s;ired, may <HI>purifie</HI> us; and pu|rifying, make us <HI>Dei-form</HI> or God-like: and the&s;e things perfected, he may, as with Fami|liars, <HI>conver&s;e</HI> with us, <HI>God</HI> to God's united and made known, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To make this remarkable Di&s;cour&s;e the more plain and intelligible, it may be fit and nece&s;&s;ary to add &s;ome brief Notes out of the</HI> Greek <HI>Com|mentators,</HI> Nicetas <HI>and</HI> P&s;ellus, <HI>upon it.</HI></P>
<P>The Sen&s;e of the Prophet's Words is this: I will keep my Mind Pure and Intire from all Worldly Care, and will fly into a certain Secu|rity very firm, and as a Thought rai&s;ed on high: and thence will I ob&s;erve what God will &s;peak to me, <HI>&amp;c. Nicetas, n.</HI> 1.</P>
<PB N="116" REF="79">
<P> <HI>Stand</HI> &s;ignifies Firmne&s;s and Con&s;tancy, and a State unmoved, and unmoveable to meaner things; <HI>Speculate</HI> an accurate and agreeable Contemplation and Knowledge, and that <HI>Impe|tus</HI> (or Earne&s;tne&s;s) wherewith the Mind is carried to tho&s;e things which come to our Know|ledge. For &s;o he, who doth emerge out of the Gro&s;&s;ne&s;s of corporal things, at fir&s;t goes the middle way, which is called <HI>Animal;</HI> but after|ward the more &s;ublime, which is called <HI>Spiritual. P&s;ell.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Watch</HI> (or Guard) is the Manner of every ones Soul, according to which he doth receive Divine Vi&s;ions in a certain proportion. For if any one &s;hall rai&s;e him&s;elf by higher Contemplation, he will err. He calls it <HI>Power,</HI> becau&s;e every Soul rai&s;ed up to a Divine Sim|plicity, and conver&s;ing immediately with Divine Vi&s;ions them&s;elves, u&s;eth tho&s;e kind of Sights freely, and according to this Power, conde&s;cend|ing to the Capacity of his Auditors, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> He calls it <HI>Speculation,</HI> becau&s;e the Soul doth not mea&s;ure Divine Vi&s;ions by the Will, but by the Intellective Faculty and Mea&s;ure of its Pur|gation. <HI>P&s;ell.</HI> 9.</P>
<P>What the <HI>Sun</HI> is in Sen&s;ibles, that <HI>God</HI> is in Intellectuals: For as It doth illuminate the vi|&s;ible World, He doth in like manner the Invi&s;i|ble. Moreover, as It makes tho&s;e, who look upon it, bright; &s;o He makes them Divine and Deiform. <HI>Nicetas.</HI></P>
<PB N="117" REF="79">
<P> The Pre&s;ence of <HI>Spiritual Light</HI> and <HI>Divine Splendor</HI> converts the Mind of tho&s;e, who are judg'd worthy of &s;uch a Glory and Contem|plation, from many and various Opinions and Imaginations to that which truly is, that is to God, <HI>&amp;c. Nicetas.</HI></P>
<P>For what the <HI>Eye</HI> is in the Body, this the <HI>Mind</HI> is in the Soul. As therefore to behold the Lightning when it breaks out, there is need of <HI>good Eyes:</HI> &s;o al&s;o for this, that we may be illu&s;trated by the Contemplation of God, is re|quired a <HI>Pure and Sound Mind.</HI> For as in a Looking-Gla&s;s &s;ordid and impure, the Form of a Face cannot be repre&s;ented; &s;o neither in a foul and unclean Mind, the Splendor of God. <HI>Ni.</HI></P>
<P>Whoever, knowing that they are only Mind, have pa&s;led the bulk and gro&s;&s;ne&s;s of the Body,&mdash; and have <HI>purged</HI> their Mind from the Stain of Vices, and rendered it fit and meet for the Reception of the Fir&s;t (or chief) Mind and Creator of all things, God is <HI>united</HI> to them. For when the Mind is <HI>Pure</HI> and In|corrupt, he doth conver&s;e with the Mind with|out any thing intervening, and by it hath Com|munion with the Soul, as again by this he is joyned to the Body. But he is united, not as He is, but as We are capable of that Union. And hence at la&s;t he becomes known: Nor can any one otherwi&s;e know God, unle&s;s he open his Soul to Him, and receive him in it. <HI>P&s;ellus.</HI></P>
<PB N="118" REF="80">
<P> God doth &s;o much <HI>become known</HI> to Men, as he is <HI>familiarly joyned</HI> to them, who by Vertue are joyned to Him. For according as is their <HI>A&s;cent</HI> he doth de&s;cend. And how much Man doth approach to God, &s;o much al&s;o doth God become known to Man, imparting the Know|ledge of him&s;elf according to the proportion of <HI>Purity</HI> that is in every one.</P>
<P>See whether the <HI>Spiritual and Divine Grada|tion</HI> will rai&s;e us. For from the <HI>Incomprehen&s;i|bility</HI> of the Divine Nature, as from the fir&s;t &s;tep of a Ladder, we are rai&s;ed to <HI>Admiration</HI> of him, as to the &s;econd &s;tep: again, from Admi|ration we a&s;cend to more <HI>earne&s;t De&s;ire:</HI> then from De&s;ire are we rai&s;ed up to <HI>Purgation:</HI> and from hence, further to <HI>Likene&s;s with God:</HI> and, la&s;tly, we arrive to <HI>conver&s;e familiarly</HI> with God, and know Him more perfectly by <HI>&V;nion.</HI> Then, when we are made Deiform, doth the true and natural God <HI>conver&s;e familiarly</HI> with tho&s;e, who by Grace are call'd Gods, infu&s;ing the Divine Fulgers of his Knowledge in us as every one is purified. <HI>Nicetas.</HI></P>
<P>To be made God, is to be <HI>partaker of Divine Illumination;</HI> but not to pa&s;s into the Divine E&s;&s;ence.&mdash; Since we are &s;et in the Confines between God and Matter, if we decline to Mat|ter, we are Gro&s;s and Material; if we tend to|ward God, we are call'd Divine, and thereupon Gods. <HI>Nicetas.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB N="119" REF="80">
<HEAD>St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> concerning the &s;ame.</HEAD>
<P>THE Life of the Body, is the Soul; the Life of the Soul, is God. The Spirit of God dwells in the Soul, and by the Soul in the Body, that our Bodies al&s;o may be the Temple of the Holy Spirit, whom we have from God. <HI>Ser.</HI> 18. <HI>de verb. Apo&s;t. c.</HI> 6.</P>
<P>It is not unrea&s;onable to &s;ay, That the In|corporeal Soul is &s;o illuminated with the Incor|poreal Light of the Simple (or pure) Wi&s;dom of God, as the Body of the Air is illuminated with the Corporeal Light, and as the Air grows dark upon the departure of that Light. 11 <HI>de Civ. Dei, c.</HI> 10.</P>
<P><HI>Minds</HI> are to <HI>Souls</HI> as their <HI>Sen&s;es;</HI> but of Sciences whatever things are <HI>most certain,</HI> they are &s;uch as are tho&s;e things which are illu&s;trated or &s;hined upon by the Sun, that they may be &s;een, as the Earth and all Earthly things. But <HI>God</HI> is he who doth illu&s;trate; but I <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> am &s;o in Mind, as the <HI>A&s;pect</HI> is in the <HI>Eyes.</HI> The <HI>Eye of the Soul</HI> is the <HI>Mind,</HI> pure from all &s;tain of the Body, that is, remote and purged from all de&s;ires of Mortal things, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> 1 <HI>Soliloq. c.</HI> 6.</P>
<P>It is a great and very rare thing, with the In|ten&s;ene&s;s of the Mind to tran&s;cend all Creature,
<PB N="120" REF="81">corporeal or incorporeal, being con&s;idered and found mutable, and to approach to that un|changeable Sub&s;tance of God, and there learn from Him, that none but he made all Nature, which is not Him&s;elf. For &s;o God &s;peaks with Man, not by any corporal Creature &s;ounding in corporal Ears, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but he &s;peaks by the very Truth it &s;elf, if one be fit to hear with the Mind, not with the Body. 11 <HI>de C. D.</HI> 2. <HI>v. ibid. Coq.</HI></P>
<P>When the Soul &s;ees that &s;ingular and true Beauty, it will the more love it. But unle&s;s it fix on it its Eye with a mighty Love, and de|cline not any whether from beholding it, it cannot remain in that mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Vi&s;ion. 1 <HI>Solil. c.</HI> 7.</P>
<P>One thing there is that I can pre&s;cribe thee: I know no more. That the&s;e <HI>&s;en&s;i|ble things</HI> are wholly to be <HI>for&s;aken;</HI> and that we mu&s;t greatly beware while we act this Body, that our Wings, which we need have intire and perfect, be not hindered by any of their Birdlime, that we may fly away from this Darkne&s;s, to that Light, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Therefore, when thou &s;halt be &s;uch, that nothing of Earthly things doth at all delight thee, believe me, in that mo|ment, in the &s;ame point of time, thou &s;halt &s;ee what thou de&s;ire&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> 1 <HI>Soliloq. c.</HI> 14.</P>
<P>Thou do&s;t de&s;ire to &s;ee and imbrace <HI>Wi&s;dom</HI> as it were <HI>naked,</HI> without any thing of covering, &s;o as &s;he doth not &s;uffer her&s;elf, except to very few and her mo&s;t choice Lovers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> It is a
<PB N="121" REF="81">certain ineffable and incomprehen&s;ible Light of Minds: that vulgar Light, <HI>&amp;c. ibid. c.</HI> 13.</P>
<P>Confide con&s;tantly in God, and as much as thou can&s;t commit thy &s;elf intirely to Him. Do not be willing to be as it were thine own, but profe&s;s thy &s;elf to be a Servant of the mo&s;t Gracious and Bountiful Lord. For &s;o will he not cea&s;e to rai&s;e thee to Him&s;elf, and will per|mit nothing to befall thee, but what &s;hall profit thee, though thou knowe&s;t it not. 1 <HI>Soliloq.</HI> 14.</P>
<P>Hear me, my God, hear me after that manner of thine <HI>known to very few.</HI>&mdash; Command, I be&s;eech thee, whatever thou wilt, but heal and open my Ears, that I may hear thy Voice: Heal and open my Eyes, that I may &s;ee thy Becks.&mdash; Say to me, which way I &s;hall look that I may behold Thee, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> 1 <HI>Soliloq. c.</HI> 1.</P>
<P>Being admoni&s;hed to return to my &s;elf, I entred into my mo&s;t inward parts, thou being my Leader: and I could do it, becau&s;e thou wa&s;t become my Helper. I entred, and I di&s;cerned with the Eye of my Soul, &s;uch as it was, above the &s;ame Eye of my Soul, above my Mind, <HI>the unchangeable Light of the Lord;</HI> not this vulgar, and vi&s;ible to all Fle&s;h. Nor was it as of the &s;ame kind greater, as if it grew more and more clear than it, and filled all with its Greatne&s;s. This was not that, but another, quite another from all tho&s;e. Nor was it &s;o above my Mind, as Oyl above Water, nor as
<PB N="122" REF="82">Heaven above Earth; but &s;uperior, becau&s;e he made me; and I inferior, becau&s;e I was made by it. He who knoweth Truth, knoweth it: and he who knoweth it, knoweth Eternity. Charity knoweth it. O Eternal Truth, and true Cha|rity, and dear Eternity. Thou art my God; for Thee do I &s;igh day and night. And when I fir&s;t knew Thee thou did&s;t a&s;&s;ume me, (or take me up) that I &s;hould &s;ee it to be which I did &s;ee; and my &s;elf not to be, who did &s;ee. And thou did&s;t beat back my weak Sight, &s;hining vehemently upon me; and I trembled with Love and Horror, and found my &s;elf to be far from Thee in the Region of Di&s;&s;imilitude, (or Unlikene&s;s) as if I heard thy <HI>Voice</HI> from on high; <HI>I am the Food of grown Per&s;ons; grow, and thou &s;halt feed on me. Nor &s;halt thou change me into thee, as the Food of thy Fle&s;h; but thou &s;halt be changed into me.</HI> And I know that for Iniquity thou do&s;t tutor Men, and make&s;t my Soul to pine away like a Spider. And I &s;aid, <HI>Is Truth nothing, becau&s;e it is diffu&s;ed, neither through finite, nor through infinite &s;paces?</HI> And thou cryed&s;t from a far, <HI>Yes indeed,</HI> I AM THAT I AM. And I heard, as it is heard in the heart; and there was no cau&s;e of doubt at all left; and I could ea&s;ilier doubt that I was alive, than that Truth was not, which is &s;een being under&s;tood by the things which are made. 7 <HI>Confe&s;&s;. c.</HI> 10.</P>
<PB N="123" REF="82">
<P> More to this purpo&s;e might be noted out of the&s;e, and others of great Authority in the Chri&s;tian Church; though it may be ob&s;erved that anciently the Chri&s;tians, as well as the Jews and Heathens, were very cautious not to expre&s;s the My&s;teries of their Religion to the Prophane, or to &s;uch as were not capable, ac|cording to our Saviour's Admonition, <HI>Mat.</HI> 7.6. and out of that caution, and a like caution to avoid all O&s;tentation and &s;ecure their Humility, were more &s;paring in their Expre&s;&s;ions of any thing of this nature in their Writings, than tho&s;e of after-Ages, who, by degrees, began to write more openly, and at la&s;t to compo&s;e whole Books of what was before taught more &s;ecretly to particular Per&s;ons, as they were capable to receive it; but this is &s;ufficient for the pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>By this Ta&s;t of the <HI>Spirit of the&s;e Holy Peo|ple,</HI> together with the Te&s;timonies of &s;uch Ex|cellent Per&s;ons as were contempory with them, and well acquainted with their <HI>Manners</HI> and <HI>Exerci&s;es,</HI> we may judge of the Ra&s;hne&s;s and Incon&s;ideratene&s;s of many of later times, who have made no &s;cruple to de&s;pi&s;e, vilifie, and reproach the <HI>Mona&s;tick State</HI> in general; and the Impiety and Wickedne&s;s of &s;uch as have indu&s;triou&s;ly endeavoured to rake up all the Dirt, and rai&s;e all the Calumnies and Slanders they could again&s;t them. If the Abu&s;es and Corruptions, which in later times have increa&s;ed
<PB N="124" REF="83">among them, were &s;uch as might provoke the Indignation of Men and Judgments of God upon them, mu&s;t the whole State from the be|ginning be condemned for them? If the Ser|pent ca&s;t out a Flood of fal&s;e and Hypocritical Pretenders, &s;uch as tho&s;e de&s;cribed by <HI>Piammon</HI> before, <HI>pag.</HI> 59. and <HI>Hierom, pag.</HI> 65. called <HI>Sarabites</HI> and <HI>Remoboth,</HI> to drown and ob&s;cure the Excellence of tho&s;e who were &s;incere, doth it become Chri&s;tians to help the Serpent in that attempt? <HI>There are al&s;o</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI>) <HI>who are fal&s;e Monks, and we have known &s;uch;</HI> &s;ed non periit Fraternitas Pia propter eos, qui profiten|tur quod non &s;unt; <HI>But the Pious Fraternity is not therefore lo&s;t becau&s;e of tho&s;e, who profe&s;s them&s;elves to be what they are not,</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 132. and in divers other places he notes &s;uch a mix|ture among them; and the Unrea&s;onablene&s;s of tho&s;e, who cen&s;ure all for the Mi&s;carriages of &s;ome. Should we judge of <HI>Epi&s;copacy</HI> by the Actions of too many of that Order, which might be noted even from the time of <HI>Diotrephes,</HI> but e&s;pecially after they became not only &s;e|cure, but greatly honoured by Chri&s;tian Princes and Emperours; or of the <HI>Reformed Churches,</HI> by what hath been acted by &s;ome among&s;t them; or even of <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> by the Lives and Manners of too many call'd Chri&s;tians; how unrea&s;onable would that be?</P>
<PB N="125" REF="83">
<P> If we look into the more ancient times, we &s;hall find them admired even by Jews and Heathens, and cen&s;ured and condemned by none but Infidels, Hereticks, and Apo&s;tates. Only one <HI>SYNESI&V;S</HI> is &s;et up again&s;t the concurrent Judgment of all the Great Lights of the Church, <HI>Athana&s;ius, Ba&s;il, Nazianzen, Chry&s;o&s;tom, Ambro&s;e, Au&s;tin,</HI> and innumerable more. And who is this <HI>Sy|ne&s;ius?</HI> A Bi&s;hop indeed, and a Learned Phi|lo&s;opher; but as a Learned Doctor of this Church, and no Friend to Enthu&s;ia&s;m, hath ob&s;erved, a better Platoni&s;t than &s;ound Chri|&s;tian; one who lived among them, and yet very ignorant of what was mo&s;t con&s;iderable in them; one who pa&s;&s;eth a har&s;h Cen&s;ure of them, and yet in it gives a remarkable Te&s;ti|mony for them. He knew indeed what every Ru&s;tick could take notice of, that they practi&s;ed them&s;elves, and recommended to others, <HI>Tem|perance,</HI> and <HI>Continence,</HI> and great <HI>Au&s;terities;</HI> and thereof he is an unexceptionable Witne&s;s; but the rea&s;on thereof he knew not; and there|fore calls their Way of Living Barbarous, Ada|mantine, and contrary to Humane Nature; an ample Te&s;timony rightly under&s;tood. He knew their diligent <HI>Labour</HI> and <HI>Works,</HI> and what was &s;aid concerning their continual <HI>Contemplation</HI> of Divine things: and thereof is an un|deniable Witne&s;s; but how that was con&s;i&s;tent with twi&s;ting of Reeds and making of Baskets,
<PB N="126" REF="84">that he could not conceive. He knew that they had great regard to <HI>Motions, Impul&s;es, Tran&s;ports,</HI> &amp;c. and thereof he is a competent Witne&s;s; but what to make of them he knew not; and therefore thought that they did there|by hope for the End without the Means. He knew that they were very confident of their <HI>Knowledge of Divine things;</HI> and thereof he is a &s;ufficient Witne&s;s; but what they were he un|der&s;tood not; nor how they &s;hould attain any &s;uch Knowledge without Learning and Study; and therefore thought they did very arrogantly a&s;&s;ume to them&s;elves a greater Mea&s;ure of Di|vine Knowledge than others had. And what wonder if he, who did not believe all the known Articles of the <HI>Chri&s;tian Faith,</HI> &s;hould be no more acquainted with &s;uch My&s;teries and Se|crets in Spiritual things, as are by the Wi&s;dom of God hid from the Wi&s;e and Prudent, but revealed unto Babes, than &s;ome of our Learned Doctors are at this time? Undoubtedly had tho&s;e great Men, mentioned before, no way inferior to this in any part of Learning, under|&s;tood no more of the&s;e things than he did, they had been of his Mind; or had he under&s;tood as much as they, he had been of theirs. And &s;o much for <HI>Syne&s;ius,</HI> a very competent Witne&s;s of what he knew in this Ca&s;e, but a mo&s;t in|competent Judge of what he under&s;tood not.</P>
<PB N="127" REF="84">
<P> If we come nearer to our own times, and inquire into the State of the Mona&s;teries at the time of the Di&s;&s;olution, <Q><HI>Stow</HI> the Hi&s;torian writing of the Year 1536. 28. <HI>Hen.</HI> 8. &s;ays, <HI>The Poor did much lament the Downfall of Mo|na&s;teries, for the great Ho&s;pitality which was kept there.</HI> And it is certain, that <HI>till after the Di&s;&s;olution of Mona&s;teries there was no Law in</HI> England <HI>to enforce any Man to pay to the Relief of the Poor by way of Temporal Coercion.</HI> The <HI>Stat.</HI> of <HI>Ed.</HI> 1. call'd the <HI>Stat. de A&s;por|tatis Religio&s;orum,</HI> recites it to be one chief End of building <HI>Mona&s;teries,</HI> that Ho&s;pitality and Alm&s;giving might be exerci&s;ed, and the Sick and Feeble maintained. The <HI>Clergy</HI> then &s;carce pretending them&s;elves to be <HI>Proprietors,</HI> but rather <HI>&V;&s;u-Fructuarii:</HI> and as Mr. <HI>Selden</HI> &s;aith, that <HI>Par&s;onages</HI> and <HI>Vicarages</HI> were <HI>Ele|mo&s;ynae Laicorum;</HI> &s;o it &s;eems they were u&s;ed as a kind of Re&s;erve for the Laity, when they fell into Poverty again, <HI>that is,</HI> the Surplus was &s;o: for there was always to be deducted the Maintenance of him, who waited at the Altar, according to the Dignity and Quality of his Per&s;on, Order, and Function.</Q> This was the Ob&s;ervation of a very good Friend to the <HI>Church of England,</HI> the late Lord Chancellor <HI>Finch.</HI> But as to the <HI>Mona&s;teries,</HI> certainly that was an ex|cellent <HI>Provi&s;ion for the Poor,</HI> where they might be &s;upplied with Spiritual as well as Corporal
<PB N="128" REF="85">Alms; and &s;uch as it &s;eems did not fail till the la&s;t; &s;o that we needed no Law for <HI>Provi&s;ion for the Poor</HI> till the Mona&s;teries were di&s;&s;olved. Which is that <HI>Sin, whereof</HI> the Learned and Judicious Mr. <HI>Jo&s;eph Meed</HI> &s;aith, <HI>the whole Body of the Reformation is notoriou&s;ly guilty; which, neverthele&s;s,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>is accounted no Sin, and yet &s;uch a one as I know not whether God ever pa&s;&s;ed by without &s;ome vi&s;ible and remarkable Judgment.</HI> Ep. 14. p. 760. (<HI>v.</HI> Ep. 58. p. 829. Di&s;c. 2. p. 15, 17. <HI>&amp;</HI> Di&s;c. 27. p. 119...) and the Judgment he thought begun upon &s;ome, (<HI>v.</HI> p. 17. <HI>&amp;</HI> 829.) and expected more to fol|low. And &s;ince the Righteous God is a &s;evere Re|venger of the Indignities and Injuries done to his Saints; nor can he be thought to have le&s;s regard to Sacred Per&s;ons than to Sacred things, I know no rea&s;on why the great Defects of pious and a compleat Chri&s;tian Education, which are now notorious in our Univer&s;ities, and that Blind|ne&s;s, and Spirit of Sloath and Slumber, which, from thence, &s;eems to have &s;eized and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed all Ranks and Qualities of Per&s;ons and Parties a|mong&s;t us, may not be a &s;pecial Judgment of God for that Univer&s;al Prejudice and Contempt, which upon the Scandals of &s;ome, the prophane Sacrilegious Impiety of others, and the incon&s;i|derate Ra&s;hne&s;s and Indi&s;cretion of many more, have rai&s;ed again&s;t it.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="85">
<P>THE LIFE OF St. ANTONY, Originally Written in <HI>Greek</HI> by St. ATHANASIUS, Bi&s;hop of <HI>Alexandria.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Faithfully Tran&s;lated out of the</HI> Greek <HI>by</HI> D. S.</P>
<P>TO WHICH The LIVES of &s;ome others of tho&s;e <HI>Holy Men</HI> are intended to be added, out of the be&s;t Approved Authors.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Author, for the U&s;e and Benefit of a Religious Society, 1697.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="86">
<PB REF="86">
<HEAD>THE PREFACE.</HEAD>
<P>THE great <HI>Prejudice,</HI> which in this last Age was rai&s;ed <HI>again&s;t Mona&s;tick Life and Monks,</HI> &s;o greatly e&s;teemed in the most flouri&s;hing Ages of the Church, did proceed, not &s;o much from any Evil in the thing, or in the per&s;ons at that time, though much degenerated from the Virtue of the Ancients, as from the Wickedne&s;s and Sacriledge of &s;uch as were greedy of their Revenues and Riches, and &V;nwillingne&s;s of others to bear the Yoak, they had taken upon them. This is &s;o manifest, that whoever &s;hould proceed to that degree of Di&s;ingenuity and Impudence as to deny it, would ju&s;tly forfeit all Credit with Men of Judg|ment and Impartiality afterward. It is true, there was too much occa&s;ion given for &s;uch as had a mind to rake up all the dirt they could against them; yet even in that &s;carce any who have &s;et them&s;elves to that work, have contained them&s;elves within the bounds of Truth and Mode&s;ty, much le&s;s of Charity; but their Malice and Prejudice may
<PB REF="87">be perceived upon a very &s;mall in&s;pection into their Writings. In this wicked Work, be&s;ides all tho&s;e who were directly concerned in it, many others in|gaged, partly as Advocates, in hope of &s;ome Pre|ferment or Advantage from &s;uch as were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of the Prey; partly to ingratiate them&s;elves with the Party; and partly through an indi&s;creet igno|rant Zeal, ea&s;ily carried with an overflowing Stream.</P>
<P>The <HI>mi&s;chievous Con&s;equences</HI> of this were many and great; of which, to pa&s;s by others, one is no le&s;s than want of &s;ound Education in true Chri&s;tian Piety and Virtue, even in our &V;ni|ver&s;ities ever &s;ince, but too manifest in the Effects: and another no le&s;s than that, even the making the Word of God of none effect, by di&s;|commending and di&s;paraging, and eluding even what our Saviour recommended to all, though in|joyned to none, undermining the very Principles of the most Heroick Virtue and Piety of the most Holy Chri&s;tians, by an abominable Antichri&s;tian Pre&s;umption, requiring no le&s;s than a Publick Hu|miliation of all the Prote&s;tant Churches. For the&s;e, and others of this nature, it is that the Ble&s;&s;ing of God hath not been upon the <HI>Reforma|tion,</HI> but only a Protection, nor is it probable ever will, till the Reformation it &s;elf be reformed; but that they will either dwindle away, as they have hither|to, till they come to nothing; or fill up the mea&s;ure of their Iniquities, till they bring &s;ome great Judgment of God upon them.</P>
<PB REF="87">
<P> Such incon&s;iderate factious Zealotes as call this <HI>Popery,</HI> know not what they &s;ay; but do Honour to <HI>Popery,</HI> Injury to <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> and Prejudice to their own <HI>Cau&s;e.</HI> But &s;o mad and heady have they been, that &s;ober Men, who under|&s;tood better things, have been forced to apologize for barely mentioning the <HI>Mona&s;teries,</HI> as Mr. <HI>Tanner</HI> hath truly ob&s;erved, in his <HI>Preface</HI> to his <HI>Notitia Mona&s;tica;</HI> who, notwith&s;tanding, hath very worthily dared to &s;ay, That <HI>Mona&s;teries were in tho&s;e dark Ages the only Pre&s;ervers of Learning, and Maintainers of Ho&s;pitality:</HI> That <HI>Orders and Statutes for the Relief of the Poor were never known till after their Di&s;&s;o|lution:</HI> and, That <HI>their Founders were Men of the greate&s;t Honour and Virtue in their re|&s;pective Ages.</HI> In his <HI>Epi&s;tle Dedicatory.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Antiquity of Mona&s;teries among Chri|&s;tians</HI> is not certainly known. It is very proba|ble, which Mr. <HI>Tanner</HI> &s;aith after Sir <HI>George Macken&s;y,</HI> that the Original of <HI>Monks</HI> in <HI>Britain</HI> may be dated from the first Plantation of <HI>Chri|&s;tianity</HI> therein; <Q>and that &s;ome of the <HI>Druids</HI> having been converted from the <HI>Pagan Religion,</HI> whereof they were the <HI>Prie&s;ts,</HI> became our <HI>fir&s;t Monks;</HI> being thereunto much inclined by the Severity of their former Di&s;cipline.</Q> And the &s;ame is certainly more than probable concerning <HI>Egypt,</HI> that the <HI>Therapeuts,</HI> whatever they were before, were converted &s;ome of the first, and con|tinued
<PB REF="88">their way of living afterward; for none could be more di&s;po&s;ed to receive the Go&s;pel; nor can any other account be with any probability given of them. And <HI>Mona&s;teries</HI> there were in <HI>Egypt</HI> before St. <HI>Antony,</HI> as appears plainly by the ex|pre&s;&s;ion of St. <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> in his Life, <HI>(c. 3. p. 6.)</HI> and more fully by <HI>Socrates, (lib. 4. c. 23.)</HI> who &s;aith, <HI>That</HI> Mona&s;teries <HI>in</HI> Egypt <HI>had their Original from very great Antiqui|ty: but they were inlarged and much in|crea&s;ed by a pious Man, who&s;e Name was</HI> Ammon; of whom <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> makes mention in the Life of <HI>Antony, (c. 32.)</HI> which <HI>Socrates</HI> al&s;o takes notice of. So that the Que&s;tion men|tioned by St. <HI>Hierom,</HI> in his Life of <HI>Paul,</HI> is plainly to be under&s;tood, not who were the fir&s;t <HI>Monks,</HI> nor who were the fir&s;t <HI>Anchorets;</HI> but who were the fir&s;t <HI>Eremites,</HI> who retired &s;o far as into the De&s;art? for <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> mentions an <HI>old Man,</HI> when St. <HI>Antony</HI> began, who had obliged him&s;elf to a <HI>Solitary Life</HI> from his Youth; and, doubtle&s;s, many &s;uch there were from the beginning of Chri|&s;tianity: but &s;uch Societies there were al&s;o of <HI>Women,</HI> before St. <HI>Antony</HI>'s time; to one of which he commited his Si&s;ter, as appears in his Life; and of whom St. <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> gives us a noble Te|&s;timony. <HI>Apolog. p. 698.</HI> to. <HI>1.</HI></P>
<P>But there being none of whom we have any &s;uch particular and authentick account of their <HI>Lives</HI> and <HI>Actions,</HI> more ancient than St. <HI>Antony,</HI> none
<PB REF="88">could be more proper to begin with for Example of the <HI>Heroick Piety and Virtue of tho&s;e Ancient Chri&s;tians,</HI> than his, being written by &s;o Eminent and Excellent a Per&s;on as St. <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> who&s;e de&s;erved Character the <HI>Engli&s;h Reader</HI> may pe|ru&s;e in Dr. <HI>Cave,</HI> collected out of the Ancients.</P>
<P>And for <HI>the LIFE</HI> it &s;elf, that it was written by <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> in <HI>Greek,</HI> and &s;oon after Tran&s;lated by <HI>Evagrius</HI> into <HI>Latin,</HI> is &s;o atte&s;ted by the Ancients, as is beyond all que&s;tion; and the Agree|ment, and Di&s;agreement too, by rea&s;on of the Li|berty which <HI>Evagrius</HI> &s;aith he took in Tran&s;lating of it, which is between the <HI>Greek</HI> and the <HI>Latin</HI> Copies now extant, is &s;o remarkable, and all &s;o agreeable with what is &s;aid of it, or out of it, by the Ancients, as renders all little <HI>Cavils</HI> and pretended <HI>Doubtfulne&s;s</HI> greater Blemi&s;hes to their Writings, Candor and Integrity, who abu&s;e People with &s;uch Pretences, than it can be to either the <HI>Greek</HI> or <HI>Latin</HI> Copies, which &s;o mutually confirm the Truth of each other, and with the concurrence of other Te&s;timonies, make &s;uch a triple cord, as nothing but greater regard to Factions and Parties, than to Truth and Hone&s;ty, would ever attempt to break. Why are not &s;ome others reckoned doubtful, for which there is more colour; but that one &s;erves their turn, but the other not?</P>
<P>But undoubtedly there is a certain Secret Cau&s;e of &s;ome Peoples Prejudice against this Holy Life: His <HI>Heroick Virtue and Devotion,</HI> is a tacit
<PB REF="89">Reproach to their Lazine&s;s and Tepidity; His <HI>Miracles,</HI> to their Want of Grace; which makes that &s;eem incredible to them, which they &s;ee nothing of among them&s;elves: and hence they catch at any thing to bring all into que&s;tion; as, his <HI>Combats with Devils,</HI> (c. <HI>7.</HI>) though certainly written by St. <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> and cited out of him by <HI>Ruffinus, Socrates,</HI> and <HI>Nicephorus;</HI> and the like related by others, and even in our own times; the <HI>Smell of Spirits;</HI> (c. <HI>35.</HI>) as if it was not common for foul Spirits to leave a Stink behind them; or that we must deny Credit to all Relations of that kind, even amongst our &s;elves, becau&s;e not agreeing with our fine-&s;pun imaginary Notions of Spirits: and <HI>the u&s;e of the Sign of the Cro&s;s,</HI> both recom|mended to others, and practi&s;ed by him&s;elf; as if that was not the Common Practice of Chri&s;tians long before his time; and the triumphant Erecting of Cro&s;&s;es ever &s;ince <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI>'s time at the least; (<HI>See</HI> Eu&s;ebius<HI>'s Life of</HI> Con&s;tantine, <HI>l. 1. c. 28,&mdash;31, 40. and l. 2. c. 7.&mdash;</HI>) and we had bravely mended the matter, by &s;etting up in&s;tead of it the Effigies of the Dragon upon our highest Spire without, and the En&s;igns of the Beast over our Altars within, in many of our Churches, as real Emblems or Repre&s;entations of our E&s;tate and Condition, as if there was indeed &s;ome Magical Enchantment in them.</P>
<P>We may argue and cavil at &s;uch things as the&s;e; but where is the Virtue and Divine Power, which
<PB REF="89">accompanied that Holy Man? If we judge by our Saviour's Rule, we &s;hall find little but empty Talkers among tho&s;e, who exclaim mo&s;t against the&s;e things; and magnifie the Active Life above the Contemplative: What does their Activity produce? <HI>Antony,</HI> we &s;ee, converted great num|bers to for&s;ake their E&s;tates, and embrace the State recommended by our Saviour to all, who could receive it: But how many do we &s;ee by the&s;e Orators converted from their Covetou&s;ne&s;s, Vanities and Superfluities, to Obedience to the po&s;itive Commands of Christ? In <HI>Antony</HI> the Power and Spirit of Chri&s;tianity &s;hined gloriou&s;ly even in the &s;ight of Heathens and Infidels; but our Little Morality makes our &s;elves &s;u&s;pected fir&s;t, and then our Religion too for our &s;akes; and gives great occa&s;ion to &s;uch as have more Wit than &s;olid Vir|tue, to turn <HI>Athei&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Dei&s;ts;</HI> and &s;uch as have &s;ome &s;en&s;e of Religion, to turn <HI>Separati&s;ts</HI> or <HI>Di&s;&s;enters,</HI> Nay, the very <HI>Reading of this Life</HI> hath produced more noble Convertions, than all their Preachings and Writings, put all toge|ther, who cavil at it: whereof we have par|ticular in&s;tances in St. <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI>'s <HI>Confe&s;&s;ions, l. 8. c. 6.</HI> And, indeed, how can they expect the Ble&s;&s;ing of God upon their Labours, who &s;o unadvi&s;edly oppo&s;e &s;o con&s;iderable a part of the Doctrine of our Saviour in general, and re&s;ist his In&s;pirations in &s;uch as con&s;ult them in their own particular ca&s;es? Is this the way to prepare a
<PB REF="90">People for the Lord? They may do well to con|&s;ider what they &s;hall an&s;wer, when they are called to account for it; and be more wary in &s;uch ca&s;es, that they do not ob&s;truct the Work of God, but, as they ought, promote it.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="biography">
<HEAD><HI>An</HI> ABSTRACT <HI>of the</HI> LIFE <HI>of St.</HI> ANTONY <HI>out of</HI> SOZOMON, <HI>l.</HI> 1. <HI>c.</HI> 13.</HEAD>
<P>WHETHER they were <HI>Egyptians,</HI> or any others, who were the fir&s;t Be|ginners of that <HI>(Mona&s;tick) Philo&s;o|phy,</HI> this is confe&s;&s;ed of all, That that Great <HI>ANTONY</HI> the Monk did excellently practice that kind of Life with proper Exerci&s;es and Actions of <HI>Diligence</HI> and <HI>Perfection;</HI> whom at that time growing famous in the De&s;arts of <HI>Egypt,</HI> the Emperour <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> in Honour of his Vertue, received into his Favour and Friend|&s;hip, honoured him with his Letters, and de&s;ired him to write to him for what he had occa&s;ion. He was an <HI>Egyptian,</HI> Born of a Noble Family at a place call'd <HI>Coma,</HI> which is a Village near <HI>He|raclea.</HI> When he was a well-grown Youth,
<PB REF="90">the Lands de&s;cended to him from his Father, he gave to the People of the place; and &s;elling the re&s;t of his E&s;tate, he di&s;tributed the <HI>Price</HI> among&s;t the Poor. For he con&s;idered that it was the part of a Student of Philo&s;ophy, not only to deprive him&s;elf of his E&s;tate, but to di&s;po&s;e of it in a decent manner. While he lived with others of his time &s;tudious of Philo&s;ophy, he imitated the Virtues of all of them. And becau&s;e he conceived that a Good Life, although hard and difficult at the beginning, would, by Cu&s;tom, become ea&s;ie and plea&s;ant, to tho&s;e mea&s;ures of &s;evere Exerci&s;e of his Continence, which he fir&s;t began with, he daily added &s;ome|thing, and, as if he always began, &s;till renewed his Re&s;olution and Alacrity of Mind, cha&s;tizing &s;en&s;itive Plea&s;ures with corporal Severities, and re&s;i&s;ting the Affections of his Mind with a Wi&s;e and Divine Re&s;olution. His <HI>Food</HI> was only Bread and Salt, and his <HI>Drink</HI> Water, and <HI>Sun|&s;et</HI> his Dinner time. But he often continued <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;ting</HI> two days, or more. He <HI>waked</HI> almo&s;t continually whole Nights, and continued in <HI>Prayer</HI> even till Day; and if he did take any <HI>Sleep,</HI> it was only <HI>upon a Mat.</HI> But for the mo&s;t part he took the <HI>Ground</HI> or <HI>Floor</HI> for his Bed. He refu&s;ed anointing with <HI>Oyl,</HI> and the U&s;e of <HI>Baths,</HI> and &s;uch like things; becau&s;e they, with their Humidity, are wont to di&s;&s;olve and relax the firmne&s;s of the Body. And it is reported,
<PB REF="91">that he never &s;aw him&s;elf <HI>Naked. Book Learn|ing</HI> he neither under&s;tood, nor admired; but a Good Mind he commended as more ancient, and the Inventer of it. He was very Meek, Civil, Prudent, Magnanimous, courteous to &s;uch as came to him, and not unplea&s;ant to tho&s;e, who talked with him, even though they talked cro&s;sly: For he did wi&s;ely, by his Behaviour and Skill, allay the heat of Contention as it aro&s;e, reduced it to Moderation, and the Per&s;ons to more compo&s;ed <HI>Behaviour.</HI> When, by &s;o great Virtues, he had obtained abundance of Divine <HI>Fore-knowledge,</HI> he did not account it a Virtue to fore-know: and therefore neither did he ad|vi&s;e that any one &s;hould lightly trouble them|&s;elves about the Fore-knowledge of Futurities. And he judged, that neither he, who is ignorant of future things, &s;hould for that incur Puni&s;h|ment; nor he, who had Knowledge of them, to be in that re&s;pect Happy, or to be emulated. For true Felicity, he &s;aid, was to Wor&s;hip God, and Ob&s;erve his Laws. But, &s;aid he, if any one be de&s;irous of this Prae-&s;cience or Fore-know|ledge of things, let him purifie his Mind. For by this means he did re&s;olve that the Faculty of Fore-&s;eeing, and the Science of future things, might, by Divine Revelation, be obtained. But neither did he indure to be <HI>idle;</HI> and he directed any who de&s;ired to live well, to work; and day and night to enter into Examination and Ac|count
<PB REF="91">with him&s;elf of his Deeds: and if any thing was done otherwi&s;e than it ought, to write that down, that thenceforward he might beware of Sins, and be cautious of him&s;elf, if he &s;hould find many &s;uch things written, as fearing le&s;t if that writing &s;hould be found, it might appear to others how bad he had been. He was an excellent and mo&s;t indu&s;trious Advo|cate for &s;uch as were <HI>oppre&s;&s;ed;</HI> and for the &s;ake of &s;uch often went to Cities: For many, with their lamentable Complaints, prevailed with him to interceed for them with Princes and Magi|&s;trates: For all of them reckoned it a great Hap|pine&s;s if they could have the opportunity to &s;ee him, hear him Di&s;cour&s;e, and receive his Com|mands. But although he was &s;uch as he was, yet did he endeavour to live unknown and in Solitude. And when at any time he was com|pelled to go to the City, to &s;uccour any in want, as &s;oon as ever he had di&s;patch'd the Bu&s;ine&s;s for which he came, he pre&s;ently ha&s;ted back to his Retirement. For <HI>Fi&s;hes,</HI> &s;aid he, do live in the Water; but Solitude is the Element for <HI>Monks:</HI> Tho&s;e, if removed to dry Ground, die; the&s;e, if they approach the City, lo&s;e their Mona&s;tick Compo&s;edne&s;s. Toward tho&s;e who looked up|on him he endeavoured to behave him&s;elf &s;o, as neither to be, nor to be judged proud.</P>
<P>The&s;e few things concerning the <HI>Conver&s;ation</HI> of <HI>Antony,</HI> I thought nece&s;&s;ary to &s;ay, that taking
<PB REF="92">them for Examples, we may by them judge of the re&s;t of his Philo&s;ophy.</P>
<P>He had many very Eminent <HI>Di&s;ciples,</HI> of whom &s;ome flouri&s;hed in <HI>Egypt</HI> and <HI>Libia,</HI> others in <HI>Pale&s;tine</HI> and <HI>Syria,</HI> and in <HI>Arabia.</HI> And each of them lived, among tho&s;e where they lived, as their Ma&s;ter did, and in&s;tructed many in the like Virtue and Philo&s;ophy, &s;o that it was hard for one, who did diligently vi&s;it Cities and Countries, to meet with his A&s;&s;ociates or Succe&s;&s;ors: For how could &s;uch ea&s;ily be met with, who more indu&s;triou&s;ly en|deavoured to live conceiled and unknown, than other Mortals of the World, out of a vain Am|bition do to be known?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="testimony">
<HEAD>A <HI>Relation</HI> of <HI>Two Courtiers</HI> converted from the World to a Religious Life, by Reading the <HI>Life</HI> of St. <HI>Antony,</HI> taken out of St. <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI>'s <HI>Confe&s;&s;ions.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>TWO Courtiers</HI> at <HI>Trevers,</HI> while the Em|peror was at a Publick Shew, diverting them&s;elves in &s;ome Gardens near the City, in one of them found a certain Cottage inhabited by &s;ome Religious Men, and there the LIFE of
<PB REF="92">St. <HI>Antony;</HI> which one of them began to read, and to admire, and be inflamed, and while read|ing to think of taking up &s;uch a Life, and leaving the Service of the World to &s;erve God. And pre&s;ently being &s;uddenly filled with a Holy Love and mode&s;t Shame, he, angry at him&s;elf, ca&s;t his Eyes upon his Friend, and &s;ays to him, <HI>Tell me, I pray thee, whether do we a&s;pire to arrive by all the&s;e our Labours? What do we &s;eek? For what do we &s;trive? Can our Hope be greater in the Court, than to be Favourites with the Emperor? And what is there there not frail and full of Dangers? And by how many Dangers do we proceed to greater Danger? And how long &s;hall this be? But if I would be the Friend of God, behold, I am made &s;o pre&s;ently.</HI> This he &s;aid, and being in Labour in the bringing forth a New Life, he turned his Eyes again to the Book, and read on, and was inwardly changed where God only &s;ees, and his Mind was &s;et free from the World, as pre&s;ently appeared. For as he read, and rouled over the Waves of his Heart, he &s;ometimes groaned, and con&s;idered, and, at la&s;t, re&s;olved upon better things; and having given up him&s;elf to God, he &s;aith to his Friend, <HI>I have now broken off from tho&s;e hopes of ours, and have re&s;olved to &s;erve God; and this I begin from this very hour in this very place. If thou be'e&s;t loth to follow me, do not hinder me.</HI> The other an&s;wered, <HI>That he would &s;tick to his Companion in &s;o great an At|chievement,
<PB REF="93">and of &s;o great Merit.</HI> And both, now being Religious, have built the Tower (&s;aith St. <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI>) with the proper Expence of Leaving all and following Chri&s;t, and fixing their Heart in Heaven remain in that Cottage.</P>
<P><HI>Two other Courtiers,</HI> who had parted from them, and been walking in other parts of the Gardens, coming to call them to return, they told them their Re&s;olution, and how it was wrought and confirmed in them: At which they, though not yet &s;o re&s;olved, fell into Tears, and congratulating their State de&s;ired their Pray|ers. But <HI>two Virgins,</HI> to whom the&s;e Converts had been contracted, when they heard of it, did likewi&s;e con&s;ecrate their Virginity to the Lord.</P>
<P>And <HI>St. Augu&s;tin him&s;elf</HI> was &s;o affected with the Relation of it by <HI>Potitianus,</HI> who was one of tho&s;e who returned, that it was a chief occa&s;ion of his Conver&s;ion, and after many Conflicts in him&s;elf, which he expre&s;&s;eth very pathetically in the next chapter, he broke out at la&s;t into the&s;e earne&s;t Expre&s;&s;ions to his Friend <HI>Alipius: What do we &s;uffer? What is this? What ha&s;t thou heard? The &V;nlearned get up, and take Heaven by force; and we with all our Learning, without heart, be|hold where we wallow in Fle&s;h and Blood. Is it becau&s;e they are gone before, that we are a&s;hamed to follow? and are we not a&s;hamed at lea&s;t not to follow?</HI> And the&s;e throws of the New Birth never cea&s;ed till his Conver&s;ion was perfected.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="biography">
<PB N="1" REF="93">
<HEAD>The LIFE of St. Antony, Originally Written in <HI>Greek</HI> BY St. ATHANASIUS, Bi&s;hop of <HI>Alexandria,</HI> TO The Pilgrim Brethren.</HEAD>
<P>YOUR De&s;ign of not only keeping pace with, but al&s;o of out-&s;tripping the <HI>Egyptian Monks</HI> in a virtuous A&s;cetick Cour&s;e of Life, is an Entrance upon a very generous and laudable Enterprize. You have at length, I find, got Mona&s;teries of your own, and a Platform of <HI>Mona&s;tick Di&s;ci|pline</HI> by you. There is no one but mu&s;t in Ju&s;tice commend your De&s;ign; and no doubt
<PB N="2" REF="94">but God will bring it to Perfection, in ca&s;e ye be but in&s;tant and con&s;tant in Prayer for his Ble&s;&s;ing.</P>
<P>And &s;ince you have an earne&s;t de&s;ire of being inform'd, How St. <HI>Antony</HI> fir&s;t entred upon an A&s;cetick way of Living; and what manner of Man he was before; and what &s;ort of End he made at la&s;t; and whether the Reports that have pa&s;s'd about him are true; in order, I pre|&s;ume, to bring your &s;elves to an Emulation of him; and hereupon have thought fit to reque&s;t an Account of his Conduct from my hands: Be ye hereby &s;atisfy'd, that I have received your Command, and received it with great Affection too; for the Truth of it is, the bare Remem|brance of St. <HI>Antony,</HI> is a Matter of great Ad|vantage to me: Be&s;ides too, I am very well &s;atisfy'd, that when you have had an Account of this Man, you will admire him &s;o, as to rival and tran&s;cribe his Example; which indeed is a Pattern &s;o exact, that any Monk may form his Solitude by it; and therefore I dare advi&s;e you not to di&s;-believe what-ever you may have heard concerning him; but rather to look upon com|mon Reports, as &s;trange as they may &s;eem, to fall far &s;hort of what St. <HI>Antony</HI> did and was: for truly his Fame does not come near his Worth. And I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, that what I &s;end now to you concerning him in this Letter, by rea&s;on of the Urgency of your Reque&s;t, is only an imper|fect
<PB N="3" REF="94">Relation of &s;ome few Pa&s;&s;ages of his <HI>Life,</HI> which are &s;till fre&s;h in my Memory. And I de&s;ire you by no means to leave off Enquiring about him of Pa&s;&s;engers from all Quarters; for I am per&s;waded, did every one &s;peak what they knew of him, his Life would be found a Task too great for any Biographer to undertake to perfect it: For which rea&s;on, as &s;oon as your Letter had reach'd my hands, I thought fit to &s;end for &s;ome of tho&s;e Monks who us'd fre|quently to vi&s;it him, that by their Information my Narrative might be a little fuller than 'tis now. But becau&s;e the &s;cantine&s;s of the Sea|mens time and the ha&s;t of the Pacquet-Boat &s;traiten'd me &s;o, that I could not tarry till they came; I have us'd my utmo&s;t Diligence to acquaint your Reverences with all that I knew my &s;elf, (for I have often &s;een him) and could learn from a Per&s;on who was his Servant no &s;mall time, and us'd to pour the Wa|ter on his Hands when he wa&s;hed. I have all along ey'd the Truth, &s;o that who-ever hears more than he will find here, may &s;afely give Credit to what he hears. Who-e'er knows le&s;s of him cann't chu&s;e but have great Thoughts of St. <HI>Antony;</HI> but how-ever, cann't revere him &s;o much as he ought who Reads this.</P>
<P N="1">1. ST. <HI>Antony</HI> was <HI>Born</HI> in <HI>Egypt,</HI> both of Rich and Noble, (&amp; what is better than both) of
<PB N="4" REF="95">Chri&s;tian Parents. And indeeed his exact Chri|&s;tian Life was a clear Evidence of his Chri&s;tian Birth. During his Childhood he was always kept at home, being an utter Stranger to every Body but his Father's Family. And after he was a little grown up, he could not endure to go to School, purely becau&s;e of an inbred Aver|&s;ation to keeping Company with other Children: For he had a &s;trong de&s;ire to live, as we read of <HI>Jacob,</HI> like a plain Man dwelling in Tents. When his Parents us'd to carry him to Church, (though but a Child) he did not appear Li&s;t|le&s;s or Lazy: Neither, as he grew up, did the lea&s;t &s;ign of a refractory Spirit appear in him: But he was always very Obedient to his Parents, and Attentive to the Prayers and Homilies, and &s;trictly careful to reap &s;ome Profit to his Soul from what he heard. Though he &s;aw his Pa|rents had a great E&s;tate, yet he never was con|cerned for dainty Victuals, or variety of Di&s;hes, being not in the lea&s;t &s;olicitous about matters of that kind; but was always plea&s;ed with what-ever was provided, and never de&s;ired any thing el&s;e.</P>
<P N="2">2. At about Eighteen or Twenty Years of Age, at the mo&s;t, he was left an Orphan, with an only and very young <HI>Si&s;ter,</HI> and tru&s;ted by his Parents, (notwith&s;tanding he was &s;o young) when they dy'd, with the Management of the whole Family and E&s;tate, and the Education of his Si&s;ter. Before Six Months after their
<PB N="5" REF="95">Decea&s;e was expir'd, as he was going (accord|ing to his Cu&s;tom) to Church, and ordering his Faculties into a fit frame for Devotion, that Text (<HI>Matt.</HI> 19.27.) of the Apo&s;tles <HI>leaving all</HI> to follow their Saviour, came particularly in|to his Mind in the mid&s;t of his Walk; as al&s;o concerning tho&s;e who in the <HI>Acts</HI> (Act. 4.35.) <HI>Sold their E&s;tates, and brought and laid them at the Apo&s;tles feet, to be di&s;tributed as every one had need;</HI> and what, and how great an Hope remains laid up for them in Heaven: With the&s;e Thoughts he went into the Church. Now it happened on that Day, that that part of the Go&s;pel was read where we read our Lord &s;aying to the Rich Man, <HI>Matt.</HI> 19.21. <HI>If thou wilt be perfect, Go &s;ell all thy Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, and give unto the Poor, and then come and follow me, and thou &s;halt have Trea&s;ure in Heaven.</HI> This Le&s;&s;on St. <HI>Antony</HI> apply'd (as particularly directed to him) to him&s;elf; and hereupon embracing the Remembrance of the generous Example of tho&s;e Saints, as injected into his Mind by God him&s;elf, accordingly parted with the E&s;tate of an ancient Family, in all 300 Mea&s;ures (which the <HI>Egyptians</HI> call <HI>Arours</HI>) of very rich and fertile Land, and di|&s;tributed the Money, for which he &s;old it, among the Inhabitants of the Village where he liv'd; that neither his own nor his Si&s;ter's Mind might be encumbred with it any longer. His Moveables he al&s;o Sold, and gave the Money to the Poor.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="6" REF="96"> 3. And having re&s;erv'd &s;ome &s;mall matter for his Si&s;ter, the next time he went to Church he heard our Lord &s;ay in the Go&s;pel, <HI>Matt.</HI> 6.34. <HI>Take no thought for the Morrow:</HI> And therefore, without any more delay, he e'en went out im|mediately, and di&s;tributed that too among the Poor. And having given her in Charge to &s;ome experienc'd and tru&s;ty Virgins, to be Educated in their Cloy&s;ters, he betook him&s;elf to an A&s;ce|tick Life without doors, keeping a very clo&s;e eye upon him&s;elf, and leading a very rigid and ab&s;teinous Life; for at that time there &s;carcely were any &s;ettled Mona&s;teries in <HI>Egypt,</HI> neither did any Monk live in a remote Wilderne&s;s: But whoever had a mind to order him&s;elf very &s;everely, exercis'd him&s;elf in &s;ome &s;olitary Place not far from his own Town. At this time there was an Old Man in a neighbouring Village that had obliged him&s;elf to a &s;olitary Life from his Youth. St. <HI>Antony</HI> having ob&s;erv'd him, was inflam'd with Emulation, and at fir&s;t continu'd alone in &s;ome place <HI>or other that was</HI> hard by the Village. And where-ever he heard of any &s;tudious and zealous <HI>Courter of Vertue,</HI> like a provident Bee, he would be &s;ure to go and find him out, never returning to his own Abode till he had &s;een him, and could bring &s;omething back with him, which might &s;erve for part of a <HI>Viaticum</HI> to bear up his Spirit in his Progre&s;s to Heaven. After he had continu'd thus &s;ome time,
<PB N="7" REF="96">he &s;quar'd his Mind with &s;uch exactne&s;s, as to <HI>re&s;olve never to return again</HI> to the Place where <HI>his Ance&s;tors Seat</HI> was; nor &s;o much as to bear the &s;ecular Concerns of <HI>his Relations</HI> in his Me|mory any longer; that he might intirely apply his Mind and Affections to a vigorous A&s;&s;iduity in A&s;ceticks. And therefore <HI>he wrought with his own Hands,</HI> becau&s;e 'tis written, 2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 3.10. <HI>Let not the Idle eat.</HI> Part of what he got by his Labour he &s;ub&s;i&s;ted on him&s;elf, and part of it he gave to the Poor. He <HI>Prayed</HI> conti|nually, becau&s;e he had learnt that we ought to pray ince&s;&s;antly in private. He attended &s;o di|ligently to the <HI>Scriptures,</HI> when read, that no|thing fell to the ground from him, but he held it &s;o fa&s;t, that his Mind was as good as a Library to him. For the &s;ake of his Demeanour, he was <HI>belov'd</HI> by all: He <HI>&s;ubmitted,</HI> with great readine&s;s, to all virtuous Per&s;ons whom he vi&s;it|ed: He would, with great diligence, by him&s;elf mark every <HI>virtuous Per&s;on's</HI> Vertue, for which he was peculiarly Eminent, and &s;tamp them upon him&s;elf. In one, he would ob&s;erve an Obligingne&s;s of Carriage; in another, an un|wearied Fervour in Prayer; in a third, Calm|ne&s;s of Spirit; in a fourth, great Conde&s;cention and Charity: He would very affectionately eye this Per&s;on's great Sprightline&s;s, Vigilance, and moderate u&s;e of Sleep; and another Man's Affability, Delight in the Scriptures, and Rea|dine&s;s
<PB N="8" REF="97">in Conferences on Spiritual Subjects: Here he admir'd one for his Fortitude, Magna|nimity, Patience, and Courage; there another for his Fa&s;tings, hard Lyings upon the Ground, and other &s;uch like Arts of &s;ubduing the Body: But principally, and above all, he would &s;eal on his Heart and Soul that Piety and vehement Affection for Chri&s;t, and &s;tream of mutual Love, which was very obvious and legible in them all. Thus he us'd con&s;tantly to go back to his own Cell always fraught with &s;uch <HI>u&s;eful Ob&s;ervations</HI> as the&s;e; making him&s;elf the Re|po&s;itory of all tho&s;e Excellencies he could &s;py in others; whence he was wont to elicit and di&s;play them in a bright and exemplary Con|ver&s;ation. All the Conte&s;t he had with tho&s;e of the &s;ame Age with him&s;elf, was, to be &s;econd to none of them in <HI>Chri&s;tian Di&s;cipline:</HI> In which &s;ort of Victories he behaved him&s;elf &s;o mode&s;tly, that no body fretted at him for Envy; but rather, on the contrary, took delight in taking Notice of him; in&s;omuch, that the whole Neighbourhood that had any regard for Vertue, and all with whom he convers'd, ob&s;erv|ing his Goodne&s;s, us'd to call him <HI>Theophiles,</HI> or God's Friend: The Elder, calling him Son; and the Younger, Brother.</P>
<P N="4">4. But <HI>the Devil,</HI> who is envious, and hates eve|ry thing that is commendable, could not endure to &s;ee &s;uch a noble Purpo&s;e in &s;o young a Per|&s;on;
<PB N="9" REF="97">but made it his Endeavour to thwart all his De&s;igns to his Di&s;advantage.</P>
<P>At fir&s;t he &s;trove to bring him off of his A&s;cetick Cour&s;e of Life, by throwing into his Mind a Remembrance of his E&s;tate, of the Nearne&s;s of his Relations, and a Solicitude for them; a Love of Money, and De&s;ire of Glory; great Varieties of Plea&s;ure, and other &s;uch Re|commendations of the Methods of the World; as al&s;o, Thoughts of the Ruggedne&s;s of Vertue, and how much Labour it co&s;ts a Man to obtain it; and, to mention no more, of the Weakne&s;s of his Body, and the long Remainder of his Life. In &s;hort, the Devil rais'd a great deal of du&s;t in his Thoughts, that by bemudding and di&s;order|ing his Mind, he might make St. <HI>Antony</HI> let go his De&s;ign. But as &s;oon as the Enemy &s;aw him|&s;elf too weak to foyl St. <HI>Antony</HI>'s Re&s;olution; and quite contrariwi&s;e, that he him&s;elf was ema&s;culated by the Holy Man's Steddine&s;s, &s;up|planted by a mighty Faith, and fall'n by rea&s;on of his continual and earne&s;t Prayers, he a&s;&s;um'd a new Boldne&s;s and Confidence in tho&s;e Wea|pons which he knows every Man carries about him in his own Fle&s;h again&s;t him&s;elf; for here he mo&s;tly lies in Ambu&s;h again&s;t the Souls of the Young. Accordingly he renews his A&s;&s;ault again&s;t the Youth, Night and Day attacking him with great Turbulence; in&s;omuch, that &s;tanders by could ea&s;ily di&s;cern a Combat be|tween
<PB N="10" REF="98">them; for the Devil threw <HI>filthy Thoughts</HI> into his Mind; and the Young Man routed them out as fa&s;t by Prayers: the Adver&s;ary us'd his Policies to make his Body di&s;&s;olute, and re|bellious; on the other hand, St. <HI>Antony</HI> fortify'd his Soul, and us'd his Body hardly, and kept it under by Faith, and Fa&s;tings, and Tears, and earne&s;t Addre&s;&s;es to God. But &s;till the Devil, though wor&s;ted, was very hardy, and <HI>appeared</HI> to him in the <HI>Shape of a Woman,</HI> repre&s;ented Beautiful in all re&s;pects, only to impo&s;e upon St. <HI>Antony.</HI> But <HI>Antony,</HI> by placing the noble Extract of his Spirit and intellectual Power in a clear view before him&s;elf, quench'd this Fire|brand of Deceit. Neverthele&s;s the Devil would yet be hinting the Softne&s;s and Affectingne&s;s of this Plea&s;ure; on the other hand, <HI>Antony,</HI> like an enraged and exa&s;perated Per&s;on, by revolving in his Mind God's Menaces of Fire, and the Toyl of tho&s;e Furrows which the never-dying Worm ploughs in the Con&s;ciences of the Damn'd, e&s;cap'd free without being hurt, or &s;o much as &s;ing'd by his Temptations. All which da&s;h'd the Enemy mightily out of countenance; for, he that once thought of being equal with God him&s;elf, was now &s;lighted and baulk'd by a Young Man; and he that generally vaunts and vapours &s;o in&s;olently over Fle&s;h and Blood, was now over-thrown by a Man, even whil&s;t he wore his frail Body of Fle&s;h: For our Lord, who
<PB N="11" REF="98">wore Fle&s;h Him&s;elf for our &s;ake, and gave the Body a Conque&s;t over the Devil, wrought and wre&s;tled together with this Holy Youth. So that every one who &s;trives in good earne&s;t with the Devil, may, with good rea&s;on, &s;ay, <HI>Not I, but the Grace of God with me,</HI> 1 Cor. 15.57. At la&s;t, the Devil perceiving that he could not overthrow and di&s;courage <HI>Antony</HI> by this Device, gna&s;hing his Teeth, and being like one be&s;ide him&s;elf to &s;ee him&s;elf drove out; he, who is really black in his Nature within, <HI>appear'd</HI> in the form of a <HI>Black Boy to Antony,</HI> and as it were lying at his Feet, (for the crafty Spirit being turn'd out of his Heart, now no longer invaded his Thoughts) a&s;&s;um'd an Humane Voice, and &s;aid; I have deceived many, yea, verily, I have wor&s;ted and deceived very many: But having now exerted my Strength again&s;t thee, as again&s;t many others, I have been weak|en'd and overcome. Who is this (&s;aid <HI>Antony</HI>) that talks thus to me? The Devil an&s;wer'd in a wretched whining Tone; To this Day I have ply'd &s;oft fle&s;hly Allurements in Young Per&s;ons, and have been call'd, The Spirit of Fornication. How many, when willing to be Sober, have I deceiv'd? How many have I, by Hypocri&s;ie, and &s;en&s;e-affecting Motions, drawn a&s;ide? I am he of whom the Prophet &s;peaks, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 4.12. <HI>Ye have been deceiv'd by the Spirit of Fornication:</HI> 'Twas by me that they were tripp'd up: I am
<PB N="12" REF="99">he who have &s;o often di&s;turb'd thee, and as often been humbled by thee. <HI>Antony</HI> therefore having paid his Thanks to God, and being be|come more valiant in Spirit, &s;aid; Hence 'tis plain that thou art very contemptible, for thy Soul is black and &s;warthy, and thou art weak as a Child; neither will I, for the future, give way to any Solicitude upon thy Account; for the Lord is my Helper, and I &s;hall look down upon mine Enemies with &s;corn; which he had no &s;ooner &s;aid, but the Black Mon&s;ter fled away, being afraid to &s;peak or come near the Heroe.</P>
<P N="5">5. This was St. <HI>Antony</HI>'s <HI>fir&s;t Conflict</HI> with the Devil; or rather, (to &s;peak properly, and as I ought) this was our Lord's fir&s;t defeat of the Devil in <HI>Antony,</HI> who, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.3, 4. <HI>Condemn'd Sin in the Fle&s;h, that the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not ac|cording to the Fle&s;h, but the Spirit.</HI> But for all this St. <HI>Antony</HI> did not neglect him&s;elf, as if the Devil were intirely under his Feet: Nor did the Enemy, as though vanqui&s;h'd, de&s;i&s;t from forming Stratagems; for he rang'd about, like a roaring Lyon, &s;eeking out &s;ome pretence again&s;t him. <HI>Antony</HI> had learnt from the Holy Scriptures that the Wiles of the Devil are many continually, and therefore continually gave him|&s;elf to exerci&s;e; con&s;idering, that &s;ince the Devil could not deceive his Heart by Plea&s;ure, he would try the more &s;ubtlely and diligently to
<PB N="13" REF="99">do it by other Methods; for the Devil is Sin's &s;ure Friend. Wherefore <HI>Antony</HI> tam'd his Body more and more, le&s;t after he had conquer'd in &s;ome Combats, he &s;hould be dragg'd a Captive by him in others. Hence he re&s;olves to accu|&s;tom him&s;elf to <HI>&s;everer Di&s;cipline</HI> &s;till. At which Re&s;olution many were &s;tartled through &s;urprize. But however, he went thorow with it very patiently; for the bent of his Soul ha|ving la&s;ted a long time, wrought &s;uch a good habit in him, that he &s;eiz'd on every, even the lea&s;t Occa&s;ion of exerting his &s;trenuous pur&s;uit after Vertue.</P>
<P N="6">6. He <HI>watch'd</HI> &s;o very much, that oft-times he lay without Sleeping all Night long; and this not once, or &s;o, but very often, to admiration. He <HI>eat</HI> once a Day, after Sun-&s;et; &s;ometimes but once in two Days; nay, and &s;ometimes but once in four Days. His Diet was Bread and Salt: His Drink only Water. In&s;tead of a Feather-Bed, he <HI>lay</HI> on a Mat; and &s;ometimes on the bare Ground. He never anointed him&s;elf, becau&s;e he &s;aid 'twas more proper for the Younger to addict them&s;elves to A&s;cetick Exerci&s;es, than to &s;eek out tho&s;e things which effeminate the Body: They &s;hould rather accu&s;tom them&s;elves to labour, and to bear the Apo&s;tle's &s;aying in their Mind, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.10. <HI>When I am weak, then I am &s;trong;</HI> for then (&s;aid he) the Vi|gour of the Spirit is renew'd, and becomes
<PB N="14" REF="100"><HI>Athletick,</HI> when the Plea&s;ures of the Body lan|gui&s;h and are impair'd. This al&s;o was an ad|mirable Thought of his, <HI>(viz.)</HI> That he did not think it proper to mea&s;ure our <HI>Progre&s;s in Vertue,</HI> by the length of the Time we fir&s;t &s;et out, or by our Retirement, &s;o much as by our Divine De&s;ires, and Longings, and the Encrea&s;e of our Holy Purpo&s;e. And therefore he would not remember the Time pa&s;t; but every Day, as though it were the fir&s;t, he would expre&s;s a more ardent Thir&s;t and Endeavour after a fur|ther Advance. Speaking by the way of Soli|loquie, that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.14. <HI>For|getting that which is behind, and pre&s;&s;ing forward.</HI> And remembring the Voice of the Prophet <HI>Elias,</HI> who &s;aith, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 18.15. <HI>As the Lord of Ho&s;ts lives, before whom I &s;tand, I will &s;urely &s;hew my &s;elf to day:</HI> for he ob&s;erves from the Prophet's &s;aying, <HI>To day,</HI> he did not take a mea&s;ure of the Time pa&s;t; but every day, as if it were, laying the fir&s;t Foundation of his Ver|tue, he &s;tudied to approve him&s;elf &s;uch an one as he ought to be before God; pure in Heart, and ready to obey his Will, and no ones el&s;e. Every <HI>Chri&s;tian A&s;cetick</HI> (&s;aid he) ought to &s;ee and learn within him&s;elf his own Life from <HI>Elias,</HI> as in a Gla&s;s.</P>
<P N="7">7. <HI>Antony</HI> having by this time, and by the&s;e means, recollected and &s;implify'd him&s;elf, Travel|led to <HI>the Tombs,</HI> which were at a con&s;iderable di|&s;tance
<PB N="15" REF="100">from that Town, having fir&s;t acquainted one of his Acquaintance with it, who &s;upply'd him with Bread enough to &s;ub&s;i&s;t upon a good while. When he was got thither, he went into one of the Tombs, and &s;hut the door over his Head, and tarried within there by him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Now the Devil not being able to away with this, and afraid le&s;t, in a little time, the whole <HI>De&s;art</HI> &s;hould be fill'd with A&s;ceticks, came one night with a great company of Devils, and beat and bruis'd him at that fearful rate, that he lay a long time Dumb, becau&s;e of the Extremity of his Torments; for he prote&s;ted his Pains were &s;o great, that 'twas impo&s;&s;ible Men &s;hould be the In&s;truments of the like. But, by the Pro|vidence of God, (for the Lord does not forget tho&s;e who hope in Him) the Day after an Ac|quaintance came with &s;ome Loaves to him, who, as &s;oon as he had open'd the door, &s;eeing him lying along, like a Dead Man upon the Ground, took him up and carried him to the Town-Church, and laid him upon the Pavement, where many of his Relations and Towns-People &s;at by him, (as they there us'd to do about the Corps of the Dead.) Now about Midnight <HI>Antony</HI> came to him&s;elf, and awoke, and &s;aw all a&s;leep but him&s;elf and his Acquaintance that brought him from the Tombs. <HI>Antony</HI> therefore becken'd to him, and de&s;ired him to carry him back to the Tombs, without di&s;turbing any of them. Accord|ingly his Friend carried him.</P>
<P N="8"><PB N="16" REF="101"> 8. And when he was return'd thither, &s;hut|ing down the Tomb-top, he tarried within there as before; and not being able to &s;tand, becau&s;e of the Stripes the Devil gave him, he <HI>pray'd</HI> lying pro&s;trate; and after he had pray'd, he &s;aid aloud, <HI>I Antony am here;</HI> I don't run away for your Stroaks or Terrours: <HI>For though you in|flict more upon me, nothing &s;hall &s;eparate me from the Love of Christ.</HI> Then he &s;ung that of the <HI>P&s;almist, Though Ho&s;ts encamp again&s;t me, yet &s;hall not my Heart be afraid.</HI> Thus did <HI>Antony</HI> think and &s;peak: But the envious Enemy, and hater of all Good, wondering to &s;ee him appear &s;o confident in &s;pight of all that he endur'd, &s;ounded his Hounds together, and being bur&s;t with Envy, &s;aid; See here, we have not tam'd nor tir'd this Man, either with the Spirit of For|nication, or with our Stripes and Buffetings: on the contrary, he is grown the more daring again&s;t us; let us therefore &s;et upon him &s;ome other way, (for the Devil has always new Schemes ready at hand to promote his malicious De&s;igns.) Wherefore, not long after, they came and made &s;uch a great <HI>Noi&s;e</HI> in the Night-time, that the whole Mona&s;tery &s;eem'd to be &s;hook, and the Walls of the Cell to be broke through by the Devils transforming them&s;elves into the <HI>Shapes of all &s;orts</HI> of Bea&s;ts, Lyons, Bears, Leopards, Bulls, Serpents, A&s;ps, Scor|pions and Wolves; every one of which mov'd
<PB N="17" REF="101">and acted agreeably to the Creatures which they repre&s;ented; the Lyon roaring, and &s;eem|ing to make towards him, the Bull to but, the Serpent to creep, and the Woolf to hare towards him, and &s;o, in &s;hort, all the re&s;t, according to their Natural Motions; &s;o that <HI>Antony</HI> was tor|tured and mangled with them &s;o grievou&s;ly, that his Bodily Pain was greater now than before: However, he was unmov'd, compos'd, wakeful, and him&s;elf: He groan'd indeed for Bodily Pains, but he had a &s;ober undi&s;turbed Mind, and, as't were, laughing, he &s;aid; <Q>If ye had any Strength, it would be enough for only one of you to come again&s;t me; but becau&s;e the Lord hath enervated you, therefore ye thus try to &s;care me by a Multitude; and (which is a manife&s;t Indica|tion of your Weakne&s;s) ye have put on the Shapes of irrational Creatures. If ye have any Power, if ye have receiv'd any Authority, don't delay, but &s;eize me: But if ye have not Ability, Why do ye trouble both me and your &s;elves in vain? My Faith in God is a &s;ufficient Seal and Security of his &s;tanding by me.</Q> The Devils therefore having a&s;&s;aulted him a long while to no purpo&s;e, gna&s;h'd their Teeth at him; for they found they mock'd them&s;elves more than they mock'd him.</P>
<P N="9">9. Moreover, the Lord did not forget <HI>Antony</HI>'s Bravery at this time, but came to his Help; for as <HI>Antony</HI> look'd up, the Roof of the Cell
<PB N="18" REF="102">was as it were open'd, and there was a Beam of Light &s;hooting down, as it were, upon him; whereupon the Devils &s;traitway became Speech|le&s;s; <HI>Antony</HI>'s Pain too pre&s;ently ceas'd, and the Roof clos'd again. Now <HI>Antony</HI> being &s;en&s;ible of the Ea&s;e that had been &s;ent him, and that he had gain'd Breath, and re&s;pite from his Dolours, &s;poke re&s;pectively to the Vi&s;ion, and &s;aid; <Q>Where wa&s;t thou before? Why did'&s;t thou not appear at fir&s;t, that thou might'&s;t a&s;&s;wage my Pain?</Q> And a Voice &s;aid unto him, <Q><HI>Antony,</HI> I was here; but I waited to &s;ee thy Behaviour under this Tryal; and &s;ince thou ha&s;t valiantly gone through it, and ha&s;t not been conquered, I will always be thy Helper, and make thee famous in all Places.</Q> Having heard this, he ro&s;e and prayed, and grew &s;o &s;trong, that he perceived he had more Strength now in his Body than he had before; being now near the <HI>35th</HI> Year of his Life.</P>
<P N="10">10. The Day following, as he was walking out, he found him&s;elf &s;tronger bent to the Ex|erci&s;e of Religion; and he went to that Old Man (whom I mention'd before) that Night, and would fain have co-habited with him in the De|&s;art: But the Old Man refu&s;ing, becau&s;e of his Age, and the Unu&s;ualne&s;s of the thing, <HI>Antony</HI> im|mediately fled into the Mountain. Now the Ene|my again ob&s;erving his Zeal, and being willing to retard it, laid the <HI>&s;emblance</HI> of a large piece of <HI>Plate</HI>
<PB N="19" REF="102">in his way. <HI>Antony</HI> perceiving his Craft, and &s;py|ing the Devil in the Di&s;h, chid it after this man|ner: <Q>Whence &s;hould this Di&s;h come hither? This is no beaten Road, neither is here any Tra|veller's tread: If it had been lo&s;t, 'tis too big not to be recover'd again pre&s;ently: Doubtle&s;s it would have been found if they had return'd; and, doubtle&s;s, had any one lo&s;t it, he would have return'd, becau&s;e the place is &s;o &s;olitary. This is certainly one of the Devil's Tricks: But, however, thou &s;halt not impede my Holy Purpo&s;e &s;o: May it peri&s;h with thee.</Q> No &s;ooner was the Word utter'd, but the Plate di&s;-appeared, like Smoak before the Fire.</P>
<P N="11">11. Another time he &s;aw not only a re&s;em|blance, but real Gold thrown in the way: Whe|ther it was a bad Spirit, or &s;ome good Power that laid it there to try the Heroe, and to &s;hew the Devil that he did not value real Money, he neither told me, nor do I know any more of it then that it was really what it appeared to be. <HI>Antony</HI> wondered at the Abundance of it, and leaping over it, as a Man in a Fright over a Fire, never &s;tood &s;o much as to look back upon it; but run away &s;o fa&s;t and &s;o far, that he was latent a con&s;iderable Time after.</P>
<P>And now St. <HI>Antony</HI> continuing &s;till more and more intent upon his Purpo&s;e, placed him&s;elf in an empty Ca&s;tle that was on the other &s;ide of the River; though before he came 'twas full
<PB N="20" REF="103">of reptile Creatures, yet when he went in the Serpents left the Place, as though it had been haunted by an Enemy. Here, after he had &s;topp'd up the Entry, he laid in Bread enough to &s;erve him half a Year, (which the <HI>Thebans</HI> often do; nay, &s;ometimes they will continue without moulding a Year together) and having a continued &s;upply of Water within, he winded up his Soul to God. There he continued al|ways in his Mona&s;tery, having entred it, as a Holy Chancel; neither &s;tirring out him&s;elf, nor taking Notice of Comers; only once in &s;ix Months he took in &s;ome Loaves at the top of the Hou&s;e.</P>
<P N="12">12. Some of his Acquaintance came often to him, and becau&s;e he would not let them in, liv'd often without doors whole Days and Nights by him, and &s;eem'd to hear a tumultuous rout within, bawling and wailing from within, and crying, <Q>Get away from our place; What have you to do in the Wilderne&s;s, &s;ince you countenance none of our Devices?</Q> Tho&s;e that were without thought it might be &s;ome Travellers that had got into him by Ladders at the top of the Ca&s;tle; but after they had leant down and peep'd thorow a little crack and &s;aw no body, they concluded they were Devils; and being afraid, they call'd to St. <HI>Antony;</HI> but he heeded the Devils more than them; and whereas they expected to have &s;een him dead, they heard him &s;aying, <HI>Let God
<PB N="21" REF="103">ari&s;e, and his Enemies be &s;cattered: Let them vani&s;h, as the Smoak vani&s;heth: As the Wax melteth before the Fire, &s;o Sinners &s;hall peri&s;h from the Pre&s;ence of God.</HI> And again; <HI>All Na|tions compa&s;&s;ed me round about; but in the Name of the Lord I &s;tav'd them off.</HI></P>
<P N="13">13. Thus did he lead Twenty Years in pri|vate Exerci&s;e, never &s;tirring out, or &s;een by any one. But, at la&s;t, many others de&s;iring to imi|tate his <HI>A&s;cetick Life,</HI> and other Acquaintance coming to him, and breaking open the Door by force, <HI>Antony</HI> came out of the Ca&s;tle, as out of an inacce&s;&s;ible Sanctuary, being matriculated a Member of the Heavenly <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and be|come full of God. The Spectators, when he came out, were in an Amaze, to &s;ee his Body, that had been &s;o belabour'd by Devils, in the &s;ame &s;hape in which it was before his <HI>Retirement.</HI> The <HI>Temper of his Soul</HI> was very pure; neither clouded by Sadne&s;s, nor &s;hattered by Voluptu|ou&s;ne&s;s: Neither Laughter nor Melancholy held him in their Chains: The &s;ight of the Multi|tude did not di&s;turb him; nor their Prai&s;es make him vain: But he was intirely &s;mooth and regular, &s;teered by Rea&s;on and Revelation, and fixed in the primitive State of Nature. Our Lord healed many Sick Per&s;ons by him. He al&s;o clean&s;ed many that were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, comforted many that were grieved, and reconciled many that were fallen out, charging them all to pre|fer
<PB N="22" REF="104">none of the Things of this World before the Love of Chri&s;t; di&s;cour&s;ing and exhorting them to be mindful of future Goods, and of the great <HI>Philanthropy</HI> of God, who &s;pared not his own Son, but gave Him up for us all. He per&s;waded many to chu&s;e a &s;olitary Life; and by this means there came to be many <HI>Mona&s;teries</HI> in the Mountains: So that now the De&s;arts were turned into a City by Monks that left their E&s;tates and Hou&s;es, and entred them&s;elves Mem|bers of the Heavenly City.</P>
<P N="14">14. Once he had an Occa&s;ion to pa&s;s over the Trench of the <HI>Ar&s;enoites,</HI> to &s;ee &s;ome of his Brethren Monks; which Trench was very full of Crocodiles; but St. <HI>Antony,</HI> and all that were with him, by the pure Vertue of Prayer, went over unhurt. When he returned to his Mona&s;tery, he obliged him&s;elf to very &s;evere and youth-like Enterprizes. By his Confe|rences he would be continually encrea&s;ing the Fervour of other Monks, and exciting many others to the Love of Exerci&s;e; and by the mag|neti&s;m of his Di&s;cour&s;es many more Mona&s;te|ries were erected; all looking upon him as their Father.</P>
<P N="15">15. One Day among the re&s;t, as he was walking out, he told the other of his Brethren Monks, (who came to him with a de&s;ire to hear him) in the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Language, that the <HI>Holy Scriptures</HI> are &s;ufficient for In&s;truction:
<PB N="23" REF="104">But, neverthele&s;s, 'tis decent for us to confirm one another in the Faith by Exhortation, and to chear and anoint each other's Spirits by mu|tual <HI>Di&s;cour&s;es.</HI> Wherefore do ye, my Sons, bring your Father what ye know; and I, who am your Elder, will communicate to you what I know by Experience: But be&s;ure, in a pecu|liar manner, to take care to be communicative and unanimous; and that now ye have begun, ye don't grow &s;lack, nor faint in your War&s;are; nor &s;ay with your &s;elves, We have laid out &s;o much; <HI>item.</HI> &s;o much Time upon Exerci&s;e: But rather, as beginning every day, let us inlarge our Re&s;olution; for the Life of Man altogether is very &s;hort, if we compare it with future Ages: All our Time is nothing to Eternal Life. Every thing el&s;e is Sold for its Value, and like is Ex|changed for like: But the Promi&s;e we have of Eternal Life is a cheap Purcha&s;e. For 'tis writ, <HI>The Days of our Life are Seventy Years, and if by great Strength we reach Four&s;core, or more, they are but Labour and Sorrow.</HI> Now, if we &s;pend Eighty Years in Exerci&s;e, we &s;hall not reign an Hundred Years for it; but in&s;tead of an Hundred, we &s;hall reign for ever and ever. Again; After we have contended on Earth, our Inheritance will not be upon Earth; but we hold Promi&s;es of Heaven. Again; After we have laid a&s;ide a Mortal Body, we are cloathed with an Immortal One. Wherefore, Children,
<PB N="24" REF="105">let us not faint; neither let us think we lay out much Time for God, or do any great Matters; for the Sufferings of this pre&s;ent Life are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that &s;hall be revealed. Neither let us think that we have parted with great Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions; for the whole Earth is very &s;mall, with re&s;pect to Heaven. For ju&s;t as one who parts with a Mite, for an Hundred Broad Pieces: So, were any one Lord of all the Earth, and parted with it for Heaven, he parts with a Mite, and receives an Hundred|fold. But if all the Earth is not worth Heaven, then, certainly, he who leaves a few Acres for it, does, in a manner, leave nothing at all. If, therefore, any of us parts with a Man&s;ion, or with Gold, he &s;hould neither vaunt nor de&s;pond: But we &s;hould rather con&s;ider, that if we don't leave them for the Sake of Vertue; yet, after|wards, when we Die, we often leave them to whom we would not; as the Preacher has minded us. Shall we not therefore leave it for the &s;ake of Vertue, to inherit a Kingdom? Let us have a Thir&s;t after true Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions; for, What does it &s;ignifie to po&s;&s;e&s;s tho&s;e things which we cannot carry away with us? Let us rather acquire tho&s;e Goods which will follow us into the other World; &s;uch as are Wi&s;dom, Ju&s;tice, Sobriety, Fortitude, Spiritual Prudence, Charity, Love of Wordly Poverty, Faith in Chri&s;t, Freedom from Anger, Delight in Ho&s;pi|tality;
<PB N="25" REF="105">if we po&s;&s;e&s;s the&s;e, we &s;hall find they will procure us a Man&s;ion in the Land of the Meek. The&s;e things duly con&s;idered no Per|&s;on can be <HI>Negligent,</HI> e&s;pecially if he con&s;ider that he is the Lord's Servant, and ought to &s;erve Him. Since therefore every one is his Servant, no one &s;hould dare to &s;ay, I do not work to day, for I wrought ye&s;terday; or by mea&s;uring the time pa&s;t, to be idle for the time to come. But every day a true Di&s;ciple of Chri&s;t will &s;hew the &s;ame Readine&s;s of Mind, that (as 'tis written) he may plea&s;e his Lord, and not run a ri&s;que in the Concerns of his Soul. So al&s;o let us every day per&s;evere in Exerci&s;e, knowing that if we are <HI>Negligent</HI> one day, we &s;hall not be pardoned for it, becau&s;e we did well the day before. No, God is offended with &s;uch <HI>Negli|gence</HI> as we read in <HI>Ezekiel.</HI> So al&s;o <HI>Judas,</HI> by one Night's Impiety, lo&s;t the Fruits of his time pa&s;t. Let us therefore, Children, adhere to Exerci&s;e, and not &s;uffer our Spirits to be bejaded: for herein the Lord is our Fellow-Labourer; as 'tis written, <HI>The Lord co-operates for Good with every one that wills and works Good.</HI> Now, in order to our not being Negligent, there is a Noble &s;aying of the Apo&s;tle, on which we &s;hould oft medi|tate, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.31. <HI>I die daily:</HI> for if we &s;o live as tho&s;e, who con&s;ider they may die every day, we &s;hall not &s;in. Whence we learn every Day, when we ri&s;e, not to reckon upon our &s;tay
<PB N="26" REF="106">till the Evening; and again, when we lye down to &s;leep, to &s;uppo&s;e we &s;hall not ri&s;e; becau&s;e our Life is uncertain by Nature; which Pro|vidence daily mea&s;ures out to us. By being thus di&s;pos'd, and living &s;o every day, we &s;hall not offend; nor lu&s;t after any forbidden Object; or be angry with any one; or lay up trea&s;ure on Earth: But thus dying every day, we &s;hall be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing nothing, and forgive all Offences, being freed from all de&s;ire of filthy <HI>Plea&s;ure;</HI> reputing it as tran&s;eunt; always &s;triving, and having the Day of Judgment in our Eye: for a great fear of Eternal Torments takes off the Appetite from exce&s;s of Plea&s;ure, and rears up the Soul when it begins to &s;toop. Wherefore, having &s;et foot in the path of Vertue, let us advance fa&s;ter and fa&s;ter: and that we may be Ma&s;ters of all Opportunities before us, let none of us look back, as did <HI>Lot</HI>'s Wife; for our Lord hath po&s;itively &s;aid, that <HI>No one that puts his hand to the Plough, and looks back, is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.</HI> Now, by the Ex|pre&s;&s;ion <HI>look back,</HI> is meant nothing el&s;e but to change our Thoughts, and to reli&s;h the Things of this World. Be not &s;tartled when ye hear any thing of <HI>Vertue;</HI> neither think &s;trange of the Name; for 'tis not far from us, nor with|out us; but the work is in our Power, and an ea&s;ie matter, if we have but an hearty Re&s;olu|tion. The <HI>Greeks</HI> travel and cro&s;s the Seas to
<PB N="27" REF="106">learn Letters; but we need not travel for the Kingdom of Heaven; or to cro&s;s the Seas for Vertue; for our Lord has told us before hand, <HI>Luk.</HI> 17.21. <HI>The Kingdom of Heaven is within you:</HI> Wherefore Vertue &s;tands only in need of the Will, &s;ince 'tis within us, and built up out of us: For <HI>Vertue</HI> con&s;i&s;ts of a Soul which has a primitive Natural Temper. Now the Mind is &s;o when it has that Temper wherein it was created. 'Twas created very beautiful and up|right; for which rea&s;on <HI>Je&s;us</HI> the Son of <HI>Nave</HI> bid the People, <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> 24.23. <HI>Incline your heart unto the Lord God of I&s;rael:</HI> as <HI>John</HI> al&s;o; <HI>Make &s;trait your paths;</HI> for the Soul's being &s;trait or upright, does con&s;i&s;t in its having its intellectual Faculty in that po&s;ture in which it was created. Again; When the Soul bends, or is crooked, from Nature's po&s;ture, then the Soul has Evil imputed to it: Wherefore, the Bu&s;ine&s;s is not &s;o difficult as &s;ome make it; for if we continue as we were made, we are in a State of Vertue: But if we purpo&s;e things that are wicked, we are arraigned before God for wicked Per&s;ons. If this Accompli&s;hment were &s;uch, as that it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be procur'd from without us, it would be difficult: But &s;ince 'tis within us, let us keep our &s;elves from evil, filthy Purpo&s;es; and having received &s;o great a Tru&s;t from God, let us keep our &s;elves for God, that he may own his Work, when he &s;ees it &s;uch as he made it.
<PB N="28" REF="107">Let us contend earne&s;tly, le&s;t Wrath tyrannize, or Lu&s;t domineer over it; for 'tis written, <HI>The Wrath of Man worketh not the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God:</HI> But <HI>Lu&s;t, when it hath conceived, brings forth Sin; and Sin, when it is fini&s;hed, brings forth Death.</HI></P>
<P>But &s;ince the Ca&s;e is &s;o with us, let us be &s;in|cerely &s;ober, and, as 'tis written, <HI>Keep our Hearts with all Diligence:</HI> for we have &s;hrewd and &s;ub|tile <HI>Enemies,</HI> even wicked <HI>Devils.</HI> To which I add, with the Apo&s;tle; <HI>We wre&s;tle not again&s;t Fle&s;h and Blood; but again&s;t Principalities and Powers, again&s;t the Rulers of this World, again&s;t Spiritual Wickedne&s;&s;es in high places;</HI> for there is a va&s;t rout of them in the Air again&s;t us: Nor are they far from us: But there is a great difference in Devils.</P>
<P>But to &s;peak of <HI>their Nature and Diver&s;ity</HI> would take up too much time: A Narrative of that kind mu&s;t be the work of greater Abili|ties: That which lies upon us, as nece&s;&s;ary to be known, is, <HI>their various Subtilties again&s;t us.</HI> And here be it known, that the Devils were not by Nature, what they are by Name: For God made nothing Evil: But they were created Fair and Good: But having fall'n from an Hea|venly Prudence, and now wheeling about the Earth, they deceived the <HI>Gentiles</HI> with their Phanta&s;ies. And now, that they envy us <HI>Chri|&s;tians,</HI> they leave no &s;tone unturn'd to hinder us
<PB N="29" REF="107">from Entring into the Kingdom of Heaven; le&s;t we &s;hould get thither whence they fell: Wherefore we &s;tand in need of much Prayer and Exerci&s;e, till we obtain the Gift of <HI>di&s;cern|ing of Spirits;</HI> for when once a Man has ob|tain'd that, he may be able to know, which of them is more, and which le&s;s Wicked; and whither their different Endeavours mo&s;tly tend; and by what Means every one of them may be conquered and ca&s;t out: For they have &s;everal Wiles and Stratagems. Hence came that Say|ing of the Apo&s;tle, and his Followers: <HI>For we are not ignorant of his Devices,</HI> 2 Cor. 2.11. Since therefore we are tempted by them, we &s;hould be &s;etting one another's Souls to rights. Wherefore, I having partly experienced their Wiles, do now, but as a Child, &s;peak &s;omething to you about them. Well then; If they ob&s;erve any Chri&s;tians, e&s;pecially Monks, labouring hard to make a con&s;iderable Progre&s;s in Vertue, they a&s;&s;ault and tempt them, by laying continual ob&s;tacles in their way, <HI>(viz.)</HI> evil Thoughts. But, however, we &s;hould not be afraid of their Threats; for by Prayer, and Fa&s;ting, and Faith in God, they quickly fall. But after they have been thrown, they don't de&s;i&s;t; but pre&s;ently come again &s;ubtlely and deceitfully; for if they cann't cheat our Hearts by gro&s;s Plea&s;ures, they will a&s;&s;ault us another way, &s;triving to terrifie us by fal&s;e Appearances,
<PB N="30" REF="108">and transforming them&s;elves into the Shapes of Women, Bea&s;ts, Serpents, Bulky Bodies, and Armies of Souldiers: Even then our Hearts &s;hould not mi&s;-give us; for they are nothing, and pre&s;ently di&s;-appear; e&s;pecially, if the Chri|&s;tian immures and fortifies him&s;elf with the Faith, and the Sign of the Cro&s;s: But &s;till they are very bold and impudent: for when they have been thus vanqui&s;hed, they &s;et upon us another way, and pretend to Prophecy, and fore|tell things to come: Al&s;o to &s;care us, they will repre&s;ent them&s;elves &s;o Tall, as to touch the Cieling, and proportionably Broad, that they may &s;teal tho&s;e away by &s;uch Delu&s;ions, whom they could not deceive by their Sophi&s;try. But if they find a Soul &s;o &s;ecur'd with Faith, and that Hope which attends true Repentance, as to re&s;i&s;t them &s;till; at la&s;t they bring the Prince of the Devils.</P>
<P N="16">16. He &s;aid al&s;o that the Devil often appeared ju&s;t as he is de&s;cribed in <HI>Job</HI> 41.18, 19, 20. <HI>His Eyes are like the Eye-lids of the Morning. Out of his Mouth go burning Lamps, and &s;parks of Fire leap out. Out of his No&s;trils goeth Smoke, as out of a Seething-pot or Caldron.</HI> When the Prince of the Devils makes &s;uch a figure, the old Impo&s;tor &s;trikes Terrour upon Fle&s;h, and &s;peaks very big. And therefore he is upbraided, where we read; <HI>He e&s;teemeth Iron as Straw, and Bra&s;s as rotten Wood, and looks upon the Sea
<PB N="31" REF="108">as a Pot of Oyntment, and the deep Aby&s;s as his Conque&s;t; even the Aby&s;s is to him as a Walk.</HI> And by the Prophet, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 15.9. the Enemy &s;aid, <HI>I will, and will overtake.</HI> And again by another Prophet, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 10.14. <HI>I will gra&s;p the whole Earth in my hand like a Ne&s;t, and take it up like for&s;aken Eggs.</HI> And to &s;peak all in one Word, they often make &s;uch Brags and Pro|mi&s;es only to deceive tho&s;e who wor&s;hip God. But we that are Faithful &s;hould not fear his Appearances; nor give ear to his Words; for <HI>he is a Lyar,</HI> and &s;peaks not a true Word: For, in truth, notwith&s;tanding all his Vaunting, our Saviour draws him, like the Leviathan, by a Hook. <HI>Job</HI> 41.1. <HI>Like an Ox, he has an Halter upon his Head, and his No&s;trils are bored with a Ring, and his Lips with an Hoople of Di&s;grace, like a Fugitive. He is ty'd, like a Sparrow, by the Lord, &s;o that we may ju&s;tly deride him.</HI> He and his Crew crawl now like Serpents: So that now he may be trod upon by us Chri&s;tians. This is a certain Sign that our way of Living mads and cro&s;&s;es him; for he, who before va|pour'd that he would make the Sea like a Pot of Oyntment, and clinch the Earth in his Fi&s;t, lo! now he cann't &s;o much as hinder you from Exerci&s;e; or keep me from &s;peaking to you a|gain&s;t him. Wherefore we mind not what he &s;ays; neither do we &s;hrink for his Objections and Lies; for there is nothing but a &s;eeming
<PB N="32" REF="109">light in them: They are only, as it were, the Portraitures of the Fire prepared for them. They would fain fright us with tho&s;e Fires with which they will be tormented them&s;elves; but they are quickly detected in their Falacies, and do not hurt the Faithful: But only give us a &s;emblance of that Fire with which the Wicked will be tormented. Wherefore, it behoves us not to fear; for all their Devices, through the Grace of Chri&s;t, come to nought; for they are full of Guile, and ready to be transformed into all Shapes. Hence 'tis that they often pretend to &s;ing P&s;alms, and cite the Scriptures; and &s;ometimes whil&s;t we are a Reading, they give us Ecchoes of what we read; and oft, in our Sleep, rai&s;e us up to Prayers. And this they will do continually, not &s;uffering us to re&s;t: Nay, and &s;ometimes they will put on the <HI>Reli|gious Habit</HI> of Monks, and talk like Religious Per&s;ons, that they may deceive us by &s;uch Ap|pearances; and when we are deceived, lead us whither they plea&s;e: But we &s;hould not give ear (or li&s;ten) to them at all. No; though they wake us to pray, and advi&s;e us not to eat at all; or pretend to condemn and deject us for tho&s;e Matters in which they before incouraged us: for they don't do this out of a Principle of Re|ligion, or Truth; but that they may bring the Simple into De&s;pair, and make them apt to &s;ay, Exerci&s;e is unprofitable, and &s;o make them nau|&s;eate
<PB N="33" REF="109">a Solitary, as a very grievous and bur|then&s;ome way of Living, and may entangle tho&s;e who have entred into a Cour&s;e of <HI>Self-Government.</HI> Wherefore a Prophet, whom the Lord &s;ent, has declared &s;uch Mi&s;erable: <HI>Hab.</HI> 2.15. <HI>Wo be to him who offers his Neighbours thick dregs to drink;</HI> becau&s;e &s;uch Schemes and Purpo&s;es do turn us out of the Path that leads up to Vertue: for our Lord Him&s;elf muzzled the Devils, though they &s;poke Truth, and com|manded them to be &s;ilent; for they did &s;peak Truth when they &s;aid, <HI>Thou art the Son of God,</HI> Matt. 8.29. Mark 1.25. le&s;t with the Truth, they al&s;o &s;lily &s;ow their Perver&s;ne&s;s with the more Advantage; and that he may accu&s;tom us not to hearken to them, though they &s;eem to &s;peak Truth; for 'tis very un&s;eemly for us, who have the Holy Scriptures, and Deliverance by our Saviour, to be taught by the Devil, who kept not his own Station, but &s;tudied Di&s;order: For this Rea&s;on he is forbid, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.16. to quote Scripture; <HI>&V;nto the Wicked, &s;aid God, wherefore do'&s;t thou utter my Statutes, and take&s;t my Covenant in thy Mouth:</HI> for they do pretend, and di&s;turb all things to delude the Simple: Sometimes they &s;tamp, &s;ometimes they laugh, and &s;ometimes they hi&s;s. But when one regards them not, then they weep and lament, as van|qui&s;hed: For this Rea&s;on the Lord God muz|zled the Devils. We therefore having learnt
<PB N="34" REF="110">this from the Holy Scriptures, ought to re&s;i&s;t them, and imitate their Re&s;olutene&s;s and Stra|tagems again&s;t us. Pray eye the Example of <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 39.2. <HI>Whil'&s;t the Wicked was be|fore me I was deaf, and &s;till, and held my peace, even from good Words:</HI> And again, <HI>Like a deaf Man I heard not, and as one who is dumb I opened not my my Mouth: I became like a Man who does not hear.</HI> Wherefore let us not hear them, as being Strangers to us; nor obey them, although they wake us to go to Prayers, or talk about Fa&s;ts: But rather let us attend to the Purpo&s;e of our Exerci&s;e, and not be deceived by them, who always act with Deceit: Neither let us be afraid, though they &s;hould come with Force again&s;t us, and threaten to kill us: for they are weak, and can do nothing but threaten: But this by the By: But now I think of it, I mu&s;t not think much to &s;peak more largely of the&s;e matters to you; for a Remembrance of them will be &s;afe for you. When our Lord was a Pilgrim upon Earth, the Enemy fell, and his Forces were weakened. For this Rea&s;on he, a Tyrant, though fall'n, is not at re&s;t yet; but threatens us with Words. Think of this all of ye, and de&s;pi&s;e the Devil. Were they confin'd to &s;uch Bodies as the&s;e, they might po&s;&s;ibly &s;ay, Men lie hid, and we do not find them: But when we do find them, we make work with them. But if the Ca&s;e were &s;o with them, we
<PB N="35" REF="110">might hide our &s;elves, by &s;hutting the Doors again&s;t them: But &s;ince 'tis not &s;o; but their Nature, on the contrary, is &s;uch, that they can enter in even when the Door is &s;hut, and they them&s;elves are all over, and all about us in the Air, together with their Principal, the DE|STROYER; and do always will Mi&s;chief, and are ready girt to do it; and the Devil, as our Saviour hath told us, the Father of Mi&s;chief, <HI>John</HI> 8.44. <HI>is a Murderer;</HI> and we now live a Life of War again&s;t him: 'tis plain now, that notwith&s;tanding they are not embodyed, they have no Strength; and therefore their Weak|ne&s;s cannot be imputed to the Confinement of Bodies; for no Place hinders them from laying their Snares; neither do they &s;pare us becau&s;e we are their Friends; neither are they Lovers of Good, to rectifie us: But they are rather more Wicked. And there is nothing about which they are &s;o &s;olicitous, as to mi&s;chief us, and all the Friends of Vertue, and of the true wor&s;hip of God. But becau&s;e they are able to do nothing, therefore they are continually pre|tending and threatning: Could they do any thing, they would not delay; but they would put their Mi&s;chief in Execution; for their De&s;ign again&s;t us is inveterate. Ye &s;ee we are here together, and &s;peak again&s;t them in &s;pight of their Teeth, and they do know that they are weakened by our Proficiency in Ver|tue.
<PB N="36" REF="111">Had they Power and Authority, they would not &s;uffer one of us Chri&s;tians to live; for Piety is an Abomination to a Sinner. And having not &s;uch Power, they wound and vex them&s;elves the more, becau&s;e they cannot put their Threats in Execution: This &s;hould often be in our Thoughts, that we may not be afraid of them. Had they any Power remaining in them, they would not have came in &s;uch a Multitude, or put on &s;uch Appearances, or have transformed them&s;elves for Stratagems &s;ake. Were it otherwi&s;e, <HI>the Strength</HI> of one would have &s;uffic'd to have done what he li&s;t. For a Wicked Being, that is inve&s;ted with Power, does not kill in Effigie, or terrifie by Multitudes, but abu&s;es his Power as he plea&s;es: But the Devils being &s;tript of their Power, like Actors on a Stage, &s;hift them&s;elves into many Shapes, which only fright Children: And therefore their Weakne&s;s &s;hould render them contemptible in our Eyes. The true An|gel, (of whom we read, 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 19.35.) who was &s;ent by the Lord, &s;tood in no need of Multitudes, or outward Appearances, or Shout|ings, or Clappings, but made u&s;e of his Power without Noi&s;e; and &s;trait-way killed an Hun|dred and Eighty Five Thou&s;and. Only weak Angels &s;trive to terrifie by Phan&s;ies.</P>
<P N="17">17. But if any one here &s;hould have <HI>Job</HI>'s <HI>Ca&s;e</HI> in his Thoughts, and ask, How came the
<PB N="37" REF="111">Devil to do &s;o much again&s;t <HI>Job?</HI> He plum'd him of his E&s;tate, kill'd his Children, and &s;truck his Body with a grievous Ulcer. I an&s;wer &s;uch an one, the Devil had no Power; but God gave it him for the Tryal of <HI>Job:</HI> Being able to effect nothing of him&s;elf, and without leave, he re|que&s;ted Power, and got it: And therefore the Devil is the more to be de&s;pi&s;ed, becau&s;e he had not Power, &s;o much as again&s;t one Righteous Per&s;on; for had he had it, he would not have reque&s;ted it. His having begg'd it, not only once, but a &s;econd time, &s;hews that he had not Power. And truly we need not wonder that he had no Power again&s;t <HI>Job;</HI> for he could not hurt meer Brutes, without God's Permi&s;&s;ion. <HI>Matt.</HI> 8.31. He has no Authority, no not &s;o much as over the Swine: for 'tis written, that they entreated the Lord, &s;aying, <HI>Suffer us to go into the Swine.</HI> Now, if they have no Autho|rity over the Swine, much le&s;s over Men, who were made after God's Image: God alone ought to be feared: As for Devils, they &s;hould be de|&s;pi&s;ed, not dreaded in the lea&s;t. The more they level again&s;t us, the more intent let us be upon Exerci&s;e; for an upright Life, and Faith in God, is a very &s;erviceable piece of Armour again&s;t them. They are afraid of the <HI>Fa&s;ting,</HI> the <HI>Prayer,</HI> the <HI>Vigilance,</HI> the <HI>Meekne&s;s,</HI> the <HI>Contentedne&s;s,</HI> the <HI>Contempt of Money</HI> and <HI>Glory,</HI> the <HI>Lowline&s;s and Love of Poverty,</HI> the
<PB N="38" REF="112"><HI>Alms</HI> and <HI>Meekne&s;s</HI> of <HI>A&s;ceticks;</HI> but princi|pally, of their <HI>Piety to Christ.</HI> This is the Rea&s;on why they make &s;uch a bu&s;tle, that there may be none to trample on them: For they are very &s;en&s;ible that Chri&s;tians have Grace given them by our Saviour again&s;t them&s;elves: For He him&s;elf &s;ays, <HI>Luk.</HI> 10.19. <HI>Behold, I have given you Power to tread upon Serpents and Scor|pions, and every Power of the Enemy.</HI> When|ever therefore they pretend to <HI>foretell</HI> future things, let no one pre&s;ume to regard them: For &s;ometimes they tell us of Brethren, that meet us &s;ome Days after, and accordingly we meet them. But this they do without any prin|ciple of Kindne&s;s to them, to whom they tell it: For they do it only to per&s;wade them to be|lieve them in other Matters; and having once got them in their Clutches, they, at length, find an Opportunity to undo them. Therefore we mu&s;t not give them the Hearing, but reject them, and tell them, We do not want to know &s;uch unnece&s;&s;ary Matters. Be&s;ides too, What wonder is it if they, who&s;e Bodies are &s;o much finer than Mens, when they have &s;een Per&s;ons &s;et out upon a Journey, get before them, and give Notice of it? Has not an Hor&s;eman the &s;ame Advantage of one who travels on Foot? We need not therefore admire them for this: For they do not foretell of things that are not; God alone knows things before they are. To
<PB N="39" REF="112">how many do the&s;e Devils run, like Thieves, before-hand, and tell them what we are now a doing, and how we are Di&s;cour&s;ing again&s;t them, before any of us depart hence, and acquaint others with it? but, Cannot any that runs do the &s;ame trick by one that walks gently? To make this familiar by an In&s;tance; Suppo&s;e a Per&s;on begins to walk from <HI>Thebes,</HI> or any other Town, and the Devils, before he begins to walk, don't know that he will walk; but when they &s;ee him walking, run before-hand, and give Notice of it before he is come, and accordingly he comes at the time mentioned; Can this be call'd a Prediction? nay, oftimes when tho&s;e who began to walk return back, they deceive them. In like manner they trifle about the River-Water; for having &s;een many Rains fall in &s;ome Quarters of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and thence con|jecturing, that the River will overflow before the Water come to <HI>Egypt,</HI> they run and give Notice of the Flood: Which Men might ea&s;ily do if they could run &s;o fa&s;t. They are ju&s;t like <HI>David</HI>'s <HI>Spies,</HI> who (2 <HI>Kings</HI> 13.14.) went up to the top, and &s;aw a Per&s;on coming, before him that tarried below. This is to fore|tell things that are already upon the Anvil, in|&s;tead of foretelling future Events. Thus the&s;e Spirits tell one another, Such a Per&s;on is Sick, or the like, only that they may deceive: Where|as, &s;hould Providence (as He can) decree any
<PB N="40" REF="113">contrary Accident concerning the Waters, or the Travellers, the Devils have fal&s;ify'd, and tho&s;e that minded them are deceived. Thus <HI>the Prophe&s;ies of the Greeks</HI> were pack'd together, and they were deceived by the Devil in former times; and, at length, a period was put to their Deceit: for the Lord came and brought the Devils with their Subtleties to nought. For they &s;ee nothing of them&s;elves; but, like Thieves, carry away what they &s;ee from others: So that they are rather Conjecturers, than Fore|tellers. Let no one therefore admire them, if they &s;peak Truth &s;ometimes: For ju&s;t &s;o Phy|&s;icians, after they have ob&s;erved in others the &s;ame Di&s;ea&s;es, by Symptoms and comparing, give Notice of them in their Patients. So al&s;o Mariners and Husbandmen ob&s;erve the Temper of the Air, and, by U&s;e, forebode that there will be a Storm, or a Calm, Now, no one &s;ays, &s;uch foretell from Divine Providence; but from Experience and Cu&s;tom. Wherefore, if the Devils do &s;o, they neither de&s;erve Admi|ration, nor Attention: for, What Advantage can it be to know &s;uch things before-hand, if they be true? for &s;uch Knowledge as this nei|ther contributes to Vertue, nor Good Manners. No one is judg'd for what he does not know of this kind, nor benefitted by having learnt it: But every Man is judg'd by God and him&s;elf, whether he has kept the Faith, and ob&s;erved
<PB N="41" REF="113">his Commands: To this we &s;hould give great Attendance. Our Exerci&s;e and Contention &s;hould be, not to fore-know; but to walk well-plea&s;ing in God's Sight. And we ought to Pray, not that we may fore-know, nor to reque&s;t this as the Reward of our Exerci&s;e; but that our Lord may work with us towards our obtaining a Victory over the Devil.</P>
<P>But if we find our &s;elves &s;olicitous to fore-know, [indeed] let us be pure in our Minds; for, I do believe that a Soul, in every re&s;pect pure, and brought to its primitive Frame, may become &s;o di&s;cerning, as to &s;ee, by the Revela|tion of our Lord, both more and remoter Events too, than Devils. Ju&s;t &s;o the Soul of <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> &s;aw <HI>Gehazi,</HI> 2 Kings 5.25. and the Ho&s;ts &s;tand|ing before him, 6.17.</P>
<P N="18">18. When, therefore, they come in the Night, and are willing to tell things, or &s;ay, We are good Angels, believe them not; for they lye: Or, if they prai&s;e your Exerci&s;e, or call you Happy, believe them not; neither &s;ubmit &s;o far to them as to hear them. But rather <HI>cro&s;s your &s;elves</HI> and your Families, and pray toge|ther, and ye &s;hall &s;ee them vani&s;h: for they are da&s;tardly, and dread <HI>the Sign of our Lord's Cro&s;s,</HI> becau&s;e by that our Saviour made them bare, and publickly expo&s;ed them, <HI>Col.</HI> 2.15. More|over, if they grow more and more Impudent, and leap about wantonly in various Shapes, don't
<PB N="42" REF="114">be afraid, or attend to them as good Spirits; for, by God's A&s;&s;i&s;tance, 'twill be po&s;&s;ible, nay ea&s;ie, <HI>to di&s;tingui&s;h between the Pre&s;ence of a Good and a Bad Spirit:</HI> For, the Appearance of <HI>Holy Spirits</HI> is not with Di&s;turbance and Di&s;order, <HI>Matt.</HI> 12.19. for, <HI>He will not &s;trive, nor cry, neither doth any one hear their Voice.</HI> But a Good Spirit vi&s;its in &s;uch a &s;weet and delectable man|ner, that Joy, and Tran&s;port, and Confidence, pre&s;ently cover the Soul that is vi&s;ited: For, <HI>the Lord is with them, who is our Joy; and the Power of God the Father.</HI> Be&s;ides too, when they vi&s;it, the Thoughts of the Soul are free from Con&s;ternation and Wavering: For the Soul, being enlightened by &s;uch a Vi|&s;ion, views with Ea&s;e the Spirits that appear. Furthermore, it has a certain de&s;ire of Divine and future things &s;eizing it, and is willing to joyn with the Spirits, and to go out with them. And if tho&s;e, to whom they appear, be afraid of the Vi&s;ion, they pre&s;ently take away the Fear by Love, as <HI>Gabriel</HI> did from <HI>Zachary,</HI> Luke 1.13. As al&s;o, the Angel which appeared to the Women at the Divine Tomb, <HI>Matt.</HI> 28.5. A Te&s;timony of this Truth too, is, that &s;aying of the Shepherds in the Go&s;pel, <HI>Luke</HI> 12.10. <HI>Be ye not afraid:</HI> for the Fear of Good Men is not a Fear of Pu&s;illanimity; but it proceeds from the Sen&s;e of the Advent of &s;uperiour Beings. So much concerning the Nature of the Vi&s;ion of <HI>Good Angels.</HI></P>
<PB N="43" REF="114">
<P> But the Incur&s;ion and Appearance of <HI>Evil Spirits</HI> is di&s;turb'd with Noi&s;e, and Clamour, and Brawling, like the Hurlyburly of untaught Boys, or High-way-men: whence proceeds <HI>Timidity of Soul, Confu&s;ion,</HI> and <HI>Ataxy of Thoughts, Grief, Hatred of A&s;ceticks, great De&s;pondence, Tediou&s;ne&s;s, Remembrance of Relations,</HI> and <HI>Fear of Death:</HI> in &s;hort, <HI>Lu&s;t|ing after Evil things, Weari&s;omne&s;s of Vertue,</HI> and <HI>Di&s;orderline&s;s of Morals.</HI> Wherefore, after you have been frighted with a Vi&s;ion, if your Fear be pre&s;ently taken away, and there &s;ucceed in the room of it a Joy unalterable, and you find within your &s;elf <HI>Chearfulne&s;s,</HI> and <HI>Confidence,</HI> and <HI>Refre&s;hment,</HI> and <HI>Compo|&s;edne&s;s of Thought,</HI> and all the other things which I mentioned before, as <HI>Manlyne&s;s,</HI> and <HI>Love towards God,</HI> take Courage and pray; for Joy and Steddine&s;s of Soul di&s;covers the Ho|line&s;s of the Spirit that is pre&s;ent. Thus <HI>Abra|ham,</HI> when he &s;aw the Lord exulted, <HI>John</HI> 8.56. And <HI>John,</HI> when he heard a Voice from <HI>Mary,</HI> Mother of God, leap'd for Joy: But if there be Confu&s;ion in tho&s;e that appear, and Noi&s;e from without, and Wordly Phanta&s;ies, and Threatnings of Death, with the other Di&s;|orders above-mentioned, then know that 'tis the Sally of Wicked Spirits. Let this be a <HI>Common Rule,</HI> If the Soul be fearful, there are Enemies in &s;ight; for they are Devils that don't
<PB N="44" REF="115">take away that Fearfulne&s;s, as the great Arch-Angel <HI>Gabriel</HI> did from <HI>Mary,</HI> and <HI>Zachary,</HI> and the Angel that appeared at the Tomb from the Women: But Wicked Angels, when they &s;ee Men afraid, they encrea&s;e their Phanta&s;ies, that they may dread them the more: and &s;o, at la&s;t, they a&s;&s;ault them, and jeer them, and bid them fall down and wor&s;hip. Thus they de|ceiv'd the <HI>Gentiles.</HI> By this Means they that were not Gods, were fal&s;ly called Gods. But our Lord has not &s;uffered us to be deluded by the Devil, whom he rebuked, when he was ex|citing &s;uch Fancies in Him, <HI>Luke</HI> 4.8. <HI>Get thee behind me Satan: for 'tis written, Thou &s;halt wor&s;hip the Lord thy God, and Him only &s;halt thou &s;erve.</HI> Let therefore the crafty one be more and more de&s;pi&s;ed: For what our Lord &s;pake, he &s;poke for our &s;ake, that the Devil, hearing the &s;ame Words from us, may be over|turned by the Power of the Lord, who &s;o re|buked them then.</P>
<P N="19">19. But when we have ca&s;t out Devils we &s;hould <HI>not vaunt,</HI> neither when we have cured Di&s;ea&s;es &s;hould we be lifted up; or admire one that ca&s;ts out Devils, or de&s;pi&s;e one that does not ca&s;t them out: But, let every one mind every one's Di&s;cipline, and either imitate or emu|late it, or rectifie it. For doing of Signs and Wonders is not our Bu&s;ine&s;s: This belongs to our Saviour. Hence, <HI>Luke</HI> 10.20. He &s;aith
<PB N="45" REF="115">to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Rejoyce not becau&s;e the Devils are &s;ubject unto you; but becau&s;e your Names are written in Heaven:</HI> For our having our Names written in Heaven is a Te&s;timony of our Vertue and regular Life: But to ca&s;t out Devils is the pure Gift of our Saviour, who gave it. Whence we read, <HI>Matt.</HI> 7.22. that to tho&s;e who glo|rying, not in their Vertue, but in Signs, &s;aid, <HI>Lord, have we not ca&s;t out Devils in thy Name? and in thy Name done many Wonders?</HI> Our Sa|viour &s;aid, <HI>Truly, I &s;ay unto you, I know you not:</HI> for the Lord knows not the ways of the Un|godly. In &s;hort, as I &s;aid before, we &s;hould always pray for <HI>the Gift of di&s;cerning of Spirits,</HI> that, as 'tis written, (1 <HI>John</HI> 4.1.) we may <HI>not believe every Spirit.</HI></P>
<P N="20">20. I thought, indeed, now to have conclu|ded, and been &s;ilent of what concerned my &s;elf, and to have contented my &s;elf with giving the&s;e <HI>Memento's.</HI> But that ye may not think I &s;peak the&s;e things idlely, but do declare them from Ex|perience, and a Knowledge of the Truth, there|fore (though I become as a Fool thereby, how|ever, the Lord knows the Purity of my Con|&s;cience, and that I do not do it for my own &s;ake, but out of Love to you, and to encourage you,) I will further acquaint you with &s;ome of them. As oft as they applauded me, when I, in the Name of the Lord, cur&s;ed them: when they would be fore-telling the Overflow of the River,
<PB N="46" REF="116">and I ask'd them, What need you concern your &s;elves about that? when once they came threat|ning and &s;urrounding me, like Souldiers accou|tred and hors'd; and another while fill'd the Hou&s;e with Wild Bea&s;ts and creeping Creatures, and I &s;ung <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19.8. <HI>The&s;e in Chariots, and they on Hor&s;es; but we will rejoyce in the Name of the Lord our God;</HI> they were pre&s;ently routed by the Mercy of Chri&s;t. Another time when they came and made an Appearance of Light in the Dark, and &s;aid, We are come, <HI>Antony,</HI> to lend thee our Light: but I prayed, &s;hutting my Eyes, becau&s;e I di&s;dained to behold their Light, pre&s;ently the Light of the Ungodly was put out. A few Months after they came &s;inging, and talking out of the Holy Scriptures; but I, as though Deaf, hearkened not to them, but prayed that I might abide un&s;haken in my Mind. After this they came and made a Noi&s;e, and hi&s;s'd and danc'd; but as &s;oon as I prayed, and lay along &s;inging by my &s;elf, they pre|&s;ently began to wail and weep, as though they were &s;pent: But I glorified God, who pluck'd down their Boldne&s;s, and expos'd their Fury. Once there came a Devil, very tall in Appea|rance, that dar'd to &s;ay, <HI>I am the Power of God,</HI> and <HI>I am Providence, What would'&s;t thou have me be&s;tow upon thee?</HI> But I &s;pit upon him, and, having nam'd the Name of Chri&s;t, endeavoured to beat him; nay, and I &s;eem'd to beat him;
<PB N="47" REF="116">and he immediately, at the Naming of Chri&s;t, as great as he was, di&s;appear'd with the re&s;t of the Devils. And when he came, as I was fa&s;t|ing in a Monk's Habit, with Loaves in his Arms, and &s;aid, <HI>Eat, and take &s;ome Refre&s;hment (you toyl more than you need) otherwi&s;e you will grow weak; for you are a Man:</HI> But I ob&s;erv'd his Stratagem, and ro&s;e up to Pray; which he not enduring to &s;ee, pre&s;ently fail'd, and, going out of Doors, di&s;appear'd like Smoak. As oft as he laid Gold before me, to touch it, and &s;ee it, I fell to P&s;almody; and then he would pine. As oft as they beat me with Stripes, I &s;aid, <HI>Nothing &s;hall &s;eparate me from the Love of Chri&s;t;</HI> and after that they beat one another. However, it was not I that vanqui&s;h'd them, but the Lord, who &s;aid, <HI>Luke</HI> 10.18. <HI>I &s;aw Satan falling, like Lightning from Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>Now I, my Children, being mindful of the Apo&s;tle's Saying, apply'd this to my &s;elf, that ye may learn not to faint, nor be afraid of the Devil and his Agents. And &s;ince I have been a Fool in telling this, receive from what I have &s;aid a Spirit of Fear, and believe me; for I don't lye. Once one of them knock'd at the Door of my Cell, and when I opened it, I &s;aw a tall Figure; and when I asked him, Who art thou? He an&s;wered, I am <HI>Satan:</HI> &s;aid I, What makes you be here? He an&s;wered, Why do all the Monks, and other Chri&s;tians, blame me unde&s;ervedly?
<PB N="48" REF="117">Why do they hourly cur&s;e me? &s;aid I, Why do&s;t thou trouble them? &s;aid he, I don't di&s;turb them: But they trouble them&s;elves; for I am weak. Surely they have not read, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 9.7. <HI>O thou Enemy, De&s;tructions are come to a perpetual End; and thou ha&s;t de&s;troyed Cities.</HI> I have no longer a Place, an Arrow, or a City: There are now Chri&s;tians every where; and, at la&s;t, the De&s;art is fill'd with Monks. Let them pre|&s;erve them&s;elves, and not cur&s;e me to no pur|po&s;e. Then I admiring the Grace of the Lord, &s;aid unto him, <Q>Thou art always a Lyar, and never &s;peake&s;t Truth: Thou ha&s;t &s;poke the Truth to me (now) again&s;t thy Will: for Chri&s;t being come has made thee weak and bare.</Q> After he had heard the Name of our Saviour, which &s;corch'd him &s;o that he could not endure it, he di&s;appear'd. If therefore the Devil him&s;elf owns that he is weak, 'tis our Duty always to de&s;pi&s;e him and his Agents. Thus ye &s;ee how many Wiles the Enemy, with his Hounds, has again&s;t us: But I, having learnt his Weakne&s;&s;es, have &s;hew'd my Contempt of him tho&s;e &s;everal ways which I have mentioned to you. Don't let us &s;ink in our Minds, or form or entertain Fears within our &s;elves, &s;ay|ing, <HI>Le&s;t the Devil come and overthrow us, and, of a &s;udden, take us up, and throw us down, and put us out of Order.</HI> Let us have none of the&s;e Thoughts, nor be Sorrowful, as though we were
<PB N="49" REF="117">peri&s;hing: But rather let us <HI>rejoyce</HI> and be glad, as being in the Number of tho&s;e who &s;hall be &s;av'd; and con&s;ider with our &s;elves, that the Lord is with us, who have triumph'd over Devils, and put them to flight; and let us al|ways think, that, the Lord being with us, our Enemies can do us no harm: for they deal with us differently, according as they find us diffe|rently di&s;pos'd; and according to the Thoughts which they find within us: Thus, if they find us da&s;tardly and di&s;turb'd, they form &s;trange Fancies within us; ju&s;t like Cut-throats and Robbers; they pre&s;ently &s;eize upon the place which they find unguarded. Whatever we think of our &s;elves, to that they will be &s;ure to add; If we are dejected, they encrea&s;e our Ti|merou&s;ne&s;s, by injecting Fancies and Threats; and &s;o the mi&s;erable Soul is tortured by them. But if they find us rejoycing in the Lord, and di&s;cour&s;ing of Matters that do relate to Him, &s;eeing the Soul fenc'd with &s;uch Thoughts, they are confounded and turn a&s;ide; becau&s;e all things are in the Lord's Hand, and a Devil prevails not again&s;t a Chri&s;tian. When the Enemy &s;aw <HI>Job</HI> immur'd thus, he run away from him: But when he found <HI>Judas</HI> de&s;titute of the&s;e, he took him Captive. So that if we would de&s;pi&s;e the Ene|my, we &s;hould always think of the things that relate to the Lord; and our Souls would be always rejoycing in Hope; and we &s;hould &s;ee
<PB N="50" REF="118">all the Devil's ludicrous Tricks be like Smoak, and they them&s;elves rather flying than pur&s;u|ing. For, as I told you before, they them&s;elves are very fearful, always expecting the Fire pre|pared for them. Take this therefore for a <HI>Sign</HI> not to be afraid of them; When any Spirit ap|pears, faint not for Fear; But be the Vi&s;ion what it will, fir&s;t boldly ask, <HI>Who art thou, and Whence?</HI> and if it be the Appearance of a Good Spirit, thou wilt pre&s;ently be &s;trengthen'd with <HI>Ple|rophory,</HI> and turn thy Surprize of Fear into Joy: But if it be a Diabolical Appearance, it pre&s;ently fails, when it &s;ees thy Mind &s;trong; for thy asking, Who, and whence art thou? is a Sign of the Ataxy of thy Mind. Thus <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> the Son of <HI>Nave,</HI> Jo&s;h. 5.13. learnt by asking: and the Enemy was not conceal'd when <HI>Daniel</HI> ask'd.</P>
<P><HI>Antony</HI> having di&s;cours'd after this manner, they all rejoyced, in&s;omuch, that their Love of Vertue was encreas'd, and the Negligence of &s;ome was &s;hook off, and the Opinionativene&s;s or Self-Conceit, and Vain-glory of others ceas'd; and all were per&s;waded to de&s;pi&s;e the Devil's Treachery, admiring the Grace that was given to St. <HI>Antony</HI> by our Lord for his Exerci&s;e.</P>
<P N="21">21. The MONASTERIES now were like &s;o many Sacred Tabernacles, full of Divine Choirs, &s;inging and delighting in Holy Confe|rences, and Fa&s;ting and Praying, and exulting
<PB N="51" REF="118">in the Hope of future Goods, and working to give Alms, and Exerci&s;ing mutual Love, and unanimous Symphony among them&s;elves. So that you might &s;ee there, of a Truth, a Land of Piety and Righteou&s;ne&s;s by it &s;elf: For there was neither an Injurious nor an injured Per&s;on, neither any Complaint of the Oppre&s;&s;our: But a Multitude of A&s;ceticks, having one and the &s;ame Ardour for Vertue; in&s;omuch, that one among&s;t the re&s;t of the Spectatours, &s;eeing &s;uch Mona&s;teries, and regular Di&s;cipline, could not forbear crying out, as we read, <HI>Numb.</HI> 24.5, 6. <HI>How goodly are thy Dwellings, O Jacob, and thy Tabernacles, O I&s;rael! As the &s;hady Vales are they &s;pread forth, and as the Parks be&s;ide the Rivers, and as the Tents which the Lord hath fix'd, and as the Cedars by the Waters &s;ide.</HI></P>
<P N="22">22. St. <HI>Antony</HI> therefore, oft retiring him&s;elf into his Mona&s;try, daily grew Vigorous in Ex|erci&s;e, and groan'd, longing for Man&s;ions in Heaven, becau&s;e he long'd for them, and ob|&s;erv'd the frail Life of Man: When-ever he was about to eat, or drink, or &s;leep, or &s;erve any other Bodily Nece&s;&s;ities, he blu&s;h'd; for he thought upon the Dignity of his Intellectual part: So that oftentimes, when he was going to eat with other Monks, and call'd to Remem|brance his Spiritual Food, he refus'd, and retir'd to eat alone, thinking he &s;hould blu&s;h if he was &s;een Eating by them. When he eat alone,
<PB N="52" REF="119">'twas purely out of Nece&s;&s;ity: Sometimes, though very &s;eldom, he eat with his Brethren: But, though 'twere with Blu&s;hing, he took the Li|berty to acquaint his Brethren, for their Benefit, that they &s;hould lay out their Lei&s;ure rather on their Soul, than their Body, le&s;t it be weigh'd down by the Plea&s;ures of the Body, which ought to be in Subjection to it. For our Sa|viour has &s;aid, <HI>Take no thought for your Life, what you &s;hall eat; nor for your Body, what ye &s;hall put on:</HI> Do not &s;eek what ye may eat, nor what ye may drink, neither aim at high things; <HI>For all the&s;e things the Nations of the World &s;eek; for your Father knows that ye need them; and all the&s;e things &s;hall be added unto you.</HI></P>
<P N="23">23. Not long after the <HI>Emperour Maximinus</HI> Per&s;ecuted the Church; and &s;ome Holy Martyrs being carried to <HI>Alexandria,</HI> he left his Mona&s;try and followed them, &s;aying to his Friends, <HI>Let us al&s;o go and combat; or &s;ee tho&s;e who do:</HI> for he was Ambitious of Martyrdom. But, not being willing to deliver up him&s;elf, he mini&s;tred to the <HI>Confe&s;&s;ors</HI> in the Mines and Pri&s;ons, and &s;hew'd great Diligence in the Court of Judica|ture, comforting and &s;purring on tho&s;e that were call'd to it, and attending them till they were Crowned <HI>Martyrs.</HI> Wherefore, the Judge ob&s;erving the Fearle&s;ne&s;s and A&s;&s;iduity of <HI>Antony,</HI> and of tho&s;e that were with him, ordered that no Monk &s;hould appear in the Court, nor &s;o
<PB N="53" REF="119">much as live in the City; &s;o that all the re&s;t &s;eemed to ab&s;cond that Day: But St. <HI>Antony</HI> took this &s;o much to thought, that he wa&s;h'd his <HI>Scapulary</HI> the cleaner the Day after, and &s;tood foremo&s;t on an high place before the Judge's Face. And though all Per&s;ons admir'd at it, and the Governour, as he pa&s;s'd by with his Train, took Notice of it; yet he &s;tood unmov'd, &s;hewing the Readine&s;s of the Chri&s;tians to die: For, as I &s;aid before, he wi&s;h'd to die a <HI>Martyr,</HI> and appear'd very much griev'd becau&s;e he did not. But the Lord pre&s;erv'd and re&s;erv'd him for our Benefit, and the Advantage of many more, that he might be a Teacher to many, by the Exerci&s;e which he learnt out of the Holy Scriptures; for the bare &s;ight of his Di&s;cipline inflam'd many others to imitate his Life. Where|fore, he again vi&s;ited the <HI>Confe&s;&s;ors,</HI> as he us'd; and, as it were bound up together with them, he labour'd to &s;erve them. But after <HI>that Per|&s;ecution,</HI> in which the Ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Bi&s;hop Peter</HI> &s;uf|fered <HI>Martyrdom,</HI> ceas'd, he pilgrimag'd and retir'd again to the Mona&s;try, where he was daily a Martyr in Con&s;cience, and fought the Combats of Faith: For there he us'd him&s;elf to much and &s;tricter Exerci&s;e; for he always fa&s;ted. His inner <HI>Garment</HI> was Hair-cloth, his upper of Leather; which was the <HI>Habit</HI> he wore to his dying Day; neither wa&s;hing the dirt off his Body, no, nor &s;o much as his Feet,
<PB N="54" REF="120">unle&s;s they were wet by chance, when he waded thorow Water on a Journey.</P>
<P N="24">24. Now, when he had thus retir'd, and re|&s;olv'd to continue in that State &s;ome time, with|out ever going abroad, or entertaining any Company. There came to him one <HI>Martinian,</HI> a Colonel, who had a Daughter troubled with a <HI>Devil,</HI> and was very trouble&s;ome to him; and after he had &s;tood a long while knocking at the Door, and entreating him to come, and pray to God for his Daughter, <HI>Antony</HI> would not &s;uffer him to break open his Door; but leaning out of the top, &s;aid, <Q>Man, Why do&s;t thou &s;tand crying thus? I am a Man as well as thou: If thou believe&s;t, pray to God, and 'tis done pre|&s;ently.</Q> The Colonel therefore pray'd to God with Faith, and went his way, and his Daughter was cleans'd from the Devil. Many other things did our Lord by him: Wherefore we do not read in vain, <HI>Matt.</HI> 7.7. <HI>Ask, and it &s;hall be given you.</HI> For many that were <HI>Sick,</HI> and only &s;at without the Mona&s;try, by Faith and Prayer were Cur'd. But as &s;oon as he &s;aw him&s;elf thus di&s;turb'd by a great many People, and not permitted to retire, according to his Purpo&s;e and De&s;ire, and fearing le&s;t, from what the Lord did by him, he &s;hould be lifted up, or any one el&s;e, upon that account, &s;hould think of him beyond what he ought, he thought, and was re&s;olved to go to the upper Thebais, where
<PB N="55" REF="120">no body knew him; and having took &s;ome Loaves of his Brethren, he &s;at down by the River Banks, watching for a Ve&s;&s;el to get over. In the mean while came a <HI>Voice</HI> from Heaven, &s;aying, <Q><HI>Antony,</HI> Whither goe&s;t thou, and wherefore?</Q> <HI>Antony,</HI> without any Commotion, or Di&s;order of Mind, (for he was us'd to &s;uch extraordinary Occurrences) &s;aid, <Q>Since the Multitude will not let me be at re&s;t here, I have a mind to retire in the upper Thebais; and &s;o much the rather, becau&s;e they require things above my Strength.</Q> Then reply'd the Voice, <Q>Should'&s;t thou go thither, thou would'&s;t have double the Trouble to undergo: But if thou would'&s;t be quiet, indeed, go into the inner Wilderne&s;s.</Q> But, <Q>Who (&s;aid <HI>Antony</HI>) &s;hall &s;hew me the way, for I don't know it?</Q> And the Voice pre&s;ently directed him to &s;ome <HI>Sarazens</HI> that were travelling that way. Whereupon <HI>Antony</HI> made up to them, and reque&s;ted to walk with them to the Wil|derne&s;s. They, as it were by the Order of Providence, receiv'd him readily. By that time he had travelled with them three Nights and three Days, he came to a very high Mountain. Now, under the Mountain there was fine, clear, cool, &s;weet, trembling Water; and without the Plain, a few Wild Palm-Trees that had been neglected. <HI>Antony,</HI> as being &s;ent thither by God, was in Love with the Place; for this was
<PB N="56" REF="121">the Place of which the Voice (that &s;pake to him upon the Banks of the River) gave him Notice. Having at fir&s;t took with him &s;ome of his Fellow-Travellers Loaves, he tarry'd a|lone in the Mount, no Body at all conver&s;ing with him. There he kept looking upon it as his own Home. The <HI>Sarazens</HI> having ob&s;erv'd his <HI>Intent</HI> and <HI>Propo&s;al</HI> to him&s;elf in Living there, de&s;ignedly pa&s;s'd often that way, and glad|ly &s;upply'd him with Bread. He had al&s;o a little Refre&s;hment from the Palms.</P>
<P N="25">25. And afterwards the Brethren, like Chil|dren mindful of their Father, took care to &s;end to him. But <HI>Antony</HI> con&s;idering that &s;ome were toyled upon the account of bringing him Bread, and being willing to &s;pare the Monks that trou|ble, deliberated with him&s;elf how he might pre|vent it; and &s;o, at la&s;t, de&s;ired tho&s;e that came to him to bring him a <HI>Spade,</HI> and a <HI>Mattock,</HI> and a little <HI>Corn.</HI> When he was &s;upply'd with Ma|terials, he walk'd a little way, and having found a little piece of Arable Ground, he Till'd it; and having Plenty enough of Water to water it, he <HI>&s;ow'd his Grain</HI> there; and thus, ever-after, he was &s;upply'd with Bread enough every Year; rejoycing becau&s;e he was trouble&s;ome to none, and could keep him&s;elf without being burthen|fome to any one. After &s;eeing &s;ome coming to him again, he Till'd &s;ome more Ground, and Planted a <HI>few Herbs,</HI> for the Refre&s;hment of any
<PB N="57" REF="121">tir'd Traveller. At fir&s;t the Wild Bea&s;ts of the De&s;art came, out of pretence for Water, and da|mag'd his Standing-Corn. One Day, therefore, he plea&s;antly took hold of one of the Bea&s;ts, and &s;aid to them all, <Q>Why do ye hurt me, &s;ince I don't hurt you? Get ye gone, in the Name of the Lord, and come no more near this Place again;</Q> and from that time they, as it were, receiving his Command, never came again: So he kept alone in the inner part of the Mountain, attending to Prayer and Exerci&s;e. But his Bre|thren came and mini&s;tred unto him, entreating him to let them come once a Month and bring him &s;ome Olives, Beans, and Oyl, becau&s;e he was now grown Ancient. Whil&s;t he lived there, how many Conflicts he under-went, (not with Fle&s;h and Blood, but with Devils, his grand Adver&s;aries,) we know very well from tho&s;e who went to him, who heard Tumults, Voices, and Noi&s;es, like tho&s;e of the trampling of Hor&s;es, and cla&s;hing of Arms, and &s;aw the Mount full of Wild Bea&s;ts in the Night, and him as it were Fighting and Praying again&s;t them: But he emboldened the Hearts of tho&s;e that came to him, and &s;trove upon Bended Knees in Prayer with the Lord. And 'tis worth our while to con&s;ider, with Admiration, that he (though all alone in &s;uch a great Wilderne&s;s) was not afraid of the Devil's A&s;&s;aulting him, nor of the Fiercene&s;s of many Wild Bea&s;ts and Creeping Creatures; but
<PB N="58" REF="122">did literally (as 'tis written) <HI>trust in the Lord, like Mount Sion,</HI> having a Mind unmov'd, and void of Fluctuation: So that (as 'tis written) <HI>Job</HI> 5.23. <HI>the Devils fled, and the Wild Bea&s;ts were at Peace with him.</HI> The <HI>Devil,</HI> therefore, (as <HI>David</HI> &s;ings, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 34.16.) gna&s;h'd upon him with his Teeth when he &s;aw him. But <HI>Antony</HI> was comforted by our Saviour, and con|tinu'd unhurt, notwith&s;tanding all his Subtleties and Stratagems. The Devil &s;ent all the Bea&s;ts and Snakes out of their Holes and Dens gaping upon him, and threatning to bite him. But he under&s;tanding the Device of the Enemy, &s;aid to them all, <Q>If ye have received any Authority over me, I am ready to be devour'd by you; but if ye are &s;uborn'd by the Devil, tarry here no longer, but get ye hence in an In&s;tant; for I am Chri&s;t's Servant:</Q> and they fled at his Word as fa&s;t as from a Whip.</P>
<P N="26">26. A few Days after that, as he was at work, (for he always took Care to labour) one &s;tand|ing at the Door, train'd after him with his Heels &s;ome of his plyant Twigs which he had wrought together; (for he made little Baskets, and ex|chang'd them with tho&s;e that came to him for what they brought him) and as he &s;tood up, he &s;aw <HI>a Beast,</HI> down to the Thighs like a <HI>Man,</HI> but with Legs and Feet like an <HI>A&s;s. Antony</HI> only &s;ign'd him&s;elf with the Sign of the <HI>Cro&s;s,</HI> and &s;aid, <Q>I am a Servant of Chri&s;t; If thou
<PB N="59" REF="122">art &s;ent hither again&s;t me, lo!</Q> I am here. But the Bea&s;t with his Devils fled &s;o fa&s;t, that he fell and dy'd for Ha&s;te. Now, the Death of the Bea&s;t &s;igni&s;y'd the Overthrow of the Devils; for they did all they could to bring him out of the Wilderne&s;s, but could not prevail.</P>
<P N="27">27. Soon after this he travelled with &s;ome of his Brethren Monks that came to &s;ee him, and reque&s;ted him to come and live with them a little while. Now the Monks had a <HI>Camel</HI> to carry their Loaves and Water, (for that De&s;art was Waterle&s;s, neither was there any drinkable Water thereabouts, but by the Mount where his Mona&s;tery was, and thence they had the Water that they took with them.) Where|fore, their Water failing them whil&s;t they were upon their Way, and the Heat being very great, their Lives were in Danger; for having &s;earch'd all the Places thereabouts, and found no Water, they were not able to walk any longer, but lay down upon the Ground, and di&s;mi&s;s'd the Camel to &s;hift for its &s;elf, de&s;pairing of their own Lives. Now the Old Man &s;eeing them all in Danger, was very much troubled and groan'd, and having &s;tept a little way a&s;ide and knelt and pray'd, the Lord pre&s;ently made Water &s;pring forth out of the Place where he had pray'd; and they all drank and reviv'd, and fill'd their Bottles, and having &s;ought the Camel found him; for (as it happen'd) the Halter twin'd about a Stone,
<PB N="60" REF="123">and held him fa&s;t; &s;o they brought him, wa|ter'd and loaded him, and travell'd &s;afe to their Journeys End. And as &s;oon as he came to the Outer Mona&s;teries, they all came and &s;aluted him, as a Father. And now there was Joy again in the Mountains, and a new Emulation of Proficiency and Con&s;olation by mutual Love and Faith. It rejoyc'd <HI>Antony</HI> mightily to &s;ee the Forwardne&s;s of the Monks, and his Si&s;ter grown old in Virginity, and become a <HI>Governe&s;s</HI> over other Virgins. In a &s;hort time after he return'd to his own Mountain, whither many that were <HI>Di&s;ea&s;ed</HI> came to him.</P>
<P N="28">28. He would be continually charging all the Monks that came to him, to believe in the Lord, and love Him, and to keep them&s;elves from filthy Thoughts and carnal Plea&s;ures, and (as 'tis written in the <HI>Proverbs</HI>) <HI>not to be deceiv'd by the Fulne&s;s of the Belly,</HI> and to avoid Vain|glory, and to <HI>pray continually,</HI> and to &s;ing before Sleep and after Sleep, and to lay up the Precepts of the Holy Scriptures in their Brea&s;ts, and re|member the Acts of the Saints, that the Soul being minded of tho&s;e Precepts, may be con|formed to their Zeal: but e&s;pecially he advis'd them to have St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Saying in mind, <HI>Let not the Sun go down upon your Wrath;</HI> and to apply this in Common to every Precept, that the Sun may not only not go down upon their Wrath, but upon any other Sin what&s;oever; for 'tis but
<PB N="61" REF="123">fitting, that the Sun &s;hould not condemn us for any Wickedne&s;s in the Day, nor the Moon by Night, for any Sin or Thought. If we would be truly Beautiful, St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Advice mu&s;t be kept, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.5. <HI>Judge your &s;elves: Try your &s;elves.</HI> Let, therefore, every one of you take an Account of both his Day and Night Actions; and wherein he has offended, let him leave off; and wherein he has not, let him not glory; but let him continue in that which is Good, and not be Negligent, or contemn his Neighbour; neither <HI>Let him ju&s;tifie him&s;elf till</HI> (as the Ble&s;&s;ed Apo&s;tle &s;ays) <HI>the Lord come, who &s;earcheth into the mo&s;t &s;ecret things;</HI> for we are often, even to our &s;elves, in the dark; as to what we do we are ignorant; <HI>But the Lord comprehends all things.</HI> Wherefore, yielding and a&s;cribing Judgment to him, let us <HI>be Pati|ent one with another, and bear one another's Bur|thens, and Judge our &s;elves;</HI> and wherein&s;oever we are behind hand, let us &s;trive to fill up our Defects. And pray let me de&s;ire you to take this Rule as a Pre&s;ervative again&s;t Offending: Let all of us mark and write down all our Actions and Motions, in order to declare them to one another; and ye may be confident, that if we always blu&s;h to be known, we &s;hall for|bear offending, nay, &s;o much as thinking any ill thing; for, Who would Sin a Sin for which he mu&s;t pre&s;ently undergo open Shame? By
<PB N="62" REF="124">this Means, who-ever offends cann't be &s;ecret without lying. By this Means we &s;hould never fornicate, as being always in one another's Sight. But by writing and communicating our Thoughts, we &s;hall keep from inward Impurity, through Shame of having it known. Let our Paper therefore &s;erve us in&s;tead of the Eyes of our <HI>Fellow-A&s;ceticks,</HI> that our blu&s;hing, when we write them down in order to be &s;een, may pre|vent our Lu&s;ting ami&s;s in any ca&s;e. By keeping clo&s;e to this Model of Di&s;cipline, we &s;hall have Power to &s;ubdue the Body, and &s;o plea&s;e the Lord, and to tread the Wiles of the Enemy under Feet. This he &s;aid to all that met him. He us'd to &s;ympathize and pray together with all Sufferers; and in many Ca&s;es the Lord heard him. When he was heard, he did not boa&s;t; and when he was not heard, he did not murmur: But he al|ways, and in all Circum&s;tances, gave Thanks unto the Lord. He exhorted Patients to <HI>Long|&s;uffering,</HI> and made them know, that <HI>Healing</HI> was not from him, or from Men, but of the Lord, who acts as he plea&s;es, both as to what he does, and as to the time when he does it: Such Di&s;cour&s;e as this was to them as a Cure, none de&s;pi&s;ing his Lectures: But tho&s;e who&s;e <HI>Illne&s;s</HI> continu'd, learnt from him to be patient; and tho&s;e that were <HI>Cur'd,</HI> not to give Thanks to him, but to God alone. Among others, one <HI>Fronto,</HI> a Courtier, (having a terrible Sick|ne&s;s,
<PB N="63" REF="124">which eat his Tongue, and ju&s;t affected his Eyes) came in the Mount, and de&s;ir'd <HI>An|tony</HI> to pray for him: St. <HI>Antony,</HI> at his reque&s;t, pray'd to God for <HI>Fronto,</HI> and bid him be gone, and he &s;hould be Healed.</P>
<P N="29">29. But <HI>Fronto</HI> having got into his Cell by Violence, and tarrying a whole Day there, <HI>Antony</HI> &s;aid, <Q>Whil&s;t you tarry here you cann't be cur'd. Be gone, and by that time you come within Sight of <HI>Egypt,</HI> you &s;hall &s;ee a Sign wrought upon you.</Q> St. <HI>Antony</HI> &s;peaking &s;o po&s;itively, he was &s;atisfy'd, and went his way; and as &s;oon as he &s;aw <HI>Egypt</HI> he was rid of his Malady, and became a Sound Man, as <HI>Antony</HI> had a&s;&s;ur'd him. There is another Remarkable Cure which I mu&s;t not omit.</P>
<P N="30">30. A certain Virgin of <HI>Tripolis</HI> had a very terrible and foul Di&s;temper; for her Tears, and her Snot, and the running of her Ears, turn'd into <HI>Worms</HI> after it fell upon the Ground; be|&s;ides too, &s;he was very <HI>Paralytical,</HI> and had very unnatural Eyes. Her Parents having been in|form'd of St. <HI>Antony</HI> by &s;ome Monks that were travelling to him, and tru&s;ting in our Lord, who (as we read, <HI>Matt.</HI> 20.) <HI>cur'd an I&s;&s;ue of Blood,</HI> reque&s;ted that &s;he might travel with them: They granting her reque&s;t, the Child and her Parents went with them; and when they came, tarry'd without the Mount with <HI>Paphnutius,</HI> a <HI>Confe&s;&s;or</HI> and a <HI>Monk.</HI> The other Monks went
<PB N="64" REF="125">in to St. <HI>Antony,</HI> and ju&s;t as they were going to acquaint him with it, he prevented them, and told them of the Child's Di&s;ea&s;e, and her Tra|velling with them. Hearing this, they reque&s;ted the Child might be permitted to enter; but St. <HI>Antony</HI> deny'd their reque&s;t, and bid them go out, and they would find the Child either Heal'd or Dead: For (&s;aid he) <Q><HI>Healing</HI> is not an Act of mine; Why &s;hould &s;he come to me, who am a mi&s;erable Man? To <HI>Cure</HI> is the Property of our Saviour, who exerci&s;es Mercy in every Place, over all that call upon Him; and there|fore has favour'd her and her Prayer, and has manife&s;ted this particular In&s;tance of his <HI>Phi|lanthropy</HI> to me, <HI>(viz.)</HI> that he will cure the Child's Di&s;ea&s;e there.</Q> This caus'd great Admiration among&s;t them; and they went out and found the Parents Rejoycing, and the Child Healthy from that time.</P>
<P N="31">31. About this time, there had <HI>Two Brethren</HI> entred upon a Journey, and for want of Water, one dy'd upon the way; and the other was not far from Dying too, and therefore, having no Strength to travel, he al&s;o lay upon the Ground, expecting to die. Now <HI>Antony</HI> was &s;itting upon the Mount, and call'd Two Monks to him that were hard by, and &s;aid to them, <Q>Pray take a Pitcher of Water, and run <HI>Egypt</HI> Road|way; for one of two Fellow-Travellers is already dead, and the other will die too unle&s;s ye make
<PB N="65" REF="125">ha&s;te; for this was di&s;cover'd to me as I was a Praying.</Q> Accordingly the Two Monks went and buried their dead Brother, and reviv'd the other, and brought him to their venerable Father, who was at the di&s;tance of a whole Day's Journey from them. If any one &s;hould ask, Why <HI>Antony</HI> did not &s;peak before the other dy'd? he asks an improper Que&s;tion; for the Sentence of <HI>Death</HI> did not belong to <HI>Antony,</HI> but to <HI>God,</HI> who determin'd <HI>Death</HI> for the one, and a <HI>Recovery</HI> by <HI>Antony</HI>'s <HI>inter-Agency</HI> for the other. That which is to be admir'd in <HI>Antony,</HI> is, That he had a Soul &s;o &s;tay'd and &s;edate, as to be &s;hew'd things at &s;uch a di&s;tance by the Lord upon the Mount.</P>
<P N="32">32. And a little after, as he was &s;itting again upon the Mount, he &s;aw one lifted up on high from the Mount, and a great deal of Joy in all that met him: He could not but admire, and call the Company Ble&s;&s;ed, and pray'd to know what that might be. Then pre&s;ently came a Voice, and told him, that 'twas the Soul of <HI>Ammun,</HI> a Monk of <HI>Nitria.</HI> Now the di&s;tance between <HI>Nitria</HI> and that <HI>Mount</HI> is Thirteen Days Journey. The Monks &s;eeing the Old Man (for he continu'd an A&s;cetick to his Old Age) in &s;uch a Maze, de&s;ired to know the rea&s;on of it. St. <HI>Antony</HI> told them that <HI>Ammun</HI> was dead: For this Monk was very well known among them, becau&s;e he often came thither, and many Miracles were done by him; of which, this is
<PB N="66" REF="126">one. Having once an Occa&s;ion to go over the River <HI>Lycus,</HI> (which was a great Inundation of Waters) he de&s;ired <HI>Theodore</HI> to go at a di&s;tance from him, that they might not &s;ee one another Naked, as they &s;wam over. Then <HI>Theodore</HI> withdrawing, he blu&s;h'd to &s;ee him&s;elf again Naked: And as he was blu&s;hing and &s;olicitous, he was of a &s;udden convey'd to the other &s;ide. <HI>Theodore</HI> therefore (who al&s;o was a very Reli|gious Man) having &s;een him got over, and not at all wetted with the Water, reque&s;ted to know the manner of his Pa&s;&s;age: But finding him loth to tell him, he took hold of his Feet, and prote&s;ted he would not let him go before he knew. <HI>Ammun</HI> ob&s;erving the Earne&s;tne&s;s of <HI>Theodore,</HI> for the &s;ake of his Prote&s;tation, con|&s;ented to tell him, after he had engag'd him to tell no Body before he was dead; and &s;o told him how he was carry'd over after an invi&s;ible manner, and laid on the other &s;ide: He did not walk on the Water, nor was the manner of it po&s;&s;ible to Men, but only po&s;&s;ible to tho&s;e whom our Lord permits; as he did St. <HI>Peter.</HI> This <HI>Theodore</HI> told after <HI>Ammun</HI>'s Death. But to re|turn to St. <HI>Antony.</HI> The Monks to whom St. <HI>Antony</HI> told what he &s;aw noted down the Day in a Book: And &s;ome Brethren that return'd from <HI>Nitria</HI> enquir'd about Thirty Days after, and brought word that <HI>Ammun</HI> dy'd the &s;ame Day and Hour in which <HI>Antony</HI> &s;aw the Soul
<PB N="67" REF="126">lifted up on high; and they greatly admir'd the Purity of <HI>Antony</HI>'s Soul, and wondred how he &s;hould immediately know what was done at Thirty Days di&s;tance, and how he &s;aw the Soul carry'd up a-loft. But we have fre&s;h Matter of Prai&s;e and Wonder from St. <HI>Antony</HI> &s;till.</P>
<P N="33">33. For <HI>Archelaus Comes</HI> having found him praying by him&s;elf in the Outer Mount, entreated him on the behalf of <HI>Polycrateia,</HI> (who was an admirable Virgin, and full of Chri&s;t) for &s;he had a Pain in her Stomach and her Side, by rea&s;on of extream Exerci&s;e, and was very weakly all over her Body: Wherefore <HI>Antony</HI> pray'd, and <HI>Archelaus</HI> mark'd down the Day whereon <HI>Antony</HI> pray'd; and when he re|turn'd to <HI>Laodicea,</HI> he found the Virgin well; and having ask'd them what Day &s;he was fir&s;t releas'd from her Weakne&s;s, he took out the Paper in which he writ down the Time when <HI>Antony</HI> pray'd for her, and immediately &s;hew'd them the &s;ame time writ down in his Paper: So that they were all convinc'd that the Lord deliver'd her from her Pains when <HI>Antony</HI> was, by Prayer, forwarding the Goodne&s;s of our Sa|viour towards her.</P>
<P N="34">34. He did al&s;o oftentimes give Notice, many days before hand, of Per&s;ons that were coming to him: Nay, &s;ometimes he would tell the rea&s;on of their Journey a Month before hand; as that &s;ome came only to &s;ee him, others be|cau&s;e
<PB N="68" REF="127">Di&s;tempered, others becau&s;e Po&s;&s;e&s;s'd. And this we all know of all, That none that came to him thought the Labour of his Journey a Trouble, or a Lo&s;s; for every one return'd from him with a Sen&s;e of &s;ome Benefit receiv'd: But notwith&s;tanding he &s;poke and &s;aw &s;uch &s;trange things, yet he would not have any one admire him for it; but rather to admire the Lord, who, by his Power, has granted us (though but Men) a Capacity and Liberty to know Him.</P>
<P N="35">35. Another time having went down to vi&s;it the Outer Mona&s;teries, and been prevail'd upon, by reque&s;t, to go into a Ve&s;&s;el and pray with the Monks, He and He only perceiv'd a wretched and <HI>terrible Stink;</HI> the Company &s;aid there was &s;ome &s;alt Fi&s;h in the Ve&s;&s;el; but he perceiv'd another kind of Scent: And whil&s;t he was &s;peaking, <HI>a Young Man that had a Devil,</HI> and had entred in before them and hid him&s;elf, cry'd out, and the Devil was rebuk'd by St. <HI>Antony,</HI> in the Name of the Lord <HI>Je&s;us Christ,</HI> and came out of him, and the Young Man was re&s;tor'd to his Wits: And then they all knew that 'twas the <HI>Devil</HI> that &s;tunk.</P>
<P N="36">36. There came to him al&s;o a Nobleman that had a <HI>Devil.</HI> Now that Devil was &s;o terrible, that the Per&s;on that was Po&s;&s;e&s;s'd was not &s;o much as &s;en&s;ible that he came to St. <HI>Antony,</HI> and ate his own Ordure. Wherefore, they that
<PB N="69" REF="127">brought him begg'd of St. <HI>Antony</HI> to pray for him. <HI>Antony</HI> commi&s;erating him, pray'd for him, and &s;at up with him all Night; and the Noble Youth, on a &s;udden, run again&s;t St. <HI>An|tony</HI> and hunch'd him. Now tho&s;e that came with him were very much di&s;turb'd at it: But <HI>Antony</HI> &s;aid, <Q>Don't ye be angry with the Youth; for 'tis not he, but the evil Spirit within him: (for being rebuk'd, and com|manded to po&s;t away into &s;ome waterle&s;s Places, he was enrag'd, and did this) There|fore glorifie God for his doing thus again&s;t me; for that is a Sign that he is a going out.</Q> No &s;ooner had <HI>Antony</HI> &s;aid &s;o, but the Youth was well and him&s;elf, and knew where he was, and &s;aluted the Old Man, giving Thanks to God.</P>
<P N="37">37. Many other &s;uch like things did the Monks tell of him; and they all agreed in their Relation. But as wonderful as the&s;e things are, there are &s;tranger things yet to be related; for, as he was going to pray before he eat, about the Ninth Hour, he was in a <HI>Rapture;</HI> and (which is a Paradox) as he &s;tood up, he <HI>&s;aw him&s;elf without him&s;elf,</HI> and &s;ome other Beings by him|&s;elf, as it were in the Air; and, afterwards, &s;ome other bitter and terrible Beings &s;tanding by him in the Air too, and willing to &s;top him, &s;o that he did not pa&s;s: But the Angels, his <HI>Guides</HI> and <HI>Convoys,</HI> with&s;tanding them; they pretend to exact an Account of him, to &s;ee whether he was
<PB N="70" REF="128">not lyable to them. Now, they would have took the Account from his Birth: But St. <HI>Antony</HI>'s Guides would by no means allow of that; and told them, <Q>That the Lord had blotted all Faults &s;ince his Birth: But ever &s;ince he became a Monk, and promis'd to God, they might exact an Account.</Q> Then they having accu&s;ed him of what they could not prove, the Pa&s;&s;age became free, and pre&s;ently he &s;aw him&s;elf, as it were come to him&s;elf, in a &s;tanding Po&s;ture, and whole again. Hereupon, having forgot to eat, he continu'd all the remain|ing Day and Night Groaning and Praying; for he wonder'd to &s;ee how many we fight again&s;t, and through how great Difficulties any Soul mu&s;t needs pa&s;s thorow the Air. He could not but, upon this Occa&s;ion, call to mind that Say|ing of <HI>the Apo&s;tle,</HI> Eph. 2.2. <HI>According to the Prince of the Power of the Air:</HI> for, <HI>here</HI> 'tis that the Enemy exerts his Power in Fighting, and attempting to &s;top tho&s;e who pa&s;s thorow: for this Rea&s;on he the more earne&s;tly exhorts Chri&s;tians, <HI>Eph.</HI> 6.13. <HI>Take ye the whole Ar|mour of God, that the Enemy having no Evil thing to &s;ay of you, he may be a&s;hamed:</HI> But we, when we had been inform'd of this, remembred the Apo&s;tle: <HI>Whether in the Body, I know not; or out of the Body, I know not: God knows.</HI> St. <HI>Paul</HI> was wrapt up as far as the Third Heaven, and heard <HI>unutterable Words:</HI> But <HI>Antony</HI> &s;aw him|&s;elf
<PB N="71" REF="128">going up into the Air, and contended till he was free.</P>
<P N="38">38. He had al&s;o another particular Favour: for, as he was &s;itting on the Mount in a Pray|ing po&s;ture of Soul, and perhaps gravelled with &s;ome doubt relating to him&s;elf (for not long before he had been conferring with &s;ome who had been conver&s;ant with him about the State of his Soul, and what place it &s;hould have after this Life) in the Night-time; (&s;o that we may truly &s;ay, he was one of tho&s;e Ble&s;&s;ed Men, who <HI>are taught of God</HI>) one call'd to him from on high, and &s;aid, <HI>Antony,</HI> Ri&s;e, go forth and look; So he went out (for he knew whom he ought to obey) and &s;aw a certain terrible, tall, de|formed Per&s;onage &s;tanding, and reaching up to the Clouds, and, as it were, winged Creatures a&s;cending, and him &s;tretching out his Hands, and &s;ome of them he &s;aw &s;top'd by him, and others flying beyond and above him, and tho&s;e that pa&s;s'd them carried higher &s;till, without the lea&s;t Solicitude; upon the&s;e the Tall Per&s;on gna&s;h'd his Teeth; but over tho&s;e that fell, he rejoyc'd. And the Voice &s;aid unto <HI>Antony,</HI> Con|&s;ider on what thou ha&s;t &s;een. And his Under|&s;tanding being open'd, he perceiv'd that 'twas the <HI>Enemy of Souls,</HI> who envies the Faithful, and &s;eizes on (and hinders the Pa&s;&s;age of) tho&s;e who are accountable to him; but that he is not able to &s;eize on tho&s;e who were not per&s;waded
<PB N="72" REF="129">by him; for they get out of his reach. Being minded by &s;uch a Sight again, he &s;trove the more to make a Proficiency in his Holy Pur|po&s;es.</P>
<P N="39">39. But I mu&s;t do him Ju&s;tice, by acquainting you, that he did not tell of the&s;e things willingly. But being he was long at his Prayers, and ad|miring with him&s;elf, tho&s;e that were with him would be importunately asking him; &s;o that he was forc'd, as a Father who could not hide them from his Children, to tell them: Be&s;ides too, he knew the Purity of his own Con&s;cience, and that the Declaration of them would be pro|fitable for them; for hereby he &s;hewed the Ble&s;&s;ed Fruit of Per&s;everance in Exerci&s;e, and that in great Difficulties God conde&s;cends to tender Con&s;olation to his Servants, even by Vi|&s;ions. I might al&s;o tell you, how Patient he was under Afflictions, and how Humble of Soul, and how that Frame of Spirit made him revere the Canons of the Church with a peculiar Tender|ne&s;s of Di&s;po&s;ition, and how willing he was that every Clergy-Man &s;hould be pre&s;err'd before him; for he was not a&s;ham'd to bow the Head before Bi&s;hops and Prie&s;ts: And when-ever a Deacon came to him, to be benefitted by him, he di&s;cours'd u&s;efully to him: But he would re|&s;ign the Exerci&s;e of the Mini&s;try, by Prayer, to him, not being a&s;ham'd to learn him&s;elf: for oft-times he propos'd Que&s;tions, and con|de&s;cended
<PB N="73" REF="129">to give Ear to all that convers'd with him, and own'd him&s;elf benefitted, if any one &s;poke any thing that was u&s;eful.</P>
<P N="40">40. There was much and wonderful Comeli|ne&s;s in his Face. If he was pre&s;ent with a great many Monks, and any one &s;eem'd unea&s;ie, that he might have a full View of him, though he did not know them before, yet, pa&s;&s;ing by the re&s;t, he would run to him, as though he were drew by the Per&s;on's Eyes. He did not excell others in the heighth or breadth of his Body, but in the Con&s;titution of his Morals, and the Purity of his Soul; for his Soul being free from tumult, he always had his outward Sen&s;es free from Di&s;|orders; &s;o that his Countenance derived Chear|fulne&s;s from his Soul, and the Temper of it was di&s;cernable from the Motions of his Body; (as 'tis written) <HI>Prov.</HI> 15.13. <HI>A glad Heart makes a cheerful Countenance: But a &s;orrowful one makes it &s;ad.</HI> Thus <HI>Jacob</HI> di&s;cerned <HI>Laban</HI> to have &s;ome treacherous De&s;ign in his Mind, and &s;aid unto the Women, <HI>Gen.</HI> 31. <HI>Is not the Face of your Father toward me as ye&s;terday, and the day before?</HI> Thus <HI>Samuel</HI> knew <HI>David; For he had cheering Eyes, and Teeth white as Milk.</HI> Thus al&s;o <HI>Antony</HI> was known; for he never look'd di|&s;turb'd, becau&s;e his Soul was always at Peace. His Mind was con&s;tantly in a rejoycing Po&s;ture, and therefore he never had a louring Look. He was al&s;o very admirable and &s;trict as to his Faith and Piety.</P>
<P N="41"><PB N="74" REF="130"> 41. He would never hold Corre&s;pondence with the <HI>Meletian Schi&s;maticks,</HI> becau&s;e he knew their Wickedne&s;s, and Apo&s;tacy from the Faith; nor with the <HI>Manichees,</HI> nor with any other <HI>Hereticks,</HI> in a Friendly manner, any otherwi&s;e than to advi&s;e them to turn to Piety; for he judg'd their Friend&s;hip and Conver&s;ation to tend to the Mi&s;chief and De&s;truction of the Soul. He abominated the Here&s;ie of the <HI>Arians,</HI> and charg'd all not to go near them, or to hold with their wicked Tenets. Some of the <HI>Areiomanites</HI> having once came to &s;ee him; as &s;oon as he perceiv'd what they were, he chas'd them out of the Mount, alledging their Di&s;cour&s;es to be wor&s;e than Poy&s;on. And when the <HI>Arians</HI> told a Lye, (as though he were of the &s;ame Judgment with them) he expre&s;s'd great Indignation again&s;t <HI>Arius;</HI> and being &s;ent for by the <HI>Bi&s;hops,</HI> and all the <HI>Brethren,</HI> he declar'd again&s;t them in <HI>Alexandria,</HI> telling them that this was the la&s;t <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> and the fore-runner of <HI>Anti-Christ;</HI> and he added, That the Son of God was not a Crea|ture made of the things that are not, but the <HI>invi&s;ible Word and Wi&s;dom of the Father's E&s;&s;ence.</HI> Wherefore, 'tis impious to &s;ay, there was a time when he <HI>was</HI> not; for He was always the Word co-exi&s;tent with the Father. Wherefore, have ye no communication with the <HI>Arians;</HI> for <HI>Light hath no fellow&s;hip with the Darkne&s;s:</HI> For ye, who are pious, are Chri&s;tians; but they who im|piou&s;ly
<PB N="75" REF="130">&s;ay, that the Son and Word of God, who is of the Father, is a Creature, differ not at all from Heathens, <HI>who &s;erve the Creature more than God, who created them.</HI> But do ye believe, that all the Creation groans again&s;t them, becau&s;e they reckon the Lord and Creatour of all things, by whom all things that were made were made, a Creature.</P>
<P N="42">42. So publickly did all the People &s;ee that Here&s;ie which &s;o oppo&s;es Chri&s;t anathematis'd by this great Man, and therefore abominated them: And all of the City ran together to &s;ee <HI>Antony.</HI> The <HI>Greeks</HI> al&s;o, and tho&s;e that were called their <HI>Prie&s;ts,</HI> came to the Temple, &s;aying, We de&s;ire to &s;ee the <HI>Man of God;</HI> for all call'd him &s;o. Al&s;o the Lord cleans'd many that were Po&s;&s;e&s;s'd, by him, and heal'd many wounded Per&s;ons, and others that were wounded in their Under&s;tandings: And many <HI>Greeks</HI> de&s;ir'd to touch the Old Man, believing they &s;hould be benefitted thereby. By this means there were as many <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> in a few Days, as us'd to be made in a whole Year. Some Per&s;ons thought the Crowd was too trouble&s;ome to him, and therefore kept Per&s;ons from pre&s;&s;ing upon him: But he was not di&s;turb'd with them, and &s;aid to them, <Q>The People are not more in Number than tho&s;e Devils with which I have contended in the Mountain.</Q> When he went away, we went before him.</P>
<P N="43"><PB N="76" REF="131"> 43. And as we were ju&s;t at the Gate, as it were, <HI>a Woman</HI> cry'd out, <Q>O Man of God, pray tarry a little, for my <HI>Daughter</HI> is grie|vou&s;ly <HI>troubled with a Devil;</HI> Tarry, I pray thee, le&s;t I al&s;o fall into &s;ome danger, by run|ning after thee.</Q> When the Old Man heard her, he willingly tarry'd at our Entreaty; &s;o the Woman drew near, and the Maid fell upon the Ground; and when <HI>Antony</HI> had pray'd, and men|tion'd <HI>Christ,</HI> the Maid ro&s;e up very well, for the Unclean Spirit was gone out of her; and the Maid ble&s;s'd God, and all the Spectators gave Thanks, and St. <HI>Antony</HI> him&s;elf al&s;o was very glad, and return'd to his own abode in the Mount. He was al&s;o very prudent, and, which is very &s;trange, though illiterate, he was a very piercing and judicious Man.</P>
<P N="44">44. Once there came to him <HI>Two Greek Phi|lo&s;ophers,</HI> with a de&s;ign to try him (now, at that time, he was in the outer part of the Moun|tain.) St. <HI>Antony</HI> perceiv'd what kind of Men they were by their Looks, and &s;poke thus to them by an Interpreter, <HI>O ye Philo&s;ophers, Why did you trouble your &s;elves to come to &s;uch a &s;im|ple Fellow?</HI> But they reply'd, That he was not &s;o, but very prudent. <Q>If ye come to a &s;illy Fellow, &s;aid <HI>Antony,</HI> your Labour is lo&s;t, and to no purpo&s;e: But if ye think otherwi&s;e, be|come &s;uch as I am; for we &s;hould imitate all things that are fair and commendable. Had
<PB N="77" REF="131">I come to you, I would have imitated you. Since therefore ye come to me, become &s;uch Men as I am; for I am a <HI>Chri&s;tian.</HI></Q> But they admiring, withdrew, for they &s;aw the Devils dreading <HI>Antony.</HI></P>
<P N="45">45. Others al&s;o met him there, thinking to &s;coff at him, becau&s;e he had not learnt to read. Said <HI>Antony,</HI> pray an&s;wer me one Que&s;tion; <Q>Which think ye is fir&s;t, the <HI>Mind,</HI> or the <HI>Al|phabet?</HI> Whether of the two is the Authour and cau&s;e of the other, the Mind of Letters? or, Letters of the Mind? They an&s;wered, The Mind is fir&s;t,</Q> and the Inventer of Letters. Well then, &s;aith <HI>Antony,</HI> <Q>Who&s;o has a &s;ound Mind, &s;tands in no need of Letters.</Q> Which An&s;wer a&s;toni&s;h'd them, and all that were with them; &s;o they went away, admiring to &s;ee &s;o much Under&s;tanding in a private Man; for though he grew Old in the De&s;art, yet he was not Savage in his Carriage, like a Mountaineer; but he was Courteous and Civil. His Mind and Di&s;cour&s;e was &s;ea&s;on'd with Divine Salt, &s;o that none envy'd him; but all that vi&s;ited him took delight in him.</P>
<P N="46">46. After this, &s;ome Pretenders to Wi&s;dom among the <HI>Greeks</HI> came to him, and demanded of him an account of his <HI>Chri&s;tian Belief,</HI> and made offers to di&s;pute &s;ubtilly with him about the <HI>Divine Cro&s;s,</HI> in order to mock him. St. <HI>Antony</HI> having paus'd a while, and pity'd their
<PB N="78" REF="132">Ignorance, &s;poke very well to them by an Inter|preter, to this Effect: <Q>Which of the Two is more laudable, to confe&s;s a Cro&s;s, or to charge tho&s;e whom ye call Gods with Adulteries and Sodomies? For our Confe&s;&s;ion is a &s;ign of Manline&s;s, and Contempt of Death; but yours are the Pa&s;&s;ions of La&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s. Which is better to &s;ay, That the Wi&s;dom of God was not chang'd, but for the &s;ake of Sal|vation and Beneficence to Men, a&s;&s;um'd an Humane Body, that by Communion with the Humane Race, he might make Men partake of a Divine and Intellectual Nature; or, To liken the Deity to Irrational Beings, and &s;o wor&s;hip four-footed Creatures, and creeping things, and Statues of Men? For, the&s;e are the Ado|rations of your Wi&s;e Men. Moreover, How dare ye deride us, who &s;ay, That Chri&s;t did appear a Man; when ye, deriving the Soul from the [Divine] Mind, &s;ay, That it wan|dred and lap&s;ed from Heaven into the Body? and I wi&s;h it did not pa&s;s, not only into an Humane Body, but into four-footed and creeping Creatures. Our Faith &s;aith, That Chri&s;t came for the Salvation of Men; but ye erring, &s;ay, The Soul is not generated. We con&s;ider the <HI>Power</HI> and <HI>Philanthropy</HI> of God, becau&s;e this was not impo&s;&s;ible with God; But ye &s;aying, That the Soul is the Image of the Mind, yet attribute Lap&s;es to
<PB N="79" REF="132">it, and fable it to be changeable, and, by con&s;equence, introduce the Mind as change|able by the Soul; for, &s;uch as was the Image, &s;uch mu&s;t that of which 'tis the Image nece&s;&s;arily be: But when ye have &s;uch Thoughts as the&s;e concerning the Mind, pray con&s;ider that ye bla&s;pheme the Father of the Mind him&s;elf. And as for the Cro&s;s, What can ye &s;ay of it? When ye &s;ee wicked Men en&s;nare us, ye &s;ee we are ready to endure the Cro&s;s, and to contemn Death, when&s;oever or where&s;oever forc'd upon us. Alas! the <HI>Fables</HI> of the Rovings of <HI>O&s;iris</HI> and <HI>I&s;is,</HI> and the <HI>Treachery</HI> of <HI>Typho,</HI> and the <HI>Flight</HI> of <HI>Saturn,</HI> and <HI>Gormandizings</HI> of <HI>Children,</HI> and of <HI>Paracide;</HI> What are the&s;e? Yet the&s;e are your wi&s;e <HI>Contrivances</HI> and mighty <HI>Foundations.</HI> But, moreover, How comes it to pa&s;s, that when ye de&s;pi&s;e the <HI>Cro&s;s,</HI> ye don't admire the <HI>Re&s;urrection;</HI> &s;ince tho&s;e who &s;peak of one, have al&s;o writ of the other? or, Why are ye, when ye remember the Cro&s;s, &s;ilent of the <HI>Dead</HI> rais'd, the <HI>Blind</HI> who had their Sight re|&s;tor'd, the <HI>Sick of the Pal&s;ie</HI> who were heal'd, and the <HI>Lepers</HI> that were cleans'd, and the <HI>walking a Foot on the Sea,</HI> and other <HI>Signs</HI> and <HI>Wonders,</HI> which &s;hew <HI>Christ</HI> not to be meer Man, but God al&s;o? Truly, to my mind, ye do your &s;elves wrong, and have not read
<PB N="80" REF="133">our Writings with Sincerity: But, pray read and &s;ee that the things which Je&s;us did, &s;hew Him to be God, pilgrimaging upon Earth for the Souls of Men: But, pray tell us of your great Signs.</Q></P>
<P N="47">47. <Q>What can ye plead for Irrational Gods, and their Savagene&s;s? Ye may, if ye plea&s;e, fly to &s;helter by Allegori&s;ing: Let <HI>Pro&s;erpine,</HI> be the Earth; <HI>Vulcan</HI>'s <HI>Lamene&s;s,</HI> the Fire; <HI>Juno,</HI> the Air; <HI>Apollo,</HI> the Sun; <HI>Diana,</HI> the Moon; and <HI>Neptune,</HI> the Sea: But, never|thele&s;s, this does not make it any more the Wor&s;hip of God: This is to &s;erve the Crea|tures more than the Creatour; for ye have compacted the&s;e Stories out of the Con&s;idera|tion of the Creation's being Beautiful: The&s;e Works &s;hould be admir'd, but they &s;hould not have been made Gods; for, by this means, ye have given the Architect's Honour to the things that he Built; which is ju&s;t like paying that Honour to the Hou&s;e, which is due to the Builder; or, the mi&s;-placing the General's Honour, on the Common Souldiers. Come, an&s;wer me the&s;e Que&s;tions, that we may know why Chri&s;t's Cro&s;s &s;hould be derided:</Q> But they he&s;itating and looking this way and that way, St. <HI>Antony</HI> &s;mil'd, and &s;aid, <Q>The&s;e things are their own Proof at fir&s;t Sight. And &s;eeing ye lean &s;o much on demon&s;trative Rea&s;ons, and therefore are not willing we &s;hould wor&s;hip
<PB N="81" REF="133">without rational Demon&s;tration; fir&s;t of all, &s;atisfie me about the&s;e matters, and, e&s;pecially, How the Knowledge of God is di&s;cern'd? by Demon&s;tration of Rea&s;ons? or by the Energy of Faith? and, Which is the Elder, Faith by Energy?</Q> or Demon&s;tration by Rea&s;on? But they an&s;wering, <Q>That Faith by Energy is the Elder, and the truly exact Knowledge. Very well, &s;aid St. <HI>Antony;</HI> for Faith &s;prings from the Di&s;po&s;ition of the Soul; but Logick is one of tho&s;e Arts which are com|pos'd by the Soul: Wherefore, Demon&s;tration is not nece&s;&s;ary for them, who have Energy by Faith; nay, 'tis &s;uperfluous; for what we perceive by Faith, you build by Rea&s;oning: So that oft-times you have not Words to ex|pre&s;s what we &s;ee within. Wherefore, Energy by Faith is better and firmer than your So|phi&s;tical Syllogi&s;ms.</Q></P>
<P N="49">49. <Q>We Chri&s;tians have not this My&s;tery by the Wi&s;dom of <HI>Greek</HI> Rea&s;onings, but by the Power of Faith, given us by Chri&s;t Je&s;us from God. And that ye may &s;ee what we &s;ay is true; behold, we, who have not &s;o much as learnt to &s;pell, do believe in God, known by his Works, and a Providence over all things. And that our Faith is operative within, is evi|dent; for we are &s;upported by Faith in Chri&s;t; but ye by Sophi&s;tical Strivings of Words. Your <HI>Spectre-Idols</HI> are brought to nought;
<PB N="82" REF="134">but our Faith is extended every where. Not|with&s;tanding your <HI>Syllogi&s;ms</HI> and <HI>Sophi&s;ms,</HI> ye don't per&s;wade any from <HI>Chri&s;tianity</HI> to <HI>Paga|ni&s;m;</HI> but we, who preach Faith in Chri&s;t, weaken your Super&s;tition; knowing very well, That Chri&s;t is <HI>God,</HI> and the <HI>Son of God.</HI> By your Oracles ye don't hinder the &s;preading of Chri&s;t's Doctrin; but by but Naming Chri&s;t Crucified, we cha&s;e tho&s;e Devils whom ye honour as Gods; where-ever the Sign of the <HI>Cro&s;s</HI> is, there <HI>Magick</HI> is weak, and <HI>Sorcery</HI> has no power. Tell me, Man, Where are your Oracles? Where are the Inchantments of the <HI>Egyptians?</HI> When did all the&s;e cea&s;e, and vani&s;h before the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t was? Does this therefore de&s;erve &s;o much Deri&s;ion? or, Do not rather the weak things that are brought to nought and baffled by it? This al&s;o is &s;trange to ob&s;erve; Your Followers were never per&s;ecuted, but honoured by Men in the City; but Chri&s;t's Di&s;ciples are per&s;e|cuted, and yet they multiply and flouri&s;h more than yours. Your Tenets, though celebrated and applauded, are broke; whereas the Faith and Doctrine of Chri&s;t, though derided by you, and often per&s;ecuted by Kings, has fill'd the World. When did the Knowledge of God &s;hine &s;o bright? or, When did Temperance and eminent Virginity appear &s;o much? or, When was Death &s;o de&s;pis'd, as &s;ince the Cro&s;s
<PB N="83" REF="134">of Chri&s;t? But no one doubts of this when he &s;ees the <HI>Martyrs</HI> de&s;pi&s;ing Death for Chri&s;t's &s;ake, and whole <HI>Churches Virgins</HI> keeping their Bodies pure and undefil'd for Chri&s;t's &s;ake: Which are powerful Signs, and &s;uch as do &s;hew that the <HI>Chri&s;tian Faith</HI> is the only true <HI>Faith</HI> for Piety. Lo! ye, at this very moment, don't believe, but &s;eek <HI>Syllogi&s;ms</HI> from <HI>Logick;</HI> but we, as our Teacher &s;peaks, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.3. <HI>Not by the Per&s;wa&s;ion of Wi&s;dom in Greek Eloquence; but by Faith,</HI> do effectu|ally per&s;wade tho&s;e that were us'd to the Ar|tificial Structures of Rea&s;on. See, here are &s;ome afflicted with <HI>Devils,</HI> (for at that time there were &s;ome &s;uch pre&s;ent) do ye, by your <HI>Syllogi&s;ms,</HI> or <HI>Magick,</HI> or any other Method that you plea&s;e to chu&s;e, and by invoking your <HI>Idols,</HI> clean&s;e them, or your &s;elves; or, if ye cann't, lay a&s;ide your Quarrel again&s;t us, be unprejudic'd, and ye &s;hall &s;ee the <HI>Power</HI> of Chri&s;t's <HI>Cro&s;s:</HI></Q> And having &s;aid &s;o, he invok'd the Name of Chri&s;t, and &s;ign'd the Afflicted Per&s;ons with the Sign of the Cro&s;s a &s;econd or third time, and the Men were pre&s;ently whole, and in their right Minds, and gave Thanks to God; and the Philo&s;ophers were amaz'd at the Under&s;tanding of the Man, and the Miracle which he did. But <HI>Antony</HI> &s;aid, <Q>Why do ye wonder at this? We don't do it, but Chri&s;t by tho&s;e who believe in Him: Do ye there|fore
<PB N="84" REF="135">believe, and ye &s;hall &s;ee that we have not an Art of Rea&s;oning, but a Faith wrought by Love for Chri&s;t; which al&s;o ye may have; and when ye have it, ye will not &s;eek De|mon&s;trations of Eloquence; but then ye will reckon Faith in Chri&s;t &s;ufficient.</Q> The&s;e were St. <HI>Antony</HI>'s Words; but they e&s;tranging at this went away, &s;aluting him, and owning that they were benefitted by him.</P>
<P N="50">50. And now St. <HI>Antony</HI>'s Fame reach'd the Ears of Kings and Princes; for <HI>Con&s;tantine Au|gu&s;tus,</HI> and <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> and <HI>Con&s;tans,</HI> his Sons, having heard this writ to him, as a Father, and entreated him that they might receive an An&s;wer from him: But he did not &s;et an high Value on their Letter, but was the &s;ame Man that he was before they &s;ent to him. When the Letters were brought to him, he call'd the Monks, and &s;aid to them, <Q>Don't wonder that the King writes to us, for he is a Man; but rather, that God has writ us a <HI>Law,</HI> and &s;poke to us by his own <HI>Son.</HI></Q> Wherefore he was unwilling to re|ceive them, &s;aying, <Q>He knew not how to an|&s;wer &s;uch Letters:</Q> But being warned by the Monks that they were <HI>Chri&s;tian Princes,</HI> and if they were neglected might be offended; he &s;uffered them to be read, and &s;ent an An&s;wer, <Q>Commending them becau&s;e they ador'd <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and advi&s;ing them of Matters relating to their Salvation; as that they &s;hould not regard pre|&s;ent
<PB N="85" REF="135"><HI>Grandeur,</HI> but rather bear the future Judg|ment in mind; and &s;hould know and remem|ber that Chri&s;t only is the True and Eternal King: And he al&s;o coun&s;ell'd them to be cour|teous, and to take care of Equity and the Poor.</Q> When they receiv'd this Letter, they were very glad. He was &s;o obliging to all, that all look'd on him as a Father.</P>
<P N="51">51. After this, he return'd to the inner Mo|na&s;try, and &s;tuck to his former Exerci&s;e; very often, as he was &s;itting or walking with his Vi|&s;itants, he was very &s;ilent, (as 'tis written in <HI>Daniel,</HI> Dan. 4.16.) and after an hours pau&s;e he would di&s;cour&s;e with the Brethren very re|gularly: But tho&s;e that were with him fre|quently perceiv'd &s;ome Vi&s;ion. Once he told all the Affairs of <HI>Egypt</HI> to Bi&s;hop <HI>Serapion,</HI> who was &s;ometimes within with him, and &s;aw him engag'd with a Vi&s;ion. Another time, as he was &s;itting, he was, as it were, in an Exta&s;ie, and frequently groan'd in the mid&s;t of his <HI>Theory;</HI> and, in an hour's time, returning to his Friends, he fir&s;t &s;tood and pray'd trembling, and then kneelt, and continu'd &s;o a good while; and when the Old Man ro&s;e he wept. The Company, trembling for Terrour, reque&s;ted to know the Rea&s;on of it, and were &s;o importunate with him, that he was forc'd to &s;peak, after he had fetch'd a great &s;igh: <Q>Better had it been for me, if I had dy'd before I &s;aw that Vi&s;ion.</Q> Then
<PB N="86" REF="136">they urging him to be particular; he &s;aid, <Q>Wrath will &s;eize upon this Church, and it will be betray'd to Men who are like Brute Bea&s;ts; for I &s;aw the <HI>Lord's-Table</HI> encompa&s;s'd with Mules &s;tanding round about it, and Hounds barking within, and all manner of Bea&s;ts making a di&s;orderly Noi&s;e. Ye &s;aw how I &s;igh'd. I heard a Voice, &s;aying, <HI>My Altar &s;hall be abominated.</HI></Q> This was the Old Man's Vi&s;ion. And, about Two Years after, there was an Incur&s;ion of the <HI>Arians,</HI> and the Plundering of the Churches, when they took the Holy Ve&s;&s;els by Force, and made them be carry'd by Heathens, forcing them out of their Shops to joyn with them, and doing what they pleas'd in their Sight. Then all of us knew, that the Noi&s;e which the Mules made pre-&s;ignignify'd to St. <HI>Antony</HI> what the <HI>Arians</HI> now, like Wild Bea&s;ts, are a doing. But as &s;oon as he had done &s;aying that, he went on, and &s;aid; <Q>My Children, don't be ca&s;t down; for as the Lord was angry, &s;o will he again heal, and the Church will quickly again recover its Beauty, and &s;hine as it us'd; and ye &s;hall &s;ee the Per&s;ecuted re&s;ettled, and Impiety again retreating into private Lurking-holes, and true Faith deliver'd boldly every-where with great Freedom: Only, take heed not to defile your &s;elves with the Doctrin of the <HI>Arians;</HI> for their Doctrin is not that of the <HI>Apo&s;tles,</HI> but the Doctrin of <HI>Devils;</HI> for
<PB N="87" REF="136">they are not of a right Judgment, but Barren, and Irrational, like the Bruti&s;hne&s;s of Mules.</Q></P>
<P N="52">52. <Q>Neither &s;hould ye be Faithle&s;s, or di|&s;tru&s;t &s;uch Wonders being brought about by a Man;</Q> for 'tis our Saviour's Promi&s;e, <HI>John</HI> 16.23, 24. <HI>If ye have Faith, but as a grain of Mu&s;tard-&s;eed, and &s;hall &s;ay to this Mountain, re|move; it &s;hall remove, and nothing &s;hall be im|po&s;&s;ible to you.</HI> And again, <HI>Matt.</HI> 10.18. <HI>Ve|rily, verily, I &s;ay unto you, if ye &s;hall ask any thing of the Father in my Name, he &s;hall give it you: Ask, and ye &s;hall receive.</HI> <Q>'Tis he that &s;aith to his Di&s;ciples, and all that believe in Him,</Q> <HI>Heal the Sick, ca&s;t out Devils: Freely ye have received, freely do ye give. Antony</HI> did not Cure <HI>Maje&s;terially</HI> and <HI>Self-a&s;cribingly;</HI> but he made his Prayer to, and nam'd the Name of Chri&s;t; &s;o that it was manife&s;t, that it was not he him&s;elf, but the Lord working and &s;hew|ing Love to Men by <HI>Antony:</HI> Only <HI>Prayer</HI> and <HI>Exerci&s;e</HI> was St. <HI>Antony</HI>'s; for the &s;ake of that he &s;at on the Mount, and rejoyc'd in the Con|templation of Divine things.</P>
<P N="53">53. He was very much troubled to &s;ee him|&s;elf di&s;turb'd by &s;o many, and when he was dragg'd to the outer Mount: For the Judges de&s;ir'd him to come down into the outer Mount, (becau&s;e 'twas not po&s;&s;ible for them to come into the inner Mount, becau&s;e of the Multitude of Clients that follow'd him) entreating him
<PB N="88" REF="137">that they might but ju&s;t &s;ee him: But he fir&s;t refus'd to come to them. However, they tar|ry'd, and &s;ent &s;ome Per&s;ons that were in Cu&s;tody to allure him to come upon their account. Being therefore nece&s;&s;itated, by Compa&s;&s;ion, when he &s;aw them waiting, he came to the outer Mountain. This trouble&s;ome de&s;cent of his was not U&s;ele&s;s, but very Advantageous to a great many. He did good to the Judges, by minding them to preferr Equity before every thing, and to fear God, and to know, that <HI>with what Judgment they do judge, they &s;hall be judg'd.</HI> Now the Judge and others urg'd him mightily to tarry there &s;ome time, and di&s;cour&s;e concerning Matters relating to Salvation. But he having done Violence to him&s;elf, at the reque&s;t of the Judge, and the Nece&s;&s;itous, in coming down told them he could not tarry with them any longer, and appeas'd their Urgency with him by a plea|&s;ant <HI>Simile:</HI> <Q>As Fi&s;hes die upon dry Ground, &s;o Monks when they conver&s;e with you grow loo&s;e and faint: Where&s;ore we mu&s;t ha&s;ten to the Mount, as Fi&s;hes to the Water, le&s;t by tarrying without &s;ome time, we forget what is within.</Q> The Judge having heard this, and &s;uch like Sayings from him, wondred, and &s;aid, <Q>This Man is truly a <HI>Servant of God;</HI> for, Whence &s;hould &s;uch a private Per&s;on have &s;uch and &s;o great Under&s;tanding, unle&s;s he were belov'd by God?</Q></P>
<P N="54"><PB N="89" REF="137"> 54. But there was a certain great Officer, Namely, <HI>Balacius,</HI> who bitterly Per&s;ecuted us Chri&s;tians, becau&s;e he was bigotted for the dete&s;table <HI>Arians;</HI> He was &s;o cruel, that he &s;trip'd the Virgins, and &s;courg'd the <HI>Anachorets</HI> na|ked. So <HI>Antony</HI> writ him a Letter to this Effect; <Q>I &s;ee Wrath coming upon thee, cea&s;e to per&s;ecute the Chri&s;tians, le&s;t it fall upon thee, and take hold of thee in an in&s;tant; for it will come.</Q> But <HI>Balacius</HI> grinn'd, &s;cornfully flung the Letter on the Ground, and &s;pat upon it, and abus'd the Me&s;&s;enger, and bid him &s;ay to <HI>Antony,</HI> <Q>Since you are &s;o &s;olicitous for the Monks, I will al&s;o give you your &s;elf a Vi&s;it.</Q> And before five Days expir'd, Wrath &s;eiz'd upon him; for <HI>Balacius</HI> and <HI>Ne&s;torius,</HI> the under-Go|vernour of <HI>Egypt,</HI> went out together on Hor&s;e|back to the chief Seat or Mannor of <HI>Alexandria,</HI> call'd <HI>Chaerea,</HI> (now the Hor&s;es were <HI>Balacius</HI>'s, and the gentle&s;t of all that he kept) and before they came to the Place, began jocularly to re|partee together, as they us'd to do; and, on a &s;udden, the gentler of the Two Hor&s;es, which <HI>Ne&s;torius</HI> rid, bit <HI>Balacius,</HI> and fell upon him and mangled his Thigh with his Teeth; &s;o he went &s;trait-way back into the City, and dy'd in Three Days time. They all admir'd to &s;ee <HI>Antony</HI>'s Prophecy &s;o &s;oon fulfill'd. This was his Way of Admoni&s;hing the Bitter and Ob|durate.</P>
<P N="55"><PB N="90" REF="138"> 55. Others that came to him he in&s;tructed &s;o excellently, that they forgot their Law-Suits, and call'd tho&s;e Happy that retir'd from a popular Life. He behav'd him&s;elf in the ca&s;e of the Oppre&s;s'd, as if he him&s;elf, not they were the Sufferers. He had Power enough to do good to all, in&s;omuch, That many Souldiers and others, who had Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, laid a&s;ide the Burthens of Life, and pre&s;ently became Monks: In &s;hort, He was, as it were, a Phy&s;ician be&s;tow'd upon <HI>Egypt</HI> by God. What <HI>griev'd Per&s;on</HI> did not go back <HI>Rejoycing</HI> from him? What Per&s;on came to him <HI>Mourning</HI> for <HI>Deceas'd Relations,</HI> and did not lay by his <HI>Sorrow?</HI> What <HI>angry Per&s;on</HI> came, and was not turn'd into <HI>Love?</HI> What <HI>Poor Man,</HI> who &s;aw and heard him, did not de|&s;pi&s;e <HI>Riches,</HI> and find Con&s;olation in his <HI>Poverty?</HI> What <HI>Negligent Man</HI> went away from him, and was not <HI>&s;tronger and more Fervent?</HI> What <HI>Youth</HI> came to the Mount and &s;aw <HI>Antony,</HI> and did not pre&s;ently deny his <HI>Plea&s;ure,</HI> and love <HI>So|briety?</HI> Who came to him <HI>tempted by Devils,</HI> and was not <HI>reliev'd?</HI> Who came <HI>troubled in his Thoughts,</HI> and had not <HI>his Mind made &s;erene</HI> by him? For, this was one great Benefit of <HI>Antony</HI>'s Exerci&s;e, namely, That, as I &s;aid before, having <HI>the Gift of di&s;cerning of Spirits,</HI> he knew their Motions: Neither was he ignorant which way their Affection and Impetus bent. And not only he him&s;elf was not impos'd upon by
<PB N="91" REF="138">them; but he al&s;o comforted tho&s;e who were <HI>troubled in Mind,</HI> and in&s;tructed them how they might baffle their Wiles, explaining the Weak|ne&s;s and Subtleties of the Devils working in them. Every one therefore, as animated by him, departed, daring the Devices of the Devil and his Party. Virgins al&s;o who had Suiters, having only &s;een St. <HI>Antony</HI> at a di|&s;tance, continu'd <HI>Virgins</HI> to <HI>Christ.</HI> There came al&s;o &s;ome from Foreign Parts to him, who were di&s;mi&s;s'd from him, as from a Father, with great Benefit. When he dy'd, they were all his <HI>Orphans,</HI> comforting them&s;elves with his bare Memory, and holding fa&s;t his Admonitions and In&s;tructions.</P>
<P N="56">56. And now 'tis but decent and fitting to acquaint you with the Nature of the <HI>End of his Life;</HI> for, indeed, 'twas &s;uch as does de&s;erve Emulation.</P>
<P>Near his <HI>Death,</HI> he did (according to his old Cu&s;tom) vi&s;it the Monks in the outer Moun|tain, and being informed, by Providence, of his End, he &s;pake to them thus: <Q>I make this as my la&s;t Vi&s;it to you, and &s;hall admire if we &s;hould &s;ee one another again in this World. 'Tis time for me now to let go my Body, for I am near an Hundred and Five Years Old.</Q> At this &s;aying they wept, clung about him, and &s;aluted him. But he, ju&s;t as it became one leaving a &s;trange Place for his own Countrey, rejoyc'd, <Q>and
<PB N="92" REF="139">charg'd them not to be negligent in Labours, nor to faint in Exerci&s;e; but to live, as dying daily, and, as I &s;aid before, to keep their Souls from filthy Thoughts, and to have a Zeal for the Saints; but not to go a-near the <HI>Meletian Schi&s;maticks;</HI> for, &s;aid he, ye know their wicked and prophane purpo&s;e; nor to have any Cor|re&s;pondence with the <HI>Arians;</HI> for their Impiety is manife&s;t: Neither when ye &s;ee their Judges in Power be ye troubled; for 'twill cea&s;e, and their Opinion and Splendour is mortal, and of a &s;hort &s;tanding; wherefore, keep ye your &s;elves pure from them, and hold the Tradition of your Fathers, and principally a pious Faith in our Lord Chri&s;t Je&s;us, whom ye have learnt in the Holy Scriptures, and have often been put in mind of, even by me.</Q></P>
<P N="57">57. When he had &s;aid this, the Brethren urg'd him to tarry and die there: But that he would not, he &s;hew'd by his &s;ilence, as for many Rea&s;ons, &s;o e&s;pecially for this: The <HI>Egyptians</HI> love to bury the Bodies of Zealots, and e&s;pecially of Martyrs, and wrap them up in fine Linnen. Now they don't bury them in the Earth, but lay them up|on Couches, and keep them in Repo&s;itories by them&s;elves, thinking thereby to honour the De|ceas'd: But <HI>Antony</HI> often be&s;ought the Bi&s;hops to warn the People again&s;t it, and al&s;o reprov'd ma|ny Lay-Men and Women for it, &s;aying, <Q>That that was neither Lawful nor very Holy; for the
<PB N="93" REF="139">Bodies of the Patriarchs, to this Day, are pre|&s;erv'd in Sepulchres; nay, even the Body of our Lord Him&s;elf was laid in one, and a Stone was laid upon it,</Q> and hid it till he ro&s;e again; whereby he &s;hew'd them that they tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed the Law in not hiding the Bodies of the departed, although they be Holy; for, What is greater or more holy than our Lord's Body? Many therefore afterwards bury'd under Ground, and gave Thanks to God. Now St. <HI>Antony</HI> knowing the Cu&s;tom. of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and fearing le&s;t they &s;hould do &s;o by his Body, ha&s;ted his Departure, and took his Leave of the Monks in the Outer Mount, and went into the Inner Mount, where he us'd to live.</P>
<P N="58">58. A few Months after he fell <HI>Sick,</HI> and having call'd to tho&s;e that were with him, (for he had Two within with him, who had been A&s;ceticks with him Fifteen Years, and &s;erv'd him becau&s;e of his extream Old Age) he &s;aid to them, <Q>I now (as 'tis written) go the way of my Fathers, for I &s;ee my &s;elf call'd by my Lord; but be ye &s;ober, and fini&s;h a long-liv'd Exerci&s;e: Be as earne&s;t to hold fa&s;t your Pur|po&s;e, as though you were ju&s;t beginning: Ye know the Devils are plotting again&s;t you: Ye know they are fierce in Will, but weak in Pow|er; don't therefore be afraid of them, but breath Chri&s;t, and believe in Him, and live as dying every day, taking heed to your &s;elves,
<PB N="94" REF="140">and remembring my Exhortations: Hold no Communion with the <HI>Schi&s;maticks,</HI> nor the <HI>Arians;</HI> for ye know how I declin'd them, be|cau&s;e of their Heterodox and Chri&s;t-oppo&s;ing Here&s;ie. Do ye &s;tudy principally to cleave unto Chri&s;t and his Saints, that after Death they may receive you, as Friends and Acquaintance, into Everla&s;ting Habitations. Think upon and reli&s;h the&s;e Coun&s;els; and if ye have any regard for me, and do remember me, as a Father, don't &s;uffer any one to take my Body into <HI>Egypt,</HI> le&s;t they lay me in their Hou&s;es; for for that rea&s;on I came hither: Ye know how I have rebuk'd tho&s;e who did it, and charg'd them to do &s;o no more. Do ye therefore bury my Body under Ground, and mind my Words, that no Body but your &s;elves may know where I am bury'd; for I &s;hall receive my Body incor|ruptible from my Saviour in the Re&s;urrection. And pray do ye divide my Cloaths; Give one Leathern Garment to Bi&s;hop <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> and the Blanket which he gave new to me, but is now grown old; and the other Leathern Jacket to Bi&s;hop <HI>Serapion,</HI> and take ye the Hair-Cloth and &s;ave it, my Children, for <HI>Antony</HI> pa&s;&s;eth away, and is no longer with you.</Q></P>
<P N="59">59. Having &s;aid this he &s;aluted them, and ga|ther'd his Feet, and, as it were, &s;eeing Friends come unto him, and rejoycing becau&s;e of them, (for he look'd with a cheerful Countenance as
<PB N="95" REF="140">he lay) he left us, and was added unto the Fathers. So, in fine, the Monks wrapp'd him up, and buried him under Ground, according to his Command. And no Body, to this Day, except the Two Monks, knows where he was Bury'd. The Ve&s;tments being di&s;tributed, according as he order'd, every one kept them, as a great Pur|cha&s;e; for he that &s;ees them does, as it were, &s;ee <HI>Antony;</HI> and he that puts them on, carries his Admonitions about him with Joy.</P>
<P N="60">60. Such was <HI>Antony</HI>'s Exerci&s;e, and &s;uch the End of his Life in the Body: And if the&s;e things are &s;mall, in compari&s;on to his Excellency, judge ye what &s;ort of <HI>Man of God</HI> he was, who, to &s;o great an Age, from his Youth up, kept clo&s;e to his rigorous Di&s;cipline; neither conquer'd by Variety of Food, upon the Account of his Old Age; nor changing the Habit of his Raiment, for want of Vigour; or &s;o much as wa&s;hing his Feet; And yet, in all re&s;pects, he was &s;ound and unhurt; for he had his Eyes clear, &s;eeing very well; not one of his Teeth was lo&s;t, only near the Gums they were worn, becau&s;e of his great Age: He was al&s;o &s;ound in his Hands and Feet, and much clearer in every part than tho&s;e who u&s;e &s;everal <HI>Diets, Bathings,</HI> and <HI>Variety of Garments;</HI> and as to Strength too, they were much more ready.</P>
<P N="61">61. St. <HI>Antony</HI> liv'd and dy'd admir'd and ce|lebrated by all every where, and long'd for by tho&s;e who never &s;aw him: A great Sign of his
<PB N="96" REF="141">Vertue, and of a Soul that truly lov'd God; for he did not get his Learning by Books, nor external Wi&s;dom, nor any Art: But <HI>Antony</HI> was renown'd purely for his <HI>Devotion to God.</HI> No one can deny that this was the <HI>Gift of God.</HI> How came he who was hid, and &s;at in a Mountain, to be heard of in <HI>Spain, France, Rome,</HI> and <HI>Africa,</HI> unle&s;s God had made his Name known every where, who promis'd this to <HI>Antony</HI> at fir&s;t; for although &s;uch Heroes act &s;ecretly, and are willing to lye conceal'd, yet the Lord &s;hews them, as Lamps to all, that they may know that his Commands, which he has given to reform us, are practicable, and thence may derive a Zeal for the ways of Vertue.</P>
<P N="62">62. Read ye this to others, that they may know what &s;ort of Life the Life of <HI>Monks</HI> &s;hould be, and may be per&s;waded, that our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t will glorifie tho&s;e who glorifie Him, and &s;erve Him unto the End; not only bringing them to the Kingdom of Heaven, but making them, notwith&s;tand|ing they hide and retire, celebrated here for their Vertue, to the Benefit of others. And, if there be a Nece&s;&s;ity, read it to the Heathens, that they may know not only that our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t is <HI>God,</HI> and the <HI>Son of God;</HI> but that tho&s;e Chri&s;tians who &s;erve Him truly, and believe in Him piou&s;ly, reprove tho&s;e <HI>Spirits</HI> whom they account <HI>Gods,</HI> and tread upon them, and cha&s;e them, as tho&s;e who are the <HI>Deceivers</HI> and <HI>Corrupters</HI> of Men; and this they do by the Grace and Strength of Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord; <HI>to whom be Glory for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="141">
<P><HI>Theologia My&s;tica:</HI> TWO DISCOURSES CONCERNING DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS To Souls duly di&s;po&s;ed.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. The Antiquity, Tradition, and Succe&s;&s;ion of <HI>My&s;tical Divinity</HI> among the <HI>Gentiles;</HI> with Notes and Ob&s;ervations to di&s;tin|gui&s;h <HI>Illu&s;ions;</HI> and Directions of Spi|ritual Writers concerning <HI>Prayer.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. Of the <HI>Guidance of the Spirit of GOD:</HI> The Doctrine of the H. Scriptures, of the Catholick Church, and of the Church of <HI>England</HI> in particular, upon a Di&s;|cour&s;e of S^r^. <HI>Matthew Hale</HI> concerning it.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Author, for the U&s;e and Benefit of a Religious Society, 1697.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
<PB N="96" REF="142">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="142">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="143">
<HEAD>ADVERTISEMENT.</HEAD>
<P>ASCETICKS: or, The Heroick Piety and Virtue of the Ancient Chri&s;tian <HI>Anchorets</HI> and <HI>Coenobites,</HI> (wherein the Begin|ning and Progre&s;s of Contemplative Living and Religious Societies is briefly di&s;cour&s;ed; and a true Account of the <HI>E&s;&s;eans, Therapeuts,</HI> and ancient <HI>Egyptian</HI> and other <HI>Monks,</HI> collected out of the mo&s;t Authentick Records.) Al&s;o the LIFE of the Famous Saint <HI>ANTONY,</HI> written in <HI>Greek</HI> by St. <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> faithfully Tran&s;lated into <HI>Engli&s;h.</HI> All Printed for the Author, for the U&s;e and Benefit of the Society afore-&s;aid.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="143">
<HEAD>THE PREFACE.</HEAD>
<P>THE <HI>latter of the&s;e Di&s;cour&s;es</HI> was <HI>Printed</HI> as part of a <HI>Preface</HI> to that Book of Sr. <HI>Matthew Hale</HI>'s, from whence the beginning of the <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e</HI> is now taken; but why it was <HI>not Publi&s;hed</HI> with it, I know no rea&s;on, unle&s;s that, which is the &V;niver&s;al pri|mary Ob&s;tacle to all Good, that Satan hindered it. And that, I make no que&s;tion, was the principal moving Cau&s;e, which &s;et the others on work. That wicked, envious Spirit, who had rai&s;ed up all the Evil he could, both against him, and against me, in our &s;everal Families in his Life-time, hath not cea&s;ed to do &s;o &s;till &s;ince his Death. By what he got &s;uch Advantage against my &s;elf, I know very well, and intend to declare it. But by what he got &s;uch Advantage against that good Man, is a Secret I know nothing of. But this I know, that he hath been &V;nhappy in his Family, both in his Life-time, and &s;ince his Death, and particularly in what I am now &s;aying. I long looked upon
<PB REF="144">him as a Man rai&s;ed up by the Special Providence of God to be an Illu&s;trious Example of <HI>Vertue</HI> and <HI>Piety</HI> in this degenerate Age: And therefore, that People might not be deprived of the Benefit of &s;uch an Example by their Ignorance of his Prin|ciples, (as I found by Experience many were) I did in his Life-time publi&s;h a Volume of his <HI>Con|templations,</HI> even after I had earne&s;tly pre&s;&s;ed him to con&s;ent to it, and he refu&s;ed: Indeed, I knew him, and he knew me, &s;o well, that I did not fear any mi&s;con&s;truction from him: and after his Death, I de&s;ired to have done Honour to his Me|mory for the &s;ame purpo&s;e, by the Publication of &s;uch of his <HI>Writings,</HI> as were most nece&s;&s;ary and &s;ea&s;onable, that the Benefit of his <HI>Labours,</HI> as well as of his <HI>Example,</HI> while yet fre&s;h in Me|mory, might be communicated, as much as might be, to all, and they might mutually recommend each other for the greater Benefit of all. But, alas! that wicked Spirit, which had &s;o prevailed in his Family in his Life-time, as made him tell &s;ome of them, <HI>That Satan, or the Devil, did ride them, as an Ape would do a Ma&s;tiff-Dog,</HI> hath likewi&s;e prevailed hitherto upon &s;uch as vainly gloried in their Relation to him, to ob&s;truct that good De&s;ign for Twenty years together, without due regard either to that Service of God, tho&s;e Benefits to Men, the true Honour of his Memory, (in which they vainly gloried) or the Performance of his Will according to his Mind. For though he had
<PB REF="144">not expre&s;sly ordered the <HI>Publication</HI> of one or o|ther in particular; yet had he made this Provi&s;ion in a Codicil concerning the Publication of any of them, that he had nominated the <HI>Book&s;eller,</HI> who &s;hould have the <HI>Printing</HI> of them, paying as much as another would in rea&s;on for them: and of the Profits, appointed one part to one, for his Care and Pains in over&s;eeing and ordering the Publication; another part to another, for Writing and Correct|ing; and the rest, among his Servants; and told them what he had done for them: &s;o that be&s;ides the Injury done to their <HI>Country,</HI> they have done a double Injury to his <HI>Memory,</HI> not only by hin|dering the Honour due to it, but by Di&s;honouring it, and giving occa&s;ion to a Blemi&s;h and Reproach to it, provoking &s;ome not only to think, but to &s;peak hardly of him, as if he had abu&s;ed them in &s;ome of the last Acts of his Life: and all this out of a &s;ordid Humour to get or keep what he had otherwi&s;e di&s;po&s;ed of. And though thus they ex|erci&s;ed their Malice and Spight against the Me|mory of the Good Man, yet was not this the chief part of their Work and Triumph, that they had rai&s;ed this Injury again&s;t his Memory, and, be|&s;ides, had deprived his Country of the Benefit of much of his Labours in his own Profe&s;&s;ion: But there is a greater matter in the bottom, and of greater concern to them, which the&s;e Wicked, Sub|tile Agents had a principal regard to. The Good Man had taken great Pains in examining and con|&s;idering
<PB REF="145">the Grounds and Evidences of <HI>Religion,</HI> both <HI>Natural</HI> and <HI>Revealed:</HI> And he was excel|lently well qualified for it, both by Natural Saga|city, by Exerci&s;e of his Parts in his own Profe&s;&s;ion, (which affords as much and good Exerci&s;e for &s;uch a purpo&s;e as any) and by Freedom from Pre|judice, either of Education or of Temporal Intere&s;t. For though he had a Religious Education, yet it is certain, that after he came to maturity of Thinking and Judging, he became, as he found rea&s;on, in many things, of a different Judgment from the Notions and Sentiments he had first received; by which it appeared, that his <HI>Religion</HI> was the Religion of his Judgment, and not of his Educa|tion. And being no Eccle&s;ia&s;tick, but a Man of a Civil Employment, he &s;tood fair to be looked upon as an Indifferent Judge, and not as an Advocate or Party, (as Clergy-men generally are reputed by &s;ome) and, by con&s;equence, his Writings upon &s;uch Subjects, be&s;ides the weight of his Rea&s;on, would have a double Weight of Authority, (if we take in his Example too) above others, to make them &s;ucce&s;sful upon &s;uch as have received pre|judice from the Scandalous Practices of too many Profe&s;&s;ors and Preachers of the Chri&s;tian Religion; which hath been a <HI>principal Cau&s;e</HI> of <HI>Athei&s;m</HI> heretofore, and of <HI>Dei&s;m</HI> at pre&s;ent, and of the <HI>Contempt of the Clergy,</HI> and more effectual and prevalent than any of tho&s;e which have been a&s;&s;igned in Print; though by <HI>Scandalous,</HI> I intend
<PB REF="145">here nothing but Zeal for Preferments, and a cold Indifferency in Matters of Religion. For as it hath been rightly ob&s;erved, <HI>When Vertue fails in the Prie&s;ts, Faith will fail in the People;</HI> be their Preaching what it will. Now, by how much greater was the Advantage that the Writings of this Man had above others, to have done Service in this Cau&s;e, &s;o much the greater was the Gratifica|tion which the&s;e Wicked Spirits received in the Suppre&s;&s;ion of them.</P>
<P>I know nothing &s;o &s;ordid that ever appeared in his Life. But that this hath been ordered by the Malice and Subtilty of tho&s;e Wicked Spirits, who had gotten Advantage against Him, or his Fa|mily; (however &s;ome particular Di&s;po&s;itions in Per&s;ons might make it more fea&s;ible) as I verily believe, &s;o I am well &s;atisfied, he would not at all have doubted, had he been living, and to have &s;poken his Judgment in a like Ca&s;e. He and I both, before he died, had had Experience enough to &s;atisfie us concerning &s;uch matters. And I wi&s;h his, and all other Families, who are fallen into any &s;uch Snare, may con&s;ider well of it, and be well advi&s;ed how to recover them&s;elves out of it, if it may be. Many &s;uch have I known, and though the Burden be &s;ealed upon &s;ome, and the Decree fixed, yet in others there &s;eemed to be a Door open, if Oppor|tunity was not neglected. Mens Belief or Di&s;|belief will not alter the Truth of things: But Di&s;|belief of things that are true is often the Cau&s;e of
<PB REF="146">great &V;nhappine&s;s: and they who disbelieve &s;uch things as the&s;e, are not the le&s;s obnoxious to their Malice, but more &s;ecure in their Power. So much as this is not impertinent to be &s;aid concerning the Malice and Subtlety of the <HI>Evil Spirits,</HI> be|fore a <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e</HI> of the Gracious Conduct of the <HI>Good.</HI> And I think my &s;elf &s;pecially obliged to declare my Sentiments of both, upon any ju&s;t Oc|ca&s;ion. And, indeed,</P>
<P>I confe&s;s the <HI>Preface</HI> was not written &s;o much for the &s;ake of the <HI>Book,</HI> as the <HI>Book</HI> Publi&s;hed for the &s;ake of the <HI>Preface,</HI> as an Occa&s;ion to write on that Subject, which I thought my &s;elf obliged to do, as an Act of Penitence for an &V;nhappy Mi&s;carriage, whereby my Enemy got that Advan|tage again&s;t me, which I mentioned before, and &s;hall here repeat in the Words then Printed, as followeth:</P>
<P><Q>I mu&s;t not here forbear upon this Occa&s;ion to add, not my Opinion, but my own certain Know|ledge, upon great, and long, and in &s;ome re&s;pects in a great mea&s;ure woful Experience, in an Hum|ble Confe&s;&s;ion of my Fault, to give Glory to God, Te&s;timony to his Truth, and Warning to Men. I have had Experience of this <HI>Divine Conduct,</HI> and of the <HI>Ble&s;&s;ings and Cur&s;es</HI> attending Obe|dience and Di&s;obedience to it; &s;o that I have plainly perceived that the Conduct of the Chil|dren of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> out of <HI>Egypt</HI> through the Wilder|ne&s;s into the Promi&s;ed Land, was a vi&s;ible Ma|nife&s;tation
<PB REF="146">or Repre&s;entation of the Secret Spi|ritual Conduct of Souls out of Slavery under the Powers of Darkne&s;s, through the Wilderne&s;s of this World, into the Land of Rest: and the very &s;ame thing in Action and Repre&s;entation, which is delivered by way of Doctrine and Admonition in the Book of <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus, iv. 11,&mdash;20.</HI> and <HI>vi. 18,&mdash;31.</HI> The Cro&s;&s;es, Di&s;appointments, and <HI>Afflictions,</HI> which I have gone through, have been very grievous, and many of them known to the World, though nothing hath appeared in my Life, to which they could be imputed by others as a Cau&s;e in any re&s;pect. I must therefore de|clare, that while I did act in a ready Compliance with that Conduct, I not only had great Peace and Serenity of Mind, but all things went &s;trangely pro&s;perous and &s;ucce&s;sful with me; and I had extraordinary An&s;wers to my Prayers, not only for my &s;elf, but for others al&s;o: But whenever I have done contrary, I always had trouble in my Mind, and what I did, was either bla&s;ted, or un|&s;ucce&s;sful, and often of &s;uch evil Con&s;equence, as I did not fore&s;ee. This I have found &s;o, by great and long <HI>Experience,</HI> and in &s;ome of the great Bu&s;ine&s;&s;es of my Life, wherein I acted not only upon my own Rea&s;on and Judgment, but al&s;o upon the Advice and Per&s;ua&s;ions of very con&s;iderable Per&s;ons. And after con&s;iderable Experience of this, I was once &s;o unhappy in my Di&s;obedience to this Conduct, upon a &s;pecial Occa&s;ion, having none
<PB REF="147">to advi&s;e with, and yielding too much to the Sen|timents of our <HI>Anti-enthu&s;ia&s;ts,</HI> which was a Temptation to me, that (as I have &s;pecial rea&s;on to believe) it was like the Sin of <HI>Adam</HI> to me, an Inlet unto all the &V;nhappine&s;s that hath &s;ince befallen me and my Family: And I have been as it were turned back into the Wilderne&s;s ever &s;ince. The Things wherein I had this Conduct were not matter of Duty in them&s;elves, or not in the particular Circum&s;tances; but either were &s;uch as were in Humane appearance &s;o indifferent, that I might have u&s;ed my Liberty, or the Con|duct was much different from the Wi&s;dom of the World. And though I cannot &s;ay whether the Afflictions I have &s;uffer'd were &s;o ordered as a <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> for my Mi&s;carriage, yet I am a&s;&s;ur'd they were a <HI>Con&s;equence</HI> thereof, at least &s;uch as we often fall into, when we neglect the Good Coun&s;el of our Friends. And they have been &s;uch, as I am per&s;uaded it is my Duty upon this Occa|&s;ion to make this publick Penitential Confe&s;&s;ion, whatever Prejudice I may &s;uffer thereby from Men: If I can but thereby obtain the Favour of God, and benefit Men, I &s;hall accept that as part of my Puni&s;hment.</Q></P>
<P><Q>For the <HI>Certainty</HI> of this, I can truly affirm, That I had immediately upon my Mi&s;carriage as &s;en&s;ible <HI>Notice of the Evils</HI> which have &s;ince be|fallen me, as I can have of any thing by any &s;en&s;e I have; as plain as if a Sentence had been pro|nounced
<PB REF="147">against me. And what I have &s;uffered, hath had Two &s;everal <HI>Marks</HI> as exactly agreeable to my Mi&s;carriage, as the print of a Seal upon the Wax to the Seal it &s;elf. I cannot &s;ay but <HI>other Sins or Mi&s;carriages</HI> might be <HI>Ingredients</HI> in this Ca&s;e: but I know full well that this was the <HI>Inlet</HI> unto all tho&s;e Evils, which I am &s;atis|fy'd had been prevented, had I continued at that time in the way I was in. And it often recalls to my mind part of the Eighty first P&s;alm, and other Pa&s;&s;ages of the Old Te&s;tament, which have been fulfilled in my Ca&s;e; and therefore I have great rea&s;on upon &s;uch an Occa&s;ion to confe&s;s my Fault, that I may have other more comfortable Pa&s;&s;ages made good to me hereafter.</Q></P>
<P><Q>And here I cannot but remember, that I &s;carce knew the Man at that time <HI>to confult</HI> with in the&s;e things, who was not more likely to have put me out of the way, than to have directed me aright, how to proceed in it. And this I note for the &s;ake of &s;uch <HI>Spiritual Guides</HI> as are con&s;ulted in &s;uch Ca&s;es: If they be not very careful and con&s;iderate to avoid the Common Errors on both &s;ides, and neither incourage nor di&s;courage the Attendance to &s;uch Impul&s;es and Impre&s;&s;ions, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> in general, but carefully endeavour to di|&s;tingui&s;h and to direct aright, they may bring great Trouble upon tho&s;e who con&s;ult them, (as I have known &s;ome do;) and perhaps greater upon them&s;elves, when they are call'd to give
<PB REF="148">Account of their Steward&s;hip, either here or here|after.</Q></P>
<P>Thus far was printed before: to which I mu&s;t now add: Whether the&s;e things (as perhaps &s;ome o|thers) were not permitted to befall me for Ad|monition to others, I know not: but this I know by <HI>Experience in others,</HI> and even while this is Print|ing, that there is great need of <HI>Good Admonition.</HI> For I find, by divers &s;uch <HI>Experiences,</HI> that God is plea&s;ed at this time to give &s;ome &s;en&s;ible <HI>Notices</HI> of his Conduct to many, who are in &s;ome &s;ort in the Ca&s;e of <HI>Samuel, 1</HI> Sam. <HI>3.7.</HI> who then <HI>did not know the Lord, neither was the Word of the Lord yet revealed to him;</HI> and when they come to the Priest, who &s;hould be as <HI>Eli</HI> to them, to direct them how to behave them&s;elves, are by him put quite out of the Way, and either di&s;mi&s;&s;ed to the Phy&s;ician, to be cured of Melancholy; or ad|vi&s;ed to &s;ome cheerful innocent Conver&s;ation; or to mind their Bu&s;ine&s;s in their Callings; or to reject the Impre&s;&s;ions they feel as Fancies, and vain Fears and Scruples. And many Ca&s;es there are, wherein &s;ome of the&s;e Directions might be proper; but there are many others, wherein they are all quite out of the Way; and wherein great <HI>Faults</HI> have been, to my knowledge, and, I doubt, are daily committed by Learned, and otherwi&s;e able and good Men; partly through Ignorance in the&s;e Matters, or common Prejudice against them; partly for fear of incou|raging what they &s;ee many abu&s;e to their own hurt,
<PB REF="148">and to the Scandal of others; and partly for fear of bringing upon them&s;elves the Cen&s;ure and Re|proach of inclination to Fanatici&s;m or Enthu&s;ia&s;m; and thereby at once the Grace and &s;pecial Favour of God is rejected, the poor Soul greatly di&s;ap|pointed, at least, if no wor&s;e happen to it; and the Director must be accountable for both.</P>
<P>But to make a matter of &s;o great Importance the more plain, it may not be ami&s;s to propo&s;e an in&s;tance or two of &s;ome <HI>Ca&s;es:</HI> A Per&s;on wants an <HI>Employment,</HI> and an Employment is offered; but the Per&s;on hath &s;trong Impre&s;&s;ions, either not to accept it, or not to continue it, being otherwi&s;e &s;up|plyed for the pre&s;ent; and thereupon repairs to &s;ome noted Divine for Advice: The Divine con|&s;iders that the Per&s;on needs an Employment, and upon Examination can di&s;cover nothing unlawful in the Employment, nor unfit for the Per&s;on; and thereupon confidently advi&s;eth to reject the Im|pre&s;&s;ion, and embrace and continue the Employment. Such Advice as this proves, in the event, to one, un&s;ucce&s;sful all his time; to another, his Ruine and &V;ndoing as to his Temporal E&s;tate; to another, the Occa&s;ion of the Lo&s;s of his Life; and to another, the hazard, if not lo&s;s, of his Soul; and all this by &s;uch Means and Occa&s;ions as could not be fore&s;een or di&s;covered by any Mortal; but are plainly &s;een and fore&s;een by &s;ome kind invi&s;ible Friends con|cerned for us.</P>
<PB REF="149">
<P> Again, a <HI>young Woman,</HI> who is not at all proud, if we will believe her, only &s;he de&s;ires to be like other-Folks; but &s;he finds &s;omething within her that tells her, or &s;ugge&s;ts, that &s;he'll be damned if &s;he wear &s;uch a Dre&s;s. Hereupon &s;he goes for Advice to a Divine. He being more cautious in &s;uch ca&s;es, tells her, that &s;ince &s;he may both lawfully and decently wear another meaner or plainer, &s;he &s;hould have a care that &s;he doth not reject &s;uch Motions in her Mind: For many times things which are not damnable Sins in them&s;elves, may be Occa&s;ions and Inlets to &s;uch as are, and Hindrances of Graces, and &s;o produce &s;uch unhappy con&s;equence at la&s;t. But not liking this Advice, away &s;he goes to another of greater note; and he tells her, that &s;ince that Dre&s;s is not unlawful, it cannot be a Damnable Sin to wear it; and therefore whatever it was, it could not be the Spirit of God that did &s;o fright her; but &s;he mu&s;t have a care of &s;uch things, le&s;t &s;he run into Fanatici&s;m, and I know not what. And this &s;he likes and follows till the tricking up of her Natural Beauty proves a Snare to her &s;elf and others; the kind Impre&s;&s;ions, which &s;he formerly had upon occa|&s;ion, cea&s;e; her Devotion grows cool, and &s;he re|lap&s;eth again into the common Cour&s;e of the World, and what will be the end of it, God knows.</P>
<P>What I have had experience of in my &s;elf and my own Family, partly for want of due regard to &s;uch Notices, and too much yielding to Motives of Moral Prudence; and partly by &s;uch unhappy Re|&s;olutions
<PB REF="149">of Ca&s;es by others, would be too long to re|late particularly. I have had no le&s;s than <HI>four Sons</HI> undone in this City, all as likely Youths as any, and all, after their di&s;appointments, by their Beha|viour gaining the Favour and Kindne&s;s of all they conver&s;ed with: and in the placing of them &s;pared neither Co&s;t, nor Pains, nor Care, and took the be&s;t Advice I could have; at fir&s;t made choice of &s;uch for Ma&s;ters, as I expected to act upon Principles of Religion; afterward, &s;uch as I expected Friend|&s;hip, at lea&s;t Moral Hone&s;ty and Humanity from them; but was di&s;appointed in all. And I know a&s;&s;uredly that all did proceed from &s;uch Cau&s;es as I have in general mentioned already; and had notice of it in general before.</P>
<P>It is a great &V;nhappine&s;s to this Church and Nation at this time, that we have &s;o few of any con|&s;iderable Experience in the&s;e things, e&s;pecially among tho&s;e, who &s;hould be Guides to others. And it is their Great Sin, and, without due Repentance, will prove Damnation to many, that they have been &s;o bug-beared by a fluttering, Sadducean, Athei&s;tical Humour, and ba&s;e prudential Compliance of &s;ome of greater Name than genuine Chri&s;tian Vertue, as to be a&s;hamed or afraid to a&s;&s;ert, or own &s;o great and noble a Principle of the Religion they profe&s;s. And therefore, be&s;ides my own &s;pecial Obligations, and concern for the Honour and Service of God, and of our Holy Religion, Pity to the many Souls, which I perceive de&s;titute of true Spiritual Direction, and
<PB REF="150">Indignation at the Ba&s;ene&s;s, Folly and Madne&s;s of &s;o many Prudentiali&s;ts amongst us, hath made me for &s;ome time to long for an Opportunity to bear my Te&s;timony in the Ca&s;e. The Motive in my collecting <HI>the other Di&s;cour&s;e,</HI> (which, though written la&s;t, and by the by, according to its proper order, is here fir&s;t) was to detect a Mi&s;application of Truth, and retort his Argument again&s;t him&s;elf, who had &s;o gro&s;sly and rudely treated the Bu&s;ine&s;s of Fanati|ci&s;m, without due regard to that Sacred Principle of Religion, which is pretended in it; or to the mo&s;t noble and heroick Profe&s;&s;ors and Ob&s;ervers of it. But in this degenerate Age God hath not left him&s;elf without Witne&s;s, but rai&s;ed up &s;ome of a more generous Spirit; &s;uch as Mr. <HI>Smith</HI> of <HI>Cambridge,</HI> the late profound Dr. <HI>Cradoc,</HI> whom I much e&s;teemed for his Genero&s;ity, as well as Judg|ment, in Preaching up this Doctrine, who told me, he had Preached <HI>20</HI> or <HI>30</HI> Sermons upon it; and that if we deny that, we may burn our Bibles; for he knew not (he &s;aid) what Religion would &s;ig|nifie without it; and the Learned Mr. <HI>Matthew Scrivener,</HI> who hath left us a Di&s;cour&s;e concerning <HI>My&s;tical Divinity,</HI> Intituled, <HI>The Method and Means to a true Spiritual Life,</HI> and others; to &s;ay nothing of &s;ome I know now Living, who&s;e number I pray God increa&s;e, and make them perfect and compleat in all Graces and Vertue, to his Ho|nour and Glory, and the Happine&s;s of this Church and Nation.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="discourse">
<PB N="1" REF="150">
<HEAD>OF THE Antiquity, Tradition, <HI>and</HI> Succe&s;&s;ion, of My&s;tical Divinity Among the GENTILES, FROM THE Te&s;timony <HI>&amp;</HI> Confe&s;&s;ion OF AN Eminent Adver&s;ary.</HEAD>
<P>AS <HI>Adam</HI> was the common Parent of all Man-kind from the Creation, &s;o was <HI>Noah</HI> the common Parent of all Man-kind who have lived &s;ince the Flood. And of <HI>Noah</HI> it is recorded, that he <HI>was a just Man, and per|fect in his Generations,</HI> and that he <HI>walked with God,</HI> Gen. 6.9. And that he was 600 years Old when the Flood of Waters was upon the
<PB N="2" REF="151">Earth, <HI>Gen.</HI> 7.6. From whence we may rea|&s;onably believe that he could not but be well acquainted with all the Knowledge of his An|ce&s;tors. And what this <HI>Walking with God</HI> doth imply, we may under&s;tand from the re&s;t of the Hi&s;tory, and the Apo&s;tles Ob&s;ervation, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.7. <HI>viz.</HI> not only a careful Ob&s;ervance of all the General Rules of Righteou&s;ne&s;s tran&s;mitted from <HI>Adam</HI> to his Po&s;terity, but a ready Obe|dience and Conformity to all &s;pecial Declara|tions and Manife&s;tations of the Will of God to him. In&s;tances of which are tho&s;e Commands of God, and his Obedience thereunto; in <HI>Build|ing the Ark,</HI> which undoubtedly expo&s;ed him to much trouble, by Que&s;tions concerning it, and to various Cen&s;ures, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.14, 22. He <HI>did,</HI> notwith&s;tanding, <HI>according to all that God commanded him, &s;o did he;</HI> and in <HI>going into it</HI> with the &s;everal &s;orts of Creatures, <HI>Gen.</HI> 7.1, 5, 7, 9. and in <HI>going out again</HI> at the Command of God, <HI>Gen.</HI> 8.16, 18. In his Walking with God in this manner, he could not but, be&s;ides all the <HI>Knowledge</HI> which he had re|ceived from his Ance&s;tors, learn much more by the immediate Teachings of God. And it is not to be que&s;tioned, but, as he was in&s;tructed by his Ance&s;tors, &s;o he was careful to in&s;truct his Family &amp; Po&s;terity in all nece&s;&s;ary Knowledge; among&s;t which, that of <HI>Walking with God</HI> was &s;ome of the chief. And this being &s;o, I &s;ee no rea&s;on,
<PB N="3" REF="151">Why other Nations &s;hould not have derived their Knowledge, with their De&s;cent, directly from <HI>Noah?</HI> or, Why we &s;hould &s;uppo&s;e the other Branches of his Po&s;terity to have all re|ceived their Knowledge, of Divine and Sacred things e&s;pecially, collaterally from that of <HI>Abra|ham,</HI> rather than directly and lineally from their common Ance&s;tor <HI>Noah.</HI> As <HI>Noah</HI> offered Sacri|fice, <HI>Gen.</HI> 8.20. and <HI>Abraham</HI> offered Sacrifice; &s;o we find <HI>Prie&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Sacrifices</HI> among other Na|tions. Such was <HI>MELCHIZEDECK,</HI> a Prie&s;t of the mo&s;t High God, <HI>Gen.</HI> 14.18. And cer|tainly it was by Revelation from God, or &s;ome Divine Means, that <HI>PHARAOH</HI> under&s;tood that it was becau&s;e of <HI>Sarah, Abraham</HI>'s Wife, that the Lord plagued him and his Hou&s;e, <HI>Gen.</HI> 12.17. as we find it expre&s;&s;ed afterward in the like Ca&s;e of <HI>ABIMELECH, Gen.</HI> 20.3, 6. <HI>God came to Abimelech in a Dream by Night, and &s;aid to him, Behold, thou art but a dead Man, for the Woman which thou ha&s;t taken: for &s;he is a Man's Wife.</HI> And another <HI>PHA|RAOH</HI> acknowledged <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> to be a Man, in whom was the Spirit of God, <HI>Gen.</HI> 41.38. and when he rai&s;ed him to the greate&s;t Preferment in the Kingdom, gave him for a Wife the Daugh|ter of an <HI>Egyptian Prie&s;t,</HI> ibid. <HI>v.</HI> 45. And <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Married the Daughter of a <HI>Prie&s;t of Mi|dian, JETHRO,</HI> Ex. 2.16, 21. who was a good Man, and a Wor&s;hipper of the true God,
<PB N="4" REF="152">as appears, <HI>Ex.</HI> 18.9, 10, 12. And the Means then <HI>to Inquire of the Lord</HI> were common to them, and to other Nations: As <HI>REBEKAH, Gen.</HI> 25.22. So <HI>BALAAM, Numb.</HI> 22.8, 9, 18, 19, 20: 23.4. went to inquire of the Lord, and received An|&s;wers from Him. And about this time <HI>JOB</HI> is believed to have lived, who was a Holy Man, and offered Sacrifices, and had Vi&s;ions.</P>
<P>By the&s;e In&s;tances, and others that might be noted, we may under&s;tand, that in tho&s;e ancient times it was believed, in all Nations, that there were <HI>Means,</HI> whereby Men and Women might come <HI>to have</HI> &s;ome <HI>Acquaintance and Communi|cation with God;</HI> and what the&s;e Means were, is well worth our Inquiry.</P>
<P>That the JEWS had anciently their Schools or <HI>Colleges of Prophets,</HI> we may ob&s;erve in the Sacred Scriptures. And though what were their <HI>In&s;titutions,</HI> and their <HI>In&s;tructions,</HI> and <HI>Or|ders</HI> there pre&s;cribed, is not in the Scripture particularly related; yet in the Particulars men|tioned they &s;eem to have been much the &s;ame with what was practi&s;ed by the Ancient Chri|&s;tian <HI>Anchorets</HI> and <HI>Coenobites.</HI></P>
<P>If we inquire among&s;t <HI>other Nations</HI> of mo&s;t ancient Note and Fame for Knowledge in Divine matters, the <HI>Egyptians</HI> and <HI>Chaldeans</HI> are the mo&s;t con&s;iderable. And the Means recom|mended by them do &s;o well agree with the <HI>My|&s;tical Divinity</HI> delivered by divers Chri&s;tians,
<PB N="5" REF="152">that &s;ome Oppo&s;ers of this Divinity think they have &s;ufficient ground to derive it from them; and &s;uppo&s;ing that a Prejudice to it, have taken the pains to do it. <Q>If the CHALDAICK ORACLES (&s;aith one of con&s;iderable Learning, Name, and Place) were &s;till ex|tant, which were frequently quoted by <HI>Plo|tinus, Jamblicus, Porphyrius,</HI> and <HI>Proclus,</HI> (who did wholly approve the <HI>Chaldaick Theology;</HI> and from them in a great mea&s;ure the Frag|ments were pre&s;erved) we might more fully manife&s;t the&s;e things; yet as they are, they give us &s;ufficient ground to draw the Funda|mentals of this My&s;tical Divinity from thence. For they &s;peak of <HI>God's being united to the Soul, by the Soul's cla&s;ping God to her&s;elf;</HI> and that <HI>not by any act of the &V;nder&s;tanding,</HI> but <HI>by the Flower of the Mind;</HI> (the very Phra&s;e u&s;ed by <HI>Proclus,</HI> and the &s;ame which the My|&s;ticks call, the <HI>Fund of the Spirit;</HI>) <HI>of the Soul's being inebriated from God,</HI> (which <HI>Plo|tinus</HI> calls, <HI>being drunk with the Divine Nectar</HI>) and <HI>P&s;ellus</HI> explains, of <HI>Divine Illuminations and Exta&s;ies;</HI> of <HI>Ab&s;traction from the Body,</HI> and <HI>extending the Mind upwards,</HI> and <HI>ha&s;tening to the Divine Light and the Beams of the Father;</HI> with &s;everal other pa&s;&s;ages to the &s;ame pur|po&s;e.</Q></P>
<P>And for the EGYPTIANS, the &s;ame Author tells us, <Q>That <HI>Jamblicus,</HI> in his Book
<PB N="6" REF="153">of <HI>the Egyptian My&s;teries,</HI> (which he writ in an&s;wer to an Epi&s;tle of <HI>Porphyry</HI> to an <HI>Egyptian</HI> Prie&s;t, and wherein <HI>Proclus</HI> &s;aith that he writ like a Man in&s;pir'd) di&s;cour&s;es at large concerning <HI>Divine Exta&s;ies,</HI> and <HI>Vi&s;ions,</HI> and <HI>In&s;pirations;</HI> in which he de&s;cribes the Per&s;ons ju&s;t after the My&s;tical way, as <HI>no longer leading a humane Life,</HI> or <HI>having any Operations of their Sen&s;es or &V;nder&s;tanding, but their Mind and Soul is only in the Divine Power, and not in their own, being acted and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed wholly by it.</HI> Af|terward he &s;ets down the &s;everal <HI>Degrees</HI> and <HI>Kinds</HI> of tho&s;e; in &s;ome, they have only <HI>Par|ticipation;</HI> in others, near <HI>Communion;</HI> and in the highe&s;t of all, <HI>&V;nion.</HI> In &s;ome of the&s;e, he &s;aith, <HI>the Body wholly re&s;ts, and &s;ometimes breaks out into Singing, and all expre&s;&s;ions of Joy: &s;ometimes the Body is rai&s;ed up from the Ground,</HI> (as M. <HI>Tere&s;a</HI> thought hers) <HI>&s;ometimes it &s;wells into a greater bulk, and &s;ometimes the con|trary.</HI> Then he lays down <HI>Rules</HI> to know Divine In&s;pirations by: <HI>viz.</HI> by Enquiring, <HI>In what manner God appears? Whether an ap|pearance of Fire come before Him? Whether he fills up and acts the whole Soul, &s;o that there is a Ce&s;&s;ation of all its own Acts?</HI> For this he makes the main Character of a Divine In&s;pi|ration, that <HI>the Per&s;ons are wholly taken up and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by the Deity; from whence follows an Exta&s;ie and alienation of the Sen&s;es: But if
<PB N="7" REF="153">either the Soul acts, or the Body moves, then,</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>it may be a fal&s;e In&s;piration.</HI> No Man can expre&s;s him&s;elf more emphatically con|cerning <HI>the Excellency of Contemplative Prayer</HI> than <HI>Jamblicus</HI> doth: <HI>This quickens the Mind, inlargeth its Capacity, opens the Secrets of the Divinity, and fits it for Conjunction and &V;nion with God; and never leaves Men till it hath carried them to a State of Perfection; and by degrees doth alter and change Men, that it makes them put off Humane Nature, and bring them into &s;uch a State of Dei-formity, that they be|come Gods. The first degree of Prayer,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>brings to a State of Recollection, and hath &s;ome Divine Contact, which helps our Know|ledge: The &s;econd carries the Soul to a nearer Communion with God, and excites the Divine Bounty to freer Communications to it: But the third is the Seal of the ineffable &V;nion, which makes our Mind &amp; Soul to re&s;t in God, as a Divine Port or Haven.</HI> And he concludes his Book with &s;aying, <HI>That this &V;nion with God is Man's greate&s;t Perfection, and the End of all Religion among the</HI> Egyptians; who&s;e My&s;teries his De&s;ign was to explain and vindicate. Many other Pa&s;&s;ages might be produced out of him, concerning <HI>the Knowing of God by Divine Con|tact, and the In&s;ufficiency of any Act of the Mind for this ineffable &V;nion:</HI> but the&s;e are enough to &s;hew how well acquainted <HI>Jamblicus</HI>
<PB N="8" REF="154">and (if we believe him) the <HI>Egyptians</HI> were with the profounde&s;t Secrets of <HI>My&s;tical Divinity.</HI></Q></P>
<P>There is a Book tran&s;lated out of <HI>Arabick,</HI> intituled, <HI>Of Divine Wi&s;dom according to the</HI> Egyptians, wherein are many things to this purpo&s;e; but our Author takes notice but of one pa&s;&s;age in it, which he &s;ets down as the Words of <HI>Plato.</HI> But before we come to <HI>Plato,</HI> it is fit to be noted, that PYTHAGORAS and the PYTHAGORIANS could not but be well acquainted with this My&s;tical Theology, though they did not ordinarily deliver it in &s;uch expre&s;s terms; but in a more occult manner. For it is known &amp; confe&s;&s;ed, <Q>That <HI>Pythagoras</HI> him&s;elf was from his Youth greatly inclin'd to an Inqui|&s;ition into Religious Rites and My&s;teries: That he travelled into <HI>Egypt</HI> to hear their Prie&s;ts, was there 22 Years, had recommendations from the King to the Prie&s;ts, and was permitted to ac|quaint him&s;elf with all their Learning; entred into the <HI>Egyptian Adyta,</HI> and was in&s;tituted in things unexpre&s;&s;ible touching the Gods; gave him&s;elf exact Information concerning Per&s;ons and Things, not omitting any Per&s;on eminent at any time for Learning, or any kind of Reli|gious Rites; or any Place, where he conceived he might find &s;omewhat extraordinary: That he went thence to <HI>Babylon,</HI> and continued there
<PB N="9" REF="154">12 Years, conver&s;ed with the mo&s;t Eminent of the <HI>Chaldeans,</HI> as al&s;o with the <HI>Per&s;ian Magi,</HI> who entertained him very courteou&s;ly, &amp; gave him in&s;ight into their more hidden My&s;teries, and Religious Rites; and, without doubt, with the mo&s;t Eminent for Knowledge of the <HI>Jews,</HI> in both places; and likely enough, as <HI>Selden</HI> and others think, with <HI>Ezekiel</HI> in particular.</Q></P>
<P><Q>That he made <HI>Theology,</HI> or the Know|ledge of God, the Fir&s;t mo&s;t Univer&s;al Being, the Centre of all his Philo&s;ophy: That he was by way of Eminency call'd, <GAP DESC="foreign">; and his Philo&s;ophy, <GAP DESC="foreign">; becau&s;e he treated chiefly of God, his Nature and Wor&s;hip: That he was a great Devoto, or Advocate for God, his Wor&s;hip, and Sacred In&s;titutes: That the Confederation of his <HI>Coenobium</HI> (for &s;o they called it) or College, had reference to &s;ome Divine Temperament, and to Union with God, and to Unity with the Divine Soul: That the In&s;titutions of <HI>his Society</HI> and Sect, for the Ad|mi&s;&s;ion and Probation of Di&s;ciples, di&s;tinction of Per&s;ons, Reverence to their Elders, Celibacie, Communion of Goods, Retirement from the World, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> were very much the &s;ame with tho&s;e of the <HI>E&s;&s;eans,</HI> and the <HI>Chri&s;tian Coenobites</HI> after|ward: That of the differing Sects afterward none did Pythagorize more than <HI>Plato,</HI> e&s;pecially in Divine matters, as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> and <HI>Laertius</HI> have ob&s;erved: yea, that the choice&s;t of his Meta|phy&s;ick
<PB N="10" REF="155">Contemplations &s;eem to be traduced from <HI>Pythagoras</HI> and his Followers: and that <HI>Plotinus</HI> did more clearly explicate the Princi|ples of the <HI>Pythagorick</HI> Philo&s;ophy, as well as of the <HI>Platonick.</HI></Q></P>
<P>And from all this put together, we may very rea&s;onably conclude, e&s;pecially if we take in what is related by <HI>Jamblicus,</HI> That he continued 3 days and 2 nights, at one time, in the &s;ame Po&s;ture, without taking either Meat, or Drink, or Sleep, <HI>lib.</HI> 1. <HI>cap.</HI> 3. That he mu&s;t have been well acquainted with this My&s;tick Theology, which was in &s;uch E&s;teem with both; tho&s;e, from whom he recieved In&s;tructions; and tho&s;e, who received from him: and that in <HI>Plotinus</HI> and others, we read the <HI>Pythagorick</HI> as well as <HI>Platonick</HI> Principles; and that in both was a mixture of the <HI>Judaick,</HI> and what was derived by all from the Common Parent <HI>Noah.</HI> To this I will add only a Pa&s;&s;age or two of his, out of <HI>Demophilus:</HI></P>
<P><HI>Being born of God, and rooted in Him, let us cleave to our Root. For the Streams of the Wa|ters, and the Sprouts of the Earth, if they be cut off from their Root are dry'd up and wither away,</HI> p. 11. Is not this the very Doctrine of our Sa|viour, <HI>The True Light, which lighteth every Man, who cometh into the World,</HI> of being born of God, and abiding in the Vine?</P>
<PB N="11" REF="155">
<P> <HI>It cannot by any means be, that one and the &s;ame Per&s;on &s;hould apply him&s;elf to Plea&s;ures, to the Body, to the getting of Riches, and al&s;o to God.</HI> And is not this al&s;o the very Doctrine of our Sa|viour; <HI>Ye cannot &s;erve God and Mammon?</HI> But he goes on: <HI>For he who is given to Plea&s;ures, the &s;ame will al&s;o be careful for the Body; but he who is careful for the Body, he will al&s;o &s;tudy to get Riches; and he, who &s;tudies to get Riches, will nece&s;&s;arily be &V;nju&s;t: But he who is &V;njust, is both impious toward God, and unjust toward Men: and therefore, although he &s;acrifice (whole) Heca|tombs, he is (but) the more impious, and far from God and all Religion, and deliberately Sa|crilegious: Wherefore it behoveth to avoid every voluptuary Per&s;on, as impious and &s;acrilegious,</HI> p. 12.</P>
<P><HI>You cannot well &s;ay that he is a happy Man, who relies upon Friends, or Children, or any tran&s;i|tory and fading thing; for all the&s;e are in&s;table things: But to rely upon ones &s;elf and upon God, that only is firm and &s;table,</HI> p. 12.</P>
<P><HI>A wi&s;e Man &s;ent hither Naked, will naked (or &s;tript of all) invoke Him, who &s;ent him: for God hears him only, who is not incumbred with Imper|tinences,</HI> p. 9.</P>
<P><HI>A Divine Sen&s;e</HI> (<GAP DESC="foreign">) <HI>&s;olidly joyns us to God: For like must nece&s;&s;arily be joyned with like,</HI> p. 9.</P>
<P>The &s;ame which I have &s;aid of <HI>Pythagoras,</HI>
<PB N="12" REF="156">may in effect be &s;aid of <HI>SOCRATES</HI> al&s;o, both as to the Di&s;po&s;ition of his Mind, as to his Travels for acquiring of Knowledge, and as to his Principles, from the Ob&s;ervations and Con|fe&s;&s;ions of &s;uch as were no Friends to <HI>My&s;tick Theology:</HI> They were Scholars in the &s;ame Schools, and received the Tradition of the &s;ame Doctrine, as did <HI>Plato</HI> al&s;o from thence, and from them; &s;o that I may di&s;patch this in a few Ob|&s;ervations of what is known and confe&s;&s;ed con|cerning him.</P>
<P><Q>That he had as clear Notions as any touching God, his Nature, Unity, and other Sacred My|&s;teries, which he could never have attained un|to, but by &s;ome borrowed Tradition, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> That he a&s;&s;erted, That <HI>Virtue</HI> is neither by Nature, nor by Teaching, but by Divine In&s;piration: and that all true <HI>Knowledge of God</HI> comes by Divine Infu&s;ion; and called God his Tutor: That while Man is &s;ubject to, and under the Im|pre&s;&s;ion of Corporal Images, &s;en&s;ible Forms, and terrene Affections, he is not rightly di&s;po&s;ed for <HI>Divine Contemplation,</HI> which requires a Mind defecated, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> That Divine things and My|&s;teries cannot be comprehended but by a refined Judgment, by &s;uch as have their Souls ab&s;tract|ed from all Corporal Images, Impre&s;&s;ions and Affections; and therefore Men &s;hould be very intent on getting a Reformed Life, that the Mind being exonerated of its depre&s;&s;ing Lu&s;ts, might,
<PB N="13" REF="156">by a natural Vigour, lift up it &s;elf to Eternals, and by that Purity of Intelligence, contemplate the Nature of that Eternal Incommunicable Light, where the Cau&s;es of all created Natures live in Stability, <HI>v. Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib.</HI> 8. <HI>c.</HI> 3. And as to his own Life, That he in&s;tituted his whole Life, even from his Childhood, by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his Divine In&s;piration, which he called a <HI>Daemon,</HI> a Voice, a Sign. And that <HI>Plato</HI> reports of him that he &s;tood a whole day without any alteration in the &s;ame po&s;ture, his Mind being ab&s;tracted with pure Contempla|tion; and that <HI>Favorinus</HI> in <HI>A. Gellius</HI> &s;aith that he did this often.</Q></P>
<P>And now to return to our principal Author, and the Words of <HI>PLATO</HI> in him, which are the&s;e: <Q><HI>Being often in the Depth of Contemplation, my Body being left behind, I &s;eemed to enjoy the Chief Good with incredible plea&s;ure. Where|fore I &s;tood as it were a&s;toni&s;hed, finding my &s;elf to be a part of the upper World, and to have ob|tained Immortality, with the clearest Light; which cannot be expre&s;&s;ed with Words, nor heard with Ears, nor under&s;tood by the Thoughts of Men:</HI> and then he de&s;cribes <HI>the Sadne&s;s he felt at the decay of that glorious Light, and the plea&s;ure which returned with his former Exta|&s;ies.</HI> The Words are: <HI>At last my Intellect being wearied with this Contemplation fell back into phanta&s;ie, and then that Light failing I be|came
<PB N="14" REF="157">&s;omewhat &s;ad: But again having left my Body, returning thither again, I perceived my Mind abounding with Light, and that flowing then into the Body then rai&s;ed above it.</HI></Q></P>
<P>Nor of <HI>Plato</HI> him&s;elf doth our Author take any more notice then of that one pa&s;&s;age; but of <HI>the later Platoni&s;ts, Plotinus, Jamblicus, Por|phrygius,</HI> and <HI>Proclus,</HI> who, as he &s;aith out of <HI>P&s;ellus,</HI> did wholly approve of the <HI>Chaldaick Theology:</HI> he gives us &s;ome larger Ta&s;ts; and particularly,</P>
<P><Q>The &s;hort account of <HI>Plotinus his Hypothe&s;is,</HI> is this; <HI>That the Soul of Man being immer&s;ed in the Body &s;uffers very much by rea&s;on of its &V;nion with it; by which means it is drawn to the Affections of the Body, and to a Conver&s;ation with Sen&s;ible things, and &s;o becomes Evil and Mi&s;erable: That its Good and Happy Condition lyes in being like to God, not in regard of &V;nder|&s;tanding, but a State of Quie&s;cency: That the Practice of the Virtues of the Active Life is in&s;ufficient for A&s;&s;imilation to God; but in order to it, tho&s;e which are properly Intellectual are most nece&s;&s;ary, whereby the Soul draws it &s;elf off from the Body. Thus for the Soul to act by its &s;elf, is Wi&s;dom; Introver&s;ion, is Temperance; Ab&s;traction from Matter, is Fortitude; to follow Rea&s;on, is Ju&s;tice: That by the Practice of the&s;e the Soul purifies its &s;elf,</HI> i. e. <HI>ca&s;ts off the things without its &s;elf, and &s;o recovers its Purity, by
<PB N="15" REF="157">bringing tho&s;e things into Light again, which lay hid under the rubbi&s;h of Sen&s;ible things before, &s;o that the Soul did not know them to be there; but for the Di&s;covery of them, it was nece&s;&s;ary for the Soul to come near a greater Light than its &s;elf: and to bring the Images which are in it to the true Originals.</HI> The way of <HI>Purifying the Soul,</HI> he calls by the Names of <HI>Ab&s;traction</HI> and <HI>Recollection;</HI> which he el&s;e-where expre&s;&s;es by <HI>awakening the Soul out of Sleep, wherein it was di&s;turbed by &s;en&s;ible Images;</HI> not as though the Soul had need of any other way of Pu|rifying, but only <HI>re&s;training it to its &s;elf by taking away that load of Matter which oppre&s;&s;ed it; and then it naturally endeavours after the nearest &V;nion with the first Being; which he calls the True Being, and the &s;uper-E&s;&s;ential Being.</HI> And he &s;aith, <HI>When the Soul endea|vours after this &V;nion, it must lay a&s;ide all &s;en|&s;ible and intellectual Images of things, and make u&s;e only of the purest and &s;upream part of the Mind;</HI> (or the Fund of the Spirit) <HI>that God then is not to be con&s;idered under the Notion of Being, but as &s;omething above Being; and that we are not either to affirm or deny any thing of Him:</HI> that, <HI>Our Contemplation of Him is not by Knowledge, or any Intellectual Operation; but by a Divine Pre&s;ence, which far exceeds any Know|ledge: for Knowledge,</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>hinders &V;nion: therefore we must go beyond Knowledge, and be
<PB N="16" REF="158">ab&s;tracted from all other Objects; and be united to Him only by the Power of Divine Love; from whence follows a clearer Light in the Soul: And in this State,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>there is not only a Ce&s;&s;ation of Pa&s;&s;ion, but of Rea&s;on and &V;nder|&s;tanding too: neither is the Per&s;on him&s;elf,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>like one in a Rap|ture or an Exta&s;ie he enjoys God in that State of Quie&s;cency, as in a &s;ilent Wilderne&s;s;</HI> which he calls, <HI>being in God;</HI> and in other places, <HI>&s;eeing God in them&s;elves, being the &s;ame with God, being one with God;</HI> and which is the highe&s;t of all, <HI>being God:</HI> which is the perfect <HI>State of Dei-formity.</HI></Q></P>
<P>Of <HI>Porphyry,</HI> who was a Di&s;ciple and Con|fident of <HI>Plotinus,</HI> the &s;ame Author gives us this account: <Q>That he looked upon <HI>the Theurgick Way,</HI> as lyable to deceit, and not capable of ad|vancing the Soul to highe&s;t Perfection. Which <HI>Theurgick Way</HI> lay in the initiating of Men in &s;ome Sacred My&s;teries, by partaking of cer|tain Rites and Symbols, by which they were admitted to the Pre&s;ence of &s;ome of their Deities; the End whereof, as they pretended, was, reducing the Souls of Men to that State they were in before they came into the Body. So St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> tells us from <HI>Porphyry, That they who were purified after this manner did conver&s;e with glorious appearances of Angels, which they were fitted to &s;ee:</HI> but <HI>Porphyry</HI> him&s;elf, as he
<PB N="17" REF="158">did not utterly reject this Lower and Symbo|lical way; &s;o he &s;aid, <HI>That the Highest Per|fection of the Soul was not attainable by it; but it was u&s;eful for purifying the Lower part of the Soul, but not the Intellectual.</HI> By the Lower part he under&s;tood the Irrational, which by the Theurgical Rites might be fitted for Con|ver&s;ation with Angels; but the Intellectual part could not be elevated by it to the <HI>Contem|plation of God,</HI> and the <HI>Vi&s;ion of the things that are true.</HI> And herein he placed <HI>the utmost Perfection of the Soul</HI> in its return to and Union with God in this upper part, or Fund of the Soul: for the utmo&s;t the other attained to, was only to live among the Aetherial Spirits; but the Contemplative Souls returned to the Father, as he &s;peaks, which, as many other of his Notions, he borrowed from the <HI>Chaldaick Theology.</HI> To &s;hew what this Intellectual or Contemplative Life was, that &s;hould bring Mens Souls to this State of Perfection, <HI>Por|phyry</HI> writ a Book on purpo&s;e, <HI>Of the Return of the Soul,</HI> as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> tells us, who quotes many pa&s;&s;ages out of it; and this particular Pre|cept above all the re&s;t, <HI>That the Soul must fly from all Body, if it would live Happy with God:</HI> which is all one with <HI>Ab&s;traction of Mind,</HI> and <HI>pure Contemplative Life.</HI> In that Book he com|plains that there was no Perfect Way yet known to the World for this End: not the <HI>In|dian,
<PB N="18" REF="159">Chaldaick,</HI> or any other. But what that was which he meant, appears by what he &s;aith near the end of the Life of <HI>Plotinus,</HI> where he hath the&s;e Words: <HI>The Scope and End of his Life was &V;nion and Conjunction with God over all: and four times,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>when I was with him he attained to this &V;nion, by an unexpre&s;&s;i|ble Act of the Mind:</HI> which he before &s;ets forth, by <HI>a Divine Illumination without any I|mage or Idea, being above the &V;nder&s;tanding and all intelligible things.</HI> And he &s;aith of him&s;elf, <HI>that he was once in this State of &V;nion, when he was</HI> 68 <HI>Years of Age.</HI> Which <HI>Hol|&s;tenius</HI> under&s;tands of an Exta&s;ie he then fell into; and imputes it to <HI>the depth of his Me|lancholy joyned with his ab&s;tracted and &s;evere Life, his frequent Watchings, and almost conti|nual Exerci&s;e of Contemplation.</HI> For all the&s;e things were remarkable in him: and <HI>Eunapius</HI> &s;aith of him, <HI>That he was &s;o little a lover of the Body, that he hated his being a Man; and being in</HI> Sicily, <HI>he was almost fami&s;hed by Ab|&s;tinence, and &s;hunned all Conver&s;ation with Man|kind:</HI> as he begins the Life of <HI>Plotinus; That he was like one a&s;hamed that his Soul was in a Body.</HI> So that we find the Foundation here laid, (&s;aith our Author) not only for the <HI>My&s;tical &V;nion,</HI> but the <HI>Ab&s;traction of Mind</HI> nece&s;&s;ary in order to it: and that it doth not lye in any <HI>Intellectual Operations,</HI> but rather
<PB N="19" REF="159">in a <HI>Ce&s;&s;ation of the&s;e Acts,</HI> is likewi&s;e expre&s;sly affirmed by <HI>Porphyry. Many things,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>are &s;aid of &V;nder&s;tanding things that are above the Mind; but the Contemplation of tho&s;e things is better performed,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>otio &amp; vacatione Intellect&ucirc;s,</HI> as <HI>Hol&s;tenius</HI> renders it, rather <HI>by the Rest and Ce&s;&s;ation of Operation in the &V;nder&s;tanding, than by the Exerci&s;e of it; as many things, while a Man wakes, are &s;aid of him that he does when he &s;leeps, but the Know|ledge and Perception of them is by Sleep; for things are best under&s;tood by A&s;&s;imilation.</HI> And el&s;ewhere he &s;aith, <HI>That our manner of &V;nder|&s;tanding all things is different according to their E&s;&s;ence; tho&s;e things above the Mind are to be known,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>in the way of un|knowing, and after a &s;uper-e&s;&s;ential manner;</HI> where we &s;ee the very Phra&s;es of <HI>Diony&s;ius</HI> u&s;ed by him; and in many places he &s;peaks of <HI>the Minds ab&s;tracting and loo&s;ing it &s;elf from the Body, and drawing it &s;elf nearer to the First Being;</HI> of <HI>the Souls being in God;</HI> of <HI>the pure and clear Light, which follows the Ab&s;traction of the Mind;</HI> of <HI>the State and Life of Contem|plation, and the Virtues nece&s;&s;ary thereto; &s;uch as Ab&s;tinence from the Actions of the Body, and from Affections to it, which,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>rai&s;e the Mind to the &s;uper-e&s;&s;ential Being.</HI> And he very much di&s;parages the <HI>Active</HI> and <HI>Political Life</HI> in compari&s;on with this; <HI>the End of one, being only
<PB N="20" REF="160">Mens living according to Nature; but of the o|ther, A&s;&s;imilation to God: He that lives accord|ing to Practical Virtues, is only a Good Man; but he that lives the Life of Contemplation, is a God.</HI> From whence we under&s;tand the Dei|formity of the My&s;tical Divines, being attain|able by the Life of Contemplation. The Way laid down by him for <HI>Purifying the Soul</HI> is this: 1. <HI>The Foundation</HI> of it is for the <HI>Soul to know it &s;elf,</HI> i. e. to con&s;ider, <HI>that it is in a &s;trange place, and bound to a thing of another Sub&s;tance.</HI> 2. <HI>Recollection,</HI> or <HI>gathering it &s;elf up from the Body, to be free from the Affections of it:</HI> In order to which he advi&s;eth to deny the Body in its Appetites and Plea&s;ures, and to &s;hew as little Care of it, and Concernment for it, as may be: by degrees to le&s;&s;en all &s;en&s;e both of Plea&s;ure and Pain; and &s;o to come at la&s;t to a Freedom from the Pa&s;&s;ions of the Body. Then he de&s;cribes <HI>the Superlative Being,</HI> and &s;aith, that <HI>it is neither Great, nor Little, but above both; and is neither Greate&s;t nor Lea&s;t, but above all; and that his Pre&s;ence is not Topical, but A&s;&s;imilative; and that the only Way for our Souls to recover them&s;elves, is, to bring them into them|&s;elves; by which Means the True Being is pre&s;ent with them, and we become united to God.</HI> Which <HI>&V;nion of the Soul with God, Hol&s;tenius</HI> thinks it very probable that <HI>Porphyry</HI> under&s;tood by the Book which he mentions in the Life of
<PB N="21" REF="160"><HI>Plotinus,</HI> called, <GAP DESC="foreign">, the <HI>Sacred Nup|tials,</HI> becau&s;e both <HI>Plotinus</HI> and he &s;uppo&s;ed this Union to be wrought by the Power of <HI>Divine Love,</HI> as well as the My&s;tical Divines; and <HI>Porphyry</HI> &s;aith, upon the reading of it, <HI>&s;ome thought him Mad, becau&s;e there were &s;everal things &s;poken in it after a My&s;tical and Enthu&s;i|a&s;tical manner;</HI> for which he was highly ap|plauded by <HI>Plotinus.</HI></Q></P>
<P><HI>Jamblicus</HI> was <HI>Porphyry</HI>'s Di&s;ciple, but out of him our Author recites no more than what is &s;et down before concerning the <HI>Egyptian My&s;te|ries:</HI> but out of <HI>PROCL&V;S,</HI> another Pla|tonick Philo&s;opher, who lived long after the&s;e, and of whom <HI>Marinus</HI> gives this Character, to|wards the Conclu&s;ion of his Life, <Q><HI>That his Soul was &s;o recollected and drawn into its &s;elf, that it &s;eemed to be &s;eparated from the Body while it remained in it;</HI> he hath this pa&s;&s;age: In the beginning of his <HI>Theology,</HI> &s;aith he, he di&s;tin|gui&s;heth between <HI>that Intellectual Faculty in us, whereby we are capable of &V;nder&s;tanding the Nature and Difference of Intelligible Idea's, and that which he calls</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>the Summity, as the My&s;ticks &s;peak, and pure Fund of the Spirit, which,</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>is alone ca|pable of the Divine and My&s;tical &V;nion;</HI> &s;o he calls it, <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>For,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>though there be many Intellectual Powers in us, yet it is by this only that we can be united to the Divinity,
<PB N="22" REF="161">and be made partakers of it. For we cannot reach the Divine Being either by our Sen&s;es, or by Opinion, or by Apprehen&s;ion; no nor yet by Ra|tiocination,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>It remains there|fore, that if the Divine Nature can any ways be known by us, it must be by the E&s;&s;ence of the Soul. For the Soul being drawn into its own &V;nity, and removing from it &s;elf the Multipli|city of its Powers, it a&s;cends to the greate&s;t height of true Contemplation. While the Soul looks about on things below it, it &s;ees nothing but Shadows and Images of things: When it comes to a State of Introver&s;ion, then it &s;ees its own E&s;&s;ence and Operations of the &V;nder&s;tanding: But when it &s;earches deeper, then it finds the Mind within it &s;elf, and the &s;everal Orders of real Beings: When it goes yet farther into the mo&s;t &s;ecret Clo&s;et of the Soul, there it contemplates, as it were blindfold, the Divine Beings, and the fir&s;t Idea's or &V;nities of Beings. And this,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>is the mo&s;t excellent Operation of the Soul, in the Re&s;t or Quie&s;cency of its Powers, to &s;tretch it &s;elf toward the Divine Nature, and dance, as it were, round it, and to rai&s;e up the whole Soul to|wards this &V;nion with it, and ab&s;tracting it &s;elf from all Inferior Beings, to re&s;t upon, and be con|joyned with that Ineffable and Super-e&s;&s;ential Being. And by this means the Soul comes to have the true&s;t &V;nder&s;tanding of all things.</HI></Q></P>
<PB N="23" REF="161">
<P><Q>All <HI>the&s;e Notions,</HI> (&s;aith our Author) both among the <HI>Chaldeans,</HI> and the <HI>Platonick</HI> Phi|lo&s;ophers, are <HI>built upon a very ancient Hypo|the&s;is,</HI> but very different from that of Chri&s;tiani|ty; which Hypothe&s;is being granted, this My|&s;tical Divinity appears with &s;ome face of Rea|&s;on, and colour of Probability.&mdash; It was this; That the Souls of Men did exi&s;t in another World long before they came into the Body; that in their De&s;cent to the Body they had an Aetherial Vehicle joyned to them; which up|on the conjunction of the Soul and Body be|came the Means of Communication between them, and takes up its chief Seat in the Brain, which is the &s;ame which we call the Imaginati|on: that the Soul being in this &s;tate is apt to be much inveigled with Kindne&s;s to the Body, and &s;o forget its Return home: that the Body is ca|pable of doing the Soul mi&s;chief no other way, being it &s;elf under the power of Fate, then as it draws it downward: that the Mind, being the upper part of the Soul, is always acting; but we know not its operations but only by the Impre&s;&s;ions they make upon the Phan&s;ie: that the Mind hath the true Idea's of things within it &s;elf; but we are deceived by the Repre&s;en|tations conveyed by our Imagination; and therefore our Ratiocination is very &s;hort and uncertain: that our only way of Recovering our Souls, is by drawing them off from the
<PB N="24" REF="162">Body, and retiring into them&s;elves; and that upon this the Mind hath the Divine Being &s;o nearly conjoyned to it, that it pa&s;&s;eth into a Divine Nature, and recovers its former State, when it parts from the Body. But becau&s;e it is not to return alone without the Aetherial Vehicle it brought with it, therefore the <HI>Chal|deans</HI> and <HI>Egyptians</HI> had &s;everal Sacred and Symbolical Rites for the purifying of the Ve|hicle, as they called it, which they made ne|ce&s;&s;ary for this End: and with them <HI>Jamblicus</HI> joyns, but <HI>Porphyry</HI> thought them not ne|ce&s;&s;ary, but that Philo&s;ophy and meer Con|templation would purifie enough without it. This is the true Account of their Hypothe&s;is, as may be fully &s;een in <HI>Hierocles</HI> and <HI>Syne&s;ius,</HI> without going farther; and was the <HI>fir&s;t Foun|dation of My&s;tical Divinity,</HI> which I will not deny to be well enough accommodated to it. But it is as <HI>remote</HI> from Chri&s;tianity, as the <HI>Hypothe&s;is</HI> it &s;elf is.</Q></P>
<P>This is &s;aid by our Author to di&s;parage <HI>My|&s;tical Divinity;</HI> becau&s;e he &s;uppo&s;eth it will not be con&s;ented to by any that are Friends to it. But how doth it appear that this <HI>Hypothe&s;is</HI> was the fir&s;t Foundation of <HI>My&s;tical Divinity;</HI> which, for any thing he hath &s;hewed to the contrary, may be more ancient than it? His bare affir|mation in his own Ca&s;e certainly is not to be admitted for Proof. But in ca&s;e that were ad|mitted,
<PB N="25" REF="162">how is that <HI>different</HI> from Chri&s;tianity; for he would not &s;ay <HI>contrary;</HI> though, no doubt, many of his Readers would be apt to take it &s;o? The <HI>Jews</HI> did believe it before our Saviour's time; the <HI>Apocrypha</HI> doth favour it; the <HI>Apo&s;tle's</HI> Que|&s;tion concerning <HI>the Man, who was born Blind,</HI> doth favour it; nor doth <HI>our Saviour's An&s;wer</HI> at all contradict it, but rather &s;uppo&s;e it: and it hath been a&s;&s;erted by Learned Men, both of the <HI>Church of England</HI> and other <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> from Proofs of Scripture, as well as Rea&s;on. His Conclu&s;ion al&s;o is ob&s;ervable, that <HI>My&s;tical Di|vinity</HI> is as <HI>remote</HI> from <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> as the <HI>Hy|pothe&s;is</HI> it &s;elf; &s;uch another cautious Expre&s;&s;ion not to expo&s;e him&s;elf, but by which the gene|rality of his Readers may ea&s;ily be impo&s;ed upon. Truth is a very venerable thing; and Divine matters ought to be treated with great Reve|rence; the very Heathen My&s;ticks would have thought &s;o, whatever our Rationati&s;ts think.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides the&s;e ancient Philo&s;ophers, our Author takes notice of the like Notions and Practices among <HI>other Gentiles,</HI> even at this day; but of what antiquity among&s;t them he &s;aith not. It is taken from a <HI>Letter of Monfieur Bernier</HI> to Mon&s;ieur <HI>Chaplain,</HI> dated 4 <HI>Octob.</HI> 1667. con|cerning the <HI>Gentiles of Indo&s;tan,</HI> wherein he gives an account <Q>of certain Orders of Religious among them, who make Vows of Cha&s;tity, Poverty, and Obedience, living in Convents
<PB N="26" REF="163">under Superiors, who are commonly called <HI>Jauguis,</HI> i. e. <HI>united to God,</HI> who u&s;ed them&s;elves to many Hard&s;hips, and were looked on as &s;o many Eremites by the People, being accounted true Saints, illuminated and perfect <HI>Jauguis: The&s;e are People that have entirely abandoned the World, and &s;eque&s;tered them&s;elves into &s;ome very remote Corner or Garden, like Eremites, without ever coming to the Town. If you carry them any Meat, they receive it; if they do not, 'tis believed that they can live without it, and &s;ubfist by the &s;ole Favour of God in perpetual Fa&s;ting, Prayer, and profound Meditations: for they &s;ink them&s;elves &s;o deep into the&s;e Raptures, that they &s;pend many hours together in being in|&s;en&s;ible, and beholding in that time, as they give out, God him&s;elf, like a very bright and ineffable Light, with an unexpre&s;&s;ible Joy and Satisfaction, attended with an intire Contempt and for&s;aking of the World. For thus much one of them, that pre|tended he could enter into this Rapture when he plea&s;ed, and had been often in it, told me; and o|thers that are about them affirm the thing with &s;o much &s;eriou&s;ne&s;s, that they &s;eem to believe it in earnest, that there is no Impo&s;ture in it.</HI></Q></P>
<P>To the&s;e <HI>others</HI> might be added, who have had the like Notions, and u&s;ed the like Exerci&s;es, as well anciently, as at this time. Such as the <HI>Indian Brachmans</HI> or <HI>Gymno&s;ophi&s;ts,</HI> the <HI>Per&s;ian Magi,</HI> and the <HI>Druides,</HI> who are &s;aid by &s;ome to
<PB N="27" REF="163">have been as ancient as <HI>Abraham</HI>'s time. The Character given by <HI>Bardi&s;anes Syrus</HI> of the BRACHMANES, that they <HI>neither wor&s;hip Images, nor eat what is animate; neither drink Wine, or Beer; are far from all Malignity, attend|ing wholly to God;</HI> is comprehen&s;ive enough to take in both the Au&s;terities and Contemplations of tho&s;e before-mentioned. But the religious <HI>Care</HI> of the Ancients <HI>to conceal their mo&s;t Sacred My&s;teries</HI> from the Vulgar, and their communi|cation of them principally by &s;ucce&s;&s;ive verbal Tradition, is a great rea&s;on that we have &s;o little of this in any Writings, not only of the re&s;t, whom we call <HI>Heathens,</HI> but even of the <HI>Jews,</HI> and <HI>Chri&s;tians.</HI> However, it is plain by what is collected by our Author, that the&s;e Notions and Exerci&s;es were not fir&s;t introduced by <HI>Plotinus</HI> and his Di&s;ciples, but derived to them from the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> and the <HI>Chaldeans.</HI> And if it be in|quired from what <HI>Original</HI> they derived them, it will be hard to di&s;cover any other than either <HI>Abraham</HI> and his Po&s;terity, as many a&s;&s;ert; or at lea&s;t the common Parent <HI>Noah;</HI> &s;o that what our Author has collected to di&s;parage <HI>My&s;tical Theology,</HI> being well con&s;idered, will prove a notable Recommendation of it. For as it is mo&s;t rea&s;onable to believe that <HI>Noah</HI> did in&s;truct his Po&s;terity in all things of greate&s;t Importance to them; and that the Knowledge of them was tran&s;mitted to after-Generations, and in particu|lar
<PB N="28" REF="164">to the <HI>Chaldeans</HI> and <HI>Egyptians</HI> in &s;ome &s;ort or other; but to the <HI>Jews</HI> intirely, and without Mixture of Corruptions; &s;o it is not to be doubted, but &s;uch inqui&s;ite Per&s;ons, and e&s;pecially into Divine My&s;teries, as <HI>Pythagoras, Socrates,</HI> and <HI>Plato,</HI> Men of &s;uch extraordinary qualifica|tions, and &s;o favoured as they were, mu&s;t have obtained a compleat Knowledge of them from all the&s;e Nations; and e&s;pecially at that time, in and after the Captivity, when they &s;eem by Divine Providence to have been carried away out of their own Countrey for that very end and pur|po&s;e, that God's dealings with them might be more fully known to other Nations. For the Po&s;terity of <HI>Abraham</HI> was undoubtedly de&s;igned by Almighty God to be a Light and Admonition to the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> even from the beginning in all their various States; in <HI>Egypt,</HI> in the <HI>Wilderne&s;s,</HI> in the <HI>Land of Canaan,</HI> in their <HI>Captivity,</HI> and in their <HI>Di&s;per&s;ion</HI> to this very day. Nor do I at all doubt but there was &s;o much Knowledge of Truth derived from them to other Nations, as together with what is ob&s;ervable in the Works of God, and what was received from the Com|mon Ance&s;tors, was &s;ufficient for the Salvation of all, who u&s;ed and improved the &s;ame as they ought; and for the ju&s;t Condemnation of the re&s;t, who neglected it. And therefore, if we find that the&s;e Men were acquainted with the <HI>My&s;tick Divinity,</HI> that is, with the thing, whe|ther
<PB N="29" REF="164">under that Name or any other, it matters not; if we find undeniable Evidence of it among the <HI>Chaldeans</HI> and <HI>Egyptians,</HI> and others before; if we find the mo&s;t ancient <HI>Chri&s;tian A&s;ceticks</HI> well acquainted with it, and much, or rather altogether in the Practice of it, before <HI>Diony&s;ius</HI> his <HI>Theologia My&s;tica</HI> was known in the World; this put together is &s;uch a Con&s;tellation of con|current and corroborating Evidences, that whence&s;oever that Name, and &s;ome Terms and Expre&s;&s;ions, which &s;eem &s;omewhat uncouth, came in after Ages, yet that the thing it &s;elf mu&s;t have been derived from &s;ome very ancient common Original to tho&s;e Nations; and to tho&s;e <HI>Chri&s;tian A&s;ceticks,</HI> not from the Collections of the Adver&s;aries of Chri&s;tianity, (which is a meer groundle&s;s Oratorical Fiction to expo&s;e it) no more than from <HI>Diony&s;ius,</HI> whom our Author doth not believe to have been &s;o ancient; but either from &s;ome of the fir&s;t Converts of the <HI>Jews,</HI> or, which &s;eems more likely, from a Divine Conduct and In&s;piration: for they were many of them unacquainted with Humane Learning. Nor do I &s;ee any rea&s;on to think that the In&s;titutions of <HI>the Sons of the Prophets</HI> among the <HI>Jews</HI> were much different from the <HI>My&s;tical Theology,</HI> which is thus oppo&s;ed by our Author; but rather that the &s;ame In&s;titutions were conveyed, as Secrets, by Tradition to &s;ome principal Men of all Nations, from the Common Parent <HI>Noah.</HI></P>
<PB N="30" REF="165">
<P> And indeed, if we do but fairly, that is can|didly and without Prejudice, con&s;ider that Ac|count of this Divinity, which our Author hath cho&s;en for his purpo&s;e to collect from a late Au|thor, Father <HI>Au&s;tin Baker</HI> and Mr. <HI>Cre&s;&s;y</HI>'s <HI>Preface,</HI> I &s;uppo&s;e it will &s;ufficiently recommend it &s;elf, as no improper or unlikely Method to have been u&s;ed by the ancient Prophets. <Q>Let the Reader judge of it (&s;aith he, and &s;o &s;ay I) by the&s;e Pa&s;&s;ages in his (<HI>viz.</HI> Mr. <HI>Cre&s;&s;y</HI>'s) Preface 1. <HI>The only proper Di&s;po&s;ition towards receiving Supernatural Irradiations from God's Holy Spi|rit, is an Ab&s;traction of Life; a Seque&s;tration from all Bu&s;ine&s;s that concerns others; and an Attendance to God alone in the Depth of the Spi|rit.</HI> And a little after: 2. <HI>The Lights here de&s;ired and prayed for, are &s;uch as do expell all Images of Creatures, and do calm all manner of Pa&s;&s;ions to the end the Soul being in a Vacuity, may be more capable of receiving and entertaining God in the pure Fund of the Spirit.</HI></Q> Thus far our Au|thor out of Mr. <HI>Cre&s;&s;y.</HI> But I think fit to add to the&s;e two, the re&s;t of his Characters of Divine In&s;pirations whereby they may be di&s;tingui&s;hed from <HI>Fanatici&s;m.</HI> 3. <HI>The Prayer here acknow|ledged to be the mo&s;t effectual In&s;trument to pro|cure Divine Light, is a Pure, Recollected, Intime</HI> (or mo&s;t inward) <HI>Prayer of the Spirit.</HI> 4. <HI>Here are no new Speculative Verities or Revelations of My&s;teries pretended; no private new-found-out
<PB N="31" REF="165">Interpretations of Scripture bragg'd of.</HI> 5. <HI>Here the E&s;tabli&s;hed Order of God's Church, and the &V;nity e&s;&s;ential thereto is not prejudiced. Yea, the In&s;pirations expected and obtained by Pure Inter|nal Prayer do more firmly and unalterably fix Souls under this Obedience, and to this Order and &V;nity.</HI> 6. <HI>Our Lights teach us to attend only to God and our own Souls, and never to intere&s;s our &s;elves in any Care or Imployment about others, till evidently God's In&s;pirations force us, and External Authority obliges us thereto.</HI> 7. <HI>Our Lights make us to fear and avoid all Super-eminence and Judicature, all &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures, De&s;ires of Wealth, Honor,</HI> &amp;c. 8. <HI>And la&s;tly, Our Lights, if they &s;hould chance &s;ometimes to be mi&s;taken by us, no Harm at all would accrue to others, and not any con&s;iderable prejudice to our &s;elves; becau&s;e, as hath been &s;aid, the Matters in which they direct us, are in their Nature indifferent, and are ordered only toward a more perfect Loving of God, and withdrawing us from Creatures.</HI> &sect;. 33. The contrary or differ|ent Characters of phanatick fal&s;e Lights, I pa&s;s by for brevity &s;ake.</P>
<P><Q>Out of <HI>Father Baker</HI> him&s;elf he produceth the&s;e among&s;t others: <HI>Such</HI> (contemplative) <HI>Souls are not of them&s;elves much inclined to Ex|ternal Works,</HI> (<HI>except</HI> (&s;aith Father <HI>Baker,</HI> which our Author leaves out) <HI>when God calls them thereto by &s;ecret In&s;pirations, or en|gageth them therein by Command of Superiors</HI>)
<PB N="32" REF="166"><HI>but they &s;eek rather to purifie them&s;elves, and inflame their Hearts to the Love of God by In|ternal Quiet, and Pure Actuations in Spirit by a total Ab&s;traction from Creatures; by Soli|tude, both external and e&s;pecially internal; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> di&s;po&s;ing them&s;elves to receive the Influxes and In&s;pirations of God, who&s;e</HI> Guidance <HI>chiefly the endeavour to follow in all things.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot">Tr. 1. S. 1. c. 2 &sect;. 3.</NOTE> And, <HI>The prope<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> End of a Contemplative Life is the attaining unto a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Habitual and almo&s;t uninterrupted perfect &V;nion with God in the &s;upream point of the Spirit; and &s;uch an &V;nion as gives the Soul a Fruitive Po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of him, and a real Experimental Perception of the Divine Pre&s;ence in the Depth and Centre <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> the Spirit, whith is fully po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed and filled with him alone; not only all deliberate Affection</HI> (&s;aith Fa. <HI>Baker</HI>) <HI>to Creatures being excluded but in a manner all Images of them al&s;o, at lea&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;o far, as they may be di&s;tractive to the Soul.</HI> And he adds: <HI>The Effects of this ble&s;&s;ed Perceptab<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> Pre&s;ence of God in Perfect Souls are un&s;peakab<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> and Divine: For he is in them both as a Principal of all their Actions Internal and External, being the Life of their Life, and Spirit of their Spirits and al&s;o as the End of them, directing both the Actions and Per&s;ons to him&s;elf only. He is All i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> all things unto them: A Light to direct &s;ecurely all their Steps, and to order all their Workings even tho&s;e al&s;o which &s;eem the mo&s;t Indifferent
<PB N="33" REF="166">the which, by the Guidance of God's Holy Spirit, do cau&s;e a farther Advancement of them to a yet more immediate &V;nion. He is a Shield to pro|tect them in all Tentations and Dangers; an internal Force and Vigour within them to make them do and &s;uffer all things, what&s;oever his plea&s;ure is they &s;hould do or &s;uffer. They not only believe and know, but even feel and tast him to be the &V;niver&s;al Infinite Good. By means of a continual Conver&s;ation with him they are re|duced to a ble&s;&s;ed State of a Perfect Denudation of Spirit, to an ab&s;olute Internal Solitude, a Tran&s;cendency and Forgetfulne&s;s of all created things, and e&s;pecially of them&s;elves, to an Hea|venly-mindedne&s;s and fixed Attention to God only, and this even in the midst of Employments to others never &s;o di&s;tractive; and, finally, to a gu&s;tful Knowledge of his Infinite Perfections, and a &s;trict Application of their Spirits by Love above Knowledge, joyned with a Fruition and Repo&s;e in Him with the whole extent of their Wills: So that they become after an inexpre&s;&s;i|ble manner Partarkers of the Divine Nature; yea, One Spirit, One Will, One Love with him, being in a &s;ort Deified, and enjoying as much of Heaven here as Mortality is capable of.</HI></Q></P>
<P><HI>The &s;pecial</HI> Means <HI>for obtaining &s;uch &s;piritual and extraordinary Favours from God,</HI> are doubt|le&s;s very de&s;irable to be known; and the&s;e our Author &s;ets down in the Words of <HI>O. N.</HI> who
<PB N="34" REF="167">purpo&s;ely writ in An&s;wer to him upon this Sub|ject, <HI>viz.</HI> (<HI>be&s;ides a</HI> watchful Guard, &s;aith he, <HI>for keeping the Con&s;cience clean, as much as may be, not only from Mortal, but al&s;o Venial Sin</HI>) <HI>Much fre|quent and continued</HI> Vocal <HI>or</HI> Mental <HI>Prayer; much</HI> Solitude, <HI>and</HI> Mortifications <HI>of our Fle&s;h; and</HI> Ab&s;traction <HI>of our Thoughts and Affections from any Creature; much</HI> Recollection, <HI>and with|drawing from abroad into our &s;elves; much</HI> Me|ditation <HI>on &s;uch &s;elected Subjects, as may rather inflame our Affections than increa&s;e our Science; and when once we find the&s;e enkindled, the En|deavouring a</HI> Quie&s;cence, <HI>as much as we can from former</HI> Di&s;cour&s;e, <HI>(tho&s;e actions of the Brain and Intellect now hindering the Heart and Will) and the bringing of our &s;elves rather to a &s;imple Contemplation, to exerci&s;e Acts of Love, adhere to, &s;igh after, and entertain the Divine Object thereof. And here</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>if his Divine Maje&s;ty plea&s;e to advance us any higher to &s;uch</HI> Unions <HI>with Him, as are not in our power, and wherein we receive rather than act, and he operates in us rather than we our &s;elves, we embrace them with all Humility and Gratitude; if otherwi&s;e, we acquie&s;ce in our best endeavours, and longing after him with Patience, though enabled al&s;o to the&s;e only by his Grace. This our</HI> Spiritual and My&s;tical Ma&s;ters <HI>teach us; and thus, after this way, which the&s;e Men &s;tile</HI> Fanatici&s;m <HI>and</HI> En|thu&s;ia&s;m, <HI>we endeavour to procure a more &s;trict
<PB N="35" REF="167">Acquaintance and Conver&s;e with God, and herein to follow the Example of our Fore-Fathers.</HI></P>
<P><Q>El&s;ewhere, &s;aith our Author, he (Fa. <HI>Baker</HI>) de&s;cribes the Progre&s;s towards this State of Per|fection thus; <HI>That he who would come to it mu&s;t practi&s;e the drawing of his External Sen&s;es inwardly to his internal, there lo&s;ing, and, as it were, annihi|lating them: then he mu&s;t draw his Internal Sen&s;es into the Superior powers of the Soul, and there annihilate them likewi&s;e: And tho&s;e Powers of the Intellectual Soul he mu&s;t draw into that which is called the &V;nity; and to that &V;nity, which alone is capable of perfect &V;nion with God, mu&s;t be applyed and firmly fixed on God, wherein the perfect Divine Contemplation lyes.</HI></Q> It is true, the&s;e words are in Father <HI>Baker;</HI> but they are but what he &s;aith we read in other Authors: and be&s;ides he adds: <Q><HI>Now, whether &s;uch Ex|pre&s;&s;ions as the&s;e will abide the &s;trict Exami|nation of Philo&s;ophy or no, I will not take on me to determine. Certain it is, that by a frequent and con&s;tant Exerci&s;e of Internal Prayer of the Will, joyned with Mortification, the Soul comes to operate more and more ab&s;tracted from Sen&s;e, and more celebrated above the Corporeal Organs and Faculties; &s;o drawing near to the re&s;em|blance of the Operations of an Angel or Separated Spirit.</HI></Q></P>
<P>By this we may perceive, that it is <HI>not diffi|cult,</HI> as our Author &s;aith, <HI>to put together &s;ome
<PB N="36" REF="168">of their Words and Phra&s;es, as an Account of their Divinity;</HI> (p. 285.) and what Account that is. But be&s;ides the&s;e, there are &s;ome other pa&s;&s;ages which he recites; and in them &s;ome, which he con&s;trues, as he doth the&s;e and other things; and &s;ome Expre&s;&s;ions, which may &s;eem hard Sayings to one, who is not willing to under&s;tand them, or con&s;ider them as terms of Art, and allow them a candid Con&s;truction; and may afford Matter for Exerci&s;e of Wit to &s;uch as are di&s;|po&s;ed to &s;port them&s;elves with Matters of Re|ligion. The wicked Spirit does ea&s;ily in&s;i|nuate him&s;elf into, and impo&s;e upon <HI>Per&s;ons ingaged in Controver&s;y;</HI> they are ordinarily like Souldiers ingaged in War, act as if all was Law|ful, whereby they can incommode an Adver&s;ary, without due regard to Charity, Truth, and that fair Dealing and Kindne&s;s which Chri|&s;tianity enjoyns to Enemies; and too often be|have them&s;elves like &s;uch Souldiers, as are loath to have an End of a War le&s;t they &s;hould want Employment, trifling and skirmi&s;hing at a di|&s;tance, with vain Words and Shews: and the con&s;equence in each is frequently the baffling and di&s;paraging of the Cau&s;e they are ingaged in, and giving advantages to their Adver&s;aries. And I wi&s;h this Author, by his management, hath not given too much Advantage, or at lea&s;t Occa&s;ion, to the common Adver&s;aries, Infidels and Dei&s;ts. But as to this cau&s;e, <HI>O. N.</HI> hath &s;o
<PB N="37" REF="168">fully an&s;wered all Cavils at the Terms of Art, that it &s;eems he left little to be replyed to: and there|fore, for An&s;wer, our Author is reduced to the&s;e two &s;hifts: 1. To inculcate the Unintelligiblene&s;s of My&s;tick Theology, from the ce&s;&s;ation of the di&s;cur&s;ive Faculty at the time of Contemplation, (which is all that the My&s;tick Writers intend) as if all Men, in the very act of intent li&s;tening to Sounds, or beholding &s;omething extraordinary, did not the like in a great mea&s;ure. 2. To make a great Bravado, as if he had the Autho|rity of the whole Church of Chri&s;t again&s;t all Vi&s;ions, immediate Revelations, Exta&s;ies, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> in the ca&s;e of <HI>Montanus;</HI> Whereas what was condemned in <HI>Montanus</HI> and his Compa|nions, was not the pretending to Vi&s;ions and Revelations; but pretending &s;uch to be Divine, which were not; but Diabolical, as appeared both by the Manner, and by the Matter, being Here&s;ie: as is very plain in the ancient Writer in <HI>Eu&s;ebius, l.</HI> 5. <HI>c.</HI> 16. <HI>When the Faithful throughout</HI> A&s;ia <HI>had met often, and in many places of</HI> A&s;ia, <HI>upon this account, and had inquired into this New Doctrine, and determined it to be pro|phane, and rejected this Here&s;ie, they were ex|pelled out of the Church.</HI> And before he relates how <HI>Montanus</HI> his Ambition gave the Enemy an Entrance into him&s;elf, and he was filled with the Devil, and of a &s;udden po&s;&s;e&s;t with a furi|ous and frantick Temper of Mind, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> So he
<PB N="38" REF="169">&s;aith of <HI>Theodotus,</HI> that he was po&s;&s;e&s;t with a fal&s;e Exta&s;ie, which plainly implies true ones believed then, contrary to what our Author doth pretend. To &s;ay that it hath no Founda|tion in the Chri&s;tian Doctrine, and yet to pa&s;s by &s;o many Te&s;timonies of Scripture produced for it, with no better an&s;wer than what amounts to a Conce&s;&s;ion, de&s;erves no other reply than only to note it. To mi&s;take and mi&s;-repre&s;ent Mens Words through Ignorance, is a Fault, but more e&s;pecially in Men pretending to Learning and Knowledge; yet hath that &s;ome excu&s;e, by rea&s;on of the Humane Infirmity incident to all. But to do it wilfully, deliberately, and &s;eeking Occa&s;ions, is not only different from, but contrary to the Spirit of Chri&s;tianity. But what is it then, if it be in de&s;pight of that which is really true, and the Operations of the Spirit of Grace? To &s;ay that the <HI>Ca&s;e of Mon|tanus</HI> was the very <HI>Ca&s;e of My&s;tical &V;nions;</HI> and that the Spirit of <HI>Montanus</HI> was rejected in the Chri&s;tian Church as a Fanatick Enthu&s;ia&s;tical Spirit; as if the Ca&s;e of My&s;tical Unions was the Ca&s;e of that Spirit &s;o rejected, with other expre&s;&s;ions to like purpo&s;e, are fit to be con|&s;idered afterward, if they were not well con|&s;idered before-hand. There is a pa&s;&s;age, which he recites out of the Spiritual Exerci&s;es of the Je&s;uites, <HI>p.</HI> 31, 32. <HI>edit.</HI> 1574. <HI>viz. It is the great Perfection of a Chri&s;tian to keep him&s;elf
<PB N="39" REF="169">indifferent, to do what God &s;hall reveal to him; and not to determine him&s;elf to do what he hath already revealed and taught in the Go&s;pel:</HI> which is very gro&s;s indeed, if the meaning be what he would have us to believe; and indeed &s;o gro&s;s, that it is not to be believed to be their meaning, if it be to be found there, and fairly tran&s;lated: but &s;ince it is capable of ano|ther con&s;truction, <HI>viz.</HI> not to confine ones &s;elf to what is revealed in general; but to be in|different, as to things not determined, but left indifferent, to do as God &s;hall direct: I know not what can be &s;aid of any weight again&s;t it: Such a Con&s;truction had been but according to their own Rule: <HI>Chri&s;tianum unumquemque pium debere promptiore animo Sententiam &s;eu Pro|po&s;itionem ob&s;curam alterius in bonam trahere par|tem, quam damnare,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Exercit. Spirit.</HI> p. 65. edit. <HI>Ant.</HI> 1676. 8^o^. which had been more worthy of our Author's Ob&s;ervation. Nor do I &s;ee any rea&s;on to alledge, as an In&s;tance or Proof of their Fanatici&s;m, that Cu&s;tom of <HI>Ignatius</HI> and his Companions, related by <HI>Orlan|dinus, lib.</HI> 1. <HI>n.</HI> 111. <HI>viz. In any matter of De|bate they were to joyn together in Prayer; and after &s;eeking God, what Opinion the most were of, that they re&s;olve upon.</HI> Where was the Fault in this? in joyning in Prayer? or in agreeing with the Majority? If the <HI>Odium</HI> of the Name will excu&s;e any thing with the vulgar; yet it
<PB N="40" REF="170">becomes neither Chri&s;tianity, nor Ingenuity, nor is it con&s;i&s;tent with true Prudence, to con|de&s;cend to &s;uch mean Objections. <HI>Over-doing</HI> doth often &s;poil a good Work, and di&s;parage and di&s;credit the Author. The <HI>Errors and Mi&s;|carriages of Devout People</HI> ought to be pitied, mentioned with Grief, and not expo&s;ed beyond Truth or Nece&s;&s;ity: For that makes &s;port for the Devils and wicked Men; gives Scandal to weak Men; promotes Uncharitablene&s;s and Irreligion; and di&s;compo&s;eth and di&s;ordereth the Spirit of him that doth it. He who judgeth others, ought to take care that they ri&s;e not up in Judgment hereafter again&s;t him&s;elf. How will that Fanatici&s;m, which carries Men to the farthe&s;t part of the World for the Conver&s;ion of Infidels to Chri&s;tianity, ri&s;e up in Judgment again&s;t them, who &s;uffer their own Pari&s;hes and Dioce&s;&s;es of profe&s;&s;ed Chri&s;tians at home, to &s;ink into Infidelity, for want of due Care and &s;ufficient In&s;truction? And how will the Exce&s;s of Devotion (if it be &s;o) in &s;ome Spi|ritual Writers, ri&s;e up in Judgment again&s;t &s;uch as will be found to have given occa&s;ion to Te|pidity, Carele&s;&s;ne&s;s, and Neglect of the mo&s;t Spiritual Exerci&s;es of Religion?</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="observations">
<PB N="41" REF="170">
<HEAD>NOTES and OBSER|VATIONS to di&s;cern <HI>Illu&s;ions,</HI> from <HI>Divine In|&s;pirations.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THERE is another part of the Quarrel, which our Author hath to this <HI>My&s;tical Divinity,</HI> be&s;ides that, that it is unintelligible, as he &s;ays, <HI>viz.</HI> That it leads Per&s;ons into &s;trange <HI>Illu&s;ions</HI> of Fancy; which he takes to be a great Injury, not only to tho&s;e Melancholy Souls that are led through this Valley of Shades and Darkne&s;s; but to the Chri|&s;tian Religion it &s;elf. Which, if true, is a ju&s;t Cau&s;e of Quarrel indeed: But if well con&s;ider'd, no greater Cau&s;e than others have again&s;t the <HI>Holy Scriptures,</HI> becau&s;e &s;ome wre&s;t them to their own De&s;truction, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.16. It is true, many Per&s;ons have been impos'd upon by their own Fancies; and many more by Satan transformed into an Angel of Light: but mu&s;t we therefore deny that there are any true <HI>Divine Illuminations, In&s;pirations, Motions,</HI> or <HI>Com|munications?</HI> It is therefore very nece&s;&s;ary to be well con&s;idered, How they may be di&s;tingui&s;hed. And becau&s;e <HI>O. N.</HI> in the Book which our Author an&s;wers, hath a Di&s;cour&s;e on that Subject, which hath pa&s;&s;ed his Examination without any hard cen&s;ure, which is an implicit Approbation, that may not im|properly here be added.</P>
<PB N="42" REF="171">
<P> FOR the di&s;cerning of &s;uch <HI>Illu&s;ions,</HI> proceeding from <HI>Satan,</HI> from the true <HI>In&s;pirations</HI> of <HI>God's Holy Spirit,</HI> we affirm, That many <HI>Notes and Ob&s;ervations</HI> there be, whereby they may be known, if not cer|tainly whether Divine, as to their Original; (where no Spirit of Prophecy or Miracles:) yet whether containing Truth, and advancing Vertue, as to the Matter; and whether any way noxious and hurtful, either to the Per&s;on that receives them, or others. And this is abundantly &s;ufficient. Now for the&s;e <HI>Notes</HI> of di&s;cerning them, I need referr the Reader to no other Book then to the Doctor's Martyr, <HI>Sancta Sophia,</HI> (though he was plea&s;ed to take no notice of them there) in the <HI>Preface,</HI> from &sect;. 29. to &sect;. 35. Again, in the <HI>third Treati&s;e,</HI> p. 268. from &sect;. 9. to &sect;. 22. where, after directing a &s;trict Ob&s;ervation to be made concerning the Per&s;on, whether, 1. vici|ou&s;ly inclin'd; 2. arrogant and proud; or, 3. curi|ous; 4. or much addicted to melancholy, there are particularly ca&s;t off, and marked out for <HI>Satanical Illu&s;ions;</HI> among others, the&s;e: <Q><HI>All &s;uch</HI> pretended In&s;pirations or Revelations as do invite the Per&s;on to &s;ay or do any thing contrary to the Catholick Faith, Obedience, Humility, Peace, and Unity, Ho|ne&s;ty, Purity, and <HI>any other Divine Vertue:</HI></Q> but e&s;pe|cially <HI>contrary to the Catholick Faith, or Obedience;</HI> for in&s;tance, as the <HI>attempting to make any new and &s;editious Reformations;</HI> as likewi&s;e, when the Per&s;ons <HI>ob&s;tinately believe the&s;e Revelations to be of God, after they have been condemned by experienced Superiors and Directors.</HI> All &s;uch, I &s;ay, are condemned for <HI>Satanical</HI> Illu&s;ions, which cuts all the nerves of all &s;uch pretended Reve|lations as can any way di&s;turb the <HI>Church's Faith, or Peace;</HI> and mo&s;t of all, of tho&s;e Enthu&s;ia&s;ms and Fa|natick
<PB N="43" REF="171">Frenzies which have been &s;o common among <HI>Prote&s;tants.</HI>&mdash; &sect;. 14.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, in all the&s;e Preten&s;ions, where there is any greater difficulty of di&s;cerning the <HI>Good</HI> and <HI>Di|vine</HI> from the <HI>Bad</HI> and <HI>Satanical</HI> Spirit, we have a judge to repair to, the <HI>Governours</HI> of the <HI>Church; The Spirits of the Prophets,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Paul, are &s;ubject to the Prophets.</HI>&mdash; &sect;. 15.</P>
<P>But there are other Influences and In&s;pirations of the &s;ame Spirit, directing us al&s;o in <HI>Actions in their own nature Indifferent, or of Coun&s;el,</HI> and on either &s;ide lawful, and free from Sin; &s;ome of which In&s;pi|rations cannot be tried, or di&s;tingui&s;hed from En|thu&s;ia&s;m, by any &s;uch way as the former; which, be|cau&s;e they are much &s;poken of by the My&s;ticks, and are very nece&s;&s;ary for advancing Chri&s;tians in the way of Perfection, it &s;eems requi&s;ite, for the freeing the&s;e al&s;o from Mi&s;takes, to give the Reader here &s;ome ac|count of them. &sect;. 18.</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t know then (as <HI>Sancta Sophia,</HI> Tr. 1. p. 57. and others have di&s;cour&s;ed more at large) that there are <HI>two Spirits within us;</HI> (that is, all the Regenerate) the <HI>Holy Spirit,</HI> and that of <HI>Corrupt</HI> Na|ture a&s;&s;i&s;ted with the Sugge&s;tions of the Devil, who took a kind of Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of us upon <HI>Adam</HI>'s Fall, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.2. That this la&s;t Spirit is never totally expell'd or &s;ilenc'd in us during this Life; but tempts us &s;till, <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.17. And that its Sugge&s;tions may appear many times like the Motions of God's Spirit; pretending Good Ends, the performing &s;ome Duty to our &s;elves or our Neighbour, our advancement in Vertue, and the like: That the Effect of the fir&s;t of the&s;e Spirits, Sanctifying Grace, received in our Regeneration or ju&s;tification, is, in its infu&s;ion, ordinarily but as a &s;mall <HI>S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ed,</HI> 1 John 3.9. 1 Pet. 1.23. Mat. 13.31,
<PB N="44" REF="172">33. or &s;park, capable of a daily growth and in|crea&s;e; and which, with the co-operation of our Free will, and further Aids, that are from time to time received from God, works in us at length a total Reformation, and Chri&s;tian Perfection; which &s;o many among the Regenerate as do attain, are &s;aid in a more &s;pecial mannner to be <HI>Spiritual</HI> Per&s;ons, and to have the <HI>Spirit of God:</HI> And i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> this &s;en&s;e the Apo&s;tle writes to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI>&mdash; <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> Brethren, could not &s;peak unto you as to Spiritual, but as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> Carnal, and as to Babes in Christ,</HI> 1 Cor. 3.1. an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;o, ver. 3. <HI>For ye are yet Carnal, and Walk according to Man:</HI> that is, ye are Babes only in Chri&s;t, and i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> in &s;ome degree Carnal, and walking according to the natural Man &s;till, and not as yet entirely <HI>Spiritual</HI> And frequent mention we find in the Scriptures <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> the&s;e &s;everal <HI>Degrees</HI> and <HI>Growths</HI> in a <HI>Regeneral</HI> Condition. (It being God's Plea&s;ure, that the Ne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Man, as the Old, &s;hould grow by degrees, and not b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> made compleat in us all at once.) Mention, I &s;ay of &s;ome <HI>Babes</HI> and little ones, and to be fed as yet only with <HI>Milk:</HI> Of <HI>&s;trong Meat,</HI> and <HI>Wi&s;dom,</HI> and higher My&s;teries, only to be delivered to, and <HI>&s;poken amongst, the Perfect.</HI> See <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.12, 13. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.1: 1.2, 6. <HI>Of growing in Grace,</HI> and <HI>re|ceiving Increa&s;e from God,</HI> 2 Pet. 3.18. Col. 2.19 Of <HI>the new Man being renewed day by day,</HI> 2 Cor. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word">.16. Of arriving <HI>to a perfect Man unto the mea&s;ure <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> the Stature</HI> (or Age) <HI>of the Fulne&s;s of Christ,</HI> Eph. 4.13. Of the Apo&s;tles labouring <HI>to pre&s;ent every <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> perfect in Christ Je&s;us,</HI> and <HI>that they might &s;tand perfect and full in all the Will of God,</HI> Col. 1.28: 4.12. and of this Perfection &s;till containing in it higher and higher degrees; <HI>Not as if I had already attained,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.12.</P>
<PB N="45" REF="172">
<P> Though therefore by this Principle of a New Life, and the infu&s;ion of the habitual Grace of Charity, we are already tran&s;lated from the former being of corrupt Nature to a Divine being of Supernatural Grace, freed, at the fir&s;t, from the former &s;tate of Mortal Sin, and from the Slavery and Captivity we &s;uffered under its Dominion; yet hath not this Spirit as yet attained &s;uch a &s;overaign Empire and Ma&s;tery over the importunate Solicitations of <HI>Concupi&s;cence,</HI> and the <HI>natural</HI> Inclinations of our Will and Affecti|ons, as that we do not &s;till fall frequently into many <HI>le&s;&s;er,</HI> and tho&s;e call'd <HI>Venial</HI> Sins; or at lea&s;t, as to Actions that are not &s;inful, but in their nature in|different, or lawful, that we do not, for the mo&s;t part, &s;till pro&s;ecute tho&s;e that are more grateful, or advantageous to our pre&s;ent Carnal de&s;ires, and our Sen&s;ual or &s;ecular de&s;igns: Though &s;uch Actions are no way <HI>expedient</HI> for us, nor acceptable to the <HI>Holy Spirit,</HI> in which now we live; nor do conduce to our <HI>growth</HI> in Grace, but are great hinderances thereof; and though the&s;e Acts, contained indeed within the compa&s;s of lawful, yet often expo&s;e us to <HI>Occa&s;ions of Sin.</HI> Now, &s;o long as we &s;tay here, and advance no further, we appear but as Infants, and Babes in Grace, it having not as yet obtained its perfect Reign in us, either over our <HI>Concupi&s;cence,</HI> which carries us &s;till into frequent venial Sins; or over our <HI>Nature</HI> and <HI>Will,</HI> which carries us, in other matters lawful, to tho&s;e &s;atisfying our <HI>natural</HI> Condition. But, when we are come to have <HI>pote&s;tatem voluntatis no&s;trae,</HI> as St. <HI>Paul</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.37. come once to act &s;eldom according to <GAP DESC="foreign">, Concupi&s;cence, to fall &s;eldom into Venial Sin, e&s;pecially with adver|tency and un&s;urpri&s;ed; and the Holy Spirit to have a more ab&s;olute power over <HI>Sen&s;e, Rea&s;on,</HI> our own
<PB N="46" REF="173"><HI>Will, Propriety,</HI> and <HI>Self-love,</HI> as to the&s;e things lawful but not expedient; when come to St. <HI>Paul's omnia mihi licent, &s;ed ego &s;ub nullius redigar pote&s;tate</HI> 1 Cor. 6.12. and to his <HI>corpus in &s;ervitem redigo</HI> 1 Cor. 9.27. and to act more con&s;tantly ac|cording to the Spirit, moving now more per|ceptibly in us, and giving the Law to us, when Grace is, as to the&s;e non-expedients, al&s;o predominant, and &s;ole Mi&s;tre&s;s; ordering all things (without our re|luctance, or al&s;o with our zeal,) to the greater Love, Prai&s;e, Honour of God, and the doing of all things in order to his <HI>Will,</HI> &s;o far as it is made known to us by this his <HI>Spirit,</HI> then are we arrived to a <HI>full</HI> growth, to a <HI>compleat Man in Christ,</HI> to a &s;tate of <HI>Perfection,</HI> &s;uch as this Life attains: but few Regenerate there are that do not, by their own di&s;orders, die in their Spiritual Youth, before they come to &s;uch a mature Age. As therefore, in our Regeneration, a Man is removed from the &s;tate of <HI>Sin</HI> into the &s;tate of <HI>Grace,</HI> &s;o the Church de&s;ires in that which is called (from &s;ome high My&s;teries it &s;peaks of as to the &s;upream Effects of this Grace) <HI>My&s;tical Theology,</HI> to advance tho&s;e, already in the &s;tate of <HI>Grace,</HI> to that of <HI>Per|fection;</HI> and from the Spirit Dwelling, to it more ab&s;olutely Reigning in us, which finds &s;o many great Rewards, not only in the next, but this pre&s;ent Life. &sect;. 19.</P>
<P N="2">2. We mu&s;t know therefore, That to &s;uch end this <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> received in our Regeneration a&s;&s;i&s;teth and worketh in us, not only as to affording generally to all good Chri&s;tians that &s;eriou&s;ly endeavour to &s;ave their Souls, &s;uch <HI>internal Illuminations</HI> and <HI>Motions</HI> as are &s;ufficient to direct them for the <HI>re&s;i&s;ting</HI> of any <HI>&s;inful</HI> Temptation, or to perform any <HI>nece&s;&s;ary act</HI> of Vertue, in Circum&s;tances wherein they are <HI>obliged</HI> to
<PB N="47" REF="173">it; but al&s;o, in affording us Light and Ability in all <HI>indifferent</HI> Actions and Occurrences, (with which may be al&s;o joyned all the Acts of Chri&s;tian Vertues, when no nece&s;&s;ity obligeth us to do any of them, and &s;o when it is lawful for us, without Sin, to do or omit them) whereby we are guided to make &s;uch a Choice, as is more conformable to God's Will, and, parti|cular Circum&s;tances con&s;idered, may much more ad|vance us in the Love of God, and Chri&s;tian Perfe|ction, and whereby we may avoid &s;uch other of them as may be &s;ugge&s;ted, either by <HI>corrupt Nature,</HI> or the <HI>evil Spirit,</HI> under pretence al&s;o of &s;ome Good End, but to defeat a Better. For the <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> excites us and a&s;&s;i&s;ts us, not only in doing Duties of nece&s;&s;ary obligation, or in the avoiding what is prohibited, and performing what is commanded by God under pe|nalty of Sin; but in all the&s;e Acts al&s;o, that may any way tend more to God's Glory, or to our greater Perfection; though the&s;e be &s;uch as we may without &s;inning chu&s;e or refu&s;e.</P>
<P>For in this I may &s;ay, that the <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> in us is like to <HI>Concupi&s;cence</HI> in us; the one continually ex|citing us unto that which is <HI>Better,</HI> as the other to that which is <HI>Wor&s;e.</HI> See the Apo&s;tles de&s;cription of the&s;e two inmates, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.16, 17, 18. where he &s;aith, v. 7. that <HI>Spiritus concupi&s;cit adver&s;us Carnem, &amp; Caro adver&s;us Spiritum</HI>&mdash; and that <HI>&s;ibi invicem adver&s;antur.</HI> And <HI>ibid.</HI> v. 18. as al&s;o <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.14. That tho&s;e who are God's Children, or Regenerate, <HI>aguntur Spiritu, are acted by the Spirit:</HI> It <HI>guides</HI> us into <HI>Truth,</HI> Jo. 16.13. <HI>brings</HI> things for|gotten to our <HI>Remembrance,</HI> Jo. 14.26. gives <HI>Know|ledge</HI> and Arguments to one, <HI>Act.</HI> 6.10. <HI>&V;tterance</HI> and Eloquence, and the power to <HI>per&s;wade,</HI> to another, <HI>Act.</HI> 2.4. To another <HI>Wi&s;dom,</HI> or a good Judgment,
<PB N="48" REF="174">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.5: 12.8, 9, 28. Prudence in <HI>Governing,</HI> in executing anothers Commands, <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.6, 7. To another Courage, and <HI>Boldne&s;s,</HI> Act. 4.29, 31. It <HI>opens</HI> Mens <HI>&V;nder&s;tandings</HI> and <HI>Hearts,</HI> and renders them docile, and apt to believe, <HI>Luk.</HI> 24.8. <HI>Act.</HI> 16.14. <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.18. What is there that is not done in us by this <HI>Holy Spirit,</HI> when we are employed about any thing that tends to the Glorifying of <HI>God, the Father,</HI> or the <HI>Son?</HI> So is our regenerate Life wholly managed by this <HI>Spirit,</HI> as the Natural is by the <HI>Soul;</HI> and, if not ob&s;tructed, works in us a continual <HI>growth in Grace,</HI> till we come to a perfect Man in Chri&s;t, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.18. <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.13. Therefore the Apo&s;tle exhorts his Converts, <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.25. that as <HI>they live</HI> (their new Life) <HI>in, or by, the Spirit, &s;o they would walk in it,</HI> (according to its directions:) And that they would <HI>mind or affect the things of the Spirit,</HI> (or the things it minds them of:) Becau&s;e, <GAP DESC="foreign">, within them is <HI>Death</HI> in the end; but the <GAP DESC="foreign">, within them is <HI>Life</HI> and <HI>Peace</HI> to them: Exhorts them al&s;o, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.30. with no <HI>corrupt</HI> and fruitle&s;s <HI>Communication to contri&s;tate or grieve this Spirit.</HI>&mdash; Tim. 4.14. <HI>not to neglect it.</HI>&mdash; 1 Cor. 15.10. <HI>That it &s;hould not be void</HI> (or idle) in them&mdash; 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.19. <HI>not to quench it.</HI> Eph. 5.18. To <HI>repleni&s;h</HI> them&s;elves with <HI>it.</HI> And 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.6. continually to <HI>revive</HI> it&mdash; <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.11. to be <HI>fervent in it;</HI> without which the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.5. <HI>we cannot think a good Thought;</HI> and our Lord <HI>Jo.</HI> 15 5. <HI>that we can do nothing.</HI> &sect;. 20.</P>
<P N="3">3. The&s;e Actions of the latter kind, we are now &s;peaking of, that may be lawfully done, or omitted, the one or the other performed, without any guilt of Sin, are either &s;uch, as, by the Evangelical Coun|&s;els, and the dictate of rectified Rea&s;on, are <HI>clearly</HI>
<PB N="49" REF="174">di&s;cerned by us; the one to be <HI>better,</HI> and more to lead to Chri&s;tian Perfection than the other; or &s;uch, where we have &s;ome <HI>doubt</HI> of the&s;e two Actions, good or lawful, which is the better, or more expe|dient. In the former of the&s;e we may &s;afely con|clude, that that which is <HI>manifest</HI> to us to be the better, as to our Perfection, is the motion in us of the <HI>Holy Spirit;</HI> and that the doing it, is the doing the <HI>Will of God</HI> in this matter; and that &s;o often as we reject or neglect this, &s;o often we <HI>contri&s;tate</HI> the <HI>Spirit,</HI> (that would thus conduct us to Perfection,) and re|fu&s;e to do <HI>God's Will,</HI> when this is known to us; who&s;e Will it ought always to be pre&s;umed to be, that we &s;hould do that which is clear to us, all things con&s;idered, to be be&s;t, for his Glory, and our Good, to be done; though &s;uch omi&s;&s;ion or neglect amounts not to a Sin, but to a Failing &s;o much in Perfection. And indeed the not vigilantly ob&s;erving the&s;e <HI>Mo|tions of the Spirit</HI> within us, and the not hearkening to and obeying them when evident to be &s;uch, or al&s;o the not precon&s;ulting by Prayer what it advi&s;eth, but rather precipitating our Action to prevent it, is the rea&s;on of &s;o many their no greater Improve|ment in the Spirit, and that they are &s;uch &s;trangers to it, and It to them, is a check to the further and &s;tronger operations of it in the Soul; (for, Who would offer Coun&s;el, &s;eldom or never accepted, or asked?) abates the Fervour and Solace that there would be in pro&s;ecuting its Sugge&s;tions, and leaves us guilty of much Unkindne&s;s and Ingratitude. For, as St. <HI>Bernard, Cum hae Sancti Spiritus circa nos di&s;pen&s;atoriae quidem vici&s;&s;itudines vigilanti&s;&s;ime non ob&s;ervantur, fit, ut nec ab&s;entem de&s;ideres, nec pre&s;entem glorifices,</HI> in Cant. Serm. 17. <HI>When the&s;e conde&s;cending vici&s;&s;itne&s;s concern|ing us are not most watchfully heeded, it comes to pa&s;s
<PB N="50" REF="175">that thou dost neither de&s;ire him when ab&s;ent, nor glorifie him when pre&s;ent.</HI></P>
<P>But in the latter Actions, wherein we have &s;ome cau&s;e of doubt, which is be&s;t, and yet wherein the making a good choice may be exceedingly beneficial to us, (according to the variety of our Temper and Condition) to the better ordering of our Life and Service of God, &s;uch Illumination and Direction of the <HI>Holy Spirit,</HI> or al&s;o a <HI>clear di&s;cerning</HI> thereof, is obtained e&s;pecially by much <HI>Purity</HI> of Conver&s;ation, and <HI>Ab&s;traction</HI> from Worldly things; by frequent <HI>Recollection,</HI> and Introver&s;ion, and attendance on God, in the perfecte&s;t Practice of <HI>Prayer</HI> we can attain to. For God hath graciou&s;ly declared to us in the Scriptures; <HI>That the effectual Prayer of a Righteous man</HI> (as that of <HI>Elias</HI>) <HI>availeth much,</HI> Jam. 5.17. <HI>That he heareth not Sinners,</HI> but <HI>if any one be a Wor&s;hipper of him, and doth his Will, him he heareth,</HI> Jo. 9.31. That <HI>all things what&s;oever we &s;hall ask in Prayer,</HI> (that is, &s;uch Per|&s;ons) <HI>not doubting, but believing, we &s;hall receive them,</HI> Mat. 21.22. Mar. 11.23. That <HI>if we abide in Chri&s;t, and he in us, ask what we will, and it &s;hall be done unto us,</HI> Jo. 15.7. (becau&s;e indeed &s;uch ask by the Spirit of Chri&s;t, who liveth in them, and &s;o ask according to God's Will.) That <HI>if we keep his Commandments, and do what is plea&s;ing in God's</HI> &s;ight, <HI>what-ever we ask we receive of him,</HI> 1 Jo. 3.22. That <HI>if we ask any thing according to his Will he heareth us,</HI> (and grants our reque&s;ts,) 1 Jo. 5.14. that <HI>though we know not what we &s;hould de&s;ire, or pray for as we ought,</HI> Rom. 8.26, 27. (that is, as to temporal Pro&s;perity, or Af|flictions, or &s;uch like things, of which St. <HI>Paul</HI> there &s;peaks, what therein is be&s;t for God's Glory, or our own Proficiency) yet the <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> within us with <HI>unutterable Groans</HI> and great Ardour <HI>interceedeth for
<PB N="51" REF="175">us</HI> according to God's Will; and <HI>that God knoweth its Mind,</HI> (though not expre&s;&s;ed in Words) and granteth its reque&s;ts: that the &s;ame <HI>Spirit &s;earcheth the profound things of God,</HI> (and what is his Will) and <HI>revealeth</HI> them to us; that natural Rea&s;on is not able to under&s;tand them, but they many times &s;eem <HI>Fooli&s;hne&s;s</HI> to it: but the things of the Spirit are <HI>di&s;cerned</HI> only by the Spirit, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.10. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Mo&s;t of which Texts &s;eem to be &s;poken, not only of our petitioning God concerning the nece&s;&s;ary means of our or others Salvation; but more univer&s;ally of all &s;orts of Reque&s;ts concerning the things of this Life, and any things that are in their nature indifferent, and lawful; and of his Spirit directing us to ask and do in them what is his Will; and of his grant|ing tho&s;e to us which may be be&s;t for us; wherein God heareth, and granteth the Petitions of his Saints much &s;ooner than of others. &sect;. 21.</P>
<P>I &s;ay then, &s;ince God in the Scriptures hath de|clared the&s;e things, and made the&s;e Promi&s;es, that he will not deny what we ask according to his Will, we may rationally pre&s;ume and be piou&s;ly confident, that he will grant our Reque&s;t, when this is, only to <HI>know</HI> his <HI>Will,</HI> that we may do that which is according to it; and we may &s;afely take that for his Will, to which, after &s;uch Addre&s;&s;es, and other due Prepa|rations made, we &s;hall find our &s;elves more &s;trongly inclined; and al&s;o take &s;uch Inclination to proceed from the Operation of God's Spirit, either illumi|nating &s;ometimes our Under&s;tanding, in di&s;covering to it &s;ome Rea&s;ons not &s;o well di&s;cerned; or el&s;e di&s;e&s;teemed, and thought incon&s;iderable before; Or &s;ometimes more confirming to us the Judgment our own Rea&s;on made of the thing before: Or &s;ometimes effecting a &s;trong and &s;uddenly injected Inclination
<PB N="52" REF="176">in the Will, &s;o &s;wayed without any preceeding Rea|&s;ons, or di&s;cour&s;e of the Intellect pre&s;ented (to) it: Or &s;ometimes cau&s;ing an extraordinary Tranquility, Con&s;olation, and Satisfaction to accompany &s;uch our Election; (According to the Rule of Abbot <HI>I&s;aac</HI> in <HI>Ca&s;&s;ian,</HI> Collat. 9. c. 32. <HI>Cum orantes nos nulla interpellaverit hae&s;itatio, &s;i obtinui&s;&s;e nos in ip&s;a orationis effu&s;ione, quod po&s;cimus, &s;en&s;erimus, non ambigamus preces no&s;tras ad Deum efficaciter penetra&s;&s;e;</HI> where note, that the Devil, or any Creature, cannot work &s;o imme|diately and intimately on our Under&s;tanding and Will, as God's Spirit doth; but by the u&s;e of Phan|ta&s;ms, or Images; of the Spirits, Humours, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>) Or, where no &s;uch preponderation to any &s;ide is per|ceived in the Soul, then we may pre&s;ume this to be his Will, that, making u&s;e of our be&s;t Rea&s;on, or others Advice, without any Solicitude, we take either &s;ide. &sect;. 22.</P>
<P>Now, in the di&s;cerning of the&s;e <HI>Divine Illuminations</HI> and <HI>In&s;pirations,</HI> from <HI>Enthu&s;ia&s;ms;</HI> or the <HI>Motions of the Good,</HI> from tho&s;e of our <HI>own,</HI> or a <HI>Bad Spirit,</HI> in the&s;e matters; as any one hath attained to a greater Perfection in Prayer, and Mortification and Purity of Life, they attain hereby a greater mea&s;ure of God's Spirit, and hence its Illuminations and In|&s;pirings in them are al&s;o much greater and &s;tronger, and more intimately effective on the Soul, than any other Motions, from whence&s;oever they come, can be; and &s;o al&s;o the&s;e become more evident to &s;uch, and many times are &s;o clearly di&s;cerned by them, from the Supernatural impre&s;&s;ion they make upon the Soul, as that it cannot re&s;i&s;t, disbelieve, or any way doubt of them, that they are Supernatural and Divine. So St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> relates of his Mother <HI>Monica,</HI> that &s;he clearly knew &s;uch Supernatural actings in her
<PB N="53" REF="176">from her own Imaginations; <HI>Dicebat enim, di&s;cernere &s;e ne&s;cio quo &s;apore, quem verbis explicare non poterat, quid intere&s;&s;et inter revelantem Te, &amp; animam &s;uam &s;omnian|tem,</HI> Confe&s;&s;. l. 6. c. 13. <HI>For &s;he &s;aid, &s;he did di&s;cern, by I know not what Savour, which &s;he could not explain in words, what difference there is between Thee revealing, and her own Soul dreaming.</HI> And indeed, if &s;uch in|terior Divine Operations were not &s;ometimes cer|tainly di&s;cernable, how could St. <HI>Paul</HI> be a&s;&s;ured, when he intended to Preach the Word in <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> and again in <HI>Bithynia,</HI> (a mo&s;t Charitable de&s;ign!) that the <HI>Spirit</HI> forbad it; and not rather the Enemy of the publi&s;hing of the Go&s;pel? <HI>Act.</HI> 16.6, 7. or, That it was <HI>by Revelation,</HI> and not a Fancy of his, that he a&s;cended to <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> Gal. 2.2. or, That it was the <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> that <HI>te&s;tified,</HI> and not Mens Fears, that much Affliction &s;hould happen to him there? <HI>Act.</HI> 20.23. How the <HI>Corinthians</HI> knew, when they had a Revelation, that it was not a work of their own Imagination? &s;ince all the&s;e things were tran&s;acted only interiourly in the Soul, and it was the <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> only, that in all the&s;e gave the Evidence to it &s;elf. A certain A&s;&s;urance then, it cannot be denyed, that &s;ome at &s;ometimes may have of Divine Operations in them. But yet it is not affirmed here, that all Per&s;ons, le&s;s advanced in Prayer, and Purity of Life, or al&s;o the greate&s;t Saints at all times, di&s;cern the Operations of the Holy Spirit within them &s;o clearly in this &s;ort of Actions, as not to be &s;ometimes mi&s;taken; and it is &s;ufficient, that Per&s;ons piou&s;ly di&s;po&s;ed, and frequent in Prayer, may have a rational pre&s;umption of it, as hath been &s;aid. Neither is any more communicated unto them, perhaps, for the better pre&s;erving of their Humility. And that no ab&s;olute Certitude is herein
<PB N="54" REF="177">to be expected, is a thing often confe&s;&s;ed by <HI>Sancta Sophia.</HI> See 1 Vol. p. 139. and p. 137. &sect;. 23.</P>
<P N="4">4. But in ca&s;e &s;uch Divine In&s;pirations be &s;ometimes mi&s;taken, yet can no damage come there|by, I mean as to committing any Sin; 1. The Subject of them we &s;peak of here being Matters in them&s;elves indifferent, and on any &s;ide lawful. See <HI>Sancta Sophia</HI> 1 Vol. p. 143. 2. No Command of Superiors in the&s;e any way neglected. 3. No Neg|lect, be&s;ides u&s;ing Prayer, in practi&s;ing any other means of making a &s;ecure Choice, either in weighing Rea&s;ons on all &s;ides, or taking Advice from others: Only the devout Soul, in u&s;ing the&s;e endeavours, yet relies not on them, but on the Directions of <HI>God's Holy Spirit,</HI> working continually in the <HI>Regenerate,</HI> both by prevenient and &s;ub&s;equent Grace; makes no &s;udden Re&s;olutions, nor ru&s;hes ha&s;tily upon any Action; but diligently hearkens fir&s;t to this internal Guide, what it may tell her is be&s;t; de&s;iring faith|fully, all natural Pa&s;&s;ions and Self-love laid a&s;ide, to corre&s;pond with all its Motions; the careful Ob|&s;ervers of which, with a pure Intention of Mind, may be ju&s;tly pre&s;umed &s;eldom to want them, though they do not &s;o certainly know them; and mean while &s;uch Per&s;ons, if not free always from Mi&s;takes, yet are &s;ecure in this &s;ort of Actions we &s;peak of, from entertaining any <HI>&s;inful Enthu&s;ia&s;m;</HI> or &s;uch, as any other Per&s;on (except by Divine In|&s;piration) can either cen&s;ure or di&s;cover. &sect;. 24.</P>
<P><HI>Here the Author proceeds to another Di&s;cour&s;e, which being no le&s;s nece&s;&s;ary for this purpo&s;e, than pertinent to the Subject of</HI> My&s;tick Divinity, <HI>it may be both proper for this place, and al&s;o u&s;eful and grateful to many devout People, to add part of it. It is of</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="directions">
<PB N="55" REF="177">
<HEAD>Directions <HI>given by</HI> Spiritual Writers <HI>concerning</HI> Prayer <HI>and</HI> Devotion.</HEAD>
<P><HI>FIRST for Preparation for</HI> Prayer, <HI>they are advi&s;ed</HI> (1.) to a &s;erious Endeavour <HI>at all times</HI> to keep their Con&s;cience clear from <HI>all</HI> Sin, <HI>even the lea&s;t,</HI> as much as Humane Frailty permits; and to a Care of avoiding the <HI>Occa&s;ions</HI> thereof; without which Endeavours our Devotions cannot be acceptable to God, as to the receiving from him any great plenty of his Grace: And (2.) at times of Prayer to Ab&s;traction from all Secular Bu&s;ine&s;s, Recollection of the Mind and Thoughts from all Creatures, and all Objects of the Exterior Sen&s;es.</P>
<P>And <HI>then to begin at first with</HI> Forms for all Oc|ca&s;ions of <HI>Vocal Prayer,</HI> where Novices, <HI>&s;aith he,</HI> begin, and which the mo&s;t perfect al&s;o frequently return to. &sect;. 25.</P>
<P>From the&s;e they are led on to <HI>Mental Prayer;</HI> in which the Ce&s;&s;ation from External Action ren|ders the Inward more attent and affective; more free from Di&s;traction of the Sen&s;es, and from the Wandring of the Thoughts. For this many u&s;eful Subjects of <HI>Meditation</HI> are recommended, chiefly touching our own Mi&s;ery, the My&s;teries of our Salvation, and the Divine Perfections.: 1. Of
<PB N="56" REF="178">their Natural Condition, the Heinou&s;ne&s;s of Sin, the Divine Ju&s;tice, the bitter Pa&s;&s;ion of our Lord in Satisfaction for Sin, the Terrors of Death, Judg|ment, and Hell, to plant in them the Due Fear of God, and advance in them all &s;orts of Mortification and Purification from all Habits of Sin. 2. Of the Life of our Lord, and the Lives of his Saints, for Imitation and Growth in Vertue. And, 3. of the Divine Perfections and Benefits, both received and promi&s;ed; of the Graces and Operations of the Holy Gho&s;t in us, and the Abilities for doing Good and plea&s;ing God re&s;tored to Man by it, if atten|tively ob&s;erved and obeyed; to advance them in all Spiritual Grace and Chri&s;tian Perfection, and to enkindle in them an ardent <HI>Love</HI> of God; the Ac|qui&s;ition of which Love, and not of <HI>Knowledge,</HI> being chiefly de&s;igned in them. &sect;. 26.</P>
<P>When by the Practice of the&s;e Meditations they are well prepared, they are directed, by laying more a&s;ide their former <HI>Rea&s;onings</HI> and Di&s;cour&s;ings of the Brain, (with the frequent &s;troaks of which they have already kindled this Fire in the Heart) how to ex|erci&s;e the&s;e Affections now, in that Le&s;&s;on <HI>of Loving God with all the Heart, and all the Soul, and all the Mind, and all the Strength,</HI> Luke 10.27. in a more &s;imple and quiet Intuition and Contemplation, Adver|tency and Admiration of the Divine Beauty, and Perfections; and in more fervent and amorous Colloquies with God; in Prai&s;ing, Thanking, So|lacing her &s;elf with him, whil&s;t &s;he ca&s;ts her eye upon his infinite Mercies <HI>past</HI> and <HI>promi&s;ed;</HI> in ma|ny Re&s;olutions for the future to &s;erve him better, and no more &s;o to grieve and offend him; in offer|ing all &s;he hath, &s;he can do, or &s;uffer, to his Service; and in putting her &s;elf in a po&s;ture of Silence and
<PB N="57" REF="178">Attention, to hear what he may be plea&s;ed to &s;peak to and in her: &s;peak to her, not only in Guiding and Admoni&s;hing in all nece&s;&s;ary Duty, but al&s;o in things indifferent, or al&s;o good, but not nece&s;&s;ary, when &s;everal of them happen to fall under delibera|tion; in which &s;he al&s;o de&s;ires to be in&s;tructed by him, that &s;he may &s;till chu&s;e and do, that which may better plea&s;e him, and wherein his Holy Will may be more perfectly accompli&s;hed. &sect;. 27.</P>
<P>Which <HI>Acts</HI> of <HI>Love,</HI> when once to a competent degree facilitated in us, as they fill the Soul with great <HI>Con&s;olations,</HI> &s;o they exceedingly help to ad|vance it in all Chri&s;tian Duties and <HI>Vertues.</HI> For <HI>Love</HI> will not be idle, and works in us now with much more Fidelity and Alacrity, as doing all things not out of Fear, but Affection; and not to obey, but plea&s;e her <HI>Beloved,</HI> and gain from him al&s;o a reciprocal Love. And when a Soul is arrived &s;o far, through the con&s;tant Exerci&s;e and Cu&s;tom of <HI>Prayer,</HI> and other <HI>Mortifications</HI> nece&s;&s;ary to it, that the&s;e Acts of <HI>Love,</HI> and of the <HI>Will,</HI> (of which there are many &s;everal <HI>Degrees</HI> &s;urpa&s;&s;ing one another) are rendered ea&s;ie and frequent, and upon every Occa&s;ion &s;peedily re&s;umed, without any or much preceedent meditation; which <HI>Acts</HI> before were diffi|cult and rare: And when the Soul, by rea&s;on of the greater Sweetne&s;s &s;he finds in this latter af|fective Meditation, as I may call it, returns not to the former inventive Meditation without &s;ome re|luctance, this is the fir&s;t Entrance into that which is &s;tiled a <HI>State of Perfection,</HI> &s;uch as Humane Indu|&s;try attains; namely, wherein the Will a&s;&s;i&s;ted with Grace excites it &s;elf to the&s;e <HI>Acts of Love</HI> and <HI>&s;imple Contemplation.</HI> Of which Practice thus St. <HI>Bernard,</HI> De interiori Domo, c. 14. <HI>Jam forta&s;&s;e
<PB N="58" REF="179">a&s;cendi&s;ti, jam ad cor tuum redii&s;ti, &amp; ibi &s;tare didici&s;ti: nec hoc &s;ufficiat tibi; Di&s;ce habitare, &amp; man&s;ionem fa|cere; &amp; qualicunque mentis vagatione ab&s;tractus fueris, illuc &s;emper redire fe&s;tina. Ab&s;que dubio per multum u&s;um quandoque tibi vertetur in oblectamentum in tantum ut ab&s;que ulla laboris difficultate po&s;&s;is ibi a&s;&s;iduus e&s;&s;e; quin imo poena potius tibi &s;it alibi quam ibi moram aliquam facere.</HI> <Q>Thou ha&s;t now perhaps a&s;cended; thou ha&s;t now returned to thy Heart; and ha&s;t learned to &s;tand there: Nor let this &s;uffice thee: Learn to dwell, learn to make thy abode (there.) And with whatever Wandering of Mind thou &s;halt be withdrawn, make ha&s;te always to return thither. Without doubt by much u&s;e it will at one time or other be turned to Delight to thee, in&s;omuch, that without any laborious Difficulty thou may'&s;t be there continually; yea, rather it will be a Pain to thee to make any &s;tay any where el&s;e than there.</Q> Thus He; yet is the Soul not directed here to remain idle, &s;tupid, or unactive, but to return to its wonted <HI>Meditations;</HI> and if neither fitly di&s;po&s;ed for the&s;e, to <HI>Vocal</HI> and <HI>&s;et Forms</HI> of <HI>Prayer;</HI> or al&s;o to <HI>Reading,</HI> when the Sweetne&s;s of &s;uch Con|templation cea&s;eth. &sect;. 28.</P>
<P>Devout Souls advanced hitherto are directed and provoked to yet much higher flights, and by their continued Devotions to pro&s;ecute a further Fruition of that Object, which hath no bounds. To this purpo&s;e, for their Encouragement, is declared to them, from Per&s;ons experienced therein, the many rich <HI>Rewards of Prayer;</HI> the Supernatural Elevations that God is plea&s;ed to advance &s;ome Souls to, who have been much practi&s;ed in this <HI>Holy Exerci&s;e,</HI> and the more free and <HI>familiar Manife&s;tations</HI> of him&s;elf that he makes to them in &s;everal manners mentioned
<PB N="59" REF="179">before; wherein the Soul doth not now <HI>act</HI> &s;o much, as, in a great Quietne&s;s, Silence, and re&s;t of its for|mer natural Operations, is more immediately moved and <HI>acted</HI> by a more &s;pecial Pre&s;ence of God in it, who &s;ometimes with the Touches and Influences of an extraordinary Grace doth illuminate, inflame, and ravi&s;h the Soul, and cau&s;eth in it an ineffable and tran&s;porting <HI>Delight</HI> in Contemplating what is &s;hewed to it of the <HI>Divine Beauty</HI> and <HI>Perfections;</HI> perceiving in it &s;elf a mo&s;t ardent Love, and this Supernaturally infu&s;ed; when al&s;o are communicated to it many times Coele&s;tial Secrets, and Divine My&s;teries, and future Events, by internal Words and Revelation. All which things are received by it with a great Tranquility, and Attention, and Ce&s;&s;ation of the Natural u&s;e of its Faculties, Sen&s;i|tive or Intellectual: Nor &s;eems it in its own di&s;po&s;al whil&s;t it hath the&s;e Touches, but both doth and mu&s;t &s;ee, and think, only what his Divine Maje&s;ty will have it; and this only &s;o long as he plea&s;eth. Nor can any of the&s;e things by any Art or Indu&s;try of the Soul be attained or procured when &s;he will, but all is Supernatural, and as well above the Ope|rations of <HI>common Grace</HI> in us, as of <HI>Rea&s;on.</HI> In which Supernatural and Extraordinary Divine Impre&s;&s;ions upon the Soul, the Experienced al&s;o ob&s;erve two &s;orts of Motions in it: Either a very intimate <HI>Retreat</HI> and <HI>Recollection</HI> of the Soul from Exterior Objects, as it were into &s;ome interior part of it &s;elf, removed from the Thoughts or Remembrace of Creatures or Worldly things; which is often joyned with a Retiring al&s;o of the Vital Spirits, more or le&s;s, from the outward parts of the Body left &s;ometimes in &s;uch Recollection without Sen&s;e, Motion, or Heat. <HI>Alienatio Mentis &agrave; Sen&s;ibus Corporis,</HI> S. <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI> (in
<PB N="60" REF="180"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 67.) calls it, <HI>ut Spiritui quod demon&s;trandum est demon&s;tretur.</HI> Such perhaps was that Exta&s;ie of St. <HI>John,</HI> when he is &s;aid to have been in the Spirit, <HI>Rev.</HI> 1.10. Or, 2. an <HI>Elevation, Rapt,</HI> or <HI>Flight</HI> of the Soul as it were above it &s;elf, and as if it were to depart pre&s;ently out of the Body, and the Per&s;on to &s;uffer a pre&s;ent Di&s;&s;olution. <HI>Avolatio Mentis,</HI> as S. <HI>Bernard</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it. Such &s;eems that of St. <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 Cor. 12. &sect;. 29.</P>
<P>The&s;e things are not handled as <HI>Rules of Devotion,</HI> but as a Reward of it; and as things only in God's, not our Power. Yet are the&s;e Rich Gifts of God and Pregu&s;tations of the State in the World to come recommended to &s;ignifie the many noble Effects and powerful Influences, which &s;uch Favours have upon tho&s;e who receive them, as to the compleating them in all Chri&s;tian Perfection; that is, in the perfect Love of God; all the&s;e Divine Inactions tending &s;till to a clearer Manife&s;tation of God to the Soul, and &s;o to the wounding it more deeply with the Love and Longing after him, and after the Suffering and Doing any thing with all Alacrity for him; and the Graces that are received di&s;po&s;ing us &s;till to others higher, if the Soul corre&s;pond to them as &s;he ought. <HI>If I per&s;evere</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Bernard</HI> (in <HI>Cant.</HI> Serm. 69.) &s;peaking of the&s;e Favours) <HI>to corre&s;pond to this Conde&s;cention, as much as I can, with meet Affections and Actions, and the Grace of God be not in vain in me, the Father and the Son will ever make their Abode with me.</HI></P>
<P>We are al&s;o told, That, though upon no Prepa|rations and Predi&s;po&s;itions in us, whatever &s;uch Favours do nece&s;&s;arily follow, yet without the&s;e God doth not u&s;ually grant them: That Active Con|templation is the ready way to Pa&s;&s;ive; and, That
<PB N="61" REF="180">though in the higher degrees of them they are but rare, and given to few, yet in &s;ome inferior degree they are communicated to many: and however, That an Active Contemplation and Fruition of God by Love, (&s;poken of before) and the Great Ad|vancement in all Chri&s;tian Vertue gain'd thereby, (if we be admitted to no higher things, of which true Humility always e&s;teems its &s;elf unworthy) is a &s;ufficient Recompence in this World for any Pains of ours in Purging of our Life, and clo&s;e Atten|dance on God in <HI>Solitude</HI> and <HI>Prayer,</HI> which is un|dertaken for it.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, &s;ince &s;uch Chri&s;tian Perfection chiefly con|tains in, and depends upon the Exerci&s;e of the Affective part of the Soul, and not on high Know|ledge or Speculation, therefore it is recommended as attainable by all Sexes and Conditions, and all are equally encouraged in the Pro&s;ecution of it. <HI>For the Grace of Contemplation,</HI> as S. <HI>Gregory</HI> ob&s;erves, in <HI>Ezek.</HI> hom. 17. <HI>is not given to the high, and not given to the low; but this do often the highest, and often the lowest; more often tho&s;e who are remote, that is, from Worldly Cares, but &s;ometimes tho&s;e who are in a Married State receive.</HI> &sect;. 30, 31.</P>
<P><HI>More of this he hath afterward, which I &s;hall here add, as followeth:</HI></P>
<P>Of the Steps, in order to the highe&s;t State of Per|fection, which this Life arrives to, mentioned in <HI>Sancta Sophia,</HI> p. 32. 1. The fir&s;t, is the way of <HI>External and Imaginary Exerci&s;es of Prayer;</HI> that is, u&s;ing the Di&s;cour&s;e of the Under&s;tanding, and <HI>Me|ditations,</HI> as al&s;o <HI>Vocal Prayer;</HI> then which Step, <HI>Sancta Sophia</HI> ob&s;erves, many go no further, but end their days in it; that is, in &s;uch <HI>Meditations</HI> is taken up the mo&s;t part of their Devotions.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="62" REF="181"> 2. The &s;econd Step is, <HI>the Exerci&s;e of the Will and Affections,</HI> which, after long practice, breaks forth into continual <HI>A&s;pirations</HI> and <HI>Elevations</HI> there|of.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Third, is, <HI>Divine Inaction,</HI> or the extra|ordinary, and &s;upernatural, and more &s;en&s;ible Ope|rations of God's Spirit in the Soul, wherein God acteth more than &s;he, and which are not in her power at all to procure &s;ooner, or retain longer, then God plea&s;eth: of which much hath been &s;aid before.</P>
<P N="4">4. After which u&s;ually, in the Intervals of the&s;e Coele&s;tial Vi&s;its, do follow great <HI>De&s;olations</HI> of Spi|rit, as the Experienced have de&s;cribed them; partly ari&s;ing from the &s;en&s;e of her Lo&s;s, and an impatient longing after the&s;e Favours, once ta&s;ted; and partly out of a great nau&s;eating, and di&s;reli&s;h that &s;he hath now of tho&s;e entertainments of the Creature, from which &s;he formerly received &s;ome Content. Such we may imagin was that of the Prophet <HI>David,</HI> whe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> he &s;aid; <HI>Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus e&s;t.</HI> And <HI>Concupi&s;cit &amp; deficit anima mea, in atria Domini<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> And after a <HI>Non movebor in aeternum,</HI> (P&s;al. 29.) an <HI>Averti&s;ti faciem tuam, &amp; factus &s;um conturbatu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> &sect;. 63.</P>
<P>But not only this; but God al&s;o &s;ometimes with draws even from his greate&s;t Saints, and that for &s;om<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> long duration of time, any &s;en&s;ible a&s;&s;i&s;tance at all o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> his Grace, leaving the Soul as it were in its pur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Naturals, and as if he were quite departed from it in great Aridity, Ob&s;curity, Solitude, Pre&s;&s;ure and Heavine&s;s, di&s;gu&s;ted with all things, &s;he knows not why; performing &s;till her Devotions, and accu|&s;tomed Duties of Piety, and the Service of God, as formerly, but without any &s;en&s;ible comfort in &s;uch
<PB N="63" REF="181">Performance; Meditation, A&s;piration, Reading, very difficult, &s;terile, in&s;ipid, and &s;eeming without Fruit; only forbearing her Con&s;ent to any Sin, Vanity, or Sen&s;uality, and not &s;eeking any &s;ecular Con&s;olations. Much di&s;couraged al&s;o at &s;uch times many are, in imagining, that God hath &s;o de&s;erted them, for Failings in their Duty, or for &s;omething wherein they have offended his Divine Maje&s;ty, which doubles this Angui&s;h. Or, if not this, at lea&s;t they imagin it to be cau&s;ed by &s;ome great Indi&s;po&s;ition of Body, (as it is granted &s;ometimes partly it may) &s;o as &s;ome begin therefore to di&s;pen&s;e for a time with the former Exerci&s;es of their Devotion, and other pious Employments. But notwith&s;tanding many times in the&s;e, the poor Soul is mi&s;taken; and this &s;trange dejection of Spirit comes, without any &s;uch re&s;pects, meerly from the &s;ole Will of God, and is the or|dinary cour&s;e of his proceeding with tho&s;e al&s;o, who are by his former Graces well grounded, and arrived to &s;ome degree of Perfection, and is &s;ent only for their much greater Advancement therein, and the rendring them more capable of higher Fa|vours; and therefore ought, as &s;uch, to be enter|tained with all Equanimity, Patience, Re&s;ignation, and Conformity to his Will.</P>
<P>The&s;e <HI>Con&s;olations</HI> and <HI>De&s;olations</HI> take, as it were, their certain turns in them, as they do, in a le&s;&s;er degree, in all the Regenerate; they have by cour&s;e a Day, and a Night; an A&s;cent towards God, and a De&s;cent, and decadence into them&s;elves; a Vivi|fication by and in him, and a Mortification in them|&s;elves; a Summer, wherein the Branches &s;hoot forth, and Fruit comes to Maturity; and a Winter, when the Root &s;preads more, and the Tree becomes more &s;urely fixed. To all God's Children do the&s;e Vi|ci&s;&s;itudes
<PB N="64" REF="182">happen; but the&s;e in a higher degree to the further advanced in Perfection; and the greate&s;t Favours are preceeded with greater De&s;olations; and the&s;e ordinarily proportioned one to the other. And always nece&s;&s;ary, le&s;s or more, are &s;uch Pur|gations and Refinings of the Soul by the&s;e interior Cro&s;&s;es, becau&s;e always &s;omething in them is ami&s;s and as yet imperfect. Our natural Corruption is &s;till producing &s;omething in us to be amended; and &s;ome Self-will and Self-love to be parted away by this &s;harp Remedy, whil&s;t we are in this Life. And the <HI>Benefit</HI> of the&s;e <HI>De&s;olations,</HI> if rightly complied with, as well as of Divine <HI>Con&s;olations,</HI> is very great in many re&s;pects. &sect;. 64.</P>
<P>For herein it is, that the Soul comes mo&s;t perfectly to know it &s;elf, and all other Creatures; to &s;ee it own Nothingne&s;s, and to be mo&s;t perfectly purged and clean&s;ed from all Self-love and Propriety: and herein it is mo&s;t e&s;pecially taught &mdash; <HI>non quie&s;cere i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> donis Dei, &s;ed in Deo;</HI> &mdash; and <HI>Adorare Deum in Spirit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &amp; Veritate;</HI> not, <HI>in Devotione:</HI> and <HI>Exercere &s;e a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Deum in adver&s;is, &s;icut in pro&s;peris;</HI> the &s;eeking Gu&s;t and Suavity, and Con&s;olations, even in Spiritua<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> things, being one of its Imperfections, &s;ince the&s;e are not God him&s;elf. Herein it is, that the Soul <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> pre&s;erved amid&s;t &s;uch Divine Favours, which a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> apt to inflate it, in a due and nece&s;&s;ary Humility (<HI>Angelus Satanae colaphi&s;ans, ne magnitudo Revelatio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> num extollat me,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle after his Rapt.) Herein its true Love and Adherence to God; (<HI>Qu|veniendo adjuvat;</HI> and then, <HI>derelinquendo probat Donis firmat;</HI> and then, <HI>Tribulationibus tentat;</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Gregory,</HI> Moral. l. 20. c. 19.) its Per&s;everance and Loyalty are e&s;pecially di&s;cerned, in keeping con&s;tant in the Service of him, when deprived of
<PB N="65" REF="182">all Con&s;olation in it; avoiding any application to the Comforts of the Creature, when God hath thus as it were di&s;mi&s;&s;ed, and ca&s;t it off: But re&s;igning it &s;elf, and loving its Mi&s;ery for his Sake, and be|cau&s;e it is his Will that it &s;hould be &s;o. &mdash; An Exer|ci&s;e wherein our Lord him&s;elf was plea&s;ed to be tried, (that he might become a merciful High Prie&s;t before God, and experimentally) that he might compa&s;&s;ionate our Infirmities in the great De&s;olation he underwent in the Garden, the Night before his Pa&s;&s;ion, <HI>Heb.</HI> 4.15: 2.17. Where, <HI>caepit pavere &amp; taedere,</HI> &s;aith the Evangeli&s;t, <HI>Matt.</HI> 26.37, 38. And that &s;ad Expre&s;&s;ion came from him, <HI>Tri&s;tis est anima mea u&s;que ad mortem: Tarry here, and watch with me,</HI> Mark 14.34. Yet the&s;e De&s;olations al&s;o, in a Soul thus far advanced in Grace, are not void of a mix|ture of Joy and Satisfaction, that it hath always in God's Will being performed in them; which <HI>Will</HI> of <HI>God</HI> now, in whatever happens, is a con&s;tant Con|&s;olation to it; and the Apo&s;tles Precept, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.16, 17. of <HI>Semper gaudete,</HI> is thus accompli&s;hed in &s;uch a Soul, as well as his <HI>orate &s;ine intermi&s;&s;ione;</HI> and go together. For there cannot want Content, where the Mind hath its De&s;ire; nor doth &s;uch a Mind want this that is unanimous with the Divine Will: the want of which Conformity, is only from the loving of &s;omething that is again&s;t his Will. Worldly Sorrows, &s;aith St. <HI>Gregory, affligentes cru|ciant;</HI> but the&s;e Spiritual, <HI>reficiunt dum affligunt.</HI> In the one is, <HI>In afflictione maeror;</HI> but in the other, <HI>In merore laetitia,</HI> Moral. l. 23. c. 13. Nay, more true Sweetne&s;s in the&s;e Sorrows, than in the other Joys: And the ab&s;taining in &s;uch a &s;harp Tryal from all Sin again&s;t God, or &s;eeking Comfort from any thing be&s;ides Him, or giving over her accu&s;tomed
<PB N="66" REF="183">Exerci&s;es of Piety, argues al&s;o then a clo&s;e <HI>&V;nion</HI> of the Soul with God, though not &s;o &s;en&s;ible; and that when it thinks it &s;elf farthe&s;t from him, it is in &s;ome &s;ort neare&s;t to him. La&s;tly, by and upon the&s;e Spiritual De&s;olations ordinarily it is, that the Soul afterward receives higher &s;en&s;ible Vi&s;its, and Care&s;&s;es from God, then any former were; for which the Soul &s;eems be&s;t prepared by this her ex|tream Poverty and Lowne&s;s; and then it is, if ever, the Soul receives them with more Gratitude; and both highlier values them, and villifies its &s;elf. And it is God's ordinary way to exalt us in proportion to our Humility, and to be <HI>Adjutor in tribulationibus,</HI> as <HI>in opportunitatibus,</HI> when al&s;o the Soul is more endeared unto him by her Sufferings. All this I have &s;aid, to &s;hew that the&s;e Spiritual De&s;olations (of which this Author Ironically &s;aith, Then, when one would lea&s;t expect them, follow, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>) are a nece&s;&s;ary part of the <HI>Way to Perfection;</HI> and that the re&s;i&s;tance of &s;uch Pre&s;&s;ures when they come, or a non-compliance with them in &s;hewing much Irre|&s;ignation and Impatience, in &s;eeking to relieve &s;uch Spiritual De&s;ertions with &s;ome &s;ecular Contents, in relaxing former Holy Practices, and the like, di&s;|appoints the Soul of tho&s;e following Con&s;olations, which are the proper Reward of the&s;e Sufferings, and di&s;turbs God's Work in her, and good Inten|tions toward her; and hinders her Growth in Ver|tue, by her retaining &s;till tho&s;e <HI>Imperfections,</HI> and that <HI>Self-love,</HI> which the&s;e, rightly received, would have purged and mortified. This of the fourth Step to Perfection, <HI>De&s;olation.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. The Fifth, is a State more &s;ettled, con&s;tant, and tranquil, where neither the&s;e De&s;olations are &s;o fequent or nece&s;&s;ary; nor tho&s;e Coele&s;tial Vi&s;its &s;o violent, or &s;o &s;hort. &sect;. 65.</P>
<PB N="67" REF="183">
<P> <HI>To the&s;e I &s;hall add two or three of his An&s;wers, to Objections and Cavils, &s;uch as I think most pertinent for Common u&s;e: and first, whereas upon the first Step his Adver&s;ary de&s;cants thus: <Q>A &s;ad Ca&s;e to end our days as Christ and his Apo&s;tles did, who u&s;ed this low di&s;pen&s;ation of Praying to the last. But, alas! they never under&s;tood the&s;e &V;nions with God in the Fund of the Spirit; they taught Men a plain and intelligible way of Serving God, and bid them look for Perfection in another World.</Q></HI> To this he replies;</P>
<P>I ask, Did our Lord and his Apo&s;tles end their days only, or chiefly, in the fir&s;t Step here, that of <HI>Meditation,</HI> and <HI>Di&s;cur&s;ive</HI> or <HI>Vocal Prayer,</HI> and never a&s;cend to the &s;econd Step, exerci&s;ing more therein the Will and Affections in A&s;pirations, and Ele|vations of the Soul to God? What think we of the mo&s;t exalted Di&s;ciple St. <HI>John,</HI> every where di&s;cour&s;ing &s;o much of <HI>Love?</HI> and of our dwelling, by Love, in God, and God in us? 1 <HI>John</HI> 4.16. What of tho&s;e Precepts, <HI>Pray without cea&s;ing,</HI> 1 The&s;&s;. 5.17. <HI>Watch and pray always,</HI> Luk. 21.36. <HI>And with all Per&s;everance therein?</HI> Eph. 6.18. Are the&s;e to be under&s;tood only of <HI>Vocal</HI> and <HI>di&s;cur&s;ive Prayer,</HI> the fir&s;t Step; or not rather of <HI>Effective Prayer,</HI> the &s;econd; (according to that, <HI>Qui &s;emper de&s;iderat &s;emper orat;</HI>) which latter is al&s;o much ea&s;ier to be continued? Again; What think we of our Lord's &s;pending &s;o long time in Prayer, often mentioned in the Go&s;pels? <HI>Ri&s;ing up a great while before day,</HI> for this purpo&s;e, <HI>Mar.</HI> 1.35. Again; <HI>retiring into the Wilderne&s;s,</HI> for a great vacancy to it, <HI>Luk.</HI> 5.16. Before the day of the Election of his twelve Apo&s;tles, (the twelve Foundations of his Church) a&s;cending into a &s;olitary Mountain, and there &s;pending the whole Night in Prayer, <HI>Luk.</HI> 6.13. His
<PB N="68" REF="184">a&s;cending again into another Mountain, before he took his la&s;t Journey to <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> for the accom|pli&s;hing of his Pa&s;&s;ion, taking three of his Di&s;ciples with him, where all the Night again was &s;pent in Prayer; for it is &s;aid, he de&s;cended not from the Hill till the next day: and that there the three Di&s;ciples were &s;urpri&s;ed with Sleep, <HI>Luk.</HI> 9.37, 32. In which Prayer they &s;aw his Countenance changed, and an anticipated appearance of his Glory, &s;uch as he &s;hall have when he comes to Judgment, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.16. and an Apparition al&s;o of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Elias,</HI> they by a &s;upernatural Illumination knowing al&s;o who the Per&s;ons were, <HI>Matt.</HI> 16.28. and his Di|&s;ciple <HI>Peter</HI> in &s;uch an Extatick Joy, as that he cryed out, <HI>Bonum est e&s;&s;e hic,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Luk.</HI> 9.33. not know|ing, &s;aith the Evangeli&s;t, what he &s;aid. So, in our Lord's being in Prayer, pre&s;ently after <HI>John</HI>'s Baptizing him happened the Vi&s;ion of the Heavens opened, the Holy Gho&s;t de&s;cending upon him in a Bodily &s;hape like a Dove, &s;een by the Bapti&s;t, <HI>Luk.</HI> 3.21, 22. and a Voice from Heaven &s;peaking to him, as here, <HI>Thou art my beloved Son,</HI> Luk. 9.35. And then a Rapt of the &s;ame Spirit that carried him into the De&s;art; where al&s;o we may rationally ima|gin his time to have been wholly &s;pent in Prayer and Devotion, and this in &s;uch a degree, as to &s;u&s;pend and &s;upercede the ordinary Functions of Nature, as to Eating and Drinking; and in the&s;e his Prayers the Tempter to have a&s;&s;aulted him. What think we again of our Lord's <HI>Infremuit Spiritu,</HI> once and again, in his Prayer to his Father for the Re&s;ur|rection of <HI>Lazarus?</HI> Joh. 11.33, 38. of the ravi&s;h|ing Expre&s;&s;ions of his Love, and tender Affection, and A&s;pirations after a perfect Union of all his with Him, and his Father, in his Prayer after his la&s;t Sup|per,
<PB N="69" REF="184">delivered, <HI>Joh.</HI> 17. from ver. 20. to the end. And, la&s;tly, of his <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Gar|den, with few Words, but much Pa&s;&s;ion, being in an Agony, and &s;weating Blood, and making frequent acts of Re&s;ignation, and Conformity to the Will of his Father. What think we again of St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s Extatical Prayer, and his Vi&s;ion on <HI>Simon</HI> the Tan|ner's Hou&s;e-top, <HI>Act.</HI> 10.9. and again, St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s in the Temple, <HI>Act.</HI> 22.17. <HI>Whil&s;t I prayed, I was in an Exta&s;ie,</HI> &amp;c? Did our Lord and his Apo&s;tles, in the Devotions here mentioned, not a&s;cend at all to that which the <HI>My&s;ticks</HI> make the &s;econd Step to Perfection, the A&s;pirations and Elevations of the Will and Affections; but only &s;tay on the fir&s;t Step? and, <HI>Did they under&s;tand nothing of that the My&s;ticks call pa&s;&s;ive &V;nions</HI> with God? Their Exta&s;ies and Raptures, and their being in the Spirit, their <GAP DESC="foreign">, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.4. and <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.26. argue otherwi&s;e. But then <HI>are Pa&s;&s;ive &V;nions the ob&s;cure and unintelligible way of Serving God,</HI> that the Church teacheth in her Rules of Devotion; or, the end rather which her plain and intelligible way &s;ometimes attains to? La&s;tly, Is there not in &s;ome &s;ort a State of <HI>Perfection</HI> al&s;o in this World? 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.6. <HI>we &s;peak Wi&s;dom among the Perfect.</HI> And <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.15. <HI>let us, as many as be perfect, be thus minded.</HI> And <HI>Luk.</HI> 6.40. <HI>Every one that is perfect, &s;hall be as his Ma&s;ter,</HI> (that is, in Sufferings like him.) The Author may do well to review this pa&s;&s;age of his. &sect;. 66.</P>
<P>The repairing to <HI>Prayer,</HI> in the be&s;t manner we can make it, is a <HI>proper, natural, and most efficacious way to obtain a &s;upernatural Light</HI> (from God's Spi|rit) <HI>to di&s;cern his Will</HI> in all our Actions; &s;peaking of &s;uch as are indifferent, and &s;uch wherein neither we, nor any others, have any external certain Rule,
<PB N="70" REF="185">all Circum&s;tances con&s;idered, whereby we may be guided, as we have in all &s;uch other Actions, the Lawfulne&s;s of which is doubted of; which yet is not &s;aid, as if <HI>Prayer</HI> were the only means of our dire|ction in the&s;e, &s;o as to exclude the making u&s;e of either our own Rea&s;on, or other Mens Advice, as is &s;aid before. &sect;. 76.</P>
<P>This is not making <HI>Enthu&s;ia&s;m,</HI> but <HI>Prayer,</HI> a means to obtain the Illuminations of God's Spirit, to &s;hew us, in two things &s;ugge&s;ted to us, which of them comes from It, or which is more conformable to God's Will, that &s;o we may follow and obey it: and, What a <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> is he, that being doubtful, e&s;pecially in two a&s;&s;airs of much concernment, which to make choice of, doth not retire to his <HI>Prayers,</HI> de&s;iring God to direct him in &s;uch a particular, and promi&s;ing to do that which he &s;hall be plea&s;ed, by any way, to &s;ignifie to him to be more conformable to his Will, and more conducing to Chri&s;tian Per|fection, (as certainly the one may be much more than the other, although both contained within the general bounds of Good, or indifferent?) And then, what <HI>Illumination</HI> he Prays for, why may not he al&s;o expect? Again, Who is there, much fre|quenting <HI>Prayer,</HI> that doth not perceive in them &s;ome Illu&s;trations and Influences entring, and injected as it were into his Mind, without his own procure|ment, touching a more perfect knowledge of him|&s;elf; or the immen&s;e Love of God to Mankind; or &s;ome acceptable Service he may do to God or his Neighbour; or &s;ecret Reprehen&s;ions for &s;ome Faults; or Admonitions for the better ordering of his Life; <HI>Spiritu</HI> (as our Lord &s;aith, <HI>Jo.</HI> 3.8.) <HI>Spirante ubi vult,</HI> and he not knowing whence &s;uch things come, or how they pa&s;s away? yet the&s;e
<PB N="71" REF="185">things, we are a&s;&s;ured, mu&s;t be from God's Spirit, becau&s;e no <HI>good Thought</HI> is from our &s;elves. And why may not we imagin the &s;ame (a due Prepara|tion being &s;uppo&s;ed) of the Thoughts injected in our Doubtings, and Reque&s;ts concerning Actions left free, and undetermined by the Divine declared Will, what way in the&s;e we may rather take, the better to &s;erve and plea&s;e him? God forbid that the Name of <HI>Enthu&s;ia&s;m</HI> &s;hould deterr Chri|&s;tians from &s;uch a Practice, or hearkening to this internal Language; or (as Mr. <HI>Cre&s;&s;y</HI> expre&s;&s;es it in his <HI>Preface</HI>) <HI>&s;hould render Prayer, and by Prayer the obtaining of Divine Grace, a &s;u&s;picious Exerci&s;e.</HI> And I wi&s;h the Author would a little better weigh his Words, and the malign Influence they may have on others. We &s;ay then, <HI>Divine In&s;pirations</HI> are ne|ce&s;&s;ary (for Grace, as well <HI>furthers</HI> as <HI>prevents</HI> us) to di&s;tingui&s;h the Motions of the <HI>Good</HI> and <HI>Bad Spi|rit</HI> in our Minds in matters purely indifferent, (which may be propo&s;ed to us by either of the&s;e Spirits, for a different end,) where we have no other ex|ternal <HI>Rule</HI> to judge the&s;e <HI>Motions</HI> by, as we have in all internal Sugge&s;tions concerning &s;uch other matters as are either directly commanded or pro|hibited by God's Law.</P>
<P><HI>I &s;hall conclude my Collections out of this Author, with the Explications of &s;ome of the</HI> Terms of Art <HI>which are quarrelled with, as followeth:</HI></P>
<P><HI>Divine Inaction</HI> is, in plain <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> the acting of God, or his Spirit in us, which, in the Perfect, is more extraordinary, &s;en&s;ible, and manife&s;t. &sect;. 48.</P>
<P><HI>Pa&s;&s;ive &V;nions,</HI> are called <HI>Pa&s;&s;ive,</HI> not that when <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">erein a Soul contemplates God, &s;he may not be &s;aid <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;ome &s;ort Active; but, <HI>Becau&s;e when God is plea&s;ed <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> graciou&s;ly to communicate him&s;elf to the Soul, the Soul
<PB N="72" REF="186">is taken out of her own Di&s;po&s;al, and doth and must &s;ee and think only what God will have her, and this no longer then his good plea&s;ure is &s;uch. Neither can any Di&s;po|&s;itions or Preparations that the Soul can u&s;e a&s;&s;uredly pro|cure it.</HI> Thus <HI>Sancta Sophia</HI> explains this Word And the Expre&s;&s;ion is &s;ecured by &s;uch like Scripture Language; <HI>Qui Spiritu Dei aguntur,</HI> Rom. 8.14. <HI>Not I live, but Christ in me,</HI> Gal. 2.20. <HI>Not <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> work, but the Grace of God which is with me,</HI> 1 <HI>Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> 15.10. <HI>Not ye that &s;peak, but the Spirit of you<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Father that &s;peaketh in you,</HI> Matt. 10.20. So <HI>th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> Spirit,</HI> that is in us, <HI>is &s;aid to interceed for us wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> Groans unutterable,</HI> Rom. 8.26. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> &sect;. 48.</P>
<P><HI>Deiformity</HI> and <HI>Deification</HI> are words not of lat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> only, but anciently u&s;ed, &s;ignifying an <HI>&V;nion</HI> wit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> God, not in <HI>E&s;&s;ence,</HI> but by <HI>Grace;</HI> and this Union &s;till more intimate, as the Grace more extraordi|nary: &s;ecured by like Scripture Language. F<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> <HI>Deiform, Renewed to the Image of our Creator,</HI> Col. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">.10. <HI>Changed into the Image of our Lord,</HI> 2 Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">. 3.18. <HI>Transformed by the renewing of our Min<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> Rom. 12.2. For <HI>Deification, Partakers of the Div<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> Nature and of the Powers of the future World,</HI> Heb. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> 4, 5. The <HI>Lord</HI> and <HI>we made one Spirit,</HI> 2. Pet. 1.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> <HI>Filled with all the Fulne&s;s of God,</HI> 1 Cor. 6.17.</P>
<P><HI>I have no more, but to acquaint the Reader, who t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> O. N. <HI>was, out of who&s;e Book I have collected th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> things; his Name was</HI> ABRAHAM WOODHEA<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>a good Man, who with great Mode&s;ty and Solidity h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> vindicated</HI> My&s;tical Divinity <HI>against the Quarrel <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> one who charged it to be</HI> Fanatici&s;m. <HI>His Charact<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> may be &s;een more at large in Mr.</HI> Wood's Oxford Ac|tiquities.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="postscript">
<PB N="73" REF="186">
<HEAD>POSTSCRIPT.</HEAD>
<P>WHEREAS it is feared by &s;ome, that what is in the fore-going Di&s;cour&s;e re|lated concerning <HI>Plotinus</HI> and <HI>Porphyrius,</HI> who lived in <HI>Go&s;pel-times,</HI> and yet were not Chri|&s;tians, but the latter a grand Adver&s;ary of the Chri&s;tians, and of Chri&s;tianity, may too much gratifie &s;ome call'd <HI>Quakers,</HI> to their hurt, who are great Magnifyers of the <HI>Gentile Di&s;pen&s;ation:</HI> I do declare, that I &s;hould be glad to gratifie any People for their Good, but not any to their Hurt: And therefore, to prevent any &s;uch mi&s;|u&s;e of what I have written for a good purpo&s;e, which I have mentioned in the end of the <HI>Pre|face,</HI> they mu&s;t know,</P>
<P N="1">1. That as the Actions of <HI>Witches,</HI> and their Familiars, if the matter of fact be evident and undeniable, are good Evidence again&s;t <HI>Athei&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Sadduceans:</HI> and the Real In&s;piration of any Spirit, if proved, is good Evidence again&s;t all &s;uch <HI>Anti-enthu&s;ia&s;ts,</HI> as deny the Reality of <HI>In|&s;piration,</HI> and that there is any thing more in it than meerly the actings of Peoples Imagina|tions;
<PB N="74" REF="187">&s;o the plain apert Declarations by the&s;e Men of the <HI>My&s;tick Divinity,</HI> which was more occultly delivered by the Ancients, is good Evidence of the <HI>Tradition</HI> and <HI>Succe&s;&s;ion</HI> of the&s;e My&s;teries, though they &s;hould be found to have erred in the U&s;e and Application of it: And for this purpo&s;e was that Collection made.</P>
<P N="2">2. That though <HI>Porphyry</HI> and <HI>Plotinus,</HI> and &s;ome others of them, might receive &s;ome Lights, Powerful Attractions, and Sen&s;ible Con&s;olati|ons, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> from &s;ome con&s;iderable Spirit, yet was not that the Spirit of Chri&s;t, or any Good Mini&s;tering Spirit; not &s;uch as that of <HI>Socrates,</HI> under the Gentile Di&s;pen&s;ation; for <HI>Porphy<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> ridiculed it; (<HI>v. Soc. Hi&s;t. l.</HI> 3. <HI>c.</HI> 23.) but a Spirit of Antichri&s;t, and of Satan transformed as appears mo&s;t manife&s;tly in <HI>Porphyry,</HI> who was a Renagado, and Apo&s;tate from Chri&s;ti|anity; and that not upon any Grounds of Rea&s;on, but upon Pa&s;&s;ion for &s;ome Reproof, as <HI>Vale&s;ius</HI> under&s;tands it; or &s;ome more &s;evere Di&s;cipline, he received from &s;ome Chri&s;tians po&s;&s;ibly for &s;ome abu&s;e by <HI>Scoffing,</HI> to which he was much addicted; and thereupon became not only an Apo&s;tate, but a &s;piteful Adver&s;ary, and the more impudent, through the Countenance of the Emperor <HI>Julian,</HI> who was al&s;o an Apo&s;tate, and &s;uch another Scoffer. This might be abundantly &s;hewed, if it was needful here, and may be upon &s;ome other occa&s;ion: but this is &s;ufficient for this
<PB N="75" REF="187">And this may &s;erve for another purpo&s;e, in re&s;pect of the <HI>Quakers; viz.</HI> to undeceive them, and let them &s;ee plainly by what Spirit they have been deceived, even this very Antichri&s;tian <HI>Por|phyrian</HI> Spirit, and no better. <HI>The Spirit,</HI> I doubt not, is the very &s;ame, or of the &s;ame kind, only <HI>the Appearance</HI> is &s;omewhat different, more bare-faced then, upon the Encouragement of an Apo&s;tate Emperor; but more covert now in this, being a Chri&s;tian State. But as that &s;oon cea&s;ed, &s;o will this, I am well &s;atisfied, to the Shame and Confu&s;ion of tho&s;e, who ob|&s;tinately per&s;i&s;t in their Errors; but e&s;pecially tho&s;e, who not only are deceived, but pre&s;ume to take upon them to be <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> of Chri&s;t, and deceive others; when it &s;hall appear that they are only Mini&s;ters of this <HI>Porphyrian</HI> An|tichri&s;tian Spirit, that is, of Satan transformed; as I nothing doubt but it will in due time, and that ere long, by undeniable Moral Evidence, if not al&s;o by manife&s;t Divine Vengeance upon &s;ome of the Ob&s;tinate; which I have &s;incerely endeavoured to prevent; and &s;hould &s;till be glad to help them out, if they would humble them&s;elves, and give Glory to God, as their Ca&s;e doth require: otherwi&s;e they will cer|tainly be called to account for neglected Di|vine Favours.</P>
<P>As for <HI>the Gentile Di&s;pen&s;ation,</HI> there is plainly a Fallacy concerning it put upon them by the
<PB N="76" REF="188">Subtilty and Fraud of that Spirit, which acts &s;o &s;en&s;ibly among&s;t them. For as the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> were cho&s;en to be, as it were, of God's own Regiment, and are therefore call'd his Peculiar people; yet were they, for their Sin, delivered over to the Conduct of an Angel, <HI>Exod.</HI> 33. &s;o were other Nations committed to the Conduct of certain Angels, probably of in|ferior Orders. And as the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> after they were &s;ettled in the Promi&s;ed Land, under the immediate Government of God, (<HI>v. Sam.</HI> 8.7.) were often, notwith&s;tanding, for their Back|&s;lidings and Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, delivered into the hands of their Enemies, (which was plainly a Repre&s;entation of Spiritual matters:) &s;o the other Nations, though they were committed at fir&s;t to the Regiment of Good Angels, though of an inferior order, yet when they came to yield to the In&s;pirations of Apo&s;tate Spirits, (which was a real, though Spiritual Fornication and Defilement) were left in theirPower to be abu&s;ed, and ridden, and led Captive by them at their plea&s;ure. And tho&s;e who continued under their Conduct to the la&s;t, without Repentance, are like to have their part with them hereafter. And this is <HI>the My&s;tery of Iniquity whereby the&s;e People are impo&s;ed upon</HI> by the Subtilty of this <HI>Porphyrian</HI> Spirit. For,</P>
<P>There is a <HI>twofold Gentile Di&s;pen&s;ation,</HI> or <HI>two parts of the Gentile Di&s;pen&s;ation;</HI> the one of <HI>Grace,</HI>
<PB N="77" REF="188">under the Good Angel, which is God's Deputy; the other of <HI>Judgment,</HI> under the Apo&s;tate Spirit, which is God's Executioner of Vengeance. And this is it, which St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells us concern|ing the Seduced by the Spirit of Antichri&s;t, that God &s;hould &s;end them &s;trong Delu&s;ions to be|lieve a Lye, becau&s;e they received not the Love of the Truth; that they all might be damned who believe not the Truth. Now, whatever become of the re&s;t, who have not the Favour of the Go&s;pel communicated to them, but yet de&s;ert not the Conduct of the Spirit, by God &s;et over them; yet tho&s;e who have the Go&s;pel in all Simplicity offered to them, and either through Pride and Conceitedne&s;s, or through the In&s;piration of any Spirit, are drawn from it, their Ca&s;e is very dangerous: for no Good Spirit would dare, or would offer any &s;uch thing: and then it mu&s;t needs be &s;ome wicked Spirit in di&s;gui&s;e, how &s;pecious &s;oever his ap|pearance be, which for &s;ome Spiritual Sin, at lea&s;t, if not Carnal or Worldly, in them or their Parents, hath gotten Advantage of them: And &s;uch are very officious to offer them&s;elves, and very &s;ubtile to deceive: And their Neglect of the Offers of Grace is like to prove fatal to them. But none are in greater danger than they, who are &s;o unhappy as to become the Agents and Mini&s;ters of &s;uch a Spirit, whatever they may think of them&s;elves at pre&s;ent.</P>
<PB N="78" REF="189">
<P> This, I hope, may &s;erve for this Occa&s;ion; but having for divers Months pa&s;t been endea|vouring, by private Conferences with, and Let|ters to, the Chief of their Mini&s;ters, to &s;et this People right, in what they are out of the way, I intend ere long, if no le&s;s will &s;erve, by the Grace of God, to di&s;cour&s;e the&s;e matters more fully at &s;ome publick Meetings, upon &s;ufficient Notice, and there to give a true <HI>Account of my Proceedings with them</HI> hitherto, and to di&s;cour&s;e <HI>the Great Que&s;tion</HI> now depending between us:</P>
<P><HI>What that Spirit is, by which the Party hath been generally and principally acted and conducted? Whether the Spirit of Chri&s;t, or any Good Mini|&s;tring Spirit; or the Spirit of Antichri&s;t, or &s;ome Porphyrian or Apo&s;tate Spirit?</HI></P>
<P>And in the mean time I only recommend this Adverti&s;ement to all, That the Holy Scriptures and the be&s;t Spiritual Writers give great Cau|tion to beware of <HI>fal&s;e Spirits,</HI> and Directions to <HI>Try the Spirits:</HI> and if the <HI>Leaders</HI> of the <HI>Qua|kers</HI> do not &s;o, they are the more to be &s;u&s;pected; al&s;o, That it is commonly agreed by &s;uch Wri|ters, that there is often much Deceit and Delu|&s;ions of <HI>Evil</HI> and <HI>Seducing Spirits,</HI> in &s;eeming Illuminations, and Sen&s;ible Impre&s;&s;ions and In|&s;pirations. See <HI>Sancta Sophia, Tr.</HI> 3. &sect;. 4. ch. 5. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="189">
<P><HI>Enthu&s;ia&s;mus Divinus:</HI> THE GUIDANCE OF THE Spirit of GOD: The Doctrine of the Scriptures, of the Catholick Church, of the Church of <HI>England</HI> in particular, upon a Di&s;cour&s;e of Sir <HI>Matthew Hale</HI>'s concerning it.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Author, for the U&s;e and Benefit of a Religious Society, 1697.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="discourse">
<PB REF="190">
<PB N="1" REF="190">
<HEAD>OF THE GUIDANCE OF THE Spirit of GOD.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>The</HI> Judgment <HI>of Sir</HI> Matthew hale <HI>concerning it, in his</HI> Contemplations on the Magnet, <HI>c.</HI> 15. <HI>p.</HI> 132.</HEAD>
<P><Q>THE <HI>Magnet</HI> hath not only its intrin|&s;ick, active Principle, its Form from which its Motions proceed; but there is al&s;o a common Magneti&s;m of the Earth and its Effluxes, that greatly a&s;&s;i&s;t, excite, and direct its Motions.</Q></P>
<P><Q><HI>Animals and Vegetables</HI> have not only their intrin&s;ick, &s;pecifical, vital Principles of their &s;pecifical Motions and Operations, but the
<PB N="2" REF="191">Sun and its Heat and Influence is an univer&s;al, adjuvant, exciting Principle of all vital and &s;entient Operations.</Q></P>
<P><Q>And not only the ancient Philo&s;ophers, as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> and <HI>Plato,</HI> and their &s;everal Com|mentators, as <HI>Simplicius, Themi&s;tius, Alex|ander Aphrodiceus, Avicen,</HI> and <HI>Averroes,</HI> but al&s;o the Jewi&s;h Doctors, and the Chri&s;tian Philo&s;ophers and Divines for &s;ome Ages after Chri&s;t, did think, that, be&s;ides the individual intellectual Soul of every Man, there was al&s;o a certain <HI>Common Intelligent Nature,</HI> or Being, &s;ub&s;tituted by Almighty God, who&s;e Office it was to illuminate the humane Soul, to excite actual Intellection in it, and to com|municate unto it the&s;e common intellectual Principles, which ordinarily and generally obtain in all Men, and &s;tood in relation to the humane Intellectual Soul, as the Sun and its Light and Influence &s;tands in rela|tion to vital Natures in the Lower World: And this they call <HI>Intellectus Agens,</HI> which <HI>Averroes</HI> &s;uppo&s;eth to be <HI>&V;ltima Intelli|gentiarum &s;eparatarum,</HI> and deputed to the actuating and exciting of Intellection in Men.</Q></P>
<P><Q>This Opinion hath been (po&s;&s;ibly upon Rea&s;ons probable enough) laid a&s;ide for ma|ny Ages in the Chri&s;tian Church: the U&s;e therefore that I make of it only is this, That
<PB N="3" REF="191">though this Opinion &s;eems to be dark and ob&s;cure, and not bottom'd upon a clear Evi|dence, yet it carries with it and under it an Adumbration of a great and real Truth, though they attained not a full, clear, di&s;tinct di&s;covery of it: Therefore as the Apo&s;tle el&s;e|where in another Ca&s;e told the <HI>Athenians,</HI> that that God, whom they ignorantly wor|&s;hipped, <HI>Him declare I unto you,</HI> Acts 17.23. &s;o, with &s;ome variation, I may with humility &s;ay, that &s;ecret, un&s;een, and &s;piritual Power, which the&s;e ancient Philo&s;ophers did not di|&s;tinctly under&s;tand, but groped after it, and celebrated by the Name of <HI>Intellectus Agens,</HI> I am now endeavouring to declare.</Q></P>
<P><Q>Almighty GOD, as he is every where by his E&s;&s;ential Pre&s;ence, &s;o he is every where by his Powerful Influence; and as he is the Univer&s;al Productive and Con&s;erving Cau&s;e of all things in the World, &s;o he is more in|timate unto, and effective of every thing in the World by his Efficacious Influence, than any &s;econd created Cau&s;e in the World; for they are all but his In&s;truments, and therefore their Cau&s;ality is &s;till but in and from the Virtue and Influence of the fir&s;t Cau&s;e.</Q></P>
<P><Q>And this Influx of the Fir&s;t Cau&s;e, the prime Efficient, Almighty God, is by him ordina|rily communicated, effu&s;ed, and proportioned
<PB N="4" REF="192">according to the &s;everal Natures of Created Beings; though, according to his wi&s;e good Plea&s;ure, he &s;ometimes is plea&s;ed to do it in a different manner for excellent Ends, <HI>pro Im|perio Voluntatis.</HI></Q></P>
<P><Q>And therefore in Matters that are <HI>&s;imply natural,</HI> this ordinary Efflux of the Divine In|fluence is &s;uited to that common Law of Na|ture, that he hath &s;ettled in the World, and governs &s;uch things according to tho&s;e in&s;ti|tuted, regular, natural Laws.</Q></P>
<P><Q>But unto an <HI>Intellectual Nature,</HI> &s;uch as is that of Man, endued with Under&s;tanding and Will, this Divine Efflux is communicated in a kind proportionable to tho&s;e Faculties of the humane Soul; and therefore the&s;e Ef|fluxes of the Divine Influence are commu|nicated <HI>in two kinds:</HI> 1. By way of <HI>Illumi|nation,</HI> in relation to the Under&s;tanding Fa|culty. 2. By way of Per&s;ua&s;ion, <HI>Inclination,</HI> and Incitation, in relation to the Will and Affections, although there are <HI>many other kind of Effluxes</HI> of the Divine Spirit and In|fluence: as the Gift of <HI>bodily Strength,</HI> as that of <HI>Sam&s;on, Judges</HI> 16.20. the Gift of <HI>curious Workman&s;hip,</HI> as that of <HI>Aholiab,</HI> and <HI>Be&s;aliel, Exod.</HI> 36.1. the Spirit of <HI>Maje&s;ty and Government,</HI> as that of <HI>Saul,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.9. the Gifts of <HI>Prophe&s;ying, Tongues, Miracles,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.4, 9. for the&s;e were extraordinary
<PB N="5" REF="192">Effluxes given out upon &s;pecial Occa&s;ions, and for &s;pecial Ends, though even in mo&s;t of them, and other extraordinary Gifts of the like nature, the Under&s;tanding and Will were much concerned and wrought upon.</Q></P>
<P N="1"><Q>1. As to the <HI>Illumination of the &V;nder&s;tand|ing,</HI> certainly what the Sun is to the &s;entient Eye, that, and much more, is Almighty God to the Mind of Man: <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36.9. <HI>In thy Light &s;hall we &s;ee Light.</HI> John 1.9. <HI>This is the true Light that enlightneth every Man that cometh into the World.</HI></Q></P>
<P N="2"><Q>2. As to the <HI>Inclination</HI> and <HI>Bending of the Will,</HI> it is true, the Will is naturally free, but yet it is e&s;&s;entially &s;ubject unto the God that made it; and the operation of the Divine Influence upon the Will ordinarily is but per|&s;ua&s;ive, and therefore ordinarily re&s;i&s;tible: thus the old World re&s;i&s;ted the merciful &s;triv|ing of the Divine Influence, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.3. <HI>My Spirit &s;hall not always &s;trive with Man.</HI> Acts 7.51. <HI>Ye always re&s;ist the Holy Ghost:</HI> but the Powerful God hath &s;o great an Efficacy, and hath &s;o intimate an acce&s;s into the Minds of Men, that he can when he plea&s;eth, and doubtle&s;s &s;ometimes doth, irre&s;i&s;tibly bend and incline the Will unto him&s;elf, according to his good Plea&s;ure, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110.3. <HI>Thy Peo|ple &s;hall be willing in the day of thy Power.</HI> It
<PB N="6" REF="193">is an excellent Expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>Prov.</HI> 21.1. <HI>The Heart of the King is in the Hands of the Lord, as the Rivers of Water he turneth it whither&s;o|ever he will.</HI> A good Arti&s;t will guide a Stream of Water to what place, and in what manner, he plea&s;eth, in the &s;ame Level, and yet without any violence offered to the natu|ral Motion of the Water, which in all tho&s;e Motions is kept entirely &s;uitable to its Nature: And with the &s;ame and much greater facility the God of Heaven can, and often doth, in|fallibly Guide the Hearts of Men, yea, of Kings, and yet without Force or Violation of its natural Liberty.</Q></P>
<P><Q>There was <HI>never any Age nor People</HI> in the World that was <HI>wholly de&s;titute of this Divine Efflux</HI> upon their Under&s;tandings and Wills: it is as <HI>&V;niver&s;al and Common</HI> as the Light and Influence of the Heavens; only upon &s;ome in all Ages it was more &s;pecial and ef|fectual than upon others, even in the Gentile World. I have always e&s;teemed tho&s;e excel|lent Men among <HI>the Heathen</HI> famous for Wi&s;|dom, Ju&s;tice, Piety, and Knowledge, as Men illuminated and guided by this Divine Influ|ence, though po&s;&s;ibly communicated to them in a more &s;ignal manner than to other Men: Such were <HI>Socrates, Plato, Zeno Citticus, Solon, Lycurgus, Pythagoras, Tully, Seneca, Ari&s;totle,</HI> and divers other excellent Philo&s;ophers,
<PB N="7" REF="193">Morali&s;ts, and Law-givers, among the Gen|tiles; who were by the Influence of the Divine Spirit excited, illuminated, and in|&s;tructed for the Benefit of them&s;elves and the re&s;t of Mankind, and to prepare the Heathen World for the Reception of greater Light.</Q></P>
<P><Q>When it plea&s;ed God to &s;elect unto him&s;elf and his &s;pecial Government, the Family of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and his De&s;cendants, <HI>the Jewi&s;h Na|tion,</HI> he &s;ets them in <HI>the middle of the Ha|bitable World,</HI> like a Beacon upon a Hill, to be a kind of Common In&s;truction to the re&s;t of Mankind; and for that purpo&s;e, made them &s;ignal to all the World by his &s;pecial Govern|ment over them, by Miracles, Signs and Wonders; by giving them Laws from Hea|ven in great Maje&s;ty and Terrour; by com|mitting to them the Divine Oracles; by rai&s;ing up Prophets and Men &s;pecially in&s;pired by an Extraordinary Spirit, and by effu&s;ing among them a greater Mea&s;ure of the In|fluence of his Sacred Spirit. For (that I may &s;ay it once for all) it hath been always the Method of the Divine Wi&s;dom and Good|ne&s;s, when he &s;ends out the greater Mea&s;ure of this Influx, whereof I &s;peak, the Divine Providence accompanies that Efflux with &s;uit|able external Means to render it the more effectual, and the more agreeable to the man|ner
<PB N="8" REF="194">of the Reception of the humane Under|&s;tanding: But when <HI>the Me&s;&s;ias</HI> came into the World with the Me&s;&s;age of the Glorious Go&s;pel, the Sun was as it were in its Meri|dian; and as the means of Illumination and Conver&s;ion of the World unto God was more effectual and univer&s;al, &s;o was al&s;o the Efflux and Irradiation of the Divine Influence upon the Souls of Men more vigorous, diffu&s;ive, and univer&s;al.</Q></P>
<P><Q>And as the miraculous <HI>Gifts</HI> of the Spirit of God appeared in the Miracles of Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, the Gifts of Tongues, of Healing Di&s;ea&s;es, of Prophecy, and the like, to confirm and e&s;tabli&s;h Mens Minds in the Faith, Belief, and Obedience of the Go&s;pel; &s;o neither was this all: but the <HI>&s;ecret and effectual Influence</HI> of the &s;ame Ble&s;&s;ed Spirit appeared in Illumination of the Minds of Men, in per&s;uading and mightily &s;ubduing their Wills to the Belief and Obedience of the Truth, in converting Mens Minds unto God, and placing them in thei ju&s;t and due Habitude to Almighty God. And this, ac|cording to the various Workings thereof, is &s;ometimes called the Spirit of Regeneration, the Spirit of Renovation, the Spirit of San|ctification, the Spirit of Holine&s;s, the Spirit of Adoption, the Spirit of Prayer and Suppli|cation, the Spirit of Life, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> according to
<PB N="9" REF="194">the various Energies that this great Effu&s;ion of the Influences of the Ble&s;&s;ed Spirit had up|on the Minds of Men.</Q></P>
<P><Q>And this great and more diffu&s;ive and ef|fectual Effu&s;ion of this Influence under the Go&s;pel was no other than what was prophe|&s;ied of by the ancient Prophets, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 25.7. <HI>I will de&s;troy in this Mountain, the covering cast upon the Face of all People.</HI> I&s;a. 11.9. <HI>The Earth &s;hall be filled with the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea.</HI> I&s;a. 54.13. <HI>All thy Children &s;hall be taught of the Lord.</HI> I&s;a. 59.20. <HI>This is my Covenant that I will make with them, my Spirit, that is upon thee, and the Words which I have put in thy Mouth, &s;hall not depart from thee, nor from thy Seed, nor from thy Seeds Seed.</HI> Ezek. 36.27. <HI>I will put my Spirit within you, and cau&s;e you to walk in my Statutes, and keep my Judgments, and do them.</HI> I&s;a. 44.3. <HI>I will pour out my Spirit upon thy Seed.</HI> Joel 2.28. <HI>I will pour out my Spirit upon all Fle&s;h.</HI> And this Energy of the Divine Influence appears, 1. By a &s;ecret Irra|diation and <HI>Illumination</HI> of the Under&s;tanding. 2. By a powerful Per&s;ua&s;ion and <HI>Inclining</HI> of the Will; both which, as they were with a more vigorous and effectual Di&s;pen&s;ation under the fir&s;t breaking out of the Light of the Go&s;pel, &s;o they do accompany the Publi|cation of it unto this day, and &s;hall unto the
<PB N="10" REF="195">end of the World; though by rea&s;on of the Corruption of the Lives and Manners of Mankind, not with equal Succe&s;s in all Ages.</Q></P>
<P>We have here the <HI>Judgment</HI> and Belief of this Great and Good Man of a <HI>Divine Efflux</HI> upon the Under&s;tandings and Wills of Men, and that even among the Heathen, tho&s;e &s;o famed for <HI>Wi&s;dom, Ju&s;tice, Piety,</HI> and <HI>Knowledge,</HI> were Illuminated and Guided by a Divine In|fluence. And we have here al&s;o the <HI>Ground</HI> of this his Judgment. 1. <HI>Ob&s;ervations</HI> in Na|ture. 2. The <HI>Sentiments</HI> of Learned and Un|der&s;tanding Men, Philo&s;ophers in all Ages. 3. The <HI>Authority</HI> of the Sacred Scriptures; to which, he el&s;ewhere adds his own Experience. And whereas he had in &s;ome things changed his Opinion, as he &s;aw cau&s;e, from what it was in his younger time, this he received early, as appears by &s;ome of his Fir&s;t Writings, and re|tain'd con&s;tantly to the la&s;t, as appears by his <HI>Treati&s;e of Humility,</HI> which he wrote upon my Motion, not long before his la&s;t Sickne&s;s.</P>
<P>In his <HI>Treati&s;e of Wi&s;dom, and the Fear of God,</HI> after other particulars of the Wi&s;dom of the Fear of God, he adds, in the <HI>10th</HI> place: <HI>But be&s;ides all this, there is yet a Secret but a most Certain Truth, that highly improveth that Wi&s;|dom, which the Fear of the Lord bringeth, and that is this, That tho&s;e that truly fear God have</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="195">a Secret Guidance <HI>from a higher Wi&s;dom, than what is barely Humane; namely,</HI> by the Spirit of Truth and Wi&s;dom, <HI>that doth really and truly, but &s;ecretly prevent and direct them. And let no Man think that this is a piece of</HI> Fanatici&s;m. <HI>Any Man that &s;incerely and truly fears Almighty God, relies upon Him, calls upon Him for his Guidance and Direction, hath it as really as the Son hath the Coun&s;el and Direction of his Father: and though the Voice be not audible, nor the Di|rection</HI> always <HI>perceptible to Sen&s;e, yet it is e|qually as real as if a Man heard the Voice &s;aying,</HI> This is the Way, walk in it. <HI>And this Secret Direction of Almighty God is</HI> principally <HI>&s;een in Matters relating to the Good of the Soul: but it may</HI> al&s;o <HI>be found in the Great and Momentous Concerns of this Life, which a Good Man, that fears God, and begs his Direction, &s;hall very often, if not at all times, find.</HI> And in his <HI>Treati&s;e of Humility,</HI> &s;peaking of this Guidance and Direction of Almighty God, in relation to a double End; 1. The Salvation and Happine&s;s of the Soul. 2. In all the Walk and Concern of this Life; as to this latter he &s;aith; <HI>The Air doth not more naturally yield to our Attraction in Re&s;piration, or to in&s;inuate it &s;elf into tho&s;e &s;paces that are receptive of it, than the Divine A&s;&s;i&s;tance, Guidance, and Beneficence doth to the De&s;ires, Exigencies, and Wants of an humble Soul, &s;en&s;ible of its own Emptine&s;s and Deficiency,
<PB N="12" REF="196">and implering the Direction, Guidance, and Ble&s;|&s;ing of the most Wi&s;e and Bountiful God.</HI> And then adds, <HI>I can call</HI> my own Experience <HI>to witne&s;s, that even in the External Actions, Occur|rences and Incidences of my whole Life, I was never di&s;appointed of</HI> the be&s;t Guidance and Direction, <HI>when in Humility and Sen&s;e of my own Deficiency, and diffidence of my own Ability to di|rect my &s;elf, or to grapple with the Difficulties of my Life, I have, with Humility and Sincerity, implored the Secret Direction and Guidance of the Divine Wi&s;dom and Providence.</HI> This he &s;peaks of the &s;ecret Guidance by the Spirit of Truth, by <HI>Illumination</HI> of the Under&s;tanding, and <HI>In|clination</HI> of the Will; but there is another Secret Guidance by a <HI>Providential</HI> Di&s;po&s;al of Occurrences, which he doth not here exclude, yet &s;eems more e&s;pecially to intend, when he afterward appeals to the Experience of others.</P>
<P>I have al&s;o ob&s;erved, as well from what he hath &s;aid upon &s;everal Occa&s;ions, as from di|vers Pa&s;&s;ages in his Writings, that he had from his younger time, in all his Life, not only a great re&s;pect to this &s;ecret Guidance of the Spirit of God, but al&s;o &s;o great a Sen&s;e of the Malice, Subtlety, and Energy of the Evil Spi|rits, as made him very vigilant again&s;t them. And I doubt not but his con&s;tant and reverend Attendance to that Holy Conduct, and his
<PB N="13" REF="196">Vigilance again&s;t the Wiles and Devices of tho&s;e invi&s;ible Enemies, were a principal Means whereby he became &s;o Great and Good a Man as he was.</P>
<P>This is <HI>genuine Chri&s;tianity,</HI> and therefore it cannot but move Indignation in the Hearts of True Chri&s;tians, to &s;ee &s;o Great and Noble a Principle of their Religion to be &s;o unworthily expos'd, contemned and reproached, as this hath been in our Times, partly by &s;en&s;ual Bruits, partly by conceited animal Pretenders to Rea&s;on, and partly by incon&s;iderate Oppo&s;ers of Enthu|&s;ia&s;m. Nay, it is a Principle not peculiar to the times of the Incarnation of the Eternal <HI>Lo|gos,</HI> and &s;ucceeding Ages, but made manife&s;t by that Light which enlighteneth every Man that cometh into the World, unto all pious and virtuous Souls from the beginning: and it is a dangerous &s;ign of an empty, bewidowed, de|&s;erted Soul, for any Man to &s;peak flightly or irreverently of &s;o Holy a Principle. That Ex|cellent Philo&s;opher and Emperor <HI>Antoninus,</HI> be|&s;ides divers other Pa&s;&s;ages to the purpo&s;e, hath expre&s;&s;ed him&s;elf in one place in the very words before u&s;ed by our Author. <HI>Seneca</HI> affirms it; <HI>Bonus Vir &s;ine Deo nemo est;</HI> be&s;ides many Pa&s;|&s;ages to this purpo&s;e: And <HI>Cicero,</HI> be&s;ides what more largely el&s;ewhere, <HI>Nemo vir Magnus &s;ine aliquo Afflatu Divino unquam fuit. Socrates</HI> is notorious, and <HI>Plato,</HI> and his Followers <HI>Plotinus,
<PB N="14" REF="197">Porphirius, Jamblicus, Proclus,</HI> &amp;c. are known and confe&s;s'd to have been of the &s;ame Judg|ment; as al&s;o the <HI>Chaldaick</HI> and <HI>Egyptian</HI> Phi|lo&s;ophers. The &s;ame is ob&s;erv'd of <HI>Democritus,</HI> That he thought that there were no Men Wi&s;e be&s;ides tho&s;e who were in&s;pir'd with a Divine Influence: And <HI>Theophra&s;tus,</HI> and indeed all the better Philo&s;ophers, are noted to have had the &s;ame Sentiments. And even <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> him&s;elf, as great a Rationali&s;t as he was, hath plainly expre&s;&s;ed him&s;elf to have been of the &s;ame Judgment, in &s;everal places. In one among the re&s;t to this effect: <HI>They who are moved by a Divine In&s;tinct ought not to con&s;ult Humane Rea|&s;on, but follow the Interior In&s;tinct; becau&s;e they are moved by a better Principle than Humane Rea&s;on.</HI> And that the &s;ame Sentiments were among the <HI>Gentiles</HI> in very ancient times, we may ob&s;erve in the Sacred Scriptures, <HI>Dan.</HI> 4.8. and 5.11. and long before, <HI>Job</HI> 32.8: 33.14, 15, 16. and <HI>Gen.</HI> 41.38. and 39.3. and before, 26.28. and before that, 21, 22. And for the <HI>Jews,</HI> it is very plain that in tho&s;e Ex|cellent Books of <HI>Wi&s;dom</HI> and <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus,</HI> by the Name of <HI>Wi&s;dom,</HI> this Divine Influence and Conduct is intended.</P>
<P>And for the <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> the Doctrine of our Saviour and his Apo&s;tles is &s;o expre&s;s to this purpo&s;e, that they who would evade the genu|ine Sen&s;e of their Words, are forced to &s;train
<PB N="15" REF="197">their Wits to the utmo&s;t, and their Con&s;ciences too, I doubt, if they be not &s;tupified before hand. I need not recite the places, which every one may have recour&s;e to at plea&s;ure; and therefore it may be &s;ufficient to note them under &s;everal Heads; as,
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. The <HI>Predictions</HI> of the Prophets, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 44.3: 54.13. (recited by our Saviour, <HI>Jo.</HI> 6.45.) <HI>Jer.</HI> 31.33, 34. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 11.19: 36.26, 27. <HI>Joel</HI> 2.28. recited by St. <HI>Peter,</HI> and applyed not only to the Chri&s;tians then, but to tho&s;e al&s;o who &s;hould come after, <HI>Act.</HI> 2.17: 33.39. <HI>Zech.</HI> 12.10. <HI>Mat.</HI> 3.11.</ITEM>
<ITEM>II. <HI>Promi&s;es</HI> of our Saviour, <HI>Luk.</HI> 11.13. <HI>Jo.</HI> 7.39: 14.16, 17, 23, 26: 15.26: 16.7. <HI>Lu.</HI> 24.49. <HI>Act.</HI> 1.4, 8: 2.38.</ITEM>
<ITEM>III. The <HI>Accompli&s;hment</HI> of the&s;e Predictions and Promi&s;es.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. In the Original vi&s;ible Effu&s;ion on the day of <HI>Pentecost,</HI> upon the Apo&s;tles and Primitive Chri&s;tians, <HI>Act.</HI> 2.2, 3, 4, 33.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. By a Mini&s;terial Communication, <HI>Act.</HI> 8.15, 17: 10.44: 19.6. <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.2, 5, 14. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.6. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.6, 8.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. By internal Re&s;idence and Operation, Illu|mination and Sanctification, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.9, 11. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.16: 6.19. <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.22. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.14. 1 <HI>Jo.</HI> 3.24. <HI>Gal.</HI> 4.6. 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 4.8. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.5. <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.13.</ITEM>
<PB N="16" REF="198">
<ITEM>4. By &s;pecial and particular Manife&s;tation and Conduct, variou&s;ly exhibited; as,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. By Vi&s;ions and Revelations, <HI>Act.</HI> 9.10, 12: 10.10: 11.28: 16, 9: 18.9: 22.17. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.23: 12.4, 6, 10: 14.6, 24, 29, 30, 31. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.1, 2, 7. (v. <HI>Lu.</HI> 2.26.) <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.12: 2.2.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. By Allocutions, <HI>Act.</HI> 8.29: 10.19: 13.2, 4: 23.9.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. By Impul&s;es and Excitations, (v. <HI>Lu.</HI> 2.27.) <HI>Act.</HI> 4.8, 13, 31: 5.20.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. By Prohibitions, <HI>Act.</HI> 16.6: 20.23: 21.4, 11. and Re&s;traints, <HI>Act.</HI> 16.7.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>IV. Admonitions.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. How to obtain it, <HI>Jo.</HI> 14.15, 16, 17, 23 <HI>Act.</HI> 5.32. <HI>Lu.</HI> 11.12. <HI>Ja.</HI> 1.5. <HI>Rev.</HI> 3.20. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.13.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. To follow and obey it, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1, 4, 5, 9, 13, 14. <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.16, 18, 25. <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.30.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. To try the Spirits, 1 <HI>Jo.</HI> 4.1: 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.29.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>More might be added, but the&s;e are more than enough. And to the&s;e it would not be hard to add a <HI>true Catholick Interpretation and Comment,</HI> that is, The Sentiments of <HI>the most ancient Chri&s;tian Writers,</HI> and others of the mo&s;t Eminent of after Ages; &s;uch as <HI>Hermas, Ju&s;tine, Tatian, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Novatian, Hilary, Nazianzen, Ambro&s;e, Hierom, Au&s;tin,</HI>
<PB N="17" REF="198">and many others; but it would be too long for this place and occa&s;ion. And therefore to make &s;hort Work, in&s;tead of that, I will here repre|&s;ent their Sentiments in &s;ome &s;hort Notes of an Eminent and mo&s;t Learned Annotator, who was well acquainted with them, and doth &s;ometimes inter&s;per&s;e &s;ome of their Te&s;timonies in his Writings: It is the Famous <HI>Hugo Grotius. The&s;e,</HI> &s;aith he, upon <HI>Mat.</HI> 18.10. (who dedicate them&s;elves to God with a true Faith, and there|upon are accounted his peculiar People) <HI>God, as he doth favour them with a peculiar Providence, &s;o he &s;eems to give to each an Angel Guardian to guide and a&s;&s;i&s;t them, either perpetually or certainly, until they come to</HI> the full Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Divine Spirit: <HI>For &s;o I &s;ee the Ancient Chri&s;tians did be|lieve.</HI> And in his Pref. to his Annot. upon the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Romans. Into the Heart purified by Faith, as into a clean Ve&s;&s;el, God doth infu&s;e his Spirit; I mean the Spirit of Christ full of Love of God, and of our Neighbour, and of all Goodne&s;s.&mdash;Tho&s;e who have this Spirit of God, and carefully keep it, God doth account as born of Him, and like unto Him; to them he gives a certain Right to Heavenly and Eternal Good Things.&mdash; Neither is the Heart purified but by Faith in Christ; nor is the Spirit infu&s;ed but into a Heart &s;o purified; nor doth he plainly own for his any but who are endowed with that Spirit.</HI> Upon <HI>Luke</HI> 22.3. <HI>As they who religiou&s;ly obey
<PB N="18" REF="199">the Divine Admonitions, at length receive the In|dwelling Spirit; &s;o they who readily con&s;ent to the Sugge&s;tions of the Devil, at length, God de&s;erting them, become the Slaves of Satan.</HI> Upon <HI>Jo.</HI> 5.45. <HI>Tho&s;e (to whom the Go&s;pel is Preached) become taught of God,</HI> that is, <HI>if they would, if they be greedy of it, if they do not reject the Be|nefits offered, and even forc'd upon them. They will have no need to have recour&s;e to Learned Men, that from them they may learn the My&s;teries of the Old Te&s;tament.</HI> Upon <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.17. <HI>The Spi|rit of God which is given to Believers, doth, among other things, imprint al&s;o Wi&s;dom in their Souls, not that of the things of this World, of which Philo&s;o|phers did boa&s;t, but of tho&s;e things which conduce to a better Life. The &s;ame Spirit doth reveal al&s;o to tho&s;e who are his, things future and &s;ecret, which cannot be known by humane Means.</HI> Upon 1 <HI>Jo.</HI> 2.20. <HI>The Spirit doth &s;ugge&s;t to us in all Circum&s;tances, both the Precepts of Chri&s;t, and &s;uch Hints or Notices as are meet for the Occa&s;ion.</HI> v. 27. <HI>What we are to do in every Circum&s;tance: For there are certain Differences, which Times, Places, and Per&s;ons, require. Therefore is there often need of Admonition to hit the way of our Duty.</HI> See <HI>Jer.</HI> 31.34. Jo. 6.45. and, if you plea&s;e, <HI>Seneca Epi&s;t.</HI> 94. And upon 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 4.9. <HI>The Holy Gho&s;t teacheth you concerning all things to be done. By how much the more there is of the Spirit, &s;o much the le&s;s need is there of Pre&s;cripts.
<PB N="19" REF="199">This Place is not to be under&s;tood of the General Precept, but of &s;pecial Determinations, as all Things, Per&s;ons, and Times do require.</HI> And <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.18. <HI>Tho&s;e who are led by the Spirit, as now of Age, have no need of the Law, the Guardian of their Youth.</HI> And <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.4. <HI>Tho&s;e who walk after the Spirit,</HI> he interprets, <HI>tho&s;e who having obtained the Holy Spirit, do con&s;tantly obey its Motions:</HI> and afterwards, <HI>v.</HI> 5. <HI>They that are after the Spirit,</HI> he interprets, <HI>tho&s;e who are po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed by the Spirit of God; which doth not now come to pa&s;s, but by Chri&s;t.</HI> And, <HI>v.</HI> 12. he notes, <HI>God hath given his Spirit that we &s;hould u&s;e it;</HI> and again, <HI>So great a Gue&s;t will be treated with Care; otherwi&s;e he will bid farewell to his Lodging.</HI> And to conclude, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.23. <HI>Spirit here,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>is that Holy Spirit, inhabit|ing in the Souls of Chri&s;tians, and if it be carefully kept, adhering to Souls unto Death, and after Death even to the Re&s;urrection;</HI> and then referrs to what he had &s;aid, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.44. to <HI>Hierom</HI> upon <HI>Gal.</HI> 5. and recites, to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, the Words of <HI>Philo, Irenaeus, Tatianus, Clem. Alex|andrinus,</HI> and <HI>Tertullian.</HI> More might be added; but this is enough to &s;hew the Mind of this great Man, concerning the Nece&s;&s;ity of our having the Spirit of God dwelling in us, the Effects of his Re&s;idence in Light and Conduct, and our Duty how to treat it.</P>
<PB N="20" REF="200">
<P> And that this is al&s;o the Belief of <HI>the Church of England,</HI> (however &s;ome of late have com|monly pre&s;um'd to &s;peak, if not de&s;pitefully and reproachfully, yet too &s;lightly of &s;o great and holy a Principle of our Religion) may appear, by the mo&s;t Authentick Evidence that can be, her mo&s;t &s;olemn Addre&s;&s;es to Almighty God in divers Collects for this very purpo&s;e: As, for all Per&s;ons to be <HI>Baptized,</HI> before they be Bap|tized, <HI>to give his Holy Spirit to them, that they may be born again,</HI> &amp;c. and after they be Bap|tized, <HI>to give his Holy Spirit to them, that they may continue his Servants, and attain his Promi&s;es:</HI> So likewi&s;e for all Per&s;ons <HI>Confirmed, to &s;trengthen them with the Holy Ghost, and daily increa&s;e in them his manifold Gifts of Grace:</HI> before Impo|&s;ition of Hands, and then again together with the Impo&s;ition of Hands, <HI>that they may daily in|crea&s;e in his Holy Spirit;</HI> and again afterward, that <HI>his Holy Spirit may ever be with them, and &s;o lead them,</HI> &amp;c. and la&s;tly, for all the Con|gregation upon &s;everal Occa&s;ions; as, upon the Nativity of our Lord, that they <HI>may daily be renewed by his Holy Spirit.</HI> Upon the <HI>19th</HI> Sun|day after <HI>Trinity,</HI> that his <HI>Holy Spirit may in all things Direct and Rule our Hearts.</HI> Upon the <HI>fir&s;t</HI> Sunday in <HI>Lent, that we may ever obey his Godly Motions.</HI> Upon <HI>Ea&s;ter-Day, that as by thy &s;pecial Grace preventing us, thou dost put into our Minds good De&s;ires; &s;o by thy continual Help
<PB N="21" REF="200">we may bring the &s;ame to good Effect.</HI> Upon the <HI>fifth</HI> Sunday after <HI>Ea&s;ter, that by his Holy In&s;pi|ration we may think tho&s;e things that be good, and by his merciful Guiding may perform the &s;ame:</HI> and others to the like Effect; as, upon the <HI>Sun|day</HI> after <HI>A&s;cen&s;ion, Whit&s;unday,</HI> the <HI>13th</HI> Sunday after <HI>Trinity,</HI> the Collect at the beginning of the <HI>Communion Service.</HI> And at every <HI>Morning</HI> and <HI>Evening Service,</HI> all are admoni&s;hed to <HI>be&s;eech him to give us his Holy Spirit.</HI> And in the Coll. for <HI>Grace,</HI> we pray to God, <HI>that all our doings may be ordered by his Governance:</HI> and in the <HI>Litany, to indue us with the Grace of his Holy Spirit, to amend our Lives according to his Holy Word.</HI> In the Ordering of <HI>Deacons,</HI> this Que&s;tion is fir&s;t to be asked by the Bi&s;hop, <HI>Do you tru&s;t that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Gho&s;t to take upon you this Office and Mini|&s;tration,</HI> &amp;c? In the Ordering of <HI>Prie&s;ts,</HI> the Bi&s;hop &s;ays, <HI>Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Prie&s;t in the Church of God,</HI> &amp;c. And in the Con&s;ecration of a <HI>Bi&s;hop,</HI> the Arch-Bi&s;hop &s;ays, <HI>Receive the Holy Gho&s;t for the Office and Work of a Bi&s;hop,</HI> &amp;c. and at each is &s;ung the Hymn, <HI>Come Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. And in the Exhortation in the Commination, this is mentioned as one of the Conditions of our Par|don, <HI>viz. If we will be ordered by the Gover|nance of his Holy Spirit.</HI> And in the Articles of Religion, Art. 17. are mentioned together
<PB N="22" REF="201"><HI>Godly Per&s;ons and &s;uch as feel in them&s;elves the Working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>To this Authority of the Church, I will &s;ub|joyn the Judgment of one of her Sons, who, though at fir&s;t it &s;eems he was carried away with the common Prejudice of the Age, yet afterward, upon better con&s;ideration, extricated him&s;elf, and recover'd a better Judgment, and has in few words &s;aid what is much to the purpo&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>That God him&s;elf affords his Intimacies and Con|ver&s;es to the better Souls, which are prepar'd for it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>I</HI> confe&s;s <HI>the proud and phanta&s;tick</HI> Pretences <HI>of many of the conceited Melancholi&s;ts in this Age, to Divine Communion, have</HI> prejudiced <HI>divers in|telligent Per&s;ons again&s;t the Belief of any &s;uch happy Vouch&s;afement; &s;o that they conclude the Doctrine of Immediate Communion with the Deity in this Life to be but an high-flown Notion of warm Imagination, and over-lu&s;cious Self-Flattery: and I acknowledge I have my &s;elf had Thoughts of this nature, &s;uppo&s;ing</HI> Communion with God <HI>to be nothing el&s;e but the Exerci&s;e of Vertue, and that Peace and tho&s;e Comforts which naturally re&s;ult from it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>But I have</HI> con&s;idered <HI>&s;ince, That God's more near and immediate imparting him&s;elf to the Soul that is prepar'd for that Happine&s;s by Divine Love, Humility, and Re&s;ignation in the way of a Vital Touch, and Sen&s;e, is a thing po&s;&s;ible in it &s;elf, and will be a great part of our Heaven:
<PB N="23" REF="201">That Glory is begun in Grace, and God is plea&s;ed to give &s;ome excellent Souls the happy Antepast: That holy Men in ancient times have &s;ought and gloried in this Enjoyment, and never complain &s;o &s;orely, as when it was with-held and interrupted: That the Expre&s;&s;ions of Scripture run infinitely this way, and the be&s;t of modern good Men do, from their own Experience, atte&s;t it: That this &s;piritualizeth Religion, and renders its Enjoyments more comfortable and delicious: That it keeps the Soul under a vivid &s;en&s;e of God, and is a grand Security again&s;t Temptation: That it holds it &s;ted|dy amid&s;t the Flatteries of a pro&s;perous State, and gives it the most grounded Anchorage and Support amid&s;t the Waves of an adver&s;e Condition: That 'tis the noblest Encouragement to Vertue, and the highest A&s;&s;urance of an happy Immortality. I &s;ay, I</HI> con&s;idered <HI>the&s;e weighty Things, and won|der'd at the Carele&s;sne&s;s and Prejudice of Thoughts, that occa&s;ion'd my &s;u&s;pecting the Reality of &s;o glo|rious a Priviledge: I &s;aw how little Rea&s;on there is in denying Matters of inward Sen&s;e, becau&s;e our &s;elves do not feel them, or cannot form an Ap|prehen&s;ion of them in our Minds: I am convinc'd that things of gust and reli&s;h must be judged by the &s;entient and vital Faculties, and not by the noetical Exerci&s;es of &s;peculative &V;nder&s;tandings: And upon the whole, I</HI> believe <HI>infinitely, that the Divine Spirit affords its &s;en&s;ible Pre&s;ence, and immediate Beatifick Touch to &s;ome</HI> Rare Souls,
<PB N="24" REF="202"><HI>who are dive&s;ted of carnal Self, and mundane Plea&s;ures, ab&s;tracted from the Body by Prayer and Holy Meditation; &s;piritual in their De&s;ires, and calm in their Affections; devout Lovers of God and Vertue, and tenderly affectionate to all the World; &s;incere in their Aims, and circum&s;pect in their Actions; inlarged in their Souls, and clear in their Minds. The&s;e, I think, are the</HI> Di&s;po|&s;itions <HI>that are</HI> requi&s;ite <HI>to fit us for</HI> Divine Communion: <HI>And God tran&s;acts not in this near way, but with prepared Spirits, who are thus di&s;|po&s;ed for the Manife&s;tation of his Pre&s;ence, and his Influence; and &s;uch, I believe, he never fails to ble&s;s with the&s;e happy fore ta&s;ts of Glory. But for tho&s;e that are Pa&s;&s;ionate and Conceited, Tur|bulent and Notional, Confident and Immodest, Imperious and Malicious; that doat upon Trifles, and run fiercely into the ways of a Sect; that are lifted up in the Apprehen&s;ion of the glorious Pre|rogatives of them&s;elves and their Party, and &s;corn all the World be&s;ides; for &s;uch, I &s;ay, be their Preten&s;ions what they will, to Divine Commu|nion, Illap&s;es, and Di&s;coveries, I believe them not; their Fancies abu&s;e them, or they would us: For what Communion hath Light with Darkne&s;s, or the Spirit of the Holy One with tho&s;e, who&s;e Genius and Ways are &s;o unlike Him? But the other</HI> Excellent Souls <HI>I de&s;cribed, will as certainly be vi&s;ited by the Divine Pre&s;ence and Conver&s;e, as the Chry&s;talline Streams are with the Beams of
<PB N="25" REF="202">Light, or the fitly prepared Earth, who&s;e Seed is in it &s;elf, will be actuated by the Spirit of Nature.</HI></P>
<P>There is <HI>a late Writer</HI> of no mean Learning and Parts, and Authority too among tho&s;e of his own Party, who reckons the <HI>De&s;pi&s;ing of the Holy Spirit, and his Operations</HI> now, to be a Sin of the &s;ame Nature with the Apo&s;tacy of the <HI>Jews</HI> by Idolatry of old, and afterwards by rejecting of our Saviour at his coming: and yet in dete&s;tation of Enthu&s;ia&s;m, <HI>utterly aban|dons</HI> all Impul&s;es and Motions <HI>to Things and Actions, which are not acknowledged Duties in them&s;elves, evidenced by the Word of Truth,</HI> &amp;c. under the Name of <HI>Irrational Impre&s;&s;ions,</HI> and <HI>violent Inclinations:</HI> and what &s;ome Men intend by <HI>Impul&s;es,</HI> he &s;ays, he knows not. Indeed they who reject all &s;uch things, reject they know not what. And did they thereby only hurt them&s;elves, it might be thought a ju&s;t Puni&s;hment: but &s;uch confident A&s;&s;ertions in Print may not only be hurtful to Men, but al&s;o injurious to the Wi&s;dom and Goodne&s;s of God, which is not to be limited by Mens Conceits. The <HI>Jews</HI> heretofore had the Favour <HI>to inquire of God,</HI> and receive <HI>An&s;wers</HI> and <HI>Direction</HI> in their &s;pecial Exigences: and if the Chri&s;tians are not allowed that Favour now, it may be thought that the State of Chri&s;tians is inferior to that of the Jews then, in a Matter of great
<PB N="26" REF="203">Importance; or that the Chri&s;tians now are, as the latter Jews were, fallen from the Inte|grity of the true Chri&s;tian State: Nor can I conceive any rea&s;on why Chri&s;tians &s;hould not have &s;ome &s;uch Means for this purpo&s;e, as the ancient Jews had, but that every Chri&s;tian ought to have a Divine Oracle in his own Brea&s;t, by the Re&s;idence of the Spirit of God there, if we were indeed &s;uch as our Profe&s;&s;ion doth require, and oblige us to be, that is, truly Spiritual, and Heavenly-minded. It doth there|fore concern us to inquire, whether the Fault be not in our &s;elves, if God doth not an&s;wer us, as it was with <HI>Saul,</HI> when God was de|parted from him, rather than to di&s;honour our Profe&s;&s;ion, by arguing again&s;t the Truth to cover our Shame? and &s;ince the Lord's Ear is not heavy that it cannot hear, whether our Sins have not interpo&s;ed between our God and us, that he will not hear? Certainly we often need a Wi&s;dom more than Humane in many Ca&s;es, wherein the General Pre&s;cripts are not &s;ufficient.</P>
<P>For, as many things are <HI>lawful,</HI> which may not be <HI>expedient;</HI> &s;o many things may be <HI>ex|pedient,</HI> or <HI>nece&s;&s;ary,</HI> which may not be <HI>acknow|ledged Duties in them&s;elves, evidenced by the Word of Truth,</HI> the written Word; and to the &s;ucce&s;sful Performance of acknowledged Duties certain <HI>Circum&s;tances</HI> may be, and often are &s;o
<PB N="27" REF="203">nece&s;&s;ary, that unle&s;s duly ob&s;erved, all En|deavours would be fru&s;trate: and all the&s;e Expediences and Circum&s;tances may be, and frequently are, &s;uch as are not di&s;cernable by us Mortals, without &s;ome <HI>Notice</HI> from more Intelligent Beings. If therefore the All-&s;eeing, Wi&s;e, and Gracious God, be plea&s;ed, either im|mediately by his own Spirit, or mediately by any of the Invi&s;ible Mini&s;ters of his Providence, to afford any &s;uch Divine Favours to &s;uch Mortals as are duly di&s;po&s;ed for the &s;ame; if taking notice of the Sincerity of his Servant, he be plea&s;ed, by any &s;ecret <HI>Impre&s;&s;ion</HI> upon his Heart or Mind, or other Notices, to conduct him in the&s;e things, or in any thing of his Will and Plea&s;ure, though without manife&s;ting the Rea&s;ons of it, to exerci&s;e his Rea&s;onable Crea|ture to the Subjection of his Intellect to the Divine Wi&s;dom, as well as his Will to Obedience to his Plea&s;ure: as he who after competent Experience of this, &s;hould be di&s;obedient to any &s;uch Notice, would certainly incurr <HI>Sin</HI> more or le&s;s, and ju&s;tly de&s;erve Correction; &s;o it would be no le&s;s <HI>Impiety</HI> again&s;t that Holy Maje&s;ty, and Mi&s;chief to Men, to rai&s;e among&s;t them any Scandal or Prejudice again&s;t it, and thereupon a great Indi&s;po&s;ition for it, by any <HI>undue Oppo&s;ition of Fanatici&s;m,</HI> without &s;ufficient Di&s;tinction and Caution, than it is <HI>Impudence</HI> and Incon&s;ideratene&s;s in others, to expo&s;e them|&s;elves
<PB N="28" REF="204">and their Followers to the Delu&s;ions of Evil Spirits by high Pretences to &s;uch Divine and extraordinary Favours, without any Regard to, or Notice of tho&s;e &s;pecial Qualifications, and Cautions for Tryal of Spirits, which are nece&s;&s;ary to capacitate them for &s;uch Favour, and to &s;ecure them again&s;t &s;uch Delu&s;ions. It requires therefore no &s;mall <HI>Caution,</HI> (to u&s;e this Author's Expre&s;&s;ion) that under an in|vidious Name they reject not &s;uch Favours, or calumniate &s;uch an Holy Conduct: and, that they e&s;pecially who reproach others with limiting the Holy Spirit, do not them&s;elves in this, what in other things they condemn in others, with le&s;s Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>And certainly great Caution is likewi&s;e to be u&s;ed <HI>on the other &s;ide,</HI> that we pre&s;ume not to attribute to the Holy Spirit of God, what is meerly the Imaginations or Effu&s;ions of our own Spirit; what is meerly Humane Invention, or Artifice; and even the In&s;pirations and De|lu&s;ions of Satan transformed into an Angel of Light. By this means is great Indignity com|monly done to the Holy and Pure Spirit: and great Sin contracted by Mens arrogating to them&s;elves tho&s;e Gifts and Graces, which they have little of, and recommending them&s;elves and their Performances upon &s;uch high Pretences; and great Scandal given to People to think meanly of &s;o great a Principle of our Religion.</P>
<PB N="29" REF="204">
<P> There are <HI>three Great-Means</HI> which God hath provided for us to lead us into all nece&s;&s;ary Truth: <HI>Natural Rea&s;on, Supernatural Revela|tion</HI> communicated by Per&s;ons authorized by Divine Commi&s;&s;ion &s;o to do, and <HI>Special Illu|mination and Direction</HI> of the Holy Spirit. And they who carefully u&s;e all the&s;e in their due Order, cannot err. But they who &s;et up the&s;e one again&s;t another, do u&s;ually run them&s;elves and lead others into great Errors. And hence it is that &s;o great Di&s;orders and Mi&s;chiefs have through the Subtilty and Energy of Satan been brought into the Church by Per&s;ons pretending to &s;ome one of the&s;e in a kind of Oppo&s;ition to &s;ome other of them: either of Right Rea&s;on, or of the Pure Word of God; or of the Spirit and Spiritual Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>I do not doubt but they who pretend mo&s;t to <HI>Right Rea&s;on,</HI> in oppo&s;ition to In&s;piration, are even therein very &s;trongly in&s;pired, but by the &s;ubtile Spirit of Oppo&s;ition, and are in effect as great and pernicious Fanaticks as any, though they lea&s;t &s;u&s;pect it. But not only tho&s;e un|happy <HI>Athei&s;tical Pretenders</HI> to Rea&s;on, who de&s;pi&s;e all Revelation and Revealed Religion; but &s;uch as profe&s;s them&s;elves Chri&s;tians; and not only that <HI>in&s;olent and pre&s;umptuous Sect,</HI> who a&s;&s;ert the Divine Authority of the Scrip|tures, and yet make no &s;cruple to &s;train and wre&s;t them to comply with their pre-conceived
<PB N="30" REF="205">Notions; but more <HI>Moderate Men,</HI> and &s;uch as pretend highe&s;t to the Pure Word of God, and to the mo&s;t pure Spiritual Wor&s;hip, and cry out again&s;t Man-made Divinity, and again&s;t Fanatici&s;m too; by indulging too much to their own Conceits, have brought &s;uch <HI>Di&s;or|ders and Mi&s;chiefs</HI> into the Church, as are not much to be doubted were the Fruits of the In|fluences and Impre&s;&s;ions of the Spirit of Delu|&s;ion upon their Mind. Hence are many run from Super&s;tition into Prophanene&s;s; from Idolatry into Sacrilege; from Formality into Contempt or Neglect of the mo&s;t Solemn Chri|&s;tian Wor&s;hip; from beggarly Rudiments and Carnal Ordinances, to make light of the In&s;ti|tutions of Chri&s;t; from Monki&s;h Au&s;terity, as they call it, into common Indulgence and Gratifications to Sen&s;e; from Popi&s;h Merit into Carle&s;&s;ne&s;s, Worldly-mindedne&s;s, Selfi&s;hne&s;s, and little Concern for the Honour of God, or Sal|vation of Souls; from the Traditions of Men and Popi&s;h Pretences, to deny all, even of the Apo&s;tles, the Authority of the Catholick Church, and the Catholick Sen&s;e and Interpretation of divers of the Evangelical and Apo&s;tolical Pre|cepts and Directions; and, at la&s;t, to limit our Saviour's Sermon upon the Mount to the times of Per&s;ecution, till, at la&s;t, by tho&s;e means, we are grown ripe for a Per&s;ecution, or &s;ome other &s;evere awakening and purging Judgment. All
<PB N="31" REF="205">this, and more that might be noted, we cannot impute meerly to the Weakne&s;s and Corruption of Men, unle&s;s we can imagin that all the Powers of Darkne&s;s have been all the while meer idle Spectators. But if they have been &s;o &s;ubtle and active thus to deceive the Gentiles in the&s;e latter times, and the be&s;t of Men have not been exempt from their A&s;&s;aults, it concerns all to beware that they be not deceived by a Spirit of Delu&s;ion under any of the&s;e Appea|rances, either of the Good Spirit, or of the Scripture, or of Rea&s;on: that they embrace not fal&s;e Conclu&s;ions in&s;tead of Right Rea&s;on, their own Conceits, or the Novel Opinions of &s;ome Sect, in&s;tead of the Genuine Sen&s;e of the Scriptures, or Satan transformed for the Spirit of God; <HI>lea&s;t, by any means, as the Serpent be|guiled</HI> Eve <HI>through his Subtilty, their Minds &s;hould be corrupted from the Simplicity that is in Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And there is no way po&s;&s;ible to e&s;cape this but by the Aid, Illumination, and Conduct of the Holy Spirit of God. Nor are any to be be|lieved to be led by that Spirit, when they go out of the way pre&s;cribed by Chri&s;t, and by his Apo&s;tles, who were Commi&s;&s;ioned by Him: for it is the Spirit of Chri&s;t, and <HI>of his Fulne&s;s we all receive.</HI> As the Law was our School-ma&s;ter to bring us unto Chri&s;t, &s;o is Ob&s;ervance of the Pre&s;cripts of the Go&s;pel de&s;igned for our Tutourage, to bring us to the Spirit. To that
<PB N="32" REF="206">we mu&s;t come, or we are none of his: but that way we mu&s;t come, and in that way we mu&s;t keep, or el&s;e we &s;hall be led by the Spirit of Error, and mi&s;take that for the Spirit of Truth. If we do well con&s;ider the Holy Scriptures, the Nature of the Holy Spirit, and the Fruits of the Spirit, we may learn what <HI>Qualifications</HI> are requi&s;ite to obtain that in|e&s;timable Trea&s;ure; and by what <HI>Signs and Characters</HI> it may be known and di&s;tingui&s;hed. And thereby we may di&s;cern that many, who pretend highly to the Spirit, are much out of the way of the true Spirit of God; and many led by the &s;ubtile Spirit of Antichri&s;t, under the appearance of an Angel of Light, to under|mine the Go&s;pel and In&s;titutions of Chri&s;t; to do de&s;pite to the Spirit of Grace, and to rai&s;e Scandals and Prejudices again&s;t the Holy Do|ctrine, which they pretend, and it may be think to a&s;&s;ert, and to indi&s;po&s;e Men for the Re|ception of tho&s;e Graces, which tho&s;e envious and malicious Spirits may know to be ready to be communicated to them. And this &s;hould make others the more cautious, that they be not &s;ub&s;ervient to, and be made the very Tools of the&s;e wicked Agents in their Oppo&s;ition, lea&s;t at la&s;t they be involved with them in their Condemnation.</P>
<P>The <HI>True way to reduce the mi&s;led People,</HI> is, not to deny or di&s;&s;emble the Holy Doctrine,
<PB N="33" REF="206">much le&s;s to villifie or reproach it; but plainly to a&s;&s;ert the Truth, and &s;hew them wherein, and by what Means they are mi&s;led from it: 1. That <HI>the Spirit of God</HI> is the mo&s;t precious and de&s;irable thing in the World, and ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary; but it is to be <HI>de&s;ired</HI> principally to transform us into its own Nature; to lead us into all nece&s;&s;ary Truth; to endue us with Power to overcome all our Corruptions, and all Temptations, and to adorn us with all tho&s;e Graces, which ennoble Humane Nature, and rai&s;e it above its &s;elf, and &s;o make us Chri&s;tians indeed; and to conduct us in all the important Occurrences of our Lives: but to de&s;ire it for Matters of O&s;tentation, to glory in Divine Communications, or over-earne&s;tly &s;eek after the Con&s;olations, through impatience of bear|ing the Spiritual Cro&s;s, are great Signs that &s;uch Souls are either quite out of the way, or have made but little Progre&s;s. 2. That Satan is often transformed into an Angel of Light; and therefore we mu&s;t be careful to try the Spirits. 3. That <HI>whatever is contrary to Sound Doctrine,</HI> 1 Tim. 1.10: 2.1. <HI>to the Doctrine, which is according to Godline&s;s,</HI> ibid. 6.3. <HI>the Doctrine taught by the Apo&s;tles,</HI> Rom. 16.17. Gal. 1.8. <HI>to the Faith once delivered to the Saints,</HI> Jud. 3. cannot be from the true Spirit, the Spirit of Chri&s;t. 4. That &s;uch Spirits as lead into <HI>Divi&s;ions, Separations,</HI> and <HI>Sects,</HI> lead
<PB N="34" REF="207">out of the way of the True Spirit of God: and whatever lead into contempt or di&s;re&s;pect of the <HI>Sacred Scriptures,</HI> or any of the <HI>Ordi|nances</HI> or <HI>In&s;titutions of Christ,</HI> are certainly Spirits of Antichri&s;t, how &s;pecious &s;oever their Pretences may be: for the Con&s;cientious and Reverend U&s;e of the&s;e are the very Means whereby Souls are prepared for the Commu|nication of the Spirit of God, and whereby it is ordinarily communicated to them. <HI>Cui Ve|ritas comperta &s;ine Deo? Cui Deus cognitus &s;ine Chri&s;to? Cui Chri&s;tus exploratus &s;ine Spiritu Sancto? Cui Spiritus Sanctus accommodatus &s;ine Fidei Sacramento?</HI> &s;aith an ancient and eminent Chri&s;tian, <HI>Tertul. de Anima, c.</HI> 1. <Q>To whom is Truth di&s;covered without God? To whom is God known without Chri&s;t? To whom is Chri&s;t manife&s;t without the Holy Spirit? To whom is the Holy Spirit granted without the Sacrament of Faith?</Q> that is, <HI>Bapti&s;m.</HI> 5. And more particularly in re&s;pect to &s;ome among&s;t us; That they who a&s;&s;ert this Doctrine with|out <HI>Di&s;tinction</HI> or <HI>Caution,</HI> are not much to be regarded; and if they be Men of Learning, and may be pre&s;umed not to be ignorant what Cautions and Rules are given by Learned and Experienced Chri&s;tians, to di&s;tingui&s;h the Im|po&s;tures of Evil Spirits from the Conduct or Motions of the Good, are much to be &s;u&s;|pected to &s;erve another Intere&s;t then what
<PB N="35" REF="207">they pretend to tho&s;e they mi&s;lead; and that they all expo&s;e People to the Delu&s;ions of Evil Spirits, which readily embrace &s;uch Advan|tages. 6. That there were &s;pecial Rea&s;ons why God ordered <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to &s;mite the Waters and the Du&s;t with the Rod, and to take hand|fuls of A&s;hes from the Furnace and &s;prinkle it towards the Heaven, and to erect the Brazen Ser|pent in the Wilderne&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> to produce the intend|ed effects; and why our Saviour made Clay with Spittle, and anointed the Eyes of the Blind Man, and then bad him wa&s;h, and many other &s;uch things, for which perhaps no Man did nor doth know the rea&s;on; and yet, undoubt|edly, if the&s;e Orders had not been ob&s;erved, the Effect had not follow'd. 7. That it is but rea&s;onable that God &s;hould give Orders, without declaring the Rea&s;on, for Tryal and Exerci&s;e of the Subjection of the Intellectual Faculties of his Creatures; and that in &s;uch Ca&s;e, if the Orders be not ob&s;erved, it is not likely the Effect &s;hould follow: and that if there were no more than this Exerci&s;e of hum|ble Submi&s;&s;ion to the Wi&s;dom of God, in <HI>the Chri&s;tian Sacraments,</HI> it could not be imagined to be the Spirit of Chri&s;t, that &s;hould lead Peo|ple to de&s;pi&s;e or neglect the&s;e <HI>Orders</HI> and <HI>In&s;ti|tutions</HI> of Chri&s;t: But in them there is more; for In&s;tance, in that of <HI>Bapti&s;m,</HI> it is the So|lemnity, and external Act of Declaration of
<PB N="36" REF="208">our Engagement in <HI>Covenant</HI> with Chri&s;t: and the Refu&s;al of it is as much as to refu&s;e to Seal and Deliver a Bond; which whoever &s;hould refu&s;e to do, and yet pretend to give Bond, might be looked upon as a Knave or a Cheat: and in that of <HI>the Holy Communion,</HI> there is a great and Solemn Duty of <HI>Recognition</HI> of the ab&s;olute Dominion of the Father by Right of Creation, and of the Son by Right of Re|demption, over us and all we are and have; a Symbolical Oblation of our &s;elves and of all we have to God, in a <HI>Commemorative Sacrifice</HI> and Repre&s;entation of the Pa&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t be|fore the Father, as the Great Propitiation for the Sins of the World, of as full <HI>import</HI> to all intents and purpo&s;es to Chri&s;tians, as were all the Sacrifices of the Jews to them, which were but Types of the &s;ame; a Holy <HI>Rite of Addre&s;s</HI> to God the Father, by Chri&s;t the Mediator, through the Merit and Satisfaction of his Pa&s;&s;i|on, by which alone our Prayers and Thank&s;|givings have acceptance with him; and of <HI>Spiritual Communion</HI> with God in Chri&s;t, where|by a Divine Power and Vertue is as really com|municated to Souls duly di&s;po&s;ed, as Vertue went out of him and healed the People, and the Woman who touched the Hem of his Gar|ment. And the&s;e have been the Sentiments, and this the mo&s;t &s;olemn and peculiar Wor&s;hip of the Chri&s;tian Church, all over the World,
<PB N="37" REF="208">from the ri&s;ing of the Sun to the going down of the &s;ame, performed every day in mo&s;t of the great Churches, and every Lord's-Day in all, from the times of the Apo&s;tles till the la&s;t Age. It is an Ordinance of &s;o great Honour to our Saviour, and Benefit to Souls duly di&s;pos'd, that there can hardly be a greater Evidence of the Prevalence of the Spirit of Antichri&s;t, and of Satan transformed, than Di&s;re&s;pect and Ne|glect of it, under pretence of a more &s;piritual Wor&s;hip: For nothing can be more grievous to that envious and malicious Spirit, than to &s;ee that <HI>Pa&s;&s;ion,</HI> which he had mo&s;t maliciou&s;ly procured, to be &s;o honoured all over the World, and applyed to his Confu&s;ion; and therefore hath he oppos'd it with all the Subtilty and Malice he could po&s;&s;ible. Be&s;ides, for People to &s;light it under pretence of Chri&s;t being come to them in the Spirit, is a manife&s;t and dan|gerous piece of Spiritual Pride &s;o to &s;et up them&s;elves above the Primitive Chri&s;tians, and St. <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf, who had &s;o great a Manife|&s;tation of the Spirit with them; and therefore another pregnant Evidence of the Spirit of Delu&s;ion. And if we do well con&s;ider what decays of Charity and Unanimity among Men, and of Piety and Devotion to God, hath in all parts attended the Neglect of this Holy Ordi|nance, that may be another Evidence of what Spirit they are of, who do neglect it,
<PB N="38" REF="209">whatever their Pretences be. But for <HI>all Se|parati&s;ts and Sectaries</HI> in general, it is matter of great Caution that the Scriptures are &s;o full of Admonitions and Prohibitions again&s;t <HI>Schi&s;ms</HI> and <HI>Divi&s;ions,</HI> and of Predictions, both by our Saviour him&s;elf, and by his Apo&s;tles, both of the Variety of them, and of the Danger, in that &s;ome of them have that &s;pecious Ap|pearance, as to deceive, if it were po&s;&s;ible, the very Elect. And if we look into the Hi&s;tory of the Church in former times, we &s;hall find little or nothing of the true Spirit among any of any Party of Separati&s;ts, but much of the Spirit of Error or Delu&s;ion. And therefore when we find a Manife&s;tation of the Pre&s;ence or Energy of &s;ome Spirit, and a Concurrence of divers of the&s;e Indications or Signs, we may be a&s;&s;ured and confident that it is an Antichri&s;tian Spirit, be its appearance never &s;o &s;pecious in other re|&s;pects. And in the&s;e <HI>two things</HI> e&s;pecially, have &s;uch as have been partakers of the true Spirit, found them&s;elves to be &s;ometimes &s;trangely <HI>a&s;&s;aulted and tempted</HI> by the &s;ubtile Adver&s;ary, <HI>viz.</HI> to Spiritual Pride, and undervaluation of other Per&s;ons, and to neglect of the Ordinances of Chri&s;t, as needle&s;s to them.</P>
<P><HI>The Way, whereby the ancient Religious Chri|&s;tians were generally pre&s;erved</HI> from the&s;e and &s;uch like Snares, was, that they were trained up, as the Sons of the Prophets of old, under ancient
<PB N="39" REF="209">experienced Chri&s;tians in all kind of Exerci&s;es of Humility, Subjection both of Mind and Will, and con&s;tant di&s;covery of the Di&s;po&s;itions and Motions of their Hearts to their Superiors, and of all Grace and Vertue. But where both Do|ctrine and Practice hath been neglected, it is not &s;trange that among&s;t many Appearances and Pretences there &s;hould be found little of Soli|dity; e&s;pecially where tho&s;e noble Heroick Vir|tues of <HI>Ab&s;traction,</HI> and <HI>Contempt of the World, Heavenly-mindedne&s;s,</HI> and <HI>continual Attendance to God,</HI> &amp;c. are rejected as <HI>Monkery</HI> and <HI>Super&s;ti|tion;</HI> but all their goodly Appearances and Pre|tences end, at la&s;t, in Emptine&s;s and Scandal. And therefore it concerns all, who have any Care of their Souls, to beware of all &s;uch as are out of the Way and Method of the Ancients.</P>
<P>But, on the other &s;ide, to take &s;uch Offence at the Mi&s;carriages of &s;uch as have been led into Error by any &s;educing Spirit, as therefore to oppo&s;e the Conduct of the Spirit of Truth, or any of its Operations, and elude the Holy Scrip|tures, and undermine the Doctrine thereof, is as certainly the Effect of the Operation of the Spi|rit of Antichri&s;t, and, in truth, as much Fana|tici&s;m as the other, in the contrary Extream. For the <HI>Good Spirit</HI> is as ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to be had, as all others to be avoided; for without it we canot be genuine living Chri&s;tians, but meer empty formal Profe&s;&s;ors; of which &s;ort, it
<PB N="40" REF="210">is much to be feared, are the greate&s;t part both of Conformi&s;ts and Non-Conformi&s;ts among&s;t us, if Judgment be made according to our Sa|viour's Rule of their Fruits, and Fruitfulne&s;s.</P>
<P>But le&s;t any well-minded Soul &s;hould be troubled with any doubts in this re&s;pect, we mu&s;t di&s;tingui&s;h between <HI>Having</HI> the Spirit, and the <HI>Manife&s;tation</HI> of the Spirit; and between the <HI>Operations</HI> of the Spirit, the <HI>Gifts</HI> of the Spirit, and the <HI>Graces</HI> of the Spirit: and know, that as there may be the Operations of the Spirit, where there are not the Gifts of the Spi|rit; and the Gifts of the Spirit, where there are not the Graces of the Spirit: &s;o, on the other &s;ide, there may be the <HI>Re&s;idence</HI> of the Spirit, where there is no &s;en&s;ible di&s;tingui&s;hable <HI>Manife&s;tation</HI> of the Spirit. For the Operations and Communications of the Spi|rit are often &s;o &s;ubtile and &s;ecret in the manner, both in Illumination, and Power, and Inclination of the Will, as are not manife&s;t by Sen&s;e, but by Faith only, and we know not how they are wrought in us. But as the mo&s;t de&s;irable Graces of the Spirit are <HI>Regeneration</HI> and <HI>Effectual Sanctification,</HI> &s;o the Fruits and Effects thereof are the mo&s;t infallible Notes of the Pre&s;ence of the Good Spirit, which always leads to Mortification of all Carnal and Earthly Affections, and to the Perfection of all Coele&s;tial, Angelick and Divine Di&s;po&s;itions in the Soul. But to Souls duly prepared, purged and di&s;po&s;ed for it, that Ble&s;&s;ed Guide doth often manife&s;t his Pre&s;ence by Sen&s;ible Attractions and Re&s;traints upon the Heart, and plain Sugge&s;tions to the Mind; and to &s;uch as once find that, I can give no better Advice then what we have, <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus</HI> 4.&mdash; and 6.&mdash; which, I believe, was part of the <HI>My&s;tick Theology</HI> of the Ancients.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="210">
<P>AN APOLOGY For, and an INVITATION To, the PEOPLE call'd QUAKERS, TO Rectifie &s;ome ERRORS, which through the <HI>Scandals</HI> given they have fallen into.</P>
<P>WHEREIN The true Original Cau&s;es, both Hu|mane and Divine, of all the <HI>Divi&s;ions</HI> in the <HI>Church,</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;chiefs</HI> in the <HI>State,</HI> and among the <HI>People,</HI> are plainly and briefly opened and detected.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Author, 1697.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="211">
<PB REF="211">
<HEAD>ADVERTISEMENT.</HEAD>
<P>THAT whole Bodies or Societies of Men are &s;ubject to the &s;ame Infirmities, which the Individuals, of which they con&s;i&s;t, are, and often Sick of the &s;ame Di&s;ea&s;es, and the very wor&s;t of all, tho&s;e of the Mind, <HI>Blindne&s;s, Conceitedne&s;s, Per|ver&s;ne&s;s, Ob&s;tinacy, Incorrigiblene&s;s,</HI> and <HI>Impa|tience</HI> of <HI>Reproof,</HI> or even <HI>Friendly Admonition,</HI> the Experience of all Ages doth abundantly manife&s;t; but in none is it more manife&s;t, than in the People of the <HI>Jews,</HI> whom God rai&s;ed up to be an <HI>Example, Admonition,</HI> and <HI>Warning,</HI> to the re&s;t of Man|kind. Their whole <HI>Hi&s;tory,</HI> and all their <HI>Prophets,</HI> are Te&s;timonies of this all along from fir&s;t to la&s;t; and of this height of the Di&s;ea&s;e to be mo&s;t offended and inraged again&s;t their be&s;t Friends, &s;uch as mo&s;t earne&s;tly de&s;ire, and mo&s;t faithfully &s;eek and endea|vour their Good and Recovery; They reckon them their Enemies, who tell them the Truth, <HI>I&s;a. 29.21. make a Man an Offender for a Word, and lay a Snare for him, who Reproveth in the Gate,</HI> that is, publickly, for National Sins, and tho&s;e of the Great Ones. Act. <HI>7.52. Which of the Prophets
<PB REF="212">have not your Fathers Per&s;ecuted?</HI> &s;aith Saint <HI>Stephen.</HI> Be&s;ides this common Infirmity, it is very ob&s;eravble, in the unhappy Divi&s;ions which are now among Chri&s;tians, that generally in all, there is a greater Zeal and concern for their own Church or Party, than for the common Intere&s;t of Chri&s;tianity, and the real Service of God, and Salvation of Souls. And this being &s;o, What Entertainment is &s;uch a Di&s;cour&s;e as this like to meet with in the World? But if it be con&s;idered for what End, and for who&s;e Service it is written, that may be &s;ufficient for Encouragement to the <HI>Author,</HI> and for Caution to the <HI>Reader,</HI> how he treats it. And that, with the Le&s;&s;on now to be read, <HI>(Decemb. 18.)</HI> may &s;erve for &s;ufficient Adverti&s;ement, <HI>I&s;a. 50.7, 8, 9. The Lord God will help me, therefore &s;hall I not be confounded: therefore have I &s;et my Face like a Flint, and I know that I &s;hall not be a&s;hamed. He is near that ju&s;tifieth me, Who will contend with me? let us &s;tand together: Who is mine Adver&s;ary? let him come near to me. Behold the Lord God will help me, Who is he that &s;hall condemn me? lo, they all &s;hall wax old as a Garment: the Moth &s;hall eat them up.</HI></P>
<P>Some things but briefly mentioned here upon this occa|&s;ion, which may &s;eem doubtful or ob&s;cure, are intended, upon another more proper, to be more fully explained and cleared.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB N="5" REF="212">
<HEAD>An Apology for, And an Invitation to, The PEOPLE call'd QUAKERS, To rectifie &s;ome ERRORS, which through the <HI>Scandals</HI> given, they have fallen into, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>ALmighty <HI>God</HI> doth in many things <HI>go|vern</HI> the greater Collective Bodies of <HI>Men,</HI> as he doth the le&s;&s;er of Families, and &s;ingle Per&s;ons: and therefore what is the <HI>Duty</HI> of &s;ingle Per&s;ons, or of the Heads of Fa|milies, under &s;everal occurrences of the Pro|vidence of God, the very &s;ame is the <HI>Duty</HI> of the Governors of tho&s;e greater Bodies, whether they be Civil, or Eccle&s;ia&s;tical. And therefore again, as when any Cro&s;s or Affliction befalls a Per&s;on, if he have any Sen&s;e of God and Reli|gion
<PB N="6" REF="213">in him, he ought not to neglect it, as an in&s;en&s;ible Creature, or a brute Bea&s;t; nor to look upon it, as a meer Accident and Misfortune, like an Athei&s;t or Infidel; but to acknowledge the Hand and Providence of God in it, examin him&s;elf, and con&s;ider well for what intent or purpo&s;e, it may have been ordered or permitted by the Righteous, Wi&s;e, and Gracious Over|ruling Providence of God, and without delay apply him&s;elf to do and perform what that Di&s;pen&s;ation doth appear to him to call for.</P>
<P>When <HI>Divi&s;ions, Schi&s;ms, and Separations</HI> of Parties do fall out in a Church, the&s;e are &s;uch Afflictions, as ought to be looked upon, as the Lo&s;s of one in a Family, or of a Member in a particular Per&s;on; and therefore not to be made light of, or pa&s;&s;ed over as Misfortunes and Ac|cidents, but to be well con&s;idered, as ordered or permitted by the Special Providence of God, with great Ju&s;tice and Wi&s;dom, and therefore for &s;ome &s;pecial End to be inquired into, taken notice of, and ob&s;erved by his Church, that they may thereupon apply them&s;elves to what he requireth of them for his Service and their own Good. When this is neglected, all other Means u&s;ually prove not only ineffectual, but pro|ductive of more or greater Evils.</P>
<P>What was written afore-time, was written for our Admonition and In&s;truction: and as we are plainly told, that in the Divi&s;ion and Separation
<PB N="7" REF="213">of the <HI>Ten Tribes</HI> from the Hou&s;e of <HI>David, the Cau&s;e was from the Lord,</HI> 1 Ki. 12.15. So in that great <HI>Divi&s;ion of the Ea&s;tern and We&s;tern Churches,</HI> and breach of Communion between them; and in the We&s;tern Church that great Divi&s;ion and <HI>Separation of all tho&s;e Churches, call'd Reform'd;</HI> and in the great Divi&s;ion again among&s;t them into <HI>Lutheran and Calvanist,</HI> and the &s;everal <HI>Sub-divi&s;ions</HI> of &s;everal Parties and Sects among&s;t them; and la&s;tly, to come nearer home, in all the Divi&s;ions, Sub-divi&s;ions, Sects and Parties, which have &s;eparated from <HI>the Church of England,</HI> and afterward one from another, there is as certainly the Hand of God, and did we con&s;ider it well, we might plainly &s;ee that the Cau&s;e is from the Lord.</P>
<P>This we can all &s;ee in the Great Divi&s;ion, and Separation of all the&s;e Churches call'd <HI>Reformed,</HI> from that of <HI>Rome;</HI> but &s;he her &s;elf either can|not or will not &s;ee it: And this, to &s;ay no more of the Foreigners here, our Di&s;&s;enters at home think they &s;ee, and do &s;ee; but we of the <HI>Church of England</HI> do not &s;ee, or will not &s;ee, to any purpo&s;e as we ought. But as they of the <HI>Church of Rome</HI> lay all upon the <HI>Hereticks,</HI> and will acknowledge nothing ami&s;s among them&s;elves; &s;o we of the <HI>Church of England</HI> lay all upon the <HI>Separati&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Di&s;&s;enters,</HI> but will acknowledge nothing ami&s;s among our &s;elves. And that which dazzles the Eyes, and blinds the Minds of Peo|ple
<PB N="8" REF="214">in both, is chiefly the Pomps and Vanities of the World (which are renounced at <HI>Bapti&s;m</HI>) without, and the God of this World, who blinds their Minds, within. The things of this World, to Earthly-minded People, are like Su|gar-Plumbs to Children, which &s;top their Mouths, and &s;atisfie them that all is well with them.</P>
<P>But if things were more narrowly looked in|to, it might be perceived, That there is &s;carce any Party of Separati&s;ts or Di&s;&s;enters, that hath not &s;omething of <HI>Truth peculiar</HI> to them; and that there is &s;omething in particular <HI>ami&s;s</HI> in the Church, which gave <HI>Occa&s;ion</HI> to that Se|paration, and whereof &s;omething peculiar in that Sect may &s;erve for Admonition. And therefore, that in all there is a &s;ecret <HI>Providence of God,</HI> ordering or permitting them for Judg|ment, Correction, Reproof, and Admonition to reform, unto the Church, and unto tho&s;e very Parties, in which any &s;uch Divi&s;ion and Separa|tion hath been made. But generally all they, who &s;hould have taken the Admonition, have had their Mouths &s;o &s;topp'd, and been &s;o bribed and enchanted with the Devil's Sugar-Plumbs and Baits of Preferments, that while all was &s;o well with them, as they thought, they could &s;ee nothing ami&s;s in the Church, but magnified it, as a mo&s;t glorious Church, and layed all the Fault upon the <HI>Di&s;&s;enters</HI> and <HI>Separati&s;ts,</HI> who
<PB N="9" REF="214">they thought only wanted what they were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of; and the Scandal of their Ambition, Pride and Covetou&s;ne&s;s, and Neglect of a due Care of Souls, hath, by their Preaching, I doubt, betrayed more Souls into the Snares of the Devil, than all their Preaching hath re&s;cued out of them, and throughly converted unto God. It is <HI>a &s;ad Truth,</HI> but Truth it is, and a Great one too, and very manife&s;t to all, who&s;e Eyes are open, That our <HI>&V;niver&s;ities,</HI> and Church <HI>Pre|ferments,</HI> which were de&s;igned by our Pious Ance&s;tors, for the promotion of true Piety, as well as Learning, are, by the Subtilty of Satan, and Neglect of true Piety and Devotion to God, become very &s;ub&s;ervient to the Kingdom of Dark|ne&s;s, le&s;s to the Kingdom of Light; From which corrupt <HI>Fountain</HI> hath proceeded, one way or other, not only all our <HI>Divi&s;ions,</HI> but mo&s;t of all the <HI>Evils,</HI> which do now afflict either the Eccle&s;i|a&s;tical or Civil State: and if &s;ome very good Care be not &s;peedily taken, more and greater yet are more like to en&s;ue, than the&s;e be removed.</P>
<P>Of all the Sects which have &s;prung up a|mong&s;t us, there is none more con&s;iderable in this re&s;pect, whereof I am &s;peaking, or le&s;s con|&s;idered as it ought to be, than that of the QUAKERS, as they are abu&s;ively called; begun by <HI>GEORGE FOX,</HI> a young Man, born of mean, but hone&s;t and religious Parents, at <HI>Drayton</HI> in <HI>Leice&s;ter-&s;hire,</HI> in the Year
<PB N="10" REF="215">of our Lord 1624. and educated from his ten|der years in the Fear of the Lord, but to no more Humane Learning than only to read <HI>En|gli&s;h,</HI> and write indifferently. He was in his Youth di&s;po&s;ed to Virtue and Piety; and when upward of Nineteen <HI>retired</HI> from his Relations and Acquaintance, and <HI>lived</HI> in divers places, <HI>where he was not known,</HI> working at his Trade of a <HI>Shoe-maker,</HI> with his hands for his Livelyhood, but exerci&s;ing his Mind in &s;erious Meditations, both while at his Work, and at other times of Lei&s;ure e&s;pecially. In the Year 1646. he un|der&s;tood, That <HI>&V;niver&s;ity Learning</HI> was not e|nough to qualifie Men to be Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t; and thereupon, in&s;tead of hearing them, u&s;ed to <HI>retire</HI> with his Bible <HI>into Solitary places,</HI> joyning neither with the Mini&s;ters of the Church, nor with the Di&s;&s;enters, but relying wholly upon the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t for his Inward Teaching. At another time he under&s;tood, That God, who made the World, did not dwell in Temples made with Hands, but in his Peoples Hearts. And in the Year 1647. having been for &s;ome time exerci&s;ed with Temptations and Troubles in his Mind, he came farther to under&s;tand, <HI>That all was done, and to be done, in and by Christ;</HI> and, <HI>How he conquers and de&s;troys the Tempter.</HI> And &s;ome time after he went among the Profe&s;&s;ors at <HI>Duckenfield, &amp; Manche&s;ter,</HI> and <HI>declared Truth</HI> (as he calls it) among&s;t them, and al&s;o at <HI>Broughton</HI> in
<PB N="11" REF="215"><HI>Leice&s;ter-&s;hire,</HI> and <HI>Mansfield</HI> in <HI>Northampton-&s;hire;</HI> and then People came far and near to &s;ee him. And here his Preaching &s;eems to have commenced. And in 1648. were divers Meet|ings of Friends in &s;everal Places. And this was the Beginning of that Sect, which is now be|come &s;o con&s;iderable in outward Appearance, and I wi&s;h more con&s;iderable in a true inward Power than it is. For as all Man-kind are apt to relap&s;e and &s;ink down again from the Eleva|tion to which God at any time rai&s;ed them: &s;o I doubt are this People now relap&s;ed very much into a Form, only of a different &s;ort and ap|pearance.</P>
<P>The Beginning of <HI>George Fox</HI> &s;eems to have been by and under a true Divine Conduct; &s;uch as <HI>Abraham</HI> was led by; &s;uch as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was driven by from the Court of <HI>Pharaoh</HI> into the Wilderne&s;s; and &s;uch as the Holy Prophets of Old, and greater numbers of Holy Chri&s;tians afterwards, were partly led, and partly driven by into the Wilderne&s;s, Solitary places, and Re|tirement from Relations, Friends and Acquain|tance; as our Saviour &s;aith, to for&s;ake Father and Mother, Brother and Si&s;ter, and Hou&s;e and Land, for his &s;ake: and in tho&s;e Retirements he did receive <HI>Openings,</HI> as he calls it, of Truth in|deed: and when he came from his Retirement, and went into the Meetings of Profe&s;&s;ors, he did <HI>declare Truth</HI> indeed, as he expre&s;&s;eth it. For
<PB N="12" REF="216">it is a certain Truth, that Univer&s;ity Learning, that Preaching and Praying at Churches, or el&s;ewhere, that the Studying of the Holy Scrip|tures, that the Profe&s;&s;ion of Faith in Chri&s;t, the U&s;e of the Sacraments, and mo&s;t frequent and con&s;tant u&s;e of the great and chief Solemnity of the Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip; nay, even Zeal for Chri&s;t, and doing Miracles in his Name, and Reliance upon his Merits, are all, though good in their kind, and very nece&s;&s;ary, and &s;ome ab|&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary; yet are all &s;hort and deceit|ful to tho&s;e, who re&s;t in them, and &s;eek not in all and above all, that inward Principle of Light and Life, which is Chri&s;t in them, who receive him in Sincerity and Purity, and retain it by faithful and ready Obedience to his Conduct.</P>
<P>This <HI>George</HI> &s;aw very well and rightly. And if he did, in the heat of Di&s;putes, either through Tran&s;port, or any humane Infirmity, or through the Subtilty of Satan getting any Advantage of him, over-&s;hoot him&s;elf, it is no more than what <HI>Luther</HI> and <HI>Calvin,</HI> and the re&s;t of the Reformers, have done; who, whether they have reformed or deformed mo&s;t, may very well bear a Di&s;pute; and he and his Party de&s;erve to be pitied, and helped out by gentle and kind means. And great <HI>rea&s;on</HI> there is <HI>for it,</HI> upon two accounts at the lea&s;t. 1. Becau&s;e the Scandals given were the occa&s;ions of their Errors. 2. Becau&s;e Chri|&s;tianity having before been pull'd to pieces, and
<PB N="13" REF="216">no where compleat, intire, and clear from Cor|ruptions and Abu&s;es to be found in any Church or Party of People in the World, they of all the parts cho&s;e the better, the Soul, leaving the Body, as a dead Carca&s;s to the re&s;t.</P>
<P>It is true, this is in a great Mea&s;ure to be im|puted to tho&s;e, who by their Empty Formality gave the Occa&s;ion; yet it was a Fault in Them, who took &s;uch Offence at it. What God hath joyned together, Man mu&s;t not pre&s;ume to put a&s;under: If the <HI>Leaper</HI> be commanded to wa&s;h in <HI>Jordan,</HI> (2 King. 5.10.) he mu&s;t not think that to wa&s;h in the Rivers of <HI>Dama&s;cus</HI> will do as well: If the <HI>Blind Man</HI> be commanded to wa&s;h in <HI>Siloam,</HI> (Jo. 9.7.) or even <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to ca&s;t up A&s;hes into the Air, (<HI>Exod.</HI> 9.8.) the Command mu&s;t be obeyed and ob&s;erved, or the Effect &s;hall not follow: If People be command|ed to be Baptized in the Name of the <HI>Lord Je&s;us,</HI> that their Sins may be forgiven, and that they may receive the Holy Gho&s;t, (<HI>Act.</HI> 2.38, 41.) if they pre&s;ume to neglect and cavil at the Com|mand, their Sins are more like to be increa&s;ed and fa&s;ter bound, than forgiven, and they more like to receive Satan transformed in a Spirit of Delu&s;ion, than the Holy Spirit of God; and to die in their Sins, though with many fal&s;e Com|forts, than to come to true Re&s;t in the Lord, in any other way than he hath pre&s;cribed. God's Command, if it be but the forbearing of an A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">|ple,
<PB N="14" REF="217">(<HI>Gen.</HI> 2.17: 3.3, 6, 11.) or the doing that, which our Rea&s;on cannot under&s;tand, mu&s;t be ob&s;erved punctually. Di&s;obedience to the Wi&s;dom of God, is no le&s;s a Sin than Di&s;|obedience to his Will. And therefore I dare not excu&s;e this People in this; for their Sin may be greater, and their Ca&s;e more dangerous, than they or I can imagin: but I cannot but pity them, be ready to help them, to hope the be&s;t, becau&s;e they were led into it, and did it through Ignorance, Prejudice, and the Scandals of others; and to &s;peak comfortably to all that will receive it, and &s;ubmit to <HI>the Call of God,</HI> humble them|&s;elves before Him, and return to their Duty. But the Sin of tho&s;e, who &s;hall refu&s;e, and go on ob&s;tinately, will be greatly aggravated, and their Ca&s;e more dangerous and difficult. If they fall into the Ditch, the company of a blind Guide will not &s;ave them: If they die in their Sins, it will be but a &s;orry Comfort to them that their Blood mu&s;t be required of another.</P>
<P>But to help them out, I know no better and more effectual way, than to detect the Snare and Stratagem whereby they fell, and the Stone at which they &s;tumbled. And it was no other than what I have mentioned already in general, the <HI>Scandal</HI> given by others, and <HI>Offence</HI> taken by them: but it will be nece&s;&s;ary to con&s;ider it more particularly: and the fir&s;t particular, that I ob&s;erve in the Journal of <HI>G. Fox,</HI> was an empty
<PB N="15" REF="217"><HI>Formality void of the Power</HI> of Godline&s;s, that he perceived and felt in all Parties, the Pro|fe&s;&s;ors as well as the Prie&s;ts, as he calls them: that they were Mini&s;ters not of the Spirit, but of the Letter only, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.6. that their Preaching was but with Wi&s;dom of Words, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.17. with the inticing Words of Man's Wi&s;dom, <HI>ibid.</HI> 2.4. or at be&s;t but a Mini&s;tration of the Letter, not of the Spirit. (I do not write his Words, but his Sen&s;e.) And this was an undeniable Evidence, and Demon&s;tration of the in&s;ufficiency of <HI>&V;niver&s;ity Learning</HI> alone (alone I &s;ay) to qualifie Men to be Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t; for there were of both &s;orts, tho&s;e who wanted not that, if that had been &s;ufficient: And if we inquire into the true rea&s;on of that, how that comes to pa&s;s, &s;ince a principal End of our Univer&s;ities is to qualifie Per&s;ons for that Service, we &s;hall pre&s;ently di&s;cover that, which is the Root, and true Cau&s;e, both of that, and of almo&s;t all the Unhappine&s;s of this Nation; and that is a great Defect, and <HI>Neglect of Teaching and Learning the best and chief part of all Learning and Knowledge;</HI> of true Heavenly Wi&s;dom. Their Learning is plainly &s;uch an ineffectual Learning, which doth deceive their Souls, being void of the chief &s;olid Food, like Chaff without the Corn, and Husks without the Kernel: it &s;tops the Mouth, &s;atis|fies the Stomach; but fami&s;heth the Soul: and not only &s;o, but, like unwhol&s;ome Food, breeds
<PB N="16" REF="218">only Wind &amp; Crudities, a Knowledge that pu&s;&s;eth up, and Di&s;ea&s;es; a &s;uperficial Notional Bu&s;ine&s;s, without any thing of true Culture and Food of Souls: a Form plainly without the Power; &s;uch a Cheat and Deceit, as the mo&s;t virulent Ex|pre&s;&s;ions of any call'd <HI>Quakers,</HI> could not exceed; but even Indignation would extort almo&s;t as much from a &s;ober Man duly &s;en&s;ible of it. It deceives them&s;elves; it deceives the People, whom they undertake to feed; and it deceives the whole Nation.</P>
<P>The Teaching here is agreeable to <HI>the De&s;ign of tho&s;e who come to learn;</HI> a mixt De&s;ign of an unnatural Compo&s;ure, Heaven and Earth, or rather Earth and Heaven; not &s;o much God and Mammon, (which, according to our Saviour's Doctrine, are incon&s;i&s;tent) but Mammon and God; for the principal in the De&s;ign in this Ca&s;e ought fir&s;t to be named: and it is vi&s;ible in their Actions which that is; and even in their Common Expre&s;&s;ions: for if one propo&s;e a Place with all the Advantages of doing Good that may be, pre&s;ently comes this filthy ful&s;ome Que&s;tion; <HI>But what Encouragement is there?</HI> as if an Advantage for doing Good was not En|couragement enough to a Chri&s;tian to enter into the Service of God, without &s;ome humane a&s;&s;urance of I know not what temporal Income. And Preferments are not only thought, but plainly a&s;&s;erted to be the <HI>Encouragements of Learn|ing;</HI>
<PB N="17" REF="218">and I doubt they have their Reward. What <HI>un&s;atiable Greedine&s;s</HI> is ob&s;ervable gene|rally in all, to be &s;candalous in almo&s;t the be&s;t, that can come at them! And what is the U&s;e they make of them, when they have with great Study, and Pains, and Solicitations, and Com|pliances, and Flatteries, and Co&s;ts, at la&s;t ob|tained them; but Pride, and Luxury, and Ex|travagancies of Wives, and Children; to which all<NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot">v. <HI>Fa. Paul, Of Matters Beneficiary,</HI> N. <HI>236,237. &amp; f.</HI> a Sin to mi&s;pend that which exceeds the moderate Nece&s;&s;ity of a Clergy-Man.</NOTE> That mu&s;t be &s;acrificed, which was de&s;igned for Provi&s;ion for true Food of Souls; of which Thou&s;ands are daily fami&s;hed, for want of a competent number of duly qualified Labourers in the Lord's Vineyard, in the great Pari&s;hes about this City, and other parts of the Nation, where there is Maintenance enough, if &s;uch Per|&s;ons were imployed, as did indeed make that their Bu&s;ine&s;s, Care and Concern. All their Learning rai&s;eth but few above the Sen&s;ual, to the Animal State; but none to the truly Spiritual: if any attain to that, it is by &s;uch Means as may be u&s;ed any where el&s;e, as well as at the Univer&s;ity, as things are there ordered at pre&s;ent; and not by Univer&s;ity Learning, which, as it is ordinarily u&s;ed, doth more hinder than further it. Nor is it likely it &s;hould have much better Effect upon o|thers, which hath no better upon them&s;elves: For in the Spiritual Generation, as in the Carnal, Men beget their like; the &s;trong, &s;uch as are &s;trong; and the weak and infirm, &s;uch as them&s;elves are.</P>
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<P> But if we look farther into <HI>the Concerns of the whole Nation,</HI> and their Duty to their Great Ma|&s;ter in that re&s;pect, are not they to be both &s;e|verally and jointly, not only Pa&s;tors, but Watch|men; &s;everally over their own particular Char|ges, and jointly over the whole Nation? But what an in&s;ignificant Generation are they, even the Chief of them in that re&s;pect, not only far &s;hort of the Genero&s;ity and Magnanimity of genuine Chri&s;tians, and the more immediate Servants of the Great Jehovah, but even of the natural Genius of their own Nation; as if their <HI>Preferments</HI> had &s;ome Narcotick and &s;tupifying quality, or &s;ome &s;ecret Enchantment in them: And &s;o in truth they have; they are like the <HI>Trojan Hor&s;e;</HI> when they think they have got a great Prize, they them&s;elves are &s;urprized and captivated by, they little think what, invi&s;ible Enemies. When they return to the Pomps and Vanities of the World, which they had re|nounced in their Bapti&s;m, they de&s;ert the He|roick Chri&s;tian State, and enter into the Power of the Enemy; and their true Chri&s;tian Strength departs from them: they have no longer any real &s;trength to &s;erve the Lord Chri&s;t, but only &s;uch an Appearance of it, as &s;erves to deceive them&s;elves and others; and make them the more effectually &s;ub&s;ervient to that Intere&s;t, which they do not de&s;ign to &s;erve: for their <HI>Actions and Behaviour</HI> render their <HI>Preaching</HI> not
<PB N="19" REF="219">only ineffectual, but &s;candalous to Men, and ridiculous to the invi&s;ible adver&s;e Powers, who are not a little gratified with the &s;pectacle of it. It puts a Slight and Contempt upon the great and noble Examples of our Saviour, and the Ancient and mo&s;t Heroick Chri&s;tians; but &s;preads the Devil's Snares, and decoys Men in|to them; promotes <HI>Chri&s;tian Idolatry,</HI> which is Covetou&s;ne&s;s, to be as effectually de&s;tructive as any of the <HI>Jews</HI> ever was, or any of <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> can be; and tempts the World to believe, that either Earthly-mindedne&s;s, or to mind Earth|ly things, is con&s;i&s;tent with Chri&s;tianity, or that they are no Chri&s;tians, and do not them|&s;elves believe what they Preach unto others.</P>
<P>But to &s;peak a little more di&s;tinctly, there are <HI>two things to be con&s;ider'd in our Engli&s;h Clergy;</HI> what they have originally from Chri&s;t, and what they have originally from Man. From <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> they have Authority to preach the Go|&s;pel, to teach and in&s;truct the People, to ad|mini&s;ter the Sacraments, and offer to God the &s;olemn Prayers of the Church, to admoni&s;h, cor|rect, and execute Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Di&s;cipline, where there is occa&s;ion, and to receive the Oblations of the People for maintenance of them&s;elves, and for Pious U&s;es; and a right to all the Re|&s;pect and Submi&s;&s;ion which is due to the Mini|&s;ters of Chri&s;t in &s;o Holy an Imployment. And from <HI>Man,</HI> they have Hou&s;es, and Lands,
<PB N="20" REF="220">and Revenues, and Titles, and Honours, and Civil Power and Authority, and Charges and Incumbrances. And the&s;e are &s;ome good and u&s;eful; and &s;ome evil, pernicious, incon&s;i&s;tent with their Chri&s;tian State; and, to be plain, Antichri&s;tian. The Hou&s;es, Lands, and Re|venues may be of good u&s;e, if they be u&s;ed as they &s;hould be; but the re&s;t are Antichri&s;tian, under pretence of Honouring, Degrading; and under pretence of enlarging their Power with what they had not, deba&s;ing and abridging what they had, and &s;ubtilly en&s;laving the Mi|ni&s;ters of Chri&s;t to be Servants of Men; and not the outward Man only, but their very Minds and Spirits. And here lies the very <HI>My|&s;tery of Iniquity.</HI> They are deprived of one part of their Chri&s;tian Authority, and their Hands bound, under pretence of State and Grandure, by having Chancellors, like the Grandees of the World. They are &s;ubjected to the State by their Acceptance of their Ho|nours and Dignities from thence, (the very Temptation that was offer'd by the Devil to our Saviour, and a betraying of the Rights of the Church of Chri&s;t.) And the Papal En|chroachments and U&s;urpations being transferred to the Crown, and all Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Preferments coming from the King, this is fir&s;t a <HI>Bait</HI> to allure Ambitious Minds, and then an <HI>Enchant|ment</HI> upon them, that they dare not di&s;plea&s;e
<PB N="21" REF="220">the Creator of their Grandure, though for the Service of their true Lord and Ma&s;ter, and the Saviour of their Souls. So that we are like to have a continual Succe&s;&s;ion of Flatterers of Princes, in&s;tead of faithful Monitors, as be|come the Servants of the great God to be; and Nur&s;eries of fal&s;e Loyalty, in&s;tead of true Piety and Devotion to God; and of In&s;truments of ince&s;&s;ant Di&s;&s;entions between Prince and People, in&s;tead of Healers of our Breaches; a ju&s;t Judgment or de&s;erved con&s;equence of Sa|criledge and U&s;urpation upon the Church of Chri&s;t. And here, if I be not much mi&s;taken, lyeth <HI>the Root of all the &V;nhappine&s;s of this Na|tion,</HI> and at this time in particular.</P>
<P>The Providence of God hath not at any time been wanting to us; but we have been always wanting to our Duty to Him, and to our own true Intere&s;t. And though all have been wanting, yet the beginning of this defi|ciency hath been in them, who &s;hould have better attended to, and wi&s;ely con&s;ider'd the Motions of Providence, and been the fir&s;t active vigorous Movers to the re&s;t to have corre&s;pon|ded with it: But, alas! they attended more to the Motions of Men, and to plea&s;e them, or at lea&s;t not di&s;plea&s;e them, for their own Advance|ment or Security; and this is call'd Prudence for&s;ooth: And &s;ohave we lo&s;t a mo&s;t favourable Opportunity put into our hands. When Men
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<PB N="22" REF="222">turn from God to Men for Coun&s;el, or A&s;&s;i&s;tance, or Advancement, that Divine Power which doth ordinarily accompany the Ordinances and Orders of God, doth u&s;ually depart from them, though cho&s;en, or regularly commi&s;&s;ioned by him; as it did from <HI>Saul:</HI> And then they are ready to fly to any mean things for &s;upport or &s;afety.</P>
<P>The <HI>Church of England</HI> hath been in <HI>Bondage,</HI> under the <HI>Civil Power,</HI> ever &s;ince it was di&s;|charged from the <HI>Roman</HI> U&s;urpations, which were not totally aboli&s;hed, but too much re|&s;erved to another Ma&s;ter; and a <HI>Slavi&s;h Spirit</HI> hath ever &s;ince po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed it. It did quietly ac|quie&s;s in the greate&s;t <HI>Sacriledge</HI> that ever was committed: It contentedly &s;uffer'd the mo&s;t &s;olemn part of its <HI>Liturgy,</HI> compo&s;ed by <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Bi&s;hops, and, as was declared by Act of Parlia|ment, by the aid of the Holy Gho&s;t, to be <HI>di&s;member'd, di&s;order'd, and defac'd,</HI> and the Chri&s;tian Sacrifice aboli&s;hed by Foreigners, and a Factious Party, which have ever &s;ince been Thorns in their Sides, without the concurrence of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Clergy. The true Chri&s;tian <HI>Di&s;cipline</HI> they never had the Courage to at|tempt to re&s;tore, though an Office was prepar'd for a Memorial, with a Wi&s;h to have it re&s;tor'd, from the beginning, which King <HI>Charles</HI> II. ob&s;erving upon an <HI>A&s;h-Wedne&s;day,</HI> ask'd, <HI>Why do they not re&s;tore it? Who hinders 'em?</HI> And
<PB N="23" REF="222">for the <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> of God, we have ordinarily on|ly Mattens and Ve&s;pers, and that too only on the Lord's-Day, and in that too the Prayers &s;hort and deficient, either to excite, or to expre&s;s the Devotions of the People, where there is any; and be&s;ides all this, what we have, com|monly read with &s;o little Devotion, as gives Scandal to many, and no little di&s;turbance to others. And our very <HI>Sacraments</HI> and mo&s;t Holy Things, no le&s;s than Holy-Days, are &s;can|dalou&s;ly prophaned. <HI>Bapti&s;m,</HI> which is the So|lemnity of our engaging in the Chri&s;tian Co|venant, not only permitted, but even forced upon &s;uch as do not de&s;ire it, either for them|&s;elves or their Children; but bring their Infant Children either for fear of the Apparator, or out of Cu&s;tom to be like their Neighbours, without any &s;en&s;e or under&s;tanding of &s;o much of the Chri&s;tian Religion as was required anciently of Catechumens, before they were admitted to <HI>Bapti&s;m.</HI> And that other Sacra|ment, the <HI>Holy Memorials of our Saviour's Pa&s;&s;i|on,</HI> which, from the ri&s;ing of the Sun to the &s;etting of it, that is, all over the World, hath, in all A&s;&s;emblies of Chri&s;tians, for the &s;olemn Wor&s;hip of God, till the la&s;t Age, been pre|&s;ented before God, as a &s;olemn Recognition of our Redemption by Chri&s;t, and Subjection to him as our Lord, hath been not only mo&s;t &s;hamefully neglected, and &s;o treated, both
<PB N="24" REF="223">in Sermons from the Pulpit, and in Printed Books, that it appears few among&s;t us rightly under&s;tand it at this day; but mo&s;t horribly pro|fan'd, not only by common admittance of all that will to it, but even forcing the mo&s;t wicked and profane Officers to it, upon the Penalty of lo&s;ing their Places. And &s;o unhappily have &s;ome of our Controver&s;ies with <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Fanaticks</HI> been managed, and &s;o &s;uperficially and impertinently our Preaching been generally throughout the Nation, that we have di&s;puted one part, into disbelief of the Scriptures and In|fidelity; another, into contempt of one of the chief Principles of Chri&s;tianity; and generally all, into Neglect and Contempt of the Examples, Precepts, and Coun&s;els of greate&s;t Perfection in the Chri&s;tian Religion; and together with that, preached the People generally into a carele&s;s tepid &s;tate of Indifferency; &s;o that in the Country e&s;pecially, it is rare to meet with two or three good &s;en&s;ible intelligent lively Chri&s;ti|ans in a Pari&s;h. And who of our principal Clergy can deny any of this? And if it be all true, why is it not reformed? If they cannot reform all, why not as much as they can? Why is not the <HI>Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip</HI> re&s;tored in their Cathedrals? And if tho&s;e be &s;o burden'd by prophane Officers impo&s;ed upon them, that they fear to expo&s;e it, why do they not reform their own Families, and re&s;tore it at lea&s;t in their
<PB N="25" REF="223">own Chappels? What Account will this Glo|rious Church, as carnal Flatterers call it, give of their Neglect of Propagating the Go&s;pel in Foreign parts, at lea&s;t in our own Plantations, and &s;uffering them to be &s;uch Nour&s;eries of Scandals to the Infidels? What Account of the many things fit to be done at home, for the Service of their Ma&s;ter; and fit to be con&s;idered by them jointly in a Body, and promoted in Parliament; which yet are neither &s;tudied, nor con&s;idered, nor &s;o much as thought on by any of them, no more than if they did not belong to their Care, or were not of any Concern to their Ma&s;ter, though they &s;it Se&s;&s;ion after Se&s;&s;ion in the Par|liament? But how can it be expected that they &s;hould ever extend their care to things &s;o remote, who take no more care of what doth concern them in their own Chappels and Families?</P>
<P>It is an amazing thing for one who&s;e Eyes are open, to con&s;ider the&s;e things. But it fairs with collective Bodies of Men, as with &s;ingle Per&s;ons: they are &s;ubject to the like Di&s;ea&s;es: the State of this Church is plainly a Tepid, Scorbutick, La|titudinarian, Laodicean State, quite &s;ick of the Prudentials; and has been &s;o in a manner from the fir&s;t Settlement of the Reformation. And to &s;peak freely, as becomes an hone&s;t Man, though there was great need of a Reformation, when it was begun by <HI>Luther,</HI> and long before; yet hath that great Work been &s;o ill managed,
<PB N="26" REF="224">with more of the Antichri&s;tian than Chri&s;tian Spirit, that I cannot &s;ee, by any growth in Grace and Virtue, that the Ble&s;&s;ing of God hath ever been with it; only he &s;eems to have pre&s;erved the&s;e Reformations rather as Judg|ments and Corrections for the Ob&s;tinacy of that Church which would not reform: and rai&s;ed up and pre&s;erved the &s;everal Sub-divi&s;ions of Parties among&s;t us for the very &s;ame cau&s;e and purpo&s;e. For <HI>the True Cau&s;e of all the Divi&s;ions and Sepa|rations amongst us,</HI> is no other but our Scandals, Abu&s;es and Corruptions; both by way of Na|tural Cau&s;ation, and by the &s;pecial Judgment of God, to awaken us, if it be po&s;&s;ible. And though the Ble&s;&s;ing of God, the true Spiritual Chri&s;tian Ble&s;&s;ing, be not upon them, becau&s;e he doth not favour <HI>Schi&s;ms</HI> and <HI>Divi&s;ions,</HI> yet is his Protection over them, as his In&s;truments in the Nature of a Judgment, and in &s;ome things to rai&s;e an Emulation in tho&s;e of the Church, if they would lay it to heart and under&s;tand it. For there is none of them all, but there is &s;ome thing in them, which may &s;erve for Admoni|tion and Notice of &s;omething ami&s;s in the Church.</P>
<P>This which I have now &s;aid, may be of u&s;e not only to them of the Church, but al&s;o to all <HI>the &s;everal &s;eparate Parties,</HI> and de&s;erve their very &s;erious and deep Con&s;ideration. For it is not a light matter <HI>to Make a Schi&s;m or Divi&s;ion</HI> in any particular Church, or in the Catholick
<PB N="27" REF="224">Church. It hath been looked upon, in all Ages, to be a <HI>damnable</HI> Sin: and who-ever doth well con&s;ider the &s;everal weighty Admonitions in the Scriptures concerning it, if he have not a benumed Con&s;cience, will not make light of it; nor yield to plau&s;ible pretences: there is nothing &s;o bad, but the Wit of Man and &s;ubtile Sugge&s;tions of Satan can put a colour upon it; nor &s;o good, but they can mi&s;-repre&s;ent it and di&s;parage it: but it is dangerous and very imprudent to play tricks with Sacred things. Any thing el&s;e may be more &s;afely medled with in that manner.</P>
<P>This does concern them all in general; and I mu&s;t add a word or two more: There are none of the be&s;t of them, that I have yet talked with, that could or would deny that their Party was much &s;unk in Piety and Virtue from tho&s;e de|grees of it, which was in tho&s;e before them of the &s;ame Party. And this being &s;o, it con|cerns us all to con&s;ider well, whether the <HI>Apo|&s;tacy</HI> foretold be not an Apo&s;tacy in Practice, as well as in Principles? and, Whether, while we are gazing to &s;ee the Judgments of God upon it abroad, it may not be found among&s;t us at home; and we feel, in a &s;urprize upon the Nation at home, what we expect to &s;ee el&s;ewhere, at <HI>Rome;</HI> as was upon this City in <HI>&s;ixty &s;ix.</HI> And certain I am, that there are not only <HI>Antichri&s;tian Prin|ciples</HI> among&s;t us all, but whole <HI>Antichri&s;tian Sects and Parties,</HI> which, deceived by the Sub|tilty
<PB N="28" REF="225">of Satan, under the mo&s;t &s;pecious appea|rances of the mo&s;t pure and refined Chri&s;tianity, do undermine and enervate the true Genuine Chri&s;tianity, and the Power of Godline&s;s. It is one of <HI>the Devil's</HI> mo&s;t &s;ubtile <HI>Policies,</HI> by abu&s;e of Scripture, and mi&s;-application of certain Truths, to impo&s;e upon People, and overturn them. So he began with our Saviour, and &s;o he goes on with Profe&s;&s;ors to and at this day. The Holy Scriptures are abu&s;ed, the Honour of God is abu&s;ed, the Merits of Chri&s;t are abu&s;ed, the Guidance of the Spirit is abu&s;ed, the Mode|ration and Conde&s;cention of the Go&s;pel is abu&s;ed, and whatever is mo&s;t Excellent and Admirable is abu&s;ed by the Subtilty of the Enemy, and the &s;upine Negligence, and Incon&s;ideratene&s;s and Folly of Men. And woe be to them who dare pre&s;ume to be the In&s;truments and Leaders in the&s;e Abu&s;es and Doctrines.</P>
<P>It is certain that our Saviour gave In&s;tructions to his Apo&s;tles for the Settling of his Church; and that they accordingly in all places, where there were a competent number of Converts, did ordain Elders, and gave Authority to others to do the like; and &s;o &s;ettled a <HI>Succe&s;&s;ion</HI> in the Church, which hath continued all over the World to this day. And it is certain, that the State of the <HI>Jews</HI> was &s;o corrupted in his time, as provoked the Judgment of God upon them, &s;o that they are a Monument thereof all over
<PB N="29" REF="225">the World to this day; and yet neither He, nor his Di&s;ciples, did ever refu&s;e communion with them, till they were ca&s;t out; and &s;o far was he from allowing them to &s;eparate, that he foretold their being ca&s;t out of the Synagogues, as part of the Per&s;ecution they were to &s;uffer. It is al&s;o certain, that our Saviour did foretell that many fal&s;e Prophets, <HI>that is,</HI> fal&s;e Teachers, &s;hould come in his Name, and deceive many; and gave great Caution not to go out or believe them; and that his Apo&s;tles did the like, and did with great earne&s;tne&s;s exhort all to beware of Divi|&s;ions, Schi&s;ms, and Separations in the Church: And accordingly, in all Ages, for Men to take upon them the Office of Elders or Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, without a Regular Ordination, de|rived by Succe&s;&s;ion from the Apo&s;tles; or to draw away people after them, and engage them in Separate Parties, hath been looked upon as a heinous Sin; and whoever have done &s;o have been Infamous in the Church ever &s;ince. And therefore, if our Di&s;&s;enters did continue daily with one accord at our Temples, as the primitive Chri&s;tians did, and did continue their A&s;&s;emblies at their own Meeting-places, for In&s;truction and Edification, without any Separation from the Church, provided there was nothing but true Chri&s;tian Doctrine taught among&s;t them, I do not &s;ee but they might be of very good U&s;e, and de&s;erve not only an Indulgence, but Encou|ragement
<PB N="30" REF="226">from the Publick Authority. But they, who make a Trade of it to engage Sepa|rate Parties, I do verily believe have much to an&s;wer for before God: and tho&s;e who de&s;ire to be Chri&s;tians indeed, had need to beware of them. And this I mu&s;t in ju&s;tice &s;ay, after all I have &s;aid concerning what is ami&s;s among&s;t us, that, thanks be to God, we have tho&s;e among&s;t us, who, for good Learning, for profitable Preach|ing, and for &s;incere Piety, Devotion, and all Vir|tue, are no way inferior to any of the Di&s;&s;enters, if to be equalled by any of them: and yet I cannot &s;ay they are &s;o many, but there may be rea&s;on enough to receive tho&s;e Labourers al&s;o into our Lord's Harve&s;t. And I heartily wi&s;h it was well con&s;idered, How they may be made more &s;erviceable in &s;o important and needful a Work, without any thing of a Separation: and that they would con&s;ider, Who They are, who &s;it in <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> or rather the Apo&s;tles Seat, and, What our Lord doth require in that re&s;pect.</P>
<P>And now, to come more particularly to the PEOPLE of that Party call'd <HI>Quakers,</HI> I mu&s;t fir&s;t acquaint them, that I have not only had &s;everal <HI>Conferences,</HI> with the Principal Per|&s;ons of their Party, whom they call <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> but have al&s;o &s;ent them &s;everal <HI>Letters</HI> and <HI>Pa|pers</HI> to their Second Days Meetings: And as our Conferences have hitherto been managed in a very friendly manner, &s;o I do de&s;ire to proceed
<PB N="31" REF="226">in the &s;ame manner with them al&s;o: and there|fore, what is directed at fir&s;t only to the &s;econd days Meeting, I &s;hall de&s;ire them now to re|ceive, as intended from the fir&s;t for them all, though I thought it mo&s;t fair and decent to pro|ceed in that order. And it is as followeth:</P>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<HEAD>To <HI>William Penn,</HI> and the re&s;t of the Friends with him, at their &s;econd days Meeting in <HI>Grace-Church-Street.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>William, <HI>and the re&s;t of the Friends with thee,</HI></SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>MY Hearts de&s;ire and Prayer to God for you all, is, that ye may be &s;aved: for I am per&s;waded that you have a Zeal of God, at least many of you, though not according to Knowledge in &s;ome things. Neverthele&s;s, whereto ye have at|tained, in that I de&s;ire ye may be e&s;tabli&s;hed, and that God will be graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed to reveal the rest to you, that ye may be perfect and intire, want|ing nothing. For which purpo&s;e I come, I trust, by the Grace of God, with a Me&s;&s;age of Grace and Peace to you. I am well &s;atisfied that it is no meer Humane Project or Artifice, that at first rai&s;ed you up, and hath conducted you hitherto: but a Supernatural Power, and that it is of the Lord, &s;ome way or other, (as was the Separation
<PB N="32" REF="227">of the Ten Tribes from <HI>Rehoboam, 1</HI> King. <HI>12.</HI>) for Correction and Reformation of &s;omething ami&s;s in this Church. And therefore I dare not pre&s;ume, either upon my own head, or by my own Ability, to intermeddle in it. But my Heart is inlarged to|wards you upon the&s;e Con&s;iderations: <HI>1.</HI> That ye do a&s;&s;ert one of the Great and Chief Principles of the Chri&s;tian Religion, which I have ob&s;erved to be very unworthily and even de&s;pitefully treated by too many, who have gotten into, or &s;eek, Prefer|ments and Imployment in the Church, without Check or Reproof; and &s;o unworthily de&s;erted by most, for fear of reproach, or di&s;grace, or hindrance in their Preferment, that I have not known it gene|rou&s;ly a&s;&s;erted by above two or three in the Pulpit, (but tho&s;e great Men indeed) though it be plainly a Doctrine mo&s;t authentickly and &s;olemnly profe&s;&s;ed and declared in the <HI>Church of England. 2.</HI> That ye do bear a good Te&s;timony again&s;t other Abu&s;es connived at, or tolerated among&s;t us. <HI>3.</HI> I am moved with Pity towards you, that you &s;hould have &s;o great Cau&s;es of Offence or Scandal given you, again&s;t the Holy and E&s;tabli&s;hed In&s;titutions and Ordinances of Chri&s;t, for the Mini&s;terial Office; for the Admi&s;&s;ion of Pro&s;elytes; and for the great So|lemnity of the Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip, which hath been &s;o long abu&s;ed with Controver&s;ies, that I know very few Per&s;ons now among&s;t us, who do rightly and compleatly under&s;tand it; and even again&s;t the Per&s;on, Satisfaction, and Merits of Chri&s;t him&s;elf.
<PB N="33" REF="227">But when I con&s;ider your Notions and Sentiments concerning the&s;e things, though I am well &s;atisfied that you are under the Conduct and Energy of &s;ome Spiritual Power; yet, <HI>What that Spirit is?</HI> and, <HI>Whether One or Divers?</HI> in my Judg|ment, doth de&s;erve very good Con&s;ideration. Ye know what Spirit it was, which God &s;ent between <HI>Abimelech</HI> and the <HI>Shechemites,</HI> Jud. <HI>9.23.</HI> and what that was, that was &s;ent from the Lord to <HI>Saul, 1</HI> Sam. <HI>6.14.</HI> and what that was, that was commi&s;&s;ioned by God in the ca&s;e of <HI>Ahab, 1</HI> King. <HI>22.22, 23.</HI> and what that was, in the mid&s;t of the Princes of <HI>Noph,</HI> I&s;a. <HI>19.14.</HI> which was from the Lord too. And that &s;uch a Spirit hath been among &s;ome call'd <HI>Quakers,</HI> is manife&s;t both by their Actions, Speeches, and Writings; nay, the very Spirit of the Devil, and of Antichri&s;t, is ap|parent and undeniable, from the Indignities offered both in word and deed, to Holy things. But that is not the thing now to be con&s;idered, what Spirits may have appeared among them. For even among the Apo&s;tles, Satan had power to enter into <HI>Judas;</HI> and it is not improbable but tho&s;e, whom our Saviour told, <HI>Ye know not what Spirit ye are of;</HI> and even <HI>Peter</HI> him&s;elf, when our Saviour &s;aid to him, <HI>Get thee behind me, Satan,</HI> might not at the time be free from &s;ome Impre&s;&s;ions of Evil Spirits. That, 'tis likely, was a Peculiarity of our Saviour's, for the Prince of this World to have nothing in him. But the thing to be con&s;idered, is, <HI>What Spirit
<PB N="34" REF="228">that is which at fir&s;t excited, and hath now the Conduct of the whole Body of this People?</HI> And, not, whether it be &s;ent, or commi&s;&s;ioned from God? but, <HI>Whether</HI> it be <HI>one of the Mini&s;tring Spirits</HI> &s;ent forth to mini&s;ter for them, who &s;hall be Heirs of Salvation? or, <HI>One of tho&s;e Seducing Spirits,</HI> to whom, in the latter times, that &s;ome would give heed, was, in the times of the Apo&s;tles, expre&s;sly &s;aid by the Spirit of God? And great <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> there is to take this into very deep Con|&s;ideration: <HI>1.</HI> Becau&s;e of the many and weighty <HI>Cautions</HI> given by our Saviour and his Apo&s;tles, and left upon record in the Sacred Scriptures, for our warning in the&s;e latter times, to beware of them, and not to go out after them; with <HI>Admonitions</HI> concerning their Subtilty, their Energy or Power, and their &s;trong Delu&s;ions to deceive, if it were po&s;&s;ible, the very Elect; and that even Satan him|&s;elf is transformed into an Angel of Light, that is, puts on the Appearance of an Angel of Light, <HI>(2 Cor. 11.14.)</HI> and, la&s;tly, that we &s;hould try the Spirits, <HI>(1 Jo. 4.1.) 2.</HI> Becau&s;e, if the <HI>Tryal</HI> be by Agreement or Di&s;agreement with the Doctrine, In&s;titutions and Ordinances of Chri&s;t, and his Apo&s;tles authorized by him, they may &s;eem to have apo&s;tatized and gone off, or, at lea&s;t, fallen &s;hort of them, in matters of great Moment, and &s;pecial concern, tho&s;e before mentioned; and therefore to be Seduced by &s;ome <HI>Spirit of Error:</HI> For I doubt not but the Devil him&s;elf hath that
<PB N="35" REF="228">Malice and Envy again&s;t the Man Chri&s;t Je&s;us, by whom he hath been Conquered and Vanqui&s;hed, and again&s;t the Solemn Memorial of that Victory, that could he but keep people from engaging in that Holy Covenant with Him by Bapti&s;m, and from the Solem|nity of that Memorial, he would be willing him&s;elf to lead them into all other Truth, upon that condition, rather than fail. Yet notwith&s;tanding, &s;ince they are a Sober People, have received, retained, and do act upon one of the chief Principles of Chri&s;tianity, and have divers commendable things in them; and what Errors they have fallen into, have been occa|&s;ioned by the Scandals and Offences given by tho&s;e of the Church, who will have a &s;ad account to an|&s;wer for it: I do hope in the Mercy and Goodne&s;s of God, that if it be a good Spirit, which hath the Conduct of them, he &s;hall lead and di&s;po&s;e tho&s;e who are Sincere among&s;t them, to the acknowledgment of the Truth in tho&s;e things, whereto they have not yet attained; and if it be otherwi&s;e, he &s;hall be forced to re&s;ign the Conduct of them to a more powerful and better Guide; and that we &s;hall &s;ee &s;uch a Society of <HI>Compleat Chri&s;tians</HI> come out of this de&s;pi&s;ed People, as are at this time hardly to be found in any part of the World, that I know of. The&s;e are my Thoughts, and Hopes concerning this People in general at pre&s;ent. And Hopes, I &s;ay, grounded upon the Mercy of God, and Power of God, which no Good Being would oppo&s;e; nor no Evil Power can &s;tand before. And in His Name I come
<PB N="36" REF="229">unto you, knowing a&s;&s;uredly that neither I, nor any Humane Ability, is able to prevail again&s;t the Pow|er that is among&s;t you, notwith&s;tanding the Cer|tainty of the Truths that I have mentioned already, and &s;hall endeavour, by the Grace and A&s;&s;i&s;tance of God Almighty, through our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t, more fully to explain unto you in due time: But, as I &s;aid, if it be a good Power, it will fa|vour me and a&s;&s;i&s;t me in it, and rejoyce in it too: and if it be an Evil Power Commi&s;&s;ioned, it mu&s;t cea&s;e, and &s;ubmit to that Victorious and All-Con|quering Name: Its Enchantments mu&s;t be di&s;&s;ol|ved, and its Sophi&s;try and Falacies detected. I therefore, as an Amba&s;&s;ador of Chri&s;t, in the Spirit and Meekne&s;s of Chri&s;t, be&s;eech you, Be ye reconciled to the Truths of God, and receive them with that Reverence and Gratitude that is meet, without Ca|velling, or regard to any Temporal concern. I do not invite you to return to the Abu&s;es and Corrup|tions which you have for&s;aken, but to tho&s;e Truths, and to the due u&s;e of tho&s;e Holy things, again&s;t which you have been Scandalized by tho&s;e Abu&s;es and Corruptions. Nor do I invite you to di&s;&s;olve your Society, or to leave off your Meetings, and drown your &s;elves in a promi&s;cuous Multitude. No, you have in part born a good Te&s;timony, and I would have you do &s;o &s;till: But I invite you only to make your Te&s;timony more Compleat, Illu&s;trious, and Irre|fragable, by bearing your Te&s;timony to the whole Truth; and not any longer a Te&s;timony like the Feet
<PB N="37" REF="229">of <HI>Daniel</HI>'s Image, partly &s;trong, and partly weak, by a mixture of Truth with Fal&s;hood; for that can|not &s;tand long together; but to &s;trengthen the things that remain, and &s;et in order the things that are wanting, that ye may &s;tand; for otherwi&s;e ye will certainly be Broken to Pieces. I invite you but to what I am doing my &s;elf with a &s;mall Company of Poor people, that is bearing a Te&s;timony for God, and manife&s;tly under his Conduct: But it is neg|lected by them, to whom it hath been offered for a &s;ufficient Time, and in a &s;ufficient Manner, con&s;ider|ing their Learning, and pretence to Knowledge: And now it is offered to you, a de&s;pi&s;ed People, that God may humble the Proud and High-minded, and confound the Wi&s;dom of the Wi&s;e, by mean and de|&s;picable things, in the &s;ight of Men. Be Wi&s;e, and neglect not the Opportunity, and you, who were la&s;t in the Worlds account, &s;hall be fir&s;t. What ever you do, you will find there is &s;olid Truth in the Pro|po&s;al, and I wi&s;h you may receive it to the Honour and Glory of God, and your own Comfort and Sal|vation; and you will then find me to have been</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Sincere and Cordial Friend, <HI>E. S.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE><HI>31</HI> Aug. <HI>1696.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<PB N="38" REF="230">
<P> After this there were other Letters and Papers &s;ent, which may be taken notice of hereafter, as there may be occa&s;ion; but the la&s;t contained <HI>certain Que&s;tions,</HI> which I think fit now to pro|po&s;e to the Con&s;ideration of all, who are &s;incere, and do de&s;ire not to deceive them&s;elves, nor be deceived in a matter of &s;o great Importance, as the Will and Service of God, and the Salva|tion of their own Souls. If any notwith&s;tand|ing will pre&s;ume to go on in any fal&s;e or Erro|neous Ways, they mu&s;t an&s;wer for it, and their Blood, if they mi&s;carry, mu&s;t be upon their own Heads. For <HI>the De&s;ign and &V;&s;e of the&s;e Que&s;tions</HI> is, to examin the ca&s;e, What Spirit they are of? the Spirit of Chri&s;t, or the Spirit of Antichri&s;t; the Spirit of Truth, or &s;ome &s;ubtile Spirit of Delu&s;ion? Whether they be Chri&s;tians indeed, or counterfeit Chri&s;tians, <HI>that is,</HI> Anti|chri&s;tians? Whether Hypocritical Profe&s;&s;ors in Words, but Renagadoes in Deeds, refu&s;ing the Solemnities of his Covenant and Wor&s;hip, and the Orders of his Church, or &s;uch &s;incere Chri&s;tians as are ready to follow the Guidance of his Spirit out of their own Wills, and out of their own Wi&s;dom and Imaginations, and Errors and Mi&s;takes, into all Truth? and, Whether they be in the Way of Salvation, or of Delu&s;ion and Perdition? <HI>The Times of this Ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all Men every where to Repent.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="questions">
<PB N="39" REF="230">
<HEAD>QUESTIONS PROPOSED To the People call'd QUAKERS, Fir&s;t to their Mini&s;ters, at their <HI>&s;econd days</HI> Meeting; and now, to them All; for the better Examination, and rectifying &s;ome <HI>Errors</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;takes</HI> among&s;t them.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. WHether there be not a great Party of <HI>fallen Angels and wicked Spirits,</HI> which are Enemies to Mankind, and with all the Power, Activity, and Subtilty they can, do con|tinually endeavour to hinder their Salvation, and Communion and Union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?</ITEM>
<ITEM>II. Whether <HI>the Word,</HI> which in the beginning was with God, and was God, was not <HI>made Fle&s;h</HI> and dwelt among&s;t Men, being born of
<PB N="40" REF="231">the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> and called <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> which &s;ig|nifies a Saviour, and <HI>Christ,</HI> the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> the anointed of God, and <HI>Je&s;us Christ of Nazareth?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>III. Whether <HI>his Appearance</HI> in Mortal Fle&s;h was not <HI>to de&s;troy the Works of the Devil,</HI> the Prince of that Party of fallen Angels and wicked Spirits; to be a Prince and a Saviour to Man|kind, and the Captain of their Salvation to all who receive him, and &s;ubject them&s;elves intirely to his Teachings by his Example, and by his Doctrine, and Precepts, and Orders recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and by the Motions of his Holy Spirit upon and in their Hearts and Minds?</ITEM>
<ITEM>IV. Whether he be not the <HI>Only Mediatour</HI> between God and Man; &s;o that Man can have no Communion with the Holy God, or Parti|cipation of the Spirit of Holine&s;s, but by and through Him?</ITEM>
<ITEM>V. Whether that Party of <HI>fallen Angels and wicked Spirits,</HI> knowing this, do not above all things <HI>endeavour,</HI> by all means, <HI>to with-hold peo|ple from clo&s;ing and uniting with that Holy Me|diatour,</HI> and to withdraw as many as they can as much as they can from Him?</ITEM>
<ITEM>VI. Whether <HI>their most dangerous and &s;ubtile Actings</HI> in this Oppo&s;ition be not principally, <HI>by Way of Deceit,</HI> under the Appearance and Pre|tence of Good to Man, and of Good Spirits?</ITEM>
<ITEM>VII. Whether it hath not been fore-told, that, in the latter times e&s;pecially, there &s;hould be
<PB N="41" REF="231">many <HI>fal&s;e Teachers,</HI> who, with &s;uch &s;pecious Pretences and &s;ecret Energy, &s;hould endeavour to draw away People from the Faith, as to deceive, if it was po&s;&s;ible, the very Elect; and Warnings given to beware of them, by Chri&s;t and by his Apo&s;tles?</ITEM>
<ITEM>VIII. Whether <HI>the Spirit of God</HI> and <HI>the Spirit of Christ</HI> be not the &s;ame, and a Holy and Pure Spirit, a Spirit of Truth and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, lead|ing into all nece&s;&s;ary Truth, and from all Fraud, Deceit, and Falacy, Cavils, and &s;huffling Eva|&s;ions?</ITEM>
<ITEM>IX. Whether it be not rea&s;onable <HI>that Christ Je&s;us,</HI> who had done &s;o much for Man, &s;hould <HI>pre&s;cribe</HI> what Manner he plea&s;ed for his Peoples engaging with Him; and for their recognizing Him, and making their Solemn Addre&s;s to the Father by Him; and what Orders he plea&s;ed and would have ob&s;erved and continued in his Church?</ITEM>
<ITEM>X. Whether <HI>to oppo&s;e</HI> &s;uch Appointments, Pre&s;criptions or Orders, <HI>or to cavil</HI> at them, &s;eek Eva&s;ions or Pretences to neglect them, and yet pretend to be Chri&s;tians, be not a great Evidence of In&s;incerity, and of a &s;ubtile Antichri&s;tian Spirit of Satan transformed into an Angel of Light?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XI. Whether Je&s;us Chri&s;t, be&s;ides his Gene|ral Command to his Apo&s;tles after his Re&s;ur|rection, to go to the <HI>Gentiles, and teach all Na|tions,
<PB N="42" REF="232">baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,</HI> &amp;c. did not for <HI>forty days</HI> &s;hew him&s;elf to them, <HI>&s;peaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God,</HI> until the day in which he was taken up, after that he, through the Holy Gho&s;t, had given Commandments unto them, and in or with tho&s;e <HI>Commandments</HI> give them &s;ufficient <HI>In&s;tru|ctions and Directions</HI> for the Con&s;tituting his Church, which he purcha&s;ed with his Blood?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XII. Whether the <HI>Apo&s;tles</HI> did not in all things <HI>faithfully pur&s;ue</HI> his Commands and Directions?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XIII. Whether be&s;ides his expre&s;s Commands and Directions, they did not al&s;o <HI>receive the Holy Spirit,</HI> according to his Promi&s;e in an ex|traordinary manner, and had the &s;ame <HI>re&s;iding in them,</HI> and <HI>manife&s;ting his Pre&s;ence</HI> with them, by extraordinary Operations, to guide and a&s;&s;i&s;t them in their Work?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XIV. Whether they having received the Com|mand to make Di&s;ciples in all Nations, (whe|ther <HI>Jews</HI> or <HI>Gentiles</HI>) baptizing them, as afore|&s;aid, and teaching them to ob&s;erve all things, what&s;oever he commanded them, did not in all places preach the Go&s;pel, exhort the People to believe and be <HI>baptized,</HI> and baptized with Wa|ter tho&s;e, who did believe, though baptized before with <HI>John</HI>'s <HI>Bapti&s;m,</HI> and though they had received the Holy Spirit, whether <HI>Jews</HI> or <HI>Gentiles?</HI></ITEM>
<PB N="43" REF="232">
<ITEM>XV. Whether the Apo&s;tles, and the People converted by them, after they had received the Holy Gho&s;t, did not, when they came together in one, or a&s;&s;embled for the Solemn Wor&s;hip of God, <HI>break Bread,</HI> and <HI>eat the Lord's Supper,</HI> and do as their Lord did, and commanded them to do; and that &s;o con&s;tantly, that there is not known any A&s;&s;embly of Chri&s;tians in the time of the Apo&s;tles, nor in many Ages after, to have been held for the Solemn Wor&s;hip of God with|out it?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XVI. Whether the Apo&s;tles did not <HI>ordain Elders,</HI> and appoint others, by &s;pecial Ap|pointment, to do the &s;ame, in every City; by &s;uch Authority, that none did pre&s;ume to take the Office of <HI>Elder</HI> unto him&s;elf, but who was &s;o ordained; or the Office of <HI>Ordaining Elders,</HI> but who was &s;o appointed, either in the times of the Apo&s;tles, or afterward, but who have been infamous ever &s;ince?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XVII. Whether &s;eeing that our Saviour him&s;elf, though he needed not, would notwith&s;tanding be baptized with Water, to fulfill all Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, and thereupon had &s;en&s;ible Approbation from Heaven, did al&s;o by his Apo&s;tles baptize with Water; and that it is plain by their Pra|ctice, that his Apo&s;tles, and the whole Church of Chri&s;t, did under&s;tand his Command to bap|tize all Nations, of Bapti&s;m by Water, and as nece&s;&s;ary for Forgivene&s;s of Sins; and that Bap|ti&s;m
<PB N="44" REF="233">with the Holy Gho&s;t was peculiar to him|&s;elf: whether, I &s;ay, this being &s;o, it be not a forced and &s;trained Interpretation, without any &s;ound ground, and contrary to the mo&s;t authen|tick Means of explaining Words, to re&s;train that Command to Bapti&s;m by the Holy Gho&s;t only?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XVIII. Whether, if &s;uch Con&s;truction be by any Spirit more than humane, it be not the Spirit of Antichri&s;t or Satan transformed, to with-hold Men under his own Dominion, from &s;olemnly ingaging with Chri&s;t, and from Forgivene&s;s of their Sins in his Name? or, If it be only by Opinion of Men, &s;uch Opinion ob&s;tinately per|&s;i&s;ted in, be not a Damnable Sin, contrary to &s;ubjection of all Imaginations to the Obedience of Chri&s;t, and &s;ubverting of Souls, and &s;uch Teachers to be abominated and anathamatized by all &s;incere Chri&s;tians, as Seducers, and the Mini&s;ters and In&s;truments of Satan, though they appear in Sheeps cloathing?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XIX. Whether, it having been the con&s;tant belief of all Nations, (whether <HI>Jews</HI> or <HI>Gentiles</HI>) that they had a real, though Spiritual, Commu|nion with the Gods they wor&s;hipped, in their Participation of their Sacrifices, as St. <HI>Paul</HI> in|timates, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. and may be proved by good Authority; and Chri&s;tians duly di&s;po&s;ed, having a like Communion with Chri&s;t in the partici|pation of the con&s;ecrated Bread and Cup, as St.
<PB N="45" REF="233"><HI>Paul</HI> affirms; and the &s;olemn Wor&s;hipping of God, by pre&s;enting our Prayers to the Father, with tho&s;e Memorials of our Saviour's Pa&s;&s;ion, being plainly a Recognition of our Redemption by Chri&s;t, and of his Dominion over us, acquired by his Pa&s;&s;ion, and that that is the only Pro|pitiation, and He the only Mediator, by which, and by whom we Mortals born in Sin can have Acce&s;s to, and Acceptance with the Father; and St. <HI>Paul</HI> having received the Doctrine of what he taught concerning this, from the Lord; and the ancient Chri&s;tians frequenting this Or|dinance, after they had manife&s;tly received the Holy Gho&s;t: Whether, I &s;ay, this being &s;o, to reject the&s;e either as Types and Shadows, (which are indeed Antitypes, as the <HI>Grecians</HI> expre&s;s it, Solemn Memorials, and Sen&s;ible Declarations before God, Angels and Men, of pre&s;ent inter|nal actions of our Minds, for the greater Mani|fe&s;tation and Notoriety of the Fact) be not meer Sophi&s;try, Shuffle and Eva&s;ion; or as need|le&s;s, upon pretence that Chri&s;t is come to them in the Spirit; or of their having the Sub&s;tance; be not to &s;et up them&s;elves in Pride above the Apo&s;tles and Holy Chri&s;tians, who had &s;o ma|nife&s;tly the Spirit of God; nay, above Chri&s;t him&s;elf, <HI>viz.</HI> to reject that as needle&s;s, which he in&s;tituted as nece&s;&s;ary; and a plain Evidence of the Subtilty and Delu&s;ion of Satan, to oppo&s;e Chri&s;t, and detain and withdraw people from his
<PB N="46" REF="234">Solemn Wor&s;hip, and under the mo&s;t &s;pecious appearance of the Spirit of God, by &s;en&s;ible Motions to things appearing Good, and by Fal&s;e Lights, to corrupt and adulterate them, and get and keep a re&s;idence in them, as if it was the Spirit of Chri&s;t? Whether &s;uch Ob&s;tinacy, &s;uch Fallacy, in &s;uch a Matter, of &s;uch Impor|tance in Chri&s;tianity, and yet &s;o ea&s;ie to Man, and void of all Exceptions, be not plain Evidence of a My&s;tery of Iniquity in it?</ITEM>
<ITEM>XX. Whether to deliver tho&s;e things in the Name of the Lord, as immediately from the Lord, and by his Spirit, which may be plainly perceived and detected to proceed either from a humane Spirit, or a Spirit of Error, be not a great Pre&s;umption again&s;t the Holy Maje&s;ty of God, and a great Scandal to the Holy Doctrine of the Guidance of the Spirit of God, and there|fore a double and great Sin; the Sin of the Fal&s;e Prophets of old, and that which in <HI>Germany</HI> for|merly, and &s;ince in this Nation, rai&s;ed &s;o great a Prejudice again&s;t the Truth?</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Upon the peru&s;al of the&s;e Que&s;tions, it may be &s;uppo&s;ed that &s;ome <HI>An&s;wer</HI> was returned, and therefore &s;ome account of that may rea|&s;onably be expected; and I &s;hould have been glad to have been able to have an&s;wered &s;o rea|&s;onable an Expectation more fully: but the truth in &s;hort is, that eight of the fir&s;t ten were
<PB N="47" REF="234">an&s;wered affirmatively, but the other two were an&s;wered indeed, but with An&s;wers not to the Que&s;tions: and the other ten remain yet to be an&s;wered; but I hope upon due con&s;ideration will be an&s;wered at la&s;t, not with words only, but with deliberate &s;olemn Actions. Nor are my <HI>Hopes</HI> without <HI>rational Ground.</HI> For in the &s;everal <HI>Conferences</HI> I have had with them, &s;even or eight at a time, of the principal leading Men of their Party, they behaved them&s;elves, as be|came &s;erious con&s;iderate Per&s;ons; heard patiently and attentively, replyed gravely and calmly, none interrupting either me or any of their own party while &s;peaking; and our Conclu&s;ion was friendly, though not altogether agreeing in the &s;ame Sentiments. And this is my Ground in re&s;pect of the <HI>Per&s;ons.</HI></P>
<P>And for the <HI>Matter</HI> it &s;elf in que&s;tion, That they have been led into Error and Mi&s;take in &s;ome things, the due Con&s;ideration of the&s;e Que|&s;tions will in a great mea&s;ure make them &s;en&s;i|ble. And when, be&s;ides, they &s;hall con&s;ider by what Means they, who mi&s;led the re&s;t, came to over&s;hoot them&s;elves, and fall into tho&s;e Mi|&s;takes, <HI>viz.</HI> through the Scandals before-men|tioned, and that common Infirmity incident to us Mortals, to run from one Extream into ano|ther; this will farther &s;atisfie and confirm them in the truth of it. And if to the&s;e Con&s;idera|tions be added a clear Explication of the Truth,
<PB N="48" REF="235">which they did not rightly apprehend before; this, with the Grace of God, will farther in|lighten the Mind of tho&s;e, who are &s;incere, and regard Truth more than any temporal Concern, with much Satisfaction, <HI>viz.</HI> That Baptizm with Water, and that <HI>Noble Solemnity of the Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip,</HI> are not needle&s;s <HI>Types and Shadows</HI> of things pa&s;t and fulfilled, as they imagin, but So|lemn Expre&s;&s;ions and Declarations, more com|prehen&s;ively and remarkably &s;ignificative than Words, before God, Angels, Devils and Men, of pre&s;ent Acts of the Mind, of what is internally and invi&s;ibly at the &s;ame in&s;tant acted in Spirit; the one, of our <HI>Engagement in an Holy Covenant with God in Chri&s;t,</HI> by putting off, by Repentance, our Pollutions through Sin, and Dedication of our Selves to the Holy Trinity; the other, of our <HI>Recognition</HI> of our Redemption by Chri&s;t, by his Death and Sacrifice upon the Cro&s;s, and of his Dominion over us, and our Subjection to Him, even to lay down our Lives in Obedience to Him, as he did His in Obedience to his Father; which is done by making our Solemn Addre&s;s, and pre&s;enting our Prayers to the Father, with the Memorials of his Pa&s;&s;ion, as the Great Pro|pitiation for the Sins of Mankind, and Partici|pation of tho&s;e Memorials, being Con&s;ecrated not only by a Separation to a Holy U&s;e, but by a real Sanctification through the Spirit of God at the Prayers of the Church, whereby the
<PB N="49" REF="235">Faithful have a real and Spiritual Communion with Him, and one with another. This is the pure Offering of the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> foretold by <HI>Malachy,</HI> That it &s;hould be Offer'd by them from the ri&s;ing of the Sun, even unto the going down of the &s;ame. And this is the Sen&s;e and Meaning thereof received and retained by the Church of Chri&s;t all over the World, till <HI>Cal|vin</HI>'s new Notions became received as the Pure Word of God, and made this mo&s;t Sub|lime, mo&s;t Holy, and mo&s;t Augu&s;t Sacrament, as it is de&s;ervedly call'd by Dr. <HI>Morton,</HI> be taken in effect for a needle&s;s Ceremony, or of no great Im|portance, by others be&s;ides the Quakers, and u&s;ed, or rather neglected, accordingly even to this day. The&s;e are the great things in it, which I have now mentioned, but rare to be found in our Books now a days, or heard of from our Pulpits: Nor can it conveniently here be explained as it de&s;erves. But as to both the&s;e, what is &s;aid before, <HI>pag.</HI> 13, 14. ought to be con&s;ider'd. The&s;e things, I &s;ay, well con&s;ider'd, cannot choo&s;e but make great Im|pre&s;&s;ion upon the Minds of tho&s;e who are &s;in|cere, and have a due &s;en&s;e of their own Spiri|tual and Eternal concerns.</P>
<P>But when they &s;hall al&s;o under&s;tand, That the great Principle of the <HI>Guidance of the Spi|rit</HI> of God, is not &s;o peculiar to them&s;elves as they imagin, but the con&s;tant Doctrine of the
<PB N="50" REF="236"><HI>Church of Chri&s;t</HI> in all Ages, and of the <HI>Church of England</HI> in particular, (as I have &s;hew'd in a Di&s;cour&s;e of <HI>My&s;tical Divinity,</HI> and &s;ome o|thers under the Title of <HI>A&s;ceticks, or the He|roick Piety and Vertue of the Ancients,</HI>) and notwith&s;tanding the Extravagancies of &s;ome incon&s;iderate Oppo&s;ers of Fanatici&s;m, a&s;&s;erted by mo&s;t eminent Men of this <HI>Church,</HI> as the profound Dr. <HI>Cradock,</HI> lately decea&s;ed, (who him&s;elf told me, he had Preached twenty or thirty Sermons upon that Subject) and others now living; and that there are and have been, before <HI>George Fox</HI> appeared in the World, Per|&s;ons in the Communion of the <HI>Church of Eng|land,</HI> as well acquainted with Spiritual things as them&s;elves; and, by con&s;equence, how little nece&s;&s;ity there is of venturing upon the Sin of Schi&s;m for that cau&s;e: And moreover con&s;ider, that Chri&s;t appointed an <HI>Order of Men</HI> for his Mini&s;terial Office <HI>to &s;ucceed in his Church</HI> by an external Call and Commi&s;&s;ion; and not|with&s;tanding the Corruptions of tho&s;e who &s;ate then in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>'s Seat, would not &s;uffer his Di&s;ciples to break Communion with them, or di&s;regard their Authority; and by con&s;equence how dangerous it may prove in the end, for Men to pre&s;ume to &s;et up Parties, and draw People after them contrary to his Orders, and to continue &s;o to do, after fair Warnings and unan&s;werable Admonitions to the contrary.</P>
<PB N="51" REF="236">
<P> To conclude, When they &s;hall farther con|&s;ider, how horrid a Sin it mu&s;t needs be to pre|&s;ume to attribute to the Holy Spirit of God, the Workings of their own Imaginations, or perhaps the Subtile Sugge&s;tions of &s;ome wicked Spirit of Delu&s;ion; and to expo&s;e and &s;candalize the Holy Doctrine of the Guidance of the Holy Spirit, by denying of certain and manife&s;t Truths; and u&s;ing &s;uch little Shifts and Eva&s;ions to oppo&s;e plain Evidence, as an hone&s;t and in|genious Lawyer would &s;corn and be a&s;hamed to u&s;e for his Client: When all the&s;e things, and more that might be ob&s;erved, are well under|&s;tood and con&s;idered, why may I not with rea|&s;on hope that all, who are really &s;uch as they have appeared, in the &s;everal Conferences I have had with them, to be, &s;hould an&s;wer the End of my Letters and Que&s;tions, with more than civil and kind Words, in real and &s;olemn Actions? Why &s;hould I not hope that no pri|vate Intere&s;t, nor any Temporal Concern, &s;hould hinder them? Why &s;hould I not hope, that &s;ince God hath apparently again concluded all under Sin, (which all Parties confe&s;s of all others but their own, and is true of all without exception) that all &s;hould humble them&s;elves before Him, return to mutual Charity one with another, and &s;ubject them&s;elves, and all their Imaginations, to his Wi&s;dom, as well as their Actions to his Will, to the intent that he may
<PB N="52" REF="237">have Mercy upon all? Why &s;hould I not hope, I &s;ay, &s;ince God hath done this, and for this End, that they, if they be indeed partakers of his Holy Spirit, &s;hould be the fir&s;t in giv|ing Glory to God, by &s;uch a ju&s;t and rea&s;on|able Humiliation before his Divine Maje&s;ty, and Acknowledgment of our Humane Infirmity, if never &s;o little left to our &s;elves, or but &s;teping a&s;ide out of the Order of his Holy Conduct; and &s;ubject them&s;elves intirely and readily to all the Orders he hath appointed in his Church? No &s;ober wi&s;e Man will expo&s;e him&s;elf, and lead others into Danger or Hazard, when he may without any Difficulty or Incumbrance put him|&s;elf and them into Safety and Security: Nor will any ingenious Man, if he have committed a Mi&s;take, &s;tand it out and maintain it again&s;t a Grave and Judicious Man: Much le&s;s will any con&s;iderate Man, who hath any &s;en&s;e of God, and regard to his tremendous Maje&s;ty, dare to per&s;i&s;t in Oppo&s;ing or Di&s;puting his <HI>In&s;titutions</HI> or <HI>Orders:</HI> and therefore I &s;hall here conclude this.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e I have received <HI>certain Que&s;tions</HI> concerning the&s;e Matters, but without any Name of any who &s;ent them, or to whom I &s;hould return <HI>An&s;wer,</HI> though I &s;hall forbear to expo&s;e them, by making them publick; yet be|cau&s;e I am debtor both to the wi&s;e and to the unwi&s;e, for their Satisfaction, who are either
<PB N="53" REF="237">moved with &s;uch Scruples, or rely upon &s;uch infirm Grounds, I &s;hall return a brief compre|hen&s;ive An&s;wer to the Eight Que&s;tions in the&s;e following A&s;&s;ertions.</P>
<P>The <HI>Holy Scripture</HI> of the Old and New Te|&s;tament is the only <HI>Rule of Faith and Practice,</HI> rightly under&s;tood and u&s;ed: But it is in many Ca&s;es only a General Rule, leaving the &s;pecial Application in &s;ome, to all Per&s;ons; in others, to certain determinate Per&s;ons. And therefore to require Expre&s;s and Plain Scripture for Faith and Practice in all things, doth proceed from Ignorance and Weakne&s;s in &s;ome, but too often from a di&s;ingenuous Spirit of Contention, a di&s;|hone&s;t De&s;ign, or Satanical Delu&s;ion.</P>
<P>The Practices of the Primitive Chri&s;tians were &s;ome Permanent, to continue in the Church; others Temporary, and Alterable, according as there might be occa&s;ion, for Order, Decency, and Edification, and did vary from the begin|ning in &s;everal Churches and parts of the World; whereas the others were truly Catho|lick, according to <HI>Vincentius Lirinen&s;is</HI> his Rule, <HI>that is,</HI> univer&s;ally ob&s;erved without any known beginning &s;ince the Apo&s;tles.</P>
<P>The <HI>Spirit of God</HI> was <HI>poured forth upon all Fle&s;h,</HI> when the Go&s;pel was Preached to all Fle&s;h, or to every Creature, <HI>that is,</HI> not only to the <HI>Jews,</HI> but to the <HI>Gentiles</HI> al&s;o. But as to individual Per&s;ons, it was never &s;o poured out
<PB N="54" REF="238">upon all Fle&s;h, but there were &s;ome things pre-acquired; as <HI>Faith in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> and <HI>ordinarily Bapti&s;m with Water, Obedience,</HI> and <HI>Prayer,</HI> &amp;c. Nor was <HI>the Manife&s;tation thereof</HI> ever given to every one; but to every one to whom it was given, it was given to profit withall.</P>
<P><HI>As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God:</HI> and, <HI>If any Man have not the Spirit of Chri&s;t, he is none of his,</HI> Rom. 8.14, &amp; 9. But it is to be known and remembred, that a great and principal, and the mo&s;t certain Leading of the Spirit of God is not &s;en&s;ible, or ea&s;ily perceivable how it comes; but it is gene|rally a Secret Illumination of the Mind to per|ceive the Excellence of the things of God, and the Emptine&s;s and Deceitfulne&s;s of the things of the World; from which proceeds an Appetite to tho&s;e, and an Indifference to the&s;e; and in particular actions a like &s;ecret Illumination of the Mind, to apply the general Rules of the Scriptures to the particular Sen&s;e, and an Incli|nation of the Will to what is &s;o perceived to be the Will of God. And in more &s;en&s;ible Mo|tions, Impre&s;&s;ions, and Openings, as &s;ome call them, the <HI>Tryal</HI> is by their Agreement with what is agreed to proceed from the Spirit of God; <HI>that is,</HI> the <HI>Holy Scriptures;</HI> what is con|trary to that is to be rejected, as coming from the Enemy: what is not incon&s;i&s;tent with that ought to be followed; or if doubtful, be referred
<PB N="55" REF="238">to the Judgment and Determination of the Elders, according to the Ob&s;ervations of the Ancients; or of the mo&s;t Experienced Chri|&s;tians, e&s;pecially of &s;uch as by their Office and Place are authorized, and obliged to be <HI>Guide of Souls.</HI> And tho&s;e who have pre&s;umed to reject the&s;e Ordinary Means, which God hath appoint|ed, and e&s;tabli&s;hed in his Church, have frequently fallen into Mi&s;chief.</P>
<P>There are many of the Mind of <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> Act. 8.18. they are de&s;irous to purcha&s;e it, but not at the Price our Saviour &s;et it, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13.44, 46. And there are many fal&s;e counterfeit Spirits, very officious to offer them&s;elves where they find hopes of Reception; and they always &s;ugge&s;t and in&s;tigate to the following of their Leading, which is in&s;en&s;ibly, and as they find their Follow|ers di&s;po&s;ed, from the Holy Scriptures, and from Chri&s;t; and when they cannot prevail with them in that manner, they endeavour to fill them with Spiritual Pride and Conceitedne&s;s, make them admired by others, as extraordinary and very Holy Per&s;ons, that they may make them think better of them&s;elves than they ought, and &s;o get advantage of them that way. And there are generally two great Faults committed by mo&s;t Pretenders to the Guidance of the Spirit. 1. They do not well con&s;ider them&s;elves, and teach o|thers the nece&s;&s;ary Qualifications pre-acquired for the obtaining of &s;o great a Divine Favour.
<PB N="56" REF="239">2. They neither con&s;ider nor teach others the nece&s;&s;ary Cautions and Directions for Tryal of Spirits. In general the Con&s;cientious Ob&s;erva|tion of the Holy Scriptures, is a principal thing for both. For as the Law was our School-Ma&s;ter to bring us to Chri&s;t, &s;o the Con&s;cien|tious Ob&s;ervation of the externally revealed Will of God, which is Obedience, is our School-Ma&s;ter to prepare us for, and bring us to the true Spirit of God. But for more particular <HI>Cautions</HI> and <HI>Directions,</HI> that is a Subject too large for this Occa&s;ion, and hath been largely treated of by others.</P>
<P>The <HI>Que&s;tions</HI> concerning <HI>Bapti&s;m with Wa|ter,</HI> and <HI>the Eucharist or Holy Communion,</HI> are e'en &s;uch as that of <HI>Naaman,</HI> 2 Kin. 5.11, 22. But they who make them are not like the Ser|vants of that Heathen, who gave him this pru|dent Admonition: <HI>If the Prophet had bid thee do &s;ome great thing, would&s;t thou not have done it? How much rather when he &s;aith unto thee, Wa&s;h and be clean?</HI> May they at lea&s;t take Example from that Heathen, who received the Admonition even from his Servants, even with the like ble&s;&s;ed Succe&s;s. And this, with what I have &s;aid before, is as much as I apprehend nece&s;&s;ary to be &s;aid to the <HI>Que&s;tions,</HI> for &s;uch &s;erious con&s;ide|rate Per&s;ons, as are willing to be &s;atisfied and in|formed of the Truth: and I &s;hall be ready to give them all further Satisfaction, when I under&s;tand where any real Scruple doth remain.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="review">
<PB N="57" REF="239">
<HEAD>THE REVIEW.</HEAD>
<P>WHAT I have written, I have written with all Plainne&s;s and Simplicity, with all Candor and Impartiality, and Good Will to all; without any other De&s;ign than for the Service of God, and the Good of all; and without any Affectation of any Ornament, as becomes the Maje&s;ty of the Truths of God: Yet can I not expect but I mu&s;t incurr the Cen|&s;ures of mo&s;t in one thing or other, when I con&s;ider the general Corruption of Mens Minds and Judgments, as well as of their Manners, at this time; not only of the Scandalous and Pro|phane, or Hypocritical Profe&s;&s;ors; but even of &s;uch as are &s;incere in many things, and de&s;ervedly e&s;teemed in the World both for Parts and Hone&s;ty; and yet in others, not &s;o compleat as might be wi&s;hed, partly through the <HI>Bya&s;s of their own Di&s;po&s;itions,</HI> and partly through the <HI>Common Cheat of Honourable Names;</HI> &s;uch as <HI>Prudence, Moderation, Di&s;cretion, Charity,</HI>
<PB N="58" REF="240">&amp;c. and their Contraries, calling Good, Evil; and Evil, Good; and partly through certain <HI>Fal&s;e Notions,</HI> undermining the Integrity of the Evangelical Doctrine of Chri&s;t, as the <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> did the Law of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and rendring it of none Effect in many things; which have been <HI>introduced and recommended</HI> to the World, by <HI>a late Sect</HI> appearing in a very plau&s;ible Form, but, in truth, generated by an unnatural Copulation of <HI>Church of England</HI> with &s;ome <HI>Socinian Principles,</HI> &s;etting up their own <HI>Corrupt Humane Rea&s;on</HI> in the place of the <HI>Divine Wi&s;|dom,</HI> and wre&s;ting the divinely in&s;pired <HI>Scrip|tures</HI> to a Compliance with it; per&s;wading them&s;elves and others that the Noble Heroick Virtues, &s;o much &s;tudied and practi&s;ed by the ancient Chri&s;tians, &s;uch as <HI>Humility, Contempt of the World, Heavenly-mindedne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. were for times of Per&s;ecution; but we are under another Di&s;pen&s;ation; as I my &s;elf have been told by a Principal Author and Promoter of it; and en|couraging &s;uch <HI>Temporizing Compliances,</HI> under the &s;pecious Pretences of <HI>Moderation</HI> and <HI>Pru|dence,</HI> as are not only Inlets to Sin, and Hin|drances of Graces, but incon&s;i&s;tent with the Practices and Sentiments of the be&s;t Chri&s;tians of all Ages, with the Doctrines and In&s;tructions of the Apo&s;tles, the Example and Precepts of our Saviour him&s;elf, (to &s;ay nothing of Evan|gelical Coun&s;els in this Age) our Bapti&s;mal
<PB N="59" REF="240">Engagements, and the Genuine Spirit of Chri|&s;tianity, and the Intere&s;t of the Kingdom of Chri&s;t in this World. What Glo&s;&s;es they make upon our Saviour's Sermon upon the Mount, I mu&s;t leave to others better acquainted with them, to con&s;ider. But, What can be expected from per&s;ons &s;o levened, but as &s;evere Cen&s;ures of this Writing as they take this to be of others? but that rea&s;onable Expre&s;&s;ions of ju&s;t Indigna|tion at Abu&s;es and Corruptions in Matters of Religion, or at abu&s;e of Scriptures to patronize Vanity, and by per&s;ons profe&s;&s;ing Religion, &s;hould be cen&s;ured for <HI>Pa&s;&s;ion?</HI> but that &s;uch warm Expre&s;&s;ions and Charges, as were nece&s;&s;a|ry to awaken &s;uch out of a Deadly Slumber, as Experience had proved, could not be moved by gentler touches, &s;hould be cen&s;ured as <HI>&V;ncha|ritablene&s;s?</HI> and nece&s;&s;ary plain Dealing with Mortals, for the Service of God, the Good of a Countrey, and the Salvation of Souls, be cen|&s;ured as <HI>Indi&s;cretion, Di&s;re&s;pect to Superiors,</HI> and <HI>Saucine&s;s?</HI></P>
<P>But to leave &s;uch as are ready to <HI>wi&s;h,</HI> and to <HI>talk,</HI> but will <HI>do</HI> nothing but what may &s;erve to recommend them&s;elves to tho&s;e who&s;e Com|mendations are mo&s;t de&s;irable; are willing to u&s;e others, as the Cats foot, but will not touch the Work with one of their Fingers; nor inter|mit the complement of a Dinner to con&s;ult of what them&s;elves profe&s;s to be matter of great
<PB N="60" REF="241">Importance; who&s;e Prudence prefers to coun|tenance Religion with Perukes, and Laces, and Topknots, and Servants in Livery, rather than to bear the Reproach of Chri&s;t, in bearing Te|&s;timony again&s;t the Vanities of the Age, by the tacit Reproof of them in a decent but plain and a little unfa&s;hionable Attire; who preferr Cha|rity at home, in providing for the temporal concerns of them&s;elves and their Families, with &s;ome little creditable Acts of Charity, as we call it, before tru&s;ting to Providence in more liberal Contributions to unfa&s;hionable Good Works: to leave &s;uch, I &s;ay, and to come clo&s;e to the bu&s;ine&s;s, to <HI>the State of the Church,</HI> (of which I am yet a Member, and am not &s;atisfied to &s;eparate while I live in the Nation, notwith&s;tanding all I di&s;|like in it) for this is the Root of all, and prin|cipally to be con&s;idered; and they are to take care of the Di&s;&s;enters: If we con&s;ider the Great things belonging to the <HI>Charge</HI> of the Gover|nours of this Church, both <HI>&s;everally</HI> in their particular Dioce&s;&s;es, the State of the Clergy and People there; and <HI>joyntly</HI> to them all as one Body, <HI>viz.</HI> The <HI>Court,</HI> and the <HI>Nobility;</HI> The <HI>&V;niver&s;ities;</HI> The <HI>Parliament,</HI> &s;o far as Religion is concerned there; The <HI>Pri&s;ons,</HI> (which might be made Schools of Virtue, but are now Nour|&s;eries of all Vice and Wickedne&s;s) and <HI>Con|demned Per&s;ons</HI> there; (for who&s;e A&s;&s;i&s;tance they of the <HI>Roman</HI> Communion imploy the
<PB N="61" REF="241">able&s;t and be&s;t qualified of their Clergy, and we the mo&s;t ordinary, though they are not a few, who are every Year Executed in this City, and throughout the Nation; The <HI>Foreign Planta|tions,</HI> and the <HI>Propagation of the Chri&s;tian Reli|gion</HI> by that Means abroad; for our Neglect of which the <HI>Monks,</HI> and <HI>Je&s;uits,</HI> and <HI>Quakers,</HI> and &s;uch as we call <HI>Phanaticks,</HI> will ri&s;e up in Judg|ment again&s;t them; and the <HI>Di&s;&s;enters</HI> at home; for they al&s;o belong to their Care, to remove all ju&s;t Occa&s;ions, give all rea&s;onable Satisfaction, and to u&s;e all truly Chri&s;tian Means to reduce them: If all the&s;e, be&s;ides divers others, which cannot pre&s;ently be thought on, be con&s;idered, What Account can be given that may rea&s;on|ably pa&s;s with a con&s;iderate Mortal Man, of any of the&s;e? and, What Account then can be given of all to the Immortal, All-&s;eeing, Righ|teous God.</P>
<P>The&s;e are <HI>Generals,</HI> of each of which a par|ticular and clear Account mu&s;t be given by every one of that Order, what &s;en&s;e he hath had of his Duty in that re&s;pect, and what Care and Endeavours he hath u&s;ed in di&s;charge thereof? To the&s;e I will add but one or two <HI>Particulars,</HI> of Occurrences in this Reign: One, of <HI>a Bill for Suppre&s;&s;ion of Vice and Debauchery,</HI> drawn indeed at their Reque&s;t; but after it had been peru&s;ed and perfected, not only by able Coun&s;el, but by all the Judges then in Town, particu|larly
<PB N="62" REF="242">the Lord Chief Ju&s;tice <HI>Polex&s;in,</HI> the Lord Chief Baron <HI>Atkyns,</HI> Mr. Ju&s;tice <HI>Dolbin,</HI> Baron <HI>Letchmare,</HI> and I think one or two more, and fair written out put into their hands, and a Motion made by the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Che&s;ter</HI> to bring it into the Hou&s;e, and granted by the Lords, and yet &s;tifled and &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in their hands. Ano|ther, <HI>a Needful and Hopeful Reformation,</HI> begun by the Authority and Encouragement of the QUEEN, and not only vigorou&s;ly pro&s;ecuted here in <HI>Middle&s;ex,</HI> but in a hopeful way in many other Cities and Counties all over the Nation, and this &s;topped fir&s;t by a Combination of <HI>Mid|dle&s;ex</HI> Ju&s;tices, (I need &s;ay no more) but at la&s;t more effectually in a Judicature of Equity, in the Pre&s;ence of no le&s;s than &s;even of our Re|verend Prelates, by two wicked Men, the one Speaker, and the other a Member of Parlia|ment, the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot">Mr. <HI>Ralph Hartley,</HI> who is &s;till a Sufferer between a Suc|ce&s;&s;ion of City Magi&s;trates, and a Combination of <HI>Surry</HI> Ju&s;tices, and &s;ome other per&s;ons, and &s;hamefully oppre&s;&s;ed by them.</NOTE> Ju&s;tice of the Peace, who had been mo&s;t diligent, and other per&s;ons concerned in the Promotion of that Good Work, checked, vilified, and abu&s;ed, without any ju&s;t cau&s;e, to the di&s;couragement of the Execution of the Laws, and Contempt of Her Maje&s;ty's Autho|rity; and all in the Pre&s;ence of tho&s;e Bi&s;hops, who came on purpo&s;e to countenance the Cau&s;e of Reformation, were &s;atisfied of the Iniquity
<PB N="63" REF="242">of the Proceedings again&s;t it, and yet not one of them ever appeared after in it, to any pur|po&s;e more than in one little printed Di&s;cour&s;e in Vindication of the Gentleman &s;o abu&s;ed, as afore&s;aid. And what Account can be given of the&s;e things?</P>
<P>It is a great Truth, <HI>That neither King, nor Parliament, nor Bi&s;hops,</HI> of them&s;elves and their own Motion, <HI>have done any one Act,</HI> that I know of, <HI>worthy of the Name of Chri&s;tian.</HI> And where lyeth the Fault of all this, but at their door, who, in&s;tead of Admoni&s;hing, and Ex|citing, and Animating to due Returns of true Gratitude in Fact to God, for his admirable Pro|vidence, have, by their Neglect, and the con|&s;equences of it, provoked the Favours of Pro|vidence to withdraw, and to leave us to our &s;elves, and to eat the Fruit of our own doings? And whence comes this Neglect of &s;o many &s;o obliged, but from a common Defect of Good Education at the Univer&s;ities, and the Enchant|ment of their Preferments?</P>
<P>But is not this Great Uncharitablene&s;s, may our Grave Prudential Gentlemen &s;ay, thus to lay open to the World the Nakedne&s;s of our Go|vernours, and of the Church? Doubtle&s;s as great as for a Phy&s;ician to pre&s;cribe a bitter Potion to a tender Patient; or a Chirurgeon to cut or burn, after tryal of more gentle means, what is found otherwi&s;e incurable. It is that
<PB N="64" REF="243">they, at who&s;e door lyeth the Root of all our Evil, may give Glory to God, by taking Shame to them&s;elves, and giving Good Example of <HI>Humiliation</HI> and <HI>Reformation</HI> to others. But if they will not, I hope the de&s;pi&s;ed <HI>Quakers</HI> will be &s;o wi&s;e, as to accept the Honour of beginning the Example. For <HI>all have &s;inned, and come &s;hort of the Glory of God.</HI></P>
<P>But, Who call'd <HI>You</HI> to this Office? may our Prudentiali&s;ts &s;ay: <HI>By what Authority do&s;t</HI> Thou <HI>this?</HI> and, <HI>Who gave</HI> Thee <HI>this Authority?</HI> He who gave me Eyes to &s;ee, and a Heart to be &s;en&s;ible of it, and a Mind to be Faithful to Him, who call'd me and led me, by his Hand, to his Holy Service, not for filthy Lucre's &s;ake; not to make a Trade of it; not to &s;eek the World in the Church; but to &s;erve Him in the Service of all Men, in the be&s;t manner I can.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="243">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</GROUP>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
