nemPhilo Tertul. git ftulta If we fum up all that the Philofophers mundi ad and Schoolmen can attain to in their dif confufio courfes of this firft Principle,it will amount fophiæ. to no more then this; Men and Angels can never comprehend that perfection which Præfcript. dwels in God; for the perfection of God adverfus is Infinite, and therefore Incomprehenfible. Hæreticos Let Schollers examine this brief account, Theologia non fub- Deus eft Ens, Ens entium, Effentia EffentijiciturPhi- arum, Ens purum, Ens Simplex, Ens (impli1ofophiæ citer Simplex, Ens Abfolutum, Ens Neceffed præfi. farium, Ens Abfolutè neceffarium: Ens PriCatechifmum, æternum,independens, perfectum infinimus negat tum, infinitè perfectum, & proinde immenPhilofo- fum. Let us therefore ftudý, beleeve and phiamnon embrace the holy Scriptures, which which may fatisfie and fave us. citur. Philofo phia Catechifmum, Luber. Vera Philofophia eft naturalis Theologia; concurrit gemina patefactio, naturalis & fupernaturalis, gemina authoritas, gemina lex. Hæcitaque loquendi caufâ de ineffabilibus diximus ut fari aliquo modo poffemus quod effari nullo modo poffumus. Vide Aug de Trinitate lib. 7. c.4. Qui vult fapiens fieri in Ariftotele, ftultificetur ante in Chrifto, Lutherus. Tunc ftultus Plato cum fuis difcipulis, &c. Tertul. do vous I confefle I have been very much taken ενεργεία. yea with fome difcourfes in Ariftotle's MetaJeafy - phyficks concerning the spiritual and etervaax nal efficacy of the firft Principle,first mover ἧς ἡ ἐσία or prime understanding, whofe very El ég fence, Subftance, Nature and Being is a fpiἐνεργεία aiTION. xa autò vegger. Nihil præftantius Deo; ab eo ceile eft. ritual and Eternal Self-efficacy, from igitur whence it was eafie to demonftrate the Mundum regi ne. Self-fufficiency and All-fufficiency of this Eternal understanding, and from thence to cicero. Vi inferre that this Eternal Spirit, whofe very de que Being is Efficacy (or as we fay a pure Act) Operum fhould be effectually obeyed and fincerely tant apud worshipped with pure and fpiritual wor- Heliodum. fhip. nitio ex Si Deus Carmina dan, Eu Ifhall not examine thofe paffages which eft animus are usually cited out of Plato, Iamblichus, nobis ut Trismegistus and others upon this fubject, dicunt,&c, because it is clear to me that those glorious eVide Juft. myfteries which they did either difcourfe Mar. Proor treat of were discovered to them by an trep. LaHebrew light. Plato was not called the feb. de Atticifing Mofes in vaine, Clemens Alex- præparat. andrinus and divers others have said enough Evan, Aug. of that, and saved me the labour of a lear- de Civit. ned Digreffion upon that fubject; and it Dei, de is conceived that Chriftians have inferted fuch paffages into the works of Heathens. eranym. Epiftola ad magnum oratorem Marril. Ficinum. Alcin. de do&rina PlateBeffarion. Vale/. de Philol. Sacr. 4. S. Eugubinum, Lemnium, alsiedium, Philonem Iudæum, Lactantium, Ifidorum, Aug. contra Academi. Cor. Agrip. de Van. Scient. D. Alting. Problem. Voetium Select. Dilp. p. 1. Videlium Rat. Theol. Rivetum in Exod.p 94. Gatak. lib. p.262. Amel. Platon, Julin. Martyr. Apol. 2. Tertul. Apol.c.44. nis. The Platonifts fay Lumen eft umbra Dei, B 3 1 hat doct. Chriftiana Hi De Deo f f Vid. Se- That is, God is perfection it self without nec. 1. 7. any imperfection at all, 1 John 1. 5. God is Natural. a pure Act, God is one Single Infinite PerQ:1. fection. And therefore as Seneca faid, we etiam vera had need compofe our whole man into an dicere pe- Argument of Modefty when we discourse riculofum ofthe nature of God, left we speak any g Excedit thing rafhly, or affirme any thing that is fuperemis untrue. eft. loquii fa dicitur:Et nentia The works of God are great, and his Deitatis thoughts (Decrees and Counsels) very humanie- deep, Pfal 92.5. Who then is able to cultatem. found the depth of his natural perfection, Verius e- whose immense perfection is like a Sea (if nim cogi- there were any fuch) which hath neither tatur De- banks nor bottome; who can found a botus quàm tomleffe depth, or define an infinite perfeveriùs eft ction? God is near us, nay in us, and yet quam co farre off from us; there is an infinite digitatur. ftance between his excellency and our inAuguft. firmity : he is far off from our senses and from our understanding; and therefore inhavu ftead of begging longer time as the Philoane fopher did, I will conclude as the wife man dreamsov, doth, Eccl. 7. 23, 24. All this have I proved 31⁄2 cuphos by Wisdom: I faid I will be wife,but it was ρεύνητον. farre from me, That which is farre off and Heraclius exceeding deep, who can finde it out? HeraJeóvvoui- clitus put forth a pretty Riddle. If you 2x vai or do not hope for fomething above hope, you Philemon. Shall never finde out that which can never be found. It is fafer as the Poet faid,to beleeve de Trinit. lib. 7. εάν μή τι ανεξε fx, &c. and and worship God then to pry into him.Nam prater ipfum quærere acquires nihil. How much Raymundus de Sabunde, A. Steuchus Eugubinus, Pacardus and others would have found without the help of the Scripture, let fuch as are fpiritually judicious judge. CHAP. II. GOD is the First, Eternal and Independent Being, the Fountaine of all Being and Well-Being, & therefore cannot but Be, Exist, and perfift in Being. Ischools, the res ved in the one T is a Rule generally received in the Omnes i bent non of imperfection and nothingnes,then they plus hahave of Being or Perfection. Put all Being, Entis, qua the whole of being is in God. God is princi- Entis pium totius effe, the fountain of all Being, Deus fo and wel-being, the only self-being. k lus eft : God is the First, Eternal and Indepen- AUTOGY, dent Being,and therefore can have no Caufe quia fe, & per fe eft, of his Being without himself, or above hima quo, in felf, because he was before, and is above all quo, per quem & propter quem funt quæcunque funt; omnia quippe Deus aut in tempore fuftentat in ipfis, aut æternùm in le, τοῖς πᾶσι ciar au Caufes, Ifa. 44. 6. God is the Firft and the Τεσίαν υ Toiar Laft; he is everlafting, and therefore can αριστον κα have no Efficient or Final Caufe; and it is Tv utterly impoffible that God fhould have adev. ny Matter or Form, or any thing anfwerable to either, because it is impoffible that any thing should fet bounds to his Bound b. dv. Leffe Being, and infinite perfection. τοφυής, ἀυτιών αυτοθεός. 7 Qui ve rè, necef God is aurait faith the Philofopher, and auri faith the Divine, but we must (as theSchools ftate the point Junderstand both Senfu Negativo, be caufe God hath his fario & Being not from any other, but from himabfolutè felf; and God is faid to have his Being eft effentia from himself, because his very nature and primò & Effence are neceffary, and therefore we per fe eft, imò a fe- cannot conceive the Divine Effence to 'be ipfo,& per void of existence; it is utterly impoffible feipfum that God fhould not exist, because the Diexiftit, vine Nature is a pure Act, an abfolute, & proinde neceffary, eternall, infinite, independent, teft non fingle Being. We must not conceive that exiftere. God was firft in a naked Power of Being, des So and was afterwards reduced unto actuall Being by his own effectuall Power, as if his Vide Hie Exiftence were really distinct from his Efronym. E- fence, or did virtually flow from, and conpift. ad fequently depend upon his Effence, as its X.Deino. Proper caufe. For it is manifeftly abfurd to minibus. conceive this pure, infinite and eternall non po 780 wv. Rev. 1.4 Marcel.de Being not to be in Act, fince it is a pure |