bur a day in it) in the very same sense and only in this sente, man also was vigilaniilimus in honore, in the Psalmist's Language: by ya non per nastavit, he would not abide in bonour, he did not lodge one night in honour. Though I am far from laying such strelle ироні those words as they do, that will needs from thence measure the time so exa&tly, as that they'll cell you to a minute how long Adam enjoyed his first glory; this onely we are sure of, it was a very brief, and transient happinese, a fading, and withering glory: he had waited bis Oyl preseotly, and the Lamp was going out, but that God drop'd fresh ogl incoit, by the promise of a Messiah. The Scholemen are very solicitous, and desirous to know how Ad dam's Understanding, being in vigore viridi; could be entangled in fuch a Snare and diluded with such a miserable fallacy. Aquinas, for h s part, determines hominem.in primo statu decipi non pot uile; which yet is altogether unconceivable; for how could he fall, una lesse his Head declinod? 'Tis not very easily perceprible at any time, how there can be Defe&tus in voluntate, and yec not Error in Intellectu, much lefle can we tell how this should come to passe,when the Will was so obediently disposed ad rerü intelt &tus, when it gave such observance to all the commands, and dictates of the Understanding, as that did in a state of Innocency. And to resolve the whole anomaly, and irregularity of thar first prevarication,onely into the Will's untowardnesle;what is it elle chen to say, that Adam sinned ex mera malitia con ra claritatem judici? which is to entertain a thoughe very groundlesse, uncharitable and disher nourable to the first root of Mankind, and to make his transgressiu on of the fame Dye with those damned Angelical Spirits, chac were thrown into irrecoverable mifery. Therefore Z anchy, that was one of the most Scholastical amongst the Protestants, doch most judiciously conclude, that 'The Vnderstanding of Adam was defective in its office byrà negligent non-attendancy. The Eye was clear enough, the Bom was.strong enough; hut it was not vigilant enough, it was not bent enough: che Balance was not deceitful, but he forgot to weigh thing; in it. Now Man by this fall of his was not onely Spoliatus supernaturalibus, but also vrlo neratus in ipfis na!aralibus, How soon is this beautiful Creature withered! his Spring is gane, bis May is gone, bis gloss, and greena nesle gone, the Flower droops, the Tree is neither so flourishing, nor so fruitfuli an untime!y, and disconfolate Autumn comes up

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on þim. Thus the purest complexions are alwaies most frail, and brittle. Thus the kighest Conditions are most cottering, and precipia tious: and the noblest perfeétions, if built onely upon Nature's. bottome, are but volable, and uncertain. There arises a sudden duoupaoiz, a present i ouvergía, in the Being of Mar. The Philofophors were very sensible of it, and groaned under it. You may bear them complaining of the toroshvata wis tlu' toxlu, oftbe languishings, and faintings of the Soul, of avódot nogouds, a spurious, and adulterate kind of Reason. You may hear them complaining of an anela, and zepósunas, a defluvium pennarum. The Wings of the Soulflag, many of the Feathers are sick. and drop away.

And chat Soul, which was wont to build ics nest in the stars, is now fain to build it in the Duft. You may bear one Philosopher complaining of the Kep*nangiz, his Head, his Understanding akes; another of the 'opjanuác, bis Eye, his Reason is dimm'd; à tbird of the Kap Azazid, the Palpitatio cordis, bis Soul trembles with doubes, and uncertainties. You may see one grasping a cloud of Erryars; another spending much of his time in untying iome one knot, in solving some one difficulty: you may see some one pleasing himself, and licting down in the shaddow of bis own Opinioni another bending all his nerves,and endeavours and they presently snap asunder. You may see Socrates in the twilight, and lamencing his obscure, and benighted condition, and telling you, that his Lamp will shew bim gothing, but his own darkness. You may see Plaio ficting down by the waters of Let be, and weeping ; because be could not remember his former Notions. You may bear Aristotle bewailing himself thus, that his vis er d'aveur will so seldome come into a7, chat his abrasa Tabula has sofew, and such imperfiet impriffrors upon it ; that bis Intellectuals are at fo lom an Ébb, as that the motions of Euripus will pose them. You hear Zeno complaining, that his Erod is dark; and Epictetus confeffing, that he had noc the right arsa, the true apprehension of things. Look upos the Naturalist's Head, and you'll see it nox-plus'd with an Occule Qualiey: feel the Moralist's Pulse, (his conscience I mean) and you'll find it beating very lowly, very remissly: look upon the most speculative Eagles, that stare the Sun in the face, that fly. highet in Contemplation, those,chat love to sport, and play in the light , yet, at length, you may see the Sun striking them through with one of his glorious Darts, and chastising their inquisitive

Eyes

Eyes with one of his brightest Beams. The Sun, 'cis ready to puc out this Candle of the Lord, if ic make too near approaches to it. Humane Understandings are glad to wink at some dazeling objects. As vehemens Sensibile doch destruere (enfum. fo vehemens Intellis gibile doch perstringere intellečtum. For in all Knowledge there's required a due proportion between the objectum cognoscibile, and the virtus cognoscitiva; but when the leveral powers, and faculties of the Soul lost thać comely proportion, which they badamongst chemselves, they lost also much of that correspondency, and confor. mity, which chey had to their several Objects. And the Soul,be. fides its own loffe, had a share in che Bodie's losse also: for the Boa dy, wanting much of that accurate, and elegant composure, which once it had, Knowledge it self must needs be prejudic'd by it; that being amongst men founded in sense, and in some measure depending upon organical dispositions. So that the streitning, and ftopping of these Windows muit needs prohibit Light. Sin entred in first at a corporeal, then at an intellectual Window, and stole ao way the Heart; and the Windows have been broken ever since. I know che generality of Philosophers do partiy excuse the Unders standing, and do blame the objects for their exility, and poverty, for their little diminutive Entity, for their want of Intelligibiliry. But the subtle Scotus doch endeavour to invalidate that, by tel. ling them, that Omnia eâdem facilitate intelliguntur à Dco. Thus much is evident, and undeniable , that the spying ouc of a little lurking Obj. Et doch argue the strength, and quicknesle, and cleare nelle of the Eye. The

Sun discovers Atomes, though they be invisible by Candle-light ; yet that makes them dance naked in his Beams. Created Understandings want Spectacles to augment,and majorate some Objects. But the Soul never meets with more difficulty, then in the understanding of Spiritual Beings, although they have most of Entity, and to most of Intelligibility. Yet the Soul, being imprison'd in a Body not sufficiently clarified, and refined, cannot fo fully close, and comply with incorporeal Beings. This Candle of the Lord will discover more of Spirituals

, when cis took out of the Lanthorn, in ftatu jeparato ; or, when ’iis pue into a clearer, in ftatu consummato. But for the present, how Jittle doch ic know of it self? How little of Angels? How liitle of God? And yet how much might be known of them? Look but a while (if you can çadure to look) upon so unluvily, and

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unpleasang

unpleasant an Object , I mean upon those black, and prodigious Eriours, that covir, and bespot the face of these Times. And they'll soon convince you of the weakness, and dimness of this Lamp-light of the Spirit of a Man. The Candle of the Lord, though it be amongit them, yet 'tis not so powerføll as to scara ter,and conquer their thick, and palpable darkness. 'Tis not an easie, nor a sudden, nor a d-lightful wurk to number so many Errours; yer, if I could reckon them up all, from che blundring Antinomian to the vagabond Seeker, or the wild Seraphick, set on fire of Hell, they would all serve for so many fatal examples of the miserable weakness of mens Understanding. Tis true they do not follow the Candle of the Lord; for then Reason would have guided them bercer. But this very consideration shews the weakness of their Candle-light; for , if it had been a brighter, 'c would not have

: been so soon put out, Tis easie to blow out a Candle, but who can put out a Star? or who can extinguish the Sun? And men can shut up Natural Light, but who can imprison a Star? or who can shut up the Sun? This faint, and langui, hing Candle-light does not alwavs prevail upon the Will, it doch noc sufficiently warm, and inflame che Affections. Men do not use to warm their hands at a Candle,'cis not so vi&torious, and over.powering, as to scater all the works of Darkness. It will be Night for all the Candle. The Moralists were not onely frigid in their Devotions, but some of them were very dissolute in their Practises. When you think upon these things, sure you'll willingly subscribe to the forementioned Particular, which you may do very safely, that the Spirit of a man, 'cis but a Candles Lumen exile, a diminutum.

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СНАР,

CHAP. XIII.

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The Light of Rcalon discovers present, not

future things. TI

'Is lumin explicans præfentia, non aperiens futura; for did

you ever hear of such a Lamp, as would discover an object not yet burn, nor yet in Being? Would you not smile at him, chat should light upa Candle to search for a futurity? Tis the glorious prerogative of the Divine Understanding, to have such a fair, and open, and unlimited Prospect, as chat in one glorious twinkling of an intellettual Eye be can see the whole compasse, and extent, and latitude of Being; and the whole duration of Being: for Eter nity, at one draught, doch swallow up the whole fluency of Time, and is infinitely above chose temporal condicions of past, present, and to come. Nullum tempus occurrit Regi; say the Lawyers: Nullum tempus occurrit Deo; say the Philosophers. An Intel. lectual Sun doch not occidere, & redire; but makes one bright and perpetual day, and by its pure, and uninterrupted irradiations, doth paraphrase, and comment upon all objects, so as to uncloud, and reveal the most obscure contingency, and to make it present, and naked, and visible. For, as the Scholemen tell us, Scientia Dei ad omnia pralentialiter se habet ; bis Knowledge being all one with his Elence, without the least shadow of Change. Insomuch as that, which wich men is a futurity, and contingency, with him is always present, and extant; which speaks for the certainty, and infallibility of bis Prescience, though it be conversant about such things, as seem to us most casual, and fortuitous. For even we our felves know these things certainly, when they are in aft, and in being; because that then they lose their volubility, and contino gency, and put on reality, and necessity: according

to that uns questionable Rule; Omne quod est, quando eft, necesse est esse. A. Contingency, when 'tis extra suas causas, when 'tis actually produc’d, having a determinatum Esse,it may then also have a deter. minace cognoscibility. Now God always thus sees a Contingene cy in termino, in eveniu, in periodo; whereas created understand

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