The Wonderful Workmanship of the World, Discourse · Chapter 18
The. xviii. Chapter. That the world, and all thinges that are therein, were made by God of nothyng, and not onelyonly decked foorth, or ſet in order, or brought foorth out of a certeine diſordred heape or matter whiche was extant beefore.
S.
BUt after what maner, or in what ſenſe doe you ſaye, that God is the producent and efficient cauſe of this world?
M.
In reſpect that hee hath not onelyonly giuen power and beutie vntounto thinges, but firſt hath brought foorth and made them out of nothinge, hauing no matter preexiſting or going beefore, which is properly called to create.
S.
Is there anye notableneſſe or excellencie in the ſignification of that woorde, which may bee reputed peculiare and proper to the power of God?
M.
Yea mary. For by that meanes GOD is verie farre ſeparated from all ſortes of other woorkmen, and alſo from all other kindes of cauſes, as are parents, and ſeruants, or elſe the naturall powers.
S.
How ſo?
M.
For that no woorkman bee hee neuer ſo mightie and ſkilfull, is able to make anye thyng vnleſſe hee hauehave ſtuffe miniſtred vntounto him: for if he hauehave no ſtuffe, hee is able to make nothing. Take away yron from the Smith, timber from the Carpendour, yearne from the Weauer, what other good can they doe but ſtand ſtill gaping in their ſhoppes? For euerie Arte and occupation requireth naturally to hauehave ſome ſtuffe prepared for it, wheruppon afterwarde it woorketh, and bringeth foorth ſundrie fourmes. Yea, not the cauſes themſelues, and powers whiche are termed naturall, and are proper to eueryevery thing, are able to bring foorth any thing without conuenient matter and ſtuffe alotted vntounto them. For, if a man ſearche throughly the greateſt and whole vertues of the natures of all thinges, notwithſtandyng hee ſhall finde that to bee true which is generally ſpokē by ye natural Philoſophers. Nothyng is made of nothyng. Who euer reaped Wheate or Barly without ſowing? who euer ſaw trees growe without planting, ſettinge, or ſpringing from ſome berrie, or kernell, or hearbes and flowers without ſeede or ſlippe? But hee that is the true creatour, hee maketh his matter and ſtuffe in whiche and of which hee woorketh, of nothing, hee hath it not alreadie prepared, or miniſtred from ſome other place. But to ſaie that the matter was coeternall with God himſelfe, or exiſting of it ſelfe, and to deny that it was firſte made and brought foorth by God out of nothing, is not the part of Chriſtians, but plainly of the Hermogenian heretikes. So that there is a moſte large diſtinction beetweene creation, and engendring. Thoſe thinges are created, whiche are made of no ſubſtanciall or materiall beeginnyng. Thoſe are engendred or made, not whiche are made out of nothing, but out of a former ſubſtance and matter. Wherefore, neither good Angels nor bad, nor diuelles, bee, or ought to bee called creatours, mutch leſſe men: for it is onelyonly proper to God to create, whiche theſe places following doe confirme, to wit, S. Auguſtine in his 3. booke of the Trinitie, the 8. chap. Iſay the 45. chapt. Iob the 26. chapt the 33 Pſalme, Actes the 17. chap. and 24. verſe. Yet am I not ignorant notwithſtandyng, what otherſome doe diſpute againſt this, that the power of creating may alſo bee giuen vntounto creatures.
S.
But there be many thinges that doe withſtand your opinion.
M.
What bee they?
S.
Firſt that whiche your ſelfe alleaged, and is a moſte certeine poſition among the naturall Philoſophers, and confirmed in all mens iudgementes by continual experience: Nothyng is made of nothyng. How then ſhould God hauehave made al theſe thinges, if ſo bee that hee had no matter prepared to his hand, that is to ſay, if hee had nothing to make them of?
M.
Truely this is an olde obiection, and often repeated by Heathen men, in expoundyng whereof, Iuſtine the Martyr, or whoſoeuer he was elſe that anſwered the obiections of the Ethnikes, hee tooke great paines therin which difficultie mee thinkes I can eaſilye reſolue. Firſt in that the inſinite & incomprehenſible omnipotencie of God the creatour is not only a miſſe, but peruerſly called to the lawes of nature, which was made and created. For what is that other, than to go about to make the creature equall to the Creatour? But as the Lorde witneſſeth, that his thoughtes doe differ farre from ours, ſo likewiſe is the force & power farre diſcrepant from ours, and farre excelling the ſtrength and vertue of this nature, Iob the 10. chapter, and 45. verſe. Now if a man woulde thus conclude: At this preſent, and ſince the tyme that the Lorde appointed this order, that nothing ſhoulde bee made of nothing, there is nowe nothing made without matter readye and prepared beefore. Wherefore in the beeginning, and before that God had ordeined theſe lawes, it toke place then, neither coulde anye thinge bee made other wiſe. Your ſelfe perceiue how much they are deceiued that doe ſo conclude. As, for example, if a man would thus diſpute, that in the beeginning the firſt trees, at the ſame verie inſtant wherin God made them, could not bring foorthe their fruites, bicauſe y• now adaies they bee not ſo forwarde, but neede longer time to beare and ripen them: if a man, I ſay, ſhoulde reaſon thus, euerie body woulde laughe him to ſkorne: and woulde perceiue that hys ſayinge were falfe, out of Iſay the 46. chapter, and▪ 8. verſe: and not onelyonly out of the firſt Chapter of Moyſes. For whoſo were of that opinion, were deceiued through great ignorance and confuſion of diuerſe tymes, and conditions, which amonge thinges are to bee diſtinguiſhed. And euen ſo, they, who as you ſay, doe obiect againſt the firſt creation of thinges, That Nothing is made of nothing, bycauſe that nowe nothing is made of nothing, hee diſputeth of moſt different, and vnlike times, and conditions, To wit, from the nature whiche was to bee created and not yet tied by any law, vntounto the nature created & which is now reuoked & conſtrained by ſure & certein lawes. Which kynde of concluſion S. Auguſtine alſo laugheth at in his booke 2. booke againſt Pelagia, the 25. Chapter. Thus hauehave you my anſwere vntounto that moſt common and vſuall argument of the Philoſophers. What is the ſeconde argument, which you ſay may be brought againſt vsus?
S.
The aucthoritie which they alleage out of the xi. cha. and 18. verſe of the booke of VViſedome: For vntounto thyne almightie hande that made the worlde out of a rude and vnfourmed matter, there lacked no ſtrength to ſende a multitude of beares, or of fierce Lions amonge them. Ergo the worlde was made of rude and vnformed matter, and not of nothyng. To which opinion Sainct Auguſtine ſeemeth to agree in the 3. booke, the 5. and 6. Chapters, of the Trinitie. For hee ſayth that There is a certaine common matter conſiſting in the cauſes of the worlde,
M.
Indeede, this which you doe aleage, hath ſeemed vntounto ſome to bee a verie forceable argument. And therfore ye materiar heretikes, which are called alſo ye Hermogenians, doe chiefly ſtaye themſelues vppon that, againſt whom Tertullian hath writen manye noble and learned woorkes. And that I may ſaye nothinge of the aucthoritie of that booke, lyke as I ſayde beefore: notwithſtanding I will anſwere this which is moſt true, that it is there taught and beleeued, yt the ſame rude and vnformed matter out of which it is ſaid the worlde was made, was firſt created by GOD of nothing, & not out of any other matter wrought or ſupplied, (for ſo ſhoulde wee runne foorth infinitely) neithere exiſtinge of it ſelfe, for then ſhoulde it bee verye God. But whoſoeuer he was that wrote that booke, hee wrote in ſuch manner, out of the opinion whiche was then receiued and knowne amonge the Hebrue Rabbines, and was afterward alowed of and embraced of all, to wit, that heauen and earth (which two are ſaide in the 1. of Geneſis to hauehave beene created the firſte daye) were as it were the firſt matter of Gods woorkes which were created afterwarde, whiche God by his mightie vertue prepared vntounto him ſelf and caſt togither, miniſtred firſt rudely whereby afterwarde hee might finiſhe and forme the reſidue of that ſo greate a woorke. And as touching Sainct Auguſtine, they that alleage him againſt vsus, do altogither wreaſt hys auctority. For S. Auguſtine intreateth not there of the firſt matter of thys whole worlde, as though hee would hauehave it to bee one: or feigned or imagined it to bee coeternall with God: but hee ſpeaketh of the ſeconde matter, through which as in thinges nowe alreadye created, one thinge ſprunge of an other by the commaundement of GOD, as out of the earth trees and beaſtes, and as at thys daye alſo they are made and doe proceede. There was foreſowne ſaith hee, eeuen in thoſe thinges, the matter of ſuch thinges as aroſe and ſprung out of them: the 3. booke of Geneſis vppon the letter, the 14. chapter, and the 2. booke, the 15. chapter, and the 1. booke, the 14. and 15. Chapter: and the 5. booke, the 5. chap.
S.
Thirdly they ſaye, that yt is not the proper and naturall force and ſignification of this woorde, Create, For in the 43. chap. and 13. verſe of Iſay, the Lorde calleth himſelfe the creatour of Iſraell, which people notwithſtandinge are knowne to hauehave beene borne of ſeede. And againe, in in the 65. Chapter, and 18. verſe of the ſame Prophet, he ſaith. Beeholde, I create Hieruſalem: Whiche place whether it bee vnderſtoode of the citizens or of the citie it ſelfe, it is certayne that God made neyther of them without ſeede, or matter, but the men of the one, and the Citie of the other. For this woorde Barah is vſed in both places, ſo that I am of opinion, that wee ought not to ſticke to religiouſly or perciſely to the interpretation of one poore woorde. Likewiſe they alleage this ſaying of the ſame Prophete: Beeholde, I create a newe heauen, and a newe earth: When as indeede the Lorde will onelyonly renue theſe bodyes which nowe are heauen and earth, and not make thē again of nothing.
M.
It is writen in Iſay as you ſay. But theſe places doe plainly confirme mine opinion, much leſſe confute it. For the woorde, create, is taken Metaphorically, and wreſted a litle from the proper ſignificatiō, wherby the power of God may appeare the greater & more excellent in reſtoringe his people, and holy Citie beeſides al hope, and other thinges beeſides all ordinarie meanes. For lyke as the thinges that are created, are beeſides the courſe of nature made of nothinge, ſo likewiſe bycauſe the Lord promiſeth that hee will reſtore and renue his people and Citie, hee vſeth properly the woorde of creating, for that this which the Lord will woorke, is, as it were, a new creation, and a certayne won̄derfull bringing foorth and generation out of nothinge. Althoughe I will not deney, but that the ſignification of this word Barah is oftētimes tranſlated and vſed more largely: as when it is ſayd: Create a cleane hart within mee, O God, the 51. Pſalme, and 12. verſe: and againe, The ſeat of the frowarde createth iniquitie: Pſalme. 94. and 20. verſe. Of this ſayinge and opinion of Sainct Auguſtine, that I maye ſaye ſo much by the licence of ſo woorthy a man, I doe not well alowe. Who in his firſt booke againſt the aduerſaries of the lawe and the Prophetes, the 23 chap, writeth thus: And when there is anye difference made beetweene makinge and creatinge, this maye bee the oddes beetwene thoſe two woordes as I ſayde, that that is made which beefore was not at all, and that created which is ordeyned of ſumthinge that was beefore. Hee diſtinguiſhed thoſe two woordes, Make, and Creat, toto ſubtily whiche oftentimes are vſed one for an other.
S.
How then ſhould it bee?
M.
Thus the Scripture plainly defineth, to wit, that God is the creatour of the world, that is to ſay, of all thinges that are, who made, framed & brought foorth them all out of nothing, and not out of any matter preexiſting or made to his hande, or whiche is coeternall with God himſelf, or miniſtred vntounto him by ſome other woorking God, as the Manichees doe ſuppoſe. For that opinion induceth two Goddes: and in making twayne, it leaueth none. For either there is no God, or there is but one. Finally, as ſaith S. Ambroſe, God ſhould bee onelyonly the diuiſer of the figure, and not the maker of Nature: and hee had founde and receiued more than hee had made, if there had bin any matter readie to his hande.
S.
But there bee ſome that ſaie, that this matter is ſignified in the ſcripture by this woorde Tohu: where vponupon afterward the Grecians, and the Philoſophers who receiued thoſe thinges firſt of the Hebrues, and of the Phenicians neere borderers to the Hebrues: whiche thei hauehave written concernyng the beeginnyng of the worlde: thei deuiſed this woorde Hyle, by a ſmall alteration of certein letters made according to the vſe and proprietie of their tongue. For this woorde Hyle, ſaiethei, ſignifieth among the Grecians, as muche as a rude heape, vnformed, and as it were a certein moiſte and wateriſhe yearth, or quagmire, or dregges, out of whiche many thinges are engendred, through the force of the heate whiche commeth vntounto it. From the whiche woorde Hyle, is the woorde Hilys deriued, which ſignifieth dregges and froath, that is to ſaye, a dirtie and moyſt earth, out of whiche many thinges doe growe in the Sea.
M.
I doubted not, but thoſe that goe about to defend the ſame errour of theirs, concerning a firſte matter preexiſting, as though it were verie neceſſarie, and they that hauehave throughly receiued the ſame, doe deuiſe many ſuche fooliſhe fantaſies. But how ſmall or none at all the affinity of theſe two woordes is, Tohu and Hyle, in writing of the Letters, or rather how farre this is from the trueth, your ſelfe doe ſee, and it ſhall not bee needefull to ſeeke farther: foraſmuch as God is openly called the creatour of heauen and earth.
S.
Yea, God is termed Goſ…he Io…ſer, that is to ſay, the maker and the fourmer, as it is written in Iſay, the 66. chapt. and 10. verſe: and Iob the 35. chap. and 10. verſe: and Iſay the 54. chap. & 8. verſe: as alſo in the 90. Pſalme, the 2. verſe.
M.
That was doone not raſhly nor in vaine, but to the intent to take awaye ſutch errours, as the ſpirite of God foreſawe would grow afterward amongſt men. For there are twoo errours among men, concernyng the beeginning of all thinges, beeſides the errour of the materiare heretikes. For ſome thinke, that firſt and alwaies there was exiſting a certein whole maſſe, and that rude and confuſed, whiche was the heape of all the principall partes and thinges of the worlde whiche now are exiſting and fourmed, but then diſorderly mingled togither, which they call Chaos, And this opinion Heſiodus folowed in his Theogonia, whiche Ouid deſcribeth in his Metamorphoſis in theſe wordes.
Beefore the ſea and lande were made, the heauen that all doth hide,
In all the worlde one onelyonly face of nature did abyde,
Whiche Chaos hight, an huge rude heape, and nothinge elſe but eeuen.
An heauie lumpe and clottred clod of feedes togither driuen:
Of thinges at ſtrife amonge themſelues for want of order due.
No ſunne as yet with lightſome beames the ſhapeleſſe worlde did viewe. &c.
This muche therefore they doe attribute vntounto God, that hee is the diſtinguiſher, trimmer, and ſetter foorth of this ſo confuſed a Chaos, mole and heape: and not the creatour of it in time, giuinge vntounto it the firſt meanes of beeinge. And therefore the Poet ſayde There was, as it were, from euerlaſting: and not the ſame Chaos was made and created by God. And for this cauſe they doe not call God the Creatour of the world, but onelyonly the beutifier, and as Sainct Ambroſe ſayeth, the deuiſer of the ſhape and fourme thereof: as though hee hadde giuen a certeine comlineſſe and order vntounto thinges that exiſted before, and which had of themſelues their owne proper ſtrength and nature, whiche hee accompliſhed by a certaine wiſe and apt diſtinction of them, and by ſeparating & diſtributing of eueryevery part into it owne conuenient place. Otherſome there bee that doe attribute more vntounto GOD. For they holde opinion, that the matter was a great mole from eternitie, mary but matter onelyonly, and not that althinges were encluded and comprehended within it (whiche the firſte ſorte doe alſo holde,) but that it was rude and vnſhapen. Which matter, for that it was great, GOD taking it in hande, diuided it into ſmale peaces: and, as hee is a moſte wiſe and cunninge woorkeman, facioned it into ſundrye fourmes. And ſo endued euerye parte thereof with hys owne & proper fourme, which wee ſee them nowe rertaine. Euen ſo out of one and the ſelfeſame barre of yron cut into ſundry pieces, the Smith frameth & forgeth a key, an hammer, a ſawe, fetters, and many other thinges ſeruinge to ſundrie purpoſes, whereof they tearme God Demiurgus, and not the creatour or maker. Howbeit the ſcripture attributeth all this vntounto God. To wyt, both that they bee thinges, and alſo hauehave the ſame force, power, nature, and fourme, which wee ſee to bee in them. And finally, in that they are ſituate in ſuch place, and diſtinguiſhed in ſutch order as wee doe beeholde: that they decke foorth this mole in ſuch cumly ſorte as in hugeneſſe & beutie we do perceiue they do, and in ſuch maner as ther is no man able ſufficiently to expreſſe. Wherefore, the Scripture ſaith, that God doeth not onelyonly Barah, that is to ſay, create. And in the Greeke tongue K…zin or Poem, but alſo Gaſcha, which is to ſay, woorke. And in Greeke alſo to doe ſome woorke, or Demiurgin: and alſo Iarſar, that is to ſay, to bring things into a cumly order, which in the Greeke tongue is called …ſmi…: and that all things which are in this world & which are ſeene do take their beeginning from God to bee thinges at all, and to bee ſuche maner thinges as they are: wee muſte ſo determine moſte certeinely with ourſelues, vnderſtande ſo, and confeſſe the ſame, beeing thereto conſtrained by the force of truth.
S.
HaueHave you any proofes to confirme this your opinion by?
M.
Yea truely, & that eſpecially out of theſe places of holy ſcripture: Iſay the 42. chapter and 5. verſe: the 43. chapter the 1. and 7. verſes: the 45. chapter, the 12. & 18. verſes: Likewiſe, Iob the 26. chapter, and 13. verſe the 25. chapter & 10. verſe: wher the onelyonly and felfeſame God is termed by ſo many and diuerſe names.