The Wonderful Workmanship of the World, Discourse · Chapter 44 – Chapter 45
¶ The. xliiii. Chapter. Whether in the firſt creation of all thinges, God made two Contraries.
S.
BUt foraſmuch as now you are in handling the ſtate of the world, wherin it was firſt made, tell mee I pray you, whether that opinion bee true, concerninge the thinges that were firſt created, whether God made two contraries, & the one to ſtriue againſt an other? Thus they ſaye colde thinges and hotte, highe and lowe, white and blacke, greate and ſmall were firſt created, to the ende that the force of things might bee preſerued in a certaine temperament, by theſe contraries. This is written in Eccleſiaſticus the 42. chapter, and 25. verſe: and the 33. Chapter, & 15. verſe. Whiche alſo S. Auguſtine in his 2. booke de Ciuitate Dei, and 18 chapter: and Irenaeus in his 2. booke, and 43. chapter, doe followe.
M.
It is true whiche you ſay. For God made not althinges at the firſte of one qualitie, colour, and greatnes, neither of one kind and nature. But hee made ſome high ſome lowe, ſome moyſt ſome drie, ſome warme ſome cold, the day to bee one thing and the night another. Yet God made nothing that was eeuill. But why hee created them in ſuche varietie, this is the cauſe: both for that the power and wiſedome of God is thereby more apparant: and alſo the thinges themſelues by this repugnancie of contrarie vertues and natures, and mitigacion of them, may bee the more eaſely preſerued. For what maner ſtate of thinges would there hauehave bin, if all thinges had bin hoat? what numneſſe, if all thinges had bin cold? what miſerie, if all wayes there had bin darknes? what weariſomneſſe, if it had alwaies bin daye? And therefore when God had created the natures of this worlde, and of the thinges conteined therein, hee thought it conuenient to refreſh and eaſe them with change and courſe, becauſe they were bodies, or apperteinyng to bodies: and likewiſe to nouriſhe them with a certein mutuall knot and temperament, bicauſe they were diuerſe partes of one whole thyng: hee ingraffed alſo contrarie qualities in them, that the one ſhould bee a let, bridle, and temperament to the other. And to bee ſhort, to the intent there ſhould bee chaunge and alteration in theſe thinges, that there might bee ſome differēce plainly perceiued beetweene the eſſence of them and of the angels, & alſo of God hymſelf, who needeth no ſutch meanes for his preſeruation. Euen ſo likewiſe, a well gouerned citie conſiſteth of ſundry orders and of diuerſe fortes of men, ritche, poore, faire, foule, Subiectes, Magiſtrates, young, olde, Huſbandmen, Souldiours, who are of diuerſe ſtates and vnlike callinges, and many tymes alſo of contrarie. Notwithſtanding they bee neceſſarie for the preſeruation of the mutuall ſafetie of the whole citie, wherby it beecummeth the more beautifull, the more plentifull and conuenient for the vſe of this life. And therfore I will confirme this opinion with the moſte excellent teſtimonie of Tertullian, who in the 45. chapter of his Apologeticum, writeth thus: which reaſon made the vniuerſalitie out of diuerſitie, that all thinges might appeare togither from many ſubſtances into an vnitie: out of voyd and ſound: out of liuyng and vnliuyng: out of comprehenſible and incomprehenſible: out of light and darknes, and out of life and death. Neither doe wee notwithſtanding, fauour the errour of the Manichees, who hold opinion, that at the beeginning there were twoo Giauntes whiche afflicted mutually one another, one of the light, and another of darknes. There is one, and the ſame, and onelyonly God, who made all thinges, and moſte wiſely inſtituted this contrarietie for the preſeruation of the whole woorke.
S.
But this varietie of things ſeemeth to bring in great diſcord, when it had bin more meete that this worlde beeing, as it were, a certein whole thing, ſhould hauehave bin builded and compacted of partes freindly and louingly agreeing one with another. Which thing, this contrarietie among creatures, doth ſeeme very mutch to withſtande.
M.
You gather not well. For this diſſimulitude amonge thinges, and varietie of contrarie qualities and properties, bringeth in no diſcorde, but rather cauſeth great concorde and agreement. Like as in mans bodie, the diuerſitie of the partes & members, and theyr force, action, moouinge, place and office, which many times are contrarie, declareth that there is greate agreement amonge the members, and is alſo neceſſarie for the life, gouerment, and defence of the whole body. The like truely is to bee ſeene in the world, for it is one bodie, and conteined within one compaſſe. And why the diſcorde of thinges ſo muth diſagreeing is ſo friendly and agreeinge, and ſo conſenting vntounto it ſelfe, and alſo firme and durable, the great and incomprehēſible wiſedom of almighty God is the cauſe, who hath contempered all thoſe thinges excellently one with another as they ought to bee, and hath made them of apt and conuenient weight, number, and meaſure, both in reſpect of themſelues, and in compariſon alſo of other thinges, as it is written in the booke of Wiſdom the 11. chapter, and 21. verſe▪ and S. Auguſtine afterwarde alſo declareth the ſame in his 4. booke de Geneſi ad Literam. But what weight, number, and meaſure this is, or what is the proportiō of their mingling togither, by reaſon of whiche this world is ſo agreeing and meete one parte with another, and of all among themſelues, although the Philoſophers hauehave by diſputation curiouſly vexed themſelues herein, and yet neither founde it out, neither declared it: God knoweth, and hee himſelfe onelyonly.
The. xlv. Chapter. In what ſenſe it is ſayd that God reſted, after the creation of the world.
S.
THere remaineth yet one thing, whiche I would demaund.
M.
What is that?
S.
Whether GOD hauehave ceaſſed altogither to create any thing ſince ye time y• hee made an ende of the world, ſeeing hee ſeemeth dayly to create mens ſoules out of nothing, and hee yet woorketh ſtill, as Chriſte teacheth vsus in the 5. chapter, and 17. verſe of S. Iohn.
M.
An eaſie matter to aunſwere. For God is ſaide to ceaſſe, onelyonly in reſpect of this worlde and the woorke which then hee had vndertaken to doe, that is to ſay, in compariſon of an other, as S. Auguſtine anſwereth in his 4. booke de Geneſi ad Literam. And not altogether & abſolutely, as although God neither gouerned nowe this world which he made, neither were able to make any new thing more ſeeing there is nothyng made or doone now, but by his woorking. Whoſe moſt louing & tender prouidence, hath alwaies gouerned, & doeth now gouerne whatſoeuer he hath created. Whoſe infinite power woorketh eueryevery thing in eueryevery thing, as S. Paule writeth to the Epheſians, the 1. chapter, and 23. verſe. Finally, whoſe ſtrength and vertue are neither impaired by weakenes through proceſſe of time, wherby they are leſſe able eueryevery day to create many things, neither are they beecome ſlacker or ſlower in woorkinge, Therefore the Lorde yet eueryevery daye createth many newe thinges, to wit, the ſoules of men. Howbeeit, all that his purpoſed woorke, and the fulneſſe, and bewtie of this worlde, hee made moſte perfectly, and finiſhed moſt abſolutely in eueryevery poinct & part, in the ſpace of thoſe ſixe dayes, & reſted the ſeauenth day. God ſanctified, ſayth S. Auguſtine, no day of hys woorke, but onelyonly the day of his reſt, that it might bee vnderſtoode that God is more bleſſed than his woorkes. For hee was delighted with none of his woorkes ſo much as with himſelfe. So hee ſanctified the daye of his reſt, and not of his woorke. And nowe bycauſe wee are come to the day of Gods reſt, let vsus reſte alſo in this place, and make an ende of this diſputation whiche wee erewhile began. So much as may ſeeme can bee ſaide generally concernyng the creation of the world, and the firſt beeginning of all things apperteining vntounto Chriſtian Naturall Philoſophie, wee hauehave heere for the moſt part declared. And wee giuegive thankes vntounto God, for that hee hath giuen vsus a minde and abilitie to write thoſe things which wee hauehave heere declared.(:)
FINIS.