An Account of Cawdrys Triplex Diatribe, Chapter 5 · Section 12
Sect. 12. The fifth reaſon vindicated. foreign. Heſychius corrected twiſe. foreign adverbially. foreign. foreign. foreign. Heſychius's Gloſſary concordant to th Scripture uſe. foreign, Eph. 5. 4.
TO my fifth reaſon taken from Heſychius's rendring it by foreign voluntary piety or worſhip, and the notion which he had of foreign in compoſition, to ſignifie that which a man did foreign voluntarily, and foreign of his own accord, agreeably to which the foreign freewill-offerings are rendred by the Septuagint foreign voluntary performances, his anſwer is brief, that this is no advantage to my cauſe, for the words may both ſignifie well-deviſed worſhip in an ill ſenſe. And though in humane authors the derivatives and compounds of this word expreſſe the Freewillingneſſe of the perſon, yet that will not help the Doctor who doth not underſtand foreign in reſpect to the willingneſſe of the perſon in a commanded worſhip of God, but voluntary worſhip, i. e. worſhip not commanded by God, but offered to him by the free will of man.
To this I reply, 1. that I willingly confeſſe foreign as capable of an ill ſenſe, as foreign, i. e. that when the worſhip is forbidden or falſe, then being ill, the voluntarineſſe of it can infuſe no goodneſſe into it, as when it is of it ſelf good, the uncommandedneſſe cannot make it ill.
And therefore 2dly this was not it on which I laid the weight (only I thought foreign had not been ſo likely to hear ill with gainſayers, as this other which I ſaw was fallen under great prejudice with ſome) but rather that which followed of the other compounds of foreign which ſignifie no more but doing ſomewhat voluntarily, or of their own accord, without any neceſſity to doe it.
3dly. Then I ſay that acknowledging it my notion of the word to ſignifie worſhip not commanded by God, the authority of Heſychius and the other Greek Gloſſaries which concur with, or follow him, is clear and home to confirm that to be the meaning of it.
If that which is ſaid already be not ſufficient to lay the parallel directly betwixt Will-worſhip and voluntary oblations, or performances of things not commanded, then adde 1. from Heſychius again, that foreign ſignifies foreign, voluntary, proceeding from his own will, and that ſure is diſtant enough from the will or command of another. The words in Heſychius are certainly falſe printed (as much of that book is) foreign. It muſt queſtionleſſe thus be mended, either foreign, or elſe in ſtead of foreign we muſt read foreign adverbially, for ſo Suidas fetcheth that word out of approved authors; and which way ſoever it is, the ſenſe is the ſame, that foreign ſignifies one that doth any thing from his own, not anothers will or command, whereas the word to ſignifie foreign voluntary in performing commands, is by him ſet foreign, not foreign, for ſo thoſe two words muſt be read together (and not ſevered, as they now are in the vulgar copie) foreign, as immediately after, foreign.
So again of the two words formerly cited by me foreign, and foreign, the former certainly ſignifies the freeneſs of the matter, not of the perſon, one that is willingly deaf or diſobedient, foreign, which ſure cannot be phanſied a doing that freely or willingly which is commanded, for no man is commanded to be diſobedient, and in like manner the latter is rendred by Suidas, foreign, he that is made ſuch by himſelf, and not commanded by the city, adding foreign, ſetting foreign directly in oppoſition to foreign, voluntary, to commanded by another, and Phavorinus repeats the very ſame words, onelyonly with the change of the Gender foreign, adding alſo (as ſeldome he omits to do) what Heſychyus had ſaid, foreign. The ſame may appear again by foreign, he that chooſeth ill voluntarily, i. e. he which of his own accord chooſeth the evil, both in Phavorinus and Suidas, where ſure that which he chooſeth voluntarily, is not firſt commanded by God, being ſuppoſed to be evill. And ſo ſtill theſe compoſitions from foreign ſignifie all of them in perfect accord with my notion of Will-worſhip, i. e. a performance voluntarily taken up, without any command of God.
And indeed tis a little ſtrange that this Diatribiſt, who takes it here in an ill ſenſe, and places the ill in this, that it is an uncommanded worſhip, ſhould yet here diſpute againſt this ſignification of foreign, for voluntary worſhip, uncommanded by God, and phanſie that I pretend no more but the free-willingneſs of the perſon in a commanded worſhip of God.
What he addes in the end of that 15th §. that though the word in other authors be taken for voluntary worſhip, and be but once uſed in Scripture, yet the Spirit of God uſeth words in a ſenſe clearly different from other authors, inſtancing in foreign, foreign, Eph. 5. 4. taken for a vice, which in Ariſtotle is taken for a virtue,] will ſoon receive anſwer, For 1. Heſychius being the author now peculiarly under conſideration, and his Gloſſes having a ſpeciall propriety to the explicating of words in Scripture, what is ſaid by him, is not ſo much the ſenſe of other authors, as of the Scripture itſelf, and ſo cannot reaſonably be thought diſtant from it.
2dly. Though ſome words are taken in the Scripture in a ſenſe different from other authors, this is not applicable to all words of Scripture, ſome are uſed in ordinary vulgar ſenſes, and by much the greater part of words there, and from thence to conclude of foreign, that it is taken in a different ſenſe, is to conclude and ſyllogize from particulars, which is againſt all Laws of Logick.
3dly. Whenſoever a word in any place of Scripture is affirmed to be uſed in ſuch a different ſenſe, that muſt be concluded either by the circumſtances of the text, which ſo inforce it, or elſe by comparing it with other places of Scripture, where that ſenſe is neceſſary; as when foreign is concluded to be a vice, Eph. 5. 4. tis manifeſt by the context it muſt do ſo, for to it is immediately annext, foreign, which are (not onelyonly not convenient, but, as that phraſe denotes) very inconvenient, nay as the companions of it there, foreign inforce, filthy, noiſome, unſavory, ſo as folly oft ſignifies uncleanneſs, and ſo this is a viſible reaſon alſo, why the word is taken in an ill ſenſe, when Ariſtotle, meaning onelyonly cleanly, not beaſtly jeſting, takes it in a good ſenſe: But of foreign this no way appears in this one place where tis uſed, but on the contrary, the ſociety in which tis found, humility and ſelf-denyal or auſterity determine it to be the good ſenſe, as certainly, as the companie of foreign determine that to an ill. And ſo much for my 5t Reaſon.