The Portraiture of the Image of God in Man, Part 1 · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV. Of the knowledge which Adam had of the Creatures.
MAn in his firſt eſtate had the firſt principles, Prop. created in him of all ſciences and liberall arts, whereby he might underſtand the nature of the creatures here below, and ſo learne by them. Illuſt.
As hee was Pater viventium, the Father of all living, ſo he was Pater ſcientium; A collation betwix the innocent, old, and renewed Adam.for as hee was able to beget children, ſo hee was able to teach his poſterity.
Adams knowledge, the Angels and ours, differ foure manner of waies. Firſt, hee had his knowledge per ſpecies infuſas, and not per ſpecies connatas as the Angels have; Scientia veleſt infuſa, connata, acquiſita, vel experimentalis.we have our knowledge now, per ſpecies acquiſitas, he had not his knowledge by experience as we have, yet he ſhould have had his experimentall knowledge of ſciences and arts if he had ſtood.
Queſt. Whether was his knowledge one ſort of knowledge with ours, or different?
Anſw. It was not a different ſort of knowledge from ours, although his was infuſed, and ours acquired. The ſight which we have naturally, and that which was miraculouſly reſtored by Chriſt to the blinde, was one ſort of ſight, though the one was ſupernaturall, and the other naturall: ſo although Adams knowledge was infuſed and ours acquired, yet it is one ſort of knowledge, becauſe they are both ſet upon the ſame objects.
Secondly, Adams knowledge and ours differed in extent of knowledge, In amplitudine ſcientiae.for hee had the knowledge of all things which might bee knowne; that befalls to no man now, for he knoweth not that which he ſhould know.
Thirdly, his knowledge and ours differed, for he knew the cauſe of every thing, wee for the moſt part take up onelyonly the effects of nothing, He knew foreign, we know foreign.but know not the cauſes. The load-ſtone draweth the yron to it, yet being rub'd with garlike it cannot draw the yron to it; here he could underſtand the cauſe, but we perceive onelyonly the effect, that the yron is drawne up, but know not the cauſe; Tripolium, tripoli or turbet, changeth the colour of it three times in a day; for in the morning it is white, at the middle of the day it is of a purple colour; and in the evening it is light, Peucer. de divin.red, of a ſcarlet colour; hee knew the reaſon of it, Cognitio triplex, ſupereminens, adaequata, & deficiens.wee know onelyonly the effects. God knoweth the cauſe and the effects of things more excellently then they are in themſelves; Adam knew as much as was in the creatures, but we know leſſe than is in them. There are ſome colours quae exaequant viſum, as the greene colour is equall with our ſight; there are ſome colours quae ſuperant viſum, that exceede our ſight, as the ſnow ſcatters our ſight; there are ſome colours that are deficient and leſſe than our ſight, as the tawnie colour: theſe colours which ſcatter the ſight, the Greekes call foreign, theſe which gather the ſight, they call foreign, the creatures they are leſſe than Gods knowledge, they are equall with Adams knowledge, but they exceede our knowledge now. The knowledge that man had before the fall of the creaturs and ſince is illuſtrate by this Apologe, the Wolfe deſired the Crane upon a time to ſuppe with her, and powred thinne pottage upon a table which the Crane could not picke up becauſe they were ſo thinne; the next night the Crane deſired the Wolfe to ſupper, and brought a long narrow glaſſe with pottage in it, which ſhee could eaſily put her beake into and eate of it, but the Wolfe could not put his head into it, but lickt onelyonly the glaſſe without. Man before his fall was like the Crane, who could dive eaſily into the glaſſe, hee could eaſily take up the nature of the creatures; but ſince the fall hee is like to the Wolfe, licking without the glaſſe, never putting his head within, to attaine to the ſecrets of nature; therefore it was that antiquity fained veritie to bee hid in a deepe well.
Fourthly, Differnut retentione.his knowledge and ours differed in the ſure retaining, for man in his whole eſtate could not forget things taught him; but man now doth forget the things that are taught him: wee are now like to the houre glaſſe, for that which wee receive in at the one eare goeth out at the other; or like to a ſieve, which keepeth the branne and letteth the floure goe: ſo now wee forget the good, and retaine the bad.A collation betwixt Salomons knowledge and Adam in innocency
A collation betwixt that knowledge which Salomon had of naturall things, and that which Adam had before his fall. Man in his innocent eſtate excelled all that ever were in the knowledge of naturall things.
But it may be ſayd, 1. King. 3.12. that, there was never none like Salomon, in knowledge, before him, or ſhall be after him, therefore Salomon excelled Adam in knowledge. Some anſwer, that the compariſon is here onelyonly of Kings; there was never ſuch a King in Iſrael, that had ſuch wiſedome as Salomon; but in divine things Adam excelled him. But we muſt not grant this, for in the knowledge of naturall things Adam excelled all; then the compariſon muſt onelyonly be betweene Salomon and other ſinfull men ſince the fall, hee excelled all ſinfull men in knowledge, but not Adam in his innocent eſtate.
Queſt. How did Adam underſtand all ſorts of trades and ſciences before the fall, ſeeing his poſterity is ſaid to finde out many after the fall, Gen. 4. As ſome of Cains poſteritie found out the Art to worke in braſſe, ſome to make tents; ſo Noah after he came out of the Arke planted the firſt vineyard, Gen. 9.20.
Anſw. He had the knowledge of all the liberall ſciences before the fall, but the mechanicke and ſervile trades that ſerve for mans uſe after the fall he knew them not, for he was not to eate bread by the ſweat of his face: his worke ſhould have onelyonly beene a recreation to him.
The firſt Adam had knowledge of the liberall ſciences, A collation betwixt the innocent and old Adambut ſince the fall hee poreth onelyonly in the earth; and delights onelyonly his ſenſes, as the finding out of muſicke; and for his profit, as folding of cattle, Gen. 4. But before the fall hee had his mind elevated higher to God, and to the knowledge of the liberall ſciences; and as the ſciences followed Adam (the Divine;) ſo when the Goſpell was reſtored, all liberall ſciences follow it, as the ſhadow doth the body, and was reſtored with it.
Adam knew all Arts and ſciences before his fall, Conſequence. therefore Philoſophy is not an invention of the heathen, for it came firſt from Adam to the Patriarches, and ſo hath continued ſtill; the ancienteſt of the Philoſophers are but of late, Daplex Philoſophia exemplaris & exemplata.and they did learne the moſt of it out of Egypt; the exemplar of Philoſophy was from God; that which was framed to the exemplar was from man.
Queſt. Whence commeth it that ſome men excell others ſo farre now in Arts and liberall ſciences?
Anſw. It comes from a new gift of God; it is a new gift of God to excell even in theſe mechanike things and liberall ſciences: as the Lord gave to Bezaliel and Ahohab a ſpeciall gift to worke in gold and ſilver, curious worke for the Tabernacle Exod. 34.1. Eſa. 28.26. For his God doth inſtruct him to diſcretion, and doth teach him. God giveth a new gift to the husbandman to excell in husbandry. It is true that after the fall Man loſt not altogether this naturall knowledge; Vulneratus eſt in naturalibus, & ſpoliatus eſt in ſpiritualibus; that is, hee was wounded in his naturall knowledge, and ſpoyled of his ſupernaturall, for if he had altogether loſt this naturall knowledge, the life of man could not hauehave beene entertained; but to excell in this knowledge, this muſt bee a ſupernaturall gift.
So much of Adams underſtanding wherein his knowledge conſiſted, both inbred and acquired. Wee come now to his Will, wherein chiefely conſiſteth the conſent to theſe things which his underſtanding hath diſcerned, and here ſtandeth the power that the Will hath over all the actions of men.