The Portraiture of the Image of God in Man, Part 1 · Chapter 5 – Chapter 6
CHAP. V. Of the perfection of Mans Body.
MAn was created a middle, betwixt the ſuperiour and inferior creatures.
There is life in Angel and Man, Prop. but more excellently in the Angell than Man; Illuſt. 1 ſo there is life in man and in the Beaſt, but more excellently in Man than in the Beaſt, and in this, Man may rejoyce, that there is no creature which diſdaines to ſerve him; yea, The Angels are miniſtring ſpirits for his good, Pſal. 104 4. And no marvell that hee is beloved of all theſe, ſeeing all of theſe, in ſome ſort, and every one of them, both earthly and heavenly things doe like him, becauſe hee is a middle in which both agree; and as the Iewes ſaid, 2 Sam. 19.43. Have wee not all a part in David the King? So all the creatures ſay, Have we not all a part in Man? Illuſt. 2
There are three worlds, and man is the fourth. Firſt, Quadruplex mundus, elementaris, caeleſtis ſupermundanus, & microcoſ…us.the elementary world. Secondly, the celeſtiall world. Thirdly, the angelicall or ſuperceleſtiall. Fourthly, the little world, Man. And thoſe things which are found in the inferior worlds, are likewiſe found in the ſuperior; we have here below the elementary fire, here it is, ignis urens, burning fire: This ſame fire is in the heavens, and there it is ignis fovens & vivificans, it quickeneth and nouriſheth all things. There is fire above in the celeſtiall ſpirits, and there it is, ignis ardens & amor Seraphicus, burning in love; Man the fourth world hath all theſe three ſorts of fire in him. Firſt, the elementary fire, in the compoſition of his body of the foure elements. Secondly, the celeſtiall fire, the influence of the Planets in him. Thirdly, the ſuperceleſtiall fire, the love of God heating and burning within him, Luk 24. Did not our hearts burne within us.
God hath joyned all things in the world, per media, Illuſt. 3 by middles; as firſt, he coupled the earth and the water by ſlime; ſo the ayre and the water by vapours; the exhalations are a middle betwixt the ayre and the fire; argilla, or marle, a middle betwixt ſlime and ſtones; So the christall betwixt water and the diamond; Mercury or Quickſilver, betwixt water and metals; Pyrrhites the fireſtone or marcaſie, betwixt ſtones and metals; the corall betwixt roots and ſtones, which hath both a roote and branches; Zoophita, or plants reſembling living creatures (as the Mandrake reſembling a man, the hearbe called the ſcythyan lamb… ; reſembling a lambe) or a middle betwixt animals and plants; So amphibia; as the Seale and ſuch) betwixt the beaſts living on earth, and in the Sea; ſo Struthiocamelus, the Oſtrich betwixt fowles and beaſts; So the fleeing fiſhes are a middle, betwixt the fowles and the fiſhes; the batt betwixt creeping things and the fowles; the hermaphrodite betwixt man and woman; the Ape betwixt a man and a beaſt, and man betwixt the beaſt and Angels.
A collation betwixt the child in his mothers belly, A collation of man between the three ſtates of his life.and when he lives here after he is borne, and when he lived under the ceremoniall Law.
In the mothers belly, the firſt ſeaven dayes it is ſeede onelyonly, and then there is feare onelyonly of effluctions, but if the mother retaine the ſeede the firſt ſeven dayes then there is hope that it will be embryo, this an imperfect child in the mothers belly; after the ſeventh day till the fortieth day, then there is danger that ſhe is abhort; if ſhee part not with this before the fortieth day, then it is faetus vivens a living child, till the birth.
When the child is borne, if hee live till the ſeventh yeare, then there is hope that he ſhall be lively, and if he live till the fortieth yeare, that then he uſually comes to his perfection and wiſedome.
Anſwerable to theſe under the ceremoniall law, were the children paſſing the firſt ſeven dayes, who were circumciſed the eight, and the fortieth day were to be preſented before the Lord. Levit. 12.6.
CHAP. VI. Of the ſoule of Man.
THe ſoule of man is an immortall ſubſtance. Prop.
The oppoſition betwixt the life of the beaſt and the ſoule of man, Illuſt. 1 That the lives of beaſts are mortall.ſheweth that the ſoule of man is immortall. Firſt, the life of the beaſt is mortall, and periſheth with the body, Reaſon. 1 becauſe there is no operation in the ſenſitive facultie without the organs of the body, but in the beaſt there is no operation found above the ſenſitive faculty, for they neither underſtand nor reaſon, Pſal 32.9. Be not like the horſe or mule, in whom there is neither understanding nor reaſon. That the beaſts neither can underſtand nor reaſon, it is manifeſt thus, becauſe all beaſts and fowles of the ſame kinde worke alwayes alike, (being moved onelyonly by nature, and not by art) as all the Swallowes make their neſts alike, and all the Spiders weave their webs alike; therefore the beaſt can worke nothing without the organs of the body: whereupon it followeth, that when the body of the beaſt periſheth, the life periſheth alſo.
In every thing which may attaine to any perfection, Reaſon. 2 there is found a naturall deſire to that perfection: that is good which every thing deſireth; but every thing deſireth the owne proper goodneſſe; in beaſts there is no deſire found, but in their preſervation of their kinde by generation; they have this deſire hic & nunc at this time, and in this place; but their deſire reacheth not to perpetuitie, for the beaſt is not capable of perpetuitie, therefore the life of the beaſt is mortall.
Delights perfect the operation, Reaſon. 3 and as ſawces give a good reliſh to the meate, ſo are delights to our workes: when any thing hath attained the owne proper end, it breeds delight: but all the delight in beaſts, is onelyonly for the preſervation of their bodies; for they delight not in ſounds, ſmels, or in colours; but ſo farre, as they ſerve onelyonly to ſtirre up their appetite to meate or to provoke them to luſt, as when the Elephant beholds red colours, it moves him not to fight, but ſtirres him up to luſt; and being thus enflamed he fights, but ſimply his luſt is ſtirred up by it; therefore the beaſts have no delight but in bodily and ſenſuall things, and doe nothing but by the body: therefore, Levit. 17.11. The life of the beaſt is ſaid to be in the bloud, which is not to be found ſo in the ſoule of man.
If the ſenſe received things without a bodily organ, Reaſon. 4 then any of the ſenſes ſhould receive in them both colours, ſounds ſmels, and taſtes, becauſe an immortall ſubſtance doth apprehend all the formes alike; as wee ſee in the underſtanding uſing no bodily organ, it underſtands all ſenſible things alike. Therefore the ſenſitive facultie is ſtill bound to the organs of the body.
The ſenſe is corrupted by a vehement object, as the ſight is dazled, Reaſon. 5 and the eares are dulled, by too vehement objects of ſeeing and hearing: but the underſtanding, the more it apprehends, the more it is perfected; becauſe it uſeth no bodily organ as the ſenſe doth.
Object. But it may be objected againſt this out of Act. 26.24. Too much learning hath made thee madde; then it may ſeeme that the underſtanding is dulled by learning, and not perfected.
Anſw. when a man becomes madde through learning, it is not the underſtanding ſimply that is madde, but the diſtraction is in the ſenſitive part ariſing from the ill conſtitution of the body.
The ſoules of beaſts are mortall, Conſequence. therefore Plato and Pythagoras erred, who held that they were immortall.