The Portraiture of the Image of God in Man, To the reader
An Advertiſement to the Reader for the right uſing of School-divinitie.
IT is a queſtion that hath beene much exagitated in the Schools, how farre Philoſophy ſhould have place in the Church of God and in Divinity. Some have gone ſo farre upon the one extremitie, that they have advanced her in the Church, above Divinity it ſelfe, and they have framed the whole platforme of their religion as Philoſophy hath taugth them; others againe bending the ſprig other way, would altogether have Philoſophy baniſhed out of the Church. But wee are here to follow a middle courſe, neither to ſeclude her out of the Church, neither to ſuffer her to advance her ſelfe above Divinity; ſhee is but the hand maid to her miſtreſſe Divinitie: therefore ſhee muſt not take upon her to rule in the houſe, and to over-rule her miſtreſſe, as Hagar would have uſurped above Sara: if ſhe have any charge, it muſt be over thoſe who are under her; ſhe muſt then ſubmit herſelfe as a dutifull hand maid to her miſtreſſe.
There is in a man ſenſe, imagination, reaſon and faith: ſenſe corrects imagination; as when the Diſciples ſaw Chriſt they thought he had beene a ſpirit: But Chriſt corrects this wrong imagination by ſenſe, ſaying, Touch me, for a ſpirit hath not fleſh and bones. When ſenſe is deceived, reaſon corrects it; When one puts a ſtaffe in the water, to his ſight the ſtaffe ſeemes to be broken: but yet reaſon corrects his ſight, and teacheth him that the water cannot breake the ſtaffe; ſo when a man is in a feaver, ſweete things ſeeme bitter to his taſte, yet this reaſon teacheth him that the fault is in his taſte, and that the things are ſweete in themſelves.
When reaſon erres, ſhee cannot cure her ſelfe, but her miſtris Divinitie muſt come in and teach her. Sara, when ſhe was old the Lord promiſed that ſhee ſhould have a childe, ſhe did laugh at it, her reaſon thought it impoſſible, that a woman ſtricken in yeares ſhould have a child: but her miſtreſſe faith corrected it, and ſhee beleeved by faith, that which her reaſon could not take up. Philoſophy is but a hand-maide to Divinity, therefore ſhee muſt bee foreign and not foreign, that is, ſhe muſt hold herſelfe within her owne bounds and not tranſcend them. Nicodemus reaſoning againſt regeneration failed in this point when he reaſoned thus: He that is borne againe muſt enter into his mothers wombe againe. But no man can enter into his mothers wombe againe: This principle is wrong applyed by him in Divinity, for wee are borne againe as Chriſt teacheth, Iohn 3, by the water and the Spirit; and not by entring into our mothers wombe againe. This vaine exceſſe of reaſon and fleſhly wiſedom, is that which the Apoſtle condemnes, 2 Cor. 10. ſo 1 Cor. 3.19.
Againe, when by naturall reaſon and Philoſophy, we take up a thing; and by faith wee beleeve the ſelfe ſame thing, if reaſon claime the firſt place here, then ſhe is not a dutifull hand-maid.
There are ſome things in Divinity which are mixtly divine: there are other things meerely divine: theſe things which are mixtly divine, in ſuch reaſon may ſerve but onelyonly in the ſecond place; primo creduntur, & poſtea intelliguntur: as a man beleeves the immortality of the ſoule: then he begins to take up the ſame by reaſon; muſt reaſon here advance her ſelfe as farre as faith? or muſt reaſon come here before faith? God forbid: for that which I beleeve, I beleeve it, ex authoritate dicentis, relying upon the truth of him that ſaith it, and al the evidence which I get by reaſon is nothing to this certitude: if reaſon ſhould goe before like an uſher to make way to faith, we ſhould never beleeve. The Schoolmen ſay well, Rationes praecedentes minuunt fidem; ſed rationes ſubſequentes augent fidem Reaſons going before faith weaken faith, but reaſons comming after faith ſtrengthen it: reaſon makes not the matter more ſure, ex parte veritatis dictantis, ſed ex parte intellectus aſſentientis: in reſpect of God the ſpeaker, but in reſpect of the weakeneſſe of our underſtanding, for by this acceſſe of further knowledge it is more canfirmed. A gardiner when hee is about to plant a tree, firſt hee digs the earth and makes an empty roome in the boſom thereof for the planting of the tree: then after he takes the ſame earth (which if it had not beene digged up, had ſtayed the planting of the tree) and caſts it about the roote of the tree againe, for the faſtning of it: hee takes alſo the ſtones which he had digged up with the earth, and kills the mole which would have beene hurtfull to the tree: ſo, firſt the Lord empties our ſoule of all naturall reaſon; and this heavenly gardiner makes a roome, wherein hee plants this ſupernaturall grace of faith by his owne hand; but when he hath planted this heavenly plant faith in the ſoule, reaſon will ſerve for two uſes; firſt, for the confirmation and eſtabliſhing of our faith new planted: another for killing of all contrary hereſies beſides which might hurt our faith: But in things which are meerely divine, & quae cadunt directè ſub fide, and fall directly under faith, as the myſterie of the Trinitie and the incarnation; what can reaſon or Philoſophy doe here; but admire theſe hid myſteries which ſhe can never reach unto? if reaſon the hand-maid have alwaies her eyes towards her miſtreſſe, then we may make good uſe of her in the Church.
The Vine-tree of it ſelfe bringeth forth the moſt comfortable grape for our nouriſhment, and chearing of our hearts; but yet if we ſet a Mandrake by it, and then drinke of that wine, that wine will make us ſleepe the better. The knowledg of Divinity is the only comfortable knowledg, but yet Philoſophy as the Mandrak being ſet by it, may have the profitable uſe alſo. Schoole divinity hath moſt incroched upon the truth and obſcured it; framing all religion according to the platforme of Philoſophie. There was one Demonides a Schoolemaſter in Athens having crooked feete, hee had his ſhooes made according to his feere: one ſtole his ſhooes from him; but he wiſh: that the feete of thoſe who had ſtolē his ſhooes, might become like unto the ſhooes. This was a fooliſh wiſh to deſire the ſtraight foot, to be made conforme to the crooked ſhooe, whereas the ſhooe ſhould be made conforme to the ſtraight foote. What is Schoole divinity, but a crooked ſhooe? therfore to conforme divinity to it, where to conforme the ſtraight foot to the crooked ſhooe. Divinity muſt be the ſquare to correct that which is not ſtraight.
Although this ſchoole divinity hath beene mightily abuſed, yet the abuſe takes not away the uſe. For the right uſing of the ſchoolmen wee muſt remember, that there is a threefold judgement, 1. the judgement of verity, the ſecond is the judgement of prudency, the third is the judgement of charity.
The judgement of verity is onelyonly to be found in the Scriptures, and all other writings ſhould bee tryed by them, as the canon and touchſtone: but the church of Rome would have the Scriptures to be tryed by the Fathers and Schoolemen.
Secondly, the judgement of prudencie is requiſite in reading of them; men ſhould not dote upon them: for this is generally the fault of moſt of them, that yee ſhall finde little pietie or matter of holineſſe in all their writings. Bucer ſaid well, that there is more holineſſe to be found in Seneca than in moſt of them: if men converſe too much with them, they ſhall finde but little ſanctification by them, but having their mindes inlightened by the holy Scrptures, and their affections ſanctified, they may make uſe of them Some of them we may reade diſtinctly and judiciouſly; ſome of them we are to reade curſorily; and ſome of them we are but to looke upon here and there: ſome meates we cut firſt, then we chew them, then we digeſt them; other meates we ſwallow them; and other meates wee taſte onelyonly of them. So wee ſhould uſe theſe Schoolemen: ſome of them we ſhould reade diſtinctly: others of them we ſhould ſwallow as it were, and run over lightly and others of them wee ſhould taſt and looke but upon them here and there.
Againe, prudency ſhould teach us, what wee ſhould obſerve as impertinent in them, and what to reject; their queſtions for the moſt part are idle and curious, as the moſt of their hypotheticall propoſitions, and the manner of their diſputations; for other times they diſpute ex alienis principijs, out of the grounds of other ſciences: they confound Divinity and Philoſophy: and the Me…s which they uſe oftentimes are impertinent. They bring innumerable arguments and diſputations oftentimes probable on both ſides, and they truſt too much to the teſtimonie of men; they goe very raſhly many of them, and ſpeake not ſoberly enough of the great myſtery of the Trinity, and Incarnation; bringing in philoſophicall reaſons: whereas theſe myſteries ſhould rather be adored than ſearched after: and herein Athanaſius ſayd well, Eti… verade Deo loqui eſt periculoſum.
And laſt of al, they diſtinguiſh where the law diſtinguiſheth not.
The third judgement is the judgement of charity; when wee reade them and finde many groſſe errours in them; wee are not for that to reject them, for we ſhall finde ſometimes points notably well cleared in them. The Iewes have a proverbe, Comede dactylos, & projice foras duritiem; Eate the Date, and caſt away the stone; ſo ſhould wee in reading of them, take that which is good, and caſt away their errours. The Toade, although it bee a loathſome creature, yet we will take a ſtone out of the head of it, and uſe it: the Muske-kat is an il-favoured creature and yet we will take the muske of it to perfume things with: The Raven was an uncleane creature under the Law, yet Elias was fed by it: ſo wee may get many profitable helpes by theſe Schoolemen, although they have great errours: but we muſt take heed, that we fawningly flatter them not.
The flatterers of Dionyſius were ſo groſſe, that they would licke up the ſpittle of Dionyſius, proteſting that it was ſweeter than nectar; we muſt not ſo doate upon them, as to licke up their excrements, but onelyonly follow them in ſo farre as they follow Chriſt. We muſt not give to them glorious titles, for then as Iob ſaith, We muſt give titles to men, as Jacobus de Voragine, as though he had eaten up the whole Booke of God in reading it; and to Thomas Aquinas, they gave the name doctor Seraphicus & angelicus: to Scotus, doctor ſubtilis; to Durandus, doctor irrefragabilis; to another, venerabilis incoeptor; to another, doctor fundatiſsimus; to another illuminatus; to another, doctor reſolutus: and a thouſand ſuch.
Among the Iewes, when the holy Ghoſt was not revealed unto them, then they tooke glorious titles upon them, as one was called foreign lux mundi, R. Iude, his title was, Rabbonu foreign doctor noster ſanctus; Saddaas was called, foreign illuſtris; Abenezra was called, lapis auxilij; they were alſo called foreign aperti, the men that ſaw; for they reckoned the people but blinde, Rom. 1. and the leaders of the blind; then they diſdained the people, Joh. 7.49. this people who know not the Law: they called alſo the people populus terrae. So when theſe glorious titles were given to the Schoolemen, then the holy Ghoſt withdrew his preſence mightily from his Church.
Wee ſhould in charity judge their errors, for they lived in the houre of darkeneſſe, and few theſe were then to oppoſe againſt them, and what marvaile if they did oftentimes ſtumble; ſo that this was but infirmity in them, and not malice.
But if they could now behold from heaven the Church of Rome (who brags that ſhee ſucceeds to them) with her new plots, as her equivocations, mentall reſervations, allowing the killing of Princes, abſolving ſubjects from loyaltie towards their Prince; wives from their husbands, children from their parents; and giving to images not onelyonly cultum reſpectivum, which the ſchoolemen granted to them, but alſo cultum conjunctum, or coadoration; would they not bee aſhamed of theſe their children, and bluſh if they could behold them?
A Cardinall upon a time cauſed a Painter to paint the twelve Apoſtles; the Painter painted them looking ſomewhat reddiſh; the Cardinall asked the Painter whether the Apoſtles looked ſo when they were here alive? no ſaid the Painter: why doſt thou then ſo paint them ſaid the Cardinall? the Painter replyed, They bluſh ſo now when they behold the corruptions of you who take upon you to bee leaders of the Church. If the Schoolemen could behold the groſſe and innumerable corruptions which are maintained now in the Church of Rome, which were not then, would they not bluſh and be aſhamed, and diſclaime them for their children?
When Moſes was upon the mount, hee brought a patterne of the whole frame of the tabernacle from the Lord, and erected it according to the patterne received, but the Church of Rome hath erected another patterne, framing religion by the mould of humane reaſon.
If ye will take a view of ſeverall points profeſſed in Poperie, ye may eaſily perceive whence they have taken the patterne of them, not from Moſes on the mount, but from ſcholaſticke ſpeculations.
Firſt, becauſe the Mathematickes conſider lines, figures, circles, points, abſtracted from bodies, therefore they gather, that accidents may be in the Sacrament without the ſubject.
Secondly, becauſe morall Phyloſophy eſtabliſheth neyther puniſhment nor reward, unleſſe the free will of man goe before; hence they inferre, that there is free will in man: againe, becauſe morall Philoſophy knoweth no vertues, but inherent habites and vertues; therefore it is that they ſet themſelves ſo againſt the inputed righteouſneſſe of Chriſt: the morall Philoſopher cals vice a voluntary evill, therefore they inferre, that concupiſcence is not ſin, becauſe it is not altogether voluntary.
Thirdly, from the Politickes, in policie, the beſt ſort of government is monarchicall, therefore the Popes government muſt bee monarchicall. Againe, in Princes Courts, men uſe mediators to goe to their Prince, therefore they conclude, that we muſt uſe the interceſſion of the Saints to God. In policie, no lawes are given, but which the ſubjects may fulfill, therefore man is able to fulfill the law of God.
Fourthly, from the Phyſickes; Phyſicke teacheth us that the body turnes to corruption, and diſſolves; upon this they inferre, that man before his fall his body ſhould have dyed naturally, as it doth, if ſupernaturall righteouſneſſe had not kept backe corruption; ſo that they make God as well the author of death; as well as of nature, conſidering man here onelyonly after the principles of nature, and not according to his firſt creation. Againe, Phyſicke teacheth us, that the blood alwaies followeth the body, therefore they have taken away the cup from the people in the Sacrament, becauſe (ſay they) if they get his fleſh, they get his blood, per concomitantiam.
Fiftly, the Metaphyſickes teach us, that every poſitive thing is good, therefore they define originall ſinne to be a meere privation.
Sixthly, the Platonickes were mightily deluded by the apparition of ſpirits, hence they have borrowed their apparition of ſpirits.
Seventhly, from the Poets fables they have taken their Purgatory.
Laſt, from the incantations of the Gentiles, they have borrowed their exorciſmes. Thus wee ſee that they have not taken their platforme from above in the mount with Moſes, but from below, from humane reaſon and Philoſophie: and here they ought to have remembred that of the Apoſtle, Take heede that no man ſpoile you with Philoſophie. Curteous Reader, if there bee any thing here that may ſerve for the good of the Church and your edification, give the glory to God, and reape you the fruits: if there bee any thing that ſeemeth not correſpondent to reaſon or the word of God, reprove me for it, and it ſhall be like a pretious balme unto my head. So recommending you to the grace of God, I reſt,
Your ever loving brother in Ieſus Chriſt, IOHN WEEMSE.