Are they not sencelessethen, that thinke the SouleNought but a fine perfection of theSense;Or of the formes whichfanciedoth enroule,A quicke resulting, and aconsequence?What is it then that doth theSenseaccuse,Both offalse judgements, andfond appetites?What makes vs do whatSensedoth most refuse?Which oft in torment of theSensedelights?Sensethinkes theplanets,sphearesnot much asunder;What tels vs then their distance is so farre?Sensethinks the lightning borne before the thunder;What tels vs then they both together are?When men seem crows far off vpon a towre,Sensesaith, th'are crows; what makes vs think them men?When we inagues, thinke all sweete things sowre,What makes vs know our tongue's false iudgement then?What power was that, wherebyMedeasaw,And well approu'd, and prais'd the better course,When her rebelliousSensedid so withdrawHer feeble powers, as she pursu'd the worse?[97]DidSenseperswadeVlissesnot to heareThe mermaid's songs, which so his men did please;As they were all perswaded, through the eareTo quit the ship, and leape into theseas?Could any power ofSensetheRomanemoue,To burn his own right hand with courage stout?[98]CouldSensemakeMariussit vnbound, and proueThe cruell lancing of the knotty gout?[99]Doubtlesse inManthere is anaturefound,Beside theSenses, and aboue them farre;"Though most men being in sensuall pleasures drownd,"It seemes theirSoulesbut in theirSensesare.If we had nought butSense, then onely theyShould haue sound minds, which haue theirSensessound;ButWisdomegrowes, whenSensesdoe decay,AndFollymost in quickestSenseis found.If we had nought butSense, each liuing wight,Which we callbrute, would be more sharp then we;As hauingSense's apprehensiue might,In a more cleere, and excellent degree.But they doe want thatquicke discoursing power,Which doth in vs the erringSensecorrect;Therefore thebeedid sucke the painted flower,Andbirds, of grapes, the cunning shadow, peckt.[100]Senseoutsides knows; the Soule throgh al things sees;Sense,circumstance; she, doth thesubstanceview;Sensesees the barke, but she, the life of trees;Senseheares the sounds, but she, the concords true.But why doe I theSouleandSensediuide?WhenSenseis but a power, which she extends;Which being in diuers parts diuersifide,The diuers formes of obiects apprehends?This power spreds outward, but the root doth growIn th' inwardSoule, which onely doth perceiue;For th'eyesandearesno more their obiects know,Then glasses know what faces they receiue.For if we chance to fixe our thoughts elsewhere,Although our eyes be ope, we cannot see;And if one power did not both see and heare,Our sights and sounds would alwayes double be.Then is theSoulea nature, which containesThe powre ofSense, within a greater powerWhich doth imploy and vse theSensespaines,But sits and rules within her priuate bower.
Are they not sencelessethen, that thinke the SouleNought but a fine perfection of theSense;Or of the formes whichfanciedoth enroule,A quicke resulting, and aconsequence?
What is it then that doth theSenseaccuse,Both offalse judgements, andfond appetites?What makes vs do whatSensedoth most refuse?Which oft in torment of theSensedelights?
Sensethinkes theplanets,sphearesnot much asunder;What tels vs then their distance is so farre?Sensethinks the lightning borne before the thunder;What tels vs then they both together are?
When men seem crows far off vpon a towre,Sensesaith, th'are crows; what makes vs think them men?When we inagues, thinke all sweete things sowre,What makes vs know our tongue's false iudgement then?
What power was that, wherebyMedeasaw,And well approu'd, and prais'd the better course,When her rebelliousSensedid so withdrawHer feeble powers, as she pursu'd the worse?[97]
DidSenseperswadeVlissesnot to heareThe mermaid's songs, which so his men did please;As they were all perswaded, through the eareTo quit the ship, and leape into theseas?
Could any power ofSensetheRomanemoue,To burn his own right hand with courage stout?[98]CouldSensemakeMariussit vnbound, and proueThe cruell lancing of the knotty gout?[99]
Doubtlesse inManthere is anaturefound,Beside theSenses, and aboue them farre;"Though most men being in sensuall pleasures drownd,"It seemes theirSoulesbut in theirSensesare.
If we had nought butSense, then onely theyShould haue sound minds, which haue theirSensessound;ButWisdomegrowes, whenSensesdoe decay,AndFollymost in quickestSenseis found.
If we had nought butSense, each liuing wight,Which we callbrute, would be more sharp then we;As hauingSense's apprehensiue might,In a more cleere, and excellent degree.
But they doe want thatquicke discoursing power,Which doth in vs the erringSensecorrect;Therefore thebeedid sucke the painted flower,Andbirds, of grapes, the cunning shadow, peckt.[100]
Senseoutsides knows; the Soule throgh al things sees;Sense,circumstance; she, doth thesubstanceview;Sensesees the barke, but she, the life of trees;Senseheares the sounds, but she, the concords true.
But why doe I theSouleandSensediuide?WhenSenseis but a power, which she extends;Which being in diuers parts diuersifide,The diuers formes of obiects apprehends?
This power spreds outward, but the root doth growIn th' inwardSoule, which onely doth perceiue;For th'eyesandearesno more their obiects know,Then glasses know what faces they receiue.
For if we chance to fixe our thoughts elsewhere,Although our eyes be ope, we cannot see;And if one power did not both see and heare,Our sights and sounds would alwayes double be.
Then is theSoulea nature, which containesThe powre ofSense, within a greater powerWhich doth imploy and vse theSensespaines,But sits and rules within her priuate bower.
That the Soule is more then the Temperature[101]of the Humors of the Body.
If shee doth thenthe subtillSenseexcell,How gross are they that drown her in the blood!Or in the bodie's humors tempred well,As if in them such high perfection stood?As if most skill in thatMusicianwere,Which had the best, and best tun'd instrument;As if the pensill neate[102]and colours cleare,Had power to make the Painter excellent.Why doth not beautie then refine the wit?And good complexion rectifie the will?Why doth not health bring wisdom still with it?Why doth not sicknesse make men bruitish still?Who can inmemory, orwit, orwill,Orayre, orfire, orearth, orwaterfinde?What alchymist can draw, with all his skil,Thequintessenceof these, out of the mind?If th'elementswhich haue norlife, norsense,Can breed in vs so great a powre as this;Why giue they not themselues like excellence,Or other things wherein their mixture is?If she were but the Bodie's qualitieThen would she be with itsicke,maim'dandblind;But we perceiue where these priuations beAhealthy,perfect, andsharpe-sightedmind.If she the bodie's nature did pertake,Her strength would with the bodie's strength decay;But when the bodie's strongest sinewes slake,Then is theSoulemost actiue, quicke and gay.If she were but the bodie's accident,And her solebeingdid in it subsist;Aswhite in snow; she might her selfe absent,And in the bodie's substance not be mist.Butitonher, notsheeonitdepends;Forsheethe body doth sustaine and cherish;Such secret powers of life to it she lends,That when they faile, then doth the body perish.Since then theSoule works by her selfe alone,Springs not from Sense, nor humors, well agreeing;Her nature is peculiar, and her owne:She is asubstance, and aperfect being.
If shee doth thenthe subtillSenseexcell,How gross are they that drown her in the blood!Or in the bodie's humors tempred well,As if in them such high perfection stood?
As if most skill in thatMusicianwere,Which had the best, and best tun'd instrument;As if the pensill neate[102]and colours cleare,Had power to make the Painter excellent.
Why doth not beautie then refine the wit?And good complexion rectifie the will?Why doth not health bring wisdom still with it?Why doth not sicknesse make men bruitish still?
Who can inmemory, orwit, orwill,Orayre, orfire, orearth, orwaterfinde?What alchymist can draw, with all his skil,Thequintessenceof these, out of the mind?
If th'elementswhich haue norlife, norsense,Can breed in vs so great a powre as this;Why giue they not themselues like excellence,Or other things wherein their mixture is?
If she were but the Bodie's qualitieThen would she be with itsicke,maim'dandblind;But we perceiue where these priuations beAhealthy,perfect, andsharpe-sightedmind.
If she the bodie's nature did pertake,Her strength would with the bodie's strength decay;But when the bodie's strongest sinewes slake,Then is theSoulemost actiue, quicke and gay.
If she were but the bodie's accident,And her solebeingdid in it subsist;Aswhite in snow; she might her selfe absent,And in the bodie's substance not be mist.
Butitonher, notsheeonitdepends;Forsheethe body doth sustaine and cherish;Such secret powers of life to it she lends,That when they faile, then doth the body perish.
Since then theSoule works by her selfe alone,Springs not from Sense, nor humors, well agreeing;Her nature is peculiar, and her owne:She is asubstance, and aperfect being.
That the Soule is a Spirit.
But though this substance be the root ofSense,Senseknowes her not, which doth butbodiesknow;Shee is a spirit, and heauenly influence,Which from the fountaine of God's Spirit doth flow.Shee is a Spirit, yet not likeayre, orwinde,Nor like thespiritsabout theheartorbraine;Nor like those spirits which alchymists do find,When they in euery thing seeke gold invaine.For shee allnaturesvnder heauen doth passe;Being like those spirits, which God's bright face do see;Or likeHimselfe, Whoseimageonce she was,Though now (alas!) she scarce Hisshadowbee.Yet of theformes, she holds the first degree,That are to grosse materiall bodies knit;Yet shee her selfe isbodilesseand free;And though confin'd, is almost infinite.
But though this substance be the root ofSense,Senseknowes her not, which doth butbodiesknow;Shee is a spirit, and heauenly influence,Which from the fountaine of God's Spirit doth flow.
Shee is a Spirit, yet not likeayre, orwinde,Nor like thespiritsabout theheartorbraine;Nor like those spirits which alchymists do find,When they in euery thing seeke gold invaine.
For shee allnaturesvnder heauen doth passe;Being like those spirits, which God's bright face do see;Or likeHimselfe, Whoseimageonce she was,Though now (alas!) she scarce Hisshadowbee.
Yet of theformes, she holds the first degree,That are to grosse materiall bodies knit;Yet shee her selfe isbodilesseand free;And though confin'd, is almost infinite.
That it cannot be a Body.
Were she abodyhow could she remaineWithin this body, which is lesse then she?Or how could she the world's great shape contain,And in our narrow brests containèd bee?Allbodiesare confin'd within some place,Butsheall place within her selfe confines;Allbodieshaue their measure, and their space,But who can draw theSoule'sdimensiue lines?Nobodycan at once two formes admit,Except the one the other doe deface;But in thesouleten thousand formes do sit,And none intrudes into her neighbour's place.Allbodiesare with other bodies fild,But she receiues both heauen and earth together;Nor are their formes by rash incounter spild,For there they stand, and neither toucheth either.Nor can her wide imbracements fillèd bee;For they that most, and greatest things embrace,Inlarge thereby their minds' capacitie,As streames inlarg'd, inlarge the channel's space.[103]All things receiu'd, doe such proportion take,As those things haue, wherein they are receiu'd:So little glasses little faces make,And narrow webs on narrow frames be weau'd;Then what vast body must we make themindWherin are men, beasts, trees, towns, seas, and lands;And yet each thing a proper place doth find,And each thing in the true proportion stands?Doubtlesse this could not bee, but that she turnesBodies to spirits, bysublimationstrange;As fire conuerts to fire the things it burnesAs we our meats into our nature change.From their grossemattershe abstracts theformes,And drawes a kind ofquintessencefrom things;Which to her proper nature she transformes,To bear them light on her celestiall wings:This doth she, when, from thingsparticular,She doth abstract theuniversall kinds;Which bodilesse and immateriall are,And can be lodg'd but onely in our minds:And thus from diuersaccidentsandacts,Which doe within her obseruation fall,She goddesses, and powers diuine, abstracts:AsNature,Fortune, and theVertuesall.Againe, how can she seuerallbodiesknow,If in her selfe abodie'sforme she beare?How can a mirror sundry faces show,If from all shapes and formes it be not cleare?Nor could we by our eyes all colours learne,Except our eyes were of all colours voide;Nor sundry tastes can any tongue discerne,Which is with grosse and bitter humors cloide.Nor may a man ofpassionsiudge aright,Except his minde bee from all passions free;Nor can aIudgehis office well acquite,If he possest of either partie bee.If lastly, this quicke power a body were,Were it as swift as is[104]thewindeorfire;(Whose atomies doe th' one down side-waies beare,And make the other inpyramidsaspire:)Her nimble body yet in time must moue,And not in instants through all places slide;But she is nigh, and farre, beneath, aboue,In point of time, which thought cannot deuide:She is sent as soone toChinaas toSpaine,And thence returnes, as soone as shee is sent;She measures with one time, and with one paine,An ell of silke, and heauen's wide spreading tent.As then theSoulea substance hath alone,Besides the Body in which she is confin'd;So hath she not abodyof her owne,But is aspirit, andimmateriall minde.
Were she abodyhow could she remaineWithin this body, which is lesse then she?Or how could she the world's great shape contain,And in our narrow brests containèd bee?
Allbodiesare confin'd within some place,Butsheall place within her selfe confines;Allbodieshaue their measure, and their space,But who can draw theSoule'sdimensiue lines?
Nobodycan at once two formes admit,Except the one the other doe deface;But in thesouleten thousand formes do sit,And none intrudes into her neighbour's place.
Allbodiesare with other bodies fild,But she receiues both heauen and earth together;Nor are their formes by rash incounter spild,For there they stand, and neither toucheth either.
Nor can her wide imbracements fillèd bee;For they that most, and greatest things embrace,Inlarge thereby their minds' capacitie,As streames inlarg'd, inlarge the channel's space.[103]
All things receiu'd, doe such proportion take,As those things haue, wherein they are receiu'd:So little glasses little faces make,And narrow webs on narrow frames be weau'd;
Then what vast body must we make themindWherin are men, beasts, trees, towns, seas, and lands;And yet each thing a proper place doth find,And each thing in the true proportion stands?
Doubtlesse this could not bee, but that she turnesBodies to spirits, bysublimationstrange;As fire conuerts to fire the things it burnesAs we our meats into our nature change.
From their grossemattershe abstracts theformes,And drawes a kind ofquintessencefrom things;Which to her proper nature she transformes,To bear them light on her celestiall wings:
This doth she, when, from thingsparticular,She doth abstract theuniversall kinds;Which bodilesse and immateriall are,And can be lodg'd but onely in our minds:
And thus from diuersaccidentsandacts,Which doe within her obseruation fall,She goddesses, and powers diuine, abstracts:AsNature,Fortune, and theVertuesall.
Againe, how can she seuerallbodiesknow,If in her selfe abodie'sforme she beare?How can a mirror sundry faces show,If from all shapes and formes it be not cleare?
Nor could we by our eyes all colours learne,Except our eyes were of all colours voide;Nor sundry tastes can any tongue discerne,Which is with grosse and bitter humors cloide.
Nor may a man ofpassionsiudge aright,Except his minde bee from all passions free;Nor can aIudgehis office well acquite,If he possest of either partie bee.
If lastly, this quicke power a body were,Were it as swift as is[104]thewindeorfire;(Whose atomies doe th' one down side-waies beare,And make the other inpyramidsaspire:)
Her nimble body yet in time must moue,And not in instants through all places slide;But she is nigh, and farre, beneath, aboue,In point of time, which thought cannot deuide:
She is sent as soone toChinaas toSpaine,And thence returnes, as soone as shee is sent;She measures with one time, and with one paine,An ell of silke, and heauen's wide spreading tent.
As then theSoulea substance hath alone,Besides the Body in which she is confin'd;So hath she not abodyof her owne,But is aspirit, andimmateriall minde.
That the Soule is created immediately by God.
Since body and soulehaue such diuersities,Well might we muse, how first their match began;But that we learne, that He that spread the skies,And fixt the Earth, first form'd thesoulein man.This truePrometheusfirst made Man of earth,And shed in him a beame of heauenly fire;Now in their mother's wombs before their birth,Doth in all sonnes of men theirsoulesinspire.And asMineruais in fables said,FromIoue, without a mother to proceed;So our trueIoue, without a mother's ay'd,Doth daily millions ofMineruasbreed.
Since body and soulehaue such diuersities,Well might we muse, how first their match began;But that we learne, that He that spread the skies,And fixt the Earth, first form'd thesoulein man.
This truePrometheusfirst made Man of earth,And shed in him a beame of heauenly fire;Now in their mother's wombs before their birth,Doth in all sonnes of men theirsoulesinspire.
And asMineruais in fables said,FromIoue, without a mother to proceed;So our trueIoue, without a mother's ay'd,Doth daily millions ofMineruasbreed.
Erronious opinions of the Creation of Soules.
Then neither from eternitie before,Nor from the time whenTime'sfirst point begun;Made He allsouls: which now He keepes in store,Some in the moone, and others in the sunne:Nor in asecret cloysterdoth Hee keepeThese virgin-spirits, vntill their marriage-day;Nor locks them vp in chambers, where they sleep,Till they awake, within these beds of clay.Nor did He first a certaine number make,Infusing part inbeasts, and part inmen,And, as vnwilling further paines to take,Would make no more then those He framèd then.So that the widowSouleherbodydying,Vnto the next-bornebodymarried was;And so by often changing and supplying,Mens'soulesto beasts, and beasts to men did passe.(These thoughts are fond; for since the bodies borneBe more in number farre then those that dye;Thousands must be abortiue, and forlorne,Ere others' deaths to them theirsoulessupply.)But asGod's handmaid,Nature, doth createBodies in time distinct, and order due;[105]So God giuessoulesthe like successiue date,WhichHimselfemakes, in bodies formèd new:WhichHim selfemakes, of no materiall thing;For vnto angels He no power hath giuen,Either to forme the shape, or stuffe to bringFromayreorfire, orsubstance of the heauen.Nor He in this dothNature'sseruice vse;For though from bodies, she can bodies bring,Yet could she neuer soules from Soulestraduce,As fire from fire, or light from light doth spring.
Then neither from eternitie before,Nor from the time whenTime'sfirst point begun;Made He allsouls: which now He keepes in store,Some in the moone, and others in the sunne:
Nor in asecret cloysterdoth Hee keepeThese virgin-spirits, vntill their marriage-day;Nor locks them vp in chambers, where they sleep,Till they awake, within these beds of clay.
Nor did He first a certaine number make,Infusing part inbeasts, and part inmen,And, as vnwilling further paines to take,Would make no more then those He framèd then.
So that the widowSouleherbodydying,Vnto the next-bornebodymarried was;And so by often changing and supplying,Mens'soulesto beasts, and beasts to men did passe.
(These thoughts are fond; for since the bodies borneBe more in number farre then those that dye;Thousands must be abortiue, and forlorne,Ere others' deaths to them theirsoulessupply.)
But asGod's handmaid,Nature, doth createBodies in time distinct, and order due;[105]So God giuessoulesthe like successiue date,WhichHimselfemakes, in bodies formèd new:
WhichHim selfemakes, of no materiall thing;For vnto angels He no power hath giuen,Either to forme the shape, or stuffe to bringFromayreorfire, orsubstance of the heauen.
Nor He in this dothNature'sseruice vse;For though from bodies, she can bodies bring,Yet could she neuer soules from Soulestraduce,As fire from fire, or light from light doth spring.
Objection:—That the Soule is Extraduce.
Alas! that some, that were great lights of old,And in their hands thelampeof God did beare;[106]Some reuerend Fathers did this error hold,Hauing their eyes dim'd with religious feare!For when (say they) by Rule of Faith we find,That euerysoulevnto herbodyknit,Brings from the mother's wombe, thesinne of kind,The roote of all the ill she doth commit.How can we say that God theSouledoth make,But we must make Him author of her sinne?Then from man's soule she doth beginning take,Since in man's soule corruption did begin.For if God make her, first He makes her ill,(Which God forbid our thoghts should yeeld vnto!)Or makes the body her faire forme to spill,[107]Which, of it selfe it had no power to doe.NotAdam's bodybut hissouledid sinneAnd so her selfe vnto corruption brought;But the pooresoulecorrupted is within,Ere shee had sinn'd, either in act, or thought:And yet we see in her such powres diuine,As we could gladly thinke,from God she came;Faine would we make Him Author of the wine,If for the dregs we could some other blame.
Alas! that some, that were great lights of old,And in their hands thelampeof God did beare;[106]Some reuerend Fathers did this error hold,Hauing their eyes dim'd with religious feare!
For when (say they) by Rule of Faith we find,That euerysoulevnto herbodyknit,Brings from the mother's wombe, thesinne of kind,The roote of all the ill she doth commit.
How can we say that God theSouledoth make,But we must make Him author of her sinne?Then from man's soule she doth beginning take,Since in man's soule corruption did begin.
For if God make her, first He makes her ill,(Which God forbid our thoghts should yeeld vnto!)Or makes the body her faire forme to spill,[107]Which, of it selfe it had no power to doe.
NotAdam's bodybut hissouledid sinneAnd so her selfe vnto corruption brought;But the pooresoulecorrupted is within,Ere shee had sinn'd, either in act, or thought:
And yet we see in her such powres diuine,As we could gladly thinke,from God she came;Faine would we make Him Author of the wine,If for the dregs we could some other blame.
The Answere to the Obiection.
Thus thesegood men with holy zeale were blind,When on the other part the truth did shine;Whereof we doe cleare demonstrations find,By light ofNature, and by lightDiuineNone are so grosse as to contend for this,That soules from bodies may traducèd bee;Betweene whose natures no proportion is,When roote and branch in nature still agree.But many subtill wits haue iustifi'd,Thatsoulesfromsoulesspiritually may spring;Which (if the nature of thesoulebe tri'd)Will euen in Nature proue as grosse a thing.
Thus thesegood men with holy zeale were blind,When on the other part the truth did shine;Whereof we doe cleare demonstrations find,By light ofNature, and by lightDiuine
None are so grosse as to contend for this,That soules from bodies may traducèd bee;Betweene whose natures no proportion is,When roote and branch in nature still agree.
But many subtill wits haue iustifi'd,Thatsoulesfromsoulesspiritually may spring;Which (if the nature of thesoulebe tri'd)Will euen in Nature proue as grosse a thing.
Reasons drawne from Nature.
For all things made, are either made of nought,Or made of stuffe that ready made doth stand;Of nought no creature euer formèd ought,For that is proper to th' Almightie's hand.If then thesouleanothersouledoe make,Because her power is kept within a bound,Shee must some former stuffe ormattertake;But in the soule there is nomatterfound.Then if her heauenly Forme doe not agreeWith anymatterwhich the world containes;Then she of nothing must created bee,And tocreate, to God alone pertaines.Againe, ifsoulesdoe othersoulesbeget,'Tis by themselues, or by the bodie's power;If by themselues, what doth their working let,But they mightsoulesengender euery houre?If by the body, how canwitandwillIoyne with the body onely in this act?Sith[108]when they doe their other works fulfill,They from the body doe themseluesabstract?Againe, ifsoulesofsoulesbegotten were,Into each other they should change and moue;Andchangeandmotion still corruptionbeare;How shall we then thesouleimmortall proue?If lastly,soulesdoe[109]generation vse,Then should they spread incorruptible seed;What then becomes of that which they doe lose,When th' acts of generation doe not speed?And though thesoulecould cast spirituall seed,Yetwouldshe not, because sheneuer dies;For mortall things desire theirliketo breed,That so they may their kind immortalize.Therefore the angels, sonnes of God are nam'd,And marry not, nor are in marriage giuen;Their spirits and ours are of onesubstancefram'd,And haue one Father, euen theLord of heauen:Who would at first, that in each other thing,Theearthandwaterliuingsoulesshould breed;But thatman's soulewhom He would make their king,Should from Himselfe immediatly proceed.And when He took thewomanfromman'sside,Doubtlesse Himselfe inspir'd hersoulealone;For 'tis not said, He didman's soulediuide,But tookflesh of his flesh, bone of his bone.Lastly, God being made Man for man's owne sake,And being like Man in all, except in sin,His body from thevirgin'swombe did take;But all agree,God form'd His soule within.Then is thesoulefrom God; soPaganssay,Which saw byNature'slight her heauenly kind;Naming herkin to God, and God's bright ray,A citizen of Heauen to Earth confined.But now, I feele, they plucke me by the eareWhom my youngMuseso boldly termèd blind;And craue more heauenly light, that cloud to clear,Which makes them think God doth not make the mind.
For all things made, are either made of nought,Or made of stuffe that ready made doth stand;Of nought no creature euer formèd ought,For that is proper to th' Almightie's hand.
If then thesouleanothersouledoe make,Because her power is kept within a bound,Shee must some former stuffe ormattertake;But in the soule there is nomatterfound.
Then if her heauenly Forme doe not agreeWith anymatterwhich the world containes;Then she of nothing must created bee,And tocreate, to God alone pertaines.
Againe, ifsoulesdoe othersoulesbeget,'Tis by themselues, or by the bodie's power;If by themselues, what doth their working let,But they mightsoulesengender euery houre?
If by the body, how canwitandwillIoyne with the body onely in this act?Sith[108]when they doe their other works fulfill,They from the body doe themseluesabstract?
Againe, ifsoulesofsoulesbegotten were,Into each other they should change and moue;Andchangeandmotion still corruptionbeare;How shall we then thesouleimmortall proue?
If lastly,soulesdoe[109]generation vse,Then should they spread incorruptible seed;What then becomes of that which they doe lose,When th' acts of generation doe not speed?
And though thesoulecould cast spirituall seed,Yetwouldshe not, because sheneuer dies;For mortall things desire theirliketo breed,That so they may their kind immortalize.
Therefore the angels, sonnes of God are nam'd,And marry not, nor are in marriage giuen;Their spirits and ours are of onesubstancefram'd,And haue one Father, euen theLord of heauen:
Who would at first, that in each other thing,Theearthandwaterliuingsoulesshould breed;But thatman's soulewhom He would make their king,Should from Himselfe immediatly proceed.
And when He took thewomanfromman'sside,Doubtlesse Himselfe inspir'd hersoulealone;For 'tis not said, He didman's soulediuide,But tookflesh of his flesh, bone of his bone.
Lastly, God being made Man for man's owne sake,And being like Man in all, except in sin,His body from thevirgin'swombe did take;But all agree,God form'd His soule within.
Then is thesoulefrom God; soPaganssay,Which saw byNature'slight her heauenly kind;Naming herkin to God, and God's bright ray,A citizen of Heauen to Earth confined.
But now, I feele, they plucke me by the eareWhom my youngMuseso boldly termèd blind;And craue more heauenly light, that cloud to clear,Which makes them think God doth not make the mind.
Reasons drawne from Diuinity.
God doubtlesse makes her, and doth make her good,And graffes her in the body, there to spring;Which, though it be corrupted, flesh and bloodCan no way to theSoulecorruption bring:And yet thisSoule(made good by God at first,[110]And not corrupted by the bodie's ill)Euen in the wombe is sinfull, and accurst,Ere shee caniudgebywitorchusebywill.[111]Yet is not God the Author of her sinneThough Author of herbeing, andbeing there;And if we dare to iudge ourIudgeherein,[112]He can condemne vs, and Himselfe can cleare.First, God from infinite eternitieDecreed, whathath beene,is, orshall beedone;And was resolu'd, that euery man should bee,And in his turne, his race of life should run:And so did purpose all thesoulesto make,That euerhave beenemade, oreuer shall;And that theirbeingthey should onely takeIn humane bodies, or notbeeat all.Was it then fit that such a weake euent(W[e]aknesse it selfe,—the sinne and fall of Man)His counsel's execution should preuent,Decreed and fixt before the World began?Or that onepenall lawbyAdambroke,Should make God breake His owneeternall Law;The setled order of the World reuoke,And change all forms of things, which He foresaw?CouldEue'sweake hand, extended to the tree,In sunder rend thatadamantine chaine,Whose golden links,effectsand causes be,And which to God's owne chair doth fixt remaine.[113]O could we see, how cause from cause doth spring!How mutually they linkt and folded are!And heare how oft one disagreeing stringThe harmony doth rather make then marre?And view at once, howdeathbysinneis brought,And how fromdeath, a betterlifedoth rise,How this God'siustice, and Hismercytought:We this decree would praise, as right and wise.But we that measure times by first and last,The sight of things successiuely, doe take;When God on all at once His view doth cast,And of all times doth but oneinstantmake.All inHimselfeas in aglasseHee sees,Forfrom Him, by Him, through Him, all things bee:His sight is not discoursiue, by degrees,But seeing the whole, each single part doth see.[114]He lookes onAdam, as aroot, orwell,And on his heires, asbranches, and asstreames;He seesallmen asoneMan, though they dwellIn sundry cities, and in sundry realmes:And as therooteandbranchare but onetree,Andwellandstreamedoe but oneriuermake;So, if therootandwellcorrupted bee,Thestreameandbranchthe same corruption take:So, when the root and fountaine of MankindDid draw corruption, and God's curse, by sin;This was a charge that all his heires did bind,And all his offspring grew corrupt therein.And as when the hand doth strike, the Man offends,(Forpart from whole, Law seuers not in this)SoAdam'ssinne to the whole kind extends;For all their natures are but part of his.Therefore thissinne of kind, not personall,But reall and hereditary was;The guilt whereof, and punishment to all,By course of Nature, and of Law doth passe.For as that easie Law was giuen to all,To ancestor and heire, to first and last;So was the first transgression generall,And all did plucke the fruit and all did tast.Of this we find some foot-steps in our Law,Which doth her root from God and Nature take;Ten thousand men she doth together draw,And of them all, one Corporation make:Yet these, and their successors, are but one,And if they gaine or lose their liberties;They harme, or profit not themselues alone,But such as in succeeding times shall rise.And so the ancestor, and all his heires,Though they in number passe the stars of heauen,Are still but one; his forfeitures are theirs,And vnto them are his aduancements giuen:His ciuill acts doe binde and bar them all;And as fromAdam, all corruption take,So, if the father's crime becapitallIn all thebloud, Law dothcorruptionmake.Is it then iust with vs, to dis-inheritThe vnborn nephewes for the father's fault?And to aduance againe for one man's merit,A thousand heires, that have deservèd nought?And is not God's decree as iust as ours,If He, forAdam'ssinne, his sonnes depriue,Of all those natiue vertues, and those powers,Which He to him, and to his race did giue?For what is this contagious sinne of kindeBut a priuation of that grace within?And of that great rich dowry of the mindeWhich all had had, but for the first man's sin?If then a man, on light conditions gaineA great estate, to him and his, for euer;If wilfully he forfeit it againeWho doth bemone his heire or blame the giuer?So, though God make theSoulegood, rich and faire,Yet when her forme is to the body knit,Which makes the Man, which man isAdam's heireIustly forth-with He takes His grace from it:And then the soule being first from nothing brought,When God's grace failes her, doth to nothing fall;And thisdeclining pronenesse unto nought,Is euen that sinne that we are borne withall.Yet not alone the first good qualities,Which in the firstsoulewere, depriuèd are;But in their place the contrary doe rise,And reall spots[115]of sinne her beauty marre.Nor is it strange, that Adam's ill desartShould be transferd vnto his guilty Race;When Christ His grace and iustice doth impartTo men vniust, and such as haue no grace.Lastly, theSoulewere better so to beeBorne slaue to sinne, then not to be at all;Since (if she do belieue) One sets her free,That makes her mount the higher for her fall.Yet thisthe curious wits will not content;They yet will know (sith[116]God foresaw this ill)Why His high Prouidence did not preuentThe declination of the first man's will.If by His Word He had the current staidOfAdam'swill, which was by nature free;It had bene one, as if His Word had said,I will henceforth thatMan no man shall bee.For what is Man without a moouing mind,Which hath a iudgingwit, and chusingwill?Now, if God's power should her election bind,Her motions then would cease and stand all still.And why did God in man thissouleinfuse,But that he should his Makerknowandloue?Now, iflouebe compeld and cannot chuse,How can it gratefull or thankeworthy proue?Loue must free-hearted be, and voluntary,And not enchanted, or by Fate constraind;Nor like that loue, which didUlissescarry,ToCirce'sile, with mighty charmes enchaind.Besides, were we vnchangeable inwill,And of awitthat nothing could mis-deeme;Equall to God, Whose wisedome shineth still,And neuer erres, we might our selues esteeme.So that if Man would be vnuariable,He must be God, or like a rock or tree;For euen the perfect Angels were not stable,But had a fall more desperate then wee.Then let vs praise that Power, which makes vs beMenas we are, and rest contented so;And knowing Man's fall was curiositie,Admire God's counsels, which we cannot know.And let vs know that God the Maker isOf all theSoules, in all the men that be:Yet their corruption is no fault of His,But the first man's that broke God's first decree.
God doubtlesse makes her, and doth make her good,And graffes her in the body, there to spring;Which, though it be corrupted, flesh and bloodCan no way to theSoulecorruption bring:
And yet thisSoule(made good by God at first,[110]And not corrupted by the bodie's ill)Euen in the wombe is sinfull, and accurst,Ere shee caniudgebywitorchusebywill.[111]
Yet is not God the Author of her sinneThough Author of herbeing, andbeing there;And if we dare to iudge ourIudgeherein,[112]He can condemne vs, and Himselfe can cleare.
First, God from infinite eternitieDecreed, whathath beene,is, orshall beedone;And was resolu'd, that euery man should bee,And in his turne, his race of life should run:
And so did purpose all thesoulesto make,That euerhave beenemade, oreuer shall;And that theirbeingthey should onely takeIn humane bodies, or notbeeat all.
Was it then fit that such a weake euent(W[e]aknesse it selfe,—the sinne and fall of Man)His counsel's execution should preuent,Decreed and fixt before the World began?
Or that onepenall lawbyAdambroke,Should make God breake His owneeternall Law;The setled order of the World reuoke,And change all forms of things, which He foresaw?
CouldEue'sweake hand, extended to the tree,In sunder rend thatadamantine chaine,Whose golden links,effectsand causes be,And which to God's owne chair doth fixt remaine.[113]
O could we see, how cause from cause doth spring!How mutually they linkt and folded are!And heare how oft one disagreeing stringThe harmony doth rather make then marre?
And view at once, howdeathbysinneis brought,And how fromdeath, a betterlifedoth rise,How this God'siustice, and Hismercytought:We this decree would praise, as right and wise.
But we that measure times by first and last,The sight of things successiuely, doe take;When God on all at once His view doth cast,And of all times doth but oneinstantmake.
All inHimselfeas in aglasseHee sees,Forfrom Him, by Him, through Him, all things bee:His sight is not discoursiue, by degrees,But seeing the whole, each single part doth see.[114]
He lookes onAdam, as aroot, orwell,And on his heires, asbranches, and asstreames;He seesallmen asoneMan, though they dwellIn sundry cities, and in sundry realmes:
And as therooteandbranchare but onetree,Andwellandstreamedoe but oneriuermake;So, if therootandwellcorrupted bee,Thestreameandbranchthe same corruption take:
So, when the root and fountaine of MankindDid draw corruption, and God's curse, by sin;This was a charge that all his heires did bind,And all his offspring grew corrupt therein.
And as when the hand doth strike, the Man offends,(Forpart from whole, Law seuers not in this)SoAdam'ssinne to the whole kind extends;For all their natures are but part of his.
Therefore thissinne of kind, not personall,But reall and hereditary was;The guilt whereof, and punishment to all,By course of Nature, and of Law doth passe.
For as that easie Law was giuen to all,To ancestor and heire, to first and last;So was the first transgression generall,And all did plucke the fruit and all did tast.
Of this we find some foot-steps in our Law,Which doth her root from God and Nature take;Ten thousand men she doth together draw,And of them all, one Corporation make:
Yet these, and their successors, are but one,And if they gaine or lose their liberties;They harme, or profit not themselues alone,But such as in succeeding times shall rise.
And so the ancestor, and all his heires,Though they in number passe the stars of heauen,Are still but one; his forfeitures are theirs,And vnto them are his aduancements giuen:
His ciuill acts doe binde and bar them all;And as fromAdam, all corruption take,So, if the father's crime becapitallIn all thebloud, Law dothcorruptionmake.
Is it then iust with vs, to dis-inheritThe vnborn nephewes for the father's fault?And to aduance againe for one man's merit,A thousand heires, that have deservèd nought?
And is not God's decree as iust as ours,If He, forAdam'ssinne, his sonnes depriue,Of all those natiue vertues, and those powers,Which He to him, and to his race did giue?
For what is this contagious sinne of kindeBut a priuation of that grace within?And of that great rich dowry of the mindeWhich all had had, but for the first man's sin?
If then a man, on light conditions gaineA great estate, to him and his, for euer;If wilfully he forfeit it againeWho doth bemone his heire or blame the giuer?
So, though God make theSoulegood, rich and faire,Yet when her forme is to the body knit,Which makes the Man, which man isAdam's heireIustly forth-with He takes His grace from it:
And then the soule being first from nothing brought,When God's grace failes her, doth to nothing fall;And thisdeclining pronenesse unto nought,Is euen that sinne that we are borne withall.
Yet not alone the first good qualities,Which in the firstsoulewere, depriuèd are;But in their place the contrary doe rise,And reall spots[115]of sinne her beauty marre.
Nor is it strange, that Adam's ill desartShould be transferd vnto his guilty Race;When Christ His grace and iustice doth impartTo men vniust, and such as haue no grace.
Lastly, theSoulewere better so to beeBorne slaue to sinne, then not to be at all;Since (if she do belieue) One sets her free,That makes her mount the higher for her fall.
Yet thisthe curious wits will not content;They yet will know (sith[116]God foresaw this ill)Why His high Prouidence did not preuentThe declination of the first man's will.
If by His Word He had the current staidOfAdam'swill, which was by nature free;It had bene one, as if His Word had said,I will henceforth thatMan no man shall bee.
For what is Man without a moouing mind,Which hath a iudgingwit, and chusingwill?Now, if God's power should her election bind,Her motions then would cease and stand all still.
And why did God in man thissouleinfuse,But that he should his Makerknowandloue?Now, iflouebe compeld and cannot chuse,How can it gratefull or thankeworthy proue?
Loue must free-hearted be, and voluntary,And not enchanted, or by Fate constraind;Nor like that loue, which didUlissescarry,ToCirce'sile, with mighty charmes enchaind.
Besides, were we vnchangeable inwill,And of awitthat nothing could mis-deeme;Equall to God, Whose wisedome shineth still,And neuer erres, we might our selues esteeme.
So that if Man would be vnuariable,He must be God, or like a rock or tree;For euen the perfect Angels were not stable,But had a fall more desperate then wee.
Then let vs praise that Power, which makes vs beMenas we are, and rest contented so;And knowing Man's fall was curiositie,Admire God's counsels, which we cannot know.
And let vs know that God the Maker isOf all theSoules, in all the men that be:Yet their corruption is no fault of His,But the first man's that broke God's first decree.
Why the Soule is United to the Body.
This substance, and thisspirit of God's owne making,Is in the body plact, and planted heere;"That both of God, and of the world partaking,"Of all that is, Man might the image beare.God first made angels bodilesse, pure minds,Then other things, which mindlesse bodies be;Last, He made Man, th'horizon'twixt both kinds,In whom we doe the World's abridgement see.[117]Besides, this World below did needone wight,Which might thereof distinguish euery part;Make vse thereof, and take therein delight,And order things with industry and art:Which also God might in His works admire,And here beneath, yeeld Him both praier and praise;As there, aboue, the holy angels quireDoth spread His glory[118]with spirituall layes.Lastly, the bruite, unreasonable wights,Did want avisible kingon[119]them to raigne:And God, Himselfe thus to the World vnites,That so the World might endlesse blisse obtaine.
This substance, and thisspirit of God's owne making,Is in the body plact, and planted heere;"That both of God, and of the world partaking,"Of all that is, Man might the image beare.
God first made angels bodilesse, pure minds,Then other things, which mindlesse bodies be;Last, He made Man, th'horizon'twixt both kinds,In whom we doe the World's abridgement see.[117]
Besides, this World below did needone wight,Which might thereof distinguish euery part;Make vse thereof, and take therein delight,And order things with industry and art:
Which also God might in His works admire,And here beneath, yeeld Him both praier and praise;As there, aboue, the holy angels quireDoth spread His glory[118]with spirituall layes.
Lastly, the bruite, unreasonable wights,Did want avisible kingon[119]them to raigne:And God, Himselfe thus to the World vnites,That so the World might endlesse blisse obtaine.
In what manner the Soule is united to the Body.