Sermons on Faith

RHYTHM THE FIRST.

§ 1›

1. I marvel at our boldness, to such a height hath it mounted ! it is not that it hath reached it, that I marrel, but that it thought that it should reach it. For it is uot because a man thinks, that he that comprehendeth aught, that be does comprehend it : it is not from his thinking that be compre- I p. 116, bends, for to think is a very easy thing. The scrutinizers' too n. d. e. thought that they comprehended, yet did they not com- prehend, because they thought. For high above every mind is the Creator of all minds : He may not be investigated by man, nor by the Angels ascertained. Nothing made can by sR.zlv.its knowledge' describe the Maker, nor even how itself was

* These three Rhythms hare been even thus much to be assumed OTer*

referred to in the margin and notes as hastily : for, though SL E. does inen-

contra Scrutatores ; the three first of th \ tion the Audians, (aboTe, p. 197, n. d.)

foregoing as advernu Scrutatores, for he may allude to some heathen error,

distinction's sake. Assem. prtef. p. 18. such as the Indian notion, diat God

speakiof them as if directed against the in creating assumed the human form,

Audiansor Anthropomorphites : but as (Pumsha,) a notion the Magiann are

no sufficient internal evidence occurs likely to have borrowed in common

to lead me to think that they were as with many others from India: and from

n whole directed against them, and as them the Audians may hai^e copied.

WalchiuB (Eetzerhist. iii. p. 301 .) con- For the account given of them by Tbeo-

iirms roe in this opinion, they have doret, (H. K. iv. 10. and H. F. iv. JO.

been treated rather as a continuation with which Walchins, p. 316. quarrels,)

of the foregoing Khythms. The con- as holding lire, darkness, and water, to

ception of God in the likeness of roan be eternal, is perhaps only antecedently

is common to many heretics: heresy improbable from an ignorance of the

indeed may almost be said to consist in Oriental systems. The notes and mar-

nttempting to reduce God to what we ginal references will shew thatthere is a

know of the highest being with which sufficient resemblance between these and

experience makes u.4 acquainted. Hence the foregoing Rhythmn, to make Asse*

such passages as §. 1 8. may be explained man^s assertion (for he says nothing to

OS applying directly to A rianism, though prove it any thing more) highly ques-

with an auiision to the Audians whose tionable: in particular see p. 389. n. b.

heresy lay in inferring from Gen. 1 , 36. and p. 396, n. 1* that God was like man. Nor ought

Tlie Son made all things^ is not understood by any thing, 36-3

framed, is it adeqaate to describe. If it be inadequate to [understanding] its own framing', how shall it be adequate to' adr. [understanding] its Maker? No mind can reach to tlie];^ m^ mighty height of its Maker: after this very height^ and§<^* below it, is there the prying of them that pry. They harass themselves to form some likeness of Him, who is like to One alone. They all go astray in the knowing of Him, when the One [Son] which He hath alone knoweth Him^

2. He is not of the family of things made', that they should * '^^' search Him out as if their comrade : He is not of the raceixi/§.8. of things framed, that man' should describe Him: nor is He' & akin to the Angels, that they should pry into Him as if their & 3*^ kinsman : neither is He fellow of the Cherubim, who bear Him up as Lord: neither flieth He among the Seraphim%^B. iii. since His Glory is at the Right Hand : with the ministering 15^ ^^\\ spirits He is not, since He with His Father is ministered |<^rjit. unto. All the Hosts of Heaven are entrusted uuto His §.'1. and command: they cannot see the Father without the First- ^•®* bom, their Commander : for neither without Him were they framed when they were made^ The eye sufBceth for the*P'209, light, and with it the whole body is lightened^; the ear0R.*zn. understandeth the voice, and by it do the limbs hear ; the i' ^* mouth tasteth victuals, and so by it and with it doth the whole body. ITius by the Son who is from His Bosom** do Angels see the Father: by Him also they hear His voice: by Him they receive His Gift'. There is no other brother'

^ S. j^COS OOl» OU^ < starting revealeth the Father to Angels and

' from,' ' apart from :' i. e. do what the Archangels, &c." iv. 6. §. 7> ** The

heretics mavythe object which theyassert knowledge of the Father is the Son;

they coinprehend in not God, but some- the knowledge of the Son is in the

thingelse inferior to Him. R.xxTii.§.l. Father, and revealed by the Son, and

* Asa. renders, qui nnus fpse xibi this is why the Lord said, No one know-

notus CKt, this seems to me to utrain eth the Son bnt &c." Augustin. do C.

the words, especially as the Person D. xi. 9. de Gen. ad LiL iv. 39 — 41.

intended by the One is plain enough Comp. Thomassin de Deo iy. 16. Some

from the foreffoiog clause: not to say of the Arians held the Father only to be

that the allojiion to Mat. xi. 27. is so invisible, and not the Son, (see St. A ust,

common with St. E. See adv. Scr. Ix. c. Max. i. 3J against which error the

§. 1. and compare §. 3. below. See text seems to be directed,

note 1. * ' His Gift' peems to mean ' His

<* Iren.ii 30 fin. *<6y the Son is the Spirit:' compare n. f. p. 86. and R. v. Father revealed and manifested unto ^. 1. with Basil de Sp. S. quoted n. o. all those to whom He is revealed, for ^ Greg. Nyss. ii. p. 492, b. " When it is they to whom the Son hath re- Eunomius severs the Spirit from His realed Him that know Him. But the union with the Son, he calls Him * Only- Son ever coexisting with the Father, begotten, not having a brother begotten anciently and from the beginning ever with Him,' not with a view of con-

364 God is revealed hy His Son

there to help or be holpen. The senses need each others and all of them depend upon each other. The creatoies > adv. also depend all upon all as [one] body ^ : things above also ^^^* are entrusted to the command of things above them that are §. 7. their comrades, for they command and are commanded one by another according to their degrees'. Those which I have mentioned or omitted, are commanded by the One First- bom. On Him are all the creatures suspended, whUe

* p. 310, He is blended' with His Father. How \nlt thou search ^^ ^' out the Only-Begotten, who is blended" with the Fatherhood?

If thou canst by searching find out the Father, in Him and along with Him wilt thou find the Son : He was with H is mouth when He commanded, and He was with His arm when He framed [things] . By Him He made, yea, by Him commanded \ He alone sufficeth for Him alone. In His Bosom is He when He loveth, and on His Right Hand when sitting. Him He loveth, and on Him He looketh.

3 §.2. 8. His brightness is too great for His servants: Angels'

cannot look upon it Let Moses convince thee in that lie

4 adT. was made so bright If of Moses ^, though a child of man, Scr.Tiii.^jjg people were unable to bear the sight, who would look xxvi. upon His Essence. The One, of Him^ can look upon Him,

* n.*d. '^^ overcoming is the Brightness of the Father. Only He ^f- 1- alone beholdeth Him', onlv He alone is able to see Him', and

p. 406. ' " '

* S. One

seeo ODe

only. ceiving Him as without brethren, but and R. iii. §. 19. Ambr. de Fid. it.

B. iii. that he may thereby prove a difference §. 2 — 10. Eccles. 6, 8.

§. 19. of snbetance in the Spirit. To keep ^ This again \a going concisely orer

from calling the Holy Spirit *• brother/ the same gronnd an is gone over in adv.

we have learnt from Scripture, &c." Scr. R. vi. §. 4. §• 5. See an Athan.

Nazianz. Or. 87- p. 696. mentioos that p. 311, i. p. 324, b. c. Petav. de Opif. i.

the heretics argued that if the Spirit 6. §. 4. Didym. de Trin. ii. 8. p. 217.

was from the Father as well as the AustincMaxim. ii. 14.$.9. *' Because

Son, They would be brothers. the Son was perfect at His Birth, the

9 See n. d. p. 120. To the passages Father gave Him the comroaodmeot

there referred to, one similar to diat by begett.ng Him, and He by being

passage may be here added from St. generate receiTcd iL" Compare n. e.

Cyril of Jerusalem, (quoted by Petavius . p. 200.

de iingelis, ii. l.§. 4.) Catech.xi.§. 11. > Vol. iii. p. 592, c. *' If joy ra-*

** ]f any one (supponing it possible) Tisheth thee, and maketh thee fat and

were to go up into the iintt heaven, well-liking, how much more vrill the

and upon the view of the constitutea soul be ho through the floods of joys it

order of Angels there, were to go to will have when its affections suck the

them and ask, How God begat His Breastofall Wisdom. Torrents of delight

Son? they will say, perhaps, We have flow down to those that see Him from

above an other sopt* rior beings, ask the brightness of the Father, tlirough

them, * Go into the second heaven, and His First-bjm, and there they feast

the third, &c.''' Comp. Toutt^es note, themselves in a pasture of visions.

even to the highest Angels. 365

by One alone all the creatures, [t is in His graciousuess that Tie 18 a Pardoner, in His righteousness that He is an Avenger. By that He rewardeth, yea, by this He avengeth ^ ; for He is the * p- 200, measure' of His repayments. It is in His wrath that He is in- > p. 25, flamed, and in His mercy that He pardone th : by H is knowledge "• y* it is that He revealeth, and by His teaching that He teacheth : by Him He teacheth, by Him He maketh His creatures' rich ' h- 5. in His wisdom : and by Him He helpeth them that are in J[ c. ' need to blessings from His treasury. By Him He will give to His wrestlers their crowns, when they are risen again. The whole of Him is minirled^ with' the whole of Him.* §.2.

ref. 2.

Who sufficeth to search into Him ?

4. The Angels worship with silence: the Seraphim cry 'Holy' to Him: the Cherubim are laden with [His] glory: the Wheels run with [His] brightness^. All of them afar off,* p. 164, by the Revealed One, worship the Hidden Father. If there °' were any other essence [to see Him by], and if it could search into the Son, its power to do so would not be from Him, since it would be unto what was from Him, that it had power to attain. Or if it knew Him, though external to Him, either it were akin to Him, or of the same family. Any other essence if it indeed by itself knew Him, either was far off as external to Him, or near as of the same family*. If there ^ad'r.S. were an essence that was related to Him, it is but a One that^, 1. is many in names only; and should it not be related, then we are among' the feeble created beings. Seraphim and Angels^ S. to are not equal to it, and if there be any other nature, as being ^reatl external [to Him], it is far removed. O thou creature of dust here below, to what height art thou mounting* ? ' i 6.

Who bath ever Been the hungry that faces BrilUanuy, that ruminate upon are satisfied, and are filled and intoxi- and exhale the fulness of His Gift, cated with the floods of glory that flow with a fount of all wiifdom in their from the Beauty of the Eternal Fair- mouth, with peace in their mind, truth oess. The Lord of every thing is a in their knowledge, fear in their search- treasury of every thing: to every man ing, love in their praises! O grant to according to his strength doth He give my beloved, Lord ! that I and they may glimpses of His invisible Beauty, and there light upon the fragments that of the Brightness of His Maje:»ty. remain of Thy Gift. The sight of That Brilliancy giveth shine to all in Thy Well-beloved is a fountain of de- its love, to the little with its glimmer- lights, and whoso is worthy to regale ings, to the perfect with its full rays, himself therewith, slightetb food ; for The ftdness of His Glory is His Son every one that gazeth upon Thee, is

only able to bear ! Who hath ever by Thy Beauty filled. Glory be to

seen multitudes whose viands were Thy Fairness !" See n. c. on p. 353. Glory, whose clothing Light, and their

366 God incomprehensible to matty who

5. It is not as the Heaven is high, that the Lord of Heaven is higher than thee : it is in measure that the Heaven is high, but its Creator is so without measure. For all that is created is

I B.lzx]. greater than its fellow by measure' : immeasurably high and

zxriii. hi^^d^^ i^ ^he Creator above the creatures. [Every] creature

§• 2. is the brother servant of its fellow, and removed from it [but]

by a little space. But the Creator is far removed from His

creatures^ in His own Essence. There is One that is near

above all unto Him, He by whom He being One made all

* w3t. things'. The servant cometh not near unto Him, for His Son R. vi! it is who is near unto Him. No fellow-servant is by His ^ ^' side, since His Begotten sitteth by His side.

6. There is a mighty space betwixt the Creative Essence 35. pass and the creature : not that He did not shed His influence' ady.Scr.on it, since without Him it would not even exist. It ^^* is with Him, not He with it. He is mingled with it and

distinct from it, as the sun is near the earth, the nature ot him far from hers. The nature of the earth is not like the pure nature of light : and gold too though of her, is distinct from her, and yet mingled with her. How much more separate is the Creator from the creature though He be with it? He is too high fur aught to search Him out

* f 4* Whither wilt thou mount feeble man^ ? Thou dust, that art

flung upon dust, let thy conversation be in the dust ! Even

« Wisd. the dust which is beneath thee is above thee', to search into !

p! 227. ^^ ^^^ beneath be too high for thee, how wilt thou attain to

p. 257. Him Who is above ? If the small dust thy kinsman, from

which thou art, is yet hidden from thee, how wilt thou search

out the Majesty too high for any to search out ?

^adv. 7. That dust is in appearance one^: it is little and yet

B. xli. P^^^ upon searching into it. The dust is one and yet not

B. ixiv. one, since in its severalty it is manifold. One mean bosom

generates tastes that cannot be numbered: one little treasuiy

sendeth forth ornaments that cannot be reckoned. Dust as

parent gendereth ofisprings that are external to itself: they

are not like it in appearance ; neither are they to one

another. From the midst of this little thing is a wonder

bom to us ; from the midst of its poverty many treasures

cannot comprehend the mysleries of the dust. 367

stream forth, from that which is one every thing, for from the earth comes every thing. But the dust in its own self makes no alliance' with any of our senses ; in the hollow of* S. is the ear it is mischief, and in the eye it is injury' ; it stoppeth \^^^ the gates of hearing, it troubleth the light of seeing. ^§* ^*

8. To all uses it is foreign : of all assistant means it is a§. i. fountain. Though it be foreign to use, yet from it are all useful things'. It is opposed to hunger, yet the table of' s. uses hunger. Dust to the mouth is a mischief, for it is the bread of the accursed serpent. It was made bread to the Gen. 3, serpent in wrath, and the table to all in mercies. That which ^' the eater hath no acquaintance with, yieldeth us all manner

of victuals. That which hurteth the sight, purchases for us all medicinable roots ; that which troubleth the eye\ opened ^.7.adT. the eyes of the blind. In itself and in its victuals is itjt.xlT. entirely of advantage. Rise and marvel thou that seest ! §• ^\^* at the treasures which the dust sendeth forth; a parched § 3. * nature has become the fountain of all fat things ; this dry ^°^° ^> nature sendeth forth moistening streams to us; from that which in its nature is weak, cometh iron and brass ; that which is poor in appearance, poureth out gold and silver to us. It hath been appointed treasurer to the birds, and as a steward to the beasts; it is a great treasury feeding all, brutes, creeping things, and mankind.

9. There is a miracle in the fine dust, and it is common yet not looked upon. It reconciles in the earth side by side bitter and sweet': by the esculent root there is the deadly rootComp. It giveth increase to the bitterness of the bitter and to the §.3*'^' sweetness of the esculent. The bitter one gathers in its bitterness, and it is not shed out to the sweet one: the sweet one gathers in its sweetness, and it is not poured out

on those round about it How much can vile dust do which giveth to each of them its increase ! To the fruits it giveth Uieir tastes, and with their tastes their colours ! to the flowers it gives their odours, and with their odours their ornaments! flavours it giveth to the fruits, and to 'the roots aromas ! it gives beauty to the blossoms, the flowers it clothes with ornament ! It is the seed's handicraftsman, it bringeth up the wheat in the ears! the stem is strengthened with knots as a building with bond-timbers,

368 Tfte mytierioun changes of ihe duzi.

that it may sustain and bear up the froit, and liold out against the winds.

10. How many teats hath the earth that it suckles each one with its sap ! A marvel were it if its teats were as numeroos as the roots, that both to bitter and sweet, to each it should

> S. BB give snck according to its nature' ! A marvel is it, if it, being **^^ one, is a breast that giveth increase unto all fruits ! From it roots suck sweet fruits and bitter : in one it fostereth sweet- ness, and in another bitterness. There is nothing to marvel at in those that are distinct, since the wonder is greater in their * p. 334, being blended*. The one juice in one tree becomes many "^ kinds. The tastes of the fruits are sweet and their leaves are bitter: that very fruit also, when green, was very bitter in its beginning. It shadoweth out a type for penitents ; for sweet and luscious is its last estate.

11. If the dust thou tramplest, perplexeth thee in diy search into it, how wilt thou search out the Majesty of Hiin who with contemptible things maketh thee perplexed ? Nothing is there which thou despisest more than dust, nor any thing more valueless than a hair. Lo ! the contemptible dust beneath thee, how little thou comprehendest its riches : even the liair upon thy head overcometh thee, for how

s S. bow entirely* art thou unable to compass it. The seas and the

^^^^ depths may be left alone, and heaven also with the stars;

thou not between two contemptible natures hath the Creator placed thee in the midst. The Most High beateth thee back, that thou mayest not pry into the Most High. Even what is below rebuketh thee, that thou mayest not measure the mighty Height By a pair of contemptible natures doth the Lord of natures admonish thee. Let me reprove thy bold daring, that thou be not daring in hidden things : the things close

'Wisd.Oyat hand which are with thee at all times, refrain thee.

IS

A ^^ Because thy haughtiness is close at hand, close also is that which beateth thee back.

13. Even the horseman without curbs doth not ride at full speed, because there is a difficulty therein ; there is therdn obstinacy in the violence of the beast: near to him therefore is the curb. Cast thou bridles upon thy seekings, lest thou run on like a brute beast. There are curbs of self-will, and there are curbs of necessity. Those of thy will are thine own, to refrain

Crod the Father partaken oj through the Son, 369

the violence thy self will ; those of necessity' are thy Lord's, i R. so that even if thou dost grow daring, thou art powerless, ffs^'^. Whether thou wiliest, or whether thou wiliest not, the curbs lxx.§.i. of thy Lord are cast upon thee. To what purpose, then, thy running on ? still thyself powerless man I The Father 'R-lxiii. is complete in His Essence*, and so is the First-bom in Hisl^^'jt. Generateness, the perfect Father of a perfect Son. Per-l^^^"*' feet is the Begotten, as is His Begetter. Complete entirely is the Root, complete is the Fruit as well as He. The savours which are in the Tree, He keepeth not back from His Fruit: the savours of that Root which cannot be 'adv. meted, dwell in the Offspring thereof. If roots conceal not R.7xi. their treasures from their fruits, how should the blessed Root §• 3- conceal His excellency from His Fruit*? Look at the tree,§/i. how it concealeth its savours in its bosom from every one ! J ^- .. the savours which it concealed from all, are poured out in§.3.n.e. the bosom of its fruit ! When fits fruit hath received them, it divideth them to the eaters : by the means of the fixiit is given unto us the sweetness which is in the root. If the fruit had not received it, it were not possible for any to

1 St. £. here speaks aa if the Essence all of these, such ascription must not

of the Godhead belonged exclnsively to be taken in a sense implying the ex-

the Father, becanse it does belong nn- ternal operations of God to be else than

derivedlj to Him, because we can con- done by the whole Trinity. Such as-

template it in Him apart from any cription comes in ^art from our imper-

Bource antecedent (in our way of con- feet way of conceiving the eternal re-

ceiTJng it) to it, wMch we do not do in lations of the Divine Fersons; to con-

the case of the Son, as that would be ceiye these, we use what goes on in

the heresy of those who have been our own mind as a type of the Trinity,

called the Antotheani. See Petav. de by enhancing which as best we may by

Trin. vi. 11. §. 5. The well-known the addition of attributes that we have

saying ascribed to St. Hilary, iPtemitas not, we make sach faint conceptions of

in Patre, species in Imagine, usns in the Reality as we can. Thus Being is

Munere, is explained by St. Austin (de the correlative of the Father, as the

Trin. VI. $. 11.) on this principle, as Fountain of the Godhead, Wisdom of

follows: " After having investigated the Son, as the Image or Word of the

to the best of my ability the latent Divine Mind, conceived as expressed

meaning of these words, i. e. Father, and formed as it were into an issue in

Image, and Gift, seternitas and species It, Goodness or Love of the Spirit as

and uflus ; 1 think that in the word That in which These again issue eter-

etemity he meant nothing more than nally and immensely. See Petav. de

(non eum secutum arbitror in aetemi- Trin. vi. 9. §. 10. vili. 4. $. 4. and com-

tatis vocabulo nisi) that the Father pare the notes to R. Ivii. and p. 349,

bath not a Father to be from, but that n. d. The word for Essence in St E,

the Son is from the Father in such is that which occurs in Heb. i. 3.

way as to be from Him, and to be co- (where our version renders ' Person,')

eternal to Him." If the attributes of and is closely allied to one which he

Being, Wisdom, and Goodness are as- uses sometimes for * eternal,' some-

cribed at times severally to the Father, times for < being.' Comp. R. xxvii.

the Son, and the Holy Ghost, as though §• 1. where it is used of God not as He

the other Persons were not also each and is Father, but as He is God.

Bb

370 Jlie revelittion given to Simon Barjona

attain to it. The root giveth it to its fruit, because it loveth it better than all. The fruit yieldeth its sweetness to them that need it, because it Im^eth them ! How much more doth the Father love His Fruit, and the Fruit love them that eat

I R. X. Him ' ! Lo ! the hidden things of the Root can be tasted in

^' ' the Fruit ! Do not thou create out of thine own mind a new

9 adv. doctrine in thy generation" !

Scrut. J3 Sufficient for thee is that which hath come down from

R. xliv.

§. 5. the former fountains^ ; blessed art thou, if thou be sufficient p. 139 ^^^ ^^ streams that come from thence ! Four fountains^ flow °- e. down with Truth for the four quarters [of the world]. Thy n. e. 'thirst is not greater than Simon's*; sufficient for thee are Mat.16, ^jjg streams he drank. The revelation which came down

17

& R. ii. from above slaked his strong thirst: the mighty stream that

r;'& 11* came to him flowed from him® and came to thee. Greater

111. ^.11.

® p. 67, is it than the flood of Eden ; run not to the streamlets !

Greater than all creatures' ndbd, is that which floweth down

from the Lord of the creatures. For that revelation floweth

' Comp. down until now, and for ever'. Thou lovest not the Son

p?465! ™^'® ihdM Simon that heard and was silent: he was the

in n. h. speaker in every place, he was silent only in that place.

Though he was quite silent in the Supper, yet he kept not

John 13 from beckoning. But here he was wholly silent: the saint

^*- pondered it and kept silence : by silence did he set a

boundary to his tongue: by stilluess stilled he his criticising.

The boundary which Simon passed not, lo ! this do the bold

disputers trample down. A marvel is there in the Scriptures,

8 R. lix. and to the contentious it maketh not itself visible*. Our Lord

*• *• was not violent" for this, for teaching His own Generation unto

Simon ; He became a stranger to Himself, and His Father

it was that revealed concerning Him. It was not that our

Lord was unable to reveal concerning Himself, but that He

" SeeR.ii.§.8. This seeniM to allude to kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence,

two tezta^ Matt. xi. 12. and Phil. ii.6. and the violent taJce it bj force ;' it is

which are thus combined in the spurious not so that Christ Jesos, who was not

work ascribed to St.Diony8iu8 of Alexan- perfected by the toils of virtue, gained

dria, contr. Paul Sam. B. P. p. 292, d. the being equal to God." There seems

'' Jesus Christ being, as I baid before, to be also an allusion in §. 2. and here

in the form of God. .. .counted it to the widely received view, that oor

not robbery (^k^my/i^) to be equal Lord had a certain scope of doctrine to

to God. VThat ne here means ivi, that teach, and that He did not Himself go

it is not as they who by virtue, toils, &c. beyond it, bat spoke as if He wan ig-

(i^ri^«vr/ rob or) take by force the norant of what did not come within

kingdom of God, as it is written , * the that scope. See Petav. deTrin. ii.S. §. 10.

sufficient nourishment to souls tkntpry not into it. 371

in His Person might set an example to bold disputants'. 'R.xxx. For if He were silent about His own Generation, who would jjiix. be bold about His Generation? and if He were silent, and§- ^• revealed not Himself, who would pry into His Birth ? Then Mat.ii, did He confirm this saying, * the Father knoweth the Son ;' He became Himself silent, that His Generator might tell of Him.

14. The Father, in whose Bosom* the Son is, knoweth how ' p- i32. to declare Him. The One Father of the One First-bom beginneth and maketh an end of the declaring of Him, as also the First-bom began and made an end of His Will. John 6, The declaring of questions has failed, yet our rash disputing 4 * '' is not satisfied. Pride laboureth in ncw^ things, that it^§-i3'

ref. 3.

may not repeat those things which were heretofore: itR.ii.§.5. is a small thing to the haughty man to hand on the truth, as it is written : seeking after things too deep, he strips off the truth of things revealed. Picture to thyself Simon, make a likeness of him : the fisher became a painter. He painted a model for the Churches: let every man paint ^ it upon his own g^- '"• heart. Let us all say unto the Son, Thou art the Son of the Pearl living God. This sentence is too great for things above, or^|*^* things below ; let it be to thee a constant bread, and do thouxxxi.R. never reject it any day! Blessed he whom alone the Son of^™^, God called so ! that blessing which our Lord gave him, made ^l"':§- 1*

« • . . . R.li.§.4.

nim blessed. p. 260,

15. Bring thine eye near the lights and in it it seethj'jf^ without prying into it, and to sleep also it turneth itself, and xxWi. doth not trouble itself with investigating it. Bring thy mouth r.ixxV. nigh unto fruits, yet it does not approximate to an examina-^ ^- tion of them. Upon the face of the earth thou walkest, and

how far art thou from seeking out the end thereof**. Delightful * R. to thee is the whole creation', without seeking or prying into "4^""' it Thou rejectest measurable things, and seekest after the' ^.•.. Almighty: with the creation thou keepest in quiet, with the §.2. Creator in disputing; calm and still altogether art thou with all, but fretful art thou with the Lord of all.

16. In measure dost thou get thyself nourished, and without measure dost thou pry. Small is the womb* of thy mind:**^^' doctrine in measure give thou unto it. According as its

XXVIII.

womb is, so is its nourishment: let it not take too much,^-l:^-®* and die. Be thou fed with doctrine, that table which n. a. fin.

B b 2

372 Ood^s incomprekensibleness and matCs vain

sustaineth all ! This is the Table of the Kingdom, take thou

a little according as thou canst relish it ! let not its plea-

santness lead thee to many things which thou canst not relish !

Disputation in due measure is a medicine "" of life : without

iR.lxTii. measure a medicine of death \ Oh thou that drinkest water

in measure, make a measure also for thy searching! oyer-

' R., , much water* is more fitting than overmuch questioning. It is

§. 1.& 8. ^^^ ^y ^ ^y^i^Q that He is greater than thee, that thou sfaouldest

"' SiQ reach thyself out to His Height! By how much the Heaven is

higher than thee, is He higher than the Heaven itself: and a

^^' hundred times more, in proportion ^ is the searching into

r^"^ Him too high for thee. It is not that He is hard of approach

y^ in His high places, that He cannot be tracked oat ; He is

easy and visible to His servants, yet withdrawn and hidden

< p. 366, from His creatures*. He is within every thing : He is without

"' ' every thing. As He is near to us in His graciousness, just so

far above us is the mvestigation of Him ! Thus much may the

knowing know: naught beyond it may he know !

17. The mind laboureth to explore Him, and that He exists

^ p. 337, is all it feeleth ' ! the reason toileth to attain unto Him, when it

thinketb that it is near, it is far off! the senses and with

them the thoughts have hastened, yet have they not compre-

> See on adv. Scrat. B. ii. §. 3. that it maj be a place of refuge for the B. viii. §• 4. B. ix. §. 4. Vol. iii. p. 620, a. ear to flee to away fipom errors. He is a << The colour of wool maybe changed; purveyor of peace to the passages of but the substance ofit cannot be changed: Scripture, thought by fools to be at neither doth it from putting on all colours, variance. He reconciles them by from its colour lose its nature ; it is one, intellect as not at wrath, he makes yet not one, and manifold in its colours, them agree by wisdom as not divided, single in what is its substance. Though The audience too that were at wrath the truth also hath but one subsistence, he reconciles ; at wrath ther were and ()OQlD,) itiflutteredin all words,while wt at wrath. When the books that had one in its substance. For the substance J^o' been at vrrath hare reconciled the which is without division is divided by hearers, then are the texts reconciled the heretic*8 mouth; they force it to on« with another." Part of the last be against itself, they compel one half sentence, which the editor prudently to be against its other half. The abridges in translating, is obscured by a substance in the faithful (p. 260, n. a,' . . ^ , i"^ . I " '^ ^ p. 347, ref. 8.) is at peacef dear, stiU, "i«P"°^ ^^ Ir^ ^^ Vr^^ The healthful ; it is troubled bv the know- '^'?®»« P?***g?» *»o;^ever, plainly con- ing men ; it is by strifes in the mouths ^^7f *°® °®^ ?^ » theologian to be of disputes that the truth wrestles fluefly in exercismg ilself in measure, with itself. But in the healthful hearer J' ®- '^i^*". certain limits, in reference healthful words agree with their neigh- ^ f.^^"}^^^ standard, unalterable in hours; a prudent disputant is like a '®*^^ thfy^h. entirely changed out- builder that maketh sound and bindeth, r*'r^'/?^*Z. I?',*" impljcitly in the that buildeth and tieth. The spiritual hearts ofthe faithful, though it requires architect of scriptural words buildeth a^i architect s mmd to state it seienUfi- and finisheth the language like a tower, <^*"*y- ^^ P' 1^^> °« »•

efforts to understand His Nature and attributes, 873

hended aught of Him : when they thought they had made speed and comprehended Him, they came to a stand in the abyssy and in doubtfulness. This the hearing only heard, that it heard not aught of Him. Waves upon waves' dash'p;8r, it down, the while it hears the Holy Scriptures. While it°'*' examineth at hearing ^He was weary,' it heareth that He wearieth not. One ear heareth that He sleepeth', and another ' ady. that He slumbereth not. It hears that He was little and was r'xxxu limited, again it hears that He filleth the Heavens. While §-2> seeking to be small in its presence, He proves greater than all the creatures.

18. It heard that He had members', and went forth to feel'R.»Yi. them, and they were not; whilst musing on His frame, p' 2^5^ He proved to it to have no/rame; while hearing that"*-** He was in one place, it heard that He was in all places ; n! s. while to seek about calling Him Good, He gat Him a name

as being Just. The eye looked upon His justice. His good- ness seized upon it ; the mind looked upon His gracious* ness. His severe rod hastened unto it ; the report of pardon rejoiced it, the report of vengeance affrighted it. Betwixt His goodness and His justice, amazed and astonied is the mind ; betwixt election and apostacy, the sight is troubled. When it seeth the wicked that deal violently, it seeth the good that are scourged. His trial seeketh out the true ones: His rod repressed the bold-doers. They are mingled together to Him, but not confounded : one with another, though not indiscriminate. It is owing to its weakness that the mind is amazed at this, in that it sufficeth not for it. *

19. While he who seeth the death of an old man, has seen

the death of children also ; in one case he seeth what seems See on right*, in another its opposite: for one who is just is over- ^23!* come, and his companion, another, is delivered. He seeth * ^' the good men that are oppressed, he seeth some of them that are at peace. These same perversions doth he see also among eccI. 0, the wicked. There is one whom in a single murder men^* seize ; another who murders a multitude, yet escapes. As among the waves slight ships are lost, so between goodness and justice are feeble minds lost*. Because the conceptions^ ^S. gene-

ftloffies « St. E. probably bas some fatalist ToWing the question, * How is God's

sebool in bis eye here : at all events he mercy to be reconciled with His justice?'

alludes more than once to disputes in- Comp.§. 12.andR.xxviii.§.3.p.l22,n.k.

374 Mail's need of GodCs preventive and sustaining

of them are confused, they cause the weak to go astray. If

they are not wholly understood, as much as is fitting is

understood. This is enough for us to know, that He who

Gen.i8,judgeth all cannot deal perversely; sufficient this for us to

know, that He may not be reproved by us. For it is a

»Rom.9, blasphemy for the vessel to turn and teach its maker". By

xxix. what discriminating skill shall we blame Him who gave

§. 3. R. discrimination ? Who shall discriminate without Him who

xxxvu

§.4. Himself made him discriminating? What knowledge is there capable of judging Him that knoweth all? Oh, thou that receivest thy knowledge from Him, at least be a man of knowledge in what is thine own ! for if it is from Him that thou receivest, with what is His draw nigh to Him 1 It is the ' p. 375> Gift of the Giver that brought thee nigh to the Giver* ; it is p. 14, by knowledge that He gave to thee that thou hast found how °* ™' to know thyself and thy God. Somewhat it was that came §.3. from Him that drew thee to Him peaceably; for thine own powers were inadequate to make thee reach unto Him. 20. He gave thee discourse, and made thee great 3 p. 226, thereby'; do not make little the Giver of it thereby! And < p. 126, if thou hast trafficked* and made gain, it was having^ J* ^•, such a capital that made thy traffick thrive. Thy know- capital ledge is from Him ; thine is the likeness, His the perfection. thereo j^ j^ ^^ y^^ knowledge from His inspiration % that rectitude is beheld by thee, how much more would He see it who is the fountain of that knowledge itself? The rectitude which is beheld by thee do thou search it out aright, and thou wilt see

r Tht) belief that knowledge in seeing tbat they also are plunged Id the Spirit

as well as grace in doing God'ts will, is not as the Apontlra and Prophets, bat

a gift of God, is often found in the next to them: bat in the vessels that

Fathers. Thus in vol. i. p. 267, e. are plunged in water is to be under-

St. E. speaks as if it was the same in stood a type of the middling and lower

kind, though different in degree, with classes of those that are [pliuiged,]

innpiration properly so called : ^* The baptized, and made disciples/' This

gold and silver and brass and iron and passage will shew how St. £.'s account

tin and lead, and every thing that of a theologian in n. may be made

goeth through the fire, shall be puri- to tally more exactly with the more

ned. (Numb. 31, 22.) As for the recent one: as he holds the doct<»s of

vessels that are plunged in this fire, the Church to be in their degree in-

they have a typical meaning, as the spired, of course we might anticipate

gold means spiritually the Apostles : there would be the same kind of dififi-

by the silver the mind understands the culties to be reconciled by those who

prophets: by the vessels of brass, iron, systematize the statements of the Fa-

silxer, and lead, is mystically meant thers, as are there chiefly spoken of ai

the teachers of the Church, seeing existing in Scriptures.

graces a reason against pride and ingratilude. 375

that It is shortcoming in the undei*standing of other things. Where then is thy knowledge, since it is not with understand- ing ? For it is a blasphemy to say that the thing made is wiser than its Maker. Let him that hath this knowledge tell thee whence he received it. If it was not from His Lord that he ob- tained it, then is he neither a servant nor the fellow-ser\'ant*.* K- He cannot then be concealed, seeing there is a furnace that §.3. detects him : the need of the Maker convicts him of being a thing made. And if it was his Lord who gave him [the power] to know, how should He be rebuked by him ? for he cannot go beyond the gift which he received from Him. However great the gift is in him, he still standeth in need of the Giver: for that He did not perfect the defective creature' was'ib- §-2. not because the Maker thereof was weak ; but He made him subject to need, that he might feel who sustained him. Every thing that the creature hath', did it receive from One' See in loving-kindness. John's,

2L For if he be great by what is lent unto him, how much J''- greater is the Lord of the creatures*. His goodness constrained 7. Him exceedingly to make His gift to thee exceeding abundant ; t^'^'^*"' He made Himself poor that He might make thee rich : be 2 Cor. 8, not thou poor in His riches; for it were not well-pleasing^* unto Him, that thou shouldest stay in thy poverty. His poverty enriched thee; do not thou impoverish it by thy prying. He that enriched all is not impoverished ; he that pricth it is that is impoverished. Far better than thee is the dumb, that speaketh not daring things against His Creator ! better far than thee the deaf, that prieth not into his Maker. Thy speaking mouth is venturesome ; the silent one is better than thee. The Lord hath exalted thee through these things, and thou requitest Him perversely*. t^i^*"''

22. The First-bom made thy littleness great*, do not thou c'r! make His greatness little, for He that giveth increase to f "*; ^ all, decreaseth not. Thee doth the scrutinizing of Him make xzxii. little: to no purpose^ will His goodnesses have befallen thee,? 5/per- if thou art distorted. By the Enricher of all do not thou make verBely thee poor, by the Increaser of all do not thou get brought low ; by the Gatherer in of all be not thou led astray, and by the Finder of all be not thou lost. For if thou priest thou wilt go astray in Him ; and if thou mcasurest out Him thou

376 MaUf though afraid of the crealuresy fearlessly

iB.lxvii. wilt be lost in Him. If thou settest bounds' to Him, thou ^' ^* wilt get bounds set to thee, for to the end of Him there is no end. Wliatsoever can be searched out, be who prietb ' §.26. into it, is greater than it'.

ixxvii. ^^' Thou addressest Him as if He were Maker, and priest

§• 1' into Him as though He were a thing made; thou callest Him

Most High, and thou bringest Him beneath thy prying, for

that which is pried into is below ; greater than it is that

which prieth into it. If God is to be pried into and have limits

9 Comp. set to Him by man', if there were there a daysman, he would

§. b^id. pronounce him that pried and set bounds to be the greater.

Wherewith shall the mouth earn pardon that hath been

daring to this degree ? Servants esteem their masters great,

forces their kings, and thou makest little the First-born who

is greater than all by thy prying. Thou art too feeble to go

4§.36,B.near unto fireS and yet thou art daring against the Creator

|[, 5,^** thereof; the blast of fire afirighteth thee ; and yet thou art a

busybody about that Majesty. Because thou wert not bumed,

thou art lifted up ; His bowels of mercy pitied thee, feeble

man! See how the lightnings, wherewith He burned up

others, have shewn mercy on thee, bold man ! Be informed

about Him that hurled it, by the lightning which is hurled by

Him ! Thine eye is afraid at lightning, and thine ear afiraid

at thunder : how cometh thy tongue to be swift to pry into

the Lord of these ? Things revealed thou comprebendest

pot; the Hidden One how shalt thou suffice for? Thou

standest still as a vile thing, and by Him is all creation

«P; 105, filled^! thou art in one place, and He is greater than all

i'70,n.'o.spAC6* III ^hat place wilt thou seek for Him, who cannot

R'1^/2 be comprised in space ? Lo, in this little bosom'* thy mind

' ' ' cannot fly ! Seek the heavens and things below them ; by

things revealed search thine own mind !

<R.lTii. 24. Recount the history of the fountains ^ those opened

iiiy.|.3. treasuries that fail not! are they produced out of nothing, or

have been culled together out of something ? If by culling

together they were produced, then the Creator was very

poor, since even He culled them together fix>m something;

His treasury was like a man's. But the Creator is not poor,

*i This seemn to mean, this little Ass. renders ^' in hamili aere.'' Comp. concavity , this small atmosphere of p. 271, n. f. and p. 371, ref. 6. space, wiUi which we are acquainted.

measures the Creator by conceptions drawn from ilietn, 377

nay 9 the disputer it is that is poor. His WilP is His treasure- > on house, for from nothiog was every thing. If the waters were p.*3^'f. wrapped together and turned unto their place, it is in handi-^. iii. craftsmanship only that the Creator is greater than man. In ' * Will is the Maker mighty, for that His Will is His working. He is not subject to handicraftsman's art to get' instructed' 5. thut bow He should make : it is not possible for it to teach its make Creator how He should create; handicraftman's art com-^°^?^* manded not that Will that createth all. For an handicrafts* §.3. man is as a slave beneath the yoke of handicraftsman's art ; not working after his free-will, he is subject to the art He stands amid doubts, seeing he worketh not according as he willeth. In one case his will has its course, in another his will is ineSective. From the handicraftsman's art doth a ' pattern' come to him as to one needing it. As for the^Builin Creator, it is not upon His art that He is stayed ; He Him-^* ^|^' self created^ the art that it might stay the children of men. 4 p. 352, By it the workman is stayed, and of somewhat maketh some-'^' ^* what. If this belong to God, then is He also on a level with man, and however great in His handicraflsmanship, He is very little in His Godship. If God be God, His Will> hath power to do every thing'. Man maketh out of something, <s.might and God out of nothing. °^j^^

25. As our create nature is in no respect like unto thedotbHis

•11 U J

Eternal Nature, thus is it in no respect like Him in itsjgt. m. working. This solid Heaven •, narrate to us in what way it|*2' exists, whether it be substantial or subtle, humid or dry?n. c. Mightier than this fire below is the sun above, and yet it bumeth not up the firmament^ because the commandment? p. 271, alloweth it not: that commandment refiraineth it, that re-'^'^* firained the fire of the furnace. And who would set about Dan. 3, recounting the things created that cannot be comprehended; forlo, amid the investigation of them things risible become as the things invisible; and if the things visible are invisible', how ' R. iii. much more are the invisible things invisible! and if the in- ' * visible things are invisible, how much more invisible is the In- visible One in His invisibleness ! Thy timidity is much greater than thy knowledge in thy prying ; thou fleest from the flame',' ^. 23. thou art swift to pry into the Lord of it ; thou art not so afraid of the fire, as it is afraid of its Lord. If thou fearest the

S78 Tlie lust of prying perversely leaves the natural use

I«. 33, fire, be afraid of Him that dwelleth in fire. The fire that ministereth is shining, how much more shining He that is

* §.23. ministered unto ! From that which ministereth' thou fleeth;

into Him who is ministered unto thou priest!

26. With brightness, glorious though borrowed, did the Angels enter into Sodom. They saw the brightness that was

Gen. 19, fairer than all, and they were frantic, old men and young. «p. 266 There descended the fire of the Most High to aid the sons' D. e. f. of the Most High, not that it might deliver the holy, but that it might burn up the proud doers. The high ones changed their appearance, wherefore those below were bold. If the spi- ritual ones had lightened, the carnal ones had been prostrated. As of their own nature did they regard the Angels, a spiritual nature ; contrary to nature therefore did they lust, though they changed not from their nature. The use which was not accord- Rom. 1, ing to nature it lusted after with those of its race ; it would not ^^' have lusted after the high ones, who were foreign to its nature. The nature which is not of our place was foreign to our use*; it is by its will that it can adapt itself entirely, if it be sent Lust lusted after the high ones, because they had put on the countenance of those below ; against nature, and yet in nature, was it, since lust did lust for that which is its own. 3 Comp. Whoso prieth into God, out of all nature' is his madness. "'276 ^^^ confesseth His Essence, yet prieth into Him as if a <§.22.fiii. creature*. He exalteth Him much by Name, and by dis- putatiousness disparageth Him. Either stand to His Name consistently, or stand to disputatiousness.

27. If thou namest Him God, then is there no room for *B.lxx. prying; between God and man faith ^ is the medium required. B.lzzit. I£ iiioji believest Him, thou honourest Him; if thou in- §. 1. vestigatest Him, thou dishonourest Him. Betwixt God and

• R. XX. man is faith and prayer ^ that thou may est believe His truth- \l\ fulness and pray unto His Godhead. He has had it written

that He created the creatures; thou believest, though thou saw- est not Thou hast not come by experience to belie%'e; if thou 'S. de- wentestbyexperience,then thou wilt have denied the faiths As then experience "^ is the opposite of faith, so too is examining

^ §.36. \ 1-n rff) 7- The sense given to be fo beguiled, that even experience

this word in p. 220, n. d. in confirmed cannot persuade us! I am astoonded

by this passage. Vol. iii. p. 415, e. that man is so daring: if dead be be>

** I am astounded that we men should comes comipt,ifleftauTe he is lifted np."

nied it.

ofsul(fects legitimate to it for those illegitimate. 879

the opposite of faith. Examining goes searching and searching on, and if a man is a searcher, then is he no believer' ; and if ^ p. 143, be be searching UDtil now, his finding is far from him. Faith °' ^' that goeth not wandering is that which hath found the truth re- vealed. She hath been found of, and hath found the verity that hath come to her. By those without have they of the house- hold been reproved for bold disputers : by them in error' too' R- hath tlie knowing one been put to shame, that knew and yet^^.Y.aod was bold. iii.§.i6.

28. The worshippers of the sua ' piy not into him, who is but a creature ; though his servitude be very obvious, yet call they him by the name of his Lord ; neither doth the heathen pry into the graven image that superstition hath graven, for if he were to pry into it, then could he not worship it : he could not pray unto it, if he pried into it, which is a dumb [idol]. Experience would teach him that it seeth not nor heareth. Wherefore superstition doth not allow those in error to be prying, but it has brought^ prying into ' ^- ^' the house of the true [worshippers] that they may die. Prying^ hiudereth that it may blind, and again it giveth that^P* 134, it may hoodwink. For as if thou priest into an idol^, it is r. i^y. edification to thee ; so if thou priest into God, it is a mischief. |-^- It gave faith, then, where prying were useful ; but prying Bel and came in where faith was required. For if prying cometh in, p ^'^^ then faith cometh to a stop, and by both of them did man fall in n. 1* his feebleness ; for prying he comprehended not, and faith he possessed not. Pry into the dumb that thou may est under- stand, since he is bereft of hearing ; but pry not into Him that heareth all, how and by whom He heareth ; for it is not by any ear that he heareth, since He is wholly hearing throughout; neither is it by eyes that He seeth, since the whole fulness of Him is seeing. It is His Nature that He hears

■ R.ni.§.23.Didyin.deTrin.iii.2."lf rcTcrence Him, but do not pry into

He be trulj God and Son, in His Gene- Him.' " ei«f r/fu^i (not 'legitime cole' aB

ration above. He has a Father and God Mingar. renders, see Herm. ad Aristopb.

He hath none, in that below. He has a Nub. 809. Stalb. cd Plat. Euthyphr.

God but f ather He hath none. So §. 3.) mi) #^v J^irti M ^. And so in

then that one that is a man ought not to Plato's Apol. §. 2. they think r^W

start upon a road untrodden, and unto waStrm J^nrtmrmt M^ §v n^J^mvi ' that

all created things wholly inaccessible, men who pry in this way do not belieye

even those without have declared in there are gods.' Comp. Jerem. ii.

words like these : * Believe in God, and 1 1.

880 Disputation vaitiy revelation sufficient.

throughout, it is His Nature that He sees throughout'. In

faith take refuge, for He is high above prying; it is faith that

is able to give life to our feebleness.

> i. e. 29. Because error ^ envied the weak it set them upon

Comp! prying; it sharpened them with disputing. It roused

p. 303, them to battle, because it saw that Love came to take man

^p. 306, up to heaven'. Strife made haste to cut off the Root that led

^' ^ ihem up to heaven. Be still thou disputing with the apostates !

» p. 837, and thou wrangling with the [false] doctrines' ! See, O strife,

°' ^' how thy partizans are brought down low, as being guilty ! It

« p. 349, tried to get itself the face of truth*, that it thereby might steal

^' ®* away the children of truth ; it sundered them by questioning,

for it urged them against that Majesty, because they that were

A p. 316, without' were not able to conquer a conquering party.

°'^ Conquered was the side that had conquered, because it

struggled with itself. Enough for our feebleness is that

• p. 268, Truth that came in open character ^

^ ^' 30. Confess that there is a Father and a Son in reality as

in Names. The root of the name is the subsistency; by it names are bound together. For who ever set a name on aught, when the subsistency belonging to it had no existence ? How could fruit have a name given it, if it existed not in reality? Name the Father the Root; surname the Son 7 p. 2L0, as the Fruit; He is blended^ with Him, and yet distinct from r^* 131 Him. He is in His Bosom% and on His Right Hand. For if He were not mingled with Him, then His Beloved were

^ This is one of the passages which no natural bearing upon, and incapable

might allude, but onl}* allude, to the of tasting the enjoyment which the

Audians : for in matter of fact similar neighbouring sense gathereth in. Bat

expressions about the hearing, seeing, there the case is not so, for the whole

Ac, of God were suggested in contro- Divine Nature is throughout seeing

versy not with Audians, but with and hearing and knowing.' So St. Hill

Arians. See Petay. de Trin. ii. 4. iii. 8. in Psalm oxxiz. §. 3. ' Dens qui et

▼i. 4. vii. 5. $. 4. St. Gregory urges ubique et in omnibus est, totus Tidet,

against Ennomius, p. 772, b. ' that the totus audit, totus effieit, totus inoedit.'

DiTinitY is not divided in the acts of The immediate reference to * prying*

comprehension, in the way, in which also shews at what St £. is aiming

with us each of the organs of sense his remarks. Comp. R. xxrii. §• 9.

lays hold of its correlative, vision of R. xli. §. 3. where, however, he urges

what is visible, the sense of hearing of the correlativeness of senses to their

what is audible : and tonefa does not objects not to shew what God is, bat

taste, nor hearing admit of any appre- what man cannot do; what he there

hension of smells or sivonrs, but each by implication denies of man, that he

abides in the one function for which it here asserts of Grod. Still there is

was appointed by nature, remaining plainly the same current of tbooght in

senseless, so to speak, to that which it h as either case.

The Persons distinct y the Will one in the Trinity, 881

not in His Bosom. And if also He were not distinct from

Him, He wonld not sit at His Right Hand. He is mingled with Him, because He is in His Bosom; He is distinct from Him, because He is on His Right Hand. One They are in one Will"; They are Two by Their two Names.

V Tbe sobject of the ooe Will in the all the creatures, that Will that no

Trinity has occurred already, p. 132. p. man judgeth. Thy Will, it is Thy

133. (irheT« we see how strongly St £. Father's Will !" — where He had been

asseverates his adherence to the belief in speaking of the miracles wrought by

it,) p. 287, n.c.p.349. The importance of Christ, and turns off suddenly to the

this belief is twofold ; first as shewing Divine Will which they attested the

that, as the writers of this earlier period operation of. See also §. 32. and ii. §. 8.

held the Father and the Son to have Didym. de Trin. iii. 12. '^ ' I came

one Will, they must have explained all down from Heaven not to do Mine

such texts as imply that Christ had own will, but the will of the Father

another will, of His Human Nature, which sent Me,' means not to do the

in which respect passages liKe those will of the Human Nature in the

above tell against the Monothelites. Incarnation, but of the Divine. For

See Petav. de Incarn. vi. 13. §. 4. and the will of the Well-beloved Son is

ix. 7« §. 4. As for the second ground not diverse from that of God and the

of its importance (the one with which Father, seeing there is but one and the

we are here more immediately con- same will in the Trinity.'' Vide ibid,

cemed) the following words of Ana- p. 46. p. 105. p. 112. p. 169. p. 170.

stasius Sin. Hodeg. p. 13. will intro- p. 206. p. 217. p. 221. Greg. Nyss. ii.

duce us to it : ^* Christ who is in the p 494, c. p. 773. (quoted n. c. p. 286.)

form of God according to the Godhead, p. 389, b. where he distinguisnes be-

bas a sovereign will which is common tween the unity of will which flows

to the Father, Himself, and (1. mitrtS from choice as in men, from that which

Ml)) the Holy Spirit, but as having flows identity of Nature as in God,

taken the form of a servant He has and does not come from, though it be

also the will of His rational and incon- attended with, choice so to speak. Id.

taminate Soul, which is according to c. A poll. 29. and 31. ' ^ Are then the wills

God's image and likeness that fulfiUeth of tne Father and the Son divided P

the will of the Sovereign. But if the and how then is there to be a will

will of His holy and rational soul be common to Both of Them P or how is

removed. He will be found to be sub- the identity of Nature to shew itself

jected in respect of His Godhead after with a difference of wills P Surely it

the manner of a servant, and so to is absolutely necessary th^t designing

fulfil the Father's W ill. And this is the should go along witb the Nature, as the

blasphemy tfaatArins andDiodorus used. Lord somewhere says, A good tree can-

who said that there were two wills in not, &c. (see n. e. p. 179.). .. .If then

the Godhead, one of the Father and one the fruit of the will be different in the

of the Son, that of the Father sovereign, Father's case from what it is in the

thatofthe Son servile.'^ (see also p. 131.) Son's, they necessarily admit the Na-

This shews us what it is against which tore of £ither to be also different. Why

St. E. is writing. — yol.ii.p.513. ''The then is any war made upon ArinsP

Will of the Eternal Being is not EUs and why do they not go over to Enno-

opponent, nor is it His adversary, that mias, who when dividing the Nature

it should straighten and struggle in of the Father and the Son along with

the Eternal Being with His Majesty, the Nature cut in twain the Will also,

and this should be conquered and be and by this means chiefly tries to esta-

changed. Tet never hath the Eternal blish the diversity of Essence which the

Being set His Nature and His Will at inferior has to the superior, and to sever

Vol. iiL p. 612, c. " Thy Will, O Lord, « »» t^? Son and the Son in the Father, is like Thyself: Thy Will being One ^^^ **>» ^"SS**?* ?^^ ^^ ^*^^ '." amidst its diversities willed and adorned »<> ^^ "^ Their judgments or senti*

382 Namet must have real

They ba%'e not two Wills; They have not two Sur- names. The Name of Fatherhood belongs to the Father ; > p. 286, His Name is the keeper of His glory ' : the Name of p! 364 Cieoerateness belongs to the Son ; His Name is the keeper ref. 1. of His Generation. In the Name of Father lieth the mani- festation of Him ; in the Name of Son is the distinguishing of Him. In the order of Their Names is kept the order' of * S. 6e- Their Proprieties'. As Their Names may not be hidden so gi^ that they become one, thus neither can their Proprieties' be concealed so as to become one. The Jews concealed His Generation, which cannot be concealed. The day-spring of 'p. 145, His Proprieties' is in the Prophets; the explanations' of 4 ir* Hi» ^'™ ^^^ preserved in the types of Him *. S«crm- 01, Xot even the fruit and the tree are one, though they comp.' be one ; the fruit is known as fruit, and the tree as the root p. 196, jjj ^jjjg equal love* are tliey blended, by two names are < See p. they distinguished. The name of the fruit belongeth to the iMTi. fruit alone, and the name of the tree to the root alone. Two §.4. and powers and two subsistencies in one power and love^ are I2?uid mingled. For if there be the name of the fruit, and there p. 349, £g QQ( \jj^Q subsistency' of the fruit, then hast thou named

<'p.381,

D. n. ments, bat the Son wishes whatsoever which he combatB. St Ambr. de Fid. i.

the Father doth, and the Father again §. 18. ii. §. 60. $ 86. it. §. 66. §. 74.

whatever the Son doth, and a certain y. §. 1S3. also combats the same error,

harmony and sameness of wills and Greg. Naz.Or.29.p.490,b.32.D.530,a.

sentiment is seen in tbem, it is in this ConciLLat.inHara.iii. p. 863. Maxim,

way that the Father is in die Son, and Conf.ii.p.41.p.85.p.l54.ThiK will suffice

&c.' — replies that at that rate Angels to shew both at what St. £. aims his

and Archangels, &c. woald be sons a^ remark in the text, and his agraem^it

moch as the Son, i. e. he shews that with other writers on the point, no figurative sameness of wills will ' The order of the Divine Persons

meet the passage alloded to. (See Da- has been noticed several times, eee

masoene de Dub. Volunt. 24. Maxim, p. 327, n. It should be added here,

C.ii-p.ll.)Inp.l63,b.p.l66,c.p.212,c. that the Syriac word liXOQl impUes

bespeaks of the Son as * the co^sential Buccewion, and it is used in the passage

{Indnn) and livinir will of the Father,' quoted p. 197 n. d. of the transmission

disciples, not conversmg with them by Persons if sometimes altered in Scrip,

any proper will of His own, nor by any ture is so for the express purpose of

wish diverse froni Him, in whom and marking Their equality. Comp. Ambr.

of whom He is, but as proceeding in ^e F. v. §. 118. the wav of Nature from His Essence, « /% au \^ \\^^^^ v

and as* having the whole of His will ^ " .^n t^e ^^rd \^QXD see above,

and aUo of His operation." Epiphan. P; ^10, n. c. To the parages there

mentions, i. p. 784, c. that the Arians, ^^^n the following remarks may be

p. 860, c. p. 8&. p. 868, b. that the Semi- "^^^ \T ' S" *^^^"* ?!•<» the

arians, and p. 9fl4, d. i. 963, c. that the C^'^^,/ three Persons' occurs as far as

Anomeans Wd V diversitV of wilb ^ '^«<^o"«<^t o"*/ ^^^ ^^ ^<^ « St. E.

Subsisfencies corresponding to them. 383

the tree a stock by the name of a fruit that it bare not ; as then the tree exists in name, and likewise in subsistency,

Vol. iii. p. 362, b. in a doxology at the Each Divine Person has a Sab.«itant!al

end of a funeral dirge, which might Reality answering to it. This was one

possibly have been a substquent ad- step to make against the Arians: to

dition, though in other respects like sh'.-w a Oneness of Substance was an-

St. £.'s style. (See also on K. ii. $. 3.) other step, which may be done by proving

* Praise let us offer to the Father, the a oneness of operation and of will : to Son, and the Holy Spirit, Three' Per- determine precisely what properties sons and Names, One God, the Baiser must be added to our idea of that Sub- Qp of Adam's sons.' (Tet compare a very stance, when we would contemplate It similar case in Athanasius' use of the as existing in Any One of tbe Three term hypostasis, in O. T. p. 70.) Ibid. p. Persons, was a farther step resulting 433- Christ addresses a sinner — ^thee indeed fnm subsequent reflection upon who by the Blood ufMyself,i.e.Mine own the former two, but upon which St. £. Blood, art redeemed.' Ibid. p. 422, c. does not seem to enter. So far then

* I have not been watchful the solidity the distinct sense of * person' is not

of a single hour,' i. e. even for one definitely attached by St. E. to j^DOiO.

single hour. 1^:^^ j,^ yoQlDl A£> .^ \1 Yet surely the frequent use of tbe word

^^^A^ «^* ™:*.u^ * - » J-/E I* for * self,' (as noticed in p. 210.) is an words not without some difnculty, • \- * u *^ r -^ r^u- .,t.:^v 4U ^1 • **u ■ *i. ^ approximation to such use of It. This which the elusion of them in the trans- ^^f. v -n * * j u di- lation would shew These are the onlv ^^^^^^ "^® ^^^ ^® illustrated by another l««r«L /wS ; *t^l r^ ul? ^o'-d commonly used in Syriac for * self passages (besides the one in p. 381. • ^v it i « rr * i. u Cv**- -^\ *k i. i. 4. J il ..u "VJZ- the word * soul.' If it inav not be

bottom) that occur to me to add to those ^..j j « « .i^j • * iv j, xv

-u«„ 1 - A.- ^ ♦ . *!. in -r considered as a ruled point, that the

already referred to : the latter, if cor- „^.,i . j . ^^^ .•*,*. »

recti V rendered answers to the use of ***"* *'°°^ ^^*^ ^^^ constitute a man's u^l%^!^^ I \T^ • A • person, St. E. (de Parad. viii.) certainly It in the text. St. E, again and again t^i .„ A- . u -♦:»..,i.^ ^ i j ...^.ir. ^r *!.« w v^* j^ - * holds this to be constituted of soul ana speaks of the Names, but does not use u j -cr . 1.1. 1 • ^u r > l^ , 1 - body. Yet the soul IS the source of man 8 the word |lcaJX> aiane (though even personality, is that which, in our ideas, the metre would not interfere with his though not in fact, is prior to the body doing so) for Persons. To express this ^hen we conceive of a definite person he contends that the Names have a in our minds. See Petav.de Inc. iii. 12. reality to answer to them: this again §. 2. and 15. §. 4. de Trin. iv. 8. §. 4, he illustrates by certain rude simili- And as the soul is to our body, so is tudes in nature, and in the thing used the Godhead to Christ's Manhood: as a simile he does apply the term His Personality is compounded of these I^COIO to the substance which the two Natures — only in Him the God- name indicates, but seems to avoid so head had a priority in fact to the Man- applying it to the thing signified by that hood — He weu a Person without the rimile. Now this is just what he does latter, though He is not now. When with the word \xmO (nature) in p. ^e° **>« Sacrifice of mmse/f, or < the 232, n. b. for a parallel to which in Blood of mmself is spoken of, the Greek, see Le Quien Diss. Damasc. ii. word |v^otr> used for ' self in that §. 17. and on Dam. Dialect, p. 36, n. 4. case makes a close approximation, This indefiniteness of meaning served though it is only an approximation to to help the cause both of Nestorians the subsequent use of it for ^ Person.' and of Monophysires at a subsequent As I am not aware of any thing like a period. See Assem. B. O. iii. pt 2. scientific treatment of this word, it p. OCX. &c. Diss, de Monoph.§. 5. and seemed desirable to put together what P. Strozza de Dogra. Chald. cap xvJi. was known to me in connection with it. That which St. E. seems to employ Ofcourse it is quite one thing to acknow* the word thus indefinite to express, ledge that tbe word admitted of being would answer more nearly to our word contused with other words, and another ' reality,' (which he uses, p. 384. as to excuse heretics for confounding the equivalent to it,) than to * person;' as things signified. Orthodoxy does not lie ^»vr^rr«r«r in Greek would mean in' the noise of words,' (see p. 260, n. a.) Dnreal, so the Syriao word would ba though it is symptomatic of heresy to used of the contrary (comp. p. 372, refuse to attach to words that meaning n. n.) — and St E. would mean, that which the Church chooses to attach to apart from the farther question in them. St. £. is here writing ante* what the Unity of the Godhead lies, cedently to the time when the definite

384 The Names of Father and of Son imply real Persons

the firoit is also like it, in that it also is so in name and in

1 S. reality ^ If the fruit be in name, but the stock in its sub-

Ijr^ sisteucy, a falsity and a reality is there in thy naming them,

R.ii.§.7. since one exists and the other does not. True then is the

Generator, and True the Generate, in Name and in Reality.

82. As much then as it is fitting that They should not

have two Wills, so is it fitting that both of them be found in

• S. their true Proprieties*. The Father by His Name have we

^ * ^'^ learnt, and the Son by His Name have we known : without

Names there were no knowledge ; by the Name were the

manifestations. Take away the Names and the Surnames,

and lo, all order is confused ! What thou shalt call them,

thou skillest not ; what thou shalt confess in, thou knowest

not; Who begot, thou dost not distinguish, who was

begotten, thou skillest not. Because the two Names came,

in the figure of two lights They chased away the darkness

> Comp. that kept the distinction shrouded from the hearers'. The

"•''^•^^' Father thou leamest by His Name, and the Son by His

Surname ; thou hast heard ' Father,' the Name is enough

for thee; and the Son's Name sufficeth for thee. There

is no face 3^ there that thou shouldest be informed by

the face ; their Names are unto us as faces. By their

names eren men when far ofi* are distinguished ; by their

names are they learnt. In the place of faces afar ofi* there

come in the names near at hand. In the place of faces' aie

meaning affiled to the Greek term in tbeir yiew of it. (See P. Strona, at

' hypoetasis' was giTen to ^IttOAD* before,) which they distinguished from

which afterwards became its repre- boaJLO and )x*0* It is employed by

sentative. For even in Greek writers St. £. in a very indefinite way as we

near the time, &irUrmns is used for say in the person of, for in the character

substance, e.g. in the Council of Alex- of. £. g. vol. ii. p. 378, a. 'The

andria in 362, and by Greg. Nyss. c. Spirit spoke in Jona [in] two eharae-

ApoU. 26. Or. Catech. 4. fin. Cyril Thes. ters, that of God and of the Prophet.'

p. 280, a. (comp. Le Quien diss. Dam. ii. Vol. i. p. 3, e. * The Angels came in the

$. 17.) and the language of the ioter- character of strangers.' VoLili.p.254,

locutor even as late as in the Dialogues, d. (as in the text,) ' Whom did not thv

p. 408. The word *• subsiutency' has face or presence gladden, whom thy

oeen used in the text in order to avoid decease not sadden?' This only con-

the appearance ol prematurely closiug firms what has been said in note n,

the question as to the meaning of the and leads to shew that St. E. had no

word ; thoosh ' reality' might better distinct word to express ' Person.'

agree with the coutext. * Did. de Trin. 1. 11. *^ Whatsoever

y S. jaOf^ja* This is the word things have the names different, of

afterwards e^yed by the Nestorians *^*** "»^ the essences rf neceaaity

to indicate Christ^ i. e. the whole com. ^^^''^S* For the word * F«her,' he

pound Being consisting of two Persons f*Zf'» • -S^^cS?*?? wL'*"* 5f^* r- o e i Sq^i gigniiy^ < the Subsisteney of the

equally omnipresent and uncircumscribed. 385

appellations, and in the place of forms^ are names. The 'or voice riseth instead of the light, and instead of the eye is the hearing. The ear is near unto the names, and distinguisheth them as if images !

S3. Yet neither do similitudes' serve even to shadow forth 'R«»l"'« the reality. For that fruit of the tree cannot preach of the it.Uxyi. First-bom, seeing the fruit is suspended upon its tree, and if ''®^' ^' they cut it off, it changeth ; it cannot be on its tree when it is with him that taketh it. But the First-bom is in the Father ; He remaineth with Him and cometh uoto us ; He is with Him and with us also^: He cometh and goeth while He^ R;,, is in every thing. The Creation is filled with Him wholly, §. i. ' while the end of Him is in the Father *i neither is there any*P*2^» mouth that can tell His going or His coming. Before He came p. 366, He was here, and when He came here He was there. Ere He ^^ ^^g* went to His Father, He was there entirely with Him. He wentref. 4. thither, when He was there. He came hither, when He was here. His going and coming was true': He came and went

Father.' Bui let them hear one thing, true of local motion, since He ia stib-

that if the Divine Snbsistencies had stantially present every where: it u

not been manifested by an appellation true of His condescension in taking our

corresponding to each, what symbol Human Nature into Himself: it is in

would there be for any one to use^ (with- this Nature that He goes and comes,

out mentioning the Father's title,) in inasmuch as having talcen It, He took

order to indicate both the Father, and it with all its attributes, except such

the fact that He has a Son ? or again, as sin had added to it. Thus St.

to speak of the Son and the Spirit, Aust. on St. John 16, 28. " In such

withal, without naming the title of the way when coming into the world did

Son and the Spiiit ? &c." Didymus is He go forth irom the Father, as not to

there alluding to Eunomius, who argues leave the Father, and in such way go

(as Mingarelli notices) Apol. §. 18. to the Father when the world was

that diverse names imply diverse es- relinquished by Him, as not to leave

sences. The answer is, that names the world. He came forth from the

are all we have to distinguish the Sub- Father, because He is of the Father ;

sistencies, even thoush They be One He came into the world, because He

Essence, and that it is manifestly per- manifested to the world His Body

verse to argue, that the rules which we which He took of the Virgin. He

applv to things in general are to be so left the world by a bodily departure,

aMolutely universal as to include the He went to the Father by the ascension

Trinity, as if in this case also separate of His Human Nature, and yet did

names implied three separate essences, not relinquish the world, seeing that

* We have here a series of state- by His presence He governed it."

ments paradoxical when referred to So also St. Cyril, ibid. p. 941, d. ^* He

our ordinary conceptions of motion, saith that He came into this world,

jet not necessarily so when considered and departed again out of the world to

as the best representatives we have of the Father, not as if He was taken

somewhat, which wholly transcends from the Father when He became

tboHe conceptions. We speak of God's Man, or from those upon earth when

cmning down from Heaven and being He went away to the Father with the

made Mao, which plainly cannot be Flesh. For He is very God by power

C C

386 AdanCs boldness and punishment

without changing. From God who is in every place His Fruit was not severed : from His First-bom again who filletfa * s» every thing* the Father is not far off. If the creatures be \^l suspended on Him *, how can they be far from Him ? His ^ nearness is far ; His famess is near. Far off is He, thongh SR.1XXX. quite near. Who can tell of Him ?

^' ' 34. O thou boldness of Adam, how hast thou been pro-

pagated ^ in his sons ! Adam boldly aimed at a [higher] rank, and his offspring aimed at the Lord. The sons of Adam thought that by prying they had seized and com- 3p.ii6,prehended God'. O thou that art bold against God, look "' ' upon Adam as a mirror : he too thought fit to piy into God, and was by Him condemned to die. It was not because

uospeakable, filling all things, and not it. After the notes upon B. Ixxrii. having aught that exists relinquished and Ixxviii. we are in a condition to by Him." Comp. Petav. de Deo iii. 8. saj what has been now oflered ta and 9. de Trin. iii. 8. 16. and Adriani elucidation of the overstatement made Isagoge, (there referred to,) ed. Pear- in p. 236. Theodoms of Mopsae?^ son, Crit. Sacr. viii. §. ix. This will is anathematized by Pope Yigilios, explain what has been overstated (Harduin. Concil. iii. p. 18. cap. 12.) above, n. h. p. 236. where it was said, as holding that ' Christ arriTed by that the Holy Spirit did not really degrees at the perfection of onction descend at Cbrist^s Baptism, with a by the aid of the Spirit,' *■ like a mere view to remind the reader of the in- roan,' (comp. cap. 32. and 39. and tbe consistency of nuch expressions (when fragment of Cyril against Theodoras taken literally) with the Omnipresence eiven ibid. p. 97.) and that is all which of the Holy Spirit, and by so remind- it was necessary to make oat with a ing the reader, to lead him to look for view to the parallel there made between somewhat deeper. Two things seem the consecration and the Nativity, iixe to be meant by descendiog, when used invocation and the Baptism of Christ, of any of the Divine Persons : one is J This passage implies St E.'s belief the employment of Angels, a dove, or in the propagation of the original rin: voices, or other outward signs of the comp, K.lxxiv.§.l. Canon NecrosJxxix. Presence which is at all times universal §. 1 . << The fhiit that Adam placked in and permanent ; and the other the ap- Eden hath condemned me to die in my plication of His very Substance to some sins : and the Son that hath risen from created nature, whether that nature the Virgin Mary hath Justified me, subsists anteceaently, as in thosp bap- that I should live by grace." On 'tized, or subsists only in hypostatic 2 Kings 2, 19. p. 521, c. ^ It is the union with God, as in Christ. In this nature of man that he here calls water, last sense motion (of coming) is ascribed which he has called evil since the good to God in the text: in the note referred nature was corrupted by the evil poison to, there was no need to determine in of the old serpent, and by the dragon's what real sense the Holy Spirit de- breath was its beauty wholly extin- scended at the Jordan, provided it be guished, and it became devoid of savour, remembered that whole fulness of the Through this corruption then human Godhead was in Christ from the mo- nature was like a barren iield, and it ment of His Conception, and that would have continued to be evil waters Divines in general are averse to taking for ever, and never would its evil such passages as speak of Christ's savour have been healed, nor its bitter- growth in wisdom and in grace, as ness sweetened, unless our Redeemer meaning a real growth and not merely had come, and by His Heavenly Salt the gradual external manifestation of had healed it, 8cc." See also n.d. p. 390.

find their counterpart in the heretics. 387

he knew thai God existed that he was condemned, but because he dared to scrutinize Him. If thou believest that there is an Eternal, to pry into Him is distraction : if then thou knowest that He exists', into the mode of that existence! ^. Bearch not For on which side of Him wilt thou look upon^. 3. b. Him that is without end*? If thou wishest to pry into thatJ'^^'J|^' Essence, go, begin with it from the bound thereof. And §.4. when thou hast bounded that which is unbounded, from what^/|/''* quarter ^ili thou go in to measure Him ? If thou wert to dwell in the midst [of it], then thou wert far off from the ©i^d'' ^' "^ of It'; and if in eveiy place thou art feeble, turn thee to theixzii.§.' commandment. * Look upon Adam, for if he had contiDuedf'.^ -^^ instant in the commandment, then had he reigned; because he daringly transgressed the eommandment, he was not honoured with that for which he wished.

35. For when God made him, God made him a thing made, in that He gave him freewill that he might deal after his own will. Adam, however, foolishly wished to lust after that which he already had. But since he was daring as if by necessity', even that which he now had h'e lost his hold of.'§-i3.B. To thee then hath God given commandments as school- §.3."* masters, and lo ! they teach thee, that if thou keepest them, thou wilt be a brother of the Christ. Instead then of seeking

to go in, lo! thou seekest how thou mayest come forth. Enter in to the searching of the commandments, and they will be to thee like a mirror ! See therein thy labour and thy work ; seek therein the reward and the promise I

36. Let the just be also to thee an image of love, and fashion thyself by them ! look, therefore, and grow bright in Enoch ! be like Noah, the second head [of the race] !

" This again is a passage which be circomscribed by this part wiiich is

may glance «t the Aadians, thooffh lees than Him : bat if He be everj-

assnredlj it may also be aimed at the where. He will be circumscribed by

Anomeans. Greg.Naa.Or.34.p.S42,d. another thing^ and that much greater.

in writing against the latter, says, bat if He be beyond the universe,

** Is God nowhere, or somewhere P is there then nothing to separate Him

If nowhere, eome of the very enquiring from the uniTerse P And where wiH

nrinds may ask, how at that rate He He be beyond this, or how is one to

is to exist P for if what does not ■exist, conceive that which transcends and

is nowhere, what is nowhere haply that which is transcended, without

does not exist; and if He exists some- some limit existing to transect and

where, then, as He does, He must be separate themP &c." See E. xlv. and

either in the aniverse, or beyond it; G. Nyss. ii. p. 319. who points oat how

bat, if in it, either in some part or else Eunomius makes God local, every where. And if in any part. He will

c c 2

888 Abraham* 8 faith a lesson against prying.

If then thou thinkest that thou surpassest them, how wilt

thou surpass Abraham ? However great thy excellencies are,

15. which his bosom is the haven to which thou wilt come at last^

haven ^"^ l^ovA hath taught thee in His Gospel, that it is in him

of thy that thy course is to end. Seek thou then, as one disciimi-

Lukeil'^^^^^S' what his conversation was: if then it was by his

33- believing only that his degree was above all, how comest

thou to be minded by prying to rise above his degree ? Two

things are taught by him, faith, and not prying. Because he

believed, he received the promise ; because he pried not, he

* $.27. gained the kingdom. Whoso believeth, prieth not'; if then ^'^^' a man pry, he believeth not

37. Consider how Abraham might have pried into the words that he heard ! for it was not by a commandment that he learnt that there was a God in Heaven, but he judged of his own self* that He was Lord of the creation. He then who saw his thoughts revealed Himself unto him, that he might be confirmed [therein]. When Abram perceived that He

>§. 34. existed, he sought not to find the mode of His existence^ Even after He had revealed it to him, he asked Him not, in what mode dost Thou exist ? And the Messiah too he knew, and yet the mode of His existing did he not enquire into.

John 8, He saw then, and was transported with joy; he wrought the type, and kept silence. How then wilt thou be daring in the investigating of the Only-begotten ? Flee away, and hide thee with the commandments! Seek what thou shouldest do, and how thou mayest have life, and which of the com* mandments may be a key unto life for thee !

88. Consider also which commandment ministered nnto its

* See time *, and was ministered unto ; but be not deceived, when |^®"^]*thou shalt hear words like, and yet distinct. There is a voice XT. §. 1. that requireth sacrifices, and there is a voice that rejecteth n.V.&g*. burnt-offerings. There is a voice that maketh clean meats, LeTiL and there is a voice that confuseth them and eateth. There

]l,l.&c.

upon the occasion ofs plague of loci]8t8, I, whom thou hast called, b&v« heard

hy his father, to drive them off from thee, &c." This tradition onlj cokxm

their fields; and that '< when Abraham the fact alluded to in the text, that

was very humbled and unable to drive Abraham came to know God fint bj

these winged creatures off, he cried his natural reason, as fmr as Scriptan

with a loud voice, O Lord, that madest teaches. See Josh. 24, 3.

Goits positive laws vary in different ages. 889

is a voice that maketh feast-days; there is a voice that pro-P8.0O, faneth feast-days: there is a voice that halloweth the day; j^'i jg. there is a voice that rejecteth sabbaths'. There is a voice ^mofl^* that is for circumcisiDg males; there is a voice that rejecteth i Peari circamcision. All these, when thou hast heard, stand l|-^'^*

Deut.

between them both and question them^ Be not thou thenio, 16. in error with the rest, whom scrutinizing choked', but hear f *"[• J j*' the voice which speaketh with one mouth in all generations. In one generation there was one voice; the generation passed, and the commandment passed : a generation [more] came in, the voice added yet to command another law. llie voices were gathered together and multiplied) since all these generations were in one generation <". Fools came in to dis- tinguish between voice and voice, that from voices that were not like they might establish different Gods^ seeing they saw ' §. S9. not, that the generations also were unlike one to another; for the dispensations of the generations were distinct one from its comrade.

39. But if the law of one generation extended unto all, wherefore did the flood carry away those who approached not unto the tree ? For if the voice spoken to Adam had passed on unto Noah^, what recompense was there, where the action « comp.

vol. ii.

p.494 in

^ Most of the passages here alladed and seems intended to re-touch and p. 106,

to were ased by St James of Nisibis, as nnfold (perhaps at the request of some n. b,

stBtedinn.a. p. 98.b76reg.Nys8.Test. friend) some of the points already

in JndsoB Galland. vi. p. 689. Cyril c. treated of. At any rate, the particular

Jul. p. 309. &c. See Antonelli upon point here spoken of cannot be said to

8t« James, p. 331. St. E. here applies bear directly upon the Audian heresy:

them apparently in furtherance of an ar- still less can the §§. which treat of the

rment already touched upon : (B. xHy. One Will or of the circumincession of

2. with note a.) he wishes to shew the Fruit in the Root be said to have

that the apparent changeableness of that bearing, whereas they do bear on

God is not real, that any such passages the Anomean.

in the New Testament as seem to '^ i. e. the whole time before Christ

imply change (and so a created nature) may be looked upon as one generation,

in the Son are fully paralleled by such which included all such ritual obsery-

passages in the Old Testament as would ances, whether of Moses or of the

imply the same in the Father. This Fathers. Thatexplanation of the phrase

would tell against the Anomeans, while *■ from one generation to another,' which

it would also, as if by the way, remove makes *■ one generation' mean the time

an argument on which Audians and the before Christ, and * another' the time

bereticsoftheManichean school rested, after, will illustrate this. Comp. St.

It is also to be borne in mind, that it was Austin. in Ps. ix. §. 7. Ixxi. §. 21.

rery common with the Fathers to point Cyril de Ador. p. 367, e. '* It is the

oat the tendency of all heresies to Mani- custom of Scripture to aivide the whole

eheism. — If an undue portion of this of time sometimes into two portions,

Bhjrtbm seems given to the particular viz. that in which the Law existed^

point treated of here, it may be observed and that in which Christ was maDi<«

that the whole Rhythm is unsystematic, fasted, sometimes into three, &c.*^

390 Pairiarchaly Jewigh, and Christian dispensatians had

is.whiohhad no place'"*? It was necessary, then, in all generaliona ^^^A^f that according as they are, so should the commandmentB be; to the for the edification of those of the generation were the Toices ^ "' spoken in the generations. Bj this economy, then, the Yoices were added to and increased; the voices that were added caused to err the teachers of error that hare erred from One. From the voices that have spoken upon earth > §. 38. have they made Gods^ in heaven. For many were the voices of the Prophets, that they might persuade the weakly ; tbej »B.liii»set forth all manner of medicines' for the sickliness of the ^' ^' infirm. There were, some of the eommandments that eeaaed, because the former malady was no more ; there were some of them that were standing ones, because the maladies were standing ones. Both Apostles and Prophets were physicians of souls : according to the suffering of mankind so did they apply their remedies; according to the sicknesses whick were in their generations, thus did they set forth th^r medicines. They administered their medicines to the lasl and to the first. There are maladies of particular genera- tions, and there are maladies which are in all generations. For the new maladies whieh came athwart them they gave new medicines: for the maladies constant in all generations they gave constant remedies.

40. They gave the commandment ^ thou shalt not steal f constant is the malady, and constant the remedy thereof* They gave a commandment for circumcision : the malady is gone, and gone is the remedy of it. They stablished an instrument

A St. E. of couFse here means the if in rery deed there never wu a man

jran/totf law given to Adam not to toueh who sinned becaiue be knew that it

the tree. This (w||^ioh is plain from the was wrong to provoke Grod, then in

whole drift of the passajge before xu) very deed it would be clear, that Adam

may be made yet plainer from the fol- being childish did not know t^1 lt he

lowing words: (vol. ii. p. 320, f.) really was sinning when he mte. The

*' If any man will say, that if Adam serpent mocked Adam when he trea-

had known it was wrong to eat, he passed, and the Jost One judged him

would not have come near even ; he is after he had trespassed ; for as he

blaming that just Judge, as if His knew when he was naked and fled to

judgment was pervertedly executed hide him, so he made ezooses when

when He scourged him and tormented he ate the stolen fruit Wt are

him. And I woM ask this person like Adam, as he is like us; for as he

that defendeth Adam, if when he made excuses, so do we. Cain made

sinned he did so from not knowing excuses, Achan made excuses, Gsbazi

better? to learn from his own self, and made excuses, Judas made excoses.

if he sinned though he also knew better, Blessed be the Judge, that fiodeth ns

so Adam also knew when he sinned. But guilty !^'

different positive lawsy each unsuited to the other. 391

for the circumcised, for maladies that were recently [come]. The instruments then that were stablished were by reason of the former maladies. Since that malady is no more at this day, that instrument hath also ceased, for as the mischief had ceased, the instrument was also supererogatory. At this day the commandments of the sabbath % of circumcision, and Col. 3, puri6cation, have ceased. They are supererogatory to those ^*""^*^' of latter days, and those of middle times they were fitting. To those of former days they were not fitting, since they were sound in knowledge : neither to those of latter times were they fitting, because they were sound in the faith. To the middle times alone did they minister, because they had to struggle with Paganism '. Whoso no w-a-day s frames ' his life ' <S^. fits

himself

* So In §. 44. ' Leave the sabbath the traly Jewish DotioD, that thiDgs and ciroomcision ;' and in §. 42. * the unallowable on the Sabbath were allow- medicioes of sacrifices and sabbaths able at any other time, as if a sabbath and tithings' are pat together as things from sin was not always obligatory ; that have passed away with the mala- and not to exclude the Christian prin> dies. It is remarkable that Eunomius ciple of haying a fiiced time for re- argued from the institution of the Sab- ligious exercises, whether that time be bath, that the Son had a * beginning or be not divinely sanctioned. The and end of being begotten,' as if it was practice of directly appealing to the a commemoration of His being pro- Fourth Commandment (now, it is be- duced, and not of His having Himself lieved, univ^ersally so appealed to) as a made all things. See G. Nyss. ii. divine sanction mr this principle be- p. 663, b. It is just possible that the longs, perhaps, to ages with the Syrian Anomeans may have made a theology of which the writer is not inmilar endeavour to shew that their acquainted ; it certainly is not commtm system was a key to the types of the in antiquity as far as he is acquainted Old Testament. The Fathers speak with it ; the Fathers rather speak of commonly as in the text, as if the their nractice of observing the Lord's whole principle of observing one day day tnan of God's command, £. g. more than another was Jewish and A than, de Sabb. et Circ. §.4. *' As blameable. (See Justin Martyr, quoted He commanded them formerly to keep p. 10, n. b. Const. Apost. vi. 23. the day of the Sabbath a memorial of barnao. £p. §. 15. I gnat, ad Magnes. the finishing of the former things ; thus ix. Clem. Strom, iii. §. 99. vii. §. 35. do we honour the Lord's day which is Origen in Jos. viii. 2. c. Cels. p. 61. a memorial of the beginning of the p. 270. p. 393. A rebel, c. Man. xliii. second re-creation." Cone. Laod. can. Tertull. c. Jud. 4. Austin in Ps. xxxii. 29. *^ Christians ought not to Judaize §. 6. xxxvii. $. 2. §. 12. Cons. Evang. and be at ease on the Sabbath, but to ii. §. 151. c. Faust, vi. §. 4. xvi. §. 28. work on that day, and, giving the chief zviii. §. 5. xix. §. 9 and 18. Jerom. in honour to the Lord's day, that is to Ems!, p. 197, a. p. 206, d. p. 220, b. say if able, to be at ease as Christians Erasm. Epiphan. i. p. 19, d. p. 123. should be." [see Note A, p. 417. p. 124, a, p. 158, d. Nysseni. p. 177, c. Ed,]

Cyril de Ador. p. 227, d. p. 346, c. ' This is the reason given by St.

p. 558, d. p. 600, b. p. 619, e. p. 629, James of N. as above, §. 6. §. 7. §. 42.

30. Greg. Mor. xviii. §. 68. Aretas Other instances may be found in

Caten. in Apoc. p. 337. Corder. Cat. Spenser de Legg. i. §. 2. This of

in Pss- ii. p. 896. &c.) Yet of course course is only one aspect of the Jewish

such a disparagement of the principle ritual ; no one who has seen his mofle

of keeping one day holy (modified as it of treating parts of it in these notes,

is in some of these passages by the can doubt that St. £. held the law also

context) may be intended to exclude to be a type of things to come.

392 Sacri/ices and ordinances suited to the Jen?, having

after the commandments, as after instruments, is akin to the murderer who cutteth off healthy limhs. IS. 41. Knives of steel ' are those commandments : let Jeremiah

1^4^' teach thee this ^. They were fitting for those that were smitten : put not the reproach of them upon the sound ! because of maladies were they instituted ; smite not the healthy therewith ! It is the wicked who by visible circumcisions harm the 6al.0, 3. invisible soul: as much as they profited the sickly, so much do they hurt the healthy. Thou wouldest not torture the sound body, because there are medicines in existence ; so in their times the commandments ceased in diverse places. Where there was health, binding and medicine were annulled ; even natural healing is null among the healthful. If then in the time of malady the medicine ceaseth in this place and that ; now that the [Jewish] people hath passed away and its weaknesses, their medicines suit no more.

42. Malady ceased, and malady remained : medicine ceased, and medicine remained. For the maladies and the medicines ceased of sacrifices, sabbaths, and Uthings. But there were maladies and medicines — that thoa shalt not swear, nor steal, nor commit adultery. Do not thoa run after the commandment which hath ceased, and its malady hath ceased ! Be admonished by that commandment, which Acu 10, is the medicine of thy stripe ! Lay not upon thy comrades ^^* medicines that fit not thyself! Malady multiplieth upon malady, because thou hast added firaud unto iniquity. Wroth is the lawgiver, because that He loosened, and thou bindest\ The commandment that He gave has ceased for thee, and

t Assem. refers to Jerem. xxxti. 23. akin to that frequent amongst the where Jebudi cuts Jeremiah's roll with Rahhins for to make binding. See a penknife ; what this has to do with Buxtorf. Lex. Chald. in v. Hence the text does not appear. The Syriao the participle has the sense of *■ not of Jerem. xxiii. 29. (literally), * Lo, free,' i. p. 136, f. *^ If a bound nature my words go forth like fire, and like a (the serpent) was punished, how much steel that circumciseth tlie stones !' is more would a wul that is its own much more to the purpose. One can master be ?" Hence ' to bind' is also conceive this being explained in such used of making certain penalties bind- way as to make the comparison lie ing or lasting, as probably in that between God's words and tne knife of *■ YThatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, circumcision, which were both intended &o.' From this it might have the to take away the stony heart from sense of refusing, and so of denying, those to whom they were applied. Un- generally, as in p. 206, n. d« for a fortunately we hare no comment of Greek parallel to which, see Gr. Nax. St. E.'s on either verse. p. 629, c.

h To bind is here used in a sense

fulfilled their object^ are not binding on Christians* 898

that which He loosed, thou keepest. Inquire a little, foolish one, concerning the observances of the Law ! what can circumcision do for that sin which dwelleth within ? sin Heb. 9, dwelleth within thy heart, and thou circumcisest thy foreskin. ' Well wottldest thou speak on this wise: circumcision was fitting in its time : the Shepherd of all made it a seal for the GeD.i7» foolish fold which He had obtained ; He that knoweth all ^qj^, 4 things made it a sign for the flock which killeth its shepherds. ^i« A fold it was that mingled continually among the folds of the heathen ^ With a visible seal did He seal it, that they might > p. 891, be distinguished, though they wished not; that the visible £*/* 20 sign which He set upon them, might repress the violence of 82. their madness. He was bent on keeping the fold, because of Somewhat^ that was in the midst of it. The Somewhat which was hidden in the midst of it came forth, and became a Shepherd to mankind. In a contemptible flock was He hidden, that Prince of shepherds : He left the foolish fold, for the nations had become His pasture.

43. Afliict not thyself then with that circumcision, the time whereof hath passed away. Afilict thyself with circum- cision: circumcise the hateful things that are within thee. Thy will is free: it can circumcise thee from iniquity' ;«p. 12JI, external force? cannot enter into thy mind and circumcise it. ||' \ f" See that He who circumcised their bodies, called upon them, ' P- 1^3, [saying,] * circumcise your hearts.* Wherefore did He seek Beats'o another circumcision, for behold, their bodies were circum-^* cised ? and if He seeketh another circumcision, be not thou bound by the visible one !

* The respect to this ' Somewhat' is the same thing of the other of our

made hy St. £. ahove, p. 3. p. 39. p. 49. Lord's female ancestors, mentioned in

that which justified Thamar and Ruth Matt. i. '< From the fact that the king

in what else would have been unseemly, was inflamed at the sight of her, the

Vol. i. p. 90, a. *' I plead that it was interpreters have found ground for think-

for that Something which is hidden in ing, that the woman displayed her

theHehrewstbatlwasathirst. Whether person to the king, since she did not

this be pleasing or not unto Thee I conceal herself from him, yea, she

wist not I Grant unto me to be seen knew he saw her, and did not go into

by him, that he may not kill me her inner chamber as a modest woman

as having had the word of whoredom ought to have done. This, however,

foand in my mouth. It is enough for as they say, was not from folly, but

me to know that it pleaseth Thee, that that she might gain from Him the

the Treasure hidden in those circum- Treasure that was hidden in him — for

cised men should flow down even by every body knew that the Messiah was

means of a daughter of the uncircum- to oome from the tribe of Judah,

ciMd, &c." In p. 407, e. he mentions <fec."

894 The obstinate perversity of the Jews ought to

iR.xlvi. 44. Choose thee then the first commandment, the king' of ?2^^^''all commandments; choose thee the second commandmeot, B. ii. the captain of the hosts of the commandments. For on the king and on the captain of the hosts are all the hosts hanging ! Mat 22, on two commandments are hung the Law and the Prophets. Leave the sabbath and circumcision, because they have left thee and passed by. Thou art guilty in thy inner parts; and thou observest outward things ; the soul which is within is lost; and the sabbath tliat i$ without gets kept The commandments which the rebellious [Jews] kept not in the due times thereof, they now force us to keep ; even the Law whose season hath passed away. That former weak estate wishes to possess those that are healthful. Cuttings, and cauteiy, and medicines, which were stablished by reason of their ow^n maladies, with these thev seek to lacerate the limbs of *|.40,4l. the healthful^. Splints, and fillets, and bandages, which were stablished for their slavish selves, they cunningly thought lo cast upon them. Amid the freedom given by the Lord^s lore, the cruel servant is swift to cast bonds upon the free ; as though dealing haughtily with that freedom, with the yoke of the bondsman he oppresseth it. Under pretence of honour, it wishes to dishonour the free: while leading us unto Moses, it separateth us from Christ.

45. If he vaunteth who is with the servant, how much more to vaunt of hath he that is with the Lord ? yet is he not with the servant who denieth the servaut^s Lord. Moses who is dishonoured of them, with us, being ours, is ho- noured. Honoured is the Lord as Lord : and honoured are the servants as servants. Moses in his time theypei*secuted: > See His Lord in His time they crucified'. In the time when the ^' ^^' nations were in error He fled unto them : at this dav, while they have denied Him and gone astray. He hath called those nations unto Him. In the Church of the Gentiles is < See purity, and amid these Egyptians ^ pollution. They would 11^^ ''have returned again to Egypt, unless the sea had prevented 16, 3. them. To the place full of sanctity they entered not : lo that full of lying they hastened. After it had tasted tliat » Pearl "^ig^^^y Blood, it could not be quiet from slaughter ; then vii. §. 6. it killed openly, now it kills secretly* ; for they compass sea niat.23,and land, that they may take the proselyte unto hell. It

make men shrink from adopting their temper. 895

hath no prophets to kill openly as it lusteth. It was scattered amongst kings, that they might tame it by force ; so it saw that the heathens mused over the prophets in the stead ofB. iil, demons. It clad itself with those Prophets^ which it then^'^* had killed. It clothed itself with them, and it stripped them offy that it might kill with them while disputing. It killed the bodies of the Prophets, and clothed itself with the voices of the Prophets, that instead of the Prophets it might kill those that read in the Pi'ophets.

46, Flee from it, thou that art feeble ; a light thing is thy death and thy blood to it; it took [upon it] the Blood ^ of Acts 20, God, will it be scared away from thine ? It feareth not while ^^' leading thee astray, since it feared not while letting itself be

led astray. Beneath the pillar of the cloud it made a calf, and was not ashamed ; and it placed an image ' of four 1 Peari faces in the sanctuary, and did not feel afraid. It hung^"'^*^' God upon the Cross, and all created shook to see Him^ The' p- 23. Spirit rent the veil of the temple in twain, that the un- believing people might rend their hearts. Rocks and sepulchres were rent, but the heart of stone felt not^ When^ p. 40. the [Spirit] saw that they were not scared thereby. He fled away from the mad ones.

47. Then broke forth the curse on them that looked at the p. 7o. Presence of the Glorious God ; the Prophet was too abashed

to relate the wantonness of them as it was; abashedly didEzeofa. Ezechiel speak of their wanton doings. In that they were ' delivered by a bashful man, they were spoken abashedly.

k Ferhapg ihii remarkable ezpret- Magdalen College, haa < Chareh of

sion is of some weight as indirect Christ.' Though the proper busineM

evidence that St E. had the reading, of this note is to mention any thing

the ' Chareh of God/ in Acts xx. 38. bearing on the Syriac text known to

as it seems hardly likely (notwith- me, yet the expreesionB, < by the might

standing the expression, < it hung God, of God the Father, br the Blood of

See.* which is more like 1 Cor. it. 8.) God the Son and the dew of the Holy

that St. £. would have employed such Spirit,' (Clem. Quia D. saW. $. 34.)

an expression without direct sanction and ' God and the Father, although it

from Scripture. Fadier Thomas of be not written that He purchased m

Jesus in his book de Procur. Gentium with Hiaown Blood,' (Didym. de Trin.

Salute, p. 866. mentions the fact that p. 236.) are worth noticing, both as

the Nestorians read < Church of Christ,' parallel to the text and as seeming to

hot Adler. de Versa. Syr. p. 17. p. 36. imply the same reading aa it doea:

notices that the Syrian Codices do not and as a kind of evidence for reading»

all give Ihitf reading, as neither do the which ha^e been much neglected. At

Greek. A Syriac Ms. of about dOOO any rate St. E.'s own statement la not

years old, belonging to Mr. Palmer of one which a Nestorian would have made.

896 Saian'$ devices the proper arena/or subtleijfy

As what was sacred passed through their mouth, and had See Tit. dishonour done it, thus also did hateful things pass through ' ' ' the mouth of the bashful, and were handled bash fully. They slaughtered Prophets as simple lambs ; the physicians came unto them ; they became to them butchers. Flee and rescue thyself from their madness ; run and find a port in Christ: that thou mayest not go as one that prieth, draw near as one that worshippeth. If the unbelieving became a crucifier, and the worshipper a disputer, sorely do the dis- cerning weep [to think] that one blasphemed, the other disputeth.

48. He went to the seed of Abraham ; the hem had become murderers: He went to the Gentiles that were simple ; the plain men became dispnters. Be thou a plain man unto thy Lord; and crafty to thine adversary ^ Pry, and search, and learn his snares, and how and where he hideth them. Mind well, and look about, and see his hidden and subtle net ! incline thine ear, and look about, and feel where he prepares his pitfalls ! make thee a spy, and learn when he layeth an ambush for thee ! But instead of piying E. Izx. into thy deceiver, thou hast come to grope after thy God. B.ii.§.8. Know that God is God, and cannot be comprehended by thee: know too that the wicked one is a deceiver; let thy business be with him. Approach them each according as he is, with distinguishing spirit, Satan in hostility, and

A After a long digreuiou upon the at Mary, who qaeetioDed eren the great Jews, which is not unlike that at the Angel and dreaded not, who aaked him end of the Pearl, St. £. returns in this and feared not. ETe was not miaded to and the foregoing §. to his old subject, question even the vile serpent that had But this digression is so long as to seem no feet ; the Virgin answered Gahriel. almost to have been foisted in here from Marj did not question in order to pry some other Homily, as is plainly the case into the Son of the Living One ; it wa« with apartof his last words,O.6.ii.p.405. about a mortal that she asked, since Of the perverseness of heretics in not none knew her. Mary aaked about prying just where they ought to pry, he things easy to the True One; Eve haid spoken in §. 28. A passage from received all manner of difficulties of a vol. ii. p. 3S1, c. may be added here, promieer. The mother of no discretioa <' Eve with that vile and worthless isthefountainof our troubles; and the serpent was not minded, glorious as Sister of understanding is the store- she was, to turn his words back upon house of our joys. The serpent, who him, although his words were very ought to have been qoentioned, was not questionable, and should have been pried into, and Christ, who ought to be rased in the assay-furnace, as she had believed, is pried into." Comp. B. iit* splendour, he had vileness. Marvel we §. 16^

Goiffs revelations for simple faith. 397

Qod as a plain man ! fight with one in the straggle : and believe the other that He is ! Be not thou bold to plunge into His great hidden floods lest the depth should wax great |^ v* ^7, before thee, and thy reason be put in jeopardy !

D. 1.

RHYTHM THE SECOND.

‹§ 2›

1. I WOULD fain approach, and jet I fear, lest I should be

far off, since the bold man that approacheth prying, removeth

t B.i.§. himself very far off^ But he that approacheth in measure,

« B. i. him doth not Equity reject*. Let us not approach, lest we

^' ^^' be far off, neither let us stay far off, lest we perish ! Let us

temper with moderation our approach to the Essence that

cannot be measured ! since long speaking is not becoming,

let us speak briefly !

% How can vile dust tell of its Framer? Goodness firamed the dust to be an image of its Maker ; let then Justice also Gen. 1, terrify it from being bold against its Creator. The Creator ' ' gave knowledge to the vessel, in order that it might know itself. The thing framed striveth about Him that framed it; by prying it driveth away Goodness. Let us give hearing in [due] weight to him that learneth in measure ! Let us put a balance in the midst, and weigh and take and give ; let us take therewith from the teachers, and give it therewith unto the learners !

* R. i. 3. Thou hast heard that God is God», know thyself that ^* * thou art man : thou hast heard that God is the Maker.

How being clay dost thou pry into Him ? Thou hast heard of God, that He is Father ; by His Fatherhood, know His Begotten. For if the Father begetteth, the Son that is from

* p. 846, Him did He beget from Himself. That One Offspring^ which "•^* is the Only-begotten Son, let not thy questionings sunder!

thou hast heard of the Brightness of the Son ; do not thou insult Him by thy questioning! Thou hast heard of the Spirit, that He is the Holy Spirit; surname Him by the Name that they have called Him. Thou hast heard His Name ; praise [Him] by His Name : to pry into His Nature is not allowed. Thou hast heard of the Father and the Soo

Faith realises a meaning in God's Names. S99

and the Spirit ; by the Names hold the Realitiesv These Names are not blended' together: the Three are in truth *p« 210, blended together.

4. If thou confessest Their Namesy and confessest not Their Subsistencies, thou art in name a worshipper, in deed an unbe- liever. Where there is nothing in subsistency, the name which intervenes is an empty one ; whatsoever hath no subsistency, of that the appellation also is void : the word subsistency teacheth us that it is some reality. That then it has this, we know, in what way it has it, we comprehend not. Because thou knowest that it exists, thou dost not therefore com- prehend in what mode it exists: neither again do thou deny that it exists, because thou canst not define it. For both are a blasphemy, either for thee to recede [from Him], or for thee to scrutinize*. That mighty sea, if thou shouldest> B. i. pry into it, the weight of the waves thereof would bewilder ^gy'^j^ thee. A single wave might weigh thee down, and might dash thee against a rock. It sufficeth for thee, O feeble man,

* The word (^OOLO is used here name of every essence defineth its sub- aod in §. 4. and §. 6. in a sense ap- stance (Elnnmo). The body of men is prozimating to ' Person,' as was noticed one, because the name of men is one ; above, p< 380, n. n. yet as it is known allow, without controversy, that the that •Mm was used for that to which nature of Angels is one, becaase the iiri^vm^H was afterwards applied, (^ee name of Angels is one ; the nature of Coteler. P. A. if. p. 68. n. 50) it souU is one, because the name of souls cannot be ai^ed from this that jbDQJLO " <««• A genus is proclaimed and had the definite sense of * Person.' explained by the name which belongs Indeed it appears from passages al- to it. If there be other distinctive ready given, to be used for substance names which do not answer to the sub- in some cases, not to say that he uses stances, that comes of the Creator's <Natore'of theSpiritinnearly thesame "W»» » He called His servants by the way just above. This is conlirmed by name of Gods and Lords ; by the Son's whathesays in §.4. where he evidently name did He surname the sons of

regards boQXO, there rendered ' sub- f *?f 5 J^ *^?H?r>l''^ '^^^l^^ ^ tv^iuwt 1 - - ■ "'9 |.. „!,. I, ^„«-^ family of spintual beings. Their na- sistenc^,' as the jeality which even^ ^^^^^^ ^J^^^ ^^ ^g^.^

name implies, and not as tbat reality ^^^ ^^ ^J^^ ^^^^^ ^

Tiewed in a ^''^^'^^^^^J^'^'^'^?^ and adore His*" Lordship." Sere

^^ '^^ r?r A^^ TaTUT ^^^^ " PW'^ly used in i loow way

personality. (Comp. §. 7. and 1. §.31. ^^^ ^^^^Jce^ much as « body' is used

where S^y^m, though in the singular, j^ the next clause. A little before, obviously takes the place of (V>010 p. 664, c. he had said, '^ If the names here.) For what he there says would be like, then the natures are like." apply as well to three different sub- Thus he deprecates investigating into stances. Apassagefromvol.ii.p.666,a. the mode in which the reality or sub- bearing upon this subject ought not to stance is modified in order to make a be omitted here : speaking of the i^ns person, much as St. Greg. Nasianen of the Gnoetios he says : '* It is clear and others deprecated discussing the without controversy that the nature of difference between Generation and the Essence (or ^ons) is one, and the Procession, which difference was not name of the same is one also ; for the discussed till afterwards.

400 Man ought to rebuke the tempest of unbelief within.

>B.xlix.to iraffick in a vessel; better is faith ^ for thee than a ship lkix.§.2.'^^ the sea. As for a ship, oars propel it, yet the billows ank ' ^* ^« it : thy faith will not sink, if thy will doth not consent*.

5. Who can make the sea come to the sailor's will ? the sailor intendeth one thing; the billow doeth another.

Matt.8, Our Lord alone rebuked the sea, and it calmed, and made itself silent. He gave even unto thee also to rebuke the sea like as He did, and to quiet it. Greater is disputatiousness than the sea, and strifes than the billows : scrutinizing hath troubled thy mind; rebuke it, and still its billows. The whirlwind wrestles with the sea; prying wrestles with thy mind. Our Lord rebuked, and the wind broke off, and the ship went down in quiet to the shore. Rebuke prying, and bridle it ; let thy faith make itself calm. Let the creatures then con- vince thee, the properties whereof thou knowest ; when thou

* B. canst not reach the fountain ', the draught from it thou dost 1^2 '* not refuse nor think, and yet because thou hast drunk from it,

that thou hast comprehended it. Neither art thou able to reach the sun, and yet thou art not bereaved of the light thereof;

* R. nor because he cometh down* to thee, dost thou fly to mount 1^ ^1"* up to his height. Though the air be too great for thee, yet

* R- ▼• the breath from it is that which keepeth thee alive * ; and

though a handsel of it be by thee, yet how large the measure

•p. 271, of it is thou skillest not®. Thou takest from the creatures

that little that befits thy convenience, and thou leavest

in the storehouses thereof much that is not comprehended ;

the little needed thou dost not refuse, and with what

is much thou dost not quarrel. Lo, the creatures of the

Creator teach thee touching the Creator, to be earnest

after His assistance, and keep thyself far off from scrutinizing

Him ! Receive life from that Majesty, and forbear to pry

into the Majesty. Embrace the goodness of the Father, and

7 See n. make no scrutiny concerning His Essence^; love and embrace

p. 369. ^}jg goodness of the Son, and make no scrutiny concerning

His Generation ; love the brooding of the Holy Spirit, and

approach not to pry into Him.

6. The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, by Their Names are comprehended ; be not curious about Their Sub- sistencies, dwell thoughtfully upon Their Names. If thou wilt pry into the Subsistency, thou shalt perish ; and if thou

7%6 Three Persons tnscruiablef but in ajixt order, 401

wilt believe upon ibe Name, thou shaltlive. Let the Name of the Father be a boundary to thee ; pass not over to pry into H is Na- ture ! Let the Name of the Son be a wall > unto thee ; pass not ' ^r ^h over to pry into His Generation ! Let the Name of the Spirit be a xxzyii. hedge to thee ; go not within it to pry into Him ! Let the Names ^' ^* * be boundaries to thee ; with the Names bridle questionings ! xzxriii.

7. Since thou hast heard of the Names and the Reality*, t'l/ then turn thee to the commandment ; since thou hast heard the law and the commandments, turn then to the conversa- K* ^^ tion therein ; since thou art perfect in the commandments, then turn thee to the promises. Do not thou make of none effect that which is commanded, and let thyself run wild in what is not written. Thou hast heard the truth in what is revealed ; go not astray upon what is concealed. Simon spake things revealed ; the Truth he gave, and a blessing he K* >• received. See how with one word Simon spake ; do not thou go astray in many [words] ! The Truth is written in concise expressions ; do not thou make long investigations ! That there is a Father, every man knoweth ; in what mode He is so, no man knoweth. That there is a Son, we all con* fess ; the manner and degree He is so, we cannot define. That there is a Holy Ghost, every man confesseth; for prying into Him, no man sufficeth. That there is a Father then, confess ; that He can be defined, do not thou confess ! Again, believe that there is a Son ; that He can be scrutinized,

by no means believe! That there is a Holy Ghost, assert ; that He may be pried into, assert not ! That They are One, believe and assert ; and that They are Three, be not doubtful !

8. That the Father is the First, believe; that the Son is the Second, assert; that the Holy Ghost also is the Third, doubt not ! The First-bom never at any time com- manded the Father, for He it is who commandeth. Never

at any time 'did the Spirit send ihe Son, for that the Son** 5- He is the Sender thereof*". The Son that sitteth on the Right

^ This paraage shews that St. £. 16. is perhaps less obscure in the Syriao

held that the Mission of the Persons than in the Greelc, as the vrord OLwOSo

was in one sense not economical, but ^, ,_,\ .2 ^m^ „„ ;„ .\^^ ti«»«..i«

r^lUi from eterori «»d in.»uUo L^Jt^ip^bf ^r Joo^w/^j'Sl

"''^!I^n'„"i''';.?'^''?* '^"i ;/• the Greek it might be. Thi., if «,,

p.2S4.8M.ForiffteScp'.coimngm the ,.„ ^^^ gt^ E.'s^rtatement the more

tleeh be cal ed Hi. Miwon, that wm „„„k,bie „ h, „„t the„ ^^ „„.

wioaghtb, all Three Penon., in «. far ^^^ ^^^ ^ Cyme, or of

a« tiH. creation of the Body which He j^, inearoation, a? that wfcch'crrus

took WW. ^ "II. See IW. de Tiin. j .^^ .„ order to enable him to make

Tii. 1. *. 14. The text of I». xItim. '' '

402 The Persons not confounded h^ the Circumimceetiom,

1 p. 870, Hand snatcheth not' at the place of the Father^ neither doth ^']™' . the Spirit) which is sent from Him, snatch at the order* of the ^^^ Son. The Son rejoiceth that the Begetter of Him is mighty, n! b. ' and the Holy Ohost that His WelNbeloved is mighty. Joy is > p. 210, there there and concord, and intermingling' along with order. ref. 4. ^^ Father knowetn the Generation of the Son ; the Son * S, Q^ knoweth the design^ of the Father; the Father designeth, and the Son knoweth, and the works are done by the Spirit There *S. in the is no division intervening', because there is but One Will to p! 381 ii^tervene'. There is no confusion in the intermingling, since n* u. there is a perfect order there. For suppose not, because They < R. xl. are blended, that there is any confusion^; neither, because They txxlii. *^® distinct, fancy to thyself that there is any division. They V ^* are blended, though not confounded ; and distinct, tboogh not divided. Their reciprocity is not confounded, and Their distinctness is not divided. What blendeth Their distinct- ness? what distinguishetb Their blended estate.^ They alone themselves know ! Flee unto silence, feeble [man] !

the strong negative statement in the ^end Himself, as He is shewed to hxwe

text, which plainly speaks of the Trinity been delivered by the Father, (Bom.

irrespectively of the Inoamation. [It 8, 32.) yet in another place it is saMl

may be observed, that even when the of the Son Himself, * IfVho loT^d me.

Equality of the Divine Persons is and gave Himself for me.' " And n

argued from Is. 48, 14. (in that else- like way the author of a bomtlj at-

where God the Son is said to send the tributed to S. Chrj'sostome by Phodas,

Holy Spirit, here to be sent by Him,) though not his, (Horn, de Sp. S. §. 13.

it does not follow that the text is taken T. iii. p. 809. ed.Ben.) says distincClT,

of any other than His Human Nature. *^ He begat according to the Godhead,

For St. Augustine who in the de Civ. He sent according to the Flesh. The

Dei (xx. 30.) explicitly states that Maker of Heaven saitb. The Lord and

our Lord says this ^ in the form of a His Spirit hath sent Me Tet the

servant/ elsewhere alleges it against heretic takes the Mission of the Spirit

Arian disparagement of the Holy Spirit, as implying inferiority." And so St.

(c. Mazimin. Arian. ii. 20. §. 4.) The Ambrose blends this passage with U.

two passages are; de Civ. D. ^' It 61, 1. which can but relate to oor

is the Same Who was just speaking as Blessed Lord's Human Nature* and

the Lord God, nor would it be under- asks, " Who is He W^ho saith. The

stood to be Jesus Christ, unless He Lord Grod and His Spirit hath sent

had added, ' And now the Lord God Me, but He Who came from tbe Fa-

and His Spirit bath sent Me.' For ther to save sinners P Whom, as tboa

this He said, after * the form of a hearest, *• and the Spirit aeot,' Itsi

Servant,' using of the future a verb of when thou read« st that the Son sendetk

pajit time, as in the same Prophet, the Spirit, thou think the Spirit inft>rior

* He was led, as a lamb, to the in power.*' (de Sp. 3, 1.) For although

slaughter.' " c Maxim. '^ Nor let us our Lord spoke this ** in the form of a

think that the Son was so sent by the Servant," (S. Aufr.) yet since He wta

Fnthcr, that He was not sent by the Very God, He Whom the Spirit emt,

Holv Spirit, since it is His ownVoice by was God ; which is all whien S. Am-

the l*rophet,'And now the Lord and His brose's argument requires. The argu-

Spirit hath sent ME.' For that the Son ment holds, if, in a Epical sense, it be

saidthi8,appearsfromwhathadbeensaid understood of Cyms or the Prophet, so

before, Is. 48, 12 — 16. What is plainer that in the deeper sense, it belci^ to

than this P Nor was He so sent bv the our Lord ; since in Hiio the Creator

Father and the Spirit, that He did not and He Who was sent are the Saiae.

RHYTHM THE THIRD.

ܤ 3

1. Thottoh the Doctrine' is older than teachers and learners, h became a comrade to children, that all thereof might be with all. It was a teacher with the doctors, and a learner with the disciples : it at once taught and learnt, for it ran among both parties. Among the speakers it was applauded, among the subtle it dealt prudently. It dwelt among the simple and the cunning, in all measures with all minds : it gave itself up to every thing, as the Mistress of every thing. It brought itself to measures, though it was greater than those that measured it. For the disciples did not measure it, because their mind^s movements were not speedy enough : there were no doctors that meted it, because they reached not unto its fountains. And though that Doctrine was greater than masters and teachers, it is much less than its Creator, so that it attaineth not to a scrutiny of Him. No learner can comprehend how great the might of its Creator is: it doth not comprehend aught that He created, or how He was able to create it ! For the whole that the Creator could do is

Thus, S. Jerome wbo had *^ according occasion of a like omission of the men-

to the Hebrews aod their opinion'' in- tion of the Holy Gbo«t. So that k

terpreted it of the Prophet, paraphrasew, Castro says too broadly, " None of the

'^ I Who ever was with the Father and ancients but explains it of the Lord ;"

in the Father and never was without for Theodoret also interprets it of the

the Father, speak now also, and after Prophet. Procopins mentions both expo-

the weakness of the Flesh which I took aitions^asto Cyrus and the Prophet.^.] say, that the Lord and His Spirit hath ■ The former part of this §. might

sent Me. In one little brief verse, is lead one to think St. £. meant the Sod,

set forth the mystery of the Trinity." by ^ the Doctrine,' as St. Austin o.

ad loc. And S.Cyril, who in his Comm. Max. ii. 20. §.3. deTrin. i. §.2^. ii.§. 4.

explains it simply of Cyrns, in the in Joan. xxix. §. 3. and St. Cyril in

Expos. Fid. (as referred to by a Castro) Joan. p. 412, e. think St John vii. 16.

alleges it of our Lord. (St. Cyril's may be explained. Bat this interpre- Comm. on this place is quoted by Pro- , tation will not suit with the words *• it

copios, so that there is no ground to is much less than its Creator:' St. E.

think with a Castro that it is inter- must therefore be taken to mean that

polated.) It may be added that £u- definite amount of doctrine, which

sebius says explicitly that " all who Christ was commissioned to deliver,

had interpreted Holy Scripture," un- (see p. 370. n. m.) and which was no

derstood the Person here speaUng to more an adequate expression of His

be "the Wordof God,"(Eclog.Proph. real knowledge than His actual ope-

iv. 28.) and besides the above, k Castro rations are of His real power. In the

quotes Ong. c. Cels. i. £us. Dem. £v. same way he speaks in B. i. §. 23. of

vi. 22. S. Greg. Nyss. de cognit. Dei, God ^ Himself creating the arty* i. e.

Fau8tD«, (as S. Aug. Serm. 234. App. gave it such a subsistency as it ha«,

Ben.) Idacius, (as S. Ath. de assumpt. one, namely, ideal, mental, and sub-

hom. L. 3. T. 2. p. 613. ed. Ben.) jective, not one objective and inde-

S. Basil, de Sp. S. (c. 19. where he in- pendent of the being in which it is.

sists on the authority only with which As Solomon is thought by many to

the Spirit sendeth,) S. Athanasius (o. personify wisdom in Prov. viii. 82.

Serap. i. 13.) who, however, assumes (see Petav. de Trin. iv. 1. §. 10.) so

that the Son is not mentioned here, and St. E. may here personify Doctrine,

uses it to refute those who cavilled on and dpeak of it also as created.

Dd2

404 Go(Ps power not to be measured

not nierelj these creatures that He did create, and these ' p* 377, things made which He did make^ It was not that He cotdd

ref. 1.

Petav. not create that He left creating. His will hath no bounds deDeo, ^^ ^ \^. jf jje willed He could create every day. But there would be a confusion if the creatures kept multiplying and departing; neither would the creatures know one another, when numerous; and though He would be adequate to all of them, they would not be adequate to themselves. And to what advantage would He create them to be strange to one another ? All that the Creator did create, He did not create to aggrandise' Himself; He was not the less, or ever He had created, nor aggrandised after He had created.

2. He wished to aggrandise His works; therefore He created them in measure. For He might have increased this present creation without bounds, but then would the in- habitants thereof have been perplexed ; and with perplexity were mischief also, since they would not have perceived the righteous, nor have acquiesced in the Prophets. If this creation were one hundred-fold larger than it is, the preachers

" or> would not be able to avail to the whole creation*. He placed Jerusalem ^ in the midst, that the whole creation ' might perceive it. For when He brought them up from Egypt, and when He took them up from Babylon, when He brought them down, and when He took them up, the whole creation' perceived it.

3. If it were wider than it now is, it would not then have been able to perceive this : He would have been fully able to [do so], because He is greater than it in all respects. That creation could not be so much advantaged by Him ; for if

3 p. 320. now that.it is small, it is coufused by the words of error', ^' ' how much more would it have been confused, if it were greater by much. The sun too could not have come down [upon it] from one end to the other, for a moment would * Comp. become a great [space], a day would have been a year*. It ^[ \ ' had been harm and loss to it that order had perished in it. Winter and summer would be lingering, day and night pro- tracted. When would seed have matured? when would fruit have ripened? He could have made it thus: to us there '* S. over would have been many hardships. It was not then answerably *

*^'°' b Jerusalem was thought from Pa. p. 480. St. £. here only Hpeaks of it as

Izxiii. 13. £z. xxxviii. 12. to be in the such in respect of the opportonitietf it

middle of the earth, see Quaresmins de offered for spreadiDg the Gospel ; whieh

TerraSanct^f ii. p. 436. Villaipand. ad is one of the opinions these aathoR

Ezech. vol. iii. p. 13. Lorinus m Ps.ii. mention.

by His actual operations. 405

to His PowerthaltheCreatorcreatedanythiDgybut answerablj' ' 5. over to our own ad^^antage, that He created and made every thing. **^*"'

4. From that boundless Womb' came forth the Offspring, 'or that cannot be searched out. If then thou wishest to search ^^? it out, 1 will be unto thee a counsellor. Go, first search into

the Father; prove thy powers with His Begetter; make a beginning and an ending of prying into Him ; measure Him in length and breadth. If thou canst measure' that Essence, 9 comp. then hast thou measured the Son that is from His Bosom ; P*2^tn*7- if thou art equal to measuring the Father, then art thouref. 5.' equal also to His Only-begotten. Thou then art unequal to the Eternal^, and so neither art thou capable of His Son.4p.s69, Go up, feeble man, from the sea ! Come, let us turn to what^' ^' we have cast aside ; let us not let go of aught that is known, and strike off* into what is not known.

5. It is not then by the measure of what He is able to do that the Creator createth : it is not as much as He can, that He createth, but as much as is expedient, thus much as He createth. If then He created, and went on without setting a bound to this working, nature would have been an un- teropered daub^ which was devoid of distinctness. It were a 5. like a fountain that flows forth and goes on turbidly. The t^^^^ Creator would have been a fountain, which in its nature is restricted, which could not restrain its stream, *and hath no power over its will. As without a [fixt] course He could not declare unto us His Will, so, unless He put a restraint^ He Comp. could not shew us His Power. He began that He might "'g^^^ stablish, He ended that He might order. If every day He n. b. were creating heaven and earth and creatures. His workman*

ship would be confusedness without arrangement, neither would He be great in His workmanship who was little in His knowledge. Even for the mouth which is vocal, it is befitting that it speak orderly : its ability to speak is not any reason why it should not be fitting to leave off speaking. Words are not so easy to the mouth as creating to the Creator'. Much ^ B. ti. easier than sounds to the ready speakers, are works to the \^^ Maker; yet not on account of His ability to make, doth HeO.l^jw. keep on evermore making every thing. For He who gave order jjj n. a. ' to man as possessed of discourse •, shall He not much rather f* 3^^- be Himself orderly ? Though He could create continually, n. b. '

406 Gods power transcends His actual operations^

He yet left creating that He might set in order what He had created. Who then can ascertain precisely how much more He could have created ? Much is that which He created, and much is that which He left [uncreate]. That which He made cannot be ascertained precisely, nor that which He passed over be scrutinized. For He who at His nod made all things out of nothing, is wholly hidden from them that pry. Of His revealed things, as well as His concealed, thou knowest not in what number He made them, nor in what iB.i.§ s. number He could have made. The Only-begotten* which is concealed in His Bosom, He knoweth both in what way and iR. number' [He could make]. For the Son that is concealed ^^V^' and revealed', knoweth the things created and the things > Comj^. revealed. But how should a learner be capable of fountains X j/*"* which are too difficult for Him ? It is the weak and the feeble * §. 1. that Doctrine is able to profit : for it* gives them power of *S, leaps doing multiplication by speedy advances' ; for ten when multi- plied into ten advances^ to the number of a hundred, and ten when multiplied into a hundred reaches to the number of a thousand. It advances^ from thousand to thousand, and ftom ten thousand to its comrade. From this make trial of that which may be done in all these again as speedily*! •SMii.a. 6. There is a hidden bridge^ whereby the soul passeth oomp. ^^^^ *^ things concealed, the key of poverty wherewith it B.yi.fin. opens the treasurehouse ; the glory of old age, whereby it giveth discretion unto little ones ; the wall of virginity that keepeth from it those which leadeth it away captive ! It is it which subjecteth earth and air to the husbandmen and the

7 Comp.sailors^ which putteth bridles upon ships, and maketh them B. zTiii.

§. 2. c f he Eunomiass argued, that the vrith capacities for a fiaite resatt and

Essence could be known from its for no more. Or, the passage may be

energies, as we see from St. Greg, directed against the Arian notioD, that

Nyss. ii. p. 373 — 7) a part of whose the Incarnation was unnecessary, as

reply is, that if the Son, a work of the God can do all things with a word : to

Father's, (as Eon. says,) is less than the which it is a reply to say, He does not

Father, He cannot make the Father do all things with a word, (see Athan.

known, but only such amount of His p. S78.) but is guided by certain mles

energy, as was requisite to produce of iitness unknown to us.