A TREATISE of the SOUL of
PNEUMATOLOGIA.
A TREATISE OF THE SOUL OF MAN.
The EPISLTE DEDICATORY.
To the much honoured, his dear kinſman, Mr. JOHN FLAVEL, and Mr. EDWARD CRISPE, of London,
Merchants ; and the rest of my worthy friends in London, RATCLIFFE, SHADWELL, and LYMEHOUSE, grace, mercy, and peace.
Dear Friends, A MONG all the creatures in this lower world, none deſerves to be ſtiled great, but man; and in man
" nothing is found worthy of that epithet, but his "foul *"
The ſtudy, andknowledge of hissoulwas, therefore, always reckoned a rich, and neceſſary improvement of time. All ages havemagnified theſe two words, " Know thyself, as an oracle
" deſcending from heaven t."
" No knowledge, ſaith Bernard †, is better thanthat where- " by we know ourſelves ; leave other matters therefore, and " ſearch thyself; run through thyself, make a ſtand in thy- " ſelf; let thy thoughts, as it were, circulate, begin and end
" in thyself."
Strain not thy thoughts in vain about other things, thyselfbeing neglected.
The ſtudy and knowledge ofJesus Christ muſt ſtill be allowedtobethemoſt excellentand neceſſary: Butyet theworth,
* Nihil in terra magnum præter hominem, nihilin hominepræser mentem.
Favorin.
+-E cælo defcendit, γνωθι σεαυτον. Juvenal. Sat. II . V. 27.
‡ Nullafcientia melior illa, qua homo novitfeipfum ; relinque ergocatera,et teipfum discute : perte curre, in te confifte; ate incipiat cogitatio tua, et in te finiatur,
The Epiftle DEDICATORY. and neceſſity ofChrist isunknown tomen,till the value, wants, and dangers of their ownsouls be firſt diſcovered to them .
The diſaffectedneſs, and averſation ofmen to the ſtudyof their own fouls, is the more to be admired; not only becauſe of the weight and neceſſity of it,but the alluring pleasure, and ſweetneſs that is found therein.
What || Cardan ſpeaks, is experimentally felt by many, " That ſcarce any thing is more
" pleasant anddelectable to the foul of man, than to know " whathe is, what he may, and ſhallbe; and what thoſedi- " vine andfupreme things are, which he istoenjoy after death,
"and the viciffitudes ofthis preſent world."
Forweare creatures confcious to ourſelves of an immortal nature, and thatwe have ſomething about us which must overlive this mortal fleſh, and therefore is ever and anon ſome way or other hinting, and intimating to us its expectations of, anddefignation for a better life than that it now lives in the body, and that we shall not ceaſe to be, when we cease to breathe.
And certainly, my friends, diſcourſes ofthe foul, and its immortality ; ofheaven, and ofhell, thenext, andonly receptacles ofunbodied ſpirits, were never more ſeaſonable, and neceffary than inthis atheiſtical ageofthe world, wherein allferious piety, and thoughts ofimmortality are ridiculed, and hiſſed out ofthe company of many: As if thoſe oldcondemned Heretics, the Θνηλοψυχιται, who afferted the corruptibility, and mortality of the foul as well as body,had been again revived in our days.
And as the Atheism of fome, ſo the tepidity, and unconcerned careleſneſs of the moſt, needs and calls for fuch potent remedies , as difcourſes ofthis kinddoplentifully afford.
I dare appeal to your charitable judgments, whether the converfations anddiſcourſes of the many, doindeed look like a ſerious pursuit ofheaven, and aflight from hell ?
Long have my thoughts bended towards thisgreat and excellent fubject, and many earnest defires I have had, (as I believe all thinking perſons must needs have) to know what I ſhall be when I breathe not.
But when I had engaged my meditations about it, two great rubs oppoſed the farther progreſs ofmy thoughts therein : Namely, I. The difficulty ofthe ſubject I had choſen : And II. The diſtractions of the times in which I was to write uponit.
Quidjucundius quam fcire quidfimus, quid fuerimus, quid erimus, et cum his etiam divina atque fuprema illa poft obitum mundique viciffitudines.
The Epistle DEDICATORY.
I. As for the fubject, ſuch is the fubtility and fublimity of its nature, and fuch the knotty controverfiesin which it is involved, that it much better deſerves that infcription, than Minerva's temple at Saum did, * " Never did any mortal reveal
" meplainly."
" It is but little that the moſt clear, and ſharp-fighted dodif- " cern of their own fouls, now in the ſtate ofcompoſition ; and "what canwe poſitively, and diſtinctlyknow of the life they
" live in the ſtate ofſeparation ? The darkness in which theſe 66 things are involved dothgreatly exerciſe, even the greatest
" wits, and frequentlyelude and fruſtrate the moſt generous " attemptst." Many greatscholars, whoſenatural and acquired abilities fingularly furnishedand qualified them tomake a clearer diſcovery, havelabouredin this field, usque adfudorem etpallorem, evento ſweat and paleneſs, and done little more but intangle themſelves, and the ſubjectmore than before; this cannot but diſcourage new attempts.
Andyet, without fome knowledge ofthe hability, and fubjectivecapacityof our fouls to enjoy thegoodofthe world to come, even in a ſtate ofabſence from the body, a principal reliefmust be cut offfrom them, under the great, and manifold trials they are to encounter in this evil world.
As for myſelf, I aſſure you, I am deeply ſenſible of the inequality of my ſhoulders to this burden; and have often thought (fince I undertook it) ofthatgrave and neceffary cautionofthepoet†, to weild and poiſe the burden as porters uſe todo, before I undertook it.
Zuinglius blamed Caroloſtadius (asfomemaydo me) for undertakingthe controverfy ofthatage; becauſe, faith he, Non habetfatishumerorum; his ſhoulders are tooweak for it.
Andyet I know mens labours profper not, according to the artand elegancy ofthecompoſure, but according tothe divine
† Animam prafentem mentis acie vix, aut ne vix quidem affequimur ; fed qualisfit futura, quomodo indagabimus ? Laborant hicmaxima ingenia, et caligo conatus etiam generosos non raro eludit.
Jof. Stern. de morte, cap . 20.
† Sumite materiam veftris, quifcribitis, æquam, Viribus : et verſate diu, quidferre recufent,
Quid valeant humeri-Horat, de arte poet. 1. 37Examine well , ye writers, weigh with care
What ſuits your genius, what your ſtrength can bear; Forwhen awell-proportion'd themeyou chuſe,
Norwords nor method will their aid refufe:
The Epistle DEDICATORY. bleſſing which pleaſeth to accompany them.
Ruffinus tells us ofa learend philofopherattheCouncil of Nice, who ftoutly defended his thesis against the greatest wits, and ſcholars there, and yet was at laſt fairly vanquished by a man of no extraordinary parts : of which conqueſt the philofopher gave this candid, and ingenuous account ; Against words (faidhe) Iopposedwords ; andwhat was spoken, 1overthrew by the art of Speaking: But when, instead of words, power came out ofthe mouth of the speaker, words could no longer withstand truth : norman oppose the power ofGod.
Othat my weak endeavours might profper, under the influence ofthe like ſpirit, upon the hearts of them that ſhall read this inartificial, but well-meant difcourſe.
I am little concerned about the contempts and cenfures of fa. ſtidious readers.
I have refolved to ſay nothing that exceeds fobriety, nor to provoke any man, except my diffent from his unproveddictates mult be his provocation.
Perhaps there are ſome doubts, and difficulties relating to this fubject, which will never fully be ſolved till we come to heaven.
Forman, by the fall,beingless than himself,dothnot underſtand himself, nor will ever perfectly doſo, until he be fully reſtored to himself ; which will not be whilst he dwells in a body of fin anddeath.
And yet itis to me paſtdoubt, that this, as well as other ſubjects, mighthave been much more cleared than it is, if instead of the proud contendings ofmaſterly wits for victory, all hadhumbly, and peaceablyapplied themselves tothe impartial ſearch of truth .
Truth, like an orient pearl inthebottom of ariver, would have discovered itſelfby its native luſtre, and radiancy, had not the feet of Heathenphilosophers, cunning Atheists, and daring ſchool divines, disturbed and fouled the ſtream.
II. And as thedifficulties of the ſubject are many, ſo many havebeenthe interruptions and avocations I have met with, whilſt it was under my hand: Which I mention for no other endbut toprocure amore favourable cenſure fromyou, ifitappears leſs exact than you expected to find it.
Such as it is, Ido withmuchrefpect and affection, tender to your hands, humbly requestingthe bleſſing ofthe Spirit mayaccompany it to your hearts.
Ifyou will but allow yourſelves to think cloſe to the matter before you, Idoubtnotbut youmay findsomewhat in it apt, both to inform your minds, and quicken your affections.
I knowyou have a multiplicity of buſineſs underyour hands,but yet I hope your great concern makes all others daily togive place; andthathow clamorous, and importunate foever the af
The Epistle DEDICATORY.
fairsofthis world be, you both can, anddo, find time to fit alone,andbethink yourselves of amuch more importantbuſineſs
-youhave todo.
My friends, we are borderers upon eternity, we live upon the confines ofthe ſpiritual and immaterial world: we muſt ſhortlybe aſſociate with bodileſs beings, and thall have, after a fewdays are paſt, no more concerns for meat, drink, and ſleep, buying and felling, habitations and relations, than the angels ofGod now have.
Besides, we live here in a ſtate of trial :
Man, (as Scaliger fitly calls him), is utriusque mendi nexus, Oneinwhomboth worldsdo meet; his body participatesofthe lower, his foulofthe upper world; hence it is, that he finds fuch tugging and pulling this wayand thatway,y,upwardand downward; both worlds, as itwere, contending for this invaluable prize, the precious foul.
All Chriſt's ordinances are inſtituted, and his officers ordained for no other uſe or end, but theſalvation of ſouls. Books are valuable, accordingtotheir conducibility to this end: how rich a reward of my labours ſhallI account it, ifthis treatiseofthe ſoul maybut promote the fanctificationand ſalvation of any reader's foul.
To your hands I firſt tender it: itbecomes your property, notonlyas adebtofjustice, the fulfilling ofapromisemadeyou long ſince, uponyour joint and earneſtdefiresfor the publicationof it ; but, as anacknowledgementofthemanyfavours I have received fromyou : To one of you I ſtand obliged inthe bond of relation, and under the ſenſe of many kindneſſes, beyond whatever fuch adegree of relation canbe ſuppoſed to exact.
You have here a ſuccinct account ofthe nature, faculties and original of the foul of man, as alſo of its infufion into the body byGod, without intitlinghimselfto the guilt and ſin reſulting from that their union.
You will alſo find thebreath ofyour noſtrils tobethe nexus, tie, or bond, which holds our fouls and bodies in perſonal union ; and that, whilst the due crafisand temperament ofthe bodyremains, and breath continues, your fouls hang, as by a weakand ſlender thread, over the ſtate ofavaſt eternity inheas ven or in hell ; which will inform you both of the value of yourbreath, and the best wayofimproving it, whilſt you enjoy it.
The immortalityofthe ſoulishereaſſerted, proved, andvin dicated fromthe moſt conſiderable objections; ſo that itwillevidentlyappear toyou, by this diſcourſe, you donotceaſeto be,whenyou ccafe to breathe: and, ſeeing theywilloverliveall
VOL. III.
The Epistle DEDICATORY. temporal enjoyments, they must neceſſarily periſh as to alltheir joys, comforts, andhopes, (which is all thedeath thatcanbe incident to an immortal ſpirit), if they be not in the proper ſeaſon fecured and provided of that never periſhing food of fouls,God in Chriſt, their portion for ever.
Hereyou will find the grounds and reaſons ofthat ſtrong inclination, which you all feel them to have toyour bodies, and the neceſſity, notwithstanding that, of their divorce and ſeparation from their beloved bodies ; and that it would manifeſtly be to their prejudice, ifit ſhould be otherwise and to overcome the unreasonable averſations of believers, and to bring them to a more becoming cheerful submiſſion to the laws ofdeath, whenfoever the writ of ejection ſhall be ferved upon them; you will here find arepreſentation of thatbleſſed life, comely order, and moft delightful imploymentof the incorporeal people inhabiting the city ofGod ; wherein, beſide thoſeſweet meditations,which are proper to feaſt your hungry affections, you will meet with divers unusual,though not vain or unuſeful, queſtions ſtatedand reſolved, which will be a grateful entertainmentto your inquiſitiveand fearchingminds.
...It is poffible theymaybe cenſuredby ſome as undeterminable andunprofitable curioſities ; but as I hate a preſumptuous intrufion into unrevealed ſecrets, ſo I think it is a weakneſs tobe diſcouragedin the fearch oftruth, fo far as it is fit to trace it, by ſuchdamping and cauſeleſs cenſures. Nor am I ſenſible ( have in any thing tranſgreſſed the bounds ofChriſtianſobriety, to gratify the palate ofa nice and delicate reader.
I have alſo here fet before the reader an idea, or repreſentationof the ſtate and caſe ofdamned fouls, that, ifit be the will ofGod, a feaſonable diſcovery ofhell may be the means ofſome men's recovery out of the danger of it; and cloſed up the whole witha demonſtration ofthe invaluable preciouſneſs offouls, and the ſeveraldangerous ſnares and artifices ofSatan, their profefſed enemy, to destroy and caft them away for ever.
This is the deſign and general ſcope ofthe whole, and ofthe principal parts ofthis treatise. And, O thatGod wouldgrant me my hearts defire, on your behalf, inthe perufal of it ! Even that it mayprove a ſanctified inſtrument in his hand, both to prepare you for, and bring you in love with the unbodied life, tomake you look with pleaſure into your graves, and die by conſentofwill, as well as neceſſity ofnature.
I remember Dr.
Stoughton, in afermon preached before king James, relates a ſtrange ſtory ofa little child in a shipwreck, faſt afleepupon its mother's lap, as the fat upon apiece ofthe wreck amidst the
The Epistle DEDICATORY.
waves; the child being awaked with the noiſe, aſked the motherwhat thoſe things were ? She told it, They were drowningwaves to ſwallow them up.
The child, with a pretty ſmilingcountenance, begg'd a ſtroke from its mother to beat away thoſe naughty waves, and chide them as if they had been its play-mates.
Death will mortly ſhipwreck your bodies ; your fouls will fit upon your lips ready to expire, as they upon the wreck ready togo down.
Would itnot be a comfortable and moſt becomingframe of mind, to fit there with as little dread, as this little one did among the terrible waves ? Surely, if our faith hadbut firſt united us with Chriſt, and then loofed our hearts offfromthis enchanting and enſnaring world, we might makea fair ſtep towards this moſt defireable temper ; but unbeliefand earthly-mindedness make us loth to venture.
I blush to think, what bold adventures thoſemen made,who, upon the contemplation of the properties ofadeſpicable ſtone, firſt adventured quite out of fight of land, under its conduct and direction, and ſecurely truſted both their lives and eſtates to it, when all the eyes ofheaven were veiled from them, amidſt thedark waters, and thick clouds of the ſky, when I either ſtart, or at leaſt give anunwilling ſhrug, when I think ofadventuring out of fightofthis world, under the more fure and ſteadydirection andconduct offaithandthepromises. To cure theſe evils, inmyown and the reader's heart, theſe things arewritten, andinmuch reſpect, and love tendered toyour hands, asateſtimony of mygratitude, anddeep ſenſeofthe many obligations you have put me under.
That the bleſſing of the Spirit may accompany theſe diſcourſes to your fouls, afford you fome affiftance inyour laſt anddifficultwork, ofputting them offat death with a becoming chearfulness, ſaying in that hour, Can I not ſeeGod till this fleſh be laid aſide inthe grave ? muſt Idiebefore I can live like myself? thendie mybody, and go to thy duft, that I maybe with Chriſt.
With this deſign, and with theſe hearty wishes, dear and honoured couſin, and worthy friends, I put theſe diſcourſes intoyour hands, and remain,
Your most obliged . kinfman and fervant,
JOHN FLAVEL.
( 103 ) THE A PREFACE.
MONG many other largeſſes and rich endowments, beſtowed by the Creator's bounty upon the fout of man, the* sentiments and impreſſions ofthe world tocome, and the ability of reflexionandself-intuition, arepeculiar, invaluable, and heavenly gifts, By the former, we have a very great evidence ofourown immortality, and deſignation for nobler employments andenjoyments than this embodied ſtate admits. Andby the latter, we may difcern theagreeableness of our hearts, and therein the validity of our title to that expected bleſſedneſs.
But theſe heavenly gifts are neglected and abuſed all the world over.
Degenerate fouls are every where fallen into foa deepan oblivion of their excellent original, ſpiritual and immortal nature, andalliance tothe Father of ſpirits; that (touſe theupbraiding expreſſion ofagreat + philoſopher) " they feem
" to beburied in their bodies, as ſo many filly worms that lurk " in their holes, and are loth topeep forth, and look abroad."
So powerfully dothe cares and pleaſures ofthis world charm all, (except a ſmall remnantof regenerate fouls), that nothing but ſome ſmart ſtroke of calamity, or terrible meſſengers of death can ſtartle them ; (and even thoſe are not always able to do it), andwhen they do. all the effect is but a tranſient glance at another, and anunwilling ſhrug to leave this world, and fo to fleep again.
And thus the impreſſions and tentiments ofthe world to come (which are the natural growth and offspring of the foul) are either ſtified and ſuppreſt, as in Atheists ; or bora down by impetuous maſterly luſts, as in Senſualiſts.
Andfor its felf-reflecting and confidering power, it seems in many to be a power received invain.
It is with moſt fouls as it iswiththe eye, which fees not itſelf, though it fees all other objects. There be thoſe that have almoſt finiſhed the courſe ofa long life, (wherein a great part of theirtimehath lainupon their hands, as acheap and uſeleſs commodity, which they knewnot
We have demonſtrated from the common confent of all nations andpeople, ſince the creation of the world, eſpecially from the confentof thegood and learned, that the humanfoul is incorrupti. bleand iminortal ; and that therefore it ſurvives the corrupted body, that it may be for ever either rewarded for good actions, or punished for badactions.
Zanch. on the immortality ofthefoul.
† Η δε δειλη ψυχη κατορωρυγμενη εκ σωματι ως, ερπετον νηθες εις φωλεας φίλει τφωλεον, ότι Max. Tyr. Diff. 41 .
The :
PREFACE. whattodo with) whoyet never ſpent one folemn entire hour in diſcourſe with their own fouls .
What serious heart doth not meltintocompaſſionoverthedeluded multitude, who are mocked withdreams, and perpetuallybuſied about trifles ? Who are
(afterſomanyfruſtrated attempts,both of theirown, and all paſt ages) eagerly pursuing the fleeting ſhadows, who torture and rack their brains to find out the natures and qualities ofbirds, beaſts, and plants; indeed any thing rather than their own fouls, which are certainly the moſt excellent creatures that inhabit this world.
They know the true value and worth ofotherthings, but are not able to eſtimatethe dignity ofthat highborn ſpiritwhich is within them. A ſpirit which (without the additionofany more natural faculties or powers, ifthoſe it hath bebut ſanctified anddevoted toGod) is capable of the highest perfections and fruitions,evencompleteconformity toGod, and the fatisfying viſions ofGod throughout eternity.
Theyherd themſelves with beasts, who are capable of an equality with angels. O what compaſſionate tears muſt ſuch a confideration as thisdraw from the eyes of allthat understand the worth of fouls!
As for me, it hath been my fin, and is now the matterof my forrow, that whilst myriads offouls (ofno higher original than mine) are ſome ofthem beholding the highest Majesty in heaven, and others giving alldiligenceto make fure their falvation on earth; I was carried away ſo many years in the courſe of this world (like a drop with the current ofthe tide) wholly forgetting my beſt ſelf, my invaluable foul ; whilſt I prodigally waſtedtheſtores of my time and thoughts upon vanities, that longſincepaſſed away as the waters which are remembered no more||.
It shallbe no shameto me to confeſs this folly, fince the matter ofmy confeſſion ſhall go to the glory of myGod.
I ſtudied to know many other things, butI knew not myſelf.
Itwas with me as with a ſervant towhom the maſter commited two things, viz. the child, and the child'scloaths ; the ſervant is verycarefulofthe cloaths, brushes andwaſhes,ſtarches and irons
+ Ita Dei eſt iſta vita mortalis, ubi homo vanitatifimilisfactus eft; et dieſt ejus velut umbra præterunt. Aug.deCiv. lib. 21.
C.24.
||Saints after their hearts are renewed by repentance, are not aſhamed to acknowledge their ignominious faults, to the glory of God.
For nothing is loft to usthat redounds to his praise, who pardoningourſins, transfers us from mifery to happiness. Brightwan on Cant.p. 12.
The PREFACE. them,andkeeps them ſafe andclean, but the child is forgotten and lost.
Mybody which isbut thegarment ofmyfoul,Ikept andnouriſhedwith exceſſive care, butmysoulwas longforgotten, andhad been loſt forever, as othersdailyare, had notGodrouzed it, by theconvictions ofhis Spirit, out ofthat deep oblivion and deadly ſlumber.
When theGod that formed it, out of freegrace tothe work ofhis own hands, had thus recovered it to a ſenſe of its own worth anddanger, my next work was to get it united with Chriſt, and thereby ſecured from the wrath to come; which I foundto be a work difficult to effect, (if itbe yet effected), and a work of time to clear, though but to thedegree ofgood hope through grace.
Andfincethehopesandevidencesofſalvationbegantoſpring up in my foul, and ſettle the ſtate thereof, I found theſe three great words, viz. Chriſt, foul, and eternity, to havea fardifferent, and more awful found in my ear, than ever theyuſed to have.
I lookedonthem from thattime, as thingsof the greateſt certainty,and moſt awful folemnity. Theſe things have laid ſomeweight upon my thoughts, and I felt, at certain ſeaſons, a ſtrong inclination to ſequeſter myſelf from all other ſtudies, andſpendmy laſt days, and moſt fixed meditations upon theſe threegreat and weighty ſubjects.
I know the ſubject matter ofmy ſtudies and enquiries (be it never ſo weighty)doth not therefore make my meditations and diſcourſe upon itgreat and weighty : nor am I fuch a vain opinionator, as to imaginemydiſcourſes every way ſuitable tothe dignity of ſuch ſubjects; no, no, the more I think and ſtudy about them, the more I diſcern the indiſtinctneſs, darkness, crudity, and confufion of my own conceptions, and expreffion of ſuchgreatand tranſcendent things as thoſe : but, In mugnis voluiffefat est, I reſolved todo what I could : and accordingly fome years paſt I finiſhedand publiſhed, in two parts, the Doctrine of Christ; and by the acceptation and fucceſs the Lordgave that, he hath encouraged meto go on in this ſecond part ofmy work, how unequal foever my ſhoulders are to the burden of it.
The nature, original, immortality, and capacity of mine own foul, for the preſent lodged in and related to this vile body, deſtinedtocorruption; together with its existence, employment, perfection, converse with God, and otherſpirits, both of its own, and of a fuperior rank and order, when it ſhall (as I know it ſhortly mut) put off this its tabernacle ; theſe things havealongtimebeen the matters ofmy limited defires to un-
The PREFACE. derſtand, fo far as I could fee the pillar of fire (God inhisword) enlightening myway to the knowledge of them.
Yea, ſuch is the value I have for them, that Ihave given them the next place in my eſteem, tothe knowledge of Jesus Chriſt, and my intereſt in him.
Godhath formed me, as he hath other men, aprospecting creature.
I feel myſelfyetuncentered, and ſhort ofthat ſtate ofreſt and fatisfaction to which mysoul, inits natural and ſpiritual capacity, hath adeſignation.
I find that Iam in acontinual motion towards my everlasting abode, and the expence ofmy time; and many infirmities tell me that I am not far from it: byallwhich I am ſtrongly prompted to look forward, and acquaintmy ſelf as much as I can, with mynext place and employment.
I look with a greedy and inquifitive eye that way.
Yet would I not be guilty of an unwarrantable curioſity in ſearching into revealed things; how willing foever I am to put my head by faith into the world above, and toknow the things which Jeſus Chriſt hath purchased and prepared for me, andall the reſt that are waiting for his appearance and kingdom. I feel my curioſity checked andrepreſſedby that elegant paronomafia, Rom. xii. 3. Μη υπερφρονείν παρ ο δει φρονείν, αλλα φρονειν ειςτο σωφρονειν, In all things Iwould be wiſe unto fobriety.
Igroan under the effects of Adam's itching ambition to know, and would not by repeating his fin, encreaſe my own miſery ; nor yet would I be ſcared, by his example, into the contraryevilofneglecting the meansGod hath afforded me, to knowall that I can of his revealed will.
*The helps philoſophy affords in ſome partsofthis diſcourſe, are toogreat to be deſpiſed, and too ſmall tobe admired.
I confefs I readthe definitions of the foul givenby the antient philoſophers, with a compaſſionate ſmile. When Thales calls ita nature without repose; Afclepiades, an exercitation ofsense:
Hefiod, a thing composed of earth and water ; Parmenides, thing composed ofearth andfire ; Galen faith it is heat ; Hippocrates, a fpirit diffused through the body ; Plato, afelf-moving fubstance ; Ariſtotle calls it Entelechia, that by which the body is moved: Ifmyopinion ſhould be asked, which ofall theſe definitions I like beſt, I ſhould give the ſame anſwer which Theo critusgave anill poet, repeating manyof his verſes, and ask- : * For to whom is the truth known with certainty withoutGod ? orGodwithout Chriſt ? or Chriſt explorated without the Spirit ? or theSpirit vouchsafed without faith ? Tertullian on thefoul...
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Or ifthey musthave thegarland as the prize theyhave thot for, letthem have it uponthe ſame reaſon that was once given to him that always ſhot wide.
Difficilius est toties non attingere, Because it was the greateſt difficulty to aim ſo often at the mark, and never come near it.
One word of God gives me more light than athousand ſuch laborious trifles.
As Caeſar wasbeſt ableto write his own commentaries, fo God only can give thebeſt account of his own creature, on which he hath impreſſed his own image.
Modern philoſophers, aſſiſted by the divine oracles, muſt needs come cloſer to the mark, and give us a far better account of the nature ofthe foul. Yet I have endeavoured not to cloud this ſubject with their controverfies, or abſtruſe notions ; remembring whata ſmart, but deſerved check, Tertullian gives thoſe, Qui Platonicum et Ariftotelicum Chriftianiſmum producunt
Chriftianis. Words are but the fervants of matter, I value them as merchants do their ſhips, notby the gilded head and ſtern, theneatness of their mould, or curious flags and ſtreamers, but bythe foundness oftheir bottom, largeneſs of their capacity, and richness of their cargo and loading. The quality of this ſubject neceffitates, inmanyplaces, the use ofſcholaftic terms, which will be obfcure to the vulgar reader : but apt and proper words must not be rejected for their obſcurity, except plainer words could be found that fit the ſubject as well, and are as fully expreſſive ofthe matter. The unneceſſary I have avoided, and the reſt explained as I could.
The principal fruits I eſpecially aim at, both to my own and the reader's foul, are, That whilft we contemplate the freedom, pleaſure, and fatisfaction of that ſpiritual, incorporeal people, who dwell in theregion of light andjoy, and are hereby forming to ourſelves a true ſcriptural idea ofthe bleſſed ſtateofthoſe diſembodied ſpirits, with whom we are to ſerve, and converſe inthe temple-worship in heaven ; and come more explicitly and -distinctly to underſtand the conſtitution, order, and delightful employments of thoſe our everlasting aſſociates ; we may anfwerably feelthefoundand inordinate love ofthis animal life fubacted andwrought down; the frightful vizardofdeath drop off, and amore pleaſing aſpect appear; that no upright foul that ſhall read theſe diſcourſes may henceforth be convulfed at the name ofdeath, but chearfully aſpire, and with a pleaſant expectation wait for thebleſſed ſeaſon of its tranſportation to that bleſſedaſſembly.
It is certainlyour ignorance ofthe life ofheaven, thatmakes usdoteaswedo uponthe preſent life. There
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isagloom, a thick miſt overſpreading the next life, and hiding, even from the eyes of believers, the glorythat is there. We fend forth our thoughts to penetrate this cloud, but they return tous without the defired ſucceſs .
We reinforce them with a fally ofnewand more vigorous thoughts, but still they come back inconfufion anddiſappointment, as to any perfect account they canbringus from thence; though the oftnerand cloſer we think, ſtillthe morewe growupinto acquaintance with theſe excellent things.
Another benefit I pray for, and expect from theſe labours, is, that by defcribing the horrid eſtate ofthoſe ſouls which go the other way, and ſhewing to the living the diſmal condition offouls departed in their unregenerate ſtate; ſome maybe awakened to a ſeaſonable and effectual conſideration of their wretched condition, whilst they yet continue under the means andamong the inſtruments oftheir ſalvation.
Whatever the fruit of this diſcourſe ſhall be to others, I havecauſe tobleſs God for the advantage it hath already given me.
I begin to find more than ever I have done, in the ſeparate ſtate offanctified fouls, all that is capable of attracting an intellectual nature; and ifGod will but fix my mind upon this ſtate, and cauſe my pleaſed thoughts about it to ſettle into a ſteddy frame and temper, I hope I ſhall daily more and more depreciate anddeſpiſe this common way of exiſtence ina corporeal priſon ; and when the bleſſed ſeaſon of my departure is athand, I ſhall take a chearful farewel of the greater and leffer elementary world, to which my soul hath been confined, andhave an abundant entrance through thebroad gate of affurance, unto the bleſſed, unbodied inhabitants of the world to come.
VOL. III.