Section I, Book 2, chapter 2: Of true and false wisdom and philosophy

CHAP. II. Wherein the originall, or beginning of the true wisdom, and consequently of the essentiall Philosophy, is opened; and then the nature and power of it, is really described.

WE purpose now in in the first place, to search out the originall fountain of the true wisdom, and therefore of the essentiall Philosophy. And then in the second rank, I will expresse the definition of it; after that, I will shew you, that it is the foundation, not onely of the true externall Philosophy, with the sciences which depend thereon, but also the discoverer of all mysteries, and hidden secrets, yea, and the onely revealer of things, as well past, as those which are to come.

Concerning the originall or beginning of this sacred wisdom, I will prove by the consent and harmony of the whole Bible, that it is in God, the Father of light; and therefore it must be clean contrary in nature unto the wisdom of this world, which is terrene and animal, as the Apostle hath it. Sapient[…]ae daetor & inventor, Deus est: The giver and inventor of wisdom is God, as the Prophets do intimate unto us. Sapientia & fortitudo Domini sint, saith Daniel; Sapience and fortitude be the Lord's. Sapientia in antiquis est & in multo tempore prudentia, saith Job; Wisdom is of antiquity, and prudency of a long standing. Again, Sapientiam dat Dominus, ex ore ejus prudentia & scientia, saith Solomon; The Lord giveth wisdom, prudency and science issue from his mouth. And again, Sapientiam possidet Deus in principio viarum suarum, antequam quicquam faceret à principio, ab aeterno ordinata est; concepta erat cum nondum erant abyssi. God did possesse wisdom in the beginning of his waies, before he made any thing, from the beginning, even from eternity was she ordained; she was conceived when there was no abysse. Sapientia à Deo profecta est & prior omnium creata, saith the son of Syrach, Wisdom came from God, and was the first created of all things. And again, Ex ore Altissimi prodivi primogenita ante omnem creaturam, saith she in her own person; I came or issued out from the mouth of the most High, being born before any creature. Sapientia caelitus mittatur de sanctis coelis, ut mecum sit & mecum laboret, saith Solomon in another place: Let wisdom be sent from thy holy heavens to assist me, and to labour with me.

And againe he expresseth the time of her election, the manner of her exaltation and way to seperate her truth from falsehood in these few words which are golden ones, Sapientiam dei ab initio nativitatis investigabo & ponam in lucem, nec praeteribo veritatem, I will find out the wisdome of God even from the beginning of her nativity, and I will put her into light, neither will I passe over, or omit the truth. By all these places and many more which I could produce, it is made manifest that this excellent spirit of which we intend to treat in this place is the true wisdome, and withall it must needs follow that the philosophy which dependeth on it, is the essentiall, perfect and only reall one, forasmuch as it is from the father of lights, acccording unto the Tenent of the forementioned Apostle and divine philosopher. Now we proceed to shew you briefly what this wisdome is, and how it was produced, and that according unto the mind of the wise Solomon, Sapientia (saith he) est vapor virtutis Dei & emana[…]io quaedam claritatis omnipotentis dei sincera, et candor lucis aeternae, et speculum sine macula Dei ma[…]estatis, et imago bonitatis illius. Wisdome is the vapor of the vertue of God, and a certaine sincere emanation of the brightness of the omnipotent God, and the beauty of the eternall light, and the immaculated or unspotted mirror of the majesty of God, and the image of his goodness. And the Apostle, Christ is the brightness of the glory and the ingraved forme of his person which beareth up all things by his mighty word. Whereby it is an easie thing for wisemen to discern, what a main difference there is between the false Ethnick and mundane wisdome which is terrene, and that true and essentiall one which is from above, and hath his originall from the Father of light, forasmuch as the fountain thereof is the Word, or voice of the Lord. Sapientiae fons (saith the Text) verbum Dei in excelsis, & ingressus illius mandata aeterna: The fountain or beginning of wisdom is the word of God from above, and her entrance the eternall Commandements. Having then expressed unto you, what this onely true wisdom is, I will endeavour to open and discover also her catholick vertues, in the which she acteth and operateth, as well in generall, as in particular, over all the world: Nay verily, what can she not do and effect, when she is all in all, and operateth all in everything, as the Apostle teacheth us. For this reason also is Christ, the true wisdom, said, in the forementioned Text, to sustain and bear up all things by the word of his vertue. This omnipotent power of hers, in and over all things in this world, is most excellently explained and set down thus, by the divine Philosopher Paul: Christus est imago Dei invisibilis, pr[…]mogenitus omnis creaturae, quoniam in ipso condita sunt universa in coelis & terra, visibilia & invisibilia, sive thront, sive dominationes, sive principatus, sive potestates, omnia per ipsum & in ipso creat a sunt, & ipse est ante omnes, & omnia in ipso constant. Christ is the image of the invisible God, the first begotten of every creature, because that in him, all things visible and invisible, in the heavens and in the earth, were made, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or potestates, all were created by him and in him; and he is before all creatures, and all things consist in him. This may seem very strange doctrine unto such Academick persons, as are too confident in the Ethnick Philosophy, forasmuch as it doth acknowledge no such wisdom from above, no such a Christ, or sacred Word, which was the Creator of heaven and earth, and who made the Angelicall Intelligences, and in whom, and by whom, all things were, and do yet exist. But it telleth us of subalternat efficient natures, namely, of Intelligences, of Stars, of Elements, and such like things, which operate or effect, of themselves, all things above and beneath, and will have the world to be eternall, and without all beginning; when contrariwise this true Philosophy telleth us, that God created all things in and by his word and wisdom; that he operateth all in all, and, that he is all, and in all. For the plain words of the precedent Text is, Omnia in ipso constant, All consist in him. But to the purpose. The foresaid Text seemeth to confirm this of the wise Solomon: Sapientiam possidebat in principio viae suae: ante opera sua, ante ullum tempus, ante seculum, cum nullae essent abyssi, edita erat ipsa, cum nulli essent fontes abundantes aquis, ante montes fundati essent, cum nondum fecerat terram, cum aptaret coelos ibi erat, cum slatueret ambitum in superficie abyssi, cum fortificaret superiores nubes superne, quando roborabat fontes abyssi, quando ponebat mari statutum suum, cum statueret fundamenta terrae, erat sapientia apud ipsum cuncta componens. Jehovah did possesse wisdom in the beginning of his waies, before any of his works, and before there was any time, before the world was made; she was brought forth before there was any abysse, and before there was any fountains that did abound with water, before the mountains had their foundations, when as yet he had made no earth. When he did adapt and make fit the heavens, she was there; when he did ordain a compasse, or appoint margins for the surface of the abysse. When he did fortifie the highest clouds above, when he did corroborate the fountains of the deep, when he did set bounds unto the sea, when he did establish the foundations of the earth, then was wisdom with him, composing or making all things. Whereby he argueth, first, the antiquity of the eternall wisdom; and then he proveth, that she was the composer and maker of Heaven and Earth, and consequently of every thing, as well invisible, as visible therein. And this agreeth in all things with that of our sacred and essentiall Philosopher Moses, where he acknowledgeth first an abysse without form; then that the informed matter of the abysse was by the presence of Gods emanating Spirit, universally informed and called waters. Then how by the acting of the divine or essential voice or word, Fiat, which was uttered by the mouth of the Omnipotent, the light or created form was produced in the waters, and afterwards by the will of the Creator, the word was pronounced the second time, and the waters above were divided from the waters beneath by the firmament, and so the heavens were made by the second fiat; as by the third, the division of the lower waters into elements, was effected by the assistance of this one and the self-same word, or the Spagerick operation of this divine and catholick Spirit, Elohim, but in a various property. Doth not David in few words affirm so much, saying, Verbo Domini firmati sunt coeli & Spiritu ab ore ejus omnis virtus eorum: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the spirit of his mouth each vertue thereof. Again, In sapientia omnia secisti; Thou hast created all things in wisdom. And St. Peter, Coeli erant prius & terra de aqua, & per aquam existentes verbo Dei: The heavens were first, and the earth of water, and by water, consisting by the word of God. And doth not St. John say, By it all things were made, and without it nothing was made. The world was fashioned by this word or essentiall spirit, which was pure light, but the world did not know it. And Solomon, Sapientia Deus fundavit coelos, stabilivit terram in prudentia: By wisdom God made the heavens, and by his prudency he laid the foundations of the earth. In conclusion, the whole harmony of holy Writ, which is too long for me punctually in this place to rehearse, doth testifie thus much, that all things, of what nature or condition soever, were made, disposed, and effected, in, by, and through this divine vertue or emanation, which is God himself, forasmuch as it is the divine act, whose root is the word. Ex ipso (saith St. Paul) per ipsum, & in ipso sunt omnia: Of him, by him, and in him, are all things. But because some of the learned of this world may reply, that though it is true, that God by his divine Spirit or Word, did create all things; yet it followeth not, that he doth act immediately, and exist essentially in every thing. But after that this eternall Spirit of wisdom, had bestowed on each creature a peculiar vertue in its creation, then the creature can act of it self by a free-will, which is absolutely; and distinguished, and divided from the immediate act of God. I answer, that by our founded rules in Divinity, the true essence of the Deitie is individuall, and therefore God doth impart no essentiall act or vertue unto any creature which can be discontinued or seperated from Himself. And for this reason, Christ who is the eternall spirit of wisdome is said to fill all, I marry (will our learned say) that is vertually, but not substantially or essentially. I would fain know (laying all such school distinctions apart, of which St. Paul biddeth Timothy to beware) if the vertue of God be not his essence, or whether the one can be divided from the other? If they reply and say, that this vertue of God is no essence but an accident: Verily they must needs erre in saying so, being that it is most certainly known unto the very Jewes and Gentiles themselves that God hath not any accidents in him, seeing that he is absolutely essentiall, and reall of himself, for where his divine act is, there is also his vertue, and, where his vertue is, there is he truly said to be essentiall: for else the word or divine act which doth vivifie and quicken every creature, should seem to be but an Accident, and that divided from the divine essence: which, how absurd it is, the immortality and root of it doth argue: For David in his forsaid text sayeth, spiritu ab ore ejus omnis virtus eorum, from the spirit of his mouth doth issue every vertue of the heavens. I imagine that there is no man of an upright sense that will esteem this vertue to be an Accident; which being so, then must it needs be essentiall, and consequently in God, and of God, and therefore not divisible from his spirit: But what needs more words when Scriptures do confirme this every where? St. Paul sayeth, in the text before mentioned, Quoniam in ipso cond[…]ta sunt universa in coelis et in terra tam visibilia quam invisibilia, omnia in ipso et per ipsum creata sunt; et omnia in ipso constant. Because all things in heaven and earth are made in him, as well visible as invisible, all things are created in him and by him all consist in him; Ergo, nothing without him. Again, St. John saith, In verbo erat vita; Life was in the Word. And therefore the creature is annexed unto him by a continuated tye of one and the self-same spirit of life which is in the creature, without the which it cannot exist one minute. And for this cause the Psalmist saith, O Lord, how manifold are thy works, in wisdom thou hast made them all. The earth is full of thy riches; so is the wide sea, and the innumerable creeping things therein both great and small. Thou givest unto them, and they gather it, thou openest thine hand and they are filled with good things, but if thou hide thy face, they are troubled, if thou takest away their breath they die, and return unto dust. Again, if thou sendest out thy Spirit, they are re-created and revive, and thou renewest the face of the earth. Whereby we see, that it is the immediate act of the Spirit of wisdom, that worketh these things, by which God is said to vivifie all things, and that by him we breathe, and live, and have our being. And not onely we, but also all other flesh whatsoever, as it appeareth by the foresaid Text; as also by this testimony of Job, Si Deus apponens ad hominem animum suum, spiritum seu flatum ejus ad se reciperet, deficeret & exspiraret omnis caro simul, & homo in c[…]nerem reverteretur: If God setting his heart or mind upon man, should receive or draw unto himself his spirit or breath of life, all flesh would die together, and man would return unto dust. And the Prophet, Deus dat flatum populo qui est super terram & spiritum calcantibus eam. God giveth breath unto the people which is on the earth, and a spirit unto the creatures which tread on it. Now I beseech you, How is it possible, that this spirit of life should be present with, and in, all things, and therefore essentially in every thing, and yet it should cease to act immediately, that is, in persona sua, when it is the most swift and mobil' in his active nature and agility, of all things, as the wise man telleth us. That he is present in all things, it is apparent, because all things do act and live in him, and by him; for St. Paul's Text before mentioned saith, Omnia in ipso constant, All consist in him. And again, Ipse operatur omnia in omnibus, He worketh all in all. And St. Peter, The heavens and the earth which were of water, exist by the word. And Solomon, Incorruptibilis Dei spiritus inest omni rei, The incorruptible Spirit of God is in all things. And again, Spiritus disciplinae sanctus implet orbem terrarum, The spirit of wisdom filleth the earth. And the Prophet David, Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I lie down in hell, thou art there. Let me take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, yet thither shall thine hand lead me, and thy right hand hold me. If I say, yet the darknesse shall hide me, even the night shall be light about me, yea the darknesse hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day, the darknesse and night are both alike. Therefore it is his reall Spirit that filleth all things, and not any accidentall vertue, as is falsly imagined by some. And the Prophet Isaias, Coelum est sedes mea, & terra scabellum pedum meorum, saith the Lord, The heavens are my seat, and the earth my foot stool. And Jeremy, Coelum & terram nunquid impleo, Do not I fill the heaven and the earth? Now that you may know more particularly how this is done, hearken unto David, In sapientia (saith he) omnia fecisti, repleta est terra possessione tua; Thou madest all things in wisdom, and the earth is full of thy possession or riches; he meaneth with his Spirit, which replenisheth, inacteth, and informeth all things. And therefore saith the son of Syrach, Sapientiam effudit Deus super omnia opera sua, & super omnem carnem secundum datum suum: God powred out his wisdom upon all his creatures, and upon all flesh, according unto the measure that he bestoweth it: That is to say, The Spirit of wisdom is more or lesse in all things, according as it pleased God to impart it unto this or that creature. And for this reason, Solomon in another place. Sapientia operatur omnia, Wisdom worketh or acteth all things. Which agreeth with this Text of the Apostle, Deus operatur omnia in omnibus. Why should we not infer then, that this spirit is essentially, and presentially in every thing? To conclude therefore this general discourse of the true Philosophy, Moses teacheth us, that after the foundation of the Heavens and Elements, every creature that was framed or composed of them, and lived and moved in them, did exist and was preserved by the self-same spirit; namely, the Sun, Moon, and other Starrs in heaven, the seeds, trees, herbs, and such like vegetables, and the creeping and four-footed beasts of the earth, and fishes of the seas. And lastly, Man was created, by one and the self-same spirit; but God imparted unto him a greater proportion of his Spirit, that thereby he might excell in perfection all other creatures. It were too infinite to expresse and set down the main scope of this businesse in writing, as Scriptures do at large recite it; for look into the works of Moses, the books of Joshua and Judges, the history of Kings or Chronicles, the reports of Job, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Cantiques, and Wisdom of Solomon, the monuments of the Prophets, the subject of Ecclesiasticus and Maccabees; and lastly, the relations or stories of Christ and his Apostles, and we shall find, that this sacred wisdom, with her essentiall vertues and acts, in the vast cavity of this world, both above and beneath, is the ground and firm foundation of all their doctrine and science, as well concerning naturall, as supernaturall businesses; or rather touching the acts of God in his naturall Tabernacles, or watry and humid mantles, which he assumeth or putteth off at his pleasure, as Scriptures do testifie. And yet I would have no man so far to mistake me, as not to think, that as God is not excluded from the creatures, so he is not included by any of them. I will now descend unto particularities, and shew you how this eternall wisdom is the fountain or corner-stone, first, of the higher Arts, namely, of Theology, Physick, or the art of Curing, Astronomy, Musick, Arithmetick, Geometry, Rhetorick; and after that, how the Meteoro-logicall Science onely dependeth on his act; then how true Morall learning, and Politick government is derived from the instructions and directions of this onely wise Spirit. And lastly, how all mysticall and miraculous Arts and discoveries, are effected and brought to light by it, confirming that place in Scripture, where it is said, Caeterae sunt ancillae hujus, All sciences are but the handmaids unto this wisdom. Of each of these therefore, in order.