Section II, Book 1, chapter 2: God, the soul of the world, and the spirits of all things

CHAP. II. Wherein it is proved, that all things were complicitly and ideally in God, and of God, before they were made.

THus have I expressed and made manifest, according unto the small validity of mine understanding, the estate and being of this radicall and eternall Unity, before any thing was by it created, with the effects that it did produce in the potentiall and deformed Mass, or materiall subject of all things, which was complicitly or hiddenly detained and comprehended, in that Omnipotent and incomprehensible point of Divine perfection, in which increated condition it remained as Nothing, quoad nos; forasmuch as it was without form, unto the which it appertaineth onely to give a name and essence, and therefore in the estate of its nonactuall being, wise men have termed it, Poten[…]iam Divinam, or the Divine Puissance. To confirm and verify all this, we find these axioms of the Scriptures: Ex ipso, per ipsum, & in ipso sunt omnia: Of him, by him, and in him are all things. Omnia sunt ex Deo: All things are of God. Uuns Pater omnium, qui super omnes, & per omnia, & in omnibus nobis: There is one Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all of us. Omniaper ipsum & in ipso creata sunt, & ipse est anteom[…]es, & omnia in ipso constant: All things are created by him and in him, and he is before all, and all consist in him. Ipse est omnia in omnibus: He is all and in all things. And the Son of Syrach: Diximus multa nec tamenea assequu[…]i sumus: Summa dictorum est, Ipsum esse omnia: We have said many things, without attaining unto them: the Sum of all our words is, that he is all t[…]ings. By the which axioms we may easily gather, that God did beget, bring forth, make, and create nothing, which was not eternally of himself and in himself; so that from him all things did flow and spring, namely out of a secret and hidden nature to a revealed and manifest condition, from an unknown estate unto an evident and known existence; from a pure Archetypicall simplicity into a real type or similittude; from a radicall fountain into a Sea, and from a meer point into a circle or circumference; verifying that saying of the wise Philosopher: God is the center of every thing, whose circumference is no where to be found; that is, in all and beyond all. To confirm all this, we may boldly and without offence infer thus much, namely that every thing that is begotten, principiated, created, produced, or separated, doth radically proceed from one that is unbegotten, infinite, not made or created, no[…] separated, but onely one Unity, individuall in his essence: For it is an easy matter to consider, that every inferior thing doth issue from a superior; every corporall thing from a spirituall; every visible thing from an invisible; every temporall thing, namely which hath both a beginning and an end, from a thing that is aeviall, that is to say, which hath a beginning but no end; and every aeviall thing from an eternall thing, to wit, that which hath neither beginning nor end, and therefore that eternall point or brightest Unity which hath no beginning, and consequently no end, is the fountain from the which all aeviall and temporall things do essentially proceed, no otherwise then all numbers do flow from Unity, and are comprehended in Unity: For how far soever the number doth extend it self, evermore it hath an unity to begin it, and an unity to conclude it, and in verity it hath nothing bendes an unity to create and compose it within. But for your better instruction, you may observe by a diligent insight into the cossicall numbers, how the Divine and Centrally formall Unity doth comprehend all creatures, as well before they were made, as since their creation in its self: For we must note, that there is nothing in the world, but it is either a root, or a square, or a cube, or some other such like figure, which is framed and composed of these. The root doth represent the beginning of all cossicall proportions or magnitudes: the Square doth decipher the simple and spirituall principiated figure, which is created or made by the multipli[…]ation of that root: the cube is composed through the augmenting of that square or principiated shape in its root; so that we may discern that the whole cubick body, and consequently the square is conteined in the root, and in conclusion, is nothing else then the root multiplied in it self or from it self. But that my demonstrations may yet approach a little nearer unto our purpose, let us I pray you with diligence consider the nature and property of this Divine Monady or Unity, as it is in its simple and sincere existence, and then we shall find it, and that without any egression from his own punctuall or centrall profundity, to comprehend complicitly within it self the three foresaid cossicall Dimensions, and consequently all other things which it hath now by Creation explicitly made evident, in this typicall world, and that is proved easily by this Arithmeticall demonstration: For if we shall multiply an unity as a root, in it self, it will produce but it self, namely an unity for a square, the which being again remultiplicated in its self, will bring forth a cube, which is all one with the root or square; to wit, a simple unity: Whereby it is evident, that though we have here three various branches, which seem to differ in their formall progression, I mean a Root, a Square, and Cube, yet in the essentiall verity and reality, there is but this one Unity or Indentity, in the which all things remaine potentially, and that after a most abstruse manner. And for this reason the Wiseman saith: Deo omnia sunt cogni[…]a antequam crearentur: All things were known unto God, before they were created. And Esdr[…]s: Dei potentia, ante omnia creata, finis & initium omnium est: The Puissance of God which was before all creatures, was the beginning and end of all things. And unto this purpose Herm[…]s saith, Ex uno principio cun[…]ta dependent, principium ex uno solo, & principium movetur ut rursus extet principium, ipsum tamen unum pr[…]stat, nec recedit ab unitate: All things depend of one principle or beginning, that is on one sole Unity, and this principle or beginning is moved, that it may again become a principle, and yet nevertheless it is but one thing onely, that doth effect it, not departing from the nature of Unity. And to this sense saith St. John: In principio […]rat verbum: In the beginning was the word: The which word affirmeth thus much: Ego & Pater unum sumus, Pater in me & ego in Patre, & Pater in me man[…]us, ipse facit omnia: I and my Father am one, my Father in me and I in my Father; and my Father in me, is he that maketh all things. Even unto this very purpose seemeth the wise Hermes to concurre with the Scriptures, in the shaping out of the Archetypicall world, after whose Image this our typicall world is created (and therefore he termeth it elsewhere, the visible Son of God:) Monas (saith he) generat Monadem, & in seipsum reflexit ardorem: One b[…]gat one, and reflected the Ardor and vertue of his emanation into it self; that is, it shined into it self, to the shaping out of an Ideal world, and was not as yet conversant about the framing out of any typicall one. Whereby it is evident, that nothing is really figured in this world, which was not ideally fashioned out in the archetype or eternall one. But lest some captious person should except against these places in Scripture, and else-where cited by me, touching this very point, and alledge, (as some of them have already done) that these mine opinions are flatly dissonant unto that of the antient Fathers, and School men, I will in few words express some of their minds touching this point. St. Austin's opinion is, Quod ideae sunt formae aeternae & incommutabi[…]es in men[…]e divina; That the id[…]a's of things are eternal formes, and incommutable shapes in God. And Sonus will have them to be, Res ob octivae, c[…]gnitae ab intellectu divino, Certain objects, which are known unto the divine in[…]ellect. But there is nothing in God but that which is God, because the Godhead is one and the same Spirit: Whereupon it followeth, that the Idea's in God, although they be many, (for man was made after one fashion, and a horse after another, &c.) yet all are one in God, as St. Austin seemeth to prove and confirm else-where, in these words, Primus & summus intellectus est ars quaedam omnipotentis atque sapientis Dei, plena omnium rationum viventium incommutabilium; & omnes unum inea, sicut ipsa unum de uno cum quo unum. The supream and highest intellect is a certain act of the omnipotent and wise God, full of all the unchangeab[…]e reasons of living things, and all of them are one in it, as it is one of one with whom is one. And in another place he saith, Tu es Deus meus, & Dominus omnium quae creasti; & apud te omnium stabilium sunt causae, & omnium mutabilium, apud te, immutabiles manent origines, & omnium rationabilium & irrationabilium atque temporalium semper vivunt rationes. Thou art my God, and the Lord of all that thou hast created; with thee all originalls remain immutable, and the reasons or causes of all reasonable, and unreasonable, and temporall things, do alwaies live. And Boetius hath it thus.

Tu cuncta superno
Ducis ab exemplo, pulchrum pulcherrimus ipse
Mundum merte gerens, similique in imagine formas.

Thou framest all things after a high and super-celestia[…]l example, and being most beautifull, bearing the fair world in thy minde, dost fashion it according unto the like image. To conclude, Anselm doth learnedly expresse the manner and progression of every exemplary thing, from the ideall fountain of all verity, thus, Forma rei (saith he) arteficis est archetypa & veritas, & dum à potentia in actum ducitur motus est; in ma[…]eria vero jam producta, est similitudo & imago: The form of a thing is the archetype and verify of the workman; and whilst it is produced from puissance into act, it is motion; being specified in matter, it is a similitude or image. And for this reason Odo, that learned Abbot, averreth, Quod numerus ternarius sit principale in animo conditoris exemp[…]um condendorum; That the te[…]nary number (meaning the divine and formall kind of numeration) is the principal image in the Creator's mind, of such things as are created. In the very self-same sense speaketh the divine Philosopher He[…]mes, in the place before mentioned, saying, Quod m[…]na[…] generat monadem & in se […]psum reflexit ardorem; That one bega[…] one, and did reflect his beams into it self. Whereby he argueth, that unity in the framing of the Ideall or Archetypicall world, did emit or send forth his word, as an essence begot of it self; and afterward did reflect that spirit of wisdom, which issued from them both into it self. For the son of Syrach saith, Fons sapientiae verbum Dei in excelsis, & ingressus illius mandata aeterna; The fountain of wisdom is the word of God most high, and the everlasting commandements are the entrance unto her. Thus therefore was the Archetypicall world framed, in, and of all one unity, but in a three-fold or triple manner, namely, by the egression of one out of one, and by the regression of that one unity so emitted, by emanation into it self; whereby the three divine properties in one infinite essence, may easily be scanned. We conclude therefore, that according to this ideall Image, in triplicity of variety, this our world was afterwards fashioned and proportioned, as a true type and example of the divine Pattern, after the which it was drawn; (for out of unity in his abstruse existence, namely, as it was hid in the dark chaos, or potentiall masse, the bright flame of all formall beeing, did shine forth, and the spirit of wisdom proceeding from them both, did conjoyne the formall emanation with the potentiall matter, so that by the union of these two, namely, of the divine emanation of light, and of the substantiall matter of darknesse, which was water, the heavens were made of old, and the earth, and consequently the whole world, as it shall hereafter be evidently demonstrated in our Divine Philosophy, and is well proved by the warrant of the Apostle Peter. We may therefore boldly conclude, that if the unities or members of the ideall world, be all extracted out of one radicall unity, as children out of one father, and are included by the self-same unity, which is in[…]ni[…]e in it self, it must then follow of necessity, that the triple member of this created world, must also be from, and in that self-same unity, being that the whole typicall world with his parts, are shaped after the image or representation of the Archetype, which is that eternall monady or unity in which are all things; and therefore he is rightly termed of the Apostle, to b[…] all, and in all. And again, All things are created by him, and in him, and he is before all, and al[…] consist in him. And in another place, Of him, by him, and in him, are all things, &c. And hereupon it is rightly termed of the Philosopher Hermes, The center of all things, whose circumference is no where; that is to say, including all, not being included by any. And Rabbi Z[…]ar, All things are one in respect of God, but many in regard of us. And Plato, Not onely all things are in God, but a[…]so all things that exist, forasmuch as they are in God, and do proceed from him, they are b[…]t one Entity. Moreover Hermes in his Smaragdine Table, As all things were by the me[…]iati[…]n of one, so also are all things sprung from this one thing by adaptation. And Proclus, in his Theologicall Problems, As all things are sprung from one onely, in like manner do they hasten by a continuall course to return unto that unity, with whom the greater the concord is, by the which they meet together, by so much the more th[…]y participate of him. Again Plato, All things part from the high God, and do strive to return unto him again, forasmuch as in h[…]m c[…]nsisteth their small repose, and the sust[…]nance of their exist[…]nce. For this cause therefore did the Philosopher Leucippus, make this essentiall unity the summum bonum, or the soveraigne good and felic[…]ty. Thus therefore you see, that the antique Philosophy doth not jar or dissent in this, from the fore-said harmony of holy Writ. There are some well seen in this mysticall kind of progression, which do express it in this manner: In D[…]o omn[…]o eran[…] nihil nisi mere De[…]s. Ex Deo omnia veniebant in principium, & tum omnia nihil erant nisi mere principium, man[…]te tamen Deo. Ex principio omni procedebant in verbum, & tum omnia nihil erant nisi mere Verbum, manente tamen principio. Ex verbo omnia procedebant in spiritum D[…]mini, & tum nihil erant nisi Spiritus Domini, manente tamen verbo. Ex spiritu Domini omnia procedebant in aquas scilicet s[…]periores, & tum omnia nihil erant nisi mere aquae superiores, manente tamen Spiritu Domini. Ex aquis superioribus omnia descenderunt in aquas inferiores, & tum omnia nihil erant nisi mere aquae inferiores, manentibus tamen superioribus. Ex aquis inferioribus, hoc est, ex elementis & astris invisibilibus omnia proced[…]bant in corpora visibilia, & tunc omnia erant nihil nisi mere corpora visibilia, manentibus tamen elementis & astris invisibi[…]ibus, &c. In God all things were nothing but meerly God. Of God all things were made a beginning, and then all things were n[…]thing else but a m[…]r beginning, God remaining neverthelesse in his entire existence. Of the beginning all became the Word, and then were all things nothing else but the word meerly, and that not without the permanency of the beginning. From the word all did proceed into the Spirit of the Lord, and then they were nothing but the Spirit of the Lord, and that without any diminution of the Words existence. From the Spirit of the Lord all became wa[…]ers, namely, the upper waters, and then all things were nothing else but the upper waters meerly, and that without any diminution of the Spirit of the Lords existence. From the upper waters all did descend into the lower waters, or elementary region, and then all were nothing else but meerly the lower waters, and yet the upper waters lost not their permanency. Of the lower waters, that is, of the elements, and invisible stars, or starry influences, all became visible bodies, and then all things were nothing else but visible bodies, without any derogation neverthelesse unto any existency of the elements, and starry influences, &c. All which I could also prove to be true, as well by the Scriptures, as expert Cabalists, and divinest Philosophers assertions: For by Scriptures we are taught, That God, the fountain of all beeing, did first create darkness; and that this darkness was that deformed principle, or primary matter, without shape, which did complicitely contain all things. And that the Word was in that beginning or principle. And again, that this word issued out of darknesse. And that the spirit was carried on these waters, which appeared out of the bowel[…]s of the dark abysse. And that all were waters at the first, the bright Spirit of the Lord being not in any thing extinguished. And that these waters were divided […]nto the higher and lower, namely, heaven and earth. As also St. Peter teacheth us, that of the lower waters the elements were framed by the distinguishing Spirit of the Lord. Which Job saith, doth aptare pondus aeri, & appendere aquas in mensura, facere pluviae statuta & viam fulgetro tonitruum; that is, giveth a portion unto the weight of […]he aire, and hangeth the waters or clowds in measure, and maketh statutes, or giveth lawes unto the rain, and a passage unto the lightning of the thunder, &c. And Racanat, that excellent Master in Cabal, upon the beginning of Genesis, saith, as is already told you, Et […]orte quaeres, Cum sap entia sit numeratio secunda, q[…]are dicatur principium? Scriptum est in libro Bahir, Nihil est princ[…]pium nisi sapientia. Cui equidem […]ecte mihi videar respondere, quod infinitudo ipsa trium sammarum Cabalisticae arboris numerationum (quas vos […]res in divi[…]s perso[…]as appellare consuevistis, absol[…]t[…]ssima essent[…]a) quum sit in aby[…]sso ten[…]brarum retracta & immane[…]s ociosa, vel (ut a[…]unt) ad nihil respiciens, idcirco dicitur [non-Latin script], i. e. N[…]hil sive non-ens ac non-sints, qu[…]a nos tam tenui erga res div[…]nas ingen[…]i paupertate […] de […]is quae non apparent haud secus atque de iis quae non sunt judicamus. At ubi se ostend[…]rit ut sit a iquid & revera subsistat, tunc Aleph tenebrosum in Aleph lucidum convertitur. Scriptum est enim, Sicut tenebrae ejus ita & lux ejus: & appella[…]ur […] Aleph magnum quando exire cupit & apparere omnium rerum causa per Beth proxime sequentem literam, nominaturque [non-Latin script], i. e. pater omnis gene[…]ationis & p[…]oductionis, fac[…]t enim res omnes, &c. And per chance you will demand, Since sapience is the second Cabalisticall numeration, wherefore it is called Principium, or the beginning? It is written in the book of Bahir, that nothing is principium, or the beginning, but Wisdom. Unto whom, me-thinks, I may rightly answer, That the infinity it self of the three highest numerations of the Cabalisticall tree, (which ye are accustomed to call the three Persons in Divinity, of one absolute essence) when it is retracted in the abysse of darknesse, and remaining idle or vacant, and, as it were, having respect unto nothing, is therefore called [non-Latin script], that is to say, Nothing, or non-entity; because that we being endued with such poverty of understanding in divine matters, do […]udge of such things which appear not, no otherwise than of those which are not at all; but when it doth so reveal it self, that it existeth in our senses somewhat indeed, then is dark Aleph converted into light Aleph. For it is writ, As his darknesse is, so is his light, namely, when it desireth to issue out of darknesse, and to appear to be the cause of all things, by Beth, which is the next ensuing letter; and it is termed [non-Latin script] Ab, that is to say, the father of all generation and production of things; for it effecteth all things. Moreover, Mercury Trismegist, whom others term Hermes, doth more expresly seem to mention this progression, from unity in darkness, down to the creation of the elements, in this very form of speech, Pimander mens divinae potentiae mutavi[…] formam & universa sub[…]to revelavit; cernebam enim omnia in […]umen conversa, suave nimium atque jucundum, quod intuentem me mirifice ob[…]ectabat. Paulo post, umbra quaedam horrenda obliqua revolutione subterlabebatur, in hum damque naturam migrabat, ineffabili tum vu tu exagitabam, inde fumus magnus in sonitum erumpebat, ex sonitu vox eg[…]ed[…]ebatur, quam ego luminis vocem existimabam, ex luminis voce verbum factum prodiit; verum hoc naturae humidae astans, eam fovebat, ex hum[…]dae autem naturae viscer[…]bus sincerus ac levis ignis protinus evolans, alta petit, Aer quoque levis spiritu parens mediam regionem inter ignem & aquam sortiebatur, […]erra vero & aqua s[…]c invicem commixta […]acebant ut terrae facies aquis obrut[…] nusquam pateret. Tunc Pimander ait, Lumen illud ego sum, mens Deus tuus, antiqu[…]or quan[…] humida natura quae ex umbra effulsit: mentis vero ge[…]men lucens, Dei F[…]lius, &c. Pimander being the mentall exce[…]lency of the divine pu[…]ssance, did change his form or shape, and on the suddain revealed the universe; for I did discern, that all things were converted into a pleasant and delectable light, which did rejoyce me to behold. A little after, a fea[…]full shaddow or darknesse did glide downwards by an oblique revolution, and was converted into a humid or moist nature, which was exagitated or stirred up by an unspeakable aspect; thereupon a g[…]eat fume or smoak made a noise, out […]f that no[…]se proceeded a voice, which I did imagine to be the voice of the light, out of this voice of the light the word which was made was utte[…]ed; but this word joyning it self with the hum[…]d na[…]u[…]e, did nourish and anima[…]e it. Out of the bowells of this humid nature, the light element of fire doth f[…]y, and soareth on high, also the thin aire possesseth the middle region, between the fire and water; b[…]t the earth and the water were intermingled after such a fashion, that the face of the earth was no where over-flowed by the waters. Then Pimander said, I am that light, the mentall spirit, that is thy God, of a greater antiquity then is the humid nature, which did shine out of the dark shaddow: but the brightsome germe of the mentall spirit is the Son of God, &c. Whereby it is evident, that by the mentall unity is meant the absolute divine Monady in it self, without any respect had unto creation. By the Divine Puissance, is understood the dark principle, beginning, or Chaos, out of the which light or the divine emanation did spring. At the issuing of Light, the word was made manifest out of the dark and deformed Chaos; from which also the humid nature or the Abysse of waters did spring, or proceed into action by the creating emanation: this humid Mass was nourished and vivified by the word, and framed in the Elements, as is said before. And therefore it is apparent, that the darkness, the light, the word, the waters, and Elements were complicitly contained all in the mentall puissance and abstruce reservation of the sincere Identity of Pimander, or God in himself, before they were created. But I will yet pass a little further, and confirm all this more rationally and demonstratively, by the authority of Holy-Writ: Job saith: Revelat Deus fundamenta è tenebris, & educit in lucem umbram lethalem: God revealeth the foundations of the world out of darknesse, and he discovereth or bringeth forth into light the deadly shadow, &c. Where, by the foundations he understandeth the waters, which were secretly contained in the dark and misshapen abyss, of the which afterward the heavens, and the earth, and consequently the whole world was framed by the Word, according unto the Archetypicall pattern: So that we here perceive, that two principles of a clean contrary nature, do issue or proceed from, and out of one and the same Identity or Unity in Essence, namely a deadly darkness, and as it were the shadow of death, and an admirable vivifying light, whereof the one was the matrix or receptacle of form: And the deformed bowells of the other, contained that matter without form, whereof afterward the world was framed, and therefore the wiseman saith: Manus omnipotentis mundum ex informi materia effecit: The hand of the Almighty hath made the world of a matter without form. And according unto this tenent also, Job in an other place: Aquilonem extendit Deus super inane & vacuum, & suspendit terram super nihilum: God stretcheth forth or spreadeth the North upon emtpyness, and inanity; that is to say, on a thing that was void and destitute of shape, and hanged the earth upon nothing. In which speech by inane or vacuum and nihilum, he meaneth misshapen darknesse, and deadly shadow, of which he spake in the before-specified place, or that matter without form, mentioned by Solomon: the which whilst it was in Potemia D[…]vina, or the Divine Puissance, was meerly nothing in man's weak capacity, being that it was not as yet actually created or informed; for it is form onely that giveth name and essence, as all Philosophers do confesse.

By this therefore we may discern, how all things are essentially comprehended in this eternall and radicall Unity: Forasmuch as being one, he is infinite, and being infinite as well in his dimension and essence as power; he must of necessity comprehend in himself all finite things whatsoever. He is in all and filleth all, and yet he is beyond all, as he that surpassing and compassing all, is onely in himse[…]f, and yet neither absent from his creatures which he hath framed out by his Word, according to his Will. For first, from his Volunty did proceed his Word, Fiat, and it was done. Now that we have the privative principle, namely deadly darknesse and deformity, drawn from the infinite center of all things; whose circumference is no where to be found; We will dive into the nature of that formall and lively Light, which did also issue from the self-same Originall Root and most antique beginning of all things, that thereby we may with the best colours of our understanding, paint out and describe that excellent formall Essence which redeemed the humid matter, or watery substance out of the captivity of the deadly and misshapen darkness or shadow of death (that I may speak in Job's language) by which all things have their being, and beauteous existence.