Читать книгу The Female Physician - John Maubray - Страница 11
ОглавлениеCHAP. IV. Of the SOUL.
THE SOUL is a certain divine Light, created after the Image of God; figured by a Seal, whose Character is the eternal Word.
THE SOUL is a certain divine Substance, individual, and entirely present in every Part of the Body, depending only upon the Power of Him, who is the ultimate End, and efficient Cause of all things; whose Body (according to Plato) is Truth, whose Shadow is Light, and whose Name is God.
AND this divine Substance of Light, the SOUL, immediately proceeding from that divine Fountain of all Things, God, (according to the Opinion of the Platonists) is join’d, by competent Means, to the grosser Matter of the Body. Which Means these Heathens account for in manner following: viz.
THE SOUL, in its Descent, is involved in an etherial Body, which they call the celestial Vehicle, or Chariot of the Soul; thro’ which Medium, by the Command of God, (who is the Center of the World) it is first infus’d into the middle Punct of the Heart, which is the Center of the Body; whence it is diffus’d thro’ all the Parts and Members of the Body, joining itself to the natural Heat. As a Spirit, generated by Heat from the Heart, it plungeth itself into the Humours; and thus inhering in all the respective Parts, it becomes equal in degree of Proximity to all the Members.
THUS the immortal SOUL is, by an immortal Engine, convey’d to, and included in the mortal Body: But when by Diseases, or otherways, these Mediums (the Heat and Humours) begin to dissolve, the Soul recollects itself, and flies back betimes to its first Receptacle, the Heart: When the Spirit of the Heart also fails, the Heat extinguishes, and the Spirit leaves the Man; He dies, and the SOUL flies away in its original Vehicle: When the Body returns to Earth, whence it came, and the Spirit to God, who gave it a sacred Nature and divine Offspring: which Spirit judging the SOUL, if it has liv’d ill, subjects it to some general and some particular Torments of Hell, abandoning it also to the Pleasure of the Devil: Whereas, if it has done well, it mounts its celestial Chariot, rejoicing together with the Spirit, and passes freely to the Choirs of Heaven; where it enjoys all its pure Senses and Faculties, the perfect Knowledge of all things, a perpetual blessed Felicity; and at last, the divine Vision, the Possession of the eternal Kingdom, &c.
THUS far I have prosecuted the Platonick Doctrine of the SOUL; so that even by This, the gross Opinion of such as deny the Existence of so divine a Spark in Man, may be confuted.
AND this being sufficient for that purpose, I need not introduce any Christian Arguments to second it; which, however important, are commonly deem’d light by an obstinate Sett of Men. Wherefore I shall only add, that from the Disparity of Manners, Affections, Dispositions, Capacities, Judgments, Opinions, and Passions of Men, it appears most probable and evident, that every one of us is individually indued with a Soul, and that with a proper Soul, peculiar to our respective Bodies, according to the wise Proverb; So many Men, so many Minds: as well as Horace’s[2] Saying,
“Millia, Quot Capitum vivunt, totidem Studiorum.
——And Persius[3] says,
“Mille hominum Species, & rerum discolor Usus;
“Velle suum cuique est, nec voto vivitur uno.
TO which Assertion the great Prophet David assents, in that God fashioned and made the Hearts and Minds of Men one by one, enduing them with peculiar Dispositions, and assigning every Soul its proper natural Conditions. Hence Solomon[4] says, I was a witty Child, and had a good Spirit; yea, rather being good, I came into a Body undefiled: That is, adapted to the Disposition of his SOUL. As we see some Torches or Candles burn brighter, and some Fuel cast more Heat and Light than others; so the Splendour of every SOUL shines in a different way, and produces different Distinctions of Minds: as is evident in Youths, who (however accurately taught, and painfully instructed) are not equally capable of learning Arts, Discipline, or any sort of Erudition.
BUT notwithstanding that some curious Physicians (who have strictly scrutiniz’d the Works of Nature) would have the SOUL to center in the Brain, whence all its Senses, Faculties, and Actions proceed; yet some Philosophers have justly assign’d the Center of the Heart to its Residence: which Doctrine is also approved by the wise Solomon[5], saying; Keep thy Heart with all Diligence, for out of it are the Issues of Life.
HOWEVER yet, if any should still obstinately persist in denying the Being of the SOUL, I advise such to go no farther, but look into themselves, and call their own Minds to Counsel; for even there they will have a full View, not only of its Being, but also of its supernatural Excellency; If they but seriously weigh the eximious Gifts, and unlimited Faculties of Nature, together with the egregious Ornaments of Reason, Understanding, Judgment, Memory, and many other Accomplishments, with which every Mind is abundantly endued; they will clearly perceive something of a superexcellent Nature, and Supernatural Quality in themselves; which is nothing else but what I call the Soul, and which is also of a more noble and excelling Substance, than any corporeal Matter liable to Corruption can be.
THIS Being, only and alone, vivifies, rules, and governs the Body; furnishing it with innumerable Actions, and exercising it with as many curious Offices. Hence, from its manifold Effects, and different Operations, it has various Appellations, according to St. Augustine’s Saying: “Cùm Corpus animat, Vitâq; imbuit, Anima dicitur: Dum vult, Animus: dum Scientiâ ornata est, ac Judicandi peritiam exercet, Mens: dum recolit ac reminiscitur, Memoria: dum ratiocinatur, ac singula discernit, Ratio: dum Contemplationi insistit, Spiritus: dum Sentiendi vim obtinet, Sensus.” Which are all the principal Functions of the Soul, whereby it demonstrates its Power, and performs its relative Offices. In the Execution whereof, St. Cyprian asserts, that the SOUL makes use of the Body, as the Workman does of the Mallet, Hatchet, or Anvil: tho’ (I think) the Simile may be drawn much nearer, the SOUL being inclosed and dwelling in the Body, as the Fish or the Snail in the Shell; without which Receptacle, or Rampart of Defence, it cannot subsist: Which is evident in that, as soon as the Body labours under any Grief, the SOUL is also affected; not with a primary Affection (as some would have it) but by a Law of the most strict Alliance, and nearest Affinity; and hence it is, that the Vices and Virtues of the one are transfus’d, and flow into the other.
THIS is the only reason why, when the corporeal Organs or Instruments are vitiated or impeded, the SOUL cannot explicate its own Faculties, according to the Words of Solomon[6]; The corruptible Body presseth down the Soul, and the earthly Tabernacle weigheth down the Mind. Which Truth may serve to obviate two Objections; viz. That of Childrens being destitute of the SOUL, and that of the SOUL’s growing up with Youth, and declining with Age, or Sickness: Since, tho’ it less displays itself in Infancy, Sickness, and Dotage, yet it still is, and continues furnished with its proper Faculties, and that from the Beginning of Life, until its End; neither does the SOUL in its Substance ever suffer the least Diminution, but only by the Ineptitude of the Instrument or Organ, it may be hindered in the Discharge of its Functions, and Execution of its Offices.
AND tho this divine Substance can contract nothing of Vice, Spot, or Contagion from the Concretion of the corruptible Body: yet as a thick Cloud obscures the Sun-Beams, and overcasts its Light; or, as by holding a versicolour Glass to our Eyes, Matters appear different from what they really are: So the Intemperature of the Body obscures the Light of Reason, and overshadows the Intellects of the Mind, which of course obstructs the Functions of the Soul. Hence it is, that a delirious or drunken Man thinks he sees double, or two things, tho’ one be the only Object of his Eyes: And as, for this reason, melancholick Persons imagine Absurdities, and feign Dreams to themselves; so cholerick Persons grow insensibly hot, and are suddenly incensed by the Fumes of noxious Humours oppressing the Brain.
BUT there is another Sett of Miscreants, who don’t so much deny the Existence, as the Immortality of the Soul. This I esteem a Piece of the grossest Impiety, to think that spiritual Substance Mortal and Frail, which is inspir’d in Man by the Divine Will and Command, proceeding immediately from the very Substance of God himself: Since if Man be made after the Image of God, to express his Similitude, he must needs participate of his Nature, and consequently be a Fellow-Sharer of Eternity: And if the human Soul be Partaker of the divine Essence or Substance, as God is eternal and incapable of Decay, so it must needs be eternal, and free from all Corruption.
MOREOVER, God form’d and made all other Things for the sake of Man, but Him he made for his own sake, and therefore like unto Himself; for which reason, he was pleas’d to agglutinate Immortality to Mortality, and Divinity to Humanity: By which Means, the divine Nature incorporates, as it were, with the human, and the human is united to the divine.
HENCE we may clearly see how marvellously God has been affected towards us from the Beginning; how much he delighted in us, and desired the entire Fruition and full Enjoyment of our perpetual Familiarity, and eternal Fellowship; which Truth Christ[7] (the Wisdom of the Father) confirms by his own Testimony.
AND such is still the great Love and Propension of God towards Man, that all Things (thro’ his Grace) are communicated to him by his only SON;[8] and that more especially because we are conditional Sharers, equal Inheritors, and Joint-Heirs with him, agreeable to the[9] Apostles Phrase; and whatever is express’d in CHRIST, may also be in Man: Since as he is eternal, and lives for ever, so Man (by his Grace and Merits) does the same; for he having sufficiently bruised Satan’s Head, led Captivity Captive, and conquer’d Death, rose again, and became the Prince and Captain of so glorious a VICTORY, that all Men, by virtue of that Triumph, might be raised up again at the Last Day, and that to participate of an Immortality of Welfare or Woe.
