Vier] ‘THE SECOND BOOK, 109 
have led him to pontess a God: but miracles have been 
wrought to convert idolaters and the superstitious, be- 
cause no light of nature extendeth to declare the will and 
true worship of God. For as all works do show forth 
the power and skill of the workman, and not his image, 
so it is of the works of God, which do show the omni- 
potency and wisdom of the maker, but not his image. 
And therefore therein the heathen opinion differeth from 
the sacred truth; for they supposed the world to be the 
image of God, and man to be an extract or compendious 
image of the world; but the scriptures never vouchsafe 
to attribute to the world that honour, as to be the image 
of God, but only the work of his hands ; neither do they 
speak of any other image of God, but man. Wherefore 
by the contemplation of nature to induce and enforce 
the acknowledgement of God, and to demonstrate his 
power, providence, and goodness, is an excellent argu- 
ment, and hath been excellently handled by divers. But 
on the other side, out of the contemplation of nature, or 
ground of human knowledges, to induce any verity or 
persuasion concerning the points of faith, is in my judge- 
ment not safe: Da fider que fider sunt. For the heathen 
themselves conclude as much in that excellent and divine 
fable of the golden chain: Zhat men and gods were not 
able to draw Jupiter down to the earth; but contrariwise 
Jupiter was able to draw them up to heaven. So as we 
ought not to attempt to draw down or to submit the 
mysteries of God to our reason; but contrariwise to raise 
and advance our reason to the divine truth. So as in 
this part of knowledge, touching divine philosophy, I am 
so far from noting any deficience, as I rather note an 
excess: whereunto I have digressed because of the ex- 
treme prejudice which both religion and philosophy hath 
