THE SECOND BOOK. 185 



doctor of the Gentiles, would be carried thus, ego, non 

 dominus ; and again, secundum consilium meum, in opinions 

 and counsels, and not in positions and oppositions. But men 

 are now over-ready to usurp the style, non ego, sed dominus ; 

 and not so only, but to bind it with the thunder and de 

 nunciation of curses and anathemas, to the terror of those 

 which have not sufficiently learned out of Solomon that The 

 causeless curse shall not come.&quot; 



(8) Divinity hath two principal parts : the matter informed 

 or revealed, and the nature of the information or revelation ; 

 and with the latter we will begin, because it hath most co 

 herence with that which we have now last handled. The 

 nature of the information consisteth of three branches : the 

 limits of the information, the sufficiency of the information, 

 and the acquiring or obtaining the information. Unto the 

 limits of the information belong these considerations : how far 

 forth particular persons continue to be inspired ; how far forth 

 the Church is inspired ; and how far forth reason may be 

 used ; the last point whereof I have noted as deficient. Unto 

 the sufficiency of the information belong two considerations : 

 what points of religion are fundamental, and what perfective, 

 being matter of further building and perfection upon one and 

 the same foundation ; and again, how the gradations of light 

 according to the dispensation of times are material to the 

 sufficiency of belief. 



(9) Here again I may rather give it in advice than note it 

 as deficient, that the points fundamental, and the points of 

 further perfection only, ought to be with piety and wisdom 

 distinguished ; a subject tending to much like end as that I 

 noted before ; for as that other were likely to abate the 

 number of controversies, so this is likely to abate the heat 

 of many of them. We see Moses when he saw the Israelite 

 and the Egyptian fight, he did not say, &quot; Why strive you?&quot; 

 but drew his sword and slew the Egyptian ; but when he saw 

 the two Israelites fight, he said, &quot;You are brethren, why strive 

 you ? &quot; If the point of doctrine be an Egyptian, it must be 

 slain by the sword of the Spirit, and not reconciled ; but if it 

 be an Israelite, though in the wrong, then, &quot; Why strive you ?&quot; 

 We see of the fundamental points, our Saviour penneth the 

 league thus, &quot;He that is not with us is against us ; &quot; but of 

 points not fundamental, thus, &quot; He that is not against us is with 

 us.&quot; So we see the coat of our Saviour was entire without seam, 

 and so is the doctrine of the Scriptures in itself ; but the garment 

 of the Church was of divers colours and yet not divided. We 

 see the cha.ff may and ought to be severed from the corn in 



