THE SECOND BOOK 225 



upon weak and obscure inferences or derivations : 

 which latter sort, if men would revive the blessed style 

 of that great doctor of the Gentiles, would be carried 

 thus, ego, non dominus ; and again, secundum con- 

 silium meum, in opinions and counsels, and not in posi 

 tions 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 denunciation 

 cf curses and anathemas, to the terror of those which 

 have not sufficiently learned out of Salomon, that The 

 causeless curse shall not come. 



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, be 

 cause it hath most coherence with that which we have 

 now last handled. The nature of the information con- 

 sisteth 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 be 

 long 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 funda- D& gradibus 

 mental, and the points of further perfec- unitatis in 

 tion only, ought to be with piety and dvitateDei. 

 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 like to 

 abate the heat of many of them. We see Moses when 

 he saw the Israelite and the Egyptian fight, he did not 

 Bay, Why strive you ? but drew his sword and slew 



I 



