THE SECOND BOOK 97 



td demonstrate his power, providence, and goodness, 

 is an excellent argument, and hath been excellently 

 handled by divers. But on the other side, out of the 

 contemplation of nature, or ground of human know- 

 ledges, to induce any verity or persuasion concerning 

 the points of faith, is in my judgement not safe : ' Da 

 fidei quae fidei sunt.' For the heathen themselves con- 

 clude as much in that excellent and divine fable of 

 the golden chain : ' That 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 philo- 

 sophy, I am so far from noting any deficience, as I 

 rather note an excess : whereunto I have digressed 

 because of the extreme prejudice which both religion 

 and philosophy hath received and may receive by 

 being commixed together ; as that which undoubtedly 

 wiU make an heretical religion, and an imaginary and 

 fabulous philosophy. 



2. Otherwise it is of the nature of angels and spirits, 

 which is an appendix of theology, both divine and 

 natural, and is neither inscrutable nor interdicted. 

 For although the scripture saith, ' Let no man deceive 

 you in sublime discourse touching the worship of angels, 

 pressing into that he knoweth not,' &c., yet notwith- 

 standing if you observe well that precept, it may appear 

 thereby that there be two tlungs only forbidden, 

 adoration of them, and opinion fantastical of them, 

 either to extol them further than appertaineth to the 

 degree of a creature, or to extol a man's knowledge of 

 them further than he hath ground. But the sober 

 and grounded inquiry, which may arise out of the 

 passages of holy scriptures, or out of the gradations of 

 nature, is not restrained. So of degenerate and re- 

 volted spirits, the conversing with them or the employ- 

 ment of them is prohibited, much more any veneration 

 towards them ; but the contemplation or science of 



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