244 AD VANCEMENT OF LEARNING. [Book 



per speculum in aenigmate, tune autem facie ad facicm ; &quot; wherein, 

 nevertheless, there secmeth to be a liberty granted, as far forth as the 

 polishing of this glass, or some moderate explication of this enigma. 

 But to press too far into it, cannot but cause a dissolution and over 

 throw of the spirit of man: for in the body there are three degrees of 

 that we receive into it, ailment, medicine, and poison ; whereof ailment 

 is that which the nature of man can perfectly alter and overcome ; 

 medicine is that which is partly converted by nature, and partly con- 

 verteth nature ; and poison is that which worketh wholly upon nature, 

 without that, that nature can in any part work upon it : so in the mind, 

 whatsoever knowledge reason cannot at all work upon and convert, is 

 a mere intoxication, and indangereth a dissolution of the mind and 

 understanding. 



But for the latter, it hath been extremely set on foot of late time by 

 the school of Paracelsus, and some others, that have pretended to find 

 the truth of all natural philosophy in the Scriptures ; scandalizing and 

 traducing all other philosophy as heathenish and profane. But there 

 is no such enmity between God s word and his works ; neither do they 



five honour to the Scriptures, as they suppose, but much embasethem. 

 or to seek heaven and earth in the word of God, whereof it is said, 

 heaven and earth shall pass, but my word shall not pass,&quot; is to seek 

 temporary things amongst eternal ; and as to seek divinity in philoso 

 phy, is to seek the living amongst the dead ; so to seek philosophy in 

 divinity, is to seek the dead amongst the living ; neither are the pots 

 or lavcrs, whose place TV as in the outward part of the temple, to be 

 sought in the holiest place of all, where the ark of the testimony was 

 seated. And again the scope or purpose of the Spirit of God is not to 

 express matters of nature in the Scriptures, otherwise than in passage, 

 and for application to man s capacity, and to matters moral or divine. 

 And it is a true rule, &quot;Auctoris aliud agentis parva auctoritas :&quot; for 

 it were a strange conclusion, if a man should use a similitude for orna 

 ment or illustration sake, borrowed from nature or history, according 

 to vulgar conceit, as of a basilisk, an unicorn, a centaur, a Briareus, 

 a Hydra, or the like, that therefore he must needs be thought to affirm 

 the matter thereof positively to be true. To conclude therefore these 

 two interpretations, the one by reduction or enigmatical, the other 

 philosophical or physical, which have been received and pursued in 

 imitation of the rabbins and cabalists, are to be confined with a &quot; noli 

 altum sapere, sed time.&quot; 



But the two latter points, known to God, and unknown to man, 

 touching the secrets of the heart, and the successions of time, do make 

 a just and sound difference between the manner of the exposition of 

 the Scriptures and all other books. For it is an excellent observation 

 which hath been made upon the answers of our Saviour Christ tc 

 many of the questions which were propounded to him, how that they 

 are impertinent to the state of the question demanded ; the reason 

 whereof is, because not being like man, which knows man s thoughts 

 by his words, but knowing man s thoughts immediately, he never 

 answered their words but their thoughts : much in the like manner it 



