/

turning, and remaining for fome time within the Organ, which we have fometimes fancy'd did not fo much as arife from an over-tenfion of the optick Nerve, by which fome perhaps would folve it as from fome accidental Chymical Preparation of Nature, like that we have already mentioned. Q. Whether Darknefs be a pofitive Being, or a meer Privation of Light?

A. Ariftotle is juftly blam'd, even by those who have otherwife a great and a juft efteem for him, for making Privation a Principle, for what do we mean by a Prin ciple of any thing, but that of which 'tis compounded, and he may almoft as well make Negation E fuch, as Privation; only one is attributed to a Subject incapable of receiving fuch or fuch a Form as Negation of fight to a Stone, the other to a capable fubject, tho' #either not yet induc'd into it, or = after 'tis fo, feparated from it, as blindness in one who either has formerly feen, or has a natural Power of feeing, tho' the Act, it = may be, fome ways obftructed. Now this Privation is not known by the Senfes, by which nothing can be known but a pofitive and real Being. But Darkness is not perceiv'd truly and pofitively, but only Negatively, as the Intellect ecollects that there is a want of Light because the Sight, when rightly difpos'd, can perceive nothing. We don't deny but Privation does oftentimes connote fome real Being, both in MetaPhyfical and Logical Privation, as well as Phyfical: Thus Evil, which is privation of Good, does yet of tentimes include fome Action, which must be pofitive, and fo

clofely include (it, that we cannot
but mentally separate from fit,
and that rather precifively with a
Metaphyfical precifion, than Ne-
gatively. Thus Blindness may
have, and often has fomething
pofitive that caufes it, and which
one may almoft call the very Form
of it, as the Gutta-Serena, or
Drop-Serene, as Mr. Milton ex-
perimentally calls it, not to add a
fhot, a blow, or feveral other Ac-
cidents, because only Tranfient,
and rather the cause of blindness
than the thing it self, as indeed is
the former, tho' much more
intimately united with it, and edg-
ing as far into the Effence of it as
'tis poffible for a Being into no Be-
ing. So in Darkness, in which
feems to be both a Logical and
Phyfical privation into different
Senfes, as it notes the absence of
a future Form, Light, which
will be in the Air as foon as Day
returns, 'tis Phyfical, as the ab-
fence of the fame Form confider-
ed as paft, when the Sun is fet,
'tis rather Logical. But there has
been Darkness fomething more
pofitive than 'tis in either of thefe
confiderations, though that, we
confefs, fupernatural, and, if you
please, a Tranfcendential Dark-
nefs, as perhaps that was at the
the Death of our, Saviour. And
as we are ascertained from Scrip-
ture of that of Egypt, of which
the Author of the Book of Wif
dom, Cap. 17. v. 14. Says,

That it came upon them from
"the bottom of inevitable Hell,
"an Image of that Darkness
"which should afterwards receive
"them. Where Mr. Cowley had
that noble bint in his Plagues of
Egypt, wherein he fancies," That
"the Darkness of Hell below,

"which is called utter Darkness, "over-fhadowed the Land; moft probable it feems that 'twas fome black, thick, and damp Vapour, which filled all the Air. But hear

his own incomparable Verfe, (one Line of which has more Senfe in it than a dozen of our new Plays faggoted up together. Plagues of Egypt. Stanza. 13.

From the deep baleful Caves of Hell below,
Where the old Mother Night does grow,
Subftantial Night, that does difcaim
"Privation's empty Name;

Through fecret Conduits monstrous fhapes arofe,
Such as the Sun's whole force could not oppose;
They with a folid Cloud

All Heavens Eclipfed Face did fhrowd;
Seem'd with large wings fpread o'er the Sea and Earth,
To brood up a new Chaos his deformed Birth.

Q3. Does it not look fufp ciously that Mofes, at the giving of his Law to the Jews, would not Suffer any of them to come near the Mount, but placed Barriers round it, and charged them on pain of Death not to touch it, or approach it; adding as a Reafon, left any of the People fhould break through to gaze, &c.

A. The vifible and undeniable Hand of God in all those great wonders which Mofes had before wrought in the fight of the Children of Ifrael,as well as the glorious appearance of God himself on the Mount, in fuch a manner as could not be deceit, in the Prefence of fo many hundreds of Thousands, could certainly leave no room for the leaft fufpition of Practice and Impofition on the People in the forementioned Inftance. That Holy Ground was diftinguished from prophane in fuch a manner as 'twas lawful for fome to approach, and not for others, and even those who might, not unless in a more devout pofture and temper than at other times, we fee in the whole Old Testament, and know that

it coft the Men of Bethfhemesh very dear for looking where they had nothing to do. All which was defigned to teach the Jews what Purity and Holiness, both of Body and Mind, God required of

them.

"I ex

Q. I find in the 12 Chap. of Heb. the Author of it affirming that when Mofes gave the Law, be faid to the People "ceedingly fear and quake. And in another place Jannes and Jambres, are mentioned as the Magitians which refifted him. Neither of which I can discover in the Old Teftament. Pray, whence was the of thefe matters, and how shall I be affured of the Truth of them?

account

A. None can think that ail the accidents which happened to Ifrael from the time of their going into Egypt to the fealing the Prophets, and ceafing of fuch immediate Infpiration, were committed to writing and many confiderable paffages might be, and doubtless were handed down by Tradition among them; and a very learned Perfon of our Church takes both

thefe

becaufe, if we are not extremely miftaken, as much is expreffed in the Old Testament, for we find in Exod. 19. 46. 66 'Tis faid all the People that were in the Camp, trembled; and again, where 'tis faid in our Tranflation, and in the Hebrew, (as well as indeed all other except the Arabic, and that we are about to quote) at the end of v. 18. " The whole "Mount quaked greatly, the 70 read " The whole People quaked

thefe to be of that Nature, as well as Enoch's Prophecy, and the Di1fpute of Michael and the Devil concerning the Body of Moles. In the latter, that of Fannes and Fambres, this may hold; but we humbly conceive there's no need on't in the former: There being frequent mention in the Jewish Writers of these two Perfons, as chief of the Egyptian Magitians, though their Names fometimes a little altered. In the Babylonifh Talmud they are ftiled Johanne and Namre; and 'tis added that they faid to Mofes in the Proverb. "Affers tu ftramen in Afraim. Thou workeft wonders here in Egypt, which is fo full of Magi. tians already In Jonathan's Chald. Paraphrafe, they are called Fanis and Fambris. In the Talmud Fo channe and Mambre, In Vit. Mofis, Jane and Mambre: In Lib. Zochar, Fones and Fambres; in another of their Books Fonos and Jambros, and in one of them John and Ambrofe: They were, it feems, fo famous, that they are E mentioned in Heathen Authors, Numenius, Artaban, and others. And fome old Writers affirm, that isn was i Aads, and he himthey were both drown'd with Pha- felf was in the Camp, and one of raoh in the Red-Sea, and a Keno- the People, then he fays, we think, taph, or empty Honorary Sepulas fairly as can be, that he himself chre, afterwards erected for them: did fear and quake, as the ApoHowever, there's no doubt but ftle affirms of him. there was fuch Men, and fuch were Q. How that Paffage in Genetheir Names, otherwife they had fis, concerning the Spirit of God not been recorded, the Holy Spi-moving upon the Face of the Warit of God being as infallible in ters,is to be understood? the Writers of the New Teftament, as he was before in them of the Old.

1

For that of Mofes faying, Iexceedingly Fear and Quake, there is not, we think, any need of flying to the fame Tradition to explain it;

greatly, having it seems read [kol Ha-am, for kol Ha-har.] And the very word opipa is ufed by them, which expreffes [exceeding ly] more fully than 'tis in the Apoftles Writings, where 'tis only included in the words, spooß and po Eviegu. But still what's all this to Mofes his faying, he did himself exceedingly fear and quake? We think a great deal,for if he writ the Book of Exodus, which we know no good Men that doubt, and he fays therein, as he does, that all the People that was in the Camp trembled; and again, that all the People were afraid, even to ftupefaction,

A. We are apt to believe in a much higher and nobler Sense than many wou'd be willing to underftand it; not for a mighty Wind, or the Power and Energy of Almighty God, not lo much as perfonally diftinct from the Father.

But

But for the Third Perfon in the, any Angel, or Spirit, any imma glorious and undivided Trinity, terial Subftance, or Inspiration) who by this Incubation of Matter this Spirit, as he tells them, they reconcil'd the jarring Elements, cou'd not deny to be God, and and difpos'd'en into that beauti- yet diftinct from the Father, beful and regular Frame of things, caufe proceeding from him, and which we call the World. For as fent by him: And it's certain, that all the Three Infinite Perfons were feveral of their very ancient Wriconcern'd in the great Work of the ters, fome of them they tell you Redemption of the World, fo were long before our Saviour's time, do they in its first Creation. The plainly enough affert a Trinity in Father fent the Son, as the Son the Divine Effence, as we may the Holy Spirit. The Father perhaps hereafter have occafion to workt by the Son, as he again by prove, and many Expreffions, by the Spirit. Chrift was quicken'd which the Son and Holy Spirit are by the Spirit, and yet rais'd from fet forth to us in Holy Scriptures, the Dead by the Glory of the Fa- are to be found in their Sephiroth, ther, tho' at the fame time he as well as other Parts of their Cahimself had Power to take up his bala. But it fhall fuffice at prefent own Life again, as he had to lay it to close this Head with Authorities down. But here are two Words from their Lib. Zobar, Baal-Hatto be confider'd, and the Senfe of turim, and others, who unani'em to be made good which we mously and exprefly affirm, that have afferted to 'em. The Spirit, "this Spirit which moved on the and this fort of Motion or Incuba- "Face of the Waters, was the Spition just mention'd. For the lat- "rit of the Meffias; agreeable ter, Incubation is the very Word to the main Scope both of the Old us'd by one very ancient Tranfla and New Teftament. That God tion. The Hebrew 9 is made the World by his VVord, by very fignificant, and implies fre. his Son, and by his VVisdom. quent and Swift Motion. The Vulgar is only ferebatur, the Seventy a little stronger, swoipero, hover'd over the Water. The Chalde-Infufflabat. The Perfi

an

Q. Pray your Opinion, whether or no, as fome learned Men affirm, all Learning came at first from the Jews, and Eaftern Nations?

A. That all Learning came from the Eastern Nations, is as plain as that the World was first peopled from that part, agreeable to the faid Writings. But there are feveral Nations who rival the Jews in thefe Matters. thefe Matters. The Egyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Chaldæans: For the Chaldeans and Phœ.

all which are included in the Interpretation already given, as they all confirm it. For the Word Spirit, it has been under ftood by Chriftians, Jews, and Heathens, for Holy Spirit, which night eafily be put beyond Queftion; we fhill only inftance in fome of the Jewish Writers, who, as Grotius in his Notes on de Veri-nicians, we have but very impertat. did certainly own a Holy Spirit that spake by the Prophets, (all but the Sadducees, who deny'd

fect and fufpected Accounts, or rather Fragments of their Hittory. 'Tis true we have more of the Ægyptians,