Varieties: or, A surveigh of rare and excellent matters necessary and delectable for all sorts of persons. Wherein the principall heads of diverse sciences are illustrated, rare secrets of naturall things unfoulded, &c. Digested into five bookes, whose severall chapters with their contents are to be seene in the table after the epistle dedicatory. By David Person, of Loghlands in Scotland, Gentleman.

Section 2.

How Curiosities have wonderfully disturbed the peace of the Church; A Recitall of some impertinent Curiosities in Reli∣gion; with some also of Subtilis Scotus, and Thomas A∣quinas, &c.

ANd first then, it may bee demanded, what solid peace and agreement hath been in the sacred Church which is the piller of Truth, since the purity of the Pri∣mitive Doctrine left by the holy Evangelists, Apostles, and their Successors hath beene adulterated, and mar∣tyred with curious questions; as those of Transubstan∣tiation, Concomitance, Latreia, Dulia, Hyperdulia, mentall reservation, equivocations, implicite faith, con∣gruities, condignities, and Supererogations, together with the inerrability of the Popes Holinesse, Semi-man, and Demi-God; as also those questions of our late Di∣vines, whether CHRISTS death alone was satis∣factory for our salvation, or His life and death toge∣ther? And those questions also of providence, of pre∣destination, of prescience, Gods effective and permis∣sive power in sin, if GOD can lie, or recall time past, or make a thing done, to bee undone, &c. what hath mooved our so inquisitive Curiosists, as Subtilis Scotus, and D. Thom. who have (as it were) so overclouded all with their pregnancies of wit, to be so curiously sol∣licitous,

as to enquire, whether or not besides Creation and Generation, there were any other production of things in nature different and distinct from those two? W^ch surely is not; for by that meanes accidents should befound to be concreated & congenerated, not inhesive, and having their being in the subject according to the Logicians rule, accidentis est inesse. Whereupon fol∣lowed that no lesse idle then curious question, whether GOD may sustayne accidents after the substracting of their subject from them, in which they were, and with which they were concreated; as who can imagine a whitenesse to exist without a wall, paper, cloud, cloath or some such subject to be in, wherwith first it was con∣created, as Ruvius in his Commentary upon the second Phys. and second de anima fondly giveth forth? seeing it is certaine, that the actions of GODS will are ever bounded to, and terminated with an object, either possi∣ble or actuall; and the reason of this is, because all po∣tency and possibility to bee, tendeth to and termina∣teth in an object, from which it may assume the owne species & kind; So that the acts of the divine Intellect or understanding tending to an object extant, or in aptibi∣lity to exist, do tend to it, as it is in the Divine intellect; and so consequently such, as actually or possibly ex∣isteth.

Such questions as these being more fit to cruciate and perplexe the mindes, yea even of the most learned, then otherwise to instruct them or any of the weaker sort.

Notes

• What peace hath the most curious questi∣ons brought unto the Church, but rather hath di∣vided us all.
• In Metaphy∣sick we crossed to know, if there be in na∣ture any other production be∣sides Creation and Genera∣tion.
• Whether acci∣dents be create or concreat.
• If God may sustayne acci∣dents without their substan∣ces to subsist in.
• The actions of Gods will tend unto, and terminate with a subject.