St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

The Platonists opinion that held the Angells Gods creatures, and man the Angells. CHAP. 26.

ANd Plato would haue the lesser Gods (made by the highest) to create all other things, by taking their immortall part from him, and framing the mortall themselues: herein making them not the creators of our selues but our bodies onely. And therefore Porphiry in holding that the body must be avoyded ere the soule be purged, and thinking with Plato, and his sect, that the soules of bad liuers were for punishment thrust into bodies (into beasts also saith Plato but into mans onely saith Porphiry) affirmeth directly that these gods whom they wil haue vs to worship as our parents & creators, are but the forgers of our prisons, and not our formers, but only our iaylors, locking vs in those dolorous grates, and wretched setters: wherfore the Platonists must either giue vs no punishmēt in our bodies: or else make not those gods our creators, whose worke they exhort vs by all meanes to avoid & to escape: though both these positions be most false, for the soules are neither put into bodies to be thereby punished; no•…•… hath any thing in heauen or earth any creator but the maker of heauen and earth. For if there be no cause of our life, but our punishment, how (a) is it that Plato saith the world could neuer haue beene made most beautifull, but that it was filled with all kind of creatures? But if our creation (albe it mortall) be the worke o•…•… God; how i•…•… i•…•… punishment then to enter into Gods benefites, that is our bodies? (b) and if God as Plato saith often) had all the creatures of the world in his prescience, why then did not hee make them all? would he not make some, and yet in his vnbounded knowledge, knew how to make all? wherefore our true religion rightly affirmes him the maker both of the world, and all creatures therein, bodies, and soules, of which, in earth man, the chiefe Piece was made alone, after his Image, for the reason shewed before, if not for a greater: yet was he not left alone, for there is nothing in the world so sociable by nature, and so iarring by vice, as man is; nor can mans •…•…re speake better either to the keeping of discord whilst it is out, or expelling

it when it is entred; then in recording our first Father, whom God created single, (from him to propagate all the rest) to giue vs a true admonition to preserue an vnion ouer greatest multitudes. And in that the woman was made of his ribbe, was a plaine intimation of the concord that should bee betweene man and wife. These were the strange workes of God for they were the first. Hee that beleeues them not, must vtterly deny all wonders: for if they had followed the vsuall course of nature, they had beene no wonders. But what is there in all this whole worke of the diuine prouidence, that is not of vse, though wee know it not? The holy Psalme saith: Come and behold the workes of the Lord, what wonders hee hath wrought vpon the earth. Wherefore, why the Woman was made of Mans ribbe, and what this first seeming wonder prefigured, if God vouchsafe I will shew in another place.

L. VIVES.

HOw (a) is it that Plato] His words are these. GOD speaketh to the lesser Gods. Marks what I say vnto you: we haue three kindes remaining: all mortall: which if wee omit, the crea∣tion will not bee perfect: for wee shall not comprehend all kindes of creatures in it, which wee must needs doe to haue it fully absolute. (b) And if GOD] There also hee saith, that God hath the Ideas of all creatures, mortall and immortall in him-selfe, which he looked vpon: the immor∣tall ones when hee made the things that should neuer perish; the mortall, in the rest. I aske not here whether that God be those Ideae, or whether they bee some-thing else: the Platonists know not them-selues. (c) The concord that should] Because the woman was not made of any externall parts, but of mans selfe, as his daughter, that there might bee a fatherly loue of his wife in him, and a filiall duty towards him in the wife: shee was taken out of his side, as his fellow: not out of his head as his Lady, nor out of his feete as his seruant.

Notes

• Psal. 46. 8.
• In Timaeo.
• Mariage commen∣ded in the creation