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

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Title
St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.
Author
Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo.
Publication
London :: Printed by George Eld,
1610.
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Christianity and other religions -- Early works to 1800.
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http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A22641.0001.001
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"St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A22641.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 16, 2024.

Pages

Of the cause and obstinacie of Cains wickednesse, which was not repressed by Gods owne words. CHAP. 7.

BVt that same speaking of God vnto Caine in the forme of some of his crea∣tures (as wee haue shewed that hee vsed to doe with the first men) what good did it doe him? did hee not fulfill his wicked intent to murther his brother, after GOD had warned him? who hauing distinguished both their sacrifices, reiecting the one and receiuing the other (no (b) doubt by some visi∣ble signe) and that because the one wrought euill and the other good, Caine grew exceeding wroth, and his looke was deiected. And God said vnto him: Why is thy looke deiected▪ (c) •…•…f thou offer well, and diuidest not well, (d) hast thou not sinned? be qui∣et (e) vnto thee shall his desire be subiect and thou shalt rule ouer him. In this admoni∣tion of God vnto Caine, because the first words. If thou offer well and diuidest no•…•…

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〈◊〉〈◊〉▪ hast thou not sinned, are of doubtfull vnderstanding, the translators haue •…•…ne it vnto diuers sences, each one seeking to lay it downe by the line * 1.1 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •…•…h. A sacrifice that is offred to the true God, to whome onely such are 〈◊〉〈◊〉 well offered. But the diuision may be euill made vpon a bad distinction of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •…•…es, place, offring, offrers or of him to whome it is offred, or of them to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the offring is distributed: meaning here by diuision, a discerning be∣•…•… offring at due times, in due places▪ due offrings, due distributions and the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of all these: As if we offer, where, when and what wee should not: or 〈◊〉〈◊〉 better to our selues then we offer to God: or distribute the offring to the •…•…ctified, herein prophaning the sacrifice. In which of these Caine offended 〈◊〉〈◊〉 we cannot easily finde. But as the Apostle Iohn said of these two bretheren; 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Caine who was of the wicked, and slew his brother, and wherefore slew he him? 〈◊〉〈◊〉 his owne workes were euill and his brothers good. This proueth that God res∣•…•…d not his guifts; for that hee diuided euill, (f) giuing God onely some of •…•…ll, and giuing him-selfe to him-selfe, as all do that leaue Gods will to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 their owne, and liuing in peruersnesse of heart, offer guifts vnto God as 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to buy him, not to cure their vicious affects but to fulfill them. This is the •…•…ty of the earthly Citty to worshippe one, or many Gods for victory, and •…•…striall peace, neuer for charitable instruction, but all for lust of soueraigne∣•…•…▪ The good vse this world to the enioying of God, but the wicked iust con∣•…•… wise, would vse God to enioy the world, (g) such I meane as hold God to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to haue to doe in humanity: for there are that are farre worse and beleeue 〈◊〉〈◊〉. So then Caine knowing that God respected his brothers sacrifice and 〈◊〉〈◊〉, ought to haue changed him-selfe and fallen to imitation of his good bro∣•…•… not to haue swollen vp in enuy against him. But because hee was sad, and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 cast downe, this greefe at anothers good, chiefely his brothers, God 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •…•…nde great falt with, for there-vpon hee asked him saying: Why art thou sad 〈◊〉〈◊〉 is thy countenance cast downe? His enuy to his brother, God saw, and re∣•…•…ded. Man, that knoweth not the heart, might well haue doubted whe∣•…•… •…•…ee was sad for his owne badnesse that displeased God, or for his brothers 〈◊〉〈◊〉, for which God accepted his sacrifice. But God giuing a reason why 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •…•…ould not accept his, that hee might haue iuster cause to dislike him-selfe 〈◊〉〈◊〉 his brother, hauing not diuided, that is, not liued well, and being not wor∣•…•… to haue his sacrifice accepted, doth shew that hee was farre more vniust, 〈◊〉〈◊〉, that he hated his iust brother for no cause: yet hee sendeth him not away 〈◊〉〈◊〉 a good and holy command: Bee quiet quoth hee: for vnto thee shall his 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •…•…ee subiect and thou shalt rule ouer him. What ouer his brother? God for∣•…•… no, but ouer sinne: for hee had said before, hast thou not sinned? and now •…•…ddeth, bee quiet for vnto thee. &c. Some may take it thus, that sinne shall •…•…ned vpon man, so that hee that sinneth, shall haue none to blame for it 〈◊〉〈◊〉 him-selfe: for this is the wholesome medicine of repentance, and the fit plea •…•…rdon, that these words of God be vnsterstood as a percept, and not as a pro∣•…•…: for then shall euery man rule ouer sin, when he doth not support it by •…•…ce, but subdue it by repentance: otherwise hee that becomes the protec∣•…•… it, shall sure become prisoner to it. But if wee vnderstand this sinne to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉 carnall concupiscense whereof the Apostle saith: The flesh coueteth a∣•…•… the spirit, amongst whose workes, enuy is reckened for one, which in∣•…•… Cayne to his brothers murder, then wee may well take these words 〈◊〉〈◊〉: It shalbee turned vnto thee, and thou shalt rule ouer it, for the carnall

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part being moued (which the Apostle calls sinne, saying, I do not this but the sinne which dwelleth in mee:) which part the Philosophers call the vicious part of the soule, that ought not to rule but to serue the minde, and bee thereby curbed from vnreasonable acts: when this moueth vs to any mischiefe, if wee follow the Apostles counsel, saying, giue not your members as weapons of vnrighteousnesse vnto * 1.2 sinne, then is this part conquered and brought vnder the minde and reason. This rule God gaue him that maliced his brother, and desired to kill him whome hee ought to follow: be quiet quoth he, y is, keepe thine hands out of mischiefe, let not sinne get predominance in thy body, to effect what it desireth, nor giue thou thy members vp as weapons of vnrighteousnesse there-vnto, for vnto thee shall the desires thereof become subiect, if thou restraine it by supression and increase it not by giuing it scope. And thou shalt rule ouer it: Permit it not to performe any externall act, and thy goodnesse of will shall exclude it from all internall mo∣tion. Such a saying there is also of the woman, when God had examined and condemned our first parents after their sinne, the deuill in the serpent, and man and woman in them-selues: I will greatly increase thy sorrowes and thy conceptions (saith he): in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children: and then he addeth, And thy desire shalbe subiect to thine husband and hee shall rule ouer thee: thus what was to Caine concerning sinne or concupisence, the same was said here to the offending woman: where wee must learne, that the man must gouerne the woman, as the soule should gouerne the body. Where-vpon the Apostle said, hee that loueth his wife loueth himselfe, for no man euer hated his owne flesh. These wee must cure, as * 1.3 our owne, not cast away, as strangers. But Caine, conceiued of Gods command like a maleuolent reprobate, and yeelding to his height of enuy, lay in waite for his brother and slew him. This was the founder of the fleshly City. How hee further-more was a Type of the Iewes, that killed Christ the true shepherd pre∣figured in the shepherd Abel I spare to relate, because it is a propheticall Alle∣gory, and I remember that I sayd some-what hereof in my worke against Faustus the Manichee.

L. VIVES.

HE (a) vsed.] Sup. Gen. ad lit. lib. 8. He inquireth how God spake to Adam, spiritually, or corporally▪ and hee answereth that hee spake to him as he did to Abraham, Moyses. &c. in a corporall shape, thus they heard him walking in Paradise in the shade. (q) No doubt.] How could Caine know (sayth Hierome) that God accepted his brothers sacrifice and refused his, but that it is true that Theodotion doth say: the Lord set Abels sacrifice on fire, but Caines he did not, that •…•…ire had wont to come downe from heauen vpon the sacrifice, Salomons offring at the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of the temple, and Elias his vpon mount Carmel do testifie•…•… Thus far Hierom. (c) If thou.] So do the seauenty read it: our common translation is: If thou do well shalt thou not be accep∣ted, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 if thou do not well, sinne lieth at the doore. Hierome rehearseth the translation of the seauenty and saith thus: the Hebrew and the Septuagintes do differ much in this place. But the Hebrew read it as our vulgar translations haue it: and the seauenty haue it as Augustine rea∣deth it. (d) Be quiet.] Runne not headlong on, neither be desperate of pardon; sinnes originall is adherent vnto all men, but, it is in mans choice to yeeld to it or no. (e) Vnto thee shall.] 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, say the seauenty. Aquila hath Societas, and Sy•…•…achus Appetitus, or Impetus. The •…•…g •…•…ay be either that sin shalbe our fellow, or that sinnes violence shalbe in our power to 〈◊〉〈◊〉, as the sequel declareth, and this later is the likelier to be the true meaning. (f) Gi∣•…•… God.] God respects not the guift but the giuer, and therefore the sacrifices of the wicked

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〈◊〉〈◊〉, and neither acceptable to God nor good men, as Plato saith. (g) Such I meane.] For 〈◊〉〈◊〉 some Atheists: but such wicked as beleeue a God, thinke that they can meane God by 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to returne them the same againe, ten-fould, be it gold or siluer. As Sylla and Crassus of∣•…•… Hercules the tenth part of their good, that they might be hereby enritched.

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