A treatise of original sin ... proving that it is, by pregnant texts of Scripture vindicated from false glosses / by Anthony Burgess.

SECT. III.

The Natural Sinfulnesse of the Imagination appeares, in making Idols, daily Supports, and vain Conceits, whereby it pleaseth it self.

FIrst, The metaphorical expression in the Text doth fully declare it; For as the Potter doth make vessels upon the wheel daily, or as some explain it, as the Artificer doth of his wood and other materials make Idols, which he worshippeth as gods, though they be vanities; Thus the imagination of man doth daily fabri∣cate such fancies and Idols to it self, making gods of them, and putting confidence therein; And if you observe what riseth daily in the heart of a man devoid of grace, you shall find, That it is a continual Idol-maker, it maketh daily puppets and vain conceits, whereby it pleaseth it self, and accounteth it self happy therein. Thus we see what shops (as it were) our hearts are; The imagination having that sinfull artifice, as to make and erect Idols all the day long; Even as children naturally delight to make babies, and then to play with them, so do all men by nature; How many vain Idols do the ambitious men, the unclean men of the world daily build up in their fancies? Hence it is that the glorious things, the pleasant things they please themselves with, are more in the imagination then in any real possession, as is more to be dilated upon: In the mean while let us sadly mourn under this horrible corruption of the imaginative part of a man, that it should be daily making new gods, continually erecting Idols, in which we are apt to put

our confidence: Lapide on the 8^th Chapter, and Verse 21. (where we have the like expression and metaphor,) doth offer ntollerable' violence to the sacred Text; for whereas it saith, The imagination is only set to evil, he would make two shops (as it were) wherein this imagination doth work, a shop of sinne, wherein it only fabricateth evil; and a shop of vertue, wherein it imagineth good things; but what can be directly to confront a Text, and to put the lie upon it, if this be not? Let us then be willing to be found out in all this evil; Let us acknowledge, that our imagination doth continually set up vanities, Idols; we make to our selves gods, and so leave the only true God.

We have made some entrance already upon the discovery of that wound and deadly blow the imaginative power of man hath received by original sinne; and wonder not if in the managing of this point, we often mention thoughts, discourse, invention and apprehensions, attributing these to the Imagination; for although the understanding be properly the power of the soul, from whence these operations do proceed; yet because (as you have heard) the imagina∣tive faculty is so near to the inteliectual, that in all is operations it hath some dependance on it, so that it is hard to know or perceive when some internal parts of the soul are the operations of the fancy, or of the mind; Though indeed sometimes reason doth correct our imaginations, even as they do sense: Yea Divines and Philosophers do commonly attribute some kind of opinion, and judgement, yea imperfect discourse unto it; and this difference is given be∣tween the common internal sense and the imagination: The common sense doth receive the simple impressions of things, as of a stone, of bread, as the wax recei∣ving the impression of a seal, not the seal it self, but the image of it; Thus doth the common sense receive the species of things, and retaineth them; But the fancy doth go higher, it doth compound these single species together, witness those many dreames, and also Chimeraes which many do Imagine, that never had any existence in the world; Therefore by this office it hath, we see how near it is to the understanding; yea Suidas saith, That Aristotle calleth it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 (viz.) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, because it hath in it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, because it is with formes and species that it doth apprehend things, and there∣fore saith Suidas, it is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 quasi 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, because it doth 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, make those forms and appearances to consist: however this be, we may conclude, because of the immediate subserviency to the understanding and conjunction with it, we may without any absurdity say, The thoughts, the opinion, the judgement thereof: And so I proceed to the further manifestation of its pol∣lution.