Observations, censures, and confutations of notorious errours in Mr. Hobbes his Leviathan and other his bookes to which are annexed occasionall anim-adversions on some writings of the Socinians and such hæreticks of the same opinion with him / by William Lucy ...

Sect. 15.

[Cur enim Eternitas] Why (saith he) should Eternity be called nunc stans, now standing, rather then tunc, then standing; there must therefore be either many Eternities, or now and then must signifie the same) Thus he for answer; this terme stans or standing, is indifferent to time passed or to come, when applyed to either positively; but if either doth imply a Negative of that is present, in that second consideration it no way agrees to eternity which is alwaies present; but in the first sense, because eternity comprehends all time, when it is spoke of any thing

done or being in time, as that Isaac was borne, or Anti∣christ shall be, this was, or shall be done, may be in Eter∣nity, which coexists with these times; so, before Abraham was, I am; and who is, was, and shall be, are spoke of him; and then, when Abraham was, he was, without the Ne∣gative of was, that is, denying it to be now; then when Antichrist will be, he will be, without any implyed Neg. that he is not now; And so comes in the second part of this Objection, that now and then are all one; For an∣swer; although now standing and then standing,* 1.1 if apply∣ed to Eternity, signifie the same thing, and we conceive, by both of them, an eternal immutable being; yet now, and then, alone do signifie divers things; old Abraham, and young Abraham, signifie the same person, but old and young are divers. Or thus, Socrates laughing, and Socrates discoursing, are the same, this is false Logick, and he either considered not what he writ, or did it with an intention to deceive; this same terme [standing] makes them both be applied to Eternity, for no durati∣on is standing, or lasting, but that which is eternal; all others are successive; that eternal thing, which stands now, without succession, stands then, in passed and future times, whensoever they exist, they changed, but he remaining the same. Expect not a simile to agree in all things, then it must be that very thing which it assi∣mulates: but thus: As you may conceive a firme and strong rock made of some Adamantine, or heavenly, immutable substance; this rocke stands still, without change of the least particle; cut a sluce of the Sea into it, whose waves dash upon it, so long as these waves batter upon it, that rock is before one, and behind another, none of which relations it had before; they are in a perpetu∣all flux and change, the rock stands, as it were, u••con∣cern'd

in them; return that Sea into its own Channel, it hath no respect to any wave againe, no more then it had before the coming in of those waters: so that e∣ternal, immutable, unwashable rock of beings, exists of its self, untill these turbulent waves of unconstant time are let into it, then, all that while, it hath these relati∣ons to it, of past, present, and to come; but when things are retreated againe, when time ceaseth, there is no more any of these differences of past, or present, which are ap∣plied to time, and it had in relation only to time and temporary things, but is purely nunc stans, or tunc stans, I care not which, if it be stans, if it be standing and per∣manent, it expresseth the notion of eternity. Well, and yet nunc and tunc, now and then differ in themselves, and are united only in this which we call Eternity. Revel. 1.8. I am Alpha and Omega, there the time that was pas∣sed, and the time that was to come, every kind of them was applied to this nunc; the present being, I am, in it comprehended the beginning and the end of others: it might be said of others, they were the beginning, and should be the end; but of him, he is the beginning, and the end, the first and the last, as it is added in the 22. of the same Revelations the 13. He is this in himself; but then take him coexisting with time, he is he who is, who was, and who shall be; so that it is evident his duration taken in its self, is the same time and nunc, now and then; so either of them be considered standing, or permanent; but, in respect of the Creature, he may be said that was or shall be. Thus I hope that Argument is answered; nunc and tunc stans, now and then, so they have that ad∣dition of permanent, are the same, which differ with∣out that addition. Now to the second Argument

Notes

• * 1.1

  The difference of nunc stans and tunc stans as applied to Eternity.