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. 3.

The first opposer, I meet with, is that great Father of the School,* 1.1 Aquinas himself, who indeed hath spoken as fully as any of his followers; his discourse is in prima parte Quest. 32 Art. primo in corpore: I answer (saith he) It must be said, that it is impossible, by naturall reason, to come to the knowledge of the Trinity of the divine persons; for it is proved before (which is Quest. 12. Art 12. in corpore) that man, by naturall reason, cannot at∣taine to the knowledge of God by the Creatures, but the Creature induce's to the knowledge of God, as effects induce to the knowledge of the cause; that therefore onely can be known of God, which is necessary to be affirmed of him, as he is the beginning and cause of the creatures, but the crea∣tive vertue of God is common to the whole Trinity, therefore it appertaine's to the unity of the essence, not to the Trinity of the persons. (Thus farre he,) and this is the first of his Arguments: I will an∣swer them by degrees, one by one, for perspicuity sake.

To this first I shall answer, that although the greatest part of knowledge is either drawn from the cause to the effect,* 1.2 or from the effect to the Cause, and the first onely can be applyed to God, who hath no cause, and whose effects some way or other, all things are; as from that one infinite being, God, yet Ray∣mund

Lully, whom I most honour, in this case, hath thought of other wayes of arguing, of as great force and convincing a man's understanding as these, to wit demonstratio per aequiparantiam, by the proportion and equality of things, and per similitudimem, by their like∣nesse, that by equiparance or equivalence he conceiveth to be, when by one or two of an equall excellencie an other quality is proved to be as excellent; as thus; because God is infinitely excellent, therefore he is in∣finitely knowing, infinitely good; againe this argu∣ment from equivalence may be brought from the power to the acts, thus; the act is proportioned to he power; where is an infinite power, there is an infinite act; where a finite power, there but a fi∣nite act; now by these wayes I apprehend that a man may prove the Trinity, although not by the ef∣fects of God in the Creature, as effects.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Aquinas's first argument a∣gainst the pos∣sibility to at∣tain by natu∣rall reason any knowledge of the Trinity.
• * 1.2

  The Bishop's answer groun∣ded upon Lul∣li's demonstra∣t••on by aequi∣parance.