Enthusiasmus triumphatus, or, A discourse of the nature, causes, kinds, and cure, of enthusiasme; written by Philophilus Parresiastes, and prefixed to Alazonomastix his observations and reply: whereunto is added a letter of his to a private friend, wherein certain passages in his reply are vindicated, and severall matters relating to enthusiasme more fully cleared.

Observation 24. Pag. 21. l.9.

PErformed an exposition of the World. An excel∣lent performance! Which if a man take•• a nar∣row view of he will finde to amount to no more then this, That God made a dark Masse of Matter, out of which he extracted, (Chymist-like) first an Em∣pyreall body, ••hen an Aereall, &c. Which is a very lank satisfaction to the noble reason of man. Nay, Anthroposophus! I believe you have spoke such stuff that will amount to little better then a contradiction ••o free reason. For you make as if the Masse did con∣tain in a far l••sse compasse above all measure, all that was after extracted. Wherefore there was, (for these are all b••dies) either a penetration of dimensions then, or else a vacuum now: & the ascending particles of the Masse lie some distance one from another. Be∣sides I observe that in you, that I do in all others, that fantastically and superstitiously force Philosophy out of the sacred Writ (which is intended certainly for better purposes). For as Ovid in his Metamorphoses,

after a long pursuit of a Fabulous story, at last de∣scends to something in Nature and common use, (as that of Daphne turned into a Lawrell, which tree is in Nature and according to the accustomary conceit of the Heathens was holy to Apollo) so these running a Wild-Goose chase of Melancholy imaginations and fancies, think it evidence enough for what they have said, to have the thing but named in some Text of Scripture. Nay even those that are so con∣fident they are inspired, and live of nothing but the free breathings of the Divine Spirit; if you ob∣serve them, it is with them as with the Lark, that is so high in the air, that we may better hear her then see her, as if she were an inhabitant of that Region one∣ly and had no allyance to the Earth, yet at last you shall see her come down and pi••k on the ground as o∣ther birds. So these pretended inspired men though they flie high, and seem to feed of nothing but free truth, as they draw it from Gods own breathing; yet they took their ground first from the Text, though they ran a deal of fancyfull division upon it; and if a man watch them, he shall finde them ••all flat upon the Text again, and be but as other Mortals are for all their free praetensions and extraordinary assistances. But let us leave these Theosophists (as they love to be called) to themselves, and trace on the steps of our Anthro posophus!