To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
IT hath not yet been far enough ar∣gued according to the principles in Scripture, of what nature the esta∣blishments ought to be under the Go∣spel & sure we ought more properly to advise with him that hath the keys of David, and knowes best how to shut and open, for else we may shut so fast, that we may be forced to have our doores broken open from Hea∣ven; as of late under Prelacy (we sadly experience) who had shut up all with so sure an establishment, that
a truth could not get in but by vio∣lence; and thus Rome and those Princes of Bondage under her, as the Spaniard, &c. make use of their keyes in all their dominions for shut∣ting out, so as the Gospel-truths have no visible entrance but by force, un∣lesse God bring them in at some o∣ther door yet unknown to us, as he seems to intend: now whether the establishment ought to be such under the Gospel as may universally ex∣cept all but what is received, or such as may contrive some holy prudenti∣all way, for trying any new revealed truths; if such be offered clearly from heaven by the hands of men, we finde that in Arts & Sciences the Sistemes are not such as will admit of no ad∣vancement:* 1.1 the profoundest agents in nature are led daily on to new experiments, and the Aristotelian magistrality hath been found no lit∣tle hinderance to young travellers in the regions of nature.
And that which may carry us on further in this enquiry, is the possi∣bility of not seeing all at once,
strenghened by experience in our own and others reformations; yet here we must enquire too, whether Kingdomes ought to ••it so loose in their decrees, and whether the con∣science of Nations or Parliaments are to remain still in such a constant potentiality to new degrees, and whether such a way would not keep a Kingdome alwayes tottering and uncertain? Yet further, whether the potentiality of acquiring new degrees of this nature, would not bring such an alteration as were rather perfe∣ctive, then corruptive, or destructive? and if so, whether these jealousies may not be saved? we see, that in the bodies naturall and spirituall, there is a potentiality to any perfe∣ctive alteration, as in the aire to light, and in the soul to degrees of illumination, till they come to the statu••e of the fulnesse of Christ.
Bacon 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Aug. 〈◊〉〈◊〉