Ptōchomuseion [sic]. = The poore mans librarie Rapsodiæ G.A. Bishop of Exceter vpon the first epistle of saint Peter, red publiquely in the cathedrall church of saint Paule, within the citye of London. 1560. Here are adioyned at the end of euery special treatie, certaine fruitful annotacions which may properly be called miscellanea, bicause they do entreate of diuerse and sundry matters, marked with the nombre and figures of Augrime. 2.

Trinitie.

SAint Austen in his boke De Trinitate, hath a most godly & pro∣found saying concerning the Trinity. His woordes be these. Vbi quaeritur vnitas trinitatis, patris, filii, & spiritus sancti, nec peri∣culosus alicubi erratur, nec laboriosius aliquid quaeritur, nec fructuosius aliquid inuenitur. Non pigebit me sicubi haesito, discere. Quisquis ergo audit vel legit, vbi pariter certus est, pergat mecum: vbi pariter haesitat, quaerat mecum. Vbi errorem suum cognoscit, redeat: Vbi meum, reuocet me. Ita ingrediamur simul charitatis viam, tendētes ad eum de quo scrip∣tum est:* 1.1 Quaeritefaciem eius semper.

VVhen the vnitie of the trinitie, that is, of the father, of the sonne, & of the holy ghost, is searched, there is no errour more daungerous, neither is there any thing sought w^t more labour, nor any thing found with more fruit and profite. I will not be ashamed to learne whē and where I doubt. VVhosoeuer therfore doth heare or read, where he is certaine with me, let him go forward with me, where he doubteth with me, let him search with me. VVhen he knoweth his own errour, let him returne, where he knoweth mine errour, let him call me backe. So let vs both together en∣ter in to the way of charity, repayring to hym, of whom it is written: Al∣waies seeke ye his face.

Saint Bernard hath not the vnlike worthy sentence. Inquirere de tri¦nitate, peruersa curiositas est: & credere, & tenere, sicut sancta ecclesia te net, fides & securitas est, videre autem eam, sicuti est, perfecta & summa faelicitas est. To enquire of the Trinity, is a peruerse curiositie: to beleue and to hold as the holy church holdeth, is faith and security, to see it as it is, is most perfect and chiefe felicity.

I remember an old report, which is told of one Alanus, who promised his auditorie to discourse the next Sonday following, the misterye of the Trinity It chaunced, that walking by the sea side, he saw a young boy la∣ding water of the sea into a litle hole, Alanus demaunded of him, what he ment. I entend (saith he) to bring al the whole sea into this hole. VVhy thou goest about a thing vnpossible, aunswereth Alanus. So doest thou (saith the boy to him) for it is as possible for me to bring al the whole sea into this hole, as for thee throughly to discourse the mistery of the Tri∣nity. Alanus was very much dismaid, and when he came into the pulpit, his auditory looking for the perfourmaunce of his promise, he was silent for a prety space, and at the last said no more, but this: Sufficit vobis vi∣disse Alanum. It is enough for you to haue sene Alanus. For to vtter that which I promised, is aboue my reache, and so came downe.

The Hebrue Rabbines do assign & expresse y^e mystery of y^e Trinity by this name of god, Iehouah which the Grekes cal Tetragrammaton, y^t is, a name of foure letters, which are but three in deede, but that one is put twise, that is, in the second place, and in the fourth place, y^t is, this letter He. These three letters, say they, do expresse the thre persons of the Tri¦nity. For the first letter Iod, betokeneth principium, a beginning, which letter doth most aptly signifie the Father in diuinity, which when he com¦meth of none, and the other persons do flow from him, is called principi∣um sine principio, a beginning without beginning.

The second letter He, which signifieth to be, or to liue, doth expresse the sonne in diuinitie, by whom althings that were made, had their being and beginning.

The third letter Vau, which is a coniunction copulatiue, most aptly signifieth the holy ghost, which, forasmuch as it is the loue of the father, and the sonne, wherwith they loue eche other, is called rightly copula, bi∣cause it is the knitting together of both.

This letter He, being put twise in this name Iehouah, doth signifye onely the sonne, which is the second person in Trinitye. For the Father which is the first person, hath onely one respect, that is, he is producēs, et non productus. The holy ghost also hath onlye one respect, y^t is, he is pro∣ductus, and not producens. But the sonne, which is the second person, hath two respectes, that is, he is productus a patre, & vna cū patre pro∣ducens spiritum sanctum.

This name Iehouah, is founde written in the auncient bookes of the Hebrues with three Iods, which are inclosed with a circle, and the point Camets set vnderneth them, after this maner. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 By the whyche two misteries are signified. The three Iods are the thre persōs, one camets vnderneath, is the diuine nature, which is wholy proper vnto euery person, the circle is the vnitie of the diuine Essence.

The second misterye is this, the three Iods beinge equall, betokene the equalitie of y^e three persons. One camets doth signifie one diuine substance in Trinitie. The circle betokneth the Identitie of y^e same diuine Essence,

The Iewes had this name, Iehouah, in such reuerence, that whensoeuer it did occurre in reading, they would not read it nor name it, but expres∣sed in stede therof, this name, Adonai, and therfore this name Iehouah, was called of them, nomen ineffabile, a name not to be spoken. It is writ∣ten In libro Sanhedrin thus: whosoeuer pronounceth the name of the .4. letters, as the letters them selues do sound, shal haue no part in the world to come. Therfore, whersoeuer they found this name, they durst not pro∣nounce it, but in steede thereof vttered this woorde, Adonai, Dominus, the Lorde. Notwithstanding the Priestes did pronounce it, when they blest the people in the sanctuary. For out of the sanctuary it was vnlaw∣ful for any man to vtter it.

The blessing with the name of foure letters, was geuen with the lyf∣tinge vp of three fingers of both handes, twoo fingers beinge pressed downe, to signify the Trinity of the diuine persons. This benediction vt∣terly ceased after the death of Simeon, who tooke Christ in his arms, be∣ing presented in the temple.

Ther be great learned men, which doo accompt this inuention of the Iewes, to be but inuented of their own braines, and do count it but an ex¦plicatiō of subtilties. For Iehouah is deriued of this word houah, a verbe substantiue, before the which Iod being put, is made the word Iehouah, that is, a being or a substaunce of him self, lacking nothing, but geuing to al things, without beginning and end, in whom we liue, moue, and be.

I do not a litle maruayle, that the Papistes are not ashamed to say, that we haue not this name Trinity in al the scriptures, & by that wold proue, that vnwritten verities are necessary to be beleued to saluation, beside the scriptures. But if they would put on their spectacles, and looke better on their bookes, they should finde the whole mistery of the Trini∣ty, in diuers and sundry places of the scriptures.

But to aduoyde prolixitie, I wyll bryng onelye but three or foure places.* 1.2

First, in Deuteronomie it is written: Audi Israel, Deus, Deus noster,

Deus vnus est, God, our God, is God onely. VVhy did Moses in this place put the name of God thrise, but to signify distinctly the Trinity of the di¦uine persons? And why is this word, vnus, put immediately after, but to signify the three diuine persons, not to be three Gods, but one God.

Note wel, how that place written, Deut. 6. is read in the Hebrue, namely thus: The Lord our God, is Lord onely.

Questio.

But here may be demaunded, why this word noster, is not aswel put to the first woorde, and to the last, as vnto the seconde onelye, which is Deus noster.

Responsio.

By this it is manifestly declared, that neither the Father, which is first persō in Trinitie, neither the holy ghost, which is the third persō in the same Trinity, but onely the son, which is the second persō of the Tri∣nity, should become ours by the partaking of our humane nature. To the which, wel agreeth that, which is written in the .67, Psalme. Benedicat nos Deus, Deus noster, benedicat nos deus,* 1.3 & metuant eum omnes fines terre. God, euen our God shal blesse vs, God shal blesse vs, and al the ends of the world shal feare him.

Here is put thrise Deus, which signifieth the distinction of the three persōs. And wher in the secōd place this word noster is put, it betokneth the son onely to become ours, by the taking of our nature.

VVher it is said in the last place, metuent eum, non eos, feare hym, and not them, the vnity & identitie of the same persons is shewed & ex∣pressed. By this it is plainly declared, that the three diuine persons, are not thre Gods, but one onely God.

Thirdly, it is written in the prophet Esay: Sanctus, sanctus,* 1.4 sanctus Deus exercitum, plena est omnis terra gloria eius. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hostes, all the earth is ful of his glory. In that he sayth Sanctus, three times, the three persons are expressed, the Father, holy, the sonne, holy, the holy Ghost, holye. And for that after he had said three times Sanctus, he addeth immediatly the name of God Iehouah, which impor∣teth the diuine substaunce, and doth clearelye expresse, that those three persons are not three Gods, but one God. For this cause the old Thalmu∣distes, which were not ignorant of this misterie, ordeined, that as well those woordes of the Prophet Esay, as those written in Deuteronomie, should be spoken of euery Iew twise a day, morning and euening.

Fourthly, in the Epistle of saint Iohn it is writtē: Tres sunt qui testi∣monium dant in caelo, pater, verbum, et spiritus sanctus. There be three which geue testimonie in heauen, the father, the word, & the holy ghost, and these three are one.

Yf these testimonies both of the old testament and of the new, be not sufficient to proue, not onely the matter and mistery of the Trinitie, but also the name, I cannot see what may be sufficient. But what cauillations and causations wil not captious heads inuent, against the verity? Vnlesse they be (as the prouerbe sayth) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Caeciores Leberide, they may finde the Trinitie fully expressed in the scriptures.

To make an end, although earthly things are incomparable to things caelestial, and especially to the maiestye of God, yet for the infirmitye of our capacity, I wil bring in one example or two, in some part to expresse the mistery of the Trinity.

Saint Austen bringeth a goodlye similitude, which is this: Videmus solem in caelo currentem, fulgentem, calētem. Similiter ignis tria habet, hoc est, motum, lucem, & feruorem. Diuide ergo si potes Ariane, solem, vel ignem, & tunc demum diuide Trinitatem. VVe see the sunne in hea∣uen running, shining, and geuing heate. Likewise the fire hath thre pro∣perties, mouing, light, and heate. Now thou Arrian, if thou canst diuide the sunne or the fire, than diuide thou also the Trinity.

The soule of man being really one thing, hath three powers, Memo∣riam, intellectum, & voluntatem, memory, vnderstāding, and wil, which thre make one essential soule, but in property they are distinct. For the property of the memory is to remember, the property of vnderstanding is to perceiue and vnderstand, the property of the will is to chuse. Out of the memory springeth intelligence, out of both springeth the wyll. So the diuinitie hath thre persons, the Father, the Sonne, and the holye Ghost, which thre constitute one essential God, yet euery person hath his pro∣pertie. From the Father commeth the Sonne, and from both commeth the holy Ghost.

Notes

• * 1.1

  psal. 105.
• * 1.2

  2. Cor. 3
• * 1.3

  psal. 67
• * 1.4

  cap. 6.