Popular errors, in generall poynts concerning the knowledge of religion having relation to their causes, and reduced into divers observations / by Jean D'Espaigne.

CHAP. VI. Touching curiosities, Rash questions of those which are returned from the dead: Of the Divell who exhorted to repentance: Of the knowledge of evill.

MAn never saw the creation of any thing: when God would forme Eve, he made Adam sleep; So likewise he hath reserved to himselfe the judgement of three points; 1. of his councells; 2. of Scripture, 3. of consciences. To inquire of the Son, proceeds of the Father, as of the Intellect, and the holy Ghost as of the will. What had been the posterity of Adam, if he had not falne, and if in this case the Sonne of God would have cloathed himselfe with our flesh; or if the sacred body of Jesus Christ was perfectly organified from the first moment of his conception, if God could not have saved man by any other meanes, then by the death of his Sonne. And whether Jesus Christ by his sufferan∣ces hath merited his proper exaltation be∣sides

our salvation; are most rash curio∣sities.

If any one should rise againe from the dead, our curiosity would aske him a thou∣sand questions, but I marke that of all those who ever rise againe, not one (except our Lord) is introduced, speaking in the Scripture, except we put into this ranke, Moses and Elias in the transfiguration, which neverthelesse spake not but of the death of Jesus Christ. Though a man should come from heaven, hee could not name the things which he had seene or un∣derstood, because that it never having moū∣ted into the thought of man, they could not impose names thereto. So that those things could not be declared but in tearms, the sence whereof would be unknown unto us, they are words uneffable, which man cannot pronounce, and ought not to affect. If the dead ought to be our instructors, the spirit of error would easily counterfeit them, and under this pretext would autho∣rise his impostures. The Scripture of all the damned names, but only Judas, and

would not expresse the name, the evill rich. But many spirits which they pretend to be returned from the other world particula∣rise by names and surnames the soules they have seen in hell. For the vulgar presup∣pose that they know one another, and that the Devill knows all that are within his bottomles pit. Upon this imagination the Exorcists believing they have the power to make him tell nothing but truth, and in∣quire of curious things, taking pleasure to make him talk; whereas Jesus Christ ne∣ver made him speak but once, imposing si∣lence upon them in all other deliverance of those, out of whom he had cast the De∣vils. Namely, it is not long since the De∣vil preached repentance by the mouth of some, which were possessed, his words have been gathered and published in a grosse volume by men bearing the title of approved theologians which have alledged them for a very perswasive argument of a∣mendment of life, showing that the De∣vil who took upon him this office was sent by God to convert men, seeing that

the other wayes were unprofitable, farre from repulsing the impudency of this adversary, who speaks not of piety but by mockery, or for to render it suspected be∣cause of which when he would have spoken in favour of the truth, our Lord made him alwayes hold his peace.

All unlawfull curiosities have relation unto two heads, whose inquisition is for∣bidden us, to wit the hight of heaven and the depth of hell.

The Scripture praiseth those who have not known the depths of Satan. A too ex∣act knowledge of evill offends the spirit, and a man well skilled in malice although that it but in Theory will ever now and then give a tast thereof; The diligence of Casuists to examine all the species of sins namely those whose onely name strikes a horror to our eares hath been a perniious labour, more capable to destroy good man∣ners, then to instruct the consciences.