To pneuma ksopyrén, or Sparkes of the spirit, being, motives to sacred theorems, and divine meditations. / By a reverend father of the Church of England.

TO ALL, True Prote∣stants, especially to the Religious Knights, Es∣quires Gentlemen, and all others his loving Country∣men in the County of Gla∣morgan, and to all their vertuous Ladies and Wives, A. D. wisheth health and happines, both here and here∣after.

Honoured Sr.

THe Prince of the air is assisted with no smal ar∣mies of spiritual warri∣ours,

who are for their number Legions, for their power Lions, for their feircenes Dragons, and for their subtilty Serpents, who have made such a Pestilent advantage in these kingdomes by our late great distractions, facti∣ons and fractions; I mean not onely those Heresies of old, which the Ebionites, Chiliasts, Gnosticks, Donatists, Eu∣nonians, Marcionites, Ne∣storians, Valentinians, Montanists, Novatians, Sabellians, Maniches, Ar∣rians, Eutychians, Patri∣passians,

Jacobites, Armi∣nians, Monothelites, &c. held, but by these late upstart Tat-poles of our times, who go under the notion of Seekers, Shakers, Quakers, Ran∣ters and the like, who are of yesterday-stand∣ing, as I may say, and know nothing, that God be mercifull unto us and our times.

I fear me there were not more bodies, when Christ came, possessed with ill spirits, than souls are now with odd ones: and yet not one but pretends he hath

the spirit; but I am sure it is rather that spirit that tempted our Savi∣our in the Wilderness, than led him thither. Aecebolius his ghost haunts them, they have been in religion wrong and right, and right and wrong again: it fares now with Religion in England, as with her in Plutarch, who having many Suiters, when e∣very one could not have her to himself, they pull'd her in pieces, that so none might have her, using her no better than the body of

that Harlot, which was chopt in pieces, flesh and bones, and cast into all the quarters of Isra∣el: these men I say, dare and do call their private conceits the (Spirit): This is the speciall errour with which St. Augustine long ago charged this kind of men, Tantò sunt ad seditionem faciliores, quantò sibi videntur spi∣ritu excellere: by so much the more prone are they (saith he) to kindle schism and con∣tention in the Church, by how much they

seem to themselves to be indued with a more eminent measure of spirit than their Bre∣thren. Therefore let e∣very good soul beware of these devillish de∣ceivers, for they are the greatest and the most pernicious quacksal∣ving Juglers that ever the earth did bear, or hell hatcht: These false Prophets have Linsey∣wolsey garments; intus linum subtilitatis, extra lanam simplicitatis de∣monstrant, the subtile thred of deceit is with inside, but the plain

web of simplicity with outside; their inside is of Fox furre, their out∣side of Lambs wool.

Quaenam sunt istae pel∣les ovium nisi nominis Christiani extrinsecus superficies? All these Sheep cloathing are no∣thing else but precise titles of holiness, and outsides of Christiani∣ty: And as Sathan the Prince of darkness of∣tentimes transformeth himself unto an Angel of light; so these his children quote Scrip∣ture for their practise, using fair vizards to co∣ver

their foul faces, but yet dealing with Scrip∣tures as Chymicks do with naturall bodies, torturing them to ex∣tract that out of them which God and nature never put in them. Scripture is a rule which will not fit it self to the obliquity of our con∣ceits, but our perverse and crooked discourse must fit it self to the straightness of that rule, but as it was in the La∣cedaemonian army, all were Captains, so it is with these, all are Do∣ctors; and as he that

bought Orpheus's Harp, thought it would of it self make admirable melody, how unskilfull soever he toucht it: so these men, suppose that Scripture will sound wonderfully musical, if they do but strike it, with how great infeli∣city or incongruity soe∣ver it be, it booteth not: let every good soul be∣ware of their perni∣cious wayes; For as St. Chrysostome saith, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉: new ways are no ways: Old wine and the old way was e∣ver held the best. Gen∣tlemen, I am neither

worthy of note nor no∣ted; the consideration not only of your great∣ness, but goodness hath emboldned me to dedi∣cate this learned Piece to your gracious Patro∣nage and Protection, not doubting of your favourable acceptance: being your honoured Ladies have already vouchsafed to his eldest Brother (The Protestant's Practise) so gracious a Patronage, it were the highest ingratitude, a most heynous and hor∣rid kinde of unthank∣fulness to bury in obli∣vion

their unmerited favours, and to judge your honours so uncha∣ritable to a poore Or∣phan and a younger brother, so worthily de∣scended, having so ex∣cellent a spirit, & indu'd with a Benjamin's por∣tion as to deny your Fa∣vour, Patronage and Protection unto him; but being more than confident of your good∣ness herein, I heartily commend you all to the Protection of the Pro∣tector

of us all, and humbly take my leave, and rest,

Your servant in all Christian commands ATHANASIUS DAVIES.