Imprimatur,  
Ab. Campion, R more D no Arch. Car. à Sacris Domest.  
Feb. 12 ' 167● Ex AEdib. Lamb.   

A DISCOURSE CONCERNING THE Divine Dreams MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE, TOGETHER With the Marks and Characters by which they might be distinguished from vain Delusions. In a Letter to Monsieur Gaches, by Moses Amyraldus.  
Translated out of French, by ja. Loud, Fellow of Clare-Hall in Cambridge.  
LONDON, Printed by A. C. for Walter Kettilby, at the Bishops-head in St Paul's Churchyard. 1676.   

TO THE Right HONOURABLE JOHN, Earl of Bridgewater, Viscount Brackley, Baron of Elsemere, Lord Lieutenant of the County of Bucks, and one of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.  MY LORD, 
THE first Fruits, by the Law of Moses, were due to God, yet is it no violation now of the Laws of heaven, in some proportion, to show our just esteem of those who are so much like it here on earth: Hence it is that I presume to Dedicate these my first endeavours of this kind to Your Lordship's Patronage and Protection; and I could wish that the first productions of Art and Study were like those of Nature, that is, the best and most perfect in their kind, that so the Present might more resemble its Patron.  
I do not present this to Your Honour, as if you stood in need of Translations, for in this respect You perhaps are the most improper Person in the Kingdom to make such Dedications to, being Yourself so Great a Master, not only of the French, but also of the more Ancient and Learned Languages. But I look upon myself under some obligation of justice, to return that to Your acceptance, which was the result of some few hours, which I should have counted stolen from Your Lordship's Service, but that such is your Candour and benign Temper, such Your great love and affection to all commendable Studies, that You and they seem to have the same Ends, and the same Interests; thus what ever time is employed in them, You are pleased to look upon it as spent in Your own Service.  
But this is not all the right You may justly challenge to this Translation, Your Title to it seems yet more particular; wherein such was your Favour and Condescension, that, as it would be Ingratitude to conceal, so would it be almost Arrogance to acknowledge them; wherein (pardon the pride of the expression) I had the Honour to be instructed by Your Lordship in the French Tongue; You being pleased, not only to peruse, but in many places to Correct it, so that I cannot now so properly challenge any thing therein my own, as the Imperfections.  
And now I hope you will pardon this my innocent Ambition, if I desire to publish my Gratitude, and that sense of my Obligations, which is too big to be confined in a private breast.  
How acceptable this Treatise may be to the World, I know not, yet this I know, that I should have sufficiently obliged the Age, if in the Dedication I had given it Your Lordship's just Character; this being the most probable way to provoke men to the love and imitation of Virtue, not to represent it in Idea and Speculation only, but as it appears both more amiable in itself and more prevalent on others, when thus incorporated in the lives and practices of Noble Persons: But this though a true and just Relation, would be as uneasy for You to hear, as it would be difficult, yea above the power of my Pen to perform: Thus among other things, Your own Temper concurs in this, to make You Heroically Virtuous, that is, a follower of Virtue merely for Virtue's sake, since Your modesty will not endure the common & cheap Reward of a due Praise and just Commendation.  
But yet I could wish that I had not so much to plead for the seasonableness of the Discourse, in an Age where Infidelity on the one hand, & Fanatical Enthusiasm on the other, seem to divide the greater part of the World; where some men look upon all Divine Revelations to be mere Dreams, others mistake their mere Dreams for Divine Revelations: Now what more proper and seasonable in these circumstances, then that which is the design of this Discourse, that is, to evidence the Grounds and Reasons why we receive those that are truly Divine, and reject the vain pretences of others?  
And to whom could the Dedication be more suitable then to one whose Principles and Practices at once confirm and adorn the Religion you profess; whose well-settled judgement, and understanding of Your Religion in general, and Your great affection to the Church of England in particular, render You equally distant from the Superstition of the Romanists, and the Novelties of later Enthusiasts?  
My Lord, I shall not any further by a tedious address misemploy those precious minutes, which are usually spent either in Your serious and private Studies, or in more public Employments: I shall only beg, that God would long continue You amongst us, and bless Your endeavours in settling and securing the Kingdom by Your Counsel, and supporting the Church by Your constant Affection; which is the hearty Prayer of  
Your Humbly Devoted Servant Ja. Loud.   

THE PREFACE TO THE READER.  
I Shall not go about to make any tedious Apologies for the publication of this Treatise, being conscious to myself of the innocence of my intentions, that, however I may be mistaken in my apprehensions, or have failed in my design, yet I did intend herein, not to offend, but to serve thee; for I am not of the temper of those, who would rather commit a deliberate crime, then want an occasion of Apologizing: the reasons then inducing me hereunto were principally these two: 

1. Because those who have not stock enough of their own to trade withal, are not altogether unserviceable to the Commonwealth, by becoming Carriers and conveyors of other men's goods; and Translations, I conceive bear some resemblance hereunto, and if it be for the benefit, and advantage of a Kingdom, to bring in the Riches of Foreign Countries, then certainly can it not be disserviceable to the Commonwealth of Learning to make the works of other Nations intelligible to our own, and whatever Law there may be in particular against other things of the French Nation, yet there is none against the Importation of their Learning.  
2. This Treatise, if we consider the whole Series and Method of its mannagement, seems a sufficient vindication of the sober use of Reason in matters of Religion; if we reflect upon those natural and necessary deductions which the Learned Author makes from certain and undoubted Principles, and those other rational motives of credibility, which he makes use of, to prove those dreams he there treats of, to be truly Divine.    
Yet not so as to exclude that secret sense and inward consciousness, which was the immediate result of the Divine Impression made upon their minds by the Spirit of God, especially in those dreams and visions, where particular and personal commands were conveyed to any of his Servants, as to Joseph to convey our Saviour into Egypt.  
But here I am very sensible that this reason of its publication, viz. the asserting the use of Reason in matters of Religion, will by some be thought rather fit to have prevailed with me to have let it laid still buried in its Native French, lest by this means the contagion should still further prevail in the English Nation.  
How far an extravagant opinion of the power & extent of Reason may have possessed some, I know not, yet this is certain, that we must not therefore wholly reject it, because others have overvalued it, or by some other ways abused it; we must not forbid ourselves the use of fire & water, because some have employed both to their own ruin: For by this way of arguing, we must bid Adieu not only to Reason, but Scripture too, which has been abused, not only by great pretenders to Reason, but by ignorant and unstable men, to their own destruction.  
But then if we would either prevent the rise, or stop the growth of any such opinions amongst us, the way to do it, I conceive, is not to suspect our friends, (such who are not only free from error herein, but also very able and willing too, to defend the true Ancient Catholic Faith in this particular) not, I say, to suspect our friends, but so to treat our open and professed enemies, the Socinians, in such a sound way and Method of proceeding as may be the most effectual to convince them, or however to secure ourselves; that is, First, with strength of Reason; Secondly, with Candour and Ingenuity of Temper.  
1. With strength of Reason, thus to baffle them at that weapon, which they pretend to be so much their own, though in deed and truth, they cannot lay such a just claim & undoubted title to it, for in many things they perhaps are the weakest arguers of any sort of men whatever; yet seeing they are such pretenders to it, we must deal with them accordingly, by the strictest and severest methods of reasoning: for a good cause cannot suffer more, then either by too violent an urging of weak arguments, or an unskilful managing of good ones; and a weak defence, like a cold petition, is its own answer, and a kind of giving up the cause we pretend to plead for, besides it brings a disreputation to truth to see its Patrons and Defenders worsted.  
In order therefore to our more successful proceeding herein, in all Personal disputes with these Adversaries, they ought not to demand, nor should we grant them any other part, then that of an Opponent, and the reason is, because ours is the Ancient Truth, which has been in the possession of the Church long before their opinion was ever thought of, and therefore we must be supposed in rightful possession of it, till the contrary be proved: which they will be never able to do, seeing their great Art and Policy consists rather in evading the force of our arguments, then in trusting to any of their own.  
I speak not this, as if our Christian Religion, was not as well able to confute its adversaries, as to defend itself, provided only that they would but acknowledge so much reason and ingenuity, as not to look upon frivolous evasions for solid answers, which if they do, they then seem to labour of a certain weakness of mind, something like that of Scepticism, only the Sceptics they deny or doubt of every thing, these by the like unreasonable principles, do or may assert any thing, and thus in stead of being what they so much pretend to be, such Masters of Reason, they hereby destroy the very foundations of all rational discourse.  
2. We should treat them with all Candour and Ingenuity of Behaviour, for our Reasons and Arguments will be then the more likely to convince their understandings, if withal we endeavour to oblige their affections, however not provoke their passions. Thus 'tis verily thought, that Arrius had never raised those tempestuous storms which we read he did, If Alexander, the first that opposed the Arrian Heresy, had carried himself with more moderation, and been less eager in so good a cause.  
And having gone thus far in answer to the objection, give me leave to inquire a little further into the merit of the cause; what there is in Reason so destructive of Religion, that the very name of the one should seem heretical in the other; what is it wherein Reason hath so highly offended, that it should be excluded the Temple, and from having any thing to do in matters of Religion. Doth that Religion, which once commanded us to give a reason of the hope that is in us, doth it require nothing now, but blind obedience? Was Reason required, as it were in the very infancy and first ages of the Church, and is it now become useless, nay dangerous in its riper years? Is that which is the imperfection of old age, viz. the weakness of our intellectuals, is it now become the perfection of our faith? The Heathens indeed, they looked upon a Prophetic fury and alienation of mind to be either a necessary concomitant or a certain effect of their inspiration. The Turks they look upon mad men and fools as the only Prophets and men inspired, and we know what Church it is that asserts ignorance to be the Mother of Devotion: But we have not thus learned Christ; for our Religion doth not go about to build the Christian upon the ruins of the Man, nor do we then cease to be Rational when we become Religious, Religion being founded, and as it were grafted upon the stock of Reason. Thus the Moral Law is either the same with, or founded in the Light and Law of Nature; and the Christian Law, though it be above them both, yet is it not contrary to either.  
Thus Reason and Religion do friendlily agree, and mutually conspire to support each other; for Religion improves Reason, and Reason thus improved and enlightened, defends Religion; and as on the one hand the mysteries of our Faith are so far from being any real ground of an objection against it, that indeed they render it more Divine and Venerable; for we might perhaps justly question the Divinity of that Religion, wherein we see nothing above the power of a finite understanding, either at first to find out or afterwards to comprehend; so on the other hand the sutableness thereof to our rational faculties in other things, is no less a commendation and confirmation of it: for to say that God should institute an unreasonable Religion, is such a foolish assertion as needs no confutation; for certainly God would either have given us a Religion suitable to our Faculties, or Faculties suitable to our Religion.  
If it be here objected that God and Scripture condemns Reason, and that it doth not become us to dispute against the express Commands of God; To this I answer, that Scripture doth no where condemn that Reason which I here plead for; but all those places which they urge against it, may and must be interpreted either concerning the Traditions of the Jews, or the doubtful and disputatious Philosophy of the Gentiles, either of the Science falsely so called, which the Gnostics so boasted of, or of mere Natural Reason, as such, destitute of Divine Revelation; Or, lastly of the carnal Appetites of Christians, of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that Law of the members warring against the Law of the mind. Secondly by Reason we know the Scriptures to be the Word of God, and by Reason we come to the true meaning and sense of them, and by Reason we know the obligation that lies upon us therefrom, and without this it is not easy to conceive a way how God could either have conveyed the knowledge of his Will to us, or of our Duty to him; and it is not probable that Scripture should condemn that, without which all its own commands would signify very little or nothing.  
I shall here therefore briefly inquire into the nature of Reason, both as it was in innocence before the Fall, and as it is now in this state of depravation; for the want of a right distinguishing herein hath been the cause of many errors and mistakes about the power and properties of it; however 'tis that which must needs cause a great deal of obscurity in what is said concerning it, in this complexed and undistinguished capacity.  
And this is that which seems the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the first fundamental error in Mr. Hobbs his Politics, that he doth not sufficiently distinguish betwixt pure and corrupted Nature; so that there must needs be a great deal of falsehood in some things and confusion in others, when he ascribes that to Nature in general, which doth not belong to it but in such a particular respect and private consideration.  
Reason in innocence was that inward Principle, that Divine Light set up in the soul of man, which bore an equal respect to truth and goodness, by which we were both instructed in our duty and enabled to perform it; it was part of that Divine Image, wherein Man was created, and that which directed both the speculative and practical dictates of the understanding to their respective ends; viz. to the acknowledgement of the Divine Wisdom in matters of speculation, and yielding obedience to his will in matters of practice.  
Now did right Reason enjoy an universal, and undisturbed Empire, now was there not that contrariety in the faculties of the soul, but what was Knowledge in the understanding immediately became Obedience in the will and affections; now was Reason and Righteousness, as it were the very complexion of the man; nor was there any further need of Supernatural Grace to be super added to him, besides what was naturally contained in these Essential Principles of his constitution, which made him such as God designed him, viz. a Man in Innocence.  
This was the state of Reason before the Fall and it yet remains the same in substance, though not in the same degree of purity and perfection, as before; it is the relics of the Divine Image, yet remaining in us, by which we are still enabled in some measure to understand truth and practise our duty; it is that power or faculty of the soul, or the soul itself, as it contains in it the principles and foundations of ratiocination, and a power and ability of drawing right consequences therefrom, but yet so obscured and weakened, that there is now need of Divine Illumination and assistance for the performing of that which before we were able of ourselves to do: But then though God did thus punish man by taking away part of that strength which he had so misemployed; which was the effect of his justice, yet did not his goodness suffer him to sink below himself, though he became weak and guilty, yet he remained a man; his faculties, though depraved, yet were they not annihilated, and as the Principle is not wholly taken away, so neither are the Acts and Exercises thereof necessarily false; so that we are not abandoned to an eternal Scepticism, but we have still sufficient grounds of truth and certainty within ourselves, for we had better have no such faculties as pretend to Reason, than such as should always deceive us even in things that we clearly and distinctly perceive. And here may be as strong arguments drawn from the goodness of God, that the punishment of the first sin did not extend to an absolute falsification or total corruption of our faculties, as there may be from his veracity, that he gave us true ones at first; for indeed to assert Reason thus wholly corrupted, would be to introduce such a confusion and disorder into the nature of things as is inconsistent with the notion of a Providence, such an one, as we should think that God would rather have annihilated the whole race of mankind, than ever have suffered it in the world.  
And this is the true State of Reason in itself before the Fall, and as it is in us now since, only here we must further know that this natural Faculty of Reason in Christians is further enlightened and enabled by the Divine Revelation of his Will, and by the assistances and influences of his holy Spirit.  
I could wish therefore that those men would speak more intelligibly, who go about to give such particular & distinct differences betwixt the Spiritual and mere Rational Man, as they call him, in their Actions relating to Religion, as if there was any Character either more certain in itself, or more warrantable to us, to judge of the Spirit of God in a man by, then by its producing the effects of Righteousness in him; That the Principles of Natural Reason and Grace are two distinct things, flowing from different Fountains, is certainly true; but then why we should oppose these two, especially in a Christian State, where God is never wanting by his grace to assist the humble and sincere exercises of men's Reasons, where the more truly Rational any Men are, the more Spiritual they are, and the more Spiritual the more truly Rational; here actually to distinguish betwixt the Spiritual and mere Rational Man, when the same effects of real Righteousness equally appear in both, this is arrogantly to take upon himself that which is only proper to God, to be a searcher of hearts.  
As for that place of 1 Cor. 2. 14. upon the misunderstanding whereof they seem principally to found this their opinion, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned; here by the Natural Man is not meant the Christian Rational Man, but a man endowed only with the Principles of Natural Reason, void of Evangelical Grace and Divine Revelation; now this cannot be applied to a Christian who enjoys both in their respective degrees: so that the true meaning of that place is briefly this, That the matters revealed in the Gospel and Preached by the Apostles were such, as the Learned Philosophers of the Heathens and others, who were only led by Humane Reason, did absolutely despise as seeming foolishness unto them, nor could they by any Study of their own come to the knowledge of them, for they were only to be had by understanding the prophecies of Scripture, and other such means as depend upon Divine Revelation: so that the Christian doth receive and believe the Gospel and the things therein contained, by arguments drawn from the Scriptures themselves, by prophecies and miracles and other evidences of Divine Revelation afforded therein, and by the assistances of the Spirit of God derived therefrom, but then this doth not exclude but include Reason, for grace is not a super addition of a new faculty, but a new power and principle to the old.  
Now I see no reason, why those who are Baptised into the same Faith, and live in the same Christian Communion, and give all due obedience to the Laws of God and Man, according to their power, why any such should be supposed to act from a Principle of mere Natural Reason, and not also from that of a truly Divine, and in its own nature, Saving Grace, and that for no other Reason, but only because some few men, who are highly conceited of themselves, and censorious of others, who pretend to a monopoly of the Spirit, and as it were to a Commission from Heaven to pass sentence on all who differ from them, only because these men are pleased to vote whomsoever they will, Formal, Moral and mere Rational Men.  
But indeed those who are thus particular in describing how far a mere Rational Man may go in matters of Religion, what sins he may avoid and what duties he may perform, and yet have nothing of the true Spirit of God and Saving Grace; these men, however they may pretend and perhaps really are great enemies to Pelagianism, yet they seem herein to be too great exalters of the power of Nature, and in all probability too uncharitable censurers of Divine Grace, whilst they attribute all the good works performed by those mere Rational Men either to the Power of Nature, or to Common Grace, as they call it, which, according to their interpretation and explication of it, is little better, seeing it is neither in its own nature sufficient nor by God's appointment intended to bring any one to Salvation; that distinction therefore betwixt Common and Saving Grace, as Grace, doth signify those inward motions of the Divine Spirit, by which we are enabled to believe and practise aright, according to this acceptation, it hath no foundation in Scripture; for all such Grace is in its own nature sufficient, and by God's appointment designed to bring Salvation, if we by our own fault do not hinder the event; though it be granted, that this also may differ in degrees. Among other grounds and reasons of this their mistake, this seems not the least, that they entertain too mean apprehensions of that Covenant which God hath made with Christians and their Children, and also of the Sacrament of Baptism, by which they are admitted members of Christ's Church: Yet notwithstanding both these, they look upon a man before a certain critical moment of conversion, as they suppose it, little better than an heathen, and that all the good works that they have or can perform before it, stand them in little or no stead, in order to their Conversion, and that after this, all the wickedness that they do or can commit, shall do them no prejudice in reference to their Salvation, which opinion is of very bad consequence to the concernments of a Christian Life.  
But here we must also know, that there is need of a continued course of Sanctification throughout our whole lives, both to complete and perfect that holiness first begun in us, and also by reason of those many sins and infirmities, which we are all subject to, which are to be turned from by repentance and reformation.  
And as this opposition betwixt the Spiritual and mere Rational Man, is without any warrant from Scripture, so is it very difficult, if at all possible, to assign the exact limits betwixt Grace and Reason in ourselves, and then much more in others.  
1. In ourselves, it is very hard to say that this was an Action of our Reason only, that an Act of the more immediate assistance of the Divine Spirit, Joh. 3.8. the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whether it goeth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit, thus he that is born anew, is discernably another kind of man than he was before, thus his new birth is seen by the fruits, though the beginnings, and the modes of procedure, and the means of conveying this to him be undiscernible, Mark 4. 26. 27. so is the kingdom of God, that is, the kingdom of Grace; as if a man should cast feed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. These are the more ordinary methods of the Divine Spirit, but then when God calls out some particular persons on some great and eminent employments, either to do or suffer in his service, he frequently confers more sensible influences of his Grace and Spirit on such; Neither is this spoken in the least to oppose the joys and consolations of the Holy Ghost, nor the sober and well-grounded experiences of Pious Men.  
And as we cannot distinguish betwixt these in ourselves, much less can we do it in others, for if a man be outwardly pious, and give no just occasion of suspecting his real honesty and sincerity, whether such an one be notwithstanding an hypocrite, this is best known to God and his own conscience; yet we by the Laws of Charity are to judge the best, but if such an one under all this, be an hypocrite, this is that which a man may also be under the highest pretences to the Spirit; so that it is only the event, that must determine the truth and sincerity of men's professions.  
The sum of what I here intent, is this, that, provided we become new men, if we cease to sin and learn to do well, if we turn from wickedness and perform real and sincere obedience to the Laws of God, as the Divine Spirit indeed is, so must it be acknowledged to be the principal cause of this change in us, yet we need not here trouble ourselves too nicely to determine the exact limits, how far our Reason, as a less principal cause either might, or might not be instrumental herein.  
But the proper use and just extent of Reason will further appear by considering its object, which is the knowledge of God and the Divine Will, the knowledge of ourselves and the nature of things, so far as these or any of these come under humane cognisance, so far as they are either our perfection to know, or our duty to practise; so that nothing but either the impossibility or the unlawfulness of the enquiry must limit the exercise of our Reasons, thus must we not indulge either an extravagant curiosity on the one hand, nor an idle supine negligence on the other, for it would argue presumption in us to pry into those hidden things which God hath reserved to himself, as it would sloth and ingratitude, not make use of our faculties for those purposes, that God designed them for.  
And there have not been wanting those who have erred in both extremes, first the Pelagians and Socinians, who make Reason the great rule of faith and manners, who scarce acknowledge any other authority, or ground of their belief, or higher principle of action: others there have been who too much undervalue it, and ascribe not only too little to it, but look upon it as a dangerous and pernicious thing, as if it was the Devil's instrument to undermine the foundations of Faith and all true Religion; some indeed have set it in the throne and then fallen down in adoration to it, others on the contrary have unjustly vilifyed that which is indeed a ray of Divinity, and I know not whether have been more to blame, or done more disservice to Religion, those who have adored it as a God, or those who have rejected it as a Devil.  
I shall therefore briefly show the power of Reason in some things and its weakness and inability in others, and give some particular instances of both.  
1. Reason is a guide to a man in the choice of his Religion in general, that is, supposing an Heathen in doubt of his own and desirous to fix upon the true Religion; here rightly to determine his choice, he hath no other way but to bring the several pretenders to the test of Reason, and examine them by those Rules, that Reason dictates to be the Characters of truth and certainty, that is, by the agreeableness and correspondence they bear to the notions of God and the nature of things, to those inward impressions they have of virtue and goodness imprinted upon their minds, and according as they come confirmed with the outward attestation of true and unfeigned miracles: and here authority, as such, ought not to be urged, nor can it be of any force in this consideration, though it must be also granted, that the concurrent testimony of different parties is very considerable herein, as when the matters of fact relating to our Saviour and his Religion are not only granted, but attested by all parties, not only friends but enemies, when both the jews and Heathens do grant his miracles; whereas those that other Religions pretend unto, being both in their own nature, more sleight and frivolous, more fantastic and a●ry, then solid and substantial, and really serviceable to the glory of God and the good of men, in this respect they are less worthy of God and less agreeable to the nature of miracles, and also wanting the universality of attestation, they are more liable to cheat and imposture. And here the certain evidence of humane testimony is of more force to convince a man, than the pretence of Divine Authority; I say, than the pretence, for in many it is only so, and that which is real is to him no more, for as yet be doth not believe any of them to be Divine, but from the strength of their respective Reasons and Arguments must conclude them so.  
And here the use of Reason will be more particularly necessary to distinguish betwixt true and false miracles, now a miracle being something above the power of natural causes to perform, it will be very difficult rightly to assign the just limits of the power of nature, to be able to say thus far can it extend, and no further; and that which still augments the difficulty, is, rightly to know how far the Devil's power may extend in things of this nature, whether first he can by his own native power work miracles; which seems not so reasonable to believe he can, for then mankind would almost have laid under a fatal necessity of being imposed upon by his power and malice, Miracles being as it were the Great Seal of Heaven, which God makes use of to confirm the truth of Doctrines.  
But then nothing hinders, but that the Devil may by his knowledge of Nature either so fitly apply natural agents to the producing of such effects, as may require a good degree of Reason and Philosophy to distinguish them from Real Miracles, or may by God, for Reasons best known to himself, be permitted sometimes to work true ones.  
Yet not so, but that upon a strict and due consideration of the circumstances of the Action, or the end and design of the thing, there will something appear whereby to distinguish such a miracle from those which are the more genuine and immediate results of the Divine Power. To this we may further add, that the Divine Providence is particularly concerned, where there seems as it were a competition betwixt the power of God and the power of the Devil (as in the case of Moses, and the Magicians of Egypt, and in others proportionably) there some ways to appear in confirmation and approbation of the one, and in discovering either the absolute cheats and impostures, or the comparative weakness and imperfection of the other.  
The sum of what I here intent is this, that by using our Reason, and the Rules thereby afforded us, we may distinguish betwixt the delusions of Satan, and Divine miracles, but without this it will be impossible to do it.  
2. We should continue Christians upon the same Grounds and Reasons that others first became such, that is, upon a due considering and understanding of our Religion, so that we may both be the more confirmed in the belief of it ourselves, and may be the better enabled to give an account of it to others; thus should we be Christians upon choice and consideration, and not only because it is the Religion of our Country. It is not sufficient for us merely to be baptised into the Christian Faith, but we must ourselves understand and undertake what the happiness of our Birth and Education first Entitled us to.  
Yet this is not so to be understood as if Christians were Sceptically to doubt of their Religion, or so far to indulge the extravagancy of their inquiries, as for the present to suspend the belief of their own, and to be in an equal indifferency to all Religions; yet may they piously inquire into the Grounds and Reasons of their Faith, being warranted herein both from Precept and Example in Scripture.  
And as in the other particular; Reason was necessary to distinguish betwixt true and false Miracles, so is it here to judge of Doctrines; that so we may preserve that Faith once delivered to the Saints free from error or corruption either in Principles or Practices: and indeed when once we bid adieu to Reason, we then open a gate to all those errors and fanaticisms, which either the malice of the Devil, or the impostures of men, or our own corrupt natures may suggest, we deprive ourselves of that which God designed for our defence, and expose ourselves naked to the power and malice of our enemies.  
3. Reason is necessary to determine the lawfulness of some actions and the expediency of others; for it was impossible for Scripture to descend to all the particulars of humane life, much less to all the circumstances of them it was sufficient for it to have laid down some General Principles, it being now the Office of Reason to apply particular instances to these General Rules; and that which renders Reason here further necessary, is, because that virtue for the most part consisting in the middle betwixt two opposite vices there is need of a careful and steady attention, lest while we endeavour to avoid the one extreme, we unwarily run into the other: and here Reason will in many cases be very useful to us rightly to determine the just limits of our duty, only we must not make this bad use hereof, always to go to the utmost extent of what is lawful, we must not live always upon the very confines betwixt vice and virtue; for this would be to choose to walk upon the very brink of a precipice, where perhaps we may be safe, but the action would never be counted prudent. This would be only to make use of Reason to teach us how little we might be virtuous, and how far unwise. And this possibly may be one Reason why many times it is so hard to assign the precise boundaries betwixt vice and virtue, exactly to determine where the one ends and the other begins; because God never designed us to make use of that speculation, but to keep ourselves within the measures of prudence and safety.  
2. I shall show the weakness and imperfections of Reason, and what those things are wherein it is deficient.  
1. It is not in the Power of Reason to have found out the mysteries of our Religion, nor the methods of Salvation, for these do either depend upon the Essential Nature of God, or the free determination of his will: both which are unsearchable by humane Reason.  
Whether therefore the Platonic Triad, or the threefold principle mentioned by Plato and his followers, be the same with or may upon just grounds be applied to the Christian Trinity, may be justly questioned; for it must be a very favourable interpretation that infers an Unity in the Trinity, and Trinity in Unity from Plato's Principle: yet whatever knowledge he might have of a Trinity, this was neither born with him, nor was it the result of his natural reasoning, but it came to him by tradition either from the jews, or from those who had it thence; as the greatest asserters of the Platonic Trinity do acknowledge.  
Whether Orpheus, Trismegist or Plato had indeed any true knowledge or distinct notions of a Trinity, I shall not here undertake to determine, seeing that after the great pains and Study that some men have bestowed herein, such is the obscurity of those Author's expressions, such the doubtful and various interpretations put upon them by men of different opinions, such the doubted truth and credit of some of those writings, such the loose conjectures rather than necessary consequences made from the whole, that the result of all seems only this, that possibly it may be thus, and possibly it may be otherwise.  
So that I am apt to believe that men do not entertain this or that opinion for the necessary cogency of the Arguments on either side, but according to the agreeableness, that this or that opinion may have to the tenor of their former Studies, and to the Authors they have been most conversant in, or bear the greatest affection for, or for some other collateral inclinations, rather than Reasons of Belief.  
I shall therefore on this occasion with all indifferency propose these few considerations, which thou mayst receive or reject, as thou seest convenient.  


1. The notion of the Trinity, as relating to the Christian mystery, is much more obscurely expressed in Plato himself, than we find it now since in his followers, I mean those of the Platonic School, who lived after the coming of our Saviour.  
For the Trinity, such an one as the Christians assert, could never in all probability have been gathered from what is there said of it, nor could it probably have been concluded to have been Plato's meaning, if the appearance of the Christian Doctrine, had not given occasion and opportunity to his followers to apply his notion of it to the Christian mystery.   

2. At or upon the appearance of our Saviour's Doctrine in the world, there were two sorts of men, whose interest it might then be, though for different Reasons, to assert & promote the notion of the Platonic Trinity: First, the Platonists of the Age, who might think it tended much to the honour of their Master & his Philosophy to find in it those mysteries which the Christians looked upon as the peculiar Characters of their Religion: thus did they vie Platonism with Christianity, equalling it in all things, relating either to Speculation or Practice with the Christian Doctrine; thus did the appearance of the Gospel in the world rectify the Philosophy of the Gentiles in some things, and made them ambitious to conform their notions to the Christian Religion, as far as they thought convenient, in others.  
Another sort of men who might promote the belief of the Platonic Trinity were professed Christians, yet such as had no mind to believe any thing of this Christian Mystery; and these men boldly asserted that the Trinity was only a Pagan notion brought out of Plato's School into the Christian Doctrine: Thus did they endeavour to disparage what they had no mind to believe, but yet withal supposed that it was in Plato, thinking it a sufficient Argument, either of its falseness or unfitness to be made part of the Christian belief, because the notion (say they) was taken from a Pagan Philosopher.   

3. Whether might not the Providence of God be some ways concerned herein, either by occasioning or permitting such expressions in Plato, as might afterwards be made use of, though not for the proving of the Trinity, yet for the facilitating the reception & belief of it among the Gentiles.  
I shall not here Dogmatically assert any thing, nor shall I oppose the opinion of the Traditionists; yet I think we need not too operously contend for it nor lay more stress and weight upon that Argument, than the evidence thereof will bear, because the Christian Trinity doth neither depend upon, nor stand in need of it: As for the inability of Reason to find out those methods of Salvation now revealed in the Gospel, I shall have occasion to mention it hereafter.    
2. The mysteries of our Religion, as they could not be at first found out, so neither can they be now fully comprehended by Natural Reason, and this is that which Reason itself acknowledges, that it is not in the power of a finite capacity fully to comprehend the mysteries of an infinite Being; yet are these very mysteries so far as necessary to be believed in order to Salvation, sufficiently intelligible, being so far clearly laid down in Scripture. But then we must not place our own private fancies or the doubtful and controverted opinions of particular men in the number and rank of Divine mysteries, thus coining more out of our own brains, than God and Scripture ever made. Thus a late Author hath ranked Reprobation and absolute Decrees, in an equal order with the Trinity and Incarnation: but if all the unintelligble opinions, which have been broached of late years, must be received as Divine Mysteries, what a monstrous thing would Religion by this means soon appear?  
Nor doth the belief of this particular hinder us from making the mysteries of our Religion as reasonable and as intelligible as we can, provided only, that we do not make Reason the Rule and Condition of our believing them; we must not reject what we cannot fully understand, this is both the fault and folly of the Socinians, for herein they show themselves neither sound Divines nor good Philosophers; for 'tis probable that if they had been more conversant in Philosophy, they would not have so erred in Divinity; if they had a little tamed and corrected the extravagancy of their own conceited abilities with the difficulties of Philosophy, and a little more used their understanding to the obedience of nature, they then would not perhaps have thought it such an unreasonable thing to submit to that of Faith, for what an affront is it both to Reason and Religion to be so credulous as to believe things altogether unintelligible in Philosophy, and yet be such Virtuosos in Religion, as to believe nothing but what is capable of demonstration, or within the compass of our faculties to comprehend.  
Here we may further defend the mysteries of our Religion, not only from the Authority of the Speaker, in as much as it is very reasonable to believe, what the God of truth reveals, but also by such subsequent illustrations as may at least facilitate our apprehensions of the thing; and this is that which Athanasius his Creed makes use of, as the reasonable soul and body are one man, so God and man are one Christ; here we may also make use of those Arguments which are called argumenta ad hominem, that is, we may consider whether those respective persons, we then deal withal do not believe some things altogether as unaccountable as those things they charge upon us. Thus the heathens have no Reason to object against us the credulity of believing upon bare Authority, seeing the Pythagoreans in particular did look upon Pythagoras his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 almost of as great Authority, as the Christians do their sic dicit Dominus, and generally all Sects of Philosophers did jurare in verba Magistri, did yield great honour and obedience to their respective Founders, nor have they any Reason to object the unconceiveableness of the Trinity and Incarnation, seeing they believe things concerning their gods altogether as unintelligible as these Christian mysteries.  
And to come a little nearer, the results of the Divine Omnipotence and Omniscience, how God can create something out of nothing, and how he can know the free determinations of our secret thoughts, and these not only present but future, all which is notwithstanding part of our natural Creed; this perhaps is as unconceivable as any thing that is contained in our revealed Religion.  
3. It is not in the power of mere natural Reason to perform the precepts of the Christian Religion without the concurrence and assistance of the Divine Spirit. Here for a man to deny either the being of God, or the operations of his Spirit in us, is (to use a familiar resemblance) as if we should deny a sharp Razor to have an edge, because we cannot see it, whereas indeed the very invisibility of it is an Argument of its being; or as if we should deny any motion in the world, because we cannot explain the communication of it, though here as in the other, the visibility of the effects doth sufficiently prove the truth of both.  
There are some who argue the duty incumbent on us to believe the Christian Religion, from the benefit that accrues from it to mankind, making this the foundation of their argument, that men naturally aught to believe that which is for their advantage: how far this is true, I shall not here inquire, yet this is certain, that where we have all the Reason in the world to believe a thing, and none to oppose it, where God makes that our duty, which is also our interest; there to deny or disbelieve such a thing, is not only to act against ourselves, but to fight against heaven: & of this nature is the belief of the Divine assistance. Such is the amiableness of the Divine Nature, that some are of opinion, that if the Atheist did but frame a notion of it, though he could not believe that there was a God, yet he must necessarily wish there was one; so here such is the advantage that accrues to us from the belief of this Divine Assistance, that, methinks, those very men who deny it, ought notwithstanding to believe it, in order to their own designs of acting to the utmost extent of the powers of nature, for they might more vigorously exert these, if they lived under the imagination at least, that they had a greater power than their own concurring with them.  
As for that controversy concerning Grace and moral Virtue, if the question be first clearly stated, and the sense and acceptation of the words justly determined, and then the thing calmly discoursed without the heat of contest and disputation, the difference betwixt the contenders on either part seems not so great, but that it seems easily reconcileable.  
Here Grace may be considered in a double sense, either first as it signifies the Divine Assistance, that inward root and Principle of all Christian Virtues and Graces; or secondly, as it signifies the fruits and effects of the Spirit, the Christian Graces themselves, as now reduced into acts and habits: In this latter sense Moral Virtues, as to the substance and matter of them, are the same with Christian Graces, they differ only in the principle from whence they flow, thus the Christian Virtues and Grace's spring from a more Divine Original, than the Moral Virtues of Heathens. In the first sense there are none, but professed Pelagians, that assert morality or moral virtue, in opposition to or derogation from the Divine Assistances; but those who perhaps by some are now thought too great friends and Patrons of it do mean and intend nothing of this by it.  
That which hath rendered this question more obscure and intricate, is, that they are not rightly agreed about the sense and meaning of the word morality; some say that by morality is properly meant such a degree of virtue and honesty as is attainable by the mere strength of nature, without the advantages of Divine Revelation; others by morality seem to understand not only this, but also include in it all the assistances and encouragements that attend Christianity. Whether is the properer acceptation of the word I shall not here inquire; yet however those who take it in this latter sense cannot be thought to ascribe too much to the power of nature, only they include more in the sense and meaning of the word so taken, then perhaps can properly belong to it.  
I shall here only add one consideration, which refers to Reason in matters of Speculation, and so put an end to this digression.  
'Tis this, that it no ways reflects dishonourably upon Reason, that it is not in its power to convince a Sceptic, Scepticus nec potest alium redarguere nec ipse redargui, and the Reason of both, is, because he neither asserts nor grants any Principles whereby he may either prevail upon others, or he himself be confuted: Scepticism is a capricious frenzy of the mind; and it tends no more to the disreputation of Reason that it cannot cure it, than it doth to the dishonour of Grace, that it doth not always captivate the perverse wills of wicked men.  
But there are degrees in this Sceptical humour, and we then seem to retain some Tincture of it, when we unreasonably and immoderately undervalue and enervate those Arguments which natural Reason, brings for the proof of some of the Articles of our natural Religion, viz. The being of God and the Immortality of the Soul, Revelation indeed hath advanced these to higher degrees of certainty, then before they had; but I see not how it tends to the advancement of the Honour of Divine Revelation, by too rigid, if not Sceptical, denials to invalidate all those Arguments that Reason may suggest in proof or confirmation hereof. Reason, methinks, here should not be treated as an enemy, but rather helped and encouraged then discountenanced in so good a design; we should rather procure and maintain a certain rational tenderness and modesty of mind, whereby we should be ashamed either to assert or deny any thing upon unjust grounds; and this temper of mind is equally distant from a vain credulity on the one hand, and an unreasonable demanding of demonstrations in matters uncapable of them, on the other, it assents not to things on weaker grounds than Reason may justly require, nor doth it require more evidence than the nature of things, and the nature of men are capable of.  
But I must remember that I write a Preface, not a Treatise, I shall now only premise something concerning the Nature of Prophecy and Divine Revelation in general, and so refer thee to the following discourse for further satisfaction.  
An operose attempt to prove that which no sober and considerate man ever went about to deny, would rather weaken, then add any strength to the thing designed; yet I could wish that either the affectation of singularity, or a more pernicious design of some in this present age had not rendered the proving the truth of Divine Revelation (in opposition to those who would ascribe all prophecy to some lower principle) not altogether unnecessary.  
It is indeed both unjust and uncharitable to suggest unreasonable surmises of the possible intentions of an Author contrary to his express words; only here give me leave to show the Reasons why it may be suspected that the Author of Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, notwithstanding what he there speaks of it, yet may indeed assert no other Prophecy or Revelation, than what is within the power of nature to perform.  
1. In his sixth Chapter, he absolutely denies all miracles in general, & then it is very inconsistent with, and naturally consequent upon this his principle to deny this of prophecy in particular. The opinion of miracles according to him, is founded in the ignorance of natural causes, since nature never goes out of her fixed order and settled course, whatever we may weakly or ignorantly conceive of it, now according to this way of arguing, prophecy may as well be the result either of blind chance or natural causes, though such as are not commonly known, as other miracles. Now the nature and notion of a miracle, doth as well belong to the certain Prediction of future contingencies and the declaring and revealing things naturally unknowable, as it doth to those things which leave more immediate and sensible effects behind them: and if God by such an eternal decree hath so fixed the course of nature, that it can no ways now be altered, than prophecy must run the same fate with miracles, and he that denies one, if he be consistent with himself, must deny both.  
2. He tells us, that God may reveal by way of prophesy such things as we already know by the light of nature, that which I here take notice of, is not the falseness of the assertion, but only that he doth no where plainly and clearly tell us, whether the prophesies contained in Scripture, be above the power of nature or no, or whether they may not naturally follow from such a System of the world as he supposes.  
3. He himself doth sufficiently explain his own opinion herein towards the end of his first Chapter; Denique Prophetae Dei spiritum habere dicebantur, quia homines causas Propheticae cognitionis ignorabant eandemque admirabantur, & propterea ut reliqua portenta, ipsam ad Deum refer, Deique cognitionem vocare solebant: wherein he positively resolves prophesy, as well as other miracles, into natural causes, though such as are unknown to us.  
My design here will not give me leave fully to examine his opinion either concerning miracles or prophecy, only I shall observe in general, that it is but a very weak way of arguing, which he there uses, viz. That because God sometimes makes use of natural causes, or the accidental ministry of some other means in working of miracles, therefore to ascribe the whole causality or efficiency to those things which God for other Reasons thought fit to employ on those occasions, thus he asserts Moses his throwing Ashes into the Air, to be the natural cause of the Biles that thereupon befell the Egyptians.  
Thus also because God makes use of the fancy in the conveying of prophecy, therefore must it wholly be subjected here and reach no farther, therefore he concludes that the Prophets prophesied according to the various temperaments and complexion of their bodies, and some Prophets were more obscure in their prophecies then others, because their fancy was not so good, nor their imagination so strong as the rest.  
But this kind of Reasoning seems much what like that of the man who speaking of the miracle of Christ's feeding five thousand with five Barly-loaves and two fishes, Joh. 6. 10. gave this account of it, that what they wanted in meat, they made up with grass, because it is there occasionally said, that there was much grass in the place.  
Prophecy in the notion of it, may include those two things, 1. A prediction of future contingencies, a foretelling, not only the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not only such things, the events whereof depend upon the natural and necessary connexion of causes, but such as come to pass by the free determination of men's wills and though the proper nature of prophecy doth not consist herein, yet is it a certain character of a true Prophet, where it doth occur, for it is not in the power of any lower principle certainly to foretell such things.  
2. Prophecy more properly implies the Communication of the Divine Will to men, and that with this particular design, to instruct and inform the world in things of great concernment; for there may be private notices and personal commands conveyed from God to Men, which yet are not sufficient to denominate them Prophets.  
Prophecy in the first sense doth suppose the being of God to a Christian, and proves it to an heathen, for there may as strong an Argument be drawn from the punctual predictions of future contingencies in all the particular Modes and Circumstances of them, to prove a Divine Being, as there may from the regular order and constitution of the universe; for it is as impossible certainly to foretell things to come in that very way and method wherein they happen without Divine Revelation, as it would have been for the world to have reduced itself into this stately frame by the fortuitous concourse of Atoms.  
And as prophecy proves the Being of God, so the being of God proves at least the possibility of prophecy, si dentur dii, datur divinatio, says Cicero, and the consequence is good and valid; unless with the Epicureans, that granting a God we deny his providence, and the government of the world by him: Prophecy and Divine Revelation being one great instrument which he makes use of herein, and indeed it would have seemed a great defect in providence to have created such a Noble Creature as Man, without a way of communicating suitable notices to him, as the conveniencies or necessities of things might require.  
Thus the Stoics argue in this case, if, say they, there be Gods and yet they do not declare to men future events, then either they do not love men, or they know not themselves what will come to pass hereafter, or they think it nothing concerns men to know, or they think it inconsistent with their Majesty to do it, or lastly they know not how to communicate this their knowledge to others: but all these consequences are false, therefore the Being of God proves such a kind of prophecy or divination. This argumentation of theirs refers to prophecy in the first sense, but it would be more strong and undeniable if from thence we inferred the being of prophecy in the latter; that is, the Revelation of things much more considerable than the mere knowledge of future events; for he that denies prophecy in this sense, must either grant all those false and unworthy consequences before mentioned, or some of these, which are as false as the other, either first that God hath declared his whole Will by the Light of Nature, so that nothing more remains further to be revealed; or Secondly, that nature hath declared enough, and that there is no need of any more; or Thirdly, that it is inconsistent with the free determination of the Divine Will to make any further Revelation, than what nature hath already discovered.  
But now this kind of Prophecy or Divine Revelation was both necessary in respect of man, and no ways contrary to any resolution of the Divine Will, 1. It was necessary, because all the several Religions that ever appeared in the world, either really had, or at least pretended to Divine Revelation, now things being in this posture at our Saviour's appearance in the world, it was necessary that his Religion should have the truth of that which many of the others only pretended to, both to free Christians from the danger of being seduced by the false pretences of others, and also fully to assure them of the truth of their own Religion.  
Not though as if the false Oracles of the Heathens did first occasion that Revelation that was truly Divine, for this had always a precedency in nature to that which was false and counterfeit; thus God first gave the command to Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit, before the Devil ever tempted him thereunto.  
And the reason of that resemblance, which we sometimes find betwixt Sacred and profane Rites, is not, that God took occasion from them to institute the like amongst his own people; but because the Devil, being God's Ape, doth many times either pervert Divine Institutions to Superstitious or Idolatrous purposes, or erect something of the like nature of his own to keep some in the belief and practice of the false Religion, and to seduce others from the true one, so that it is no ways inconsistent with the subtlety or malice of the Devil, but rather highly promotive of both, to borrow some Divine Rites and Sacred Institutions and insert them into his own Worship.  
And it seems more probable, that the Egyptians here borrowed from the Jews, than the Jews from the Egyptians; for notwithstanding the great hatred which they bore to the Jews, yet they might imitate them in some part of their Religious Worship, and that not out of any love they had either to them or their Religion, but that they might the better secure some of their own people in their Idolatrous Worship, who perhaps had entertained too great an opinion of some of the Jewish Ceremonies, or that by this means they might some other ways more effectually manage their malice against them; but what ever was the first occasion or original of the Devils Oracles, yet this is certain, that at Christ's appearance in the world, they had very much prevailed in the Heathen Nations; and therefore it was necessary that Christ should both silence these, and institute a more certain method of Divine Revelation of his own.  
1. Revelation was necessary to assure the world of God's reconciliation to mankind, and upon what terms and by what methods we may attain Salvation: for though the Divine Goodness be as knowable by the Light of Nature, and as easily apparent in the notion of a Deity, as any other of its attributes of Power and justice; yet being conscious to ourselves of daily offending God; and guilt being naturally full of jealousy; We could not be so fully assured of God's mercy without such a Revelation, having forfeited the effects thereof, as to ourselves, and however though we might have some notions of God's parability and willingness to pardon, yet we could scarce have imagined that his mercy would have extended thus far, not only to pardon our sins, but also to confer upon us such a degree of happiness.  
Nor doth their way of reasoning seem cogent and necessary, who tell us that Natural Reason leads us to a Mediator, and that such an one, as God indeed has appointed to be God and Man: God, say they, is perfectly just and perfectly merciful, and being just he must condemn all mankind, because sinful, but this would be repugnant to his mercy, which must also be perfect with effect, now seeing the perfection of these two attributes of justice and mercy may consist in God together, and since this cannot be, unless God doth satisfy, and Man do suffer, therefore Reason dictates such a Mediator, as is both God and Man.  
But this is a Post-nate way of arguing, found out since God's Revelation of his Will in this matter, for where did ever appear any such way of reasoning amongst the Heathen Philosophers, or any others, before God's declaration of it; so that all that can follow hence, is only an agreeableness of the Divine Methods of Salvation, here made use of, to Reason, not any ability in Reason to prove that the things ought to be so, Antecedent to the Revelation.  
2. This Argument doth suppose or endeavours to prove the Incarnation of Christ, knowable by the Light of Nature, which is so far from being true, that it is not fully and clearly conceivable how it could be done, even now when it is revealed; there are indeed some instances in nature which seem to facilitate the belief of the Incarnation, thus what is man, but as it were a previous Essay to the Incarnation? being compounded of Principles as far distant as Heaven and Earth, of Soul and Body: but then this is only an illustration of a truth already revealed, not any Antecedent Argument to prove it.  
I might easily enlarge further on this subject, but I am very sensible that I have already transgressed the due limits of a Preface: the ensuing Treatise will be a sufficient demonstration of the other particular, viz. That Divine Revelation is no ways contrary to the free determination of the Divine Will, it being that which God hath promised in general, and particularly by this way of Dreams and Visions.   

Errata in the Preface.  
b PAge 7. for might or might, read may or may. c p. 3. line 10, after particular, insert, actions. d p. 6. l. 15. read consistent. pag. 7. for Biles, r. Boils. p. 3. l. 13. for seems, r. is.   

Errata in the Book.  
PAge 17. l. 5. for leave, r. bear. p. 17. l. 16. for your, r. the. p. 20. l. 19 for that, r. the. p. 25. l. 3. for that, r. their. p. 41. l. 17. insert the. p. 44. l. 23. for it and its, r. their. p. 58. l. 10. insert and. p. 118. l. 11. r. frenzies.   

A DISCOURSE CONCERNING Divine Dreams.  

THE INTRODUCTION.  
Doubt not but you remember the conference we had, as we went to Councillor Amproux his lodgings: one of our Discourses was concerning the Nature of those Dreams which God sometimes sent unto his Servants, and particularly concerning the marks and characters, by which they might know them to be truly Divine. For as much as you found a great deal of difficulty in that matter, I should have been glad if we had discoursed further upon it. But the night came on, and obliged you to retire to your lodgings; and Madamoiselle de la Suze, who stayed for me in another place, and I went also to ours, we had some discourse in our return concerning it, and she desired me (according to my ability) to illustrate and explain what did seem more obscure and difficult in that subject, which she thought worthy of a more attentive consideration. I bestowed some thoughts upon it in my journey, and if other affairs had not prevented me, I had e'er this committed them to Paper: But if my occasions, which are at present so urgent, and importunate do permit, I will do it: and I here begin this little work in midst of their disturbance, on purpose to engage myself to a necessity of finishing it, that so I may send it as a testimony of that respect which I bear you, and of that singular esteem which I have of your rare qualities, and of the Honour of your Friendship.   

CHAP. I.  
Of natural Dreams and their several Causes.  
THere are three kinds of faculties in man, which are subservient to him, both in acquiring and preserving knowledge, viz. the External Senses, which are as it were, at the one extreme; the Understanding at the other; and the Internal Senses in the middle betwixt these two. The impression of external objects made upon the Corporeal senses is not called by the name of Dreams, seeing it is made upon us waking; neither are the ratiocinations of the understanding called Dreams, because Dreams are formed in some of those faculties, which are common to us with beasts, to whom also, as to dogs and horses belongs the power of dreaming: so that it necessarily follows, that that impression, wherein the nature of dreams doth consist, must be made in the internal senses. Now these are commonly accounted three, the Common Sense, the Fantasy, and the Memory: all which three, some do think to be but one and the same faculty, but diversely considered according to its divers modes of acting upon its respective objects: others do distinguish them as different faculties in themselves, and not only in their operations. I I shall here follow this latter opinion, both as more universally received, and more fit and proper for the explication of that which I here undertake, and shall assert, that dreams are not made in the common sense or sensus communis, because that doth not act, but when the external senses are awake: nor to speak properly, are they made in the memory, because the Ideas of things there are only in Potentiâ, and when they are reduced into Act, do then pass into the imagination or fancy. But the images whereof dreams are formed, are in Act, as we say, and therefore must necessarily be in that part which we call the Fancy; to which all the world do more generally agree. That impression then (which is the cause of dreams) must be referred to one of these three causes, Nature, Angels or God; and accordingly there can be but three kinds of dreams, natural and supernatural; and these, such as proceed either from the operation of Angels, or such as are more purely Divine.  
As for natural dreams, they may be divided into four Classes, (1.) there are some which are to be imputed to the mere temperament of the body, or to the Constitution wherein the person that dreams, chances to be, when he has such or such visions. For Example, those who are of an hot or Choleric constitution, or at that time have their Stomaches overcharged with Choler, they commonly dream of fire; those who are naturally Phlegmatic, or who then chance to abound with Phlegm, do dream of ponds and rivers, and inundation of waters: and it is proportionably the same with others, according to the diversity of their constitutions. And although experience shows this to be true, and that Physicians do take indications from dreams, whereby to judge of the temperature of the body, yet the reason, why it is so, doth not so easily appear. I shall briefly offer something, as a reason hereof, as I pass along, though my design doth not at all oblige me hereunto: it is this, I think we may truly assert that the operations of our outward senses do convey into our memory the Ideas of all sensible things, which are there preserved upon all occasions; and that it is from thence that the subject matter of natural dreams is taken. For if we could imagine a man to have lived to the age of twenty five years without any use of his senses, we must also imagine him to have lived so long without ever dreaming, in as much as he had not the Idea of any sensible thing in his memory; since also it is certain that in sleep the natural heat is more intense in the inward parts, as the liver, the heart, the diaphragm, and in all those parts that surround the Stomach: Hence it causes vapours to arise into the brain, which on the one hand are hot by the heat they draw from their cause, that raised them; and on the other hand retain something of that humour, which is more universally predominant in the temperature of the body, or more particularly in the stomach, whether it be Choler, or Phlegm, or Blood, or Melancholy, which are the four usually here taken into consideration; according therefore to the heat of these vapours, so they put the Ideas in the memory into motion, and reduce them into Act in the imagination; and as they retain something of such or such an humour, so they affect the brain, & particularly that part which is the seat of the fancy, with the quality of that humour from which they proceed. Now that which produceth the effect, is, that the organ being thus affected, doth better receive the images of those things which do suit with its present constitution, and doth better retain them; whereas those others which do not at all agree therewith are dispersed and fly away: so that if these vapours do arise from a Phlegmatic humour, than the fancy is apt to represent to itself waters and inundations, if from Bile and Choler, than fire and burnings; and those other forms of things of a different nature, which the heat had raised and drawn from the memory into the imagination, slip away and make no abode there. But however it be, that we decide this question, the dreams that proceed from such a cause, can have no other power of signification. but only from the effect to give some knowledge of the cause: The reason hereof is this, because that which produceth them being altogether void of all understanding (for neither the heat, that is in the inward parts, hath any; nor the memory, nor the imagination, and as for the understanding, it is not at all concerned herein) therefore these cannot be designed to any particular end.  
2. But there are others (which is the second kind of dreams) wherein the temperament, and the disposition of humours have no place, and these proceed from no other cause then the heat, which arising from the lower parts to the brain, doth put the Ideas and images of things in the memory into motion, and represents them to the fancy, but in a confused and disturbed manner, in proportion to the greatness of the heat, and according as the vapours, which arise from the stomach are gross or subtle, and as they are more or less abundant, and so accordingly fill the vessels of the brain; for when they are gross and in great plenty, the images of things recalled from the memory, are there so swallowed up, that either it presents none to the fancy, that it can take any notice of, which is the cause that we then dream not at all; or if it do, yet it is attended with so much weakness and obscurity, that when we awake, we remember nothing of what we dreamed; and hence it is, that some, though very few, never dream at all; because the vapours that arise in their sleep, are always thick and darksome; and hence also it is, that ordinarily we do not dream immediately after meals, for as much as the stomach being then full, doth send up to the brain vapours in too great abundance; but if the vapours be more thin and subtle, if they be in less abundance and more calm, than the images of things do present themselves to the fancy with more distinction, and yet not without a great deal of disorder, for let us suppose the images of themselves orderly placed in the memory, yet there are two things that may cause confusion; the one, that the heat that moves them, doth also disturb them, as we see small pieces of matter in a vessel full of water, remain each in its proper place, so long as the water is calm and unmoved: but if you put fire under it, the water by boiling is put into motion, and the several substances are jumbled together by its agitation: the other, that while the external senses are awake and in action, they govern and fix the fancy by their influence, but when they are laid asleep and the fancy thus more at liberty, there is a great deal of irregularity in all its actions; from hence it comes, that the images, (wherewith the memory, agitated by the heat, hath filled the fancy) do join themselves one to another fortuitously and without order, from whence is formed an infinite number of fantastical and extravagant compositions: we see the experience hereof in a fever, when the violence of the heat and the choleric vapours do disturb the imagination; and we see it also in fools, who though they neither sleep nor are in a fever, yet have their imagination disturbed by reason of the distemper of their brain; which makes them conceive so many Chimaeras and utter such strange inconsistencies, and divers kinds of things, which have no natural connexion among themselves, passing into the fancy and joining themselves one to another with a great deal of irregularity; for the imagination is a faculty, which of itself is able to receive the impression of those Ideas, and also join them together; but because it is corporeal and by consequent void of understanding, it can neither perceive their agreement nor their disagreement, nor conveniently dispose of them according to reason: So that it acts here, as a blind man would do, who being among a great number of broken and mutilated statues, should go about rightly to reassemble their parts by groping: for it would frequently happen without doubt, that he would, for example, set Marius his head upon Cleopatra's body, and put the thighs of a Brasenhorse under the trunk of Epaminondas.  
And these dreams have yet less power of signifying things to come, than the former; for as much as the composition of the images is altogether fortuitous, and by consequent incapable either to represent any thing, as in an allegorical Emblem, or nakedly and without any such representation to foretell it; for every Emblem and Symbolical representation is the work of an intelligent agent, and the foreseeing things to come requires still more light of reason. 'Tis true indeed, that the understanding sometimes makes some reflections upon the things thus presented to the fancy in sleep; for there is this difference betwixt our dreams, and those of Dogs and Horses: those of such animals do not reach any higher faculty, than the imagination, for as much as they have none higher, whereas ours do sometimes affect the understanding; so that we do sometimes make rational reflections upon those phantasms, and sometimes long discourses, as it frequently happens to those who are accustomed to speak in public. But then in the first place, it is not the understanding that forms these Ideas, it only acts upon them, as they are represented by the imagination, so that it cannot give them the least power of signifying things to come; and further how can that which cannot foresee things future, when awake, do it when asleep, and be able to represent them in those different shapes which then concur in the fancy? so far is it from doing any thing of this, that it cannot pass any rational judgement either of the past or present, of which yet it hath much more knowledge then of things to come, and indeed no extravagance is able then to check or set bounds to our understanding; we raise our friends whom we know to be dead, and discourse with them, as if yet living, we set Paris in Quercy and London in Germany, and this without any great wonder to us, we become Beggars and Kings in a moment, nor doth this so strange an alteration any ways amuse us, and there is nothing so fantastical or disagreeable, which doth not thus seem reasonable to us.  
3. The third sort of natural dreams are such as proceed from those employments of our life, to which we apply ourselves with great intention of mind; for studious men dream of books, covetous men of money, Soldiers imagine they see battalions of foot and squadrons of horse, and generally those who are delighted in any employment dream of things relating thereunto: And it is not difficult to render a reason hereof, for the images of these things are most familiar to them, and do most frequently occur; so that it is no wonder, if when the inward heat, which is much more intense in sleep, doth move and agitate this store-house of sensible Ideas; no wonder, I say, if these do first and more frequently offer themselves, but yet always, almost with the same phantasticalness, as the former, so that we may make the same judgement of both, and believe that they have no more power to signify things to come, than they had.  
4. The fourth kind of natural dreams is that which arises upon occasion of some passion which has either possessed us, whilst yet waking, and upon which we now reflect being asleep, or such as takes its first rise in our sleep by the motion of the irascible or concupiscible appetite; and here it fares with us almost in the same manner as in those, which proceed from the temperament of the body and the constitution of the humours, for thus it presents to our imagination objects, which leave some resemblance to our passions. Those who are hungry imagine they see feasts, and those who are thirsty believe they drink at fountains. The amorous see their inclinations; and the choleric the objects of their anger, and run to meet their enemies, who present themselves in arms before them. But as these dreams have without doubt a cause antecedent in your passion, so it is certain that ordinarily they are no less extravagant, than the former, nor more capable to give any certain knowledge of things to come, nor of those very things which already exist, if they be altogether unknown to us before our dream; for the sensitive part of our soul is indeed able to submit to reason, but in itself doth no ways partake of it: so that it being in its own nature irrational, it is impossible it should produce any thing, which as we said before, requires an intelligent agent for its cause. 'Tis true, sometimes it happens that some of these dreams do come to pass, which makes us think, there is some resemblance or agreement betwixt the dream and the event, and by consequence, that some Angel or Spirit is concerned therein: But as Aristotle has observed, this happens by mere chance, as he that without any aim should shoot a thousand arrows, may at last by chance hit the mark: so in our dreams such an infinite number of visions do pass into our imagination, that it is not only no wonder, if one should sometimes chance to be true, but it would be much more strange if once or twice in our life it did not so happen; but if any of our dreams do not only come to pass, but there also be a remarkable agreement betwixt it and the event, and such as that we ought necessarily to suppose the operation of an intelligent agent to intervene, we ought not then to reckon this among natural dreams, but to refer it either to God or to some action of Angels.   

CHAP. II.  
Of Angelical Dreams in General, and some rational reflections on particular ones.  
THere are two sorts of dreams which we may impute to created Intelligences, the one where the things signified are contained in Symbolical and Mysterious Representations; the other where they are proposed naked without any such resemblances; as for the first, those who undertake to give rules of their interpretation, do it in two different ways, for they tell us that we ought sometimes to take the direct contrary to the dream for its interpretation: as if one dream of marriages, they say, it is a sign of death; and on the contrary, if we imagine in our sleep that we see Mourning-weeds and Funeral-attire, we shall then suddenly hear of a Marriage; but one may dream of such things without Angels any ways concerning themselves herein, for that the images of those things may remain in the memory, and by the mere force of nature return into the Fancy, when we are asleep; but when any such dream shall happen and it be imprinted in the imagination by the operation of an Angel, we may assure ourselves that it is not a good one that doth it, for they are the Ministers of God, who is never that Author of those dreams, whose signification is thus to be read backward, much less hath he established any such rule to interpret them by, and there is not the least footstep hereof either in Scripture or Nature, and there is too much of uncertainty in these interpretations to entitle them to Divine Revelation. And this makes me call to mind that which they report of Buchanan, who every year inter-leafed his Almanac with white paper, and where the Almanac foretold Fair-weather, he writ over against it Fowl, and where it said it should be Rain or Cloudy, he set opposite to it, a Fair and Clear Sky, and that after he had observed it fifty or sixty years, he said, he always came nearer the truth, than the Almanac, but hence it follows not, that those who made Almanacs, did design by the contrary predictions those events, which Buchanan did thus prognostic, but that the Astrologers making for the most part their Prognostications at an adventure, and some of them not having the least knowledge of the stars, it might very well happen that Buchanan, thus by chance might foretell fair or foul weather, by taking always the contrary to their Predictions.  
But the more common rule of Interpreting of dreams is to observe the agreement and resemblances which are betwixt the dreams and their events; thus they tell us, that he that dreams he hath lost a tooth, shall lose a friend, and he that dreams that a rib is taken out of his side, shall ere long see the death of his wife. I shall not here stay to relate examples of this nature, which have been verified by the event. Cicero among others relates this, a certain man dreamed that there was an Egg hid under his bed, the Soothsayer to whom he applied himself for the interpretation of the dream, told him that in the same place where he imagined to see the Egg, there was treasure hid: whereupon he caused the place to be digged up, and there accordingly he found Silver, and in the midst of it a good quantity of Gold, and to give the interpreter some testimony of his acknowledgement, he brought him some pieces of the Silver, which he had found; but the Soothsayer hoping also to have some of the Gold, said, and will you not give me some of the yolk too? Now these dreams, which we cannot reasonably impute either to natural causes, or to mere chance, yet do they not exceed the power of Angels to convey; for an Angel either good or bad (for I shall not now examine the question, which of the two it is) I say, it is not impossible for an Angel to know that there was treasure hid there. An Angel might also imprint such a dream upon the man's imagination, whilst he was asleep, and also reveal to the Soothsayer, that the Egg did signify a treasure, where there was Gold and Silver hid, or might furnish him with occasions to conjecture so.  
There are also some of this nature, which respect the future, which may proceed from the operation of Angels. The Poets say that Hecuba, the wife of Priamus being with child of Paris, dreamed that she brought forth a burning torch; upon occasion whereof the Soothsayers did presage, that the Child should be the cause of the ruin of Troy and of its conflagration. The Ancient Historians tell us, that the Mother of Phalaris dreamed that among the Statues which she consecrated in the house of her Son, she saw that of Mercury, who from a bowl, that he had in his hand, poured out blood upon the Earth, which boiled out in so great plenty, that it overflowed the whole house, which was interpreted and confirmed by the cruelties of Phalaris the most bloody man upon Earth. Cyrus' in a dream fancied he saw the Sun at his feet, and that he thrice attempted to catch it in his hand, but that it always rolling away escaped him: which the Magicians thus interpreted; his attempt thrice to catch the Sun signified that he should reign thirty years, which the event confirmed. These dreams, I say, may proceed from the operation of Angels, for as much as the impression of these images in the fancy is not above the Sphere of that Activity; the Idea of the Sun is in all men's memories; and that of burning torches, of Statues and of blood; so that there was nothing wanting in these occasions but to reduce them into the fancy, and there to put them into a due place and motion.  
And as for the prevision of things to come, which Angels would signify hereby, this they can do partly of themselves and their own proper Conjectures, partly by a certain kind of revelation from God. The Devil who seeks all opportunities of doing mischief to the world, had resolved to promote and carry on the barbarous humour of Phalaris to all manner of cruelties, and seeing the house of Priamus flourishing and his state great and potent, he propounded to himself to do all he possibly could to ruin it, and to that purpose to make use of all occasions that presented themselves, and to make Priamus his very children instrumental thereunto. And although these were but mere designs, of the event whereof, he could have no certainty, for as much as the will of God and his providence superintends all things, yet he doth not forbear to hope, and to foretell the manner of that thing which he himself designs to do, which God, for reasons best known to himself, would not hinder the ratification of by the event. As for that of Cyrus, it was impossible for Angels to Divine how long he should reign, but God suffers sometimes some of his more secret Counsels to appear to the view of created intelligences, and from these radiations which proceed from the Cabinet of the Divine Counsels, they either certainly foresee some things to come, or at least form such reasonings and conjectures as come very near the truth.  
Those other dreams which propose things nakedly, as they are in themselves have no need of an interpreter to understand them, but when the event confirms them, they are not therefore the less wonderful. I shall produce two or three examples which seem very remarkable. Two Arcadian friends travelled together and lay one night in the City Megara, where the one lodged in a public Inn, the other in a private friends house, as was usual in those days. After Supper, he in the private house being gone to bed, and asleep, the other appeared to him in a dream, and prayed him to come to his assistance, for as much as the Master of the Inn designed to murder him: the affright of the dream having wakened him, he rose up, but being come to himself he took it for a mere dream and idle vision, and went to sleep again. In his second sleep, the image of his friend came again into his fancy, and he imagined that he prayed him, that since he would not help him whilst living, yet at least he would not let his death go unpunished: for that the Master of the house had murdered him and had cast his body into a Cart full of dung, and desired him to go early in the Morning to the Gate of the City before the Cart went out, the man being very much moved by his dream rose up, and going to that Gate, there stopped the Cart loaden with dung ready to pass, whereupon the Carter being frighted fled away, and the body being there found, the crime was by this means discovered, the Host punished, and all the City struck with admiration at the wonderfulness of the dream.  
Cicero relates this in the book already cited: See also another taken out of the life of Monsieur Peiresc, Councillor of the Parliament of Provence. This excellent Personage going from Montpellier to Nismes lay all night in an Inn, which is the Midway betwixt those two places; he had in his company one james Rainier, Citizen of Aix, who in that journey lodged in the same Chamber with him: as that great man slept, Rainier observed that he talked and muttered something in his sleep, otherwise then was usual with him, whereupon he wakened him, and asked him what was the matter; Oh! said he, you have made me lose a most excellent and pleasant dream; for I was dreaming, that I was at Nismes, and that a Goldsmith showed me a golden Medal of julius Caesar, which he would sell me for four Crowns, and as I was ready to give him them, both my Goldsmith and my Medal vanished away together by your awakening of me. Being arrived at Nismes and having not forgot his dream, he went to walk in the City, till such time as dinner was ready, and passing up and down he went into a Goldsmith's shop, to ask him whether he had any rarity to show him, whereupon the Goldsmith answered that he had a julius Caesar of Gold; Monsieur de Peiresc ask the price of it, he answered, four Crowns, which thing did fill the mind of that great person, both with joy and admiration, as well for that he had found a Rarity, which he had long very much sought for; As also for the surprising, and strange manner whereby it came to his hands.  
A third shall be another out of the same book of Cicero. Hannibal having taken Sagunta, dreamed that jupiter called him to a Council of the Gods, where jupiter commanded him to carry the war into Italy, and that one of that Assembly should march in the head of his Army, and having begun his March under the Conduct of him, who was appointed to be his guide, the guide forbade him to look behind him, but he could not prevail so far with himself, being transported with a desire to know what that was, which came behind him, where he saw a great and terrible beast all compassed with Serpents, which did wind themselves about it, and where ere it passed, it turned all upside down, houses and trees, and shrubs, and generally all that ever came in its way: being astonished at the sight, he demanded of the god that conducted him, what that Monster signified, whereupon he told him that was the ruin and desolation of Italy, but as for the rest, that he should not trouble himself with what should come after, but march on without losing of time.  
This last dream did certainly proceed from some evil Angel, for a good one would never have sent into his imagination the Idea of a Council of false gods. But an evil one made use of the Images of the false Deities, which their Statues, had left in the Memory of this Heathen General, and joined other things necessary thereunto for the perfect constitution of the dream. As for what was foretold of the desolation of Italy, it was easy for an evil Angel to Divine, viz. That if this Carthaginian Captain did follow the Counsel given him, and enter into Italy with a Splendid and Victorious Army, that he would there make very great Desolations. And if the event was answerable and exceeded even what the Devil was able to conjecture, it therefore so happened, because God had so ordained it in the Counsel of his Providence. The first of these Examples, as it is recited by Cicero, may be referred to good or bad Angels, (1.) To bad ones, as they had a great Empire among the Heathens, and having had a great part in the design of him who committed the Murder, they then by the discovery drew two Signal Advantages: the one, that after they had caused an innocent man to be slain, they then caused also the guilty to die, this being a great pleasure to the enemy of mankind, whose destruction he delights in, and if he were permitted, he would unpeople the whole earth. The other, that hereby they gave some Credit and Authority to Dreams of this nature, which passing for Extraordinary and Divine, did further confirm some men in the respect they bore those Deities, to which they were attributed.  
2. It may also be attributed to good ones, for as much as, although, God hath left the Heathen Nations in a great measure to walk in their own ways, yet notwithstanding, he has not cast off all care of them in respect of his Universal Providence, of which the Angels are his Instruments, and the Executors of his Will and Pleasure. And although for good reasons he might suffer the poor Arcadian to be slain, it was yet an effect of his Providence to punish the Murderer: for this is one great means, by which he preserves Humane Societies, for the subsistence whereof God always takes a particular care. As for the Second, I should without any great difficulty attribute it to a good Angel, who would thus testify, that though they be invisible, yet they do not only converse here below with men, but also that they have a kindness for great Persons, who are lovers of Learning and Virtue; for to impute this Dream to mere chance, I think it can no more reasonably be done, then to those natural causes, of which I spoke before. The Author of Peiresc his life, has indeed reason to say, that considering all the parts of that Story separately, there is not any one singly that seems to be very wonderful. The City of Nismes, saith he, might come into the Imagination of this great man, as he slept, seeing he had a Design to go thither, and was almost arrived at it: he might also dream of julius Caesar's Medal, being very curious of those Antiquities; Although the Medals of that kind were very rare, yet it was no strange thing to meet with one there, seeing that Nismes was a City which had been very much frequented by the Romans. It was more probable to find one in the hands of a Goldsmith, than elsewhere, for they into whose hands such pieces of Antiquity do sometimes come, do often desire rather Currant Money, and find better opportunities of putting them off at Goldsmiths, than elsewhere. It might easily come to pass, both that Peiresc should dream that he bought it for so reasonable a price, and that a Goldsmith should be content with four Crowns for a piece, which those that are curious would without any difficulty buy at a far greater rate. But that so many circumstances should meet together in one and the same Dream, and that they should all exactly answer the particularities of the event, is that which far surpasses both the accidental hits of mere chance, and all natural causes, so that we must necessarily attribute it to some intelligent cause.  
And every one may see that this is no ways above the power of Angels; they then certainly knowing that at Nismes, in the hands of a Goldsmith, there was a julius Caesar, which they had seen and heard valued at four Crowns, they might hereupon go and make this impression in the Imagination of this great Person. However I do not see in this Dream any the least Character, which doth necessarily oblige us to refer it to evil Angels: no more than (briefly to mention it) that of Calpurnia, the wife of Caesar, who the night immediately before the death of her husband, dreamed that she saw one run him through with a Sword in the Senate: though the relation which she made, and the prayers by which she endeavoured to divert him from the Senate that day, proved all ineffectual: but good Angels may give us good advertisements, though we do not follow their advice, and this is a testimony of the care they have for the conservation of the life of Princes; as the neglect thereof is a proof of the imprudence of those who are concerned therein. It is not related to us in Scripture, what was the dream of Pilat's wife, when she sent to pray him not to have any thing to do in the death of our Lord Christ: however it was, it seems to have come from the impression of a good Angel, though Pilate did not submit thereunto: However it was sufficient for the Angel in this case, to have caused his wife thus to give testimony to the Innocence of our Saviour; However, I say, it was (for I would not make it an Article of Faith) and every one here may use the liberty of his own judgement; perhaps this was done to distinguish betwixt those Dreams which Angels cause in our Imaginations by the express Command of God, and those which proceed from their operation by bare permission: those aught to be more powerful and efficacious, for as much as they are intended for the execution of some Design, which God hath purposed with himself, and therefore 'tis necessary that he so far dispose the understanding of those, whom these visions concern, that they defer so much to them, as is necessary to bring about the Design; but these coming only from the good Inclinations of Angels, which God suffers them to follow and to discover on such and such occasions, it is of no great importance, though they do not produce the effect, which their Authors designed; and it is sufficient satisfaction to them, that they have shown that good will, which they have for men, and especially for those who are eminent in virtue or dignity.   

CHAP. III.  
Of Divine Dreams.  
AS for Divine Dreams, they are also of two sorts, the one contains future things under Enigmatical and Mysterious Representations, the other are much more plain and naked; there are very remarkable Examples of the first sort in the History of joseph, as well in those, which concerned himself, to foretell his own grandeur, as in those of Pharaoh, to forewarn him of the seven years of plenty, and seven others of dearth.  
The Image of Nabuchodonosor is yet more remarkable, as the stone cut without hands, which from small beginnings came to be a great mountain and filled all the World; There are Examples of the other kind in the History of the birth of our Saviour; as well those which were sent to the wise men, to warn them to return some other way, then where Herod did expect them, as in those by which joseph was commanded to carry Christ into Egypt, and to bring him back again in due time. As for Iacob's vision which was conveyed to him in a Dream, when he went into Padan-Aram, it was compounded of both the sorts, for the Ladder upon which the Angels did ascend and descend, had without doubt a mysterious signification, which related to Christ, but the words which he heard, contained the promises, plain and intelligible, which were not wrapped up in the vail of dark and mysterious representations. Now concerning these and all other Divine Dreams in general, we may make these three Inquiries: 

1. Why God hath sometimes revealed himself in Dreams to his Servants?  
2. How they could certainly know, that those Dreams had God for their Author, and that they were not vain delusions?  
3. Whether this way of Revelation by Dreams, be yet practised, and whether God doth still make use of it under the Dispensation of the Gospel.    
As for the first of these questions, the Apostle tells us, That God at divers times, and in sundry manners spoke of old to the fathers by the Prophets, but hath now in these last days spoke unto us by his Son; where he opposes the dispensation of the Son to the former of Law, in three things, 

1. That God formerly spoke to the Fathers by the Prophets, but hath now spoke to us by his Son.  
2. This he did at divers times, that is, he revealed the knowledge of himself by degrees, and as it were by parcels, adding one light to another successively, whereas he has now revealed to us all at once so much of his truth, as he designed us to know even to the end of the world.  
3. He now only reveals himself in one way, viz. By the preaching of the Gospel, whereas then he did it in divers manners.    
And these divers manners may refer to those several kinds of faculties, which, as I said before, we make use of for the getting and preserving of knowledge, viz. The External Senses, the Internal, and the Understanding.  
As for the External, God makes little use of three of them for this end, viz. Touching, Smelling and Tasting, but doth frequently employ the other two: for he hath been presented visibly to our eyes, as well in humane appearance, as to Abraham and Manoe and to some others, as in other shapes, as to Moses in the burning Bush: And as for hearing, he hath often caused voices to be heard from heaven, as by Abraham, and also by Moses, in the Bush, and in many other instances. As for the Internal Senses, he employs them both waking and sleeping.  
1. Waking, by Ecstasies which he hath sometimes sent to his Servants: for than he acted in such manner upon their Imagination by that Power and Virtue which he there displayed, and made so great and so powerful an abstraction of their souls from their External Senses, that their functions did altogether cease, though they were not then asleep: and yet in the mean time he Imprinted in their fancy the Images of Extraordinary and Admirable things, and made them inwardly to understand the voice, which gave them, either some Instruction or Command:  
We see a famous Example hereof in S. Peter, when he saw the sheet descending from heaven, and heard the voice, Kill and eat, for he was then in an Ecstasy or Trance, and the things which S. john relates to us in his Revelation, were thus conveyed to him.  
2. In sleep, by dreams, such as I have already mentioned, and others of the like nature; and there is little difference betwixt Ecstasies and Dreams, only that, though in both there was a Cessation of the Functions of the bodily senses, yet in an Ecstasy, it was not altogether so entire and absolute, as in sleep, nor did it proceed from the same cause; for in sleep this cessation proceeded from natural causes, from whence it usually comes; but in an Ecstasy, it was caused by the extraordinary and miraculous power of the Spirit of God, which drew a way the Souls of his Servants from the Organs of their External Senses, and hindered it from displaying its power and efficacy.  
As to the understanding, the Spirit of God in this case acted in these two ways upon it.  

1. That, whereas ordinarily the knowledge which we have in the understanding, enters by the Ministry of the senses, which conveys the Images of sensible things, and by these sensible objects furnishes us with the occasions of ratiocination; yet here God did immediately imprint in the spirit of his Prophets the understanding of those things, which he would reveal to them, thus making them to understand without the help of ratiocination: and he revealed many things thus to Moses and others.  
2. That whereas we are not ordinarily induced to great actions, but after an attentive consultation upon the end, which we propound to ourselves, upon the motives that induce us, and upon the means by which we may attain them, God did sometimes inspire his servants with miraculous and heroic motions, by which they were carried to extraordinary things without such a deliberation, only, because they were inwardly sensible to themselves, that it was God that thus excited them, such was that of Ehud when he killed Eglon, King of Moab; such was that of Phineas when he slew the Israelite and the Madianite at one blow; such that of David when he resolved to fight Goliath with a sling; and if there were any other ways, which God sometimes made use of to reveal himself by, under the legal dispensation, as the voice that was heard in the Tabernacle, and the lights of Vrim and Thummim, they may be referred some way to that which I now come briefly to speak unto, and my design doth not oblige me to enlarge my discourse further upon this matter.   
I shall only show in general, why God made use of all these divers ways, and particularly, why this of dreams. For the first, we must know, that the Church, as S. Paul tells us, was then in its infancy, and there is a great deal of difference betwixt the way whereby we instruct Infants, and that by which we teach Arts and Sciences, to those who are of riper years; To these we only make use of words, or if there be occasion, to make Demonstrations to the eye, we only make them in lines and Mathematical Figures, or at the most content ourselves to propose to view the objects and the experiments of sensible things, as those of the Vacuum or the Loadstone; and all this doth only give occasion to the understanding, to form its own reasonings; but as for Infants, for as much as their faculty of reason is yet weak and imperfect, we make use of Medals, Emblems, Representations, Hieroglyphics and other such like Artifices, so that we have of late years seen painted Chards, full of Emblematical Figures, whereby to imprint the Rules of Logic in the minds of the younger sort by play, and the reason hereof is, that besides that men have no need of those helps to make them understand these Sciences, the Maxims and Theorems whereof they easily conceive at their first proposal, they also have no need of those allurements to invite them to learn, for as much as the beauty of the things themselves is a sufficient invitation hereunto: whereas children have both need to be taught for Example, by the Figure of an Ox, what is meant by a Real or Substantial Being, as we see in some Philosophical tables, as also they must be enticed by these pretty devices, for the difficulty of the things would discourage them, if we went about otherwise to instruct them.  
The Jewish Church being then in this condition of Infancy, these divers ways, which God made use of to instruct it by, have contributed something to the easier understanding of that which he designed it should know, and had more power to prevail upon their minds, by affording matter of admiration by rare and miraculous events, then if the things had been delivered more plain and naked.  
I say expressly, that which God designed they should know, because sometimes the same things have been made use of for different purposes; For the Institution of Types, Symbolical Representations of things to come and those Admirable Prophetical visions have been often made use of, as a veil to cover and hinder the understanding of those things which ought not otherwise to be interpreted, then by the events.  
2. For the Second, since it pleased God to make use of all these means to reveal himself to the Prophets, and by them to others also, there is no reason why he should have excluded that of dreams: and indeed there is yet this further reason in particular for them above others, that although there is a great deal of vanity in ordinary dreams, and that those which proceed from Angels have very often much of uncertainty and ambiguity, and that some Philosophers, as Aristotle among others, did suppose that there ought to be no regard had to that way of Divination, yet it hath always been almost the universal opinion of all Nations, that the Divinity did principally Communicate itself to Men by Dreams. Homer hath attributed some to his jupiter: The Stoics held that there were some altogether Divine: Plato said the same in some respects, and generally in the Eastern Nations, this opinion had a very great reputation: So that it was principally in those Nations that they have reduced the interpretation of dreams into an Art, and have laid down Rules concerning it; and now because the people of Israel were also of the same opinion, God therefore chose to send them such dreams, as were truly Divine; thus firmly to fix them to these, and to divert them from that vanity, to which other Nations suffered themselves to be carried by those others; and further 'tis true, that the most natural way of conveying the knowledge of any thing whatever, even of the Deity itself, to men, is either by the presentation of some visible things, which furnish them with the means, and occasions of reasoning, and thus to rise from the consideration of the effect to the understanding the nature of the Cause, as is done in the dispensation of nature; or by way of speech, and to make known truths to them by vocal instruction, as under the dispensation of the Gospel; thus S. Paul joins these two dispensations together, when he says, that since in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those that believe: But to be thus instructed, there is need of more clearness and strength of understanding than we ordinarily have in our Infancy, so that the Church being then in that estate, it ought to be instructed some other way: Now among all the ways and methods made use of for this purpose, there was none more proper nor suitable, then that of dreams; for as Plato saith, when a man, whose stomach is full of wine and victuals, comes to sleep, 'tis certain that such an one is very unfit to receive the communication of the Deity, and the visions framed in such an one's fancy would be very obscure, confused and turbulent.  
But when an honest man, one who is sober and temperate, when such an one dreams, and that after a perfect concoction of his meat, there now rises no more vapours to his head, but is in a profound sleep, his humours calm and sedate, his imagination still and clear, as the smooth surface of a mirror or looking-glass, being then sequestered from all the things of this present life and the commerce of sense, he is thus a very proper subject to receive the impression of Divine things, therefore God himself declaring the way by which he would reveal himself amongst the Prophets, which he raised to his people Israel, he said, that he would do it by visions and dreams.   

CHAP. IU.  
The Characters by which they might know that those Dreams were truly Divine, and not vain Delusions.  
BEfore I come to decide the second question, I must briefly premise this, that when I did distinguish dreams into three kinds, and placed those that proceed from the operation of Angels in the second, and Divine Dreams in the third rank, I understood the distinction thus; among those that proceed from the operation of Angels, there may also be found Divine ones, in as much as God doth not only permit, but also may command the impression of them: but those, I call Angelical Dreams, are merely such as those, which I have given Examples of, in as much as neither the formation of the images of which they consist, doth exceed their power, nor is the knowledge of the thing, which these Images represent, above their natural intelligence, nor above the quickness of their conjectures and divination; for their Spiritual Nature, their long experience of things, the knowledge they have of the secrets of nature and of the inclinations of men, with divers other assistances, which we have not, do enable them to reach much further, than we can, into the knowledge of future things.  
Among those I called Divine Dreams, there are also some which consist of certain Images, the formation whereof is not above the power of Angels; and yet I call them Divine, because that, whether it was God that employed these Angels to convey them, or whether they were immediately caused by himself, nevertheless the things signified by them did so far exceed the natural ability of an Angel's understanding, that it was absolutely impossible they should ever attain to the knowledge of them, but by a particular Revelation; for though their knowledge, if compared with ours, be much greater, and their foresight of things reaches much further, yet it is limited, and that so, that they neither see things to come either long before, or with any great certainty.  
Those than may be reputed to come from God, which by what messenger soever they be conveyed, yet contain such things, as God only is able to know and to reveal.  
To return then to my purpose, we may boldly affirm, both that those dreams had some marks by which they might be known to be Divine, and also, that is was necessary, that they should have so; although we do not now certainly know, wherein those marks did consist.  
First, that they had such, for all those other ways, by which God is revealed to men, of which we have spoken before, have been distinguished, each by its particular mark and character, by which it might be discerned from all other things, where the resemblance or similitude they bore to each other, might cause any doubt, whether these might come from God or no. The voice which Abraham heard had something in it, whereby to distinguish it from other voices, which might be made by the ministry of evil Angels, and especially that where God commanded him to sacrifice his Son; This command being so contrary to his natural affections, and having the appearance of a barbarous and unparallelled cruelty, How should this holy man be persuaded to execute it, if he had not had some mark, to know God to be the Author of it; and that so certain, that it could not be imputed to any other cause. Moses his vision in the bush, to persuade him to undertake the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and his Introduction of it into the Land of Canaan, ought likewise to have some such signal character upon it; for how could he resolve upon so great an enterprise, accompanied with so great difficulties, if he had not been well persuaded, that it was God, who promised that he should overcome them all? S. Peter's vision could not be less remarkable, which prevailed with him, to begin the preaching of the Gospel among the Gentiles, being a thing which the Jews had a great aversion against. The impression of those things in the understandings of Moses, of David, and Solomon, and divers others, ought also to have some signs, by which they might be acknowledged for Divine truths, otherwise these great Persons would never have related them with so great confidence to others, and as to themselves, could never have received so great satisfaction therein. Lastly, Those Heroic transportations of Ehud and Phineas to those actions related in Scripture, aught to be very distinct, clear and evident, otherwise they would not have suffered themselves to be carried to those actions, which had been truly punishable, and even in some sort horrible both before God man, if they had not proceeded from a Divine command. Dreams then without doubt have likewise had their certain marks, whereby to distinguish them from the Nocturnal illusions that proceed either from the impression of evil Angels, or from natural causes, as I intimated before.  
2. And it is also necessary that they should have such marks, for the same reasons which I alleged before upon former occasions; For when God commanded joseph in a dream to carry jesus into Egypt; Such thoughts as these might have come into his mind. This dream perhaps may be only a vain imagination, and a mere phantasm of my own brain, which hath no foundation of truth in it: Perhaps the great solicitude I am always in for the preservation of this miraculous Infant, hath sent into my soul this Idea or opinion, that they now seek his life, though perhaps they never so much as think of any such thing: Perhaps it is some evil spirit which either takes pleasure to give me needless fears, or would incite me to remove this Infant from hence, that so upon the way he might more easily lay and execute his treacherous designs; in a word, divers such like things might come into his thoughts, and cause a great uncertainty of resolution, what he had best to do upon the command. And nevertheless it appears by the history, that he did not at all hesitate upon it, which shows that he had a powerful persuasion of the truth of the dream. Now though we cannot at present certainly know, wherein this full persuasion did consist, and upon what it did depend, yet notwithstanding we ought not at all to question, but that this and the like persuasions were founded on something that was both in itself sufficient, and to them a sufficiently evident ground of their assent.  
But we must inquire what that was, and this is the proper subject of this Meditation; since there are but three sorts of dreams, those which are produced by natural causes, those which proceed from the operation of Angels, and those, which I call Divine. The readiest way to come to the knowledge of the truth in this case, will be to show that these can neither belong to the first nor the second rank, and thence it will necessarily follow, that they must belong to the third. As for natural dreams, I suppose, that 'tis easy to distinguish those from such as proceed from a Divine impression: these natural dreams, I said, were of four sorts; the first depends upon the temperament and constitution of the body, others acknowledge no other cause, than the mere motion of the Ideas of the brain by the natural heat in the time of sleep; the others come from a very attentive application of our minds to some things when we were awake; and the last from the passions of the sensitive soul, which is, as it were, awakened and acts more vigorously during the repose of our senses. But now, for Example, to which of these causes can we refer the dreams of joseph or Pharaoh? What mark do they bear of the temperament of their bodies, or the constitution of their humours? What Ideas of things could remain in their memory, which could be able so regularly to proportion these dreams, as to see in the one, the number of the sheaves, and of the Stars, the Sun and the Moon, and their prostrations before him; in the other, the number of the Ears of Corn, both the empty and the full ones, of the Kine, the fat and the lean ones, and their action in devouring one another? What so great attention of mind could be upon any worldly care or employment as to cause any such representations in their sleep? What passion could move either their concupiscible or their irascible appetite, as thereby to form such phantasms? And further, the dreams that come from any of these causes are always irregular and composed of parts not consistent with one another, so that nothing is commonly more fantastic and extravagant than they: but those of joseph and Pharaoh and the Image of Nabuchodonosor, and if there be any other of the same nature mentioned in Scripture, they are so admirably well composed, that they seem to be the result of a very intelligent Cause. The dreams which proceed from natural causes are obscure and always presented to our minds with a great deal of confusion, so that we observe nothing distinct in them, or if one part have something of clearness and perspicuity in it, the others are commonly perplexed and intricate. Whereas those dreams related in Scripture, are not only clear, but full of light, whether we consider them in the whole, or in their parts; natural dreams do make so little impression upon our Spirits, that for the most part, we do not remember them when we are awake; whereas the Divine are firmly fixed in our memory: for as for what is reported of Nabuchodonosor, that he had forgot his dream, and that he stood in need of Daniel, to recall it again into his mind, this happened by the particular dispensation of the Divine Power and Providence which removed out of his mind the Ideas of his vision, thereby to render the wisdom of Daniel more remarkable: besides this Prince very well remembered that he had dreamed, and the perplexity which his dream caused in him, the passionate desire he had to recall it, the manner of his behaviour to the soothsayers and all the rest which passed upon this occasion, fully showed that this vision did very nearly concern him, and that also in his dream he had observed something that was singular and extraordinary in it: if in the morning we remember our natural dreams, yet we disregard them and count them but mere trifles; whereas those to whom God sent those Divine Dreams, did not only distinctly remember them, but had them still firmly represented to them when they were awake, and did look upon them as Divine advertisements, and were very solicitous about the interpretation, or the event of them. When dreams proceeding from natural causes have made any impression upon our Spirits, so that they hold us in some suspense in the morning, as it sometimes happens, we commonly do these two things: First, We make an attentive reflection thereupon, and carefully examine and consider them in all their circumstances, and at last find them to be mere vanities, and produced by some of those natural causes before mentioned, and so we free ourselves from that disquietness they had before caused in us. Secondly, If we cannot thus wholly free ourselves, than we compare them with those true and real operations, which our senses produce in us waking, and by thus comparing them, all those impressions which these dreams had made upon our spirits, do altogether vanish. For it is here almost as in the comparison of things represented upon a Theatre, with those that are really done. Whilst we see a Tragedy acted, we feel a concernment and passion in us, sometimes even to the effusion of tears. But this only touches, as it were, the surface of the soul, and is not of any long continuance, or if this emotion of the mind do continue longer, yet it is as good as nothing in respect of that which the real view of these actions and passions, and murders actually committed in our sight, do cause in us; but in Divine Dreams it was directly contrary, for if those, to whom they were sent, did in the least doubt of their Divinity, and did set themselves seriously to examine them, the more they considered them, the less reason they found to doubt of them; and when they compared them with the operation of their senses, they found, to their great astonishment and admiration, that even those of sense were less true and real, than they; these Divine Dreams, I say, made a more strong and firm impression upon the Spirits of those that received them, and they were more fully persuaded of their Divinity, than we are of the reality of the operation of our senses, when waking they exercise themselves upon their respective objects, and it is no difficult thing to give a reason for it. That which causes sensation, and makes us believe the truth and reality of the actions of sense, is, that those sensible species, which affect the outward senses do also pass into the Commonsense, which is a faculty superior to them, so that it can judge of their actions and of the things imprinted thereupon. It can also compare the action of one sense with the operation of another, and laying them together confer their respective properties and qualities; and the judgement that results from hence, depends as well upon the impression, which the object makes upon the external organ, according as it is more or less intense, as upon the nature of the Internal and Commonsense, which is a corporeal faculty, and that which belongs to the sensitive part of the soul, of which Dogs and Horses and other animals do also partake. As for Divine Dreams, the impression was indeed make in the fancy, which is also a corporeal faculty, it being one of the internal senses; but the reflection which the servants of God made thereupon, when waking, was the work of the understanding, which is more clear and exact in its operations, and which in the Prophets and those other faithful men, to whom these dreams were conveyed, was further enlightened by the Spirit of God, to judge aright of the object which it had so attentively considered. The impression then of these dreams being more profoundly imprinted upon the fancy, for as much as it came from a supernatural cause, then that which the sensible objects make upon our outward senses; and the faculty, which did consider and reflect upon them (both as to the whole and the parts and the circumstances that attended them) being more excellent and more exact in its judgements then 'tis possible for the common sense to be, consequently the result thereof aught to be proportionably more perfect, and the persuasion of the divinity of these dreams more certain and more undoubted.  
As for the dreams which proceed from the operation of Angels, it must be acknowledged they are more difficultly distinguished from those that are Divine: for they are capable of a more regular formation, than those that are produced by natural causes; they may be more strongly imprinted upon the imagination, and so may be of longer continuance, so that we may more easily remember them, when we do awake; in a word, they are of greater force to persuade us, that they proceed from a Divine principle. For the understanding of an Angel doth manifestly show itself, as well in the methodical placing of the parts of the dream, from whence it draws its symmetry and proportion, as in the resemblance which they bear to the things, which they are designed to represent; as we have seen before in the dream of the Egg and the Treasure, to which we might add many others of the like sort: Yet here we must call to mind what was before said of this matter, that there is a great deal of difference betwixt the dreams which may have been caused by Angels only, for as much as that which they contained and whereof they did consist, was not above either, the understanding or the activity of Angels; and betwixt those of which they were only the Instruments to form the Images in the fancy of God's servants, according to the Command, and according to the Revelation which he had given them, of his Will: As for the first, the comparing the actions of good and bad Angels would easily show the difference, and it might more especially be made in this double respect: (1.) The Images that good Angels did imprint upon the fancy, did never contain any thing of Idolatry or Pagan superstition, whereas those, which proceeded from evil ones, were commonly full of it: for in these there was always either some representation of false gods, or something which concerned their worship, or some other vision of that nature, which denoted the author of the dream to be willing to authorise Idolatry or Superstition, from which the Inclination of good Angels was always very distant.  
(2.) The dreams caused by evil Angels did always, or at least for the most part induce to some evil actions, which the good ones never do, who as they are free from temptation to evil themselves, so do they never tempt others to it. That which might render the discerning betwixt these two more doubtful or more difficult, is, that upon this, as upon other occasions, these Angels of darkness might transform themselves into Angels of light, and endeavour to impose upon the credulity of the faithful, by causing them to have such dreams which should not seem to contain any thing of that vice, we before mentioned, and which should tend to actions indifferent in themselves, or such as perhaps might have the appearance of good, but yet such as they might make use of for some evil design. And the dream sent to joseph, to command him to carry Christ into Egypt may serve for an Example; for, as I have already said, joseph might perhaps think that this was a mere illusion of the devil, who designed hereby to lie in wait for him to destroy him.  
Here we may lay down these several considerations. First, That how great a cheat soever the Devil is, yet he can never counterfeit so well, but something will happen whereby he may be discovered: they say, that when he visibly appears in humane shape, what ever care he takes to disguise himself, yet there is always something in the apparition, by which he may be known, either by the horror of his Claws, or some stinking smell or some such like thing which presently appears and renders the vision terrible and frightful.  
Whether it be so, or no, I know not, I will not affirm it, though it be not without some appearance of reason. But as for what concerns his actions and the means he makes use of, whereby to deceive men, whether by dreams or by voice, or any other illusion, neither is his own malice able, nor will the Divine Providence suffer him so perfectly to resemble the actions of good Angels, but there will be some mark by which to discern them. And what I said before upon occasion of the dream of the Arcadian, is founded only upon the relation that Cicero makes of it.  
If we had had a perfect and entire account thereof, with all its circumstances, one might certainly have found something in it, whereby we might easily have known, whether it proceeded from a good or bad Angel. Hence I dare boldly affirm, that if the dream sent to joseph had come from an evil spirit, there would have been something more in it, than what is related of it, whereby this holy man would easily have known, that it was not of a Divine Inspiration.  
Secondly, Not only dreams proceeding from the Devil have some character, from whence we may conclude their original, but also those that come from good Angels have something on the contrary, whence we may conclude their Author truly good, for naturally every effect retains some mark of its cause; Fire leaves something of itself, where it exercises its power; and Water, where it passes; Beasts do imprint something upon their proper operations; and Men and other intelligent agents, on theirs, and generally all manner of productions bear some indications of the nature of their cause. And the more excellent the causes are, the more knowable they are in their effects, unless on set purpose they corrupt their action and designedly disguise it, as when David counterfeited the fool, which yet Angels never do. From whence I conclude, that since it was a good Angel, which by the command of God, conveyed this dream to joseph (for the Scripture doth openly attest it) it was without doubt accompanied with very evident arguments of the nature of its cause.  
First it is absolutely said, that an Angel of the Lord appeared to joseph in a dream, and afterwards that he spoke to him, saying, Rise and take the little Infant and his Mother, and fly into Egypt and stay there, until I bring thee word, for Herod seeks the Infant, to put him to death.  
Where we have the Apparition, after that the Command, lastly, the Reason which he there alleges; as for the Apparition, that could not be, but in some Image, which must appear visible, which might symbolically represent the Angelical Nature, for that being spiritual and immaterial, it could not otherwise be represented to this holy man: For who can doubt but that Image had something so splendid and glorious, that joseph seeing it in his sleep, and after remembering it, when awake, was in both equally struck with admiration of its Magnificence? and what essay made by an Angel of darkness to imitate the splendour of such a vision, could come near the glory of the appearance of a Divine Messenger, who brought the Commands of God to men and for that purpose was adorned with a ray of the Divine Majesty?  
As for the Command, that could not be given but by the mediation of a voice, which joseph in his sleep imagined to hear, as he apprehended he saw the Angel encompassed with light. I do not here say, that men's voices have such different marks of distinction one from another, as that blind men, as Historians do testify, have distinguished them in a multitude, by the mere characters of their voices, although they have but once heard them speak; Since perhaps it might be replied that blind men having often heard other men speak, are thus better enabled to make the distinction; whereas 'tis possible that joseph never heard the voice of any, either good or bad Angels before, and upon this account could not compare them together: to which may be added; that the natural voice of men is of one kind, and that which Angels form only by representation in the imagination of a man asleep, of another. I shall here only return, that as the Image or apparition of the Angel had something particular in its lustre and Majesty, so the voice had something in the tone, and in the nature of its articulation extraordinarily Majestic. So that as the Devil could never be able to frame an apparition of himself which might come in competition with the Magnificence of that vision, so neither could he counterfeit a voice, which might equal the Majesty and Authority of that of a good Angel.  
Lastly, the Reason of the command is very remarkable, for it would have been very strange, if the Devil should have been careful for the preservation of the life of an Infant, from whose birth, if we do consider the miracles that did accompany it, he could expect nothing, but the ruin of his Empire: he is a murderer from the beginning, and if it were in his power, would destroy all the Infants that come into the world from the very Cradle, but that he foresees some, who come for the ruin of mankind, as Nero's and Caligula's. And since if this Infant was in any danger, it was certainly under the dominion of Herod, who of his own nature was cruel, who had more reason of fear from the birth of Christ, than any other Potentate whatever, and who had an absolute power in those Countries, if the Devil had had a design to impose upon joseph by his delusions, would he ever have induced him to have left the place, where he was, to have gone to another? Where could he have laid his designs against Christ with greater hopes of success then where he was, being, as it were, in the Paws of a Lion, or in the den of a wild beast?  
Thirdly, It plainly appears that joseph was fully persuaded of the Divinity of the vision, seeing that without any deliberation, as soon as he awoke, he arose and took the Infant and fled into Egypt; now the dreams which come from natural causes, do not carry us to any action, and we think we should be taken for fools, if we undertook any thing, though of never so little importance upon the mere solicitation of a dream. And those very dreams which yet have something more of life and vigour in them, then natural ones have, and upon this account may be attributed to some Spirit; these indeed may cause a great deal of disquiet, of hope or apprehension, but they do not induce us to undertake any resolution in things of Consequence, unless it be those of Melancholy tempers or unsound brains: Since than joseph, who was a wise and sober man, betook himself so readily to the execution of the command, it is certain that he was fully persuaded of the Divinity of the Revelation: for since Jesus was his Son, we cannot think that he would have rashly taken up such a resolution; much less certainly would he have done it, the question being then of him, of whom he had the honour to be appointed Guardian.  
Now this persuasion must necessarily come from one of these two things, 


1. He either found in the object itself such irrefragable arguments of its truth, that there remained no place for deliberation, but his understanding immediately determined itself:  
Or, Secondly, if the Arguments were not altogether so strong and evident as to force his judgement to embrace the object, than God by the incomprehensible power of his Spirit did so effectually determine it on this side, that it could not possibly resist.  
This latter is the less usual method of God's proceedings; but when it doth so come to pass, than it is an undoubted proof that the object is truly Divine. For it is only God, who doth so rule in the understanding of wise and virtuous men, and who so powerfully inclines it to such a belief and resolution, although it doth not see in the object reasons altogether proportionable to the effect it feels in the soul: So that if joseph was thus persuaded to the execution of the command, he then had in his own private sentiments and in the extraordinary determination of his understanding, an evident proof of the Divinity of his dream.  
The first of these is without doubt the more common and natural: for what the Loadstone is to Iron, that is truth to the understanding, which doth greedily embrace it, and inseparably joins itself to it, when once by evident demonstrations it clearly apprehends it: If then joseph by this means was persuaded, than his understanding saw such marks of the truth and Divinity of the dream, that he did more certainly believe it, than he either did or could do those corporeal objects, which represented themselves to his sense.  
As for those dreams whereof Angels may have been the instruments, but not the Authors, they were easy to be distinguished from all others: For besides, as I said before, that every effect draws something from the nature of the cause, and causes the more excellent they are, the greater impression they make upon their effects, whether God did mediately or immediately convey those dreams; so far it was necessary they should bear some undoubted mark and character of his power: this only thing was enough to distinguish them from all others, that they contained in them things which passed the reach of the understanding both of Men and Angels; for how could it enter into the understanding of either of them, that joseph should come to that grandeur which his dreams promised? What created intelligence could Divine, that there should be in Egypt seven years of plenty and abundance, and after them seven others of dearth and barrenness, as Pharaoh saw in his? For grant that Angels have very much of the knowledge of natural causes, yet two such admirable events, so regular and constant, each for the space of seven years, how could they be searched into, being so closely and obscurely hid in the secret foldings of a particular providence? What humane understanding, or what foresight of Angels could discover both the succession and the disagreement, the duration and the end of all those Empires, which were represented one after another in the image of Nabuchodonosor? What conjecture could divine that, which the stone cut without hands did presage, and what it was to do and to become, as the same vision of Nabuchodonosor doth represent it? And if it were necessary here to speak of Iacob's vision, none, I say, not only of men, but none of those Angels themselves, which he saw ascending and descending upon the ladder, were able to foretell (if God had not extraordinarily revealed it) that that did represent the Messias to come, who should make peace between heaven and earth, and re-establish a communication betwixt God and men by the intermission of Angels; and as for the promises, which God, who was at the top of the ladder in heaven, made to the Patriarch, they were plain and clear according to the truth of things, without any shadow of Allegory or mysterious Symbol, but they were of things so far remote, that it was only God who could foresee or foretell the event, so that that vision was altogether Divine.  
This is well indeed, will some here object, these dreams appear to be Divine when they are understood, or when they are confirmed by the events; but let us here inquire, how they could be judged so, by those to whom they were sent, before the interpretation, and by the mere consideration of the dreams themselves. We must then distinguish betwixt the dreams themselves and their interpretations, (which were sometimes made by the servants of God, as joseph and Daniel) and their events. And to begin with the consideration of their events, it is certain that when they were once come to pass, they did then fully evidence the Divinity of those visions, that did represent them; For not to speak of the Image of Nabuchodonosor, which did prefigure things at such a distance, that all the Angels together were never able to foretell them; I shall only speak of those of joseph and Pharaoh, and the Officers of his house, who were in prison with joseph; who, having seen the things so punctually accomplished, could in the least doubt, but that they were of Divine Revelation? But this is not that which we here principally intend.   
2. As for their interpretations, it is certain that those admirable resemblances, that are betwixt them and the visions themselves, must needs be matter of great wonder to those, who heard them, even before the event: for these resemblances could not come by mere chance: since there did appear in every particular so exact a relation between them, and we see that Nabuchodonosor was ravished with admiration of them, and Pharaoh was so fully persuaded, that without any further consultation he preferred joseph to the highest dignity, with an absolute power to dispose of the affairs, particularly of the revenues, of Egypt, according to his own pleasure, to provide himself by the provision of the plenty of the seven first years, against the desolation which should be caused by the seven years' dearth: but 'tis true, that this also doth not reach to a full and proper answer to the objection: since the divinity of the dreams ought to appear in themselves.    
Thirdly, Here than we ought to observe the difference betwixt those dreams which brought with them matter of express commands, as those which were sent to joseph and to the wise men, which came to worship our Saviour, and those which consisted simply in Symbolical and Allegorical representations of things to come. Those of the first sort ought to contain in them evident and undoubted characters of their Divinity, otherwise they could never have powerfully enough persuaded the servants of God to obey them: those of the latter did not absolutely require so great a force and evidence, and yet 'tis certain, that these have been able to make such a powerful impression upon the minds of those that received them, that they certainly believed them to proceed from a supernatural and Divine Cause. joseph sufficiently testifies this by the earnestness he shows to relate his, for that was indeed to acknowledge that he had seen something that had made very sensible impressions on him. The Officers of Pharaohs house did the same in theirs, and testified that they did not take them for rash and vain delusions: and Pharaoh did yet appear more lively and deeply moved by his, in regard of that pain and uneasiness he was in, till he had obtained the understanding and interpretation of it.  
Not to repeat what I have already said concerning the means by which the divinity of dreams sent from above might be discerned from the vanity of those that proceed from natural causes (though it be also necessary to remember all those characters which do distinguish them) I say, there was never any of that kind which did not cause a great astonishment in those that received them. I shall begin with the consideration of those which are less remarkable and by degrees proceed to those that are more famous. Pharaoh's Cupbearer dreamed that he saw a vine, which had three branches, from whence sprang certain buds, which increased and blossomed: that at the same time the bunches of grapes blossomed and brought their fruit to maturiy; That he had Pharaoh's Cup in his hand, and that he took the grapes and pressed and strained them into the Cup, and then gave it into Pharaoh's hand, now I pray, the dreams which proceed from our bodily temper and constitution, or from the motion of the Ideas in our memory caused by natural heat, or from the application of our minds to the cares and businesses of life, or from the motion of our passions, are they either so emblematical on the one side, or so regular on the other, as to present, in their very constitutions, Symbols consisting of so many parts, which answer one another with so great proportion? To which if you add that this emblem, as it was distinct and articulate, so was it also lively, clear, deeply impressed upon the imagination, you will not find it any way strange if it passed in the apprehension of the Cupbearer for a Divine and extraordinary dream: but he had yet more reason to be of that opinion, when his Companion, the Baker, told him in the morning that he had also dreamed the same night, that there were three white baskets upon his head, and that in the uppermost there was all manner of provisions relating to the Baker's trade for Pharaoh, and that the Birds did eat them out of the Basket, as it was upon his head: for this circumstance, that they both dreamed at the same time, and saw visions rare in their compositions, proportionable in their parts, Symbolical, without doubt, in their signification, suitable each to the Office of the dreamer; which agreed both in the number three, although they did otherwise differ in some remarkable circumstances; lastly, which had made very great impressions upon them both; all this, I say, could not be brought about but by an intelligent and heavenly cause; so that, 'tis no wonder if the perplexity which these visions caused in their minds did equally appear in the Morning by the change of their countenances: The dreams of Pharaoh had yet something of more exactness in the just proportion and symmetry of their parts; seven young kine on the one hand, and seven more on the other; the good and strong constitution of the one seven, and the leanness of the other; the beauty of the fat ones, and the ghastly ugliness of the other; the action of the one, which devoured and swallowed up the other, and all this without any mixture of any thing that was fantastical or extravagant, as it commonly happens in dreams, and without any circumstance from whence Pharaoh might infer that there was any thing in it, which might in the least argue any tincture, either of his cares or passions, either of the constitution of his humours or the temperament of his body, this was sufficient even at first to cause admiration and perplexity in his thoughts. And indeed, in that it is said, he wakened upon his dream, this shows that he was very sensibly touched with it, for those dreams that make any great impression upon us do awaken us. Nevertheless Pharaoh was not much frighted at his first dream, and went again to sleep as before; but when another vision answerable to the first represented to him on the one hand seven fair and full ears of Corn, and on the other seven small ones, blasted with the East wind, and that the small and withered ones devoured the fair and full ones; then he did not at all doubt, but it was God that spoke to him by these representations, so that his very soul was terrified. And indeed these two visions thus presented one upon the neck of another, were too clearly and visibly mysterious, not to cause something of astonishment. Those of joseph appear to me yet more admirable.  
He first saw the sheaves of his brethren which did encompass his sheaf and prostrate themselves before it; which had so clear and plain a signification, that his brethren understood it at the very first: a little after in another dream he saw the Sun and Moon and Eleven Stars, which also fell down before him; which still contained the same thing in such an illustrious and glorious Emblem, that when he came to recite it, his father did not only understand it, but was offended at it and chid him for it: Whether then we suppose, that jacob and his other children did really believe that joseph had thus dreamed, or that they suspected that he had contrived it, yet it manifestly appears that they acknowledged, that that could not proceed but from the operation of an intelligent agent. For mere chance could never have adjusted the parts of these visions singly, much less could it so well have joined them both together: This than was enough to make them believe these dreams were supernatural. But yet there was another thing that might persuade joseph, that they were truly Divine, his conscience bore him witness that he was void of ambition, and if perhaps he had had some kind of inclination or tendency that way, yet however it would not have been to desire dominion over his brethren, much less would he have desired it over those who begat him, for this is a monstrous desire, and such as is altogether unnatural. But grant he had such strange elevations of Spirit as to desire to become so great, as that his father and mother should prostrate themselves before him, whence was it that his imagination set itself to find out the Sun and Moon and Eleven Stars precisely, whereby to presage this Empire? It is a very rare thing, if in a mere natural dream, any one imagines that he sees the Sun, for there is always something that is black and dark in these nocturnal visions: But though that should happen much oftener, yet to see it in such a state of humiliation, and the Moon and Eleven Stars to represent that, which this dream prefigured, is a thing so far above that which natural causes are accustomed to do, that it would be too great an impertinence to impute it to them.  
Lastly, the dreams of Nabuchodonosor are yet in my opinion somewhat more magnificent: for there a great Image was represented to the imagination of this Prince, the splendour whereof was excellent, and its appearance terrible: the head thereof was of fine gold, the breast and arms of Silver, its belly and hinder parts of Brass, its legs of Iron, its feet partly of Iron, partly of Clay; after that appeared to him a Stone, which of itself fell from a Mountain without being cut with hands, which rolling down struck against the feet of the image, and bruised them to pieces, afterwards the Iron, the Clay, the Brass, the Silver, the Gold were all equally bruised to pieces, and became like chaff in the air in Summer, blown up and down, and driven to and fro with a strong wind; so that all the materials, whereof the Image was composed, did vanish and wholly disappear. But as for the Stone that broke the Image, it became a great mountain, and filled all the universe: let us a little lay aside the interpretation of this vision, and not at all consider the things designed thereby; let us only consider the vision in itself, and see if ever any thing, like unto it, did enter into a humane understanding: Certainly the Idea of such an Image, is so fair, the variety of the Metals and Materials, that composed it, so remarkable; the continued series of them so admirably succeeding each other; the stone which broke and dashed it in pieces and the manner of its coming so extraordinary and surprising; its increase so miraculous, and in general the whole series of this representation so majestic, that it could never enter into the imagination of man, if it had not been sent from above: for certainly humane understanding was too little to serve for a mould, where so great and magnificent a work should be framed. And the effect, which it produced in the Spirit of Nabuchodonosor, is very considerable: he was a Prince, and those of that birth and dignity are not easily moved by extraordinary things; He was a great Monarch and Conqueror, and such Princes have commonly more elevated thoughts, then others: and of Monarches and Conquerors, he was one who was puffed up with the opinion of his own grandeur, and this would be apt to make him in all conditions either sleeping or waking, to think most things either Ordinary or Common; and further, when he awakened, he did not at all remember his vision. Now when our dreams are vanished from our minds, the motion and impression, which they then made upon us, do usually cease and vanish with them: and though there did not remain the least footstep of his dream in his memory, but only thus far, to remember that he had dreamt, yet when he came to acquaint his Soothsayers, Astrologers and Magicians herewith, he told them, that his Spirit did remain astonished, and the passion which he had to retrieve what was fled from him, that so he might have the interpretation of it, caused him to denounce threatenings and terrible punishments to them, in case they did not acquaint him with it; so that it must necessarily be, that he was inwardly sensible of something of divinity in the dream, that produced in him such a passionate desire to know the interpretation.  
I shall not here speak any thing of Iacob's vision, for that speaks enough of itself; for certainly the words he there heard did promise such great things, so far above either the power or knowledge of humane understanding, the voice of the speaker was so Majestic, the image of a Ladder which reached from earth to heaven, upon which the Angels did ascend and descend, upon the top whereof God himself did seem to sit in a visible and humane shape and figure, as a presage of the future Incarnation of Christ; all this, I say, had so great, so glorious an aspect, and jacob himself was so struck with Reverence, Admiration and Amazement, that he was forced to cry out that the very place was terrible, and that in seeing this vision, he was set, as it were, in the threshold of the house God, and in the very porch of heaven. And this shows that this dream had made an impression in him quite different from those which proceed from natural causes. I suppose I have already sufficiently discussed this question, it only now remains to resolve the last.   

CHAP. V.  
Whether God doth make use of this kind of Revelation by Dreams, now under the Dispensation of the Gospel.  
JOel hath thus prophesied concerning the time of the coming of the Messias, It shall come to pass in those days, saith God, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And in those days I will surely pour out of my spirit upon my servants, and upon my handmaids, so that they shall prophecy: And I will do wonders in heaven above and signs on earth beneath, blood and vapour of smoke; the Sun shall be turned into darkness and the Moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. It is clear from these very words of the Prophet, without any need of producing others, that at the coming of the Messias, God would pour out a great abundance of his Spirit upon his Church, which should render the extraordinary and miraculous gifts of prophecy, of visions and of dreams almost common to all the faithful, which God before did but sparingly communicate to some particular persons: and indeed, the Apostles have applied this passage to the sending of the holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the experience of things at that time did very authentically testify the truth of this Prophecy; for the abundance and variety of gifts, which God poured upon Christians, at the first establishment of Christianity, is a thing much to be wondered at; in as much as he did not only inspire the Apostles, and Prophets & Evangelists, the Pastors, Doctors and Deacons, and generally all those who had any public Office or charge in the Church, but also many particular persons without any difference of Age, Sex or Condition. And the History of the Acts of the Apostles, with that which we have yet remaining of the succeeding Age, doth give us a very sufficient testimony hereof.  
But here are yet further two things very remarkable; the first, that the fulfilling of this prophecy, if we regard the Emphasis of the terms, wherein it is expressed, is not limited to the Infancy of the Church or an hundred or sixscore years after, but extends to all the ages of Christianity, even to the end of the world. For here is an opposition of the times of the Gospel to the times of the Law, and by consequence of all the duration of the one dispensation, to all the duration of the other.  
The second, that notwithstanding this, we see by experience that those miraculous gifts of the Spirit of God are ceased long ago, so that it is now many Ages since we saw the least footsteps of them in the Christian Church: for all that hath been either spoke or written these twelve hundred years concerning those miraculous gifts, is either very much suspected, or altogether false and supposititious, and full of vanity and imposture; how then shall we reconcile our experience with this Prophecy?  
In Order to do it, and to clear the way for the solution of the present question, I think it convenient to lay down certain previous considerations.  
First, It is certain, That which God promised by his Prophets, to give a great measure of his Spirit in the time of the Revelation of the Messias, must have its accomplishment from the first coming of Christ even unto his second; but in what manner it shall be done, is a thing that deserves a more attentive consideration: for though the words of joel seem only to design the extraordinary and miraculous gifts of the Spirit, yet under them are also comprised, those more ordinary ones, which consist in the illumination of the understanding of the faithful, in knowledge of the Divine truth, in consolation, in sanctification, in hope, in patience under temptations and afflictions, and in all Christian virtues; for it would have been a small thing for God to have promised abundance of those gifts, which are truly miraculous, but such as of themselves are not effectual for the procurement of Salvation, and have kept back those which only are necessary and sufficient thereunto: And indeed, we ought to understand that Prophecy of Isaiah in the same manner, Your God shall come himself, and shall deliver you: then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, then shall the lame leap, as the Hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing in triumph, for the waters shall spring in the desert and torrents in solitary places. It is very true, that those words have a proper and literal sense, which was accomplished at the coming of our Saviour, but they have also an Allegorical and Figurative one, which respects the saving graces of the Spirit, which have their accomplishment all along in all Ages of the Church.  
Secondly, It is further certain, that the reason for which these miraculous gifts are expressly mentioned in this prophecy, and not the more ordinary and saving ones, is, because these promises are conceived in terms more accommodated to the legal dispensation, for under that oeconomy, the faithful very well knew, that all the good, that was in them, did come from God, and accordingly returned him thanks; Moses himself hath thus taught, and the Psalms of David are full of such acknowledgements, yet nevertheless they did not distinctly know, that it came from a particular operation of the third Person in the Deity: the Spirit of Faith, the Spirit of Consolation, the Spirit of Adoption, the Spirit of Sanctification being terms unknown to the Faithful of the Ancient Church; So that until David, who began to speak something of the Spirit of God, in matters relating to Sanctification, no one before spoke any thing of it, and after him these Expressions, were very rare. Whereas there is nothing more ordinary in the Books of the Old Testament, then to attribute the Visions and Revelations of the Prophets, their extraordinary and miraculous gifts, which did both enlighten and astonish the World, to the Spirit of God; in so much that the particular skill which was bestowed on Bezaleel and Aholiab to work in all manner of carved work for the building of the Tabernacle of the Congregation is particularly attributed to the Efficacy of the Spirit of God, in the Books of Moses: It is true, the ordinary gifts of the Spirit of God are much less resplendent and cause less of admiration, than the extraordinary: for those are so internal, that they do not show themselves, but in Actions of Piety, Charity and Sanctification, which are commonly very Moderate and Regular, and which unless we take a more close and exact view of them, do not seem to proceed from any other Principle, then that of right reason; Whereas the other do so dazzle the eyes of all beholders with their lustre, that no one who sees their effects, can judge them to proceed from any thing less than a Divine and Supernatural Cause.  
And this difference was so much greater under the Law, as the ordinary gifts were there less liberally bestowed, and the virtues which they produced were more obscure and less frequent than they are now: and on the contrary, the extraordinary and miraculous gifts were then more common and agreed better with the genius of that Dispensation, in that it did prevail upon the minds of men, not so much by the knowledge of the truth, as this doth now, as by the admiration of the power of God, and by the astonishment which those surprising and prodigious passages did produce.  
From hence, for a third consideration, results the knowledge of the manner how this promise of joel, and such like, were to be fulfilled, for it was very agreeable to the truth, that at the beginning of Christianity our Saviour should plentifully bestow upon his Church those miraculous gifts, which were there especially designed. And two reasons among others invited him thereunto:  
The one, that the expressions which the Prophets had made use of, had filled the minds of men with expectation of these gifts: with expectation of theirs, if it had been frustrated in this respect, it would have given an occasion of scandal; therefore that men might not have any thing to object about the accomplishment of those promises, God was willing to signalise the beginning of the Preaching of the Gospel by those marvellous instances.  
The other, which is the Principal, is, that the first establishment of the Gospel had need of such a manifestation of the Spirit by the gift of miracles; because otherwise it could never have destroyed the dominion of Satan, as it did, and have vanquished the resistance it met with in the Roman Empire, and in all other nations of the earth: for the Preaching of the Gospel, the working of miracles the distribution of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit have been the wings upon which the Church hath been carried through all the Nations of the World. Therefore the Apostle joins these two together in the Epistle to the Hebrews, when he says, That salvation being first begun to be Preached by our Lord, it hath been confirmed to us, by those who heard it; God besides bearing witness by signs and miracles and divers powers and distributions of the spirit according to his pleasure. But when the Gospel was once well planted in the world, so that the Preaching thereof alone was sufficient to preserve and continue it, the necessity of miracles being now ceased, the use of them ceased likewise, and these extraordinary gifts of the Spirit therefore disappeared, because they were no longer necessary; thus the performance of this promise of joel, as far as it was to be extended to all the times of the Christian Church, even to the consummation of the world, hath been restrained to the ordinary gifts of the Spirit of Faith, of Consolation, of Sanctification, which are indeed much more plentifully poured out under this dispensation of the Gospel, than ever they were under that of the Law.  
To come therefore to a particular solution of this question, I think, we ought carefully to distinguish betwixt Divine, Angelical and Natural Dreams: for as for those Divine Dreams, which are designed to foretell things to come under the Emblem of an Allegorical Representation, or to convey some new commands to men in order to some great and extraordinary design, for which there is need of Divine Authority for the undertaking and executing of it: I conceive that time is now wholly expired, and those who pretend to and boast of any such, they are either impostors, who would abuse the world by their feigned visions, to serve their own private interest; or else fools, who have their brains disturbed by hypocondriac vapours: for we are no longer now under the legal dispensation, which was, as it were, the proper place for such things, nor under the Infancy of the Church, where such were necessary for its establishment. And if I may here speak my own thoughts of a certain kind of people of both Sexes, who both in Poland and Germany have pretended to Divine visions in these latter days; I will not accuse them of imposture, for that they have given sufficient testimony of their Piety; but I dare be bold to say, that in their actions they had some transport of the understanding, which proceeded from some other cause then what was truly Divine. They were persons who partly out of devotion, partly out of great curiosity, did extraordinarily give themselves to the reading of the Apocalypse and the other Prophecies: the constancy they used herein, and the great affection they did it with, imprinted in their memories the Ideas of those things they there saw; and the Copies of those fair tables, where future events were represented, having given a tincture to their Spirits, two or three things have hereupon superven'd, which have contributed to their persuasion, that their very dreams and the things they imagined they saw in their ecstasies, they sometimes fell into, were real and Divine visions.  
First, they suffered themselves to be carried away by the hopes of those, who expect in due time a great prosperity of the Church of God on earth, and a terrible subversion of all those States and Powers, which now oppose the establishing the kingdom of Christ, and since they desired this with a great deal of zeal and passion, they hereupon easily imagined it to be certain and indubitable. For on the one hand divers Texts of Scripture have some seeming appearance of some such promises made to the Church of Christ: and on the other hand, it is one of the frailties of Humane Nature easily to believe what we desire should be true. Besides the melancholy humour, which was naturally predominant in them, the afflictions, hardships and anxieties they underwent, as well from the public affairs, which did not go well to their satisfaction, as from their own private concerns, which did not much more please them; all these concurring together, made them very ready to receive all impressions of fancy, which might show them either any hope of deliverance, or of any mitigation of their troubles.  
To conclude, their bodies were so affected with the passions of their souls and with the quality of the humours, which were predominant in them, that they fell into some black melancholy indispositions, which all the world knows to be capable of very strange accidents. Be it then, that they either merely dreamed, or that waking they were surprised with some transport of fancy, in which their soul was perfectly abstracted and separated from their body, and from all commerce with the senses (for that doth sometimes happen in hypocondriac distempers) these Apocalyptical Images were thus put into a violent motion, and framed in their imaginations these pretended visions, which they have since related to us. To which might be added the operation of some evil Angels, who seek all imaginable occasions to deceive both the sound and the sick, and who helped to join together and to paint these representations in the brains of those poor people: And we have seen in a great part by experience, that those images, which they saw in their pretended Enthusiasms, did either signify nothing at all, or if they did, yet their vanity and falseness have been confuted by the events.  
As for those people beyond the Sea, which now boast of Visions, Revelations, Divine Inspirations, the extraordinary gifts of the holy Spirit, of ecstasies, and strange transportations, who by their tremble and quake would represent the motions of the Enthusiasts and Prophets; I should very much wonder if honest and understanding men should favour their frenfies: The Spirit of Christ is a Spirit of understanding and prudence, and of sober and well settled sense, and not a smoke which fills empty brains with dark and fantastic imaginations; the grace of the Gospel puts the faculties of the soul into a grave and sober constitution, which gives both joy within to itself, and edification to others without, and doth not expose the true Religion to the laughter of its enemies and to the scandal of sober and intelligent men, by its indecent and unnatural motions.  
As for those dreams which may proceed merely from the impression and operation of Angels, I will not deny but that there may be yet some examples of that nature to be seen; for as for evil Angels, they may concern themselves in those illusions which happen to men sleeping, whether it be to imprint upon them some false opinions in matters of Religion, and to incline them to Superstition; or thus more to excite and inflame their passions, and to put them into more disorder. And as for good ones, although the dispensation of the Law, under which they were more especially employed in things relating to Religion, be now passed; yet they still continue to be Ministers and Instruments of Divine Providence in what relates to civil life, and humane society, and especially the protection of the faithful and the defence of the Church of Christ. And as than it is not impossible, but that they may sometimes appear to men waking, so is it not incredible, but that God may make use of them, from time to time to convey the notices of some things by dreams; there are many examples of both kinds in the books of those who have made collections of such memorable instances, to which I shall refer the Reader. I have heard the late Monsieur Cameron, a Person whose memory will be ever blessed in our Churches, say, that he had from the mouth of Monsieur Calignon, Chancellor of Navarre, a man of singular virtue, a memorable passage that befell him in Bearne: He went into a certain Town in the Country, either for diversion, or for some reason, relating to his health; for he did not acquaint me either with the place or the occasion of the journey; one night as he was asleep, he heard a voice which called him by his name, Calignon; hereupon waking and hearing no more of it, he imagined that he had dreamed, and fell asleep again; a little after he heard the same voice, calling him in the same manner, which made a greater impression upon him, than before; so that being awakened he called his wife, who was with him, and told her what had happened, so that they both lay waking for some time, expecting whether they might hear the voice again, and whether it would say any thing more to them; At last the voice awakened him the third time, calling him by his name, and advised him to retire presently out of the Town, and to remove his family, for that the plague would rage horribly in that place within few days; to which he added, that it was very well that he followed this direction, for as much as within few days after the plague began in the Town, and destroyed a great number of people. This was certainly an Angel that spoke to him, who by the favourable and benign providence of God drew him out of that danger, which otherwise had been unavoidable. For whether the plague came by the infection of the air, or by the Communication of some infectious persons, or whether some Sorcerers and Witches (as they say, they sometimes do) had resolved to diffuse their infectious poisons in that place, it was that which did not exceed the knowledge of an Angel. Now if these blessed Spirits, which are appointed as a guard to pious men in obedience to God's Command, do sometimes by speaking give them such advertisements, they also by the same command may convey the same notices to them by dreams. The history of the last age doth so fully attest the truth of that of Lewis of Bourbon, Prince of Conde, that we cannot reasonably doubt thereof. A little before his journey from Dreux, he dreamed that he had fought three battles, successively one after another, wherein he had got the victory, and where his three great Enemies were slain. But that at last he also was mortally wounded, and that after they were laid one upon another, he also was laid upon their dead bodies. The event was remarkable: for the Mareshal de St André was killed at Dreux, the Duke of Guise, Francis of Lorraine, at Orleans, the Connestable of Montmorency at St Dennis, and this was the Triumvirate, which, they say, had sworn the ruin of those of the Religion, and the destruction of that Prince. At last, he himself was slain at Bassac, as if there had been a continuation of deaths and Funerals.  
Although there were some Circumstances in the dream which did not exactly agree with their accomplishment, as that he imagined that his Enemies died in three battles; for the Duke of Guise died otherwise, being assassinated by Poltrot, and that he conceived in his dream, that he always came off victorious, for he himself was taken at Dreux, and the glory of the victory at St Dennis was disputed, and 'tis believed, that at Bassac, he did not only lose his life, but the Battle too. Yet notwithstanding upon the whole, this vision did not cease to be very admirable, and it hath been looked upon as such by reason of the greatness of the events: But there might be something natural in it, in respect of the formation of the images in the fancy of the Prince. For he having the temperature of a Lion, and being brought up in War, and Commanding an Army, might easily dream of Battles, the evening before so great a Combat. And he himself seemed sufficiently to acknowledge this when repeating the dream he used this Preface; I know very well that we must not give any credit to dreams, but yet I must relate to you what I dreamed last night, and in truth one who thus speaks sufficiently testifies, on the one side, that his dream appeared to him extraordinary, and that it had made a great impression upon his mind: and on the other, that he did not look upon it as absolutely supernatural, seeing he somewhat doubted whether he should make any relation of it: But nevertheless, an Angel, to whom God had given some little foresight of the success of these Civil Wars, and of the end of these Captains, might very well concern himself herein by his permission, with design to give the Prince some advertisement; for he might draw this advantage from hence, either not to continue the War any longer if he had a mind to escape death, or seriously to prepare himself, as he should see his enemies to depart this life: and both these things were worthy of a good Angel, who had a care of the life of this great Prince and also of his Salvation. There are also several memorable things of such who were saved from the Massacre, by the advertisement of dreams, which if true, as I see no reasonable cause to doubt of them, they could proceed from nothing else, but Angels, as the truth of the things, and the punctual accomplishment did sufficiently evidence.  
But my intention here is not to report histories, but to make Theological and Rational Reflections upon this matter. And the conclusion I draw hence is, that God has not now tied his hands; but that he may still give such notices to men, although this be done very rarely: However we may here make this observation, that as, when the question is concerning such miracles as may be done by the Ministry of Angels (for every one knows that there are some, which cannot be done but only by the power of God) we ought carefully to examine whether they be done by good or bad ones, that so we suffer not ourselves to be abused by the seducement of lies and error; so here there is need of a great circumspection, to judge of these nocturnal visions. All the actions of men are either good in themselves, or evil in their own nature, or indifferent and intermediate betwixt these; if then any such dream induce us to a good action, and from whence there can follow no bad event, such a dream ought not to be suspected by us, but if it incline us to any evil, we ought absolutely to condemn and reject it, as a delusion of the Devil; and as for indifferent actions, the circumstances, that accompany them, usually determining their nature, I would here rather be guided by Prudence and Charity, which are the general Rules of our conversation, then by the inducement and persuasion of dreams. And nevertheless where Prudence and Charity should both agree with an extraordinary vision, I do declare that such an inducement to me would be very considerable.  
Lastly, as for dreams that proceed from natural causes. I suppose that where I have spoken of their causes from whence they proceed, I have sufficiently discovered their vanity. It is certainly a great weakness of mind or a superstition very unworthy of Christians in the least to rely on them, either for the conjecturing of that which is come, or for founding our resolutions of least importance upon them. I shall only here give two advertisements, the one whereof respects the health of the Body, the other the safety of the Soul. First, than we ought to have a regard to our dreams, when they may furnish us with some indications concerning the constitution of our own bodies; that if they mark out any fault in our tempers, or any disorder in the humours of our body, and so threaten us with some disease or sickness, that then we may provide against it by the Course of Physic.  
As for the second, if the frequency of certain dreams, and their evil quality, do inform us that we are inclined to some vicious passions (although this may be better known by our actions waking, then by our dreams) that we then endeavour to correct them by Christian Morality, Lastly, since as Philosophers have observed, the quality of dreams is a sign and token not only of the constitution of our bodies, but also of our minds, that the most virtuous have always the most sober and temperate dreams, every one therefore ought carefully, to give himself to the exercise of Virtue, Temperance and Sobriety, that so he be not importuned and molested with turbulent imaginations.  
Thus, most Honoured Brother, you have the results of my thoughts when at certain spare hours in my journey I set myself to meditate on this subject: if other affairs had not denied me further leisure, and if I had not been upon other designs, which I both promised, and which have been long expected from me, I had bestowed more care and study in this little Work. All that I was able to do, was to finish it, which I partly doubted whether I could or no, when I first set Pen to Paper: Such as it is, I heartily present it to you, and shall esteem it happy, if it receive your Approbation; for as much as that which you receive from the public aught to render your testimony beyond exception. Sir, I beg the assistance of your good Prayers to God for me, not only that he would give me grace and strength to finish, what he hath put into my mind to undertake, for the clearing of his truth, but principally that, notwithstanding the many hindrances I meet withal, he would strengthen me with his good Spirit, that I may finish my course to his glory, and the edification of his people. And I also do heartily pray, that he would heap upon you the choicest of his blessings, and am assuredly,   
Most Honoured Brother, Your most Humble and most Obedient Servant, Amyraut. Saumur, the first of the year. 1659.   

THE CONTENTS.  
THE Introduction. 
Page 1.   

CHAP. I.  Of Natural Dreams and their several Causes. 
Pag. 3.   

CHAP. II.  Of Angelical Dreams in General, and some rational reflections on Particular ones. 
Pag. 19   

CHAP. III.  Of Divine Dreams. 
Pag. 39   

CHAP. IU.  The Characters by which they might know that those Dreams were truly Divine, and not vain Delusions. 
Pag. 53.   

CHAP. V.  Whether God doth make use of this kind of Revelation by Dreams, now under the Dispensation of the Gospel. 
Pag. 101.   
FINIS.