Your faithful and affectionate Friend,
and Servant.
[1] Immort. of the Soul. Book 2. ch. 8.
[2] Immort. of the Soul. Book 3. c. 13.
[XXIX.]
MADAM,
Touching the State or Condition of the Supernatural and Divine Soul, both in, and after this life, I must crave your excuse that I can give no account of it; for I dare affirm nothing; not onely that I am no professed Divine, and think it unfit to take any thing upon me that belongs not to me, but also that I am unwilling to mingle Divinity and Natural Philosophy together, to the great disadvantage and prejudice of either; for if each one did contain himself within the circle of his own Profession, and no body did pretend to be a Divine Philosopher, many absurdities, confusions, contentions, and the like, would be avoided, which now disturb both Church and Schools, and will in time cause their utter ruine and destruction; For what is Supernatural, cannot naturally be known by any natural Creature; neither can any supernatural Creature, but the Infinite and Eternal God, know thorowly everything that is in Nature, she being the Infinite servant of the Infinite God, whom no finite Creature, of what degree soever, whether natural or supernatural, can conceive; for if no Angel nor Devil can know our thoughts, much less will they know Infinite Nature; nay, one finite supernatural Creature cannot, in my opinion, know perfectly another supernatural Creature, but God alone, who is all-knowing; And therefore all what is said of supernatural Spirits, I believe, so far as the Scripture makes mention of them; further I dare not presume to go; the like of the supernatural or divine Soul: for all that I have writ hitherto to you of the Soul, concerns the natural Soul of Man, which is material, and not the supernatural or divine Soul; neither do I contradict any thing concerning this divine soul, but I am onely against those opinions, which make the natural soul of man an immaterial natural spirit, and confound supernatural Creatures with natural, believing those spirits to be as well natural Creatures and parts of Nature, as material and corporeal beings are; when as there is great difference betwixt them, and nothing in Nature to be found, but what is corporeal. Upon this account I take all their relations of Dæmons, of the Genii, and of the Souls after the departure from humane Bodies, their Vehicles, Shapes, Habitations, Converses, Conferences, Entertainments, Exercises, Pleasures, Pastimes, Governments, Orders, Laws, Magistrates, Officers, Executioners, Punishments, and the like, rather for Poetical Fictions, then Rational Probabilities; containing more Fancy, then Truth and Reason, whether they concern the divine or natural Soul: for as for the divine Soul, the Scripture makes no other mention of it, but that immediately after her departure out of this natural life, she goeth either to Heaven or Hell, either to enjoy Reward, or to suffer Punishment, according to man's actions in this life. But as for the Natural Soul, she being material, has no need of any Vehicles, neither is natural death any thing else but an alteration of the rational and sensitive motions, which from the dissolution of one figure go to the formation or production of another. Thus the natural soul is not like a Traveller, going out of one body into another, neither is air her lodging; for certainly, if the natural humane soul should travel through the airy regions, she would at last grow weary, it being so great a journey, except she did meet with the soul of a Horse, and so ease her self with riding on Horse-back. Neither can I believe Souls or Dæmons in the Air have any Common-wealth, Magistrates, Officers and Executioners in their airy Kingdom; for wheresoever are Governments, Magistrates and Executioners, there are also Offences, and where there is power to offend, as well as to obey, there may and will be sometimes Rebellions and Civil Wars; for there being different sorts of Spirits, it is impossible they should all so well agree, especially the good and evil Genii, which certainly will fight more valiantly then Hector and Achilles, nay, the Spirits of one sort would have more Civil Wars then ever the Romans had; and if the Soul of Cæsar and Pompey should meet, there would be a cruel fight between those two Heroical souls; the like between Augustus's and Antonius's Soul. But, Madam, all these, as I said, I take for fancies proceeding from the Religion of the Gentiles, not fit for Christians to embrace for any truth; for if we should, we might at last, by avoiding to be Atheists, become Pagans, and so leap out of the Frying-pan into the Fire, as turning from Divine Faith to Poetical Fancy; and if Ovid should revive again, he would, perhaps, be the chief head or pillar of the Church. By this you may plainly see, Madam, that I am no Platonick; for this opinion is dangerous, especially for married Women, by reason the conversation of the Souls may be a great temptation, and a means to bring Platonick Lovers to a neerer acquaintance, not allowable by the Laws of Marriage, although by the sympathy of the Souls. But I conclude, and desire you, not to interpret amiss this my discourse, as if I had been too invective against Poetical Fancies; for that I am a great lover of them, my Poetical Works will witness; onely I think it not fit to bring Fancies into Religion: Wherefore what I have writ now to you, is rather to express my zeal for God and his true Worship, then to prejudice any body; and if you be of that same Opinion, as above mentioned, I wish my Letter may convert you, and so I should not account my labour lost, but judg my self happy, that any good could proceed to the advancement of your Soul, from,
Madam,
Your faithful Friend