Beside, as the Heathen man sometime said though to an other and an evil purpose, cIt is a miserable thing for a man to live in necessity; but there is no necessity at all for any man so to live: So say I here, It is an hard case for a man to be driven to that strait, that he must of necessity betake himself to such courses: but dthere is no necessity at any time that so he should do. For what necessity speak they of that should warrant such a course? If absolute necessity; there is none such: For there cannot be any case possibly put, wherein a man is so straitened, that he cannot avoid it, but that of necessity he must do it. If conditional necessity, that either a man must do it, or he must sustain damage, yea or he must die if he do it not; yet here is no such necessity as may justify such an act. For it is not only a tempting of God, as some have described it, ewhen a man requireth some extraordinary work of God for his pleasure, or to make trial thereby what God either can or will do, when there is no need to have ought done: but for a man to require some extra-ordinary work of God even for his profit or his safety as well as for his pleasure without special warrant from God so to do, is likewise to tempt God: As 4not to admit it when God offereth it in such case, is to neglect and contemn him: so to require it before he offer it, is to tempt and to stint him. The Jews are said to have tempted and stinted ⟨p. 315⟩God, not then only gwhen they required to be fed with flesh having other food sufficient already, but even then also hwhen they required to have water by miracle, what time they were ready to perish for thirst, and had nothing else to drink. And how much more then is it *a tempting and stinting of God, when we prescribe him to work thus extraordinarily for us, for the recovery of some trifling loss, or the discovery of a Thief?
Beside, as the Heathen man sometime said though to an other and an euill purpose, cIt is a miserable thing for a man to liue in necessitie; but there is no necessity at all for any man so to liue: So say I here, It is an hard case for a man to be driuen to that streight, that he must of necessity betake himselfe to such courses: but dthere is no necessity at any time that so hee should doe. For what necessitie speake they of that should warrant such a course? If absolute necessity; there is none such: For there cannot be any case possibly put, wherein a man is so streightned, that he cannot auoide it, but that of necessity hee must doe it. If conditionall necessity, that either a man must doe it, or he must sustaine damage, yea or hee must die if he doe it not; yet here is no such necessity as may iustifie such an act. For it is not onely a tempting of God, as some haue described it, ewhen a man requireth some extraordinary worke of God for his pleasure, or to make triall thereby what God either can or will doe, when there is no need to haue ought done: but for a man to require some extra-ordinary worke of God euen for his profit or his safetie as well as for his pleasure without speciall warrant from God so to doe, is likewise to tempt God: As 4not to admit it when God offereth it in such case, is to neglect and contemne him: so to require it before hee offer it, is to tempt and to stint him. The Iewes are said to haue tempted and stinted ⟨p. 315⟩God, not then onely gwhen they required to be fed with flesh hauing other food sufficient already, but euen then also hwhen they required to haue water by miracle, what time they were ready to perish for thirst, and had nothing else to drinke. And how much more then is it *a tempting and stinting of God, when we prescribe him to worke thus extraordinarily for vs, for the recouerie of some trifling losse, or the discouerie of a Theife?
- cMiserum est in necessitate vivere: sed in necessitate vivere necessitas nulla est. Senic, epist. 12.Miserum est in necessitate viuere: sed in necessitate viuere necessitas nulla est. Senic, epist. 12.
- dIn divinatoria sorte non videtur praedicta necessitas occurrere. Thom. de sort. c. 5.In diuinatoria sorte non videtur praedicta necessitas occurrere. Thom. de sort. c. 5.
- eHinc etiam in ipsa religione Deus tentatur, cùm sign: f•igitantur non ad salutem, sed ad experientiam. Aug. confess. l 10. c. 35. & de vera relig. c. 38. Quasi interpretativè D•ū tentat, qui aliquid perit vel facit ad nihil aliud utile nise ad probandam Dei potestatem, vel bonitatem, vel cognitionem, &c. quandò ergò propter aliquā necessitatem seu utilitatem committit see aliqu•s divino auxilio in suis petitionibus vel factis, hoe non est Deū tentare: quando verò hoc agitur absque necessitate & v ilitate, bocest De. tentare. Thom. sum. par. 2.a 2 c.q. 97. a. 1.Hinc etiam in ipsa religione Deus tentatur, cùm sign: f•igitantur non ad salutem, sed ad experientiam. Aug. confess. l 10. c. 35. & de vera relig. c. 38. Quasi interpretatiuè D•ū tentat, qui aliquid perit vel facit ad nihil aliud vtile nise ad probandam Dei potestatem, vel bonitatem, vel cognitionem, &c. quandò ergò propter aliquā necessitatem seu vtilitatem committit se aliqu•s diuino auxilio in suis petitionibus vel factis, hoe non est Deū tentare: quando verò hoc agitur absque necessitate & v ilitate, bocest De. tentare. Thom. sum. par. 2.a 2 c.q. 97. a. 1.
- 4Esa •. 12, 13, 14. [Greek or Hebrew]. Homer. Odyss o', Et Iliad. [Greek or Hebrew].Esa •. 12, 13, 14. 〈non-Latin alphabet〉. Homer. Odyss o', Et Iliad. 〈non-Latin alphabet〉.
- g
