Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and…

§ 6. And sure a Soul, that even Solomon saith goeth upward, and to God that gave it, is liker to know God, than that which is terminated in Flesh, and operateth ut forma according to its capacity and state: And a Soul that is with Christ, is liker to know Christ, and the Father in him, than that which is present with the Body, and absent from the Lord. What less can the Promise of being with him signify?

§ 6. And sure a Soul, that even Solomon saith goeth upward, and to God that gave it, is liker to know God, than that which is terminated in Flesh, and operateth ut forma according to its capacity and state: And a Soul that is with Christ, is liker to know Christ, and the Father in him, than that which is present with the Body, and absent from the Lord. What less can the Promise of being with him signifie?

§ 7. And, 1. as to the Kind of Knowledge, how excellent and more satisfactory a way will that of Intuition or Intellective-Sense be than is our present way of abstraction, Similitudes and Signs: What abundance of Time, Thoughts and Labour doth it cost us now, to learn our Grammar, our Rhetoric, and our Logic? Our Arts loquendi, dicendi, & disserendi? To learn our Wordy Rules and Axioms, in Metaphysics, Physics, &c. And when we have learnt them all (if all can be learned) how little the nearer are many to the knowing of the signified Realities? We oft get but a Set of Words to play with, to take up our time, and divert ⟨p. 144⟩[…] ⟨p. 145⟩[…] ⟨p. 146⟩us from the Matter: Even as Carnal men use the Creatures which signify God, and are made to lead them up to him, to entangle them and be the greatest and most pernicious diversion of their Souls from God; so do too many Learned men do by their Organical signal Knowledge They use it as men do Cards, and Romances, and Plays, to delight their Phantasies; but they know less of the Things that are worth their knowing, than many unlearned Persons do, as I said before. Had not much of the Athenian Learning been then a mere Game, for men to play away their precious time at, and to grow proud of, while they were ignorant of saving Realities, Christ and his Apostles had not so much neglected it as they did, nor Paul so much warned men to take heed of being deceived by that vain kind of Philosophy; in which he seemeth to me to have greater respect to the universally esteemed Athenian Arts, than, as Dr. Hammond Thought, to the mere Gnostic pretensions.