An end of doctrinal controversies which have lately troubled the churches

§. 34. II. If they mean any mediate thing between God and the Effect, either they speak of the first effect or a second, and so on: If they speak but of secondary effects, and the meaning be only whether one effect be a sufficient Cause for another, they mean either an outward or an inward Grace or Effect. If an outward, then the sense of the Question is, Whether some other Work of God be sufficient to move the Will of Man? And then it must be told what other Work you mean: Whether an Angel, or the Planets, or the Word or Preacher, or an outward Mercy or Affliction, or what it is? But if you speak of the very first effect, then the fancy is almost proper to Aureolus among the Schoolmen, to think that there is something from God antecedent to the Creature and Motion, which may be called Action or Energy, or Efflux, which is neither the Creator nor a Creature, neither Cause substantial nor Effect, but Causation: As if some Beam of Virtue or Force went from God to produce every Creature and Motion, which is neither God, nor the Creature, or Motion. But this is commonly and justly rejected, as feigning a third sort of Entity between God and the Creature, which it passeth the wit of Man to conceive of what it should be.

§. 34. II. If they mean any mediate thing between God and the Effect, either they speak of the first effect or a second, and so on: If they speak but of secondary effects, and the meaning be only whether one effect be a sufficient Cause for another, they mean either an outward or an inward Grace or Effect. If an outward, then the sence of the Question is, Whether some other Work of God be sufficient to move the Will of Man? And then it must be told what other Work you mean: Whether an Angel, or the Planets, or the Word or Preacher, or an outward Mercy or Affliction, or what it is? But if you speak of the very first effect, then the fancy is almost proper to Aureolus among the Schoolmen, to think that there is something from God antecedent to the Creature and Motion, which may be called Action or Energy, or Efflux, which is neither the Creator nor a Creature, neither Cause substantial nor Effect, but Causation: As if some Beam of Virtue or Force went from God to produce every Creature and Motion, which is neither God, nor the Creature, or Motion. But this is commonly and justly rejected, as feigning a third sort of Entity between God and the Creature, which it passeth the wit of Man to conceive of what it should be.