Let us therefore methodically proceed: We have proved that God is the cause of all the Goodness in the world, in Heaven and Earth, and therefore must needs be Best himself. And it is certain, that all the sins and calamities which you mention are in the world, and that the creature hath all ⟨p. 97⟩those imperfections:1 therefore it is certain that these two Verities are consistent, what ever difficulty appeareth to you in the reconciling them. Thus far there is no matter of doubt. And next we are therefore certain, that the Measure of God's Goodness is not to be taken from the Creatures interest. And yet we know that his Goodness inclineth him to communicate goodness and felicity to his creatures: for all the Good in the world is from him. It remaineth therefore, that he is good, necessarily and perfectly: and that he doth all well whatsoever he doth: and that there is in the Creature a higher Goodness than its own felicity, even the Image of God's Power, Wisdom and Goodness, in which his Holiness and Justice have their place. And that this Goodness of the Universe (which consisteth in the Glorious appearances of God in it, and the suitableness of all to his Will and Wisdom) includeth all things except sin, which are contained in your objection; and that punishment of sinners, though it be malum physicum to them, is a moral good, and glorifieth God's Justice and Holiness: and even the permission of sin it self is good, though the sin be bad. And yet that God will also glorify that part of his Goodness which consisteth in Benignity; for he hath an amor beneficentiae, of which the creature only is the object; but of his amor complacentiae he himself is the chief object, and the creature but the secondary, so far as it participateth of Goodness. (And Complacency is the essential act of Love.) Think but what a wonderful Fabric he hath made of all the Orbs, composed into One World! and can you possibly have narrow thoughts of his Goodness? He hath placed more Physical Goodness in the nature of one silly Bird, or Fly, or Worm, than humane wit is able to find out; much more in Plants, in Beasts, in Men, in Sea and Land, in the Sun, and fixed Stars, and Planets: Our understandings are not acquainted with the thousandth thousandth thousandth part of the Physical goodness which he hath put into his creatures:
Let us therefore methodically proceed: We have proved that God is the cause of all the Goodness in the world, in Heaven and Earth, and therefore must needs be Best himself. And it is certain, that all the sins and calamities which you mention are in the world, and that the creature hath all ⟨p. 97⟩those imperfections:1 therefore it is certain that these two Verities are consistent, what ever difficulty appeareth to you in the reconciling them. Thus far there is no matter of doubt. And next we are therefore certain, that the Measure of God's Goodness is not to be taken from the Creatures interest. And yet we know that his Goodness inclineth him to communicate goodness and felicity to his creatures: for all the Good in the world is from him. It remaineth therefore, that he is good, necessarily and perfectly: and that he doth all well whatsoever he doth: and that there is in the Creature a higher Goodness than its own felicity, even the Image of God's Power, Wisdom and Goodness, in which his Holiness and Justice have their place. And that this Goodness of the Universe (which consisteth in the Glorious appearances of God in it, and the suitableness of all to his Will and Wisdom) includeth all things except sin, which are contained in your objection; and that punishment of sinners, though it be malum physicum to them, is a moral good, and glorifieth God's Justice and Holiness: and even the permission of sin it self is good, though the sin be bad. And yet that God will also glorifie that part of his Goodness which consisteth in Benignity; for he hath an amor beneficentiae, of which the creature only is the object; but of his amor complacentiae he himself is the chief object, and the creature but the secondary, so far as it participateth of Goodness. (And Complacency is the essential act of Love.) Think but what a wonderful Fabrick he hath made of all the Orbs, composed into One World! and can you possibly have narrow thoughts of his Goodness? He hath placed more Physical Goodness in the nature of one silly Bird, or Fly, or Worm, than humane wit is able to find out; much more in Plants, in Beasts, in Men, in Sea and Land, in the Sun, and fixed Stars, and Planets: Our understandings are not acquainted with the thousandth thousandth thousandth part of the Physical goodness which he hath put into his creatures:
- 1Siquidem anima regalem Majestatem ostendit, null us dominio subjecta, & propriae potestatis, tanquam imago Dei communia cum archetypo quaedam habens. Greg. Nyssen. citat. etiam in Caesarii Dial. 3. The Ancients commonly make the Freedom of the will as well as Rationality, to be God's natural Image on the Soul. See especially the full discourse of Nemesius, de Natur. hom. cap. 39, 40, 41. Lege Pennotti propugnacul. libert.
