A treatise of original sin ... proving that it is

after his all and apostasy, he endeavoured, being a murderer from the beginning, to destroy man also, and accordingly he did prevail, and thus by the Devil sin came into the world; yet he is the external cause only, he could not force or compel our first parents to sin, he did only persuade and entice them; Therefore the internal cause was the freedom of their will, God created them in, whereby they might either embrace good, or choose evil, which mutability was the cause of their apostasy. It is true, the dispute is very curious, How Adam being created perfect could yield to sin? Whether did the defect arise in his will or understanding first? But seeing it's clear by Scripture, that he did sin, and we feel the woeful effect of it: Let us not busy our heads in metaphysical curiosities, although I see the soundest Authors make the beginning of his sin to be in inadvertency, for his soul being finite, while he earnestly intended to one thing, he did not attend to another, and so sin was inchoatively first in his understanding, not by error or ignorance, for Adam's understanding was free from that, but by not attendance to all considerations and arguments, as he ought to do. Although it must be confessed, that the root and foundation of his sin, was the vertibility of his will, for as he might not sin, so also he might sin, he had then a posse peccare in him, and so a defectibility from the Rule. Thus although efficient causes use not to be put into exact definitions, neither hath sin so properly efficient, as deficient causes, yet in large descriptions, it is very useful to name them, for hereby God is wholly cleared, although he created man, and fore-knew he would fall, yea permitted him to fall, yet he was no cause of his fall; neither did God make Adam, that he might sin, as some would calumniate the Orthodox Doctrine with such consequences: Even as Austin's adversaries said, he did Sub nomine gratiae asserere fatum, because we do not make God an idle Spectator, as it were, of Adam's fall, or make it wholly uncertain and casual, as it were, to God, but acknowledge his permission and ordination of Adam's evil to a better good than his evil, could be evil, therefore it is that some do so paratragediate. Take we heed then, that in the acknowledging of this Doctrine, we have no froward or foolish though •s rising against God;

after his all and apostasie, he endeavoured, being a murderer from the beginning, to destroy man also, and accordingly he did prevail, and thus by the Devil sinne came into the world; yet he is the external cause onely, he could not force or compel our first parents to sinne, he did onely perswade and entice them; Therefore the internal cause was the freedom of their will, God created them in, whereby they might either imbrace good, or chuse evil, which mutability was the cause of their apostasie. It is true, the dispute is very curious, How Adam being created perfect could yeeld to sinne? Whether did the defect arise in his will or understanding first? But seeing it's clear by Scripture, that he did sinne, and we feel the wofull effect of it: Let us not busie our heads in metaphysical curiosities, although I see the soundest Authors make the beginning of his sinne to be in inadvertency, for his soul being finite, while he earnestly intended to one thing, he did not attend to another, and so sinne was inchoatively first in his understanding, not by errour or ignorance, for Adam's understanding was free from that, but by not attendency to all considerations and arguments, as he ought to do. Although it must be confest, that the root and foundation of his sin, was the vertibility of his will, for as he might not sin, so also he might sin, he had then a posse peccare in him, and so a defectibility from the Rule. Thus although efficient causes use not to be put into exact definitions, neither hath sin so properly efficient, as deficient causes, yet in large descriptions, it is very usefull to name them, for hereby God is wholly cleared, although he created man, and fore-knew he would fall, yea permitted him to fall, yet he was no cause of his fall; neither did God make Adam, that he might sinne, as some would calumniate the Orthodox Doctrine with such consequences: Even as Austin's adversaries said, he did Sub nomine gratiae asserere fatum, because we do not make God an idle Spectator, as it were, of Adam's fall, or make it wholly uncertain and casual, as it were, to God, but acknowledge his permission and ordination of Adam's evil to a better good than his evil, could be evil, therefore it is that some do so paratragediate. Take we heed then, that in the acknowledging of this Doctrine, we have no froward or foolish though s rising against God;