4. This privation of Gods Image is more than like the spoiling of a man of his clothes, or like the taking of a bridle from the horses mouth, or removing the bonds and chains a man might be in, Which when taken off, he can walk well enough. For the Popish party, though they grant, Man fallen hath much hurt by Adam, yet they make the privation of original righteousness, to be no more than the spoiling of a man of his garments; so that as a man without his clothes, is a man still, though naked, and exposed to many difficulties. Thus, they say, man still hath his naturals, though he hath lost his supernaturals; Original righteousness was like an antidote, or a bridle against the inferior parts of the soul (they say) so that what man is deprived of, is only what was supernatural and merely superadded to humane nature. By these subtleties of theirs, a mans loss is made to be far less than indeed it is: Hence they do so often apply that Parable of the man going to Jericho that was wounded, and left half dead, to Adam fallen, to all mankind in him, as if we were but dangerously wounded, and not throughly dead: But the scope of that Parable is wholly to a different purpose; Original righteousness is not to be conceived, as a supernatural excellency bestowed upon man after his Creation, but as a concreated perfection in all the parts of his soul: So that the losing of this, is not like the losing of some accidental glory and ornaments, but even those concreated perfections in the soul are also lost. The misunderstanding of this breedeth a dangerous error, as if by original sin we only had lost these superadded ornaments, but did retain our pure naturals still, as they call it, which are indeed altogether impute, Eccl. 7. God made man right; Even as all other creatures were exceeding good: Now God had made man the more noble creature, worse than other creatures, if he had not created him with such perfect and suitable qualifications, as would enable him to obtain true blessedness, for every creature else had an implanted ability in it, to accomplish his end, and why then should God do less bountifully with man, one of the chiefest instances of his glorious workmanship? But of this I must necessarily speak more, because of the Socinian, who calls this Doctrine of original righteousness, Faetida fabula, an old stinking fable.
4. THis privation of Gods Image is more than like the spoiling of a man of his cloaths, or like the taking of a bridle from the horses mouth, or removing the bonds and chains a man might be in, Which when taken off, he can walk well enough. For the Popish party, though they grant, Man fallen hath much hurt by Adam, yet they make the privation of original righteousnesse, to be no more than the spoiling of a man of his garments; so that as a man without his cloaths, is a man still, though naked, and exposed to many difficulties. Thus, they say, man still hath his naturals, though he hath lost his supernaturals; Original righteousness was like an antidote, or a bridle against the inferiour parts of the soul (they say) so that what man is deprived of, is only what was supernatural and meerly superadded to humane nature. By these subtilties of theirs, a mans losse is made to be far lesse than indeed it is: Hence they do so often apply that Parable of the man going to Jericho that was wounded, and left half dead, to Adam fallen, to all mankind in him, as if we were but dangerously wounded, and not throughly dead: But the scope of that Parable is wholly to a different purpose; Original righteousness is not to be conceived, as a supernatural excellency bestowed upon man after his Creation, but as a concreated perfection in all the parts of his soul: So that the losing of this, is not like the losing of some accidental glory and ornaments, but even those concreated perfections in the soul are also lost. The misunderstanding of this breedeth a dangerous errour, as if by original sinne we onely had lost these superadded ornaments, but did retain our pure naturals still, as they call it, which are indeed altogether impute, Eccl. 7. God made man right; Even as all other creatures were exceeding good: Now God had made man the more noble creature, worse than other creatures, if he had not created him with such perfect and suitable qualifications, as would inable him to obtain true blessedness, for every creature else had an implanted ability in it, to accomplish his end, and why then should God do lesse bountifully with man, one of the chiefest instances of his glorious workmanship? But of this I must necessarily speak more, because of the Socinian, who cals this Doctrine of original righteousness, Faetida fabula, an old stinking fable.
