N00887:89
Christianus per ignem. Or, A disciple warming of himself and owning of his Lord:…
Christianus per ignem. Or, A disciple warming of himself and owning of his Lord: with devout and useful meditations, fetched out of the fire, by a Christian in a cold season, sitting before it. A work though never out of season, yet more particularly, designed for the seasonable and profitable entertainment, of them that would well employ their leisure [sic] by the fire-side. : [Three lines in Latin from Alsted]Christianus per ignem. Or, A disciple warming of himself and owning of his Lord: with devout and useful meditations, fetch'd out of the fire, by a Christian in a cold season, sitting before it. A work though never out of season, yet more particularly, designed for the seasonable and profitable entertainment, of them that would well employ their liesure [sic] by the fire-side. : [Three lines in Latin from Alsted]
Boston: printed by B. Green for Benjamin Eliot, 1702
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Christianus per Ignem. Or, A Disciple WARMING himself And OWNING hi… › Meditation 2: Meditation II.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Should I Pen a voluminous Oration, […] Laudem Ignis, it would be upon a Subject […] worthy, and so noble, that it would be […] from deserving to be put among the, Desertions Ludicrae, where some witty men have tried their wi•• in the praises of Objects, to contemptible to be spoken of, Indeed unto P•• tarch will I leave the Decision of the Question, Whether be the more profitable of the two the Fire or the Water? But instead of composing the Praises of my Fire; let me rather Touch (for it can be but a Touch) on the Praises due to God for my Fire.
Should I Pen a voluminous Oration, 〈…〉 Laudem Ignis, it would be upon a Subject 〈…〉 worthy, and so noble, that it would be 〈…〉 from deserving to be put among the, Disserttiones Ludicrae, where some witty men have tried their wi•• in the praises of Objects, to contemptible to be spoken of, Indeed unto P•• tarch will I leave the Decision of the Question, Whether be the more profitable of the two the Fire or the Water? But instead of composing the Praises of my Fire; let me rather Touch (for it can be but a Touch) on the Praises due to God for my Fire.
In the Accommodation, which my Fire gives to very many of my circumstances, I enjoy great Blessings of God. Tho' my Fire has ⟨p. 49⟩not immediately come down from Heaven, to me, like that upon the Israelitish Altars: Yet I can, by ascending but a very few Steps of contemplation, see the God of Heaven bestowing my Fire upon me. Those Igneous particles, which when more loosely Diffused, make Heat, and when more closely collected and compacted, make Flame, are a creature of God, and no inconsiderable part of His Creation. The Fuel, which gathers these Igneous particles together, and puts them, and feeds them, in their motion, for my present Comfort, is bestowed upon me, by the Kindness of God: nor should I be able to subsist, if He had not been o Kind unto me.